This week brings a rom-com set against the backdrop of the Apollo 11 mission, an unnerving horror procedural, and a documentary about a remarkable filmmaking team.
"Lance Vespertine, NASA Director" is the spinoff we all deserve.
Remember a few years ago when everyone's read on Apple TV+ was that it was incredibly well-curated and high quality, but low quantity? I guess we can consider that problem solved.
For All Mankind basically already that show. And if Fly Me To Moon had decided to be For All Mankind: The Movie, me would be more likely to watch it, and if they had just made Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedy with Scarlett Johannsen and Charming Potato, me would watch hell out of that. But this neither fish or fowl movie just not interest me at all.
Me also worry that trailer — which really just focus on "they faked moon landing" — is just going to give more grist for conspiracy theorists in this very, very dumb conspiracy-prone age we live in.
I'm not saying I want a show about NASA. I want a show where Jim Rash shows up in a sharply tailored uniform and says "Lance Vespertine, reporting for duty!", straight to camera.
I saw Longlegs last night and enjoyed itbquite a bit. I agree with Keith on both counts that it's a creepy, atmospheric film with a plot that doesn't quite hold up to scrutiny. The film definitely has some intentional humor, but my theater had a smattering of awkward laughter during scenes that didn't seem to warrant it. Nic Cage is so gonzo throughout (like Heath Ledger's Joker crossed with Tiny Tim) that it's hard not to admire the audacity of his performance and the film as a whole.
The marketing hinted at a smarter and deeper plot than we actually got. The motive was a lot more straightforward than I expected, while the murder mechanism was kind of goofy. It's a great example of how good directing, acting, and production design can be let down by a script that doesn't stick the landing, even if the director is also the screenwriter.
Keith, I'm curious about your take on the wisdom and/or morality of a big-budget movie that more or less endorses a persistent conspiracy theory in our current age of such rampant, dangerous misinformation. I have to say, whatever the charms of FLY ME TO THE MOON, I've been put off by the premise ever since first seeing the trailer. Like, violently put off.
So, they don't fake it. The twist is that they trick Harrelson's character into thinking they're broadcasting the fake moon landing when they really broadcast the real moon landing. No, it doesn't make that much sense, but neither does the idea that the government would want to broadcast a fake moonlanding in the first place.
Like you, I've started thinking of conspiracy theories as more dangerous than nutty or fun. But this didn't really feel icky in the way it might have felt. Really, though, it's a better movie if you just throw that element out. And decide on what kind of movie you're making in the first place.
I dunno man.....crazy people gonna crazy......did the remaining Beatles stop making music after Chapman thought he heard messages in their music, leading to Lennon's murder, or Scorsese never to make another violent film after the assassination attempt on Reagan?
I saw Longlegs last night. Very good. Zodiac and Seven as reference points for sure, but I also felt a bit of Kurosawa's Cure and Twin Peaks: The Return in there.
As a Powell & Pressburger nut, I’m curious if you know how/when Made in England will be released. I’m so bummed I missed the retrospective in England, New York and will also miss it in LA but I’m excited to see this!
Not funny enough to be a comedy, not heavy enough to be a drama -- I mean, that sounds like prime dramedy material the way you describe it. I love me a good dramedy (I still miss Northern Exposure in its prime) - is it me that's missing something or you?
Boy did Longlegs live up to the insightful review. Perkins has an uncanny knack for images that unsettle without being overtly violent — there's a scene where Monroe is sitting with an open door behind her that practically had me white-knuckling my armrests free from the seat.
It is indeed excellent and the doc spends plenty of time on it (and all of their other films, really). My favorite stretch of the film deals with how P&P made films during wartime, complicating stories that have a requisite propaganda.
That's A good on watched it for the first time recently--and Laurence Olivier has THE oddest accent going in that one--almost took me out of the film, honestly. Don't know if his performance is a feature or a bug.
I loved the mood of Longlegs, and I probably could have even forgiven the plot not really adding up to much, but for such a grim move, did the ending kind of pull its final punch? If it had really committed and gone full, you know, Possession or whatever—just a total, apocalyptic downer where nobody gets out intact—I think that would have dragged the movie over the finish line for me. Great vibes in general, but I think I needed it to be even *more* bleak to really, fully work.
"Lance Vespertine, NASA Director" is the spinoff we all deserve.
Remember a few years ago when everyone's read on Apple TV+ was that it was incredibly well-curated and high quality, but low quantity? I guess we can consider that problem solved.
For All Mankind basically already that show. And if Fly Me To Moon had decided to be For All Mankind: The Movie, me would be more likely to watch it, and if they had just made Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedy with Scarlett Johannsen and Charming Potato, me would watch hell out of that. But this neither fish or fowl movie just not interest me at all.
