Tuesday, February 4, 2014

What We've Been Watching: Pirates, Windmills, Stupid Celebrities, and Coffee Drinking Celebrities

COMEDIANS IN CARS GETTING COFFEE - Season 3


I've talked about this before, right? Short episodes follow Jerry Seinfeld picking up a fellow comedian to go get coffee with him. Each time, Jerry, a car enthusiast, has carefully matched the car he's driving to the person he's picking up. I'm no car nut, but I love seeing all these cars and hearing his descriptions. A more mixed bag are the comedians, many of whom are wonderful to listen to in regular conversation about anything and everything. Some are more boring. But that's people for you and often it is simply interesting to see two comedians talking about their profession. 

We just remembered season 3 had begun and are enjoying working our way through the episodes. Available free on Crackle or YouTube. If you watch on Crackle you'll also see ads for the Accura, the show's sponsor. These are also often quite funny and we enjoy them a lot.



CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (2013) ★★★★★
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
I watched this as part of my movie group's Oscar Series, based on what we can pick up on dvd before this year's Academy Awards. I'm glad this was out in time because I'd probably have avoided it for a long time, knowing I'd probably be anxious watching.

What an intense film. I didn't expect it to have such an intriguing cat and mouse game between the pirates and the crew. I also didn't expect to get so caught up in the the tactics taken by the tiny pirate boat to gain access, nor to the ways the ship tried to shake off the pursuer. It reminded me of a wolf stalking a buffalo.

The last 10 minutes of the movie were amazing. Simply amazing.

Don't miss this. Just be sure to remember to breathe.


LOST IN LA MANCHA ★★★½

This 2000 documentary shows Terry Gilliam's attempt to film an adaptation of the Don Quixote story, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Back injuries, extreme weather, delicately balanced schedules, and much more combine to kill the movie. The documentary was meant to record the film being made but when it was abandoned it was retitled Lost in La Mancha and released independently.

I have heard of this for years and finally ran a copy to ground. It is truly staggering thinking of the incredible run of bad luck that Terry Gilliam ran into trying to get this film made. It was also fascinating watching the logistics of moviemaking of any sort. Both gave us a lot to talk about in the day after we watched.



THIS IS THE END (2013) ★★
While attending a party at James Franco's house, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel and many other celebrities are faced with the apocalypse.
Short version: Cheech and Chong 2013. Shaun of the Dead this ain't.

Longer version: I felt as if I were watching "Be Kind, Rewind" where a group of stoners made their home movie about the apocalypse and then had enough pull to get distribution. Parts of it were funny but it would have greatly benefited from an editor who went in and removed a lot of the sloppy, self-indulgence.

Most interesting were the last 20 minutes or so when they finally returned again to telling a story. From the point where everyone is suddenly convinced it is the apocalypse, the end of days, the movie takes an unexpected turn and focus. That isn't enough to save the movie or make me want to ever see it again but it was enough to raise it slightly above other similar lewd, crude movies.

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