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I wish I knew where my 3D glasses were so I could see if that works.
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Out of the 2nd tier (possibly 3rd tier) New Hollywood directors, Alan Rudolph, an Altman protege, is one who has several films that I have yet to get around to. This is his follow-up to Welcome to L.A., which has Geraldine Chaplin playing an ex-con fresh from prison seeking to disrupt the life of her ex-husband and his new wife, played by Anthony Perkins with his real-life wife Berry Berenson. Altman's stamp is probably inescapable - as if that's a bad thing - but Rudolph has a keen eye for camerawork and staging, and Chaplin is fascinatingly restrained in her quiet psychosis. Also features some early roles for Jeff Goldblum, Alfre Woodood and Dennis Franz. This is a real gem.
8/10
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How did you see that? It's been on my watchlist for some time.
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Rock wrote:
How did you see that? It's been on my watchlist for some time.
On Prime. Looks like there's a Yify torrent as well.
Rock wrote:
Rock wrote:
The way I’d heard the sex scenes discussed I’d assumed they’d be like the ones in Munich, Oppenheimer thrusting vigorously while we cut to scenes from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Seeing the actual movie, I can only assume that sex scenes in major American movies of sizable budgets are so rare these days that most people’s brains have been broken by the ones here. Now, because this is a judgment-free zone, I would like to state for the record that I thought they were pretty hot. I didn’t hoot and holler during my screening, but had I seen this at a drive-in, I would have definitely honked my horn. Leave it to a director everyone assumed was a sexless weirdo to turn out something this weird and hot.
It's funny to mention this. The only thing I've heard about the film's sex scenes did raise my eyebrows, for another reason. I heard about the semi-scandal in India regarding the use of the Bhagavad Gita. But it seems weird to me. There are some sections in that text which are pretty erotic. So why did Nolan choose to use the quote about "I have become death, destroyer of worlds"? As I think we all know, this specific quote is famous as Oppenheimer's reaction to watching the first atomic blast. This recontextualization, suggesting something orgasmic about the Trinity test where it's always been accepted as one of awe-full dread, just seems way off the mark. Like I said, there's a lot of other potential lines from Bhagavad Gita to use in a sex scene. Why that one, especially considering the more historical context. Seems juvenile, like something Bay or Snyder would think was totally hardcore, but does it actually say anything about Oppenheimer himself? Is that the only Bhagavad Gita quote that Nolan is aware of, and couldn't be bothered to find a more suitable one? Is there any documented evidence that Oppenheimer found a sexual thrill from the Trinity Test? If the real Oppenheimer had an Erotic/Chthonic obession, then it might make a little sense. Isn't it also a little gauche considering his mistress' eventual suicide?
Anyway, yeah, gives me Munich vibes as well. But I will assume that Florence Pugh makes an awful lot of difference in the execution.
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Not my theory, but a podcast I listen to suggested that it was Nolan’s attempt to link the idea of death and Oppenheimer’s guilt between his responsibility for the bomb and his relationship with Jean Tatlock. It’s clunky conceptually, but I don’t think it’s the kind of edgelotd touch from somebody like Snyder. And the ambience of the scene is pretty laid back (Tatlock looks at the books on his shelf and picks one out), not like the frantic cutting of Munich.
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And yes, Pugh makes a difference.
lol
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*honks horn*
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Rock wrote:
Not my theory, but a podcast I listen to suggested that it was Nolan’s attempt to link the idea of death and Oppenheimer’s guilt between his responsibility for the bomb and his relationship with Jean Tatlock. It’s clunky conceptually, but I don’t think it’s the kind of edgelotd touch from somebody like Snyder. And the ambience of the scene is pretty laid back (Tatlock looks at the books on his shelf and picks one out), not like the frantic cutting of Munich.
Maybe not technically like Munich, but conceptually what Spielberg was going for. And still not impressive.
The classic Erotic/Chthonic dynamic is based in the feeling that the sense of sexuality and the threat of death, carnality = mortality, are inextricable. This sense is pretty common (which is why it's a classic mythos), and it's fundamental to a film like In the Realm of the Senses (which I also recently rewatched), as well as everything from Vertigo to Eyes Wide Shut. However, given Nolan's reputation concerning his use of women and love interests in his films, I have to suspect that this particular scenario probably says more about Nolan's presumptions of the link between sex and guilt than Oppenheimer. I may be wrong, but I haven't seen anything about Oppenheimer to support it. And given Nolan's fairly conservative sexual politics, generally, I think this link of sex/guilt fits his milieu.
Rock wrote:
Definitely Top 3 I Think You Should Leave sketch.
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Chillax JJ
Just watch the movie
And eat your gruel
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Girls For Rent
The Dark Side of Danielle
Spiral: From the Book of Saw
House of Usher
Tales of Terror
Hostel: Part II
The Haunted Palace
Risky Business
Cyclone
Last edited by Rock (8/10/2023 6:10 am)
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Rock wrote:
Definitely an 80s classic. I think I would have knocked a half-star or two off due to it pulling its punches on its class critique as you pointed out, even if that compromise is so essentially Reagan-esque.
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I think Rebecca De Mornay compensated for any satirical weaknesses.
I’ve heard that the original ending is supposed to be darker.
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Five stars for Rebecca De Mornay alone, is what I’m saying.
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Rock wrote:
Five stars for Rebecca De Mornay alone, is what I’m saying.
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I was really hoping someone had a gif of that den chair.
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Five stars for the den chair scene.