How better to enjoy a Christmas evening than watch The Two Popes on Netflix?
With Hot Toddy. And Samosa. From Udipi.
It is a pretty good movie. Both Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins deliver satisfying performances. The dialogue is good, and the actors have good chemistry. The flashbacks work quite well, which is an added bonus.
Although it says “Inspired by actual events”, much of what was depicted never happened. But this is cinematic license. Vanity Fair has a nice article on this.
What visual did I like the most in The Two Popes?
The summer home of the Pope: Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo.
Yes, the Sistine Chapel scene is also good, and I have been there (in 2015).
I enjoyed Pryce most in Tomorrow Never Dies. Some of you may remember he was actually in Evita as Juan Peron. He was also in Glengarry Glen Ross, but Alec Baldwin (and Al Pacino and Ed Harris and Alan Arkin and Jack Lemmon and Kevin Spacey!) owned that movie.
To this day, Always Be Closing is in my Top-10 movie dialogues:
Indeed, one of my Board members also sent this to me when I was running SmartOps as a motivation. (Thanks, Bill.)
What is my most favorite Alec Baldwin movie scene?
From Malice. Do I Have a God Complex? Absolutely delicious!
Anthony Hopkins favorite role for me? Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. Here is the scene with Clarice (Starling), played by Jodie Foster:
Of course, I love Jodie Foster. She had already won an Academy Award in The Accused. I saw her first in Taxi Driver, with Robert De Niro, who I saw most recently, miscast as I wrote an earlier blog post, in The Irishman.
What movie next? Off to see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker tomorrow.
What movie did I see before The Two Popes? Richard Jewell. Decent enough, but it is not Clint Eastwood at his best.
