enframed wrote: Sat Jun 14, 2025 6:54 am On a recent couple of long flights:

Once Upon the Time in the West. Very good. Can't believe I'd never seen this particular spaghetti western. This is one film Quentin Tarantino just has to idolize.

One of my traditional favorite movies of all time, though admittedly—as with most of my traditional favorite movies of all time—I haven’t seen it in years-to-decades. I love the soundtrack, and the degree to which the film is choreographed to it. (Leone reportedly played the soundtrack on the set for the actors to choreograph their movements to it.)

Speaking of the soundtrack, the “Finale” may be the single most beautiful piece of music I’ve ever heard. Sometime before I die, I need to tell my wife that I’d like it played at my funeral. (Not to be grim, or anything.)

enframed wrote: Sat Jun 14, 2025 6:54 am On a recent couple of long flights:

Just deplaned in Korea. Slim pickings. The only film I watched was Becoming Led Zeppelin, which I highly recommend.

jfv wrote: Sun Jun 15, 2025 2:13 am

enframed wrote: Sat Jun 14, 2025 6:54 am On a recent couple of long flights:

Just deplaned in Korea. Slim pickings. The only film I watched was Becoming Led Zeppelin, which I highly recommend.

Yes, that was good. Who knew the unprecedented amount of footage they were amassing? It felt like the most documented early years of a band. Their energy was electric. When they're playing "Communication Breakdown" to all those parents and kids plugging their ears early on I was thinking you could draw a pretty clear line from there to Black Flag.

Also, I wondered what the over/under would be on those guys being aware of Can at that point in music history. Contemporaries but over seas....

Once upon a time in the west is the best western ever.

That final scene still gives me goosebumps.

McCabe and Mrs. Miller

A Robert Altman picture I'd long meant to check out after reading about it a few times. I jumped at the opportunity to stream. Like MASH and a couple other Altman movies I'd seen, it contains his trademark layered chatter of people speaking over each other which to me is theoretically more naturalistic, but sometimes still feels kind of calculated. Some fun was had with odd lighting, steam, intentionally abstracted shots to pretty interesting effect. The Leonard Cohen needle drops seemed a little contrived, even though I love me some Leonard Cohen.

The first hour + was a little meandering, but the last 45 minutes turned up some tension on what has been described as an "anti-western" (maybe all of my favorite westerns are anti-westerns?). It all kind of comes together thematically in a surprisingly poignant way: doomed lovers, American hucksterism and ambition leaving people hollow. Pretty awesome flick, really.

losthighway wrote: Wed Jun 18, 2025 1:33 pm The Leonard Cohen needle drops seemed a little contrived, even though I love me some Leonard Cohen.

I think I saw this before I ever even heard that record, or was intimately aware of Leonard Cohen at all, so I thought they were written explicitly for the movie. I did not know, but apparently:

Cohen was strictly a cult figure when Altman tapped him—Songs of Leonard Cohen never charted above sixty-three.

Funnily enough I think the reason I started paying attention to Cohen in the first place was everybody's favorite stripclub track "Everbody Knows" from Exotica. Oh those perverse Canadians.

midsommar = raciss
and she's just crying the whole time
and of course the guy banged the swedish girl it's what they went to europe to do in the first place.. oh like any guy isn't going for it when most guys would and in all that unholiness she could've offered him forgiveness cause ff that cult they want her to want him to burn

jfv wrote: Sun Jun 15, 2025 2:13 am The only film I watched was Becoming Led Zeppelin, which I highly recommend.

Yep just got to see it (had to wait for someone to add it to Plex). As a band who's mostly taken a "let the music do the talking" approach, they've finally opened up a bit. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard John Bonham speak before. He sounds like he had an overbearing father who added to his insecurities, which he never outgrew tragically. The looks on the other guys' faces when they hear him speak is really touching and sad, you can tell they never got over it.

The obvious downside of it is it will make you want album by album breakdowns that we probably won't ever get.

Recently rewatched Casino, hadn't seen it in a long time. Comparisons to Goodfellas are inevitable, and while it isn't as strong as that movie, it's pretty good on its own. Story is interesting, and De Niro is solid in the lead. I guess some people thought Sharon Stone was great in this, but I found her character mostly whiny and irritating. Also, it felt like every scene had a specific song cue, and not many of them made their respective scenes any better.

Been in an 80s kids film binge with my girls.

Willow and Return to Oz…

Willow was fine. A few regrettable sexist tropes like most films of the era. These make the Indiana Jones films unwatchable for me…

Return to Oz is way too weird, in a good way. It’s basically a kids horror.