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I love that he's now enlisted Meryl Streep into his cadre of go-to actors. Wonder who wrote this one

Something tells me an HBO exec is gonna get a call from Soderbergh in which he reads down a list of his aspect ratio gripes from the last several years, and I'm very pleased to know that this is going to happen

The plot summary makes this sound like Soderbergh’s Woody Allen movie

Or his Lifetime movie

mfunk9786 wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 7:26 pm Something tells me an HBO exec is gonna get a call from Soderbergh in which he reads down a list of his aspect ratio gripes from the last several years, and I'm very pleased to know that this is going to happen

They have been keeping all of their newer movies in the OAR. I've been noticing this for awhile with the titles they had from Fox, but it's looking like the other studios they have deals with are doing this now as well. One of the recent movies they got distribution from, O.G. was left in it's AR, and a few of their shows are in wider formats too.

You're both wrong, it's his Book Club.

They’re both part of the Phase 3 Candice Bergen Multiverse

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 7:32 pm Or his Lifetime movie

Deborah Eisenberg has had an incredibly successful and decorated career as a writer for decades, but sure, reduce her first screenplay to that of a Lifetime movie. Certainly doesn't make this forum seem toxic toward work by female artists or anything. Thankfully it's in very good hands.

Blows me away that there was a Murphy Brown reboot during this administration. Who thought that was a good idea? Who was watching it?

Per the Lifetime comment, I was reducing, tongue-in-cheek, the synopsis, not the work itself.

mfunk9786 wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 7:36 pmBlows me away that there was a Murphy Brown reboot during this administration. Who thought that was a good idea? Who was watching it?

CBS grasping at straws, hoping the magic an Roseanne reboot could do for ABC would rub off on one of their shows.

It was really a showing of the networks not having a clue, since Roseanne had new and old fans constantly refamiliarizing themselves with that property via Netflix and non-cable syndication and, to my knowledge, Murphy Brown hasn’t aired anywhere for years and the reruns all aged like bananas even when it was airing somewhere

For many people of a certain age, this might have been their only frame of reference.

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 7:49 pm For many people of a certain age, this might have been their only frame of reference.

Haha that’s actually funny, accurate, and sounds like they actually got the original cast to do it. There, in fifteen seconds we already got all of the reunion we’d ever need

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 7:32 pm Or his Lifetime movie

mfunk9786 wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 7:26 pm Something tells me an HBO exec is gonna get a call from Soderbergh in which he reads down a list of his aspect ratio gripes from the last several years, and I'm very pleased to know that this is going to happen

They have been keeping all of their newer movies in the OAR. I've been noticing this for awhile with the titles they had from Fox, but it's looking like the other studios they have deals with are doing this now as well. One of the recent movies they got distribution from, O.G. was left in it's AR, and a few of their shows are in wider formats too.

From watching some films over the weekend HBO/Cinemax have stepped their game when it comes to showing the original intended aspect ratio of films. It's not just the Fox titles either, as I saw the black bars for films released by Focus Features, Paramount Pictures, Roadshow Attraction, and New Line Cinema.

I think what will happen is that these networks, not to mention all of the popular streaming platforms that already do this with the movies they have, will see less value in doing pan-and-scan, especially when 4K becomes the norm as far as picture clarity. P&S could become as antiquated a concept as the square tube televisions that facilitated the argument to begin with.

An interview with Streep, Bergen, and Wiest about the film. Turns out it's a Girlfriend Experience-esque "the script was an outline and all the dialogue was improvised" situation.

Great interview. It sounds like a heavily collaborative environment between the actors and Eisenberg, which is fascinating. Also, I believe this is the first mention of any sort of release date (December)?

Does this title seem a bit Wellesian to anybody else?

I'm not sure I understand what the potential Welles allusion of the title would be, but I do know that it's taken from an Elvis Costello song.

Trailer. Releases December 10th or 12th, depending on whether you trust the video or its description.

