The Official Last Movie You Saw Thread (Part 2)

[surveyor]

The Highwaymen

Watched this last night. A Netflix original written by John Fusco.

Based on the true story of Frank Hamer (Kevin Costner) and the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde. Hamer was a retired Texas Ranger who utilized brutal methods to apprehend and kill suspects prior to retirement. Arguably the Rangers were disbanded partly due to Hamer.
Governor "Ma" Ferguson (Kathy Bates) acquiesces to a suggestion of persuading Hamer out of retirement to apprehend or stop Bonnie and Clyde. Hamer enlists the help of his partner in the Rangers Maney Gault (Woody Harrelson).

Excellent performances by Costner and Harrelson and the cinematography is superb as well.

Liam Neeson was originally picked for the role of Frank Hamer, but dropped out. It was originally written as a vehicle for Paul Newman and Robert Redford in early 2005, but never came to fruition. Just as well, since both were older than the 50 year old Hamer. Costner pulls it off, but even he's older by 14 years.

[Blue Heaven]

LOTR Return of the King. So you think GOT borrowed a bit from this series. Defintely YES.

[TrueblueCATfan]

US......This has to be the weirdest movie I have seen in my Lifetime

[Spiritof96]

LOTR Return of the King. So you think GOT borrowed a bit from this series. Defintely YES.

Which parts were borrowed?

I mean Tolkien sort of invented an entire genre of fiction, but beyond that, what are we talking about?

(I say this having read both series and like both)

[Spiritof96]

The Highwaymen

Watched this last night. A Netflix original written by John Fusco.

Based on the true story of Frank Hamer (Kevin Costner) and the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde. Hamer was a retired Texas Ranger who utilized brutal methods to apprehend and kill suspects prior to retirement. Arguably the Rangers were disbanded partly due to Hamer.
Governor "Ma" Ferguson (Kathy Bates) acquiesces to a suggestion of persuading Hamer out of retirement to apprehend or stop Bonnie and Clyde. Hamer enlists the help of his partner in the Rangers Maney Gault (Woody Harrelson).

Excellent performances by Costner and Harrelson and the cinematography is superb as well.

Liam Neeson was originally picked for the role of Frank Hamer, but dropped out. It was originally written as a vehicle for Paul Newman and Robert Redford in early 2005, but never came to fruition. Just as well, since both were older than the 50 year old Hamer. Costner pulls it off, but even he's older by 14 years.

This is on my list.

[Joneslab]

Which parts were borrowed?

I mean Tolkien sort of invented an entire genre of fiction, but beyond that, what are we talking about?

(I say this having read both series and like both)

I've thought about jumping into the GoT books. (I haven't seen any of the series yet outside Episode One. Wife won't watch it for some reason, probably because fantasy stuff seems boring to her.)

But I've owned the first book for a long time and every time I try to read it, I get to around page 100 and stop.

And let me say that I love the idea of epic fantasy. It reminds me reading in high school for one, but also I like envisioning myself reading this sprawling fantasy series.

But then I actually start reading and get bored very easily. All the characters, all the storylines, all the little intricacies. Is the whole series worth sticking with?

[Spiritof96]

I've thought about jumping into the GoT books. (I haven't seen any of the series yet outside Episode One. Wife won't watch it for some reason, probably because fantasy stuff seems boring to her.)

But I've owned the first book for a long time and every time I try to read it, I get to around page 100 and stop.

And let me say that I love the idea of epic fantasy. It reminds me reading in high school for one, but also I like envisioning myself reading this sprawling fantasy series.

But then I actually start reading and get bored very easily. All the characters, all the storylines, all the little intricacies. Is the whole series worth sticking with?

So... like you, I think the first third of book one is pretty dull. I was encouraged by a friend to simply "commit" to slog through the first book, and I was happy I did. Especially if you are spoiler free about what happens, the series is worth the investment.

GOT is less beautiful than Tolkien and much more pessimistic about humanity, but in that way, it also can feel more "real". Some of the fantasy stuff bores me or my brain just filters it out..but the detail and world building is really something. The books are WAY more complicated than the show and both have their strengths and weaknesses.

Some of the surprises in the book and show are about as surprising as anything that I have encountered in fiction... Like ...

The bad is, I don't believe Martin is ever going to finish the series. Once the show got beyond the books, some of the dangling plot threads get addressed and I can't see the incentive for him to carry on.

As for your wife... The show is occasionally VERY graphically violent and filled with unnecessary sexual content. My wife really likes the show and books but hates the porn in the show. I think HBO has figured out that LOTS of people like to watch soft-core porn and will tune in for that and stay for the story.

The medievalist in me is bothered by some of the hollywood nonsense in both book and show, but most won't notice it.

[Joneslab]

Another fantasy series I've started no less than 8 times is Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind.

Of course that series just has two books. And I really like a lot of it through page 250 or so. But for some reason I always fade around that point.

Neither here nor there, but I read some George R.R. Martin back in high school. Before he started GoT he wrote some horror; he has a novella called Sandkings that has one of the best endings of anything I've ever read. It was turned into a short when they rebooted the old Outer Limits series. The novella is flat-out great.

[KCKUKFan]

"Game Of Thrones" is an entertaining show, but half the time I have no idea what's going on or who is who. I essentially watch it for the violence and softcore porn, because fantasy as a general rule bores me to tears. "Lord Of The Rings," in particular. Ugh.

