Happy Tuesday everybody! It’s a short week with the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, and thank God we got an extra day off in the coldest weekend of Minnesota Winter. Well I sure hope this is as cold as it gets, with temps reaching double digits BELOW ZERO. We barely made it to zero the past couple of days! But hey, it’s gonna be in the 20s tomorrow, heat wave! 😛
Well, since I haven’t been doing a Weekend Roundup post in a while, I thought I’d share with you what I’ve been watching this weekend…
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I’m not going to review Sicario as Ted has already done it here. But here’s my reaction:
Finally saw @SicarioMovie & my nerve’s stretched to its snapping point. Gripping from start to finish, wow!
— FlixChatter (@FlixChatter) January 17, 2016
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I wish I had seen Sicario sooner, it’d surely make my top 10 list! Oh, and Benicio Del Toro was surely robbed of a Best Supporting Actor nomination!
Marie Antoinette was pretty interesting but it’s way too s-l-o-w and it felt so repetitive as for a while the film just didn’t go anywhere. It seems that Sofia Coppola is a hit and miss and this is certainly no Lost in Translation. I think I probably enjoyed it a bit more as I’m intrigued by French history but under a different director I think the film would’ve been a much better film.
Kirsten Dunst was surprisingly good in the title role though, and I did like the use of modern music in some of the scenes, but overall the movie is rather meh. Wish Stanley Weber had played Marie’s lover Count Axel Fersen instead of Jamie ‘Christian Grey’ Dornan. Stanley might still be in acting school back in 2006 but heck, I think he could still pull it off, I mean he IS French and quite a seductive one, I might add 😉
No doubt it was bittersweet watching Alan Rickman as Col. Brandon once again in Sense & Sensibility. I had to admit I teared up a bit when he showed up on screen for the first time… I wrote a tribute for him this weekend, I shall miss him dearly. As for 45 Years, it’s such a delicate and beautifully-told story that shows how delicate love truly is. Charlotte Rampling is wonderful, her Oscar nomination is well-deserved.
So about those links…
Keith reviewed 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. I was as surprised as he was that this wasn’t another crappy Bayhem, I think he did the story justice. (Check out my interview w/ the three soldiers who lived it)
I’ll be participating in Cindy’s Lucky 13 Film Club next month, woo hoo! Check out next month’s topic and hope you’ll participate!
Reviews galore… Steven and Ian reviewed The Revenant, Mike reviewed the indie sci-fi 400 Days, and Vinnie reviewed The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (Speaking of 400 Days, check out my Q&A with the writer/director Matt Osterman)
A couple of awesome music-related lists! Chris picks his top 10 best albums of 2015 and Margaret lists her picks of 10 best film tracks of 2015.
Last but not least, Dan wrote about Tom Hardy winning Best British/Irish Actor of the Year at London Critics’ Circle Award. Woo hoo!! Definitely well-deserved, let’s hope he wins an Oscar too!
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Music Break
This music break is dedicated to Glenn Frey, one of the founding members of The Eagles who just passed away. Yes, another rock royalty has left us… boy it hasn’t been a good start to the new year has it? 😦
I love what the author of this CNN article (who wrote the biographic To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles) said… “The passing of Glenn Frey both recalls and closes the book on one of rock’s most celebrated rock ‘n’ roll songwriting teams, but for many of us it also signals something more personal: the passing of a time when the Eagles’ “Hotel California” was the anthem for the youth of America in the ’70s — the way Beatles music was for the children of the ’60s…[Hotel California] described both the band’s self-destruction by excess, its awareness of that self-destruction and its inability to stop it. (‘You can check out any time, but you can never leave. …’).”
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Hotel California is certainly my favorite from The Eagles, and also one of my favorite songs from the 70s. There’s something so eerie in the poetically-mesmerizing lyrics that always hypnotized me every time that song came on the radio. It also has a cinematic quality in that I somehow visualize the song every time I heard it.
Rest in peace, Mr. Frey.
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Hope you enjoyed today’s music break!
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FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
I heard the news of Frey’s passing and I was like….. “OH FUCK NO!!!! WHY?!!!!” I hate 2016 already.
Sorry you didn’t like Marie Antoinette as it is considered her most polarizing film though I loved it personally.
It’s just been too much sad news and they seem to come in droves!!
I didn’t dislike Marie Antoinette entirely, I think there are some interesting moments, but I feel that it’s too indulgent in Sofia Coppola’s part and so unfocused at times.