Me also worry that trailer — which really just focus on "they faked moon landing" — is just going to give more grist for conspiracy theorists in this very, very dumb conspiracy-prone age we live in.
I'm not saying I want a show about NASA. I want a show where Jim Rash shows up in a sharply tailored uniform and says "Lance Vespertine, reporting for duty!", straight to camera.
---------THIS------
Longlegs sounds more like The Blackcoats Daughter than I am the pretty thing that lives in the house. That has me excited to see it!
I saw Longlegs last night and enjoyed itbquite a bit. I agree with Keith on both counts that it's a creepy, atmospheric film with a plot that doesn't quite hold up to scrutiny. The film definitely has some intentional humor, but my theater had a smattering of awkward laughter during scenes that didn't seem to warrant it. Nic Cage is so gonzo throughout (like Heath Ledger's Joker crossed with Tiny Tim) that it's hard not to admire the audacity of his performance and the film as a whole.
This description of Cage's performance has me so excited. Seeing it tonight!
"Creepy, atmospheric film with a plot that doesn't quite hold up to scrutiny" has been my experience with Perkins's films so far.
The marketing hinted at a smarter and deeper plot than we actually got. The motive was a lot more straightforward than I expected, while the murder mechanism was kind of goofy. It's a great example of how good directing, acting, and production design can be let down by a script that doesn't stick the landing, even if the director is also the screenwriter.
Down With Love indeed rules!
Keith, I'm curious about your take on the wisdom and/or morality of a big-budget movie that more or less endorses a persistent conspiracy theory in our current age of such rampant, dangerous misinformation. I have to say, whatever the charms of FLY ME TO THE MOON, I've been put off by the premise ever since first seeing the trailer. Like, violently put off.
** SPOILER WARNING ***
So, they don't fake it. The twist is that they trick Harrelson's character into thinking they're broadcasting the fake moon landing when they really broadcast the real moon landing. No, it doesn't make that much sense, but neither does the idea that the government would want to broadcast a fake moonlanding in the first place.
Like you, I've started thinking of conspiracy theories as more dangerous than nutty or fun. But this didn't really feel icky in the way it might have felt. Really, though, it's a better movie if you just throw that element out. And decide on what kind of movie you're making in the first place.
I guess that's fair, if just for the ones who actually go see it. I did laugh at the line in the trailer about how they should have gotten Kubrick.
I dunno man.....crazy people gonna crazy......did the remaining Beatles stop making music after Chapman thought he heard messages in their music, leading to Lennon's murder, or Scorsese never to make another violent film after the assassination attempt on Reagan?
I saw Longlegs last night. Very good. Zodiac and Seven as reference points for sure, but I also felt a bit of Kurosawa's Cure and Twin Peaks: The Return in there.
Good calls. Both convey this sense that something fundamentally has gone wrong with the world.
As a Powell & Pressburger nut, I’m curious if you know how/when Made in England will be released. I’m so bummed I missed the retrospective in England, New York and will also miss it in LA but I’m excited to see this!
Cohen Media Group has distribution in the states and you can find info on dates here: https://cohenmedia.net/product/made-in-england-the-films-of-powell-and-pressburger
Thank you. Alas, it didn’t look like I’ll be able to catch a screening. Hopefully comes to VOD before too long.
Not funny enough to be a comedy, not heavy enough to be a drama -- I mean, that sounds like prime dramedy material the way you describe it. I love me a good dramedy (I still miss Northern Exposure in its prime) - is it me that's missing something or you?
Boy did Longlegs live up to the insightful review. Perkins has an uncanny knack for images that unsettle without being overtly violent — there's a scene where Monroe is sitting with an open door behind her that practically had me white-knuckling my armrests free from the seat.
I'm curious whether anyone has seen (and likes) P&P's film 49th Parallel.
I think it's terrific and deserves to be more well known. Also curious whether the doc spends any time on it.
It is indeed excellent and the doc spends plenty of time on it (and all of their other films, really). My favorite stretch of the film deals with how P&P made films during wartime, complicating stories that have a requisite propaganda.
That's A good on watched it for the first time recently--and Laurence Olivier has THE oddest accent going in that one--almost took me out of the film, honestly. Don't know if his performance is a feature or a bug.
I loved the mood of Longlegs, and I probably could have even forgiven the plot not really adding up to much, but for such a grim move, did the ending kind of pull its final punch? If it had really committed and gone full, you know, Possession or whatever—just a total, apocalyptic downer where nobody gets out intact—I think that would have dragged the movie over the finish line for me. Great vibes in general, but I think I needed it to be even *more* bleak to really, fully work.