Movies You've Seen Recently: Return of the Revenge of the Curse of the...

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The Shawshank Redemption: Gets called overrated because it happens to be number 1 on that silly IMDB list, and while I'm sure no one in their right mind would consider this to be anything resembling the greatest movie ever made, under all that nonsense is a very good movie. Andy was totally guilty.

The Great Mouse Detective: Probably the best of Disney's 80s efforts after the Little Mermaid, it's a lot fun and Ratigan is a good villain. The bad guys always seem to be more interesting in Disney animation than the heroes.

Rushmore: I enjoyed it, but it's the type of movie I doubt I will ever feel like watching again, unless I happen to be in a very particular mood. Schwartzman did a great job playing Max with pathetic arrogance, and Murray did his thing, which is always a joy to watch.
 
The Great Mouse Detective: Probably the best of Disney's 80s efforts after the Little Mermaid, it's a lot fun and Ratigan is a good villain. The bad guys always seem to be more interesting in Disney animation than the heroes.

I'd be hard-pressed to come up with better casting than Vincent Price himself for that role; the man's voice was truly marvelous.
 
Everyone's non-2012 2012 lists are helping me pile stuff onto my watchlist. I'll have to do one sometime soon too.

On the topic of not having seen masterpieces: eh, everyone has blindspots. Some more than others, but whatever. I get spacing them out, at the same time I've been trying to make myself able to watch more films with more baggage more often...if that makes sense. It happens almost by accident if you just watch one director's filmography, I've found.

oh, and the last few days:
Django Unchained **** Fuck capitalism.
Premium Rush *1/2
Sound of My Voice **1/2
To make my goal of 366 new-to-me movies in 2012 I'd have to watch 5 movies in the next ~2 days. Don't think I'm going to make it :/
 
Yeah so Blow-Up was completely memorizing from start to finish for me. Loved the whole amoral nature of the protagonist from the way he conducted his work and treated his subjects; and all the themes dealing with illusion and perception contrasted with the imagery of the film was incredibly well-done. I also liked the whole meta nature of how LITERALLY the camera never loses focus of the protagonist, and there's a kind of unnerving nature of how we observe the events unfold as a result, dat final shot was chilling to say the least!

It's definitely one of those films where the imagery of it all really sticks with you on a subconscious level. Pretty excited to re-watch it in the coming years and picking up on all the small details I might have missed. Also the film itself need a blu-ray treatment asap!

Looking forward to checking out Red Desert next.
 
Everyone's non-2012 2012 lists are helping me pile stuff onto my watchlist. I'll have to do one sometime soon too.

On the topic of not having seen masterpieces: eh, everyone has blindspots. Some more than others, but whatever. I get spacing them out, at the same time I've been trying to make myself able to watch more films with more baggage more often...if that makes sense. It happens almost by accident if you just watch one director's filmography, I've found.

oh, and the last few days:
Django Unchained **** Fuck capitalism.
Premium Rush *1/2
Sound of My Voice **1/2
To make my goal of 366 new-to-me movies in 2012 I'd have to watch 5 movies in the next ~2 days. Don't think I'm going to make it :/

I watched like 200 movies this year. June through Sept I only watched four movies a month tho.
 
I love the intro of this movie. The soundtrack too. Love how the backstory of John is told without any words, just a few short scenes, yet it's enough to make us understand what happened and connect on an emotional level.

I really wish Leone had lived longer and made more movies:(

The way the studios butchered Once Upon a Time in America, I think the drive and enthusiasm completely died. That shit was supposed to be his masterpiece, and that edited version is just horrible.
 
The way the studios butchered Once Upon a Time in America, I think the drive and enthusiasm completely died. That shit was supposed to be his masterpiece, and that edited version is just horrible.

Yeah. The final version is supposed to come out some time in 2013. Was supposed to be in 2012, but it got pushed back. It's supposed to be almost four hours and a half long. I'm waiting for it before buying it on blu-ray.

But from Wikipedia, he had actually wanted it to be two movies of three hours each.