I've seen the "GOT" books, and when I flip through them out of curiosity, I couldn't imagine ever investing the time or brain capacity to reading one of those things.

I will say that once the show passed the books and the showrunners had to start doing it on their own, the show almost completely cut out any character shading or nuance, and started swinging for the explosive fences. In the last season particular, major corners were cut in the story and characters acted solely in service of moving chess pieces around the board. Since I watch it more for the fireworks, I enjoyed it, but I can understand the complaints of the longtime fans who were drawn in by the characterizations and world-building.

As far as movies I've seen recently, here goes (from what I can remember):

"Us" was a complete disappointment. It was a poor movie from a talented filmmaker, if that makes any sense. Fantastic cinematography, good performances, and some tense scenes in search of a script. The final fifteen minutes that exist solely as an exposition dump make it even more infuriating. Jordan Peele is a talented dude, but this was a bad movie on almost all fronts. An interesting failure, I suppose.

"Pet Sematary" - The acting and production values here are better than the 1989 adaptation, and it strips all of the camp from that previous incarnation. But it still wasn't enough; what made Stephen King's novel such an unbearably brutal read was the characterization. The novel existed as a meditation on grief and loss, and the supernatural stuff only worked because of the characters' pain and suffering. The screenplay for this new take doesn't spend nearly enough time on that, and instead goes from 0-60 on the spooky stuff. The last act of the film completely alters the original, and probably works a little better (at least for me). The big "switch" from the original text works pretty well, too. An interesting companion piece to this would be last year's critical darling "Hereditary" -- that movie succeeded as an examination of grief and family suffering, but failed big time when it came to the horror. This movie pretty much is the opposite.

"Shazam!" - Not going to win any awards, but it was a fun, breezy superhero take with a lot of heart. Another win for the DC universe after "Wonder Woman" and "Aquaman." They're slowly learning their lesson.

"The Highwaymen" - Good movie. Don't have much more than that.

"Captain Marvel" - It was fine, but like most superhero flicks, it evaporated from my mind immediately after leaving the theater.

[Joneslab]

"Captain Marvel" - It was fine, but like most superhero flicks, it evaporated from my mind immediately after leaving the theater.

We saw this last weekend.

Decent movie but it didn't blow me away. I thought the '90s stuff was pretty good but there probably should've been more of it. The sci-fi stuff didn't do much for me.

I did really like the last Avengers movie, which I saw on Netflix just three weeks or so ago. Looking forward to Endgame.

[KCKUKFan]

We saw this last weekend.

Decent movie but it didn't blow me away. I thought the '90s stuff was pretty good but there probably should've been more of it. The sci-fi stuff didn't do much for me.

I did really like the last Avengers movie, which I saw on Netflix just three weeks or so ago. Looking forward to Endgame.

I'm not really sure why everybody is so hyped about "Endgame." Any tension about the story or climax evaporated when the MCU announced the next five movies starring characters that disappeared with "the snap."

I'll see it, certainly, because I'm sure it will be an event. But people are acting like they don't know how it's going to end...

[Joneslab]

I don't read anything on social media about the movies. I'm not a fanboy and really don't even know who all the characters are.

But the fight scenes were cool and I have ideas about how those characters will come back, which is interesting to think about.

[Spiritof96]

"Game Of Thrones" is an entertaining show, but half the time I have no idea what's going on or who is who. I essentially watch it for the violence and softcore porn, because fantasy as a general rule bores me to tears. "Lord Of The Rings," in particular. Ugh.

I've seen the "GOT" books, and when I flip through them out of curiosity, I couldn't imagine ever investing the time or brain capacity to reading one of those things.

I will say that once the show passed the books and the showrunners had to start doing it on their own, the show almost completely cut out any character shading or nuance, and started swinging for the explosive fences. In the last season particular, major corners were cut in the story and characters acted solely in service of moving chess pieces around the board. Since I watch it more for the fireworks, I enjoyed it, but I can understand the complaints of the longtime fans who were drawn in by the characterizations and world-building.

I agree. There were still some great moments, but not nearly as interesting to me as seasons 1-5.

I will always wonder if this is how George intended things to go... Even if he does finish the books, I bet that his story will be impacted by the show story in a negative way.

[KCKUKFan]

I agree. There were still some great moments, but not nearly as interesting to me as seasons 1-5.

I will always wonder if this is how George intended things to go... Even if he does finish the books, I bet that his story will be impacted by the show story in a negative way.

Apparently, he personally gave the showrunners the outline of how the story ended. Obviously, a cliff notes type of thing, but it's the general direction that his books will take, if he ever actually finishes them.

Small nitpick: the thing I always hated about the show was Jon Snow dying and being resurrected. If we're just resurrecting dead people, it sort've takes any sting away from the "big" deaths, before or after.

[Spiritof96]

Apparently, he personally gave the showrunners the outline of how the story ended. Obviously, a cliff notes type of thing, but it's the general direction that his books will take, if he ever actually finishes them.

Small nitpick: the thing I always hated about the show was Jon Snow dying and being resurrected. If we're just resurrecting dead people, it sort've takes any sting away from the "big" deaths, before or after.

SPOILER!!! Will Lavender look away!!! Avert your eyes!!!

I agree. In his case, I think it is tied to the fantastical in story mythology. Plus... it's kind of a Stark thing.