It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
Wow! Excellent film. Well written, superbly well acted and surprisingly fascinating.
Please do share your thoughts, @JamesBondKenya. I want to see it too. Tomorrow after work I’m going to see The Post. Trying to catch up on all the great 2017 movies.
Directed by Rob Reiner (A Few Good Men, Misery, When Harry Met Sally), this film stars Woody Harrelson in the titular role as Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States. It’s not really a biography, because the film doesn’t focus much on Johnson’s youth, his landmark legislative accomplishments (Great Society legislation, Head Start, Medicare and Medicaid) or his unfortunate escalation of the Vietnam War. Rather, it focuses on a small sliver of time when he was first the Senate Majority leader, his failed run for the presidency in 1960 (when he was beaten in the Democratic primary by the far more charming but less experienced JFK), his time as vice president in the Kennedy Administration (when he was increasingly marginalized with intent by the president’s ambitious brother & Attorney General, Bobby Kennedy), and his assumption of the presidency upon Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. It also gives some time to Johnson’s advocacy as president for Civil Rights legislation, in the face of resistance and opposition from southern senators.
Harrelson, wearing thick makeup and distracting prosthetics, gives a decent performance as LBJ. He captures his brash, uncouth and confident outward style and dealmaking flair, as well as some of his inner securities. He’s very entertaining to watch, but unfortunately the performance doesn’t come across as particularly layered or insightful, and that is perhaps on account of the script. The film has a somewhat procedural flavor to it, similar to last year's Mark Felt although it’s far more entertaining than that film. It's a bit unbalanced, starting off as an interesting character study and then veering off on a civil right's detour. One wishes for a more complex and detailed take on the man, including his inner demons and rationale for continuing the Vietnam conflict, with less time spent on the Kennedy’s. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays his wife Lady Bird, and she has some decent scenes, but they are fleeting. Bill Pullman, C. Thomas Howell, Richard Jenkins and Jeffrey Donovan also star. Barry Markowitz’s cinematography is quite good and the film captures the era authentically. Overall this isn’t a bad effort, but it feels like a missed opportunity like other historic films I've seen recently. Watch it for Woody and for a bit of history.
I will elaborate further on a full review of Phantom thread as I have just come out of the theater but for now I will say that is absolutely amazing, the best film of 2017, among the best films of all time and necessary viewing for all of you.
The Men Who Stare at Goats
What an odd movie. Bridges is like the dude, if he would be in the army.
Ah, Police Academy 3, there's an old favourite of mine (the best of the series, maybe?). Always had a soft spot for the Police Academy series. Not the best films around, but now and then they show them on TV here, and I usually watch them.
Probably Camerons worst film which is saying something as I really don't like Titanic.
Whoa, The Abyss is actually my favorite Cameron film outside of his Terminators. It's supposed to be coming to Blu-ray any day now. (Well, actually it was supposed to be out sometime in 2017...)
I would be interested to see a restored version on Bluray as the visuals are where the strength the film lies.
That is seriously high praise, because several films to come from this year are among my favorites ever. And 2017 to me is already the 100% king of any year in the 2010s for films. And possibly for the 2000s as well. I can't ever remember being so thrilled with films throughout the year so consistently. My hype for Phantom Thread goes even higher...
I did not mind Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in Scarface she was over the top in that film though it suited the character and her habits.
Really it's a truly great film one of my favourite De Palma films along with Untouchables and Carlito's Way. Scarface is a masterclass in direction with a tour de force performance by Al Pacino.
I had been curious about this Angela Robinson directed film since I heard it was being made. I’ve always been fascinated by the human mind and psychology. Why do we behave the way we do? Is it all about sex? Or is it all about love? Both? Is sexuality a weakness or a strength? How do we get in touch with the authentic self? These are some of the questions that are broadly broached in this film, a biopic of Professor William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans), his Harvard grad wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) and their mutual teaching assistant and mistress Olive (Bella Heathcote). Marston is accredited with creating the lie detector test, and his work on the polygraph was conducted in conjunction with his female partners. He also was instrumental in creating the DISC (Dominance, Inducement, Submission and Compliance) personality assessment tool. Most importantly he is the creator of the fictional DC superheroine Wonder Woman, whose character was inspired by his female companions.
This film shows how Professor Marston and Elizabeth’s forward thinking studies into human behaviour in the later 1920's lead them to hire Olive, and further explores the physical and emotional bond that develops between the three intellectuals. As they satisfy this attraction via a polyamorous relationship they suffer consequences on account of the era in which they live in, leading them to leave their fields and take up residence in a new town. It is here that the Professor raises a family with his wife and mistress and is inspired to become a comic book author. The famous character’s birth is informed as much by female empowerment and strength as it is by sexuality and pseudo masochism. It is suggested that Marston was an ardent feminist who believed women should rule the world, and WW was a means to instill the prospect of matriarchy in the minds of little boys and girls at an early age. He also believed that people are happiest when they submit to a loving authority. Olive herself is apparently descended from a line of celebrated feminists. I had never realized it previously, but WW’s outfit really does resemble that of a dominatrix, and this film shows how that came about. It also briefly deals with the controversy that surrounded the early years of the comic, as it drew the attention of The Child Study Association of America, who thought that it perverted young minds.
