sfperalta

Maybe I could have enjoyed this movie more if I never saw the Meryl Streep version. First, the movie takes a long time getting to the action. After that it's just one bad decision after another, with the expedition leader (Taran Killam) seeming to meekly defer to his (clearly insane) partner at the expense of the party. The whole script seems contrived to manufacture cheap drama, but not in a clever or entertaining way that would earn the audience's emotional reaction. The relationship of the characters seems forced. I think the film makers were so enamored with the wild rapids and the fight scenes that they forgot to think about how the rest of the movie works.

I really find this movie entertaining and perhaps unintentionally humerous. Too bad it's based on a fairly good Michael Crichton novel, so must suffer in the comparison. Laura Linney is luminous as always and Ernie Hudson's take on the adventurer and expedition leader is pretty sophisticated. Tim Curry's character of the shady Hungarian seems to have been made up for the movie, as it's not in the novel. A lot of the movie is hack script writing, and filled with terrible movie tropes about the Congo, but somehow still manages to entertain. I would have loved to have seen the version with Sean Connery that Crichton wanted to make. In any case, it's worth kicking back with a bucket of popcorn and diving into this adventure.

I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy novels as a teenager in the 70's and was very excited to see this movie when it came out. Bakshi's version is actually quite decent given the limitations of animation technology at that time. Probably, like most people at the time, I was disappointed when the movie ended after the battle at Helm's Deep, but LOTR is a very long and complicated story. I think Bakshi meant to follow up with a part 2, but probably could not get the needed backing. What is there in the film is very faithful to Tolkien's story, if abbreviated due to the limitations of cinema. If anything, the story is much more watchable than Peter Jackson's overblown, 9-hour trilogy (of which I am also a fan). IMHO, though, Jackson got too wrapped up in the lore and back-story of the novels and stuffed his version too full. In any case, if you choose to watch Bakshi's version, I believe you will be entertained, especially if you are a fan of the Tolkien novels.

I hadn't watched Bargatze before until seeing him on Seth Meyer. Then I checked out his Netflix special and this guy is hilarious. Just a great story teller. His jokes are anecdotes from his life and family. He is just plain funny!! He takes deprecating jabs at himself and occasionally at extended family, but never mean-spirited or cynical. No swearing, always humorous. I heartily recommend this comedian to everyone.

To those folks who commented on a supposed "laugh track", there is no laugh track. It's an open-air venue (Universal Studios, Los Angeles) with a live audience in masks due to COVID, so their laughs are muffled and sound odd, but it is genuine LIVE laughter, not canned.

I think the title is the answer to the question "Do you know what this movie is about?" If you're thinking "Close Encounters", or "E. T." or even "Alien" or "Predator", then... Nope. Think more "Jaws". I can see where people might be confused by the pacing and the indirect references to working with animals. But if you stick with it and keep an open mind about the story, I think you'll like this. I know I did.

Peele keeps the story on a slow burner, but it's a well simmered dish when it's done.

*** Spoilers below!

The tie-in with the family show and the homicidal monkey at first seems unclear, but finally makes sense as the story unfolds.

I thought the cameraman allowing himself to be taken with his crank camera would somehow feed back into the story later (regurgitated film or something like that), but that never happened AFAICT.

The mass taking of the entire arena was where I first realized that the object was not a ship, and also where the falling objects (coins, keys, etc) starts to make sense.