Summer Must See List 2016
POSTED BY: JEWELSTAITEFAN
UPDATED: Wednesday, September 7, 2016 06:34
VIEWED: 6278
PAGE 3 of 4
Hey EC,
Midnight Special
Let me start out by saying that writer/director Jeff Nichols has an uniquely
adept style of writing a script, and is equally gifted in the director's chair.
I liked how he presented the story (it reminded me of the storytelling style in
10 Cloverfield Lane, sparse dialogue, long on intrigue with a dash of Spielberg
for flavor. I was impressed by his pacing, shot selection and editing). Little is revealed as the audience is encouraged to peel back the layers of this onion
of a story.
Piece by piece we get tiny peeks at clues that reveal just a little bit more,
as we are dropped into the middle of an on-the-run pursuit of a young boy with special powers. He is being sought after by the authorities - FBI men-in-black
types, but also a type of religious cult. It's as if we are on the run as well,
as the man who is the "father" and a childhood friend, team up with the mother
to protect the child from those who would look to use and abuse those special powers.
It is tight, taught and brilliantly crafted. The relationship between father
and son is unique, to say the least, but there is genuine emotion and a sense
of protective and unconditional love. Michael Shannon does a solid job as the
father, and Kirsten Dunst is equal to the task. You can sense the desperation
in the 3 of them looking to keep the boy out of the clutches of the Feds, but
also too, away from the hands of the cult (who have their own agenda). I liked
the "you-are-there" feeling I got, and the frenetic pace of the chase. And I
kept wondering why is this boy so important? The Feds, the usual I thought -
military applications (somewhat cliche), and the Cult, the whole "end-of-days"
scenario (ditto in the cliche department), but that didn't bother me so much,
because of the tightness of the script, the thrill-a-second mystery that was
being spun in front of our eyes.
But something, I thought, was missing and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
Anyway, I thought, it's a mystery I want to get to the bottom of. Even as a thousand questions popped into my head: Did the mother give birth to him or was
he found on the doorstep? Where dd he come from? Where were they going? Was this part of an alien invasion? Still though, my curiosity was piqued. I was on edge
until the very end and then.................NO SPOILERS!!!
But as a sci-fi geek, I was somewhat disappointed.
SGG
Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
What say you?
Will anything beat Deadpool? With dollars or quality?
Can't say there is much I am looking forward to, but I have not been paying as much attention.
Other than avoiding Afflackman, can't recall a lot with great advertizing, either. I feel sorry for Cavill.
I have already missed Hateful 8, Jane Got a Gun, Regression.
I'll be seeing Batman v. Superman. I'm also interested in Midnight Special, X-Men: Apocalypse, maybe Jungle Book and Ghostbusters, and most definitely Cap.America: Civil War.
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Quote:
Originally posted by KNIGHTREYEDER:Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I just noticed Jack Reacher: Never Go Back with Cruise and Smulders. But gotta wait til October.
Cobie Smulders is quite the head turner but I wish they'd have brought back Rosamund Pike. Ah Rosamund....
Sorry I've been in hibernation fellow Firefly fans. Saw Serenity again and a got a kick in the pants to drop by...and too many irons in the fire make it hard to keep up with everything. Good to see you're still here.
"Political correctness is Tyranny with a happy face." Charleton Heston 1923-2008
Rosamund's character was in a different city, and a much earlier time period, if going by the timeline of the book series (yes, that timeline is very, very funky.) Cobie's character name is not the same as in the book, but I suspect she is the character which Reacher has been heading to for the previous 4 or 5 books - the author teased her into Reacher's goals during all those novels. The physical description of the character matches Cobie, but she might need to do some fight training - that could be good to see. She wasn't a puffball in Avengers, was she?
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Criminal is coming next Friday, didn't notice it before. If I haven't seen it by summer, I'll want to.
Alice Eve
Gal Godot
Costner
Ryan Reynolds
Robert Davi
Tommy Lee Jones
Gary Oldman
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Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Criminal is coming next Friday, didn't notice it before. If I haven't seen it by summer, I'll want to.
Alice Eve
Gal Godot
Costner
Ryan Reynolds
Robert Davi
Tommy Lee Jones
Gary Oldman
Criminal was excellent.
Might be the best film I've seen this year, weird that the other best (Deadpool) also starred Reynolds, since I don't consider myself to be a huge fan.
