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StarTopic Film Chat |ST| What's Your Favorite Acting Turn?

Yesterday I watched the last of 2024's Best Picture nominees (American Fiction), so I'm ready to rank them all:

Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
Zone of Interest
Maestro

I loved them all, except for the last two. Maestro was able to make a biopic about a very interesting man be a whole lot of nothing, and Zone of Interest gets dull very fast as it repeats the same point over and over again. I'm not sure Barbie is Best Picture material, but overall I liked it so I've got nothing against its inclusion.

Past Lives moved me like no other movie among the nominees, but overall I think Oppenheimer is slightly better.
 
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The Last Samurai (2003) - Very good movie. Several famous japanese actors today are in this one (and they're all magnificent). Part of me feels conflicted about it because you could technically say it's a white saviour story (and you wouldn't exactly be wrong) but there are several characters played by Japanese actors in this that shine so much and are so good. Also, legendary costuming, very well-executed battle scenes, and I like the look of the movie overall.
It's also one of these movies that definitely seem cut from the same cloth as Gladiator, despite it being directed by someone else. Period epic with a very emotional story, prehistoric slow-mo in a battle sequence, an insanely memorable score by Hans Zimmer...
Heck, both movies came out so nearby each other it probably was inspired by it in some way...
 
I watched Dune 2 the other day.

I liked it I guess. Amazing film to see at the cinema. Lots of big visuals. Felt rather epic.

Bit silly at the end, though, when all those Fremen who'd lived their entire life in the desert started immediately getting on spaceships.

I feel like I didn't LOVE it, though. Maybe I just don't like Dune that much.
 
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Finally got around to watching Nimona and loved it. I'd been meaning to watch it since it came out, but I've had a really shitty week and I think this was the movie I needed to watch at this point in time.
 
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Caught Dune 2 in IMAX glory today and holy crap, Fami. I've always respected Villeneuve, but what he pulled off there rocked me to my core. It was epic in every conceivable way.

I hope they give him the go ahead for Part 3, mostly because I think Messiah is a pretty meh book (the weakest of the 6 as far as I'm concerned), so I think it can only be improved.
 
Just got home from Dune 2 and I am dizzy yall

I was aware of some broad strokes of the book and its sequels but seeing it play out was.. well one aspect of it was really jarring. Paul's total about-face from being a freedom fighter who loved Chani and had his head on his shoulders and didn't buy into the religious aspect of things, to suddenly being all-in on his own legend, leaning hard into the religion, and then desiring to take the Emperor's throne and marry his daughter?? What??

It seems like he just very very suddenly became a completely different character and as incredible as the final act was on a cinematic and dramatic level, my head was spinning trying to figure out who this new guy even was. Did the baby sandworm juice change him that much? Why did he even drink it? He really really really didn't want to go south because he was afraid of what would happen, and when it came down that he had to go he coulda just gone to the meeting as a fighter/leader but he seemed to make a beeline to the temple to do the thing he expressly wanted to avoid, so he could become the thing he didn't want to become. Why?

And seriously, the whole wanna-be-emperor-and-marry-his-daughter angle seemed to come totally out of left field. And when given the chance to chill the eff out or start an interplanetary war, he chose war? Why?????

I'm so lost. 😅
 
chocolate_supra said:
Just got home from Dune 2 and I am dizzy yall

I was aware of some broad strokes of the book and its sequels but seeing it play out was.. well one aspect of it was really jarring. Paul's total about-face from being a freedom fighter who loved Chani and had his head on his shoulders and didn't buy into the religious aspect of things, to suddenly being all-in on his own legend, leaning hard into the religion, and then desiring to take the Emperor's throne and marry his daughter?? What??

It seems like he just very very suddenly became a completely different character and as incredible as the final act was on a cinematic and dramatic level, my head was spinning trying to figure out who this new guy even was. Did the baby sandworm juice change him that much? Why did he even drink it? He really really really didn't want to go south because he was afraid of what would happen, and when it came down that he had to go he coulda just gone to the meeting as a fighter/leader but he seemed to make a beeline to the temple to do the thing he expressly wanted to avoid, so he could become the thing he didn't want to become. Why?

And seriously, the whole wanna-be-emperor-and-marry-his-daughter angle seemed to come totally out of left field. And when given the chance to chill the eff out or start an interplanetary war, he chose war? Why?????

