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Movies You've Seen Recently III: The Third Chapter

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Another week, another post about that Hollywood cinema course I'm doing. This week: Introduction to color.

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936) - First movie to be shot on three-strip technicolor on an outside location. Fun to see how they based coloring scenes around the costumes of the actors (especially the leading lady). The film itself: Some individual scenes were fine, but overall it was a mess and just not very good **
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - Fun! Adventure! Thrills! Yeah, this was great. Very colorful, action packed and incredibly entertaining ****

~~

Watching A Woman Under the Influence drained me emotionally. Christ, what a great film. What other Cassavetes movies should I watch? *****
 
DjRoomba said:
Blu rays suck, I dont know why people dont say it more often. Move weird (different frame rate than were used to in Pal territories?), not that much advantage over DVD, in many cases digitally altered to be "clearer" which does not help the film.
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Try to see a movie in Blu-Ray and DVD with a 100'' screen. Even a good DVD version makes your eyes sore.
 
saw into the wild and loved it, great movie, great performance by Hirsch and great OST. Dude (the real one) has basically the same opinion about mankind that I have, I just don't have the balls to do what he did.
 
DjRoomba said:
Blu rays suck
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I'll break this down part by part.

DjRoomba said:
Move weird (different frame rate than were used to in Pal territories?)
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Correct. Films on Blu Ray are 24fps vs PAL DVD at 25fps. The thing is though, every western movie you watch is supposed to be viewed at 24. That's what it'd be shot in. Furthermore, if you ever watch a film in-cinema, that'd be at 24fps too so I'm not sure why it'd be such a huge jump by watching home video at 24.

DjRoomba said:
not that much advantage over DVD
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PAL DVDs are as you've said, higher resolution than NTSC video. It's 576px tall. But Blu Rays are 1080px tall, almost double the vertical resolution. Horizontal resolution is even worse. You're effectively getting 720px of horizontal resolution regardless of aspect ratio. BluRay's 1920px is far higher - quite a bit more than double.

DjRoomba said:
in many cases digitally altered to be "clearer" which does not help the film.
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Correct, but only for very few films, almost all of which would be re-releases. I'd say around 80% of Blu-Ray's these days are released with care and respect. Most don't receive any kind of digital smoothing or grain removal. It's worth double checking by taking a look at a review, but generally speaking there are some pristine films out there that retain strong grain structure and fine detail. Films like Blade Runner, Se7en, Skyfall, Star Wars OT, The Social Network all look gorgeous on Blu Ray.

DjRoomba said:
I can definitely say on my 50 inch plasma I have never seen a dvd look even a little blurry
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I know that feeling. I have a 50 inch plasma and yeah, I think DVDs look fine on them, and if you think so too you shouldn't be in any rush to pickup a Blu-Ray player. But seeing the comparison of Blu-Ray vs. DVD on something like a 50" plasma - Blu-Ray is clearly far superior. Blu-Rays sometimes pop better than they would in a cinema. They can be gorgeous.
 
Is there a website that documents all the post-credits stingers or scenes in movies?

I noticed them starting with Marvel movies, and had my guard up so would always stay for the credits in any movie after.

Sometimes, I will check up on my phone during credits to see if there's post credits in a movie. It'd be nice to know ahead of time.
 
Messofanego said:
Is there a website that documents all the post-credits stingers or scenes in movies?

I noticed them starting with Marvel movies, and had my guard up so would always stay for the credits in any movie after.

