Movie watch continued tonight with Juno, nominated for Best Picture in 2008.
Juno
Atonement
No Country for Old Men - winner
Michael Clayton
There will be Blood
I still have a couple of these to see, so we will be revisiting this list again.
Directed by Jason Reitman - his second feature. Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, and Allison Janney.
I think this is one of those films that EVERYONE was talking about and I had not seen it and then the more it became a thing, the less I wanted to see it. I always have some undefined expectations for things like that (tv, movies, music, people) that they can never live up to because I was always expecting more. I enjoyed it.
I've never seen Howard's End. But it sounds like a certain type of British film that seemed to get a lot of critical acclaim during the '80s -- Rich people spend a couple of hours doing nothing, but looking very good while they aren't doing it.
Howard's End is a little deeper than that. I love EM Forster.
I basically want to spend all day reading articles about Us, after seeing it over the weekend, but I guess my boss would frown at that? (And also, there are no answers and I don't care, so it would be a bad idea on that front as well....)
Howards End is more than that. Fairly critical look at the wealthy while still presenting them as human. Really none of the characters are simplistic, even the ones I disliked. Class and society are examined without it being too heavy handed. There are no real answers, just observations.
I loved Howard's End. Good book, too.
I remember enjoying Howard's End when it came out. Then again, I was in a different place mentally and politically at the time.
I think this is one of those films that EVERYONE was talking about and I had not seen it and then the more it became a thing, the less I wanted to see it.
That's how I feel about Titanic. I still haven't seen it. And, costume porn aside (I love that period in clothes), I'm still ok about not seeing it.
Jesse, SAME! Us was great.
Us was fantastic! Upped the scare factor and the thinkiness from Get Out, and that was a high bar.
I highly recommend the podcast Unspooled
Thanks for the podcast rec, Megan. I listened to their 3 (!) Oscar specials and laughed a ton. The two hosts have great chemistry and opinionated in a fun, not obnoxious way. Looking forward to listening to their take on various AFI 100 films!
I love Howards End but not as much as I love some of the smaller Merchant & Ivory films -- A Room with A View and The Remains of the Day remain my all time faves. The book has one of my all-time fave literacy passages (the "Only Connect..." bit, which may now come across as hackneyed but never fails to pack a punch for me.) That reminds me to finish watching the recent BBC adaptation of the book, with Hayley Atwell as Margaret (which is AMAZING casting) and Matthew MacFadyen as Henry Wilcox. I watched the first ep, and... I think my reluctance to continue may be due to my fondness for MacFadyen (loved him since his MI-5 days) and not wanting to see him as Henry fucking Wilcox, who is THE WOOOOORST.