#max barbakow

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[thevelvetgoldmine]

PALM SPRINGS (2020) dir. Max Barbakow

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Palm Springs (2020)

Director: Max Barbakow DOP: Quyen Tran Production Design: Jason Kisvarday Art Direction: Tim Ford

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[adamwatchesmovies]

Palm Springs (2020)

Palm Springs is a consistently funny, well-executed time-loop comedy full of unexpected depths. I’d seen it before, called it one of my favorite movies of 2020 but was a little hesitant when my coworkers suggested we watch it together. A movie this good I don’t want to watch over and over; I want to space out my viewings so I can forget the little details and re-capture some of the surprise I got the first time. My apprehension was unfounded, as it proved just as good on a rewatch. You don’t know what you’re getting into when you step into this movie.

On November 9, in Palm Springs, Sarah (Cristin Milioti) is shocked when Nyles (Andy Samberg) - a complete stranger - gives a touching speech at her sister’s wedding. While everyone celebrates, they connect privately. The next morning, Sarah wakes up. It’s still November 9th. Nyles has been stuck in a time loop. Every morning, he wakes up and it’s November 9th. Now, it's happening to Sarah too.

You expect a certain kind of humor from this concept. Nyles has done it all so he knows exactly what dance moves everyone will pull during the wedding reception - it makes him move on the floor like no one else could - and his time in the loop has made him so nonchalant about stuff like death it’s hilarious. That’s all well done but the big laughs come from his pairing with Sarah. She’s new to this, so he has to do his best to explain to her everything he already knows about this time loop, to no avail. It gets funnier when she accepts her fate and decides to make the best of it. With their life free of consequences, they pull elaborate pranks on the wedding guests, spring expertly coordinated and rehearsed dances “out of nowhere” and find endless ways to mess around and have a good time.

With excellent performances by Andy Samberg and Cristin Milloti - who have terrific chemistry, it’s easy to think this will be a nice, breezy rom-com that eventually gets solved when…. I dunno. The two declare their love for each other and break the time-loop spell or something? but there's more to the movie. Nyles has been stuck in the time loop for so long this is his life now. While everything may reset every day, it’s a vacation that will never end. He never has to work. He can do whatever he wants and never suffer the repercussions. Nothing he does matters, and he sees it as a good thing. Every morning he wakes up in a relationship with a woman who’s cheating on him (Meredith Hagner as Misty) but he doesn’t care. In fact, he likes it. If he ever wants sex, he knows what to say to her and on the days where he finds Misty intolerable, he’ll befriend someone else at the party. What’s there not to love about this perpetual Palm Springs? As he falls for Sarah, it feels as though things have just gotten better… but they aren’t, because she’s not like him. Breaking free from the time loop could be synonymous with that stage in a relationship where you move in together, meet each others’ parents, or get married. Moving forward is scary, it carries risks, but without those risks, what's the point? Sarah understands that the uncertain is what makes life living. The way our protagonists grow and the realizations they make along the way is often upsetting, which compliments the hilarity wonderfully. This is the kind of movie you can watch over and over and always find some new detail that makes you see just how well-written it is.

Palm Springs starts off as raunchy fun and then comes at you from the side with the heavy emotions. The blend is so smooth you look back and are surprised you didn’t see it coming. It packs so much into its story and characters you’ll be shocked it only lasted 90 minutes. This is a refreshingly romantic and uproarious movie - a new favorite for everyone who sees it. (September 16th, 2021)

[agentnico]

Brothers (2024) review

May this be the end of the Brenaissance?…

Plot: Two criminal twin brothers, one trying to reform, embark on a dangerous heist road trip. Facing legal troubles, gunfights and family drama, they must reconcile their differences before their mission leads to self-destruction.