The original shooting-script, completed in October 1981 after many delays and a writers' strike that happened between April and July of that year, was 317 pages in length. At the end of filming, Leone had about 8 to 10 hours' worth of footage. With his editor, Nino Baragli, Leone trimmed this down to almost 6 hours, and he originally wanted to release the film in two movies with three-hour parts.[13] The producers refused (partly due to the commercial and critical failure of Bertolucci's two-part Novecento) and Leone was forced to further shorten the length of his film, resulting in a completed (i.e. scored, dubbed, edited, etc.) film of 229 minutes.

I'm curious about the Soviet version, which was re-arranged in chronological order. Would be nice to have this option on the blu-ray, but it won't happen.

Honestly, in The Good The Bad and The Ugly, you could tell Leone wanted to make a much bigger epic movie about the American civil war. There was a lot of focus on the war but it didn't seem very relevant to the actual plot. The bridge sequence must have cost a fortune to make, but it serves no purpose other than to
have Blondie tell Tuco the name on the grave
. It was very Tarantino-like in the sense that it seemed to me like there were two movies he wanted to make, but decided to merge them together because he didn't think he would do both. I'm guessing his Leningrad movie might have been a desire to make that epic war movie.
 
Jackie Brown: Great, great movie. The first hour or so is fantastic, pretty compelling. It loses a bit of steam for about half an hour, but then it picks up until the end.
Ordell's death was pretty fucking lame, though.
 
Elephant White - crazy hitman dude named Curty Church (no, really) shoots lots of people with high calibre guns as he wages war on a Bangkok human trafficking ring. Kevin Bacon's in it. He does a London accent that can't decide if it's Australian or English. He also has an incredibly awkward action scene that fails to cover up his lack of martial arts training. The ending was super dumb (then who was phone?), the characters are either undefined or formulaic and some of the action direction was very ropey, but it was still kinda fun, for a mindless action film. The statistics about the reality of human trafficking that sombrely fade onto screen before the credits roll seemed decidedly out of place, as if cheapened by the film that preceded them.
 
I saw Jack Reacher and it was surprisingly good. Last night I watched Moonrise Kingdom because there was a thread about it here. It was good kind of dragged in the middle though. I've got Goonies to watch tonight, haven't seen it since I was a kid.
 
Jackie Brown: Great, great movie. The first hour or so is fantastic, pretty compelling. It loses a bit of steam for about half an hour, but then it picks up until the end.
Ordell's death was pretty fucking lame, though.

it's funny you should mention that because i was just checking out this interview with sam jackson last night, and he said the same thing.
"ordell's too smart to go out that way"

i popped in the dvd i bought a decade ago because i really wanted to see it again, and what the fucking fuck: IT LOOKS LIKE A VHS. i didn't even check it out on my tv either, just on my laptop. i need to get it on blu-ray.

the same thing happened to me with the dark knight, btw. i thought the ps3 was good at upscaling... the dvd looked incredibly pixellated on my tv.
 
Re-watched Love Exposure - still a fantastic movie. At nearly four hours it only drags at one part, the scene on the beach. Funny and an interesting take on Christianity and sexuality. Absolutely bat shit crazy. I highly recommend it.
 
Last few weeks I've been trying to watch films considered classics that I've never seen before, using various lists as a reference. Overall it's made for some consistently high quality movie watching lately.

The Big Sleep 4.5/5

Witness for the Prosecution 5/5 - What an ending

Mr Deeds goes to Town 2/5 - I honestly didn't like this much, Deeds came across like a douchebag

Stagecoach 4/5

The Man who shot Liberty Valance 4/5

The Odd Couple 4/5

Sleuth 4/5 - Great battle of wits

White Heat 4/5

The nutty professor 2.5/5 - Prefer the remake a lot more, this was the first jerry lewis movie I've ever seen and I'm not in a rush to watch another

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream Home 4/5

The Producers 5/5

A streetcar named desire 4/5 - Brando as Stanley is one of the best performances I've ever seen

Sleeper 1/5 - Sucked

The Usual Suspects 4/5 - I had this movie spoiled for me long ago which is why I had never seen it before I think, but it didn't hurt this viewing much since I could spot clues you may not see going into it fresh and it's a great movie overall regardless
 
I hate to muck up the thread with this, but what's a solid blu-ray player that you guys would recommend? Don't need any fancy features or 4K or apps or anything. Just something that'll play the discs :lol

Wasn't sure where else to ask and I've literally never bought a player. Just used my original PS3 for years.
 
