[Lethal Biddle]

Meh.

John Rambo was ok. Better than II & III, but that's not saying much. I still think the best option is to watch First Blood & then pretend the others don't exist in what I like to call "the Terminator 3 technique".

Shoot Em Up was better but still not great. Good for some mindless silly action, but it did feel a number of times like it was just trying to be Grosse Point Blank & failing.
[EDIT] - Actually, having re-watched Shoot Em Up a couple of times I've decided it's awesome. I clearly had sense-of-humour-itis when I first watched it because as a mindless pisstake of all things twee & actiony, it's brilliant.


Juno however was awesome, great acting, great script, a great character piece & a fantastic soundtrack.

[EDIT] - More recently I've watched:

Taxidermia - Excellent I thought. Really rather disturbing in parts & quite odd, but very, very funny for it. Nice idea of following three generations (sort of) of a family.

Innocence - Interesting & quite clever. But I wouldn't really say it was that entertaining. I doubt I'll ever want to watch it again.

The Cottage - Meh. Typical 'lost in the wilderness with a nutter' horror movie. With the slight advantage of English wit & irony.

This post has been edited by GJ Biddle (ga): 18 April 2008 - 03:57 PM

[Timothy Goose]

GJ Biddle (ga), on 1 Mar 2008, 01:35 PM, said:

Meh.

John Rambo was ok. Better than II & III, but that's not saying much. I still think the best option is to watch First Blood & then pretend the others don't exist in what I like to call "the Terminator 3 technique".

I think son of rambow is going to be the best bet at a decent sequel to First Blood

[PJ Stevie G]

Captain James Amazing, on 3 Mar 2008, 10:21 AM, said:

I think son of rambow is going to be the best bet at a decent sequel to First Blood

That is amazing.
I need to see this film.

Though considerably less deaths than the first one. None, it seems. They're meant to exponentially increase.

This post has been edited by 11. Stalker Joinee StevieG: 03 March 2008 - 10:58 AM

[Siobhán]

GJ Biddle (ga), on 1 Mar 2008, 01:35 PM, said:

Juno however was awesome, great acting, great script, a great character piece & a fantastic soundtrack.

Fil disagrees on this one. He had some good points and soem I disagreed with. I liked Juno.

[Kneller2]

This week i've seen:

Princess Mononoke
Patch Adams
The Breakfast Club
Into the Wild

Cool beans

[joinee doug]

Burt Reynolds double feature:
Deliverance
The Longest Yard

[Joinee WEG]

Enchanted - fun.
American Gangster - cool.

[Kneller2]

This weekend i shall be watching:

Control
Pulp Fiction
Die Hard 3 and 4
and
possibly Lost in Translation....cos it's just fabulous!!

[Lethal Biddle]

UPDATING ORIGINAL POST!

[joinee doug]

Pondering a Steve McQueen triple bill this evening:
The Hunter - his last film, which I haven't seen and features Tracey (Miller out of Repo Man) Walters, in one of his kajillion roles.
Le Mans
Bullitt

Vroom!!!

This post has been edited by joinee doug: 18 April 2008 - 04:34 PM

[Thomas]

Doug, you simply must do that! At weekends I'm in the office on my own and have a Le Mans - Bullitt double planned for tomorrow. I've not seen the third, but feel I must now in order to prove great minds think alike.

[joinee doug]

And as great as that driving sequence in Bullitt is, I think Jacqueline Bissett's "Walking around looking purty" role is often overlooked.

[joinee doug]

Followed the McQueenathon up with a Lee Marvin double feature, Point Blank and The Killers, a TV movie that they released commercially because it was considered too violent. It starts off with Lee and his partner roughing up some old blind people and takes off from there. He really shines in these two as a badass, and I would recommend them both to anyone that enjoys their thugs as calculating and focused. Angie Dickinson, in the prime of her Rat Pack hotness, co-stars in both of these.

I especially enjoy the line, "Unless you want to renew your partnership with the late Johnny North, I suggest you tell us everything and anything we want to know." from The Killers.

Point Blank features one of the best "test drive" scenes I've ever seen, also.