I am of course kidding - nothing will stop Brendan Fraser from eventually fulfilling his destiny of total dominance of Hollywood and becoming the ultimate No 1 A-lister, and so far with winning an Academy Award for his incredible and raw performance in The Whale as well as popping up in a memorable cameo appearance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon he’s been right on track. Brothers may be a small dip, however of all the cast members Fraser may be the only one to come out completely unscathed on the other side. In fact, Fraser in Brothers reminded me a lot of the early days quirky Fraser roles like in George of the Jungle and Bedazzled just to name a few, where he over-acts every line yet he does so in such an entertaining and endearing way that you can’t help but enjoy his shenanigans. He’s a big bear-sized goofster here, and he’s evidently having the time of his life, and when Brendan is happy then we’re happy! The guy deserves all the love, just saying.

Anyway, as for the rest of Brothers, this is a huge misfire from Amazon Prime Video. Coming from the director of Palm Springs, which in all honestly was a decent little indie Groundhog Day style rom-com, all that charm is nowhere to be seen in his new film. This seems to want to place itself in the same endearing-white-trash-crime-family sandbox as Logan Lucky, only that it doesn’t really know what to do with its narrative-centric heist other than “we gotsta find these jewels” but let’s just get distracted by random unfunny shenanigans and oh what’s that? Ah yes, it’s Josh Brolin reluctantly jacking off an orangutan. Seriously, that’s in the movie. But yes, this movie is painfully unfunny, bland and forgettable. In fact it’s a tad embarrassing for all involved, especially the main cast who have more promising things to sign up for, so one wonders why they wasted their time here. Josh Brolin especially seems like a bankable star these days - was he really that short on cash to be needing to be here?

In short, this straight-to-streaming release is destined to get lost within the endless library of Prime Video, and is not even worth watching as a casual Saturday evening viewing. Honestly, the writing is terrible, so if you’re seeking a movie about two siblings endlessly bickering, then simply revert your eyes to Step Brothers and discover all you need to know about the Catalina Wine Mixer!

Overall score: 2/10

P.S. I’ve just read up on IMDb that Brothers’ screenplay was written by Etan Cohen, who’s responsible for that Holmes & Watson parody with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly from a few years back. It’s all beginning to make sense now!

[allweknewisdead]

Palm Springs (2020) - Max Barbakow

I think your best bet is just to learn how to suffer existence.

[addictivecontradiction]

Palm Springs, 2020

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"Palm Springs" (2020) Directed by Max Barbakow (Comedy/Fantasy/Mystery)

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share directly from aseel here.

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Brothers Trailer

A reformed criminal is attempting to go straight when his twin brother encourages him on a cross-country road trip for one last score. "Dodging bullets, the law, and an overbearing mother along the way, they must heal their severed family bond before they end up killing each other." (Prime Video)

Brothers stars Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage, Taylor Paige, M. Emmet Walsh, Jennifer Landon, Brendan Fraser, and Glenn Close. Max Barbakow directs from a screenplay by Macon Blair and a story by Etan Cohen.

Brothers hits Prime Video on October 17, 2024.

[cinemedios]

Julia Roberts y Jennifer Aniston protagonizarán comedia para Amazon

Julia Roberts y Jennifer Aniston intercambiarán de cuerpo en una nueva comedia.

Amazon ha adquirido los derechos para producir una comedia protagonizada por Julia Roberts y Jennifer Aniston. Se desconocen muchos detalles, pero se le ha descrito como una película de body swap, o sea intercambio de cuerpos. La película que por el momento no cuenta con un título será producida, escrita y dirigida por Max Barbakow, será una producción de LuckyChap de Margot Robbie con Tom…

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Palm Springs (2020)

Director: Max Barbakow DOP: Quyen Tran Production Design: Jason Kisvarday Art Direction: Tim Ford

[saharzahids]

I mean, an emphatic period is just a‐ it’s just an exclamation point. I didn’t want to seem desperate.

PALM SPRINGS (2020) dir. Max Barbakow

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PALM SPRINGS (2020) dir. Max Barbakow

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PALM SPRINGS (2020) - Directed by Max Barbakow