I'm so lost. 😅
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This all makes sense in the book because you get a lot of his thought process

Basically
he can see the consequences of any action he might make and various possibilities, and he chooses the one he believes will cause the least amount of damage in the end, but is aware that it sucks and he basically has to become evil
 
FYI Dune Part 2 is not "Dune 2". "Dune 2" is Dune Messiah.

(We haven't even gotten to Children of Dune yet and God Emperor of Dune!)

I wonder if now is the time for me to dive into the Sci-Fi produced mini-series of Children of Dune...
 
chocolate_supra said:
Just got home from Dune 2 and I am dizzy yall

I was aware of some broad strokes of the book and its sequels but seeing it play out was.. well one aspect of it was really jarring. Paul's total about-face from being a freedom fighter who loved Chani and had his head on his shoulders and didn't buy into the religious aspect of things, to suddenly being all-in on his own legend, leaning hard into the religion, and then desiring to take the Emperor's throne and marry his daughter?? What??

It seems like he just very very suddenly became a completely different character and as incredible as the final act was on a cinematic and dramatic level, my head was spinning trying to figure out who this new guy even was. Did the baby sandworm juice change him that much? Why did he even drink it? He really really really didn't want to go south because he was afraid of what would happen, and when it came down that he had to go he coulda just gone to the meeting as a fighter/leader but he seemed to make a beeline to the temple to do the thing he expressly wanted to avoid, so he could become the thing he didn't want to become. Why?

And seriously, the whole wanna-be-emperor-and-marry-his-daughter angle seemed to come totally out of left field. And when given the chance to chill the eff out or start an interplanetary war, he chose war? Why?????

I'm so lost. 😅
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The water allows him to see multiple outcomes of the future, causing in him a profound shift in how he acts. It's already demonstrated earlier in the movie when Jessica gets a radical shift after drinking it. Of course, Villeneuve is a very VISUAL director, he's not exactly keen on spelling out everything on dialogue, so a lot of Paul's thought process that seem to be in the book can go unnoticed. I personally understood immediately it was because of the water (he does say to Chani he'll always love her til his death right before asking the hand of the emperor's daughter). He specifically drinks the water of life because his visions just don't make full sense and bring him torment (he has them but they're not always accurate, they often end up twisted (especially noticeable when rewatching Part I after Part II))
 
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entut1 said:
The water allows him to see multiple outcomes of the future, causing in him a profound shift in how he acts. It's already demonstrated earlier in the movie when Jessica gets a radical shift after drinking it. Of course, Villeneuve is a very VISUAL director, he's not exactly keen on spelling out everything on dialogue, so a lot of Paul's thought process that seem to be in the book can go unnoticed. I personally understood immediately it was because of the water (he does say to Chani he'll always love her til his death right before asking the hand of the emperor's daughter)
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okay that and what @Phosphorescent Skeleton said helps to make sense of what the water did to him, thanks. I'm still a bit fuzzy though on why he drank the water when he wanted so badly to avoid it, especially when the visions he was having before showed he would cause that massive war if he did.
 
chocolate_supra said:
okay that and what @Phosphorescent Skeleton said helps to make sense of what the water did to him, thanks. I'm still a bit fuzzy though on why he drank the water when he wanted so badly to avoid it, especially when the visions he was having before showed he would cause that massive war if he did.
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I updated my post a bit on that just as you wrote the answer lol
 
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entut1 said:
The Last Samurai (2003) - Very good movie. Several famous japanese actors today are in this one (and they're all magnificent). Part of me feels conflicted about it because you could technically say it's a white saviour story (and you wouldn't exactly be wrong) but there are several characters played by Japanese actors in this that shine so much and are so good. Also, legendary costuming, very well-executed battle scenes, and I like the look of the movie overall.
It's also one of these movies that definitely seem cut from the same cloth as Gladiator, despite it being directed by someone else. Period epic with a very emotional story, prehistoric slow-mo in a battle sequence, an insanely memorable score by Hans Zimmer...
Heck, both movies came out so nearby each other it probably was inspired by it in some way...
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There are some iffy elements to it but I love The Last Samurai for all these reasons. ‘A Small Measure of Peace’ from the soundtrack is one of my favorite pieces of film music ever - incredibly beautiful and emotional.
 
Absolutely loved Dune 2. One the best films I've seen in a long time. Better than the first one.
 
chocolate_supra said:
Just got home from Dune 2 and I am dizzy yall

I was aware of some broad strokes of the book and its sequels but seeing it play out was.. well one aspect of it was really jarring. Paul's total about-face from being a freedom fighter who loved Chani and had his head on his shoulders and didn't buy into the religious aspect of things, to suddenly being all-in on his own legend, leaning hard into the religion, and then desiring to take the Emperor's throne and marry his daughter?? What??