I think it was sort of meant to be indulgent and the repetition of the film I wasn’t surprised about since Sofia went for a different approach that really played against the rules of bio-pics. It took me repeated viewings to see what she was going to do.
Great to hear you finally caught up to SICARIO. Easily, one of my favorites for 2015, and robbed by the vaunted Academy (especially Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro). So sad to hear of Glenn Frey’s passing.
Hi Michael! Wish I had seen it sooner. Sicario is amazing, definitely overlooked by Academy (ha, that seems to be a trend, eh?) If only they nominate Del Toro in this AND Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina (as well as Elba in Beast of No Nation) which are all very worthy performances, they wouldn’t have to worry about the backlash of #OscarSoWhite
Yeah, I can’t believe we lost so many great artists lately.
I still need to see Sicario. Double Digits below zero? Brrrrr…um…no thanks.
RIP Glenn Frey
It’s streaming now on iTunes Dell. It’s a must-see! Ahah, well the nice thing is, now that it’s in the 20s, it actually feels warm! 😀
Love the lyrics to Hotel California.
Sounds like you had a great weekend of movies. Of your four picks, I’ve seen Sicario … crazy intense ending!
Hello Eddie! Yeah the lyrics of Hotel California is even better than the melody I think. Sicario is excellent isn’t it? That ending is intense!
I like Sicario, maybe not as much as other people but the performances are great. 😀
I have a penchant for stories about drug cartels. I thought the direction of Sicario was excellent, very suspenseful & mysterious, a modern crime noir.
So much sad news. I wasn’t a huge Eagles fan but I did really like Glen Frey.
So glad you saw and loved Sicario. I’m such a huge fan of that movie.
Hello Keith! I’m not a huge Eagles fan either but I do love some of their songs, esp Hotel California. I remember how much you loved Sicario, I’d have put that (and Phoenix) on my top 10 of the year, too!
Coppola’s Marie Antoinette I have mixed feelings about, the production design, costumes and soundtrack are awesome, but the screenplay is so-so. I can certainly understand why you felt it was slow.
Sad news about Glenn Frey, The Eagles are a great band that stand the test of time. Thanks for the link!
Hi Chris! I think the look & feel of Marie Antoinette is lovely, but it’s just way too indulgent and all over the place. I really want to love it, but I think ppl who aren’t so into French history might not enjoy it as much either.
Yeah, The Eagles’ songs are iconic aren’t they? Plus they’re so beautifully poetic.
That’s sad news about Frey, 2016 is not starting off as a good year. Once again, thanks for featuring a shout out to me. Marie Antoinette is liked you said somewhat mixed. It looks lovely but at times as you said it can drag. Dunst was wonderful as the young impressionable girl who becomes queen and is totally unprepared for it. I liked the whole modern soundtrack, made it very fun.
Hi Vinnie! You’re most welcome, your reviews are great man, even if we don’t always agree about the movie 😉 I like Dunst as Marie Antoinette, she’s actually quite mesmerizing in the role. The music is fun too, I might feature some of the songs in the next Music Break 🙂
You are too lovely to me. The songs I love from the soundtrack are Hong Kong Garden and Kings of the Wild Frontier.
Cool! I really like ‘Fools Rush In’ and the scene it appears in.
Coppola really is great with her soundtracks. I love the one for The Virgin Suicides, from the electronic band Air.
I still need to see Virgin Suicides. It’s not overly depressing is it?
I would say that it is definitely filled with melancholy, but it has a mysterious edge to it as well. Here’s the trailer.
Hey thanks! I might give this a watch, I think it’s on Netflix.
I take it that the trailer intrigued you.
Yeah, it did, hopefully I like the film too 🙂 Funny seeing how young Josh Harnett was in this movie!
I’m sure you’ll find it very intriguing. Hartnett portrays the heartthrob of the story.
Ruth, hope you are warmer. Brrrr. The Eagles were always in the background of my teenage and adult years. Sorry to hear about Glen Frey. As for Sicario, I just watched this for the first time the other night, and I thought the same thing. Benicio Del Toro was outstanding. Certainly deserved some kind of recognition. I’m really happy you’re on-board for Feb 13 and hope we get some female participation. Feels like all I do is deal with masculine films.