Sometimes, I will check up on my phone during credits to see if there's post credits in a movie. It'd be nice to know ahead of time.
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Maybe something like http://aftercredits.com/
 
Kon tiki- 9/10

Amazing story about a Norwegian scientist trying to prove Polynesians came from Peru by raft by attempting to do it himself. Watch it in hd. There were many times when I said wow because of the visuals. There is this one shot that fucking blew me away (it zooms out from the raft and shows earth, then the milky way, then goes all the way back to the raft) it brand a tear to my eye it was such an amazing scene and moment. Watch this movie

Flight 9/10

The movie surprised me by its focus. From the previews I thought it was going to be some sort of court thriller about how he happened to be drunk while saving the near catssrophic crash. Rather, the movies focus was alcoholism. Another emotional movie that got me in more than one scene. Denzel is great. Jon goodman is hilarious. Don cheadles performance was also standout. It's a great movie because it taught me something, that you can only be free if you cut the bullshit and own up to your mistakes, Denzel's character had a lot of (good and semi logical) excuses, but ultimately realizes that it wasn't the answer. Loved it.
 
DjRoomba said:
Blu rays suck, I dont know why people dont say it more often. Move weird (different frame rate than were used to in Pal territories?), not that much advantage over DVD, in many cases digitally altered to be "clearer" which does not help the film.
Click to expand...

Move weird? I watch movies on my projector and if it's a standard quality DVD the experience is completely different experience from watching a high def movie. The frame rate is the same unless your watching the hobbit or have hertz going on with your tv, or your player can't hang. DVD quality is straight up muddy looking.


As you just talking about rereleases of old movies not shot in hd? Because youre right that it can be hit or miss, predator being a bad example and Jurassic park being a good one.
 
Do the Right Thing 3.5/5

Sal basically pays for everyone else's mistakes and ridiculous notions of white supremacy. He says nigger and now his livelihood is forfeit. Spike Lee's Mookie incites a riot that directly contrasts with the film's closing quotes regarding violence. Then, he goes back the next day and gets his money. Sal not only pays him his salary, but gives him extra money. Why?

Why is it Sal's fault that Radio was killed?

Can someone shed some light on Lee's motivations with this film? This film was a 4 for me until the third act.
 
Expendables 2: Huge improvement over the first one but still pretty bad. Van Damme and Lundgren were great, Chuck Norris and Schwarzenegger were cringeworthy.

I don't get why Jet Li was in this at all if he was just going to disappear right away.
 
TheKaeptain said:
Mookie did the right thing!
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haha, there's the rub. I don't think he did. I think he thinks he did, and I think Lee thinks he did, but Lee actually playing Mookie makes me think he thinks that's justice, and I think that's stupid.

The resolution is far from the right thing. Mookie turns from a generally good guy to a punk bitch who turns his back on the dude who is giving him a chance to buy his way out of his shitty lifestyle.

I think.
 
Thug Waffle said:
haha, there's the rub. I don't think he did. I think he thinks he did, and I think Lee thinks he did, but Lee actually playing Mookie makes me think he thinks that's justice, and I think that's stupid.

The resolution is far from the right thing. Mookie turns from a generally good guy to a punk bitch who turns his back on the dude who is giving him a chance to buy his way out of his shitty lifestyle.

I think.
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Mookie saved his life! The crowd was turning their attention to Sal and his boys but by throwing the trash can Mookie gave them an outlet for their anger. It's the whole point of the conversation the next day when Mookie talks about insurance covering the cost for the damage.
 
TheKaeptain said:
Mookie saved his life! The crowd was turning their attention to Sal and his boys but by throwing the trash can Mookie gave them an outlet for their anger. It's the whole point of the conversation the next day when Mookie talks about insurance covering the cost for the damage.
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Okay, I can see that. I don't know for sure that Mookie saved his life, but okay. That makes it a bit better because Sal doesn't care about the money. He was upset that he lost something he built from the ground up. But he wasn't likely to get any business in that neighborhood anymore, so he would have gone out of business anyway. Thing is, he said earlier that he had enough money already to sell the place, pick up and move, he just didn't want to.

I think it's funny that - if Mookie saved his life - then we are supposed to assume that this crowd of low income African Americans was going to kill three white men for something they didn't do. This perpetuates the stereotypes that Spike Lee bitches about to this day.
 
