I sincerely apologize for not paying attention to this previously released teaser-trailer for Olivia Wilde‘s Don’t Worry, Darling (Warner Bros., 9.23.22). Some kind of 1950s suburban horror tale, seemingly attuned to the sexual arousal of Florence Pugh‘s character and…it’s probably best not to speculate. The teaser is giving me a weird, funny feeling. I’m partly intrigued by Harry Styles playing the bad-guy male lead, and partly annoyed by the idea of Styles wearing dresses and pearls in concerts. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about Don’t Worry, Darling screenwriter Katie Silberman having also written Booksmart.
JUST IN: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has denied parole to Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan after more than a half-century behind bars saying the 77-year-old poses an unreasonable public safety threat. pic.twitter.com/QPqeWTvYvb
My deepest reaction to the death of Ronnie Spector was “there goes the lead singer of ‘Be My Baby,’ the early ’60s pop tune that accompanied one of the greatest main title sequences in film history.”
Everyone thinks of poor Ronnie as a marital cautionary tale, having suffered sustained psychotic abuse from longtime boyfriend and husband Phil Spector in the ’60s and early ’70s.
It’s such a shame that Phil’s genius, which launched the Ronettes into the pop stratosphere in ’63, was fused with such malignant assholery.
Honest admission: After hearing of Ms. Spector’s passing yesterday, I immediately thought of “Wait Till My Bobby Gets Home,” which of course Ronnie didn’t record — it was sung by Darlene Love, another Phil Spector protege.
I know what Gordon Willis‘s original versions of The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II look like at their best, and you can savor them by owning Paramount’s 2007 Bluray restoration. Prepared, spiffed up and visually refined by director Francis Coppola and restoration guru Robert Harris, the 2007 Bluray is one of the most beautiful and immaculate classic film restorations ever seen.
There’s a 4K UHD version of The Godfather trilogy coming on on 3.22.22, and while it represents a technical upgrade (16 bit vs. 10 bit) I’m not persuaded that it will deliver any kind of substantive “bump. ” The original films, shot at 24 frames per second, are what they are.
But I would definitely be interested in buying or renting a 60 frame-per-second 4K re-scanning [see below] because that, at least, would deliver a smoother, cleaner, eye-poppier experience — an “enhancement”, if you will, over the 2007 HD Bluray version.
Seriously, look at the 60fps 4K version below — it’s more vivid, more oomphy, an extra dynamic something or other. Look at it! This I would pay to own or rent. Not as a replacement for the 2007 Bluray version, but as an alternate version.
Another idea would be to offer 1.37:1 or “boxy” versions of The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II. In 4K, of course, or better yet in 60fps 4K. I would definitely pay for such versions. No hesitation.
“Not happening…way too laid back…zero narrative urgency,” I was muttering from the get-go. Basically the sixth episode of White Lotus Thai SERIOUSLY disappoints. Puttering around, way too slow. Things inch along but it’s all “woozy guilty lying aftermath to the big party night” stuff. Glacial pace…waiting, waiting. I was told...
I finally saw Walter Salles' I'm Still Here two days ago in Ojai. It's obviously an absorbing, very well-crafted, fact-based poltical drama, and yes, Fernanda Torres carries the whole thing on her shoulders. Superb actress. Fully deserving of her Best Actress nomination. But as good as it basically is...
After three-plus-years of delay and fiddling around, Bernard McMahon's Becoming Led Zeppelin, an obsequious 2021 doc about the early glory days of arguably the greatest metal-rock band of all time, is opening in IMAX today in roughly 200 theaters. Sony Pictures Classics is distributing. All I can say is, it...
To my great surprise and delight, Christy Hall's Daddio, which I was remiss in not seeing during last year's Telluride Film Festival, is a truly first-rate two-hander -- a pure-dialogue, character-revealing, heart-to-heart talkfest that knows what it's doing and ends sublimely. Yes, it all happens inside a Yellow Cab on...
7:45 pm: Okay, the initial light-hearted section (repartee, wedding, hospital, afterlife Joey Pants, healthy diet) was enjoyable, but Jesus, when and how did Martin Lawrence become Oliver Hardy? He’s funny in that bug-eyed, space-cadet way… 7:55 pm: And now it’s all cartel bad guys, ice-cold vibes, hard bullets, bad business,...