Soderbergh’s latest is deceptively a narratively-casual vacation, but in its looseness there is a lot said about the absurdity, compassion, and pain in subtle gestures of everyday human interaction. The comedy is often explored across the generational divide, or even between the two younger people here in Chan and Hedges, even if they aren’t anywhere near the talent or maturity of the seasoned vets- which seems to be a self-aware exploration. This is the funniest movie I’ve seen in a while but it’s absolutely bone dry-humor, and the best bits mimic real conversation so closely I felt like I was trapped on a ship with my mother and her liberal-intellectual boomer group. That’s not a dis, and neither is the film- in fact the bond between Hedges and Streep in particular is moving in displaying the power of intergenerational sentiment. It’s a humanistic, loving portrait of people longing for connection, and connecting in unexpected ways, trying to recover intimacy without the tools or map of how or where to klook, even after all these years, and finding something new.

A lot of praise will understandably go to Streep, Bergen, and Wiest, and they deserve it. Bergen again reminds us of her comic gifts, and Wiest slyly plays the innocent for a while, flashing surprises here and there, and delivering the best speech in the entire film, that emotionally affected me more than I anticipated (Deborah Eisenberg definitely had a strong hand in here). Of course Streep is great, and this is the most effortless performance I’ve seen from her in a while- I was laughing or gasping inside at just about every line she spoke, never dropping hints for gags but embodying a lived-in character who knows the best recipe for authentic humor is to play off her cast members- a modesty that seemingly contradicts her character’s exterior, but we can tell doesn’t contradict her soul.

Still, for the first half of the film I got the most pleasure out of the younger cast, perhaps because so much was spot-on, even the parts I wouldn’t want to admit. Even though they’re professional actors, the experimental techniques deeply reminded me of Bubble in their (anti)social execution, which cemented how awkward we are outside of Movie Magic. There is a scene mid-way through where Chan is talking to Hedges and even though the content becomes existentially tragic, it’s also painfully funny and relatable to many conversations I’ve had or heard from others. Hedges’ reaction shots are perfectly apt too, and he’s genuinely flat-out hilarious here. His naivete is louder than the older ladies, but it’s reflected across the whole group with care and precision, binding them together with affection by Soderbergh who sees them as a random sample of humanity in today’s Americana. They all rationalize behavior, engage selfishly, posture without thinking, yearn quietly, and find humility in small crevices that Soderbergh captures but most filmmakers would never dare, because he sees gold where others see extras waddling in the corner. In a sense, these are the everyday people in the background, me and you and everyone we know, and that’s the beauty of the improvisation coming from these actors: They knows their generations well enough to deliver honest performances of the common folks in the comprehensive group they belong to when they call off the act.

The older actresses have a great sense of people, and grab at all the banal-qualities-as-secret-treasures they observe to color in these characters- to show the characters we as people play on the surface and the softness beneath, like a comatose version of Twentieth Century; while the younger people don’t know enough yet, but their scattered reactions are valid personifications of their own doe-eyed wonder, confusion, half-empowered youthfulness, and potential. Streep gives a look during one of her speeches that’s impenetrable and knowingly vulnerable at once, a real response that says more in a glance than any words could. A lot of what this film is about is in what’s not said, in how Streep and Bergen can’t seem to find a time to talk, and neither try very hard, the sexual tension continuously going unaddressed. It’s the human comedy and tragedy together without extremities in either place, leaving us with existence, shot with style and edited by a man who is bursting with passion and energy for approaching anthropology from a new angle, always. [And just wait for the unpredictable late-act style-explosion from Soderbergh, another Bubble-recycling, which strikes a profound chord in step with the themes bursting to the surface beyond what can be conveyed without such a cinematic intrusion.]

This is also a film about artists, and life itself as an art form with continual possibilities of expression at every turn. There are a few jokes stemming from writers, including one about poison that killed me. And as the second half finds its rhythm, we get pockets of wisdom about resentment, forgiveness, attraction, the merits of ‘trying’ without regret, and other personal philosophies mused on; no grand truths being declared, only fleeting ideas that are powerful- not because they’re said but because they’re said and shared between two or more people. Sometimes actualizing empathetic change comes when those we care about can't physically reciprocate or receive that love. Such is life, and it's pretty grand. A miracle, as Streep would say, of consciousnesses connecting- and Soderbergh just found a groove to connect ours and theirs for two hours, performing one of his own. The final lines are just about the greatest celebration of art and life I've heard, and seem to be an incarnation of Soderbergh's ethos expressed in its most humble form.

Is this available on demand -- or does one need to subscribe to HBO?

(A more comatose version of 20th Century might be easier for me to watch than the original).

It’s on HBOMax only. But you can sign up for a seven day free trial