This post has been edited by joinee doug: 21 April 2008 - 07:18 PM

[joinee doug]

Brannigan - John Wayne is a fish out of water that plays by his own rules. Yet he's still pretty stupid for a veteran cop; he should know his street smarts don't make up for legal smarts, and make for a bad case for the prosecution. He's a Chicago cop that travels to London to pick up a prisoner. You know it's London from the buses, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Picadilly, bankers and every other cliched shot they can cram in there. It was made in the mid-70s and I kept waiting for him to say, "Well, I'll be...a girl policeman!" or something similar. Despite the cast (Richard Attenborogh, Judy Geeson, John Vernon, and Tony "Baldrick" Robinson as a messenger), I cared less about the outcome at the end than I did at the beginning. It was pretty crappy, all right.

Infinitely better was The Man Who Wasn't There: I enjoy this one no matter how many times I see it.

Ed Crane: And then it was Riedenschneider's turn. I gotta hand it to him, he tossed a lot of sand in their eyes. He talked about how I'd lost my place in the universe; how I was too ordinary to be the criminal mastermind the D.A. made me out to be; how there was some greater scheme at work that the state had yet to unravel. And he threw in some of the old "truth" stuff he hadn't had a chance to trot out for Doris. He told them to look at me, look at me close. That the closer they looked, the less sense it would all make; that I wasn't the kind of guy to kill a guy; that I was The Barber, for Christsake. I was just like them - an ordinary man. Guilty of living in a world that had no place for me, yeah. Guilty of wanting to be a dry cleaner, sure. But not a murderer. He said I *was* modern man, and if they voted to convict me, well, they'd be practically cinching the noose around their own necks. He told them to look, not at the facts, but at the meaning of the facts. Then he said the facts had no meaning. It was a pretty good speech. It even had me going...

This post has been edited by joinee doug: 08 September 2008 - 07:35 PM

[Thorners (a.k.a. Claire)]

GJ Biddle (ga), on 1 Mar 2008, 02:35 PM, said:

Shoot Em Up was better but still not great. Good for some mindless silly action, but it did feel a number of times like it was just trying to be Grosse Point Blank & failing.
[EDIT] - Actually, having re-watched Shoot Em Up a couple of times I've decided it's awesome. I clearly had sense-of-humour-itis when I first watched it because as a mindless pisstake of all things twee & actiony, it's brilliant.

Hahaha, I remember watching this at yours. Weird film, but hughly amusing!

[GJ Dandy David]

Ce soir, j'ai vu Hors de Prix en français au cinema. C'etait chouette, et j'etais étonné à quoi je comprenais, parce que je ne parlais pas le français depuis la mois de mai.

It was awesome. We were told to go by my A level teacher, because French films don't exactly come up often at our local cinema.
I was the only one from the lower sixth that went but sat with four lovely upper sixth girls so I didn't actually care all that much. On top of that, I liked the film and it made me laugh.

A good night.

[Joinee Scotch Mist]

Thinking of watching Pi just now, anyone seen it, got any opinions, worth watching?

[Joinee Hollis]

Ace Ventura pet detective

Step-brothers

Superbad

Romeo and Juliette

Amilie

[PJ Stevie G]

Joinee Scotch Mist, on 8 Sep 2008, 11:32 PM, said:

Thinking of watching Pi just now, anyone seen it, got any opinions, worth watching?

Yes, brilliant and oh so yes.

[Joinee Scotch Mist]

Stalker GD Joinee Stevie G, on 9 Sep 2008, 11:18 AM, said:

Yes, brilliant and oh so yes.

Watched the first half before i realised it was a bit late to watch a film, but it is great! Black and white, psychotic tendencies, maths, awesome...

[PJ Stevie G]

Oh it gets even better. Crazy Jews are involved.

[Mikalix]

Pi's by Requiem for a Dream guy isn't it?

What actually is it? I've only ever seen the cover.

[Joinee Scotch Mist]

Mikalix, on 9 Sep 2008, 11:33 AM, said:

Pi's by Requiem for a Dream guy isn't it?

What actually is it? I've only ever seen the cover.

Black and white, psychotic tendencies, maths, awesome... + crazy jews, scary singing guys, stock market, bleeding hands, staring down the sun

[PJ Stevie G]

Gifted mathmeticain tries to find a way of predicting the stocks, with hilarious* consequences

*not actually that hilarious, but throroughly brilliant nonetheless. Excellent cinemaphotography.

This post has been edited by Stalker GD Joinee Stevie G: 09 September 2008 - 10:42 AM

[Mikalix]

Slow paced drama affair interleaved wtih wierd bits?