Hotel Transylvania

Dreadful. I hope this was worth it for Tartakovsky. On the plus side, I like what Sony Pictures Animation is doing with their visuals. The characters almost looked like they were made of clay.
 
I got two months of Hulu Plus for free so I'm trying to watch as much of the Criterion Collection as I can.

  • The Kid – I haven’t disliked a Chaplin film yet, but this one was merely ok. 3/5
  • The Circus – The ending was pretty sad. Poor little tramp. 3.5/5
  • City Lights – I can't decide what's my second favorite silent film. It's between this and The Gold Rush. 4/5
  • Modern Times - The scenes in the factory and The Tramp's song towards the end were wonderful. I think I have a crush on Paulette Goddard. 4/5
  • The Great Dictator - Paulette Goddard is goddamn gorgeous. The movie's pretty great too. 5/5
  • High and Low – Mifune has such an amazing screen presence. 4/5
  • The Hidden Fortress – I was a little underwhelmed when it finished, but my opinion has changed a bit over the past couple of days. 4/5
  • Seven Samurai – I completely understand why this is so highly regarded. An amazing film. 5/5
  • The Seventh Seal – I wasn't expecting to laugh as much as I did watching this. From just the description alone, I anticipated this to be an hour and a half of Death and Antonius Block solemnly talking about life while playing chess on a beach. 4/5
  • Wild Strawberries - I have to watch it again (and maybe a few more times after that) but if I ever get myself to make a list of my all-time favorite movies, there's a pretty good chance this will be on it. 5/5
  • Malibu Express - When I saw this movie heavily censored on Spike one night a few years back, I really didn't get the full experience at all. Most of this movie is boobs. I don’t think it went five minutes without a pair of bare breasts on the screen. The major chase scene is literally ended by a girl distracting the bad guys with her huge tits. 2/5
 
Femmeworth said:
Hotel Transylvania

Dreadful. I hope this was worth it for Tartakovsky. On the plus side, I like what Sony Pictures Animation is doing with their visuals. The characters almost looked like they were made of clay.
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Out of curiosity, did you see it with kids? I took my daughters to see it last year and they enjoyed it, so I enjoyed it if that makes sense.

Just curious as I say, I'm not sure I'd watch it again by myself like I would most Pixar films or Paranorman for example.
 
Thug Waffle said:
Do the Right Thing 3.5/5

Sal basically pays for everyone else's mistakes and ridiculous notions of white supremacy. He says nigger and now his livelihood is forfeit. Spike Lee's Mookie incites a riot that directly contrasts with the film's closing quotes regarding violence. Then, he goes back the next day and gets his money. Sal not only pays him his salary, but gives him extra money. Why?

Why is it Sal's fault that Radio was killed?

Can someone shed some light on Lee's motivations with this film? This film was a 4 for me until the third act.
Click to expand...

cause he's white. duh.
 
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8/10

I loved this. Easily one of my favorite Lovecraft stories brought brilliantly to cinema. And the ending is perfect. It has gorgeous cinematography and some of the most memorable scenes I can remember. One scene of a guy falling in particular is incredible with its use of set and design and camera placement.

The creature effects are wonderful. The sound design could have used more power. There was one major actor I felt was just okay....but overall I loved the ride. Really want the blu-ray of this.
 
Thug Waffle said:
Can someone shed some light on Lee's motivations with this film? This film was a 4 for me until the third act.
Click to expand...

I read some bullshit Spike said about how if you don't think Mookie did the right thing it's cause you're valuing the property of a white man over the life of a black man. Probably the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard, I don't even think he watched his own damn movie. It's still good though.
 
Borgnine said:
I read some bullshit Spike said about how if you don't think Mookie did the right thing it's cause you're valuing the property of a white man over the life of a black man. Probably the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard, I don't even think he watched his own damn movie. It's still good though.
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I never heard that, lol. Interesting. That sounds like Spike Lee. I really don't respect the guy. I think he's terribly ignorant and hypocritical. He poorly represents an important and worthwhile rhetoric with his insensitivity and arrogance. I also don't think he's that great of a filmmaker. Do the Right Thing is by far my favorite of his films.
 
