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I watched On the Count of Three on Hulu last night. I'd never heard of it, but I picked it out because I thought it was a 2022 movie, and I wanted to broaden what I've seen this year. Turns out it was 2021, so it's not going on my top 10 list. Would've made last year's, though!
But before I say any more, this movie deals with suicide -- a LOT. If you think you'll find that triggering, please don't watch it.
That said, this story of two young men who delay their impromptu suicide pact to live one more day is terrifically watchable in all the right ways. The friendship between Val and Kevin is casual and lived-in; you feel like these guys really do have a couple decades of history between them. They're funny and likable, and their pain is palpable, both when they face it and as they try to keep it at arm's length. They've been betrayed by the world, and what are they gonna do about it?
I haven't seen Christopher Abbot or Jerrod Carmichael in anything before; this is also Carmichael's feature film directing debut. You can bet I'll be looking for more from both of them in the future.
Jerrod Carmichael was the lead in The Carmichael Show (2015–2017). It had three seasons (32 episodes) on NBC. As IMDB says, his character has a "very opinionated family." I found it to be a very funny show. Like On the Count of Three (which I need to watch), it's available on Hulu.
Jeff of Earth-J said:
I did not know that. I have only one Lambert, Hendricks and Ross album, Everybody's Boppin'. The trio is probably best-remembered for their rendition of Walt Kelly's Deck Us All with Boston Charliefrom Pogo.
The IMDB tells me she also dubbed Sarah Douglas in parts of Superman II. Apparently Douglas's voice is used more in the Richard Donner version.
Thanks, Richard -- I'll check it out!
We just watched The Northman and quite enjoyed it. Of course I did, given that it's based primarily on the legend of Amleth as written by Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, and I do love me some Vikings. But Joan loved it too, given the mystical/pagan/witch elements, which she enjoys. Wikipedia informs me that the Amleth saga is also the basis for Shakespeare's Hamlet, which I did not know.
If this sounds familiar, it's because I posted in the wrong place -- TV -- and am putting it in the right place now.
I think it’s worth mentioning that Bill Finger was one of the screenwriters for The Green Slime. Saw this as a double feature with Wild, Wild Planet at the drive-in when I was a kid.
Its Love I'm After (1937)
The title wouldn't have attracted me, but IMO you can't go wrong with a Bette Davis movie. especially from her younger years. She and Leslie Howard* are playing against type in a laugh-out-loud comedy (really). Howard is funnier as a famous actor constantly pursued by women (who usually catch him). Davis is his acting partner and lover/enemy. She holds up her end, but he and his dresser/butler provide most of the laughs. Olivia de Havilland** plays the latest starstruck young girl, engaged to another, who wants him desperately. The actor (who just got engaged to his lover) and the girl's fiancé conspire to change the girl's mind. Lots of hijinks ensue. Watched it on TCM
*He who would later play the idiot whipped by Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, who would die heroically for the unnamed KKK.
**Who also had a wimpy role later in GWTW.
DARK SHADOWS (2012): For Hallowe'en. Tracy wanted something light. We had see it only once before, in the theater. It's one of those adaptations that utilizes the original characters, but grafts a new story onto them. I am impressed by the production values and the sets and locations, but am saddened that Dark Shadows now exists in public perception only as a spoof.
Oh, right, I meant to mention that! That's what drew me to the movie in the first place! (Tom Peyer mentioned it on Twitter, and I went right to TCM to check it out!)
Dave Palmer said:
I think it’s worth mentioning that Bill Finger was one of the screenwriters for The Green Slime. Saw this as a double feature with Wild, Wild Planet at the drive-in when I was a kid.
Watched the new All Quiet on the Western Front. I've never read the book or seen the 1930 adaptation that won a couple of Oscars, but I was somehow familiar with the outline of the plot. Anyway, this version was made by Germans, and we watched it in German with English subtitles. (Otherwise the mismatch between lips and words gets distracting for us. YMMV)
And boy howdy, was it ever good. Like with 1917, the production standards were so good that I felt like I was immersed in 1) 1917 and 2) The Great War. Which is not a happy thing, nor is it a happy movie. But it's verdammten gut.