It seems like he just very very suddenly became a completely different character and as incredible as the final act was on a cinematic and dramatic level, my head was spinning trying to figure out who this new guy even was. Did the baby sandworm juice change him that much? Why did he even drink it? He really really really didn't want to go south because he was afraid of what would happen, and when it came down that he had to go he coulda just gone to the meeting as a fighter/leader but he seemed to make a beeline to the temple to do the thing he expressly wanted to avoid, so he could become the thing he didn't want to become. Why?

And seriously, the whole wanna-be-emperor-and-marry-his-daughter angle seemed to come totally out of left field. And when given the chance to chill the eff out or start an interplanetary war, he chose war? Why?????

I'm so lost. 😅
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in additionto what other people have mentioned to you, in the furst movie after he and his mom meetup with Duncan after the attack, he talks about making a play for the throne, mentioning the emperors daughter is unmarried, so that was already on his mind before linking up with the fremen.
 
chocolate_supra said:
I saw Scott Pilgrim in theaters seven times

That's probably bad, I dunno 😅
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I've only seen it once, and it was an advanced screening with a different ending (he gets together with Knives). Kind of weird that I've never seen it with the actual ending.

And if you're curious, on the survey I rated the ending poorly, so you can thank me for them choosing something else.
 
Dizzle said:
I've only seen it once, and it was an advanced screening with a different ending (he gets together with Knives). Kind of weird that I've never seen it with the actual ending.

And if you're curious, on the survey I rated the ending poorly, so you can thank me for them choosing something else.
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That alt ending is on the blu ray. Iirc it's a bit longer with more visual effects than the redone ending. Must have been replaced at the 11th hour.
 
entut1 said:
The Last Samurai (2003) - Very good movie. Several famous japanese actors today are in this one (and they're all magnificent). Part of me feels conflicted about it because you could technically say it's a white saviour story (and you wouldn't exactly be wrong) but there are several characters played by Japanese actors in this that shine so much and are so good. Also, legendary costuming, very well-executed battle scenes, and I like the look of the movie overall.
It's also one of these movies that definitely seem cut from the same cloth as Gladiator, despite it being directed by someone else. Period epic with a very emotional story, prehistoric slow-mo in a battle sequence, an insanely memorable score by Hans Zimmer...
Heck, both movies came out so nearby each other it probably was inspired by it in some way...
Click to expand...
I remember being weirded out when I saw the news and posters, thinking "how are they gonna spin that some random American was actually the last of the samurai" and was worried it'd be some weird white savior story, and was really surprised when it ended up being Cruise's character who actually needed saving, with the westerners for the most part being framed as straight-up villains. IIRC the writer or director said back then that the story they wanted to tell was really that of the Katsumoto character played by Ken Watanabe but because it was an American studio film they were expected to have an audience-analogue character to be the audience's way into learning about the people, politics, and setting that the film is actually about. So Cruise was meant more to ease the audience into the period and region more so than being the hero himself, which helped me not frown so hard at it.

And then the actual execution of the movie really impressed me and it ended up being one of my favorites. It got me to look more into the events that inspired it (the westerner joining a samurai group during a rebellion was a real thing that happened, though he was French instead of American and didn't befriend or fight alongside the samurai that Katsumoto was inspired by) which then led me down a rabbit hole about the circumstances around the rebellion itself, the politics and the culture and all that. It wasn't as simple as it looked in the movie, imagine that! 😅 So while it's still fiction (that dances around being potentially problematic), it at least got me to learn some actual history which I think is a pretty neat accomplishment for a damn Tom Cruise movie.

Plus it was gorgeous. The cherry blossom scene at the end kicks my heart in the gut every time.
 
Dizzle said:
I've only seen it once, and it was an advanced screening with a different ending (he gets together with Knives). Kind of weird that I've never seen it with the actual ending.

And if you're curious, on the survey I rated the ending poorly, so you can thank me for them choosing something else.
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I have no idea why that ending was even filmed. Just a complete misunderstanding of the original comic.
 
Chie said:
in additionto what other people have mentioned to you, in the furst movie after he and his mom meetup with Duncan after the attack, he talks about making a play for the throne, mentioning the emperors daughter is unmarried, so that was already on his mind before linking up with the fremen.
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my god, I rewatched the first movie like a day or two before going in for the second just so stuff like that would be fresh in my mind and I still missed it. 😅

edit: I just went and read a transcript of the scene you're talking about and yeah, that helps a lot. I can't believe they were laying such significant groundwork in the first movie and I just missed it.

