Alexander Payne's The Holdovers (2023)

[Rottweiler30]

I think Sideways is one of the best films of the 21st century so far, and Downsizing one of the worst films Ive ever seen. So no idea which way this will go.

[HipsterTrash]

Originally Posted by Rottweiler30

I think Sideways is one of the best films of the 21st century so far, and Downsizing one of the worst films Ive ever seen. So no idea which way this will go.

You gotta watch more films if you think Downsizing is one of the worst films ever.

[Rottweiler30]

Originally Posted by HipsterTrash

You gotta watch more films if you think Downsizing is one of the worst films ever.

I usually have a good radar. Cuts out the worst of the worst.

[levcore]

I loved Downsizing, it really takes some unexpected turns (based on the concept) and does not end up being the movie i expected it to be going in.

Although i do think they could have done a bit more with the overall concept.

[mja345]

"The Holdovers" is in Payne's top 3 with "Nebraska" and "Sideways", with "Election" a close fourth IMO.

[MifuneFan]

I love this pic

[GrouchoFan]

I happened to be inside a Target on other business this afternoon, and noticed two copies of The Holdovers on the shelves of what's left of their media dept. I decided to purchase a copy with minty slipcover right then and there, not waiting to save a couple of bucks down the road; trying to encourage Target to keep selling media inside their stores, and thinking maybe if it sells a lot, the studio will step up and give us a 4K UHD down the road.

I had previously seen this film in a real theater, and absolutely loved it!

When I saw Oppenheimer, I thought, "Wow, what a masterpiece! Surely the best film of the year! Absolutely stunning, bravura filmmaking, great acting, yadda yadda, etc.."

Then I saw Killers of the Flower Moon, and I thought, "Wow, this is another masterpiece! This might be better than Oppenheimer! Great acting, stunning filmmaking, etc."

Then I saw The Holdovers. "Wow! It doesn't have the historical epic scale of Oppenheimer or Flower Moon, but...it's another masterpiece! Stunning filmmaking, great performances, a seemingly small-scale story (compared to the other two) that by the time it reaches the conclusion, takes on the characteristics of a personal epic, if that's a thing...yadda yadda, etc."

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I certainly appreciate both Oppenheimer and Flower Moon as excellent films, I friggin' LOVED The Holdovers! I hope as time passes, it's reputation will grow and it becomes more popular as more viewers discover it's magic. I do think it may have been a mistake for some of the marketing to pin this as a Christmas movie, or even as a boarding school comedy with hijinks. It's so much more than either of those. Dare I say, it's got real heart.

It's a wonderful film, my favorite of the year, and I will certainly be rooting for it to win as many awards as possible. And...it did NOT make me want to slit my wrists when it was over!

[bookcase]

I watched this on Peacock over the weekend. I thought it was great. My spouse found it completely boring, and friends who saw it in the theater said they wished they'd seen something different. It's a quiet movie, and I think it could've been trimmed a bit, but I was mesmerized by the performances and the rawness of the production.

[trentdiesel]

Originally Posted by mja345

"The Holdovers" is in Payne's top 3 with "Nebraska" and "Sideways", with "Election" a close fourth IMO.

I'd probably swap Nebraska for Election on personal taste, but man that's a solid 4 films. Also enjoyed the Descendants. Still haven't seen About Schmidt. But I think Holdovers is certainly in the conversation for his best.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by trentdiesel

I'd probably swap Nebraska for Election on personal taste, but man that's a solid 4 films. Also enjoyed the Descendants. Still haven't seen About Schmidt. But I think Holdovers is certainly in the conversation for his best.

Payne does an intro for "The Last Detail" on the BD and the UHD and man it's easy to see the influence of that movie on his films. "About Schmidt", "Sideways", "Nebraska", and "The Holdovers" all borrow elements from "The Last Detail". The elements and themes of road trips, male bonding, getting way too drunk for one's own good, finding a purpose in life, passing on wisdom to younger generations, etc. are all there. Payne is definitely keeping alive that tradition of classic road films.

[Narp]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Thought it was interesting that, in addition to the 3.0 audio and the 1.66 aspect ratio, Payne chose to process the digitally shot film with added CG dirt and specks, and also added some wobble/judder to the image, so it would look like a projected 35mm film print.

there's only a couple minutes of the entire movie with any sort of stereo separation. it's about as close to a triple mono soundtrack as you can get.

and since it's got a brickwall filter at 8khz (literally nothing above it at all), im guessing this was another attempt by the director to try and make the film sound/feel old. this is easily the worst sounding new release movie i've heard in years.

[cgpublic]

After screening The Holdovers and realizing Sideways was not in my collection, then learning it was a Fox title, ordered a sealed original 2009 release from an Amazon third-party for $14, with free Prime shipping no less.

Weeks and weeks go by, and I'm saying to myself this is OOS/P and now going for $50+ on eBay, that's that, it's never going to ship, and then...

[AKORIS]

I also watched this one on PEACOCK this weekend--- it was amazing!!! I've admired most of Payne's work with ABOUT SCHMIDT, SIDEWAYS, and THE DESCENDANTS being my favorites.

This man has such a fascinating and unique feel about people and their issues... he's really at the top as a director in this category.

THE HOLDOVERS is at the highest tier of his resume and it may be his best yet...with SIDEWAYS being the contender.

WHY are none of these films on 4k???????????????????????

Since this is Universal and they seem to love releasing 4k versions of their initial blu ray releases within 6 months I'm gonna wait for awhile before buying this... but... this may be a yearly Christmas movie for me

[JMEANS]

Saw it this weekend. Brilliant and instant classic that really surprises and captures the time period. Praying for a 4K release as this is a moving painting from start to finish and would shine on UHD.

[filmbuffTX]

I also wouldn't mind seeing the movie where

[Show spoiler]the other students don't leave 42 minutes into the film. I was enjoying the fun dynamic between those characters and felt disappointment when they left. Like, "yikes, it's just going to be these three characters for the rest of the film?" It kind of mirrored the way the main character felt. But that obviously needed to happen to get the movie we got. You wouldn't have had the character development of the three main cast. They also wouldn't have gone on that road trip to Boston.

I really liked all of the food scenes. The first dinner when the lunch lady brought out the meal of baked chicken, asparagus, and roasted potatoes. It looked so good. Like a very well made home cooked meal. You could tell she put love into the food and really tried to give them decent meals considering the otherwise unfavorable situation. She could've just served them bland cafeteria slop. You wouldn't assume early 70s prep school cafeteria food would look enticing.

[HipsterTrash]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

[Show spoiler]After screening The Holdovers and realizing Sideways was not in my collection, then learning it was a Fox title, ordered a sealed original 2009 release from an Amazon third-party for $14, with free Prime shipping no less.

Weeks and weeks go by, and I'm saying to myself this is OOS/P and now going for $50+ on eBay, that's that, it's never going to ship, and then...

I did the same. Decided to quickly look for a brand new version to get to Canada. Was able to nab a version as well and looking forward to rewatching this film after so many years.

[HipsterTrash]

Finally watched this yesterday and my god what a splendid film. I was expecting it to be as good as being one of my faves of 2023. This deserves so much more attention that it's already receiving.

[Nitroes]

4K Blu-ray https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=21834317

[mogwai_macabre]

Watched this last night with the wife, and we both loved it. Thanks to all who bought the Blu-ray to make way for the 4K.

[GrouchoFan]

I am simultaneously pleased and annoyed by the 4K announcement.