This is 40:

I know a lot of people don't like his style but I rarely like comedies that have absolutely zero plot development, which is a lot of them unfortunately, so to me I appreciate the "drama" that Appatow adds.
Of his movies I've only seen Knocked Up, which was underwhelming, but I happened to read an interview with him recently and he seems to have a good philosophy behind his filmmaking. I enjoyed the trailer of This is 40, but probably won't see it in the theater.

Apocalypto

I'd seen Braveheart at the time, and I remember enjoying it, but I didn't see Passion of the Christ until last week, mostly just because I had no interest in Christ as a historical figure, and I think I'd been put off of Apocalypto because of Mel Gibson's persona at the time. I was at a funeral last week, it was the first time I'd been in a church for a long time, and it was the first time I'd really thought about Christ as an adult, so I finally got around to watching Passion, which was just an incredible film, so I decided I need to watch this one too. I ordered them both on blu ray, mainly because I know this films is so famous for it's visuals, it's early effective use of digital film, etc.
The whole time I was watching Apocalypto I was thinking of how ambitious it felt. Just amazing how much makeup work was done, as well as building the incredible sets.

I ought to pick up Passion of the Christ.

Jackie Brown: Great, great movie. The first hour or so is fantastic, pretty compelling. It loses a bit of steam for about half an hour, but then it picks up until the end.
Ordell's death was pretty fucking lame, though.
Such a blast. De Niro is awesome.

---

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is on TV, so sort of half-watching. I haven't seen these movies in years. Might be due for a rewatch.
 
I'd swap a few of those movies with Taxi Driver and existenz. looks like you were on a lynch kick. You seen Mulholland Drive yet aka HIS BEST MOVIE EVER MADE AND ONE OF THE BEST OF ALL TIME

Haha yeah i was on a lynch kick this year.
I had already seen Mulholland Drive & Inland Empire, but i rewatched them again.
Inland Empire was still as weird as ever, but not as disturbing the second time around.

Just need to see Eraserhead & finish season 2 of Twin Peaks =P
 
Guys, is it okay to skip the first Expendables and immediately jump to the sequel? I don't think I ever did that for any film series but based on reviews, 1 is a bore and 2 is entertaining... so why waste my time right? I mean is there anything to gain by watching the original, at all?
 
Guys, is it okay to skip the first Expendables and immediately jump to the sequel? I don't think I ever did that for any film series but based on reviews, 1 is a bore and 2 is entertaining... so why waste my time right? I mean is there anything to gain by watching the original, at all?

Personally I liked the first one better. I mean either way, you're getting an 80's style action throwback. I don't really see how someone could like the second but think the first one is bad.

But to answer your question more directly, I don't think you'd lose anything, plotwise, by seeing the second one first.
 
Alright, thanks. Already started watching the first one actually. I'm working the elliptical at the same time, this way I figure I won't have completely wasted my time if the movie sucks heh
 
I ought to pick up Passion of the Christ.
It's fantastic, even as an atheist, it ripped me apart to watch.

Although I think most people would never follow this advice, I wouldn't have had someone said it to me, I think you'd have a really special experience to see that film first time and forgo the subtitles. The dialogue isn't too pervasive, and it's always fairly transparent based on what's shown. Most people also probably know the fundamentals of the story and characters to have a complete understanding without them.
 
It's fantastic, even as an atheist, it ripped me apart to watch.

Although I think most people would never follow this advice, I wouldn't have had someone said it to me, I think you'd have a really special experience to see that film first time and forgo the subtitles. The dialogue isn't too pervasive, and it's always fairly transparent based on what's shown. Most people also probably know the fundamentals of the story and characters to have a complete understanding without them.
My parents saw it in the theater, but I don't recall hearing any impressions from them. I don't know what I would have thought had I seen it at 14 when it came out. I'm pretty sure my youth pastor showed a bit of it during one meeting and I had to sit down because I felt a bit ill. That was weird. Probably would have been somewhat overwhelming as whole. But now that I'm older and have a different view of the subject matter I'm definitely interested in finally watching the film.
 