[PJ Stevie G]

Read slowpaced as engrossing and weird bits as cool weird bits and yes, that's about right.

[Mikalix]

One for the rental list then. Ta muchly

If you like that, The Fountain may be worth a look. It's not quite as wierd as Pi sounds but it definitely has its moments... its by the same director so I may well be preaching to the choir here but I figured it was worth a try...

[RJ Cooley]

GJ Biddle (ga), on 1 Mar 2008, 02:35 PM, said:

Shoot Em Up was better but still not great. Good for some mindless silly action, but it did feel a number of times like it was just trying to be Grosse Point Blank & failing.
[EDIT] - Actually, having re-watched Shoot Em Up a couple of times I've decided it's awesome. I clearly had sense-of-humour-itis when I first watched it because as a mindless pisstake of all things twee & actiony, it's brilliant.

I'm glad you've revised this becasue I have been negetively judging any comments you've made on films since I read this and thought 'but... how does he not get this... he's claerly a foo'.'

[Joinee Scotch Mist]

I've heard only polar opposite views about the fountain, not sure what to think. Apparently it doesn't make much sense?

[PJ Stevie G]

Inconsistent is a word I'd use.

Not, very and good are three more.

[RJ Cooley]

It's not what the the trailer pretended it would be.

I think a lot of people had issues with that (myself included).

[Mikalix]

(yes, jen's right. Shoot em up is absolutely fantastic )

Right. The Fountain.

Watch this trailer:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=NDp-F3Y97ZQ

The film is aboltely nothing like that....

Basically, it's set in the present day. Rachel Wiez has written a book about the Conquestador's (SP) era and Hugh Jackman keeps having fantasies about future times. Basically, it's all escapism based on THE HORROR of their current lives.

I really hated it, to be honest, because I saw that trailer and thought it looked awesome. A love story spanning two thousand years where the two main characters are immortal? Fantastic. So when the film turned out to be quite a well done rumination on the issues of love and death I was sorely disapointed. If you go in with the right mind set, you may find it awesome. Its worth a try if you're on lovefilm or something.

[GJ Peck]

Joinee Scotch Mist, on 8 Sep 2008, 11:32 PM, said:

Thinking of watching Pi just now, anyone seen it, got any opinions, worth watching?

Definitely definitely worth watching (though I haven't seen it in *years*).

Soundtrack's great too - produced by Clint Mansell, who for any of you who don't know your indie heritage was the frontman of PWEI.

H.

xx.

[PJ Stevie G]

There's some Aphex Twin and Orbital on there too if i recall?

[Joinee Scotch Mist]

Ok mikalix, i'm a little more intrigued than i was after reading reviews. Will give the fountain a go soon, though i have to finish pi, get round to watching the lives of others, rewatch before sunset and then the fountain.

[GJ Peck]

Stalker GD Joinee Stevie G, on 9 Sep 2008, 12:04 PM, said:

There's some Aphex Twin and Orbital on there too if i recall?

Yup, and Massive Attack and Roni Size.

H.

xx.

[Lethal Biddle]

Hussah for groovy films!

Recently I've watched:

The Orphanage:
Guillermo Del Toro. Brilliant. Beautifully shot. Kind of predictable up until the end I thought, but the final twist was so dark & tragic my emotional appreciation for the film leapt through the roof.


Less Than Zero:
Robert Downey Jr & one of the guys from Weekend At Bernie's are best friends, cue dramatic events, their friendship falls apart but comes back together a few years later when the one who isn't Robert Downey Jr goes to help Robert Downey Jr from the crisis he's in. Average 80's teen thriller stuff for the most part but it gets quite dark in places & then the ending was, again, so bitter I almost cried. Pretty good.

Grave Of The Fireflies:
Possibly the most depressing film I've ever seen. It's a Studio Ghibli. Set in Japan during the war & following the lives of a brother & sister. It's bleak through & through, the characters start off dead & then it goes back to tell you in heart rending detail how it all happened. Brilliant. But thoroughly depressing.

WARNING: These movies should not be watched together as any kind of marathon as you may feel entirely bitter. I can also advise against watching all three in the same week along with 'Leaving Las Vegas', 'Irreversible' & 'Schindler's List'.

Oh also:

Black Snake Moan:
A bit poo. But you do get to see Christina Ricci's boobies & the soundtrack is very good.