For me personally, Bluray vs DVD a lot of the times it depends on the actual movie. I think the sound is much bigger difference then say the picture quality between the two. watching say a comedy movie it is hard for me to tell the difference at all, but when I got The Dark Knight on blu ray I was blown away.

getting The Master from Netflix either today or tomorrow, excited to finally see it.
 
Akahige said:
rewatched Anna Karenina, so beautiful
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Really excited to rewatch this now that it's out on DVD/Blu-ray.

Teptom said:
I got two months of Hulu Plus for free so I'm trying to watch as much of the Criterion Collection as I can.

  • The Kid – I haven’t disliked a Chaplin film yet, but this one was merely ok. 3/5
  • The Circus – The ending was pretty sad. Poor little tramp. 3.5/5
  • City Lights – I can't decide what's my second favorite silent film. It's between this and The Gold Rush. 4/5
  • Modern Times - The scenes in the factory and The Tramp's song towards the end were wonderful. I think I have a crush on Paulette Goddard. 4/5
  • The Great Dictator - Paulette Goddard is goddamn gorgeous. The movie's pretty great too. 5/5
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This guy here. Change think to know and we're on the same page.

Edit: Your avatar is awesome by the way.
 
BotoxAgent said:
Watched the Keanu Reeves produced documentary Side by Side: The Science, Art, and Impact of Digital Media from Amazon Prime. He interviews a lot of influential directors, cinematographers, editors, etc discussing the impact of digital movie making vs traditional film. Keanu seems to really know his stuff, and AV geeks may find this quite enjoyable and informative and he takes you through a nice guided tour of the history of the film shooting process.
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I was kinda bummed that they didn't work a better film counter-argument into the movie. I've heard from some that doing the film on actual film can be cheaper depending on the movie's requirement.
 
So Stoker was pretty good. The story reveals were awesomely done, and the editing was great. The music was also pretty good for punctuating certain scenes. Certain ideas in the movies were very familiar to me because I had some common themes in a story I wrote a while back and that's why I probably won't be rewatching it any time soon. It was all very well done though.
 
Rainy weekend and the only thing that is out here that I have a slight interest in seeing is Side Effects. But the impressions have not been kind to that one, so I'm not sure if I should be bothered. Soderbergh has been hit or miss for me for a while now though.
 
Yeah, looks like I'll catch Side Effects later in the week.

Today I instead decided to revisit Spielberg's ALWAYS - which I have for the longest time put down as one of his bottom-of-the-barrel dunces, until today. I suppose when I first saw Always I was much too young. I must have been ten or something. And while the last couple of minutes fall flat, everything leading up to them is fantastic. Good lord did I get the biggest crush on Holly Hunter in this film. Goodman is also as loveable as he's ever been. The film is just so damn hopeful and oozes that relentless optimism that I love the man's films for.

So yeah, I never thought I would see the day where I loved fucking Always. Congratulations The Terminal, you're the new bottom.
 
Oldboy - Netflix had the dubbed version, and I'm pretty sure I've heard most of the voice actors in some animes, but I can't place them. Liked how the scenes were shot and how they transitioned between each other. Some of the dubbed voices made me chuckle alot , even though the scenes were supposed to be serious. Maybe if I watched the subbed version and I wasn't drinking I would have been attached to it more. Also the scene
where he cuts his tongue was pretty jarring
7/10
 
Wreck it Ralph- 9/10 how the fuck did brave win over this? How did brave win over anything?

The master 7.5/10 the movie kept my interest just because it was so pretty to look at. And the acting was top notch by everyone and the story was decent. But it lacked emotion and I couldn't relate to anything but the one dude owning the scientologist during the party.