Dizzle said:
I've only seen it once, and it was an advanced screening with a different ending (he gets together with Knives). Kind of weird that I've never seen it with the actual ending.

And if you're curious, on the survey I rated the ending poorly, so you can thank me for them choosing something else.
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Okay that's AMAZING because that ending being changed also inspired the author to change his ending, as he was still writing/drawing the last book while the movie was in post. So the legend of "the test audiences got the ending changed" has always been kind of a big deal to me. Even Bryan Lee O'Malley saw what yall said and was like "ya know what... yeah"

and that of course then had a massive bearing on the whole damn lore that the anime series goes with so fucking wow

Mekanos said:
I have no idea why that ending was even filmed. Just a complete misunderstanding of the original comic.
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Not sure if you're aware but
the original comic ending had Scott ending up with nobody. Knives learned she was too good for him, Ramona wanted to go off and figure herself out without the influence of a partner, and Scott had finally realized he needed to grow up and become his own person. Which honestly is a fantastic ending for the vibe of the books imo. But Edgar Wright said he thought the movie needed a bit more of a traditional happy ending, so they had Ramona go do her thing (like O'Malley was planning for her to do in the book) and put Scott back with Knives, but with more mutual respect. And yeah, dud ending imo.
 
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well, i suppose after seeing everyone clamor over dune 2, i should actually finish the first one so i can see 2 in theaters.

unlike others, thankfully, i didn't fall asleep watching the first one... my flight just landed before it was over 😔
 
rêverie said:
well, i suppose after seeing everyone clamor over dune 2, i should actually finish the first one so i can see 2 in theaters.

unlike others, thankfully, i didn't fall asleep watching the first one... my flight just landed before it was over 😔
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I literally just watched Dune on a plane last week! Great way to kill a longer flight since it’s so long. Although it definitely loses something on that small screen and with only decent headphones.
 
chocolate_supra said:
Not sure if you're aware but
the original comic ending had Scott ending up with nobody. Knives learned she was too good for him, Ramona wanted to go off and figure herself out without the influence of a partner, and Scott had finally realized he needed to grow up and become his own person. Which honestly is a fantastic ending for the vibe of the books imo. But Edgar Wright said he thought the movie needed a bit more of a traditional happy ending, so they had Ramona go do her thing (like O'Malley was planning for her to do in the book) and put Scott back with Knives, but with more mutual respect. And yeah, dud ending imo.
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So the comic ending was written for the movie in mine? If I’m reading this right.
 
My youngest wanted to see Migration so we took him on Sunday. Now I believe more strongly than ever that Illumination is an evil company run by people who despise cinema and art in general. This film, like all of their "original works", for want of a better phrase, is simply a collection of lame sequences devised to push the laughter buttons in small children's brains - although most scenes fall far short of achieving that - held together by the thinnest veil of a story. The villain in Migration is a deranged mute chef who has imprisoned a parrot in a cage, the key to which he keeps in his jacket pocket for the sole purpose of creating a situation where the main characters can steal it from him. He has no name, no character, nothing to say, and no believable motivation for anything he does in the movie, in fact he makes the same amount of sense as everything else in this film, which is none at all. Halfway through this film, my wife and I turned to each other and without a word burst out laughing at how ridiculous it is that this film was written and then actually produced and presented to the public. Having said all that, both kids said they enjoyed it.
 
Mekanos said:
So the comic ending was written for the movie in mine? If I’m reading this right.
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Eh, not so much that the comic's ending was written with the movie in mind, more that the comic's ending was written in spite of the movie's ending, at least initially. And after the author saw the second ending (that the movie ended up releasing with) he decided he liked that ending better than his own and rewrote the end of the comics to match it. So more like in reaction to it.
 
chocolate_supra said:
Eh, not so much that the comic's ending was written with the movie in mind, more that the comic's ending was written in spite of the movie's ending, at least initially. And after the author saw the second ending (that the movie ended up releasing with) he decided he liked that ending better than his own and rewrote the end of the comics to match it. So more like in reaction to it.
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Well, in any case, I think any ending where Scott ends up with Knives is a huge thematic clash with the rest of the story.
 