Hey Cindy, well it’s in the 20s now so yeah, it’s almost 30 degrees warmer than we were this weekend, ahah. The Eagles was as influential as even The Beatles was a decade earlier. Oh cool you just saw Sicario too! Del Toro was amazing, I love how mysterious his character was and I read that he cut most of his dialog to keep the suspense about he was, which was brilliant!
Ahah, I think I watch just as many *masculine* films as the girly ones, though my go-to ones are definitely more female-driven films.
I threw Sense and Sensibility in my Netflix queue the other day, I’ve actually never seen it. I’m glad you liked Sicario. It’s one of my favorites this year too.
Oooh I can’t wait to hear what you think of it. It’s become my favorite film of all time, as the more I watch it the more I fall in love w/ it and the characters. Sicario is terrific, certainly one of the best of 2015!
What is it with the death of these music legends!!!
I know we already talked about this on Twitter…but I’m so in for Sicario! I can’t wait to be unnerved.
Yeah I know! It’s so devastating! Man you’ll be in for a ride w/ Sicario. It was so intense at time I had to hide under a blanket just keep my cool. It’s not as gory as I thought thankfully, but still I was at the edge of my seat the entire time.
I absolutely loved Sicario! I’m glad you got to see it, and you should update your top 10 to reflect that haha! It will definitely make my top 10, top 5 easily.
Ahah, well if I did I’d have to add Phoenix too which I thought was brilliant. But yeah, I could see Sicario ending up in my top 5 as well. It’s one of the best modern crime noirs. Now I’m VERY excited for Blade Runner under Villevue’s direction.
Even though they probably kill Ford’s character in that ungodly sequel in which case I’ll find Ryan Gosling and punch him in the face
Wait, is Gosling for sure gonna be in BR2??? I hadn’t been following the development but man, I’d bludgeon him too if he kills Ford in the sequel!! Heh, what a poor replacement for such an iconic actor. I think if it were Tom Hardy then maybe it’d still be more tolerable.
Oh yeah. He is confirmed. He even approached Harrison to talk to him about it during Globes, lucky bastard was at the same table as he was. Hardy is literally the only possible replacement for Ford in all things
Oh geez. Lucky bastard got to sit in the same table as a legend!! Yep, I wouldn’t even mind Hardy as Indiana Jones even though that is one role I can’t imagine ANY ACTOR topping Ford, I really think they should put the kibosh on the whole project IMHO.
Thank you for the link! Glad you loved Sicario, I almost fainted on the way home the movie was so intense
Hi Margaret! Wow, if it was intense for YOU imagine how I felt, ahah. I pretty much hide under the blanket during some of the scenes, esp that shootout in the highway! But even the quieter scenes w/ Del Toro are soooo intense. I’m glad I didn’t see it in the theater but boy, it’s such a fantastic thriller.
Glad you got to see Sicario; one of the best of 2015 for me. Intelligent, nail biting cinema with excellent turns all round.
Hi Mark, are you back from Iceland? Yes, glad I finally caught Sicario, man it’s excellent indeed. I LOVE the soundtrack too, gotta feature that soon on the next Music Break.
Yep, back from the land of ice. It was glorious! Thoroughly recommend it 🙂
Awesome!! I’d love to see pics from your trip. Iceland is on my bucket list, surely it was glorious indeed.
My reaction to Sicario was the same as yours. My nerves were stretched to their limit! 🙂 Terrific movie.
Glad to hear! I’m glad it was more tense and suspenseful but not gory, despite some really bloody scenes. It’s certainly one of the best of 2015!
I am curious about 45 Years, it looks good and Charlotte Rampling is always a good actress. Glad you liked Sicario, I thought it was pretty good too!
45 Years is a well-written love story, but it’s slow so it definitely requires patience. Sicario is excellent, certainly one of the best of the year!
If you say that, then yes I may wait to see that till it comes out on video. Yes Sicario was so good and I was literally on the edge of my seat too. Definitely Ruthable lol.
He..he.. yes it’s got my stamp of approval though it was SO intense at times I was literally hyperventilating! Del Toro was robbed of an Oscar, heh.
Del Toro was certainly robbed of an Oscar nod, as was Alan Rickman more than once. 😦 Can’t wait to see 45 Years!
I know!! I couldn’t believe it after I saw it that he wasn’t nominated. I think Oscar Isaac was robbed too in Ex Machina. Yeah too bad they didn’t get a chance to give Rickman a Lifetime Achievement Award 😦