I wish those Expendables movies were way better.

That would mean they would have to stop being a giant wink and a nudge of "Hey, remember those old movies you liked!?" and start being crafted with the kind of creative spirit that MADE those old movies we liked. It's too damn self-aware for it's own good.
 
Rain Man (Levinson)

Charlie Babbit might as well be the Replicant in this one. He and Raymond go together like peanut butter and jam, and there's a reason: they're obsessive, evasive sunnavas. It runs in the family!

I like their double act, and I like Cruise's and Hoffman's performances even better. I don't like Rain Man's middle act, which goes on way too long with useless sequences like the house visit in the Midwest, or the overextended casino montage nearing the end of the film. Tighter editing would really have helped Levinson's feature succeed in developing an interesting relationship without unnecessary baggage. Even though the depiction of autism in Rain Man is quite outdated, there's no good reason for sloppy editing, poor music selections, and the occasional overdone sentimental moment to ruin an otherwise wonderful story.

Great cinematography, a meticulous script, and perfect performances from both Hoffman and Cruise make up the movie's core, and they never let up—even when the aforementioned flaws come into effect. It's a feel-good road trip in every sense of the phrase. I had to struggle in parts to cut through the gristle, but what's there is definitely protein-rich film-making. I can't see the film succeeding without Cruise's babbling napalm mouth, nor Hoffman's physicality and calculated tomfoolery. There's a great mix of drama and comedy all-throughout Rain Man; there's also a lot of filler.

Joe Bob sez check it out!

***

•

Cul-de-sac (Polanski)

Polanski mythicizes the base-under-siege freaks' journey from seclusion to sprawling mania. What else could summarize?

I think anime director Masaaki Osumi saw this film one day and decided to base his interpretation of the Lupin III character around its central theme. Cul-de-sac doesn't focus on Dickie and Alby's crime, nor on the specifics behind George and Theresa's marriage. It haphazardly borders the edge between comedy and horror story, becoming both at once in the pivotal ending sequence. Each character, whether they like it or not, has to answer to the tide of day and the fluctuations of the Moon, and from the very start every one of them's doomed to reveal their inner natures. Cul-de-sac's title refers to the dead end each individual heads into; once they come back out, they're changed forever.

Polanski's film doesn't fully work, though. The parts featuring George's guests feel overextended, well past the point where viewers would get the point. Much of the slapstick between the three stars gets in the way of more focused character development, which is annoying because Polanski sets no precedent for oblique character development throughout. Ultimately, the story sags a bit due to oddly-paced shots and ambiguities like Albert's fate. Whether drunk or dead, his elimination sets off a game of manners between id (Theresa), superego (George), and ego (Richard), the three of which battle for control over their increasingly-weathered island.

While Repulsion, Knife in the Water, and Rosemary's Baby deal with more universal conflicts, Cul-de-sac definitely feels like a product of its time and setting, through which castes collide and everyone becomes equal against the inhumane wastes surrounding them. As if to suggest that the characters live in a cultural wasteland, worn vinyls of Komeda's gypsy jazz skip in play and chickens flutter free through the marmite nights of Gilbert Taylor's cinematography; George's friends come and go in one big group, while he, Dickie, and Theresa go it their own way. As an existential film noir, Cul-de-sac mixes post-modern context with a mystical undercurrent of flim-flam tides and the allure of medieval monasteries.

Joe Bob sez check it out!

****
 
Everyone's non-2012 2012 lists are helping me pile stuff onto my watchlist. I'll have to do one sometime soon too.

On the topic of not having seen masterpieces: eh, everyone has blindspots. Some more than others, but whatever. I get spacing them out, at the same time I've been trying to make myself able to watch more films with more baggage more often...if that makes sense. It happens almost by accident if you just watch one director's filmography, I've found.

oh, and the last few days:
Django Unchained **** Fuck capitalism.
Premium Rush *1/2
Sound of My Voice **1/2
To make my goal of 366 new-to-me movies in 2012 I'd have to watch 5 movies in the next ~2 days. Don't think I'm going to make it :/

I wonder how many new movies I watched this year. I kinda stopped keeping track a long time ago lol. I think in 2013 I'm going to try and branch out theaters. I had a bucket list thing to see as many screens in theaters as possible b4 I die. I started keeping track in September, im up to 2 theaters seeing 13 screens out of 32.
 