Mekanos said:
Well, in any case, I think any ending where Scott ends up with Knives is a huge thematic clash with the rest of the story.
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Yep. And everyone agrees, including the people who made the movie and the author of the comics 😂
 
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Mekanos said:
Well, in any case, I think any ending where Scott ends up with Knives is a huge thematic clash with the rest of the story.
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As someone who watched it in theaters, even putting aside unfinished special effects, it felt very weird! It didn't ruin the experience but it was a bizarre left turn.
 
neil said:
My youngest wanted to see Migration so we took him on Sunday. Now I believe more strongly than ever that Illumination is an evil company run by people who despise cinema and art in general. This film, like all of their "original works", for want of a better phrase, is simply a collection of lame sequences devised to push the laughter buttons in small children's brains - although most scenes fall far short of achieving that - held together by the thinnest veil of a story. The villain in Migration is a deranged mute chef who has imprisoned a parrot in a cage, the key to which he keeps in his jacket pocket for the sole purpose of creating a situation where the main characters can steal it from him. He has no name, no character, nothing to say, and no believable motivation for anything he does in the movie, in fact he makes the same amount of sense as everything else in this film, which is none at all. Halfway through this film, my wife and I turned to each other and without a word burst out laughing at how ridiculous it is that this film was written and then actually produced and presented to the public. Having said all that, both kids said they enjoyed it.
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it is truly a shame they ended up with Mario of all things lol. But again, maybe Nintendo liked their way of doing stories XD.
 
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I watched Bloodsport for the first time couple days ago. I had fun but it also sucked. Van Damme's butt looked oiled up.
 
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Saw Talk to Me recently. Went into it not knowing it had any hype or praise and honestly, I thought it was pretty boring.
All I knew about it was that it had something to do with ghosts, nothing else. So it ended up being more character and story focused than I expected, but the issue with that is that all the characters were a bunch of annoying teenagers. Like seriously, they were a bunch of irritating idiots making dumb decisions throughout the film. I'm no longer a teenager but even if I was, the second the bloody weird ghost possession hand thing comes out at the party, I'm going home. Not staying and using it like 20 times in a row! So I didn't especially like or care about any of the characters which meant that most of the film just did nothing for me. Some of the scares were decent though.
 
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neil said:
My youngest wanted to see Migration so we took him on Sunday. Now I believe more strongly than ever that Illumination is an evil company run by people who despise cinema and art in general. This film, like all of their "original works", for want of a better phrase, is simply a collection of lame sequences devised to push the laughter buttons in small children's brains - although most scenes fall far short of achieving that - held together by the thinnest veil of a story. The villain in Migration is a deranged mute chef who has imprisoned a parrot in a cage, the key to which he keeps in his jacket pocket for the sole purpose of creating a situation where the main characters can steal it from him. He has no name, no character, nothing to say, and no believable motivation for anything he does in the movie, in fact he makes the same amount of sense as everything else in this film, which is none at all. Halfway through this film, my wife and I turned to each other and without a word burst out laughing at how ridiculous it is that this film was written and then actually produced and presented to the public. Having said all that, both kids said they enjoyed it.
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I also really, really, REALLY hated the fact that the main character starts out with a big anxiety trouble and then, only five minutes in, the other characters tell him « can you please not be anxious », so he thinks about it for a minute or so, says « alright, I’ll stop being anxious, let’s go on an adventure », and from then it’s never ever addressed again. Such lazy writing, it was done 1000 times better in Finding Nemo.
 
Party Sklar said:
I also really, really, REALLY hated the fact that the main character starts out with a big anxiety trouble and then, only five minutes in, the other characters tell him « can you please not be anxious », so he thinks about it for a minute or so, says « alright, I’ll stop being anxious, let’s go on an adventure », and from then it’s never ever addressed again. Such lazy writing, it was done 1000 times better in Finding Nemo.
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I don't think that's actually the turning point, it's his old man who basically sparkle in him the fear of growing up old and alone just like his old man.
 
Oh, so apparently on top of being a rapist, Alexander Payne is also a fucking stealer

variety.com

Alexander Payne’s ‘The Holdovers’ Accused of Plagiarism by ‘Luca’ Writer (EXCLUSIVE)

Simon Stephenson—whose credits include 'Paddington 2'— complained to the WGA that the screenplay for Alexander Payne's 'The Holdovers' plagiarized him 'line by line.'
variety.com variety.com

entut1 said:
I don't think that's actually the turning point, it's his old man who basically sparkle in him the fear of growing up old and alone just like his old man.
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oh, yeah, you're right. Still, it doesn't change the fact that one look at your old man doesn't magically cure you of an anxiety trouble
 
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