Although the basic storyline has been done many times before, I don't think ever with this level of treatment. I was glad I didn't feel like I was in another comic book video game.
By the time the film ended, I felt like I had just watched another Ex-Machina.
I have enjoyed watching Alice Eve, but admit that she often looks adorable in roles, and this time her role was much meatier, she did well I thought.
Have mostly only seen Antje Traue in Woman in Gold, Pandorum, Man of Steel, but I hope this gives her more exposure than Woman in Gold, and we see her more.
The somewhat haunting score from Lola Marsh was very nice. I had considered this performance reminiscent of Jane Siberry, although I noticed it was not Jane.
Critique spoiler:
Select to view spoiler:
unfortunately Oldman's character was the headless chicken.
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I have not seen Midnight Special at cinema. Has it gone already?
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It was in limited release from the start and it seems not to have caught on.
You'll have to dig to find where it's playing. My guess is it will wind up
on Netflix pretty soon. Right now it's playing in 2 theatres in my town (not
a good sign).
I liked it. It reminded me of the way they shot film in the 70s.
SGG
Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I have not seen Midnight Special at cinema. Has it gone already?
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It caught my eye, but I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. I may take a
chance and go see it, mainly because of the cast, but it looks interesting.
SGG
Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Criminal is coming next Friday, didn't notice it before. If I haven't seen it by summer, I'll want to.
Alice Eve
Gal Godot
Costner
Ryan Reynolds
Robert Davi
Tommy Lee Jones
Gary Oldman
Criminal was excellent.
Might be the best film I've seen this year, weird that the other best (Deadpool) also starred Reynolds, since I don't consider myself to be a huge fan.
Although the basic storyline has been done many times before, I don't think ever with this level of treatment. I was glad I didn't feel like I was in another comic book video game.
By the time the film ended, I felt like I had just watched another Ex-Machina.
I have enjoyed watching Alice Eve, but admit that she often looks adorable in roles, and this time her role was much meatier, she did well I thought.
Have mostly only seen Antje Traue in Woman in Gold, Pandorum, Man of Steel, but I hope this gives her more exposure than Woman in Gold, and we see her more.
The somewhat haunting score from Lola Marsh was very nice. I had considered this performance reminiscent of Jane Siberry, although I noticed it was not Jane.
Critique spoiler:Select to view spoiler:
unfortunately Oldman's character was the headless chicken.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I have not seen Midnight Special at cinema. Has it gone already?
It was in limited release from the start and it seems not to have caught on.
You'll have to dig to find where it's playing. My guess is it will wind up
on Netflix pretty soon. Right now it's playing in 2 theatres in my town (not
a good sign).
I liked it. It reminded me of the way they shot film in the 70s.
SGG
Had it been showing at any cinema I have visited lately, I would have watched it - but the screens are clogged with panda and Baffleck and minion type stuff, it seems.
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Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I have already missed Hateful 8, Jane Got a Gun, Regression.
I finally saw Jane Got a Gun, and QT8.
I enjoyed Jane Got a Gun. I was reminded of the pacing of Pale Rider, and the ending was better than I expected, although I should have seen it coming. The story was well enough that likely many other actresses coud have pulled it off, not sure if it really stretched Natalie so much. I am fairly sure I would have enjoyed it in cinema even more, but I somehow missed it in the theater. I think I have lucked out this year, having seen Deadpool, Criminal, and now I am not sure if I like Jane better than one of those or not. Something subtle about it, but I felt a pleasant state by the time it was finished.
QT8 aka H8ful Eight was obviously another Quentin work, even if he would have used another name for directing. It sometimes felt like Pulp Fiction in the post-Civil War west. Nice to see Madsen and Dern from Mulholland Falls reuniting again. Apparently this is the 11th film shot in Ultra Panavision, the last being in 1965/66. When you are looking for a really high-end TV or projection, perhaps this will be a good film to compare resolution and imagery with. It took me a little wondering to figure out which 8 characters were the title roles, but one of the trailers counted them out for us. I thought the Beatlesque song Apple Blossom wedged into an otherwise decent soundtrack was jarring and disrupted continuity both with the soundtrack and with the time period. If this could be muted the film could be watched a second time. Otherwise, no.
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I am dismayed by the number of limited releases this year.
First I missed Midnight Special, and now Nice Guys is not playing at my local cinema. I need to look harder for it, or wait.
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