Notorious - A superbly acted film hurt by a poor love story. Cary Grant's character didn't mesh with Ingrid Bergman's character well whatsoever. He seemed too collected to fall for such a dramatic, obnoxious women. He also started acting far too unprofessional once her mission objective was given, but I suppose you could argue that his love was so strong he lost his cool. I also didn't like how quickly Sebastian found the broken wine bottle. I don't think the movie at any time pointed out that was the particular set of bottles that had his ore. Grant's character seemed to have simply stumbled upon it. I don't think Bergman ever gave him an exact description of the bottle for him to have an idea what to look for. Another minor complaint was some of the camera work, specifically the shot following the mother move poisoned tea cup over to the table, even when by that point it was obvious the tea was poisoned.

Complaints aside, as I said right off the acting was stupendous, particularly Bergman's use of gaze. I would have enjoyed it more without the love story or if Grant's character had been altered to make him more compatible with Bergman.
 
I must have a crappy version of Terminator on dvd...it doesnt have anything. I picked the Abyss today and i couldnt find the commentary track..

My mistake. Guess I've watched the supplemental material on those two so many times I pictured a commentary.

Aliens does, T2 does, Titanic does. The rest all have extensive BTS stuff with Cameron explaining them to death. All save for True Lies.
 
My mistake. Guess I've watched the supplemental material on those two so many times I pictured a commentary.

Aliens does, T2 does, Titanic does. The rest all have extensive BTS stuff with Cameron explaining them to death. All save for True Lies.
Rad. I need to look at the other stuff on the dvd but the making of the abyss was crazy. Im on a Cameron kick after watching Avatar so im just really looking for anything. I dont own true lies or titanic but i'll snag them up later on in the week.
 
James Cameron would not miss a chance to talk about the Titanic. His entire life is a Titanic commentary.
 
Finally got around to watching The Descent based on raving reviews from multiple members on this forum. First of all, the female cast is hot, and the friendships and interactions are more importantly believable. After the tragic beginning I quickly fastened my seatbelt for an exciting ride. By the end I was certainly not disappointed.

With that said, minor details did piss me off. The monsters inconsistent display of strength and speed was distracting. Beth's motive for leading Sarah to kill Juno is clear, yet forced. Not only that, the very fact that she is alive after a ravenous attack by multiple monsters, receiving a climbing axe through the throat, and having been left there dead to rights without light, in the damp coldness is unbelievable. By the way Beth, way to sneak up on your friend who just frantically kicked the shit out of two monsters ripping away at your flesh. You deserved a friggin Axe through your vocal cords since you lack the common sense to give a verbal warning from a distance.

And for christ sakes the constant screams of terror drove me mad. Seriously ladies, get your shit together. Stop separating, your decreasing the odds of survival. This section of the movie caused me to yell at the girls stupidity rather than praying for their safe escape. Personally, Juno was the only likable character in the movie.

The cave exploration part left me in a state of claustrophobic paranoia. Up until the first encounter with monsters was The Descent near flawless. Then came twenty frustrating minutes that needed to be there, but still detracted from the movies overall quality. The heroic emergence of Juno snapped that streak of brainless annoyance. Her unfair murder was distasteful from a viewing perspective, however, I will commend its artistic direction.

All in all, The Descent is far from your average run of the mill monster horror flick. This is an intelligent horror movie that deserves a viewing from all fans of film as a form of entertainment, and medium of artistic merit. Highly recommended.

3/4 stars.
 
I just watched THX 1138 and i loved it. Wtf at the line "I just ran over a wookiee back there on the expressway". Is that a shell dwellers or the monkey things that hang out with them?
 
Killer Joe

Well...

Thought it was decent due to the actor's perfomances, especially McConaughey shines.
Now for some fried chicken...
 
Contraband: Wow, pure love letter to Michael Mann via Gone in 60 seconds. JK Simmons is great as the ships captain, but everyone else is an utter disappointment. Ben Foster tries hard, but there is not much for him to work with, Really a formulaic script with some nice editing is about all there is. 5/10
 
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