Sinister 7/10 a fun scary thriller that has atmosphere and some good scares and some bad. I don't judge thrillers by their twist endings but for there atmosphere/ tension, plus if you have a good time up until the last 5 minutes. And this one is fine enough.
 
Just watched Stoker.

Fascinating film. Visually, it was incredible- astonishing. Maybe on of the most visually arresting films I have ever seen, besides, perhaps, The Fall. There were some shots, some transitions, that literally made me gasp, especially the hair/grass shot. In that regard, perfection.

Sound design was also among the best I have ever heard. The way the soundtrack blended in with the ambient noise was just perfect, and how every minute sound was magnified a la the protagonists acute sense of hearing was amazing, especially how it actually added to the story, instead of being a gimmick.

The script seemed a little stilted, though I couldn't figure out if this was intentional (which would work for the story), or because of that Park Chan Wook's first language is not english. Perhaps it's a little bit of both.

The thing that bugged me the most was the incredibly terrible high school scenes (Cool it Whip). As a high schooler, the falsity these scenes rang so loud, it was almost overpowering. At some points, it was even comical. For example, all the 'cool kids' hang out behind the school, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. Then, after school, they head out to a bar on motorcycles, rocking leather jackets like it's 1965. Perhaps this is also due to Park Chan Wook's growing up in Korea, and due to stereotypical American influences, he thought that this is how high-schoolers actually act. Regardless, it was one of the few week points in an otherwise stellar film.
 
Rubber 8.5/10. Loved the whole tongue in cheek thing it had. It was different and entertaining and wasn't too long. I just live tweeted it to annoy my friends mostly, thinking it would be terrible, but I enjoyed it.
 
A Bronx Tale - DeNiro's first directing gig. He plays it safe, doesn't seem to take much risks but it ends up a fine coming of age story ***½
Touchez pas au grisbi AKA Hands of the Loot - Gorgeous French gangster-noir that apparently influenced later Melville movies. Great all around, loved the climax ****
Bob le flambeur AKA Bob the Gambler - Speaking about Melville, randomly watched this early one afterwards without knowing it was his. Certainly an okay movie but it lacks that recognizable Melville mark that his later movies have, it feels like he had yet to come into his own ***
Popiól i diament AKA Ashes and Diamonds - A powerful story that takes place in post war Poland with some well-written dialogue, but the narrative lacked focus and it looked rather cheap ***
Marnie - A lesser Hitchcock, fun nonetheless ***
Michael Clayton - http://youtu.be/lYww87KAHHg *****
 
Illithid Dude said:
Just watched Stoker.

Fascinating film. Visually, it was incredible- astonishing. Maybe on of the most visually arresting films I have ever seen, besides, perhaps, The Fall. There were some shots, some transitions, that literally made me gasp, especially the hair/grass shot. In that regard, perfection.

Sound design was also among the best I have ever heard. The way the soundtrack blended in with the ambient noise was just perfect, and how every minute sound was magnified a la the protagonists acute sense of hearing was amazing, especially how it actually added to the story, instead of being a gimmick.

The script seemed a little stilted, though I couldn't figure out if this was intentional (which would work for the story), or because of that Park Chan Wook's first language is not english. Perhaps it's a little bit of both.

The thing that bugged me the most was the incredibly terrible high school scenes (Cool it Whip). As a high schooler, the falsity these scenes rang so loud, it was almost overpowering. At some points, it was even comical. For example, all the 'cool kids' hang out behind the school, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. Then, after school, they head out to a bar on motorcycles, rocking leather jackets like it's 1965. Perhaps this is also due to Park Chan Wook's growing up in Korea, and due to stereotypical American influences, he thought that this is how high-schoolers actually act. Regardless, it was one of the few week points in an otherwise stellar film.
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I thought it was good but there is something about the story that rubbed me the wrong way. Not really sure how to describe it.

Oh and Mia Wasikowska is the best actor under 25.
 
I decided to watch Groundhog Day for a billionth time today. Still holds as my favourite movie ever.

It just gets better with every watch.
 
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