It’s a fascinating film with superb performances, particularly by the always reliable Hall and Heathcote who are pitch perfect in their roles and very compelling. Evans does his best, but he seems a bit overshadowed by the acting skills of his ‘wonder women’ compatriots. The cinematography and period feel is excellent and the film is an immersive experience, not only because of its historical subject matter but also because of the acting and screenplay which are both captivating. Robinson, a black lesbian (who perhaps understands more that most about discrimination), is known to make films/series on matters of sexuality. She also wrote the screenplay and ensures that the film is stylish rather than titilating. Recommended. One of the best of the year.
EDIT: For those who like this film I recommend the Showtime series Masters of Sex, which focuses on the groundbreaking research into human sexuality by Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson. The film reminds me of that show.
This film concerns a 50's British fashion designer in his obsessive nature to create art. The art that is fine dressmaking for the wealthy. He lives his life in his own head and one day he meets a woman that is like no other he has seen before. He is initially enamored and brings her into his routine. She seems to possibly disrupt more than she helps and the story comes about in the form what it means to love someone and what it means to get angry in relationships and how the dynamic in a relationship of power is ever changing. Now this film is directed by the man Paul Thomas Anderson. Look, hes fine as a director. I don't think hes one of the greats that people say he is (until maybe now) I think hes a perfectly fine film maker. I've seen There Will Be Blood, and its good, not great. However with this film he came up with a vision, wrote and outstanding screenplay and put everything on the screen because this film flows amazingly, every scene has its own tension and problem that needs to be explored, there is not a wasted minute of screen time in this entire film, something I was worried about going in, because if I'm honest, although I was super excited for this film, I was definitely cautiously optimistic that it could in fact turn out to be a snooze fest. Boring it is not. The production design is incredible in this film it truly makes me feel like I've stepped into another world. The cinematography is absolutely fabulous and like BR2049, is indeed a character in its own right, adding needed tension and suspense to the thematic scenes. Now all of these elements so far, the direction, design, and cinematography combine to give this film a very olden days feel. It feels as if it were made 50-60 years ago and the grainy film adds to this amazing effect.(maybe it should have been released in black and white??) It truly is like stepping back in time in sense- in a good way. Next up the music is incredibly cinematic and fits every scene perfectly.... the costumes, damn, I've never noticed dresses before but the dresses in this film are as amazing to look at as the planes in THE AVIATOR. Speaking of THE AVIATOR, I felt this film was made in a similar vain to that one, so far as it is held up by a strong narrative and central performance and is largely about an obsessive character interacting with different developments in an ever changing environment. Which brings us to the main man himself Day Lewis, who absolutely kills it as Reynolds, this man just lets everything go as usual and becomes this incredible character that is constantly facing challenges that he cannot put up without breaking down on the inside. Give that man an Oscar and make history please. The supporting cast while not famous at all is brilliant too. This film is really and truly a thriller above all, about a man losing options and time and how this drama of life just is too much to handle sometimes coupled with his relationship problems in the fact that life isn't perfect and everyone cant be positioned as you wish all the time. I came out of this film stunned with my jaw hanging down and I knew it then, that no matter how much I loved mother!, there was no question what my film of the year was going to be. A film like this comes once every 20 maybe 30 years and this film has just knocked it out of the park for me. When a film ends and you wish it would go on for 7 hours, you know you have just seen a spectacular. And that is what this film is, a spectacular in every sense of the word. I am very happy to report to all of you, that without question I can give this film the elusive and hardly earned
10/10
This film also reminded me of another, DARKEST HOUR, now they are fairly similar in some regard with some notable differences, that being that I found Darkest hour to be slow, ponderous, without a strong character arc, and pointless. Sure it has a great performance from Gary Oldman but that's not enough. This film is similar in that it is "slow" and hoisted up by an amazing performance, however it is different in that it goes places and it is not ponderous, the characters are layered and have motives and commit actions the narrative does end up somewhere special at the end, it isn't pointless.
Go out and see this film, its a landmark of cinema, it celebrates everything it means to be a film and everything about what it means to be quality cinema. This is just the type of film we need in this new era, a film to remind us that even though Hollywood will put out squeal reboot trash, that is not cinema but rather, films like this, is what cinema was built on. It has also cemented 2017 as now the best year in film of the 2,000's and perhaps the 90's, not ready to call that yet though. PHANTOM THREAD alone however is possibley the best film of the last decade.
Only one film left to see "this year", that being Hostiles, then I'll be able to put out a full ranking of everything released this year that I've seen, It think its almost up to 30 films.
Masterful.
Phantom Thread.
Haha, I’ve gotten enough good films this year to soak up a few times that I could go with 5 years of shite before getting bored
Same. I may own as many as 15 movies from last year which is insane. Might be a record for most films I own from one year. Definitely at least: The Shape of Water, The Post, Baby Driver, It, Blade Runner 2049, Logan, Get Out, and Dunkirk. Doesn’t even include several others I still have to see. I usually only get 3-6 movies from one year from this decade.
Great review of the Wonder Women film, sir! I couldn't agree more with you.
--
@JamesBondKenya, I'm definitely more curious than ever about Phantom Thread now. I may just make a trip to the theatre for it shortly.
--
Oh I have no doubt she did such a personality justice. The emotional quotient was just a little bit too much for my tastes, and that includes from Harris too.