[Siobhán]

GJ Biddle (ga), on 9 Sep 2008, 12:51 PM, said:

Black Snake Moan:
A bit poo. But you do get to see Christina Ricci's boobies & the soundtrack is very good.

This reminds me of Tim's review of this film sent via text or email or some such. I think he watched it with his mum though.

[Mikalix]

You're going for the depressing films this week then are you? Why not round it off with Sunshine & Downfall?

Is the orphanage as terrifying as the trailer made it look?

Get me with the questions...

[Joinee Scotch Mist]

But sunshine is AMAZING! Therefore it transcends depressing.

Has anyone seen spirit of the beehive?

[Lethal Biddle]

Mikalix, on 9 Sep 2008, 12:57 PM, said:

You're going for the depressing films this week then are you? Why not round it off with Sunshine & Downfall?

Is the orphanage as terrifying as the trailer made it look?

Get me with the questions...

It was last week. This week I've watched The entire of Jam & Jaaaaaaaam & a series of short films.
In fact. Short films thread!

Orphanage isn't really scary, a little spooky in places maybe. It's mostly just beautiful & sad.

[Mikalix]

but- but- but- Downfall and Monster (remembered another incredibly depressing film) are both fantastic yet really, really depressing films....

Sunshine could be seen as less depressing than those two, I admit, but it's so good I thought it was the most depressing thing I've seen. And I've seen Batman & Robin.

Short films thread is a good idea- do you have a thread where people can post awesomeness that they have found on youtube and the like?

[PJ Stevie G]

Sunshine is a good film, if you ignore the science.

Amazing is possibly pushing it.

[Joinee Scotch Mist]

But, but... it's intense, beautifully filmed(read as cgi'd) and works as one of the best horror movies in years.

[Lethal Biddle]

Mikalix, on 9 Sep 2008, 01:06 PM, said:

but- but- but- Downfall and Monster (remembered another incredibly depressing film) are both fantastic yet really, really depressing films....

Sunshine could be seen as less depressing than those two, I admit, but it's so good I thought it was the most depressing thing I've seen. And I've seen Batman & Robin.

Downfall is the German filma bout Hitler isn't it? I meant to see that but haven't gotten around to it. Monster I wasn't very impressed with at all. I think it was because it was so over-hyped that I was disappointed. It was probably ok, sweeping aside the let down.

Sunshine I really liked, despite making little sense on the science front;

Spoiler

Why is the Sun burning out when it should have millions of years left? How is firing a bomb into it's core going to refuel it (I assume it's refuelling it needs, it's certainly still burning)? Why did the burnt nutter have super strength? And how come he could still see if he'd been exposed to the Sun so much as to scorch him?

All that aside, I still enjoyed it. Which I suppose proves just how good the rest of it was.

This post has been edited by GJ Biddle (ga): 09 September 2008 - 12:20 PM

[Mikalix]

Oh, do you like the horror bits then?

I loved the atmosphere, interaction with the characters etc. but hated the

Spoiler

slasher bits at the end

Spoiler

The main thing I loved about it was how Danny Boyle captured the feeling of dispair the crew felt in the fact that they knew- success or fail- that they wouldn't make it back to earth... but that's what I found really depressing as well...

Edit to respond to Mr Biddle:

Downfall is about the last days of Hitler, Goebells et all in the Furherbunker (look it up). It's really good and does a fantastic job of showing how insane yet ultimately human all these people were...

This post has been edited by Mikalix: 09 September 2008 - 12:23 PM

[Lethal Biddle]

Mikalix, on 9 Sep 2008, 01:21 PM, said:

Downfall is about the last days of Hitler, Goebells et all in the Furherbunker (look it up). It's really good and does a fantastic job of showing how insane yet ultimately human all these people were...

Hitler wasn't human!
I know! I killed him myself!

[PJ Stevie G]

Mikalix, on 9 Sep 2008, 01:06 PM, said:

but- but- but- Downfall and Monster (remembered another incredibly depressing film) are both fantastic yet really, really depressing films....

Must have missed this little bit, but those are two exceptional choices of movie.

[Mikalix]

Sahara - A suprisingly well thought through silly action film. If anyone else was severely pissed off by the dross that was National Treasure - check out Sahara. It's even got Holly Hunter's mate from A Life Less Ordinary in it...

[joinee danni]

i watched buffalo soldiers last night, twas good i thought but a bit scary to think these things happen in the army, and probs a lot worse but still. Don't think the ending was so realistic mind you!