What I've Been Watching: The Catch-All Film Thread

[xSamhainx]

I watch many films, and I love nothing more than to blab about them. I watch alot of weird old stuff as well as newer films, so many of these will not be immediately recognizable. So here's my running cinematic journal of rants and raves, please comment or add your own if you feel so inclined.

The Old Dark House (1932)
In the 20's and 30's there was a genre of spooky films known as the "Old Dark House" films. This film is typical of the genre conventions even by virtue of it's very title, but unlike others that I've seen such as "Cat and the Canary", this film is actually sorta disturbing and scary. Believe it or not a film from the 1930's can be creepy, trust me.
People seek shelter from a horrible storm in the titular house, but they soon find that it's filled with dangerous eccentrics. Far from some sort of "scooby-doo"-like affair as most of these old spooky house films tend to be, this one is different. Instead of centering on fraudulent man-made spooks for this reason or that, or contrived plot of keeping some "insane" innocent relative locked up in order to get at some inheritance or some such nonsense, this place is instead just turns out to be populated by some truly bizarre and haunting characters. They are just there, seemingly forgotten in isolation, until the main characters enter their decepit and insane world. As the night goes on, they become not only weirder yet, but dangerous, then the real weirdos are trotted out!

This is the earliest example of a "forgotten family" film I've ever seen, the precursor to such bizarre films as Texas Chainsaw Massacre and what have you. Yes it's sorta clunky at times, as these old films tend to be light on implication and suggestion, but there's also a good deal of suprisingly nice camerawork and subtle lighting touches that make it just creepy! Suprisingly funny at times as well, this is one is just good fun to watch on a rainy night IMHO.

[JonNik]

Interesting film, I wonder if I can find it in my beloved backwater Greece...

Anyway, watched Suspiria again Last Night. Have forgotten how much I liked it.
Argento's crowning achievement imo...

P.S Heh, your thread inspired me to actually pick an avatar, something
I dont usually do...

[txa1265]

Here is what we've been watching lately ... nothing too heavy ;)
Open Season (2006)
Rated: PG
Score: 7/10
Summary: This was what we did for my older son's birthday - 16 friends at a dinner / theater place. Laughs from start to finish is the dominant theme of the movie. The story is simple and predictable, with all of the usual twists and turns. Much of what happened has already faded - this isn't deep or significant stuff, just a fun time with friends and/or family with some potty humor along the way. I liked it more than I expected ...

Return to Halloweentown (2006)
Rated: PG
Score: 6/10
Summary: Another cute Disney TV film full of actors from their 'stable', this is a great one this week for the lead-up to Halloween. Not anything particularly scary or challenging - just predictable fun with themes about trusting friends and family. Nice easy watch.

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)
Rated: PG
Score: 4/10
Summary: By the end it was somewhat charming in a very predictable and cliched way, but you never forget that it is a paycheck movie from start to finish. I rated it a 2/10, my youngest (who normally is on the high rating side) said 5/10 (so you know it is crap), and my wife and older son said 4/10. Very uninspired performances by ... um ... everyone.

[Jaz]

Hmmm... I saw two-and-a-half movies lately which I think are worthy to be mentioned:

1) Team America: World Police. Saw it by accident; a fortunate accident, I might add, as the flick toppled Dodgeball as my favorite comedy seen in 2006.

2) Crimson Force (is that the title?) - a B or C SF flick about a Mars mission gone wrong. Bad special effects, but the story was decent enough to make me want to watch the rest of the movie, which I couldn't (as I had to quit my daily 6:00 a.m. workout to browse the forums).

3) I don't know the title of this flick - unfortunately. Just zapped around a few days ago and discovered this pearl of a Z picture... I didn't see the first half hour, but it was about Neo-Nazi cultists who lived in a papier-mache Mesoamerican temple with crudely painted cardboard walls which made Wolf3D look photorealistic (the movie was from the mid-90s). The cult had a big ray gun, and as a side project these guys tried to reanimate Hitler's frozen body. For some reason or other a band of mercenaries was on their trail, and one of the mercs was a cowboy with a trademark tune. I'd say he was supposed to be comic relief, but the since the whole movie was comic relief...
This flick was up on a par with Shockwaves (the C picture starring Peter Cushing and hordes of underwater Nazi zombies). Incredible.

[Gulshog]

Come and See- Russian WW2 film
A Boy and His Dog- Post Apocalyptic romp

[txa1265]

A Boy and His Dog- Post Apocalyptic romp

Don Johnson's finest moment ... my wife and I happened upon it very early one morning last month when we were drinking cofee before getting ready for a yardsale. She'd never seen it ... not her cup 'o tea, but she stayed engaged for it.

[Gulshog]

I also watched The Noah, as well as Le Dernier Combat (The Last Battle). Both are post apocalyptic, and both are B&W. I enjoyed both, very interesting take, each one. Le Dernier Combat has no dialogue (except for one short scene), and The Noah has only one actor. Unique movies, and if you like the genre, you'll probably enjoy both.

[xSamhainx]

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Trippy Russ Meyer film about some go-go dancers and their devil-may-care lifestyle of mayhem and ultimately, murder. This was a fun flick and definitely a notorious and well-known one, as I counted several samples and songs throughout it that are used in metal and punk music. Tura Satana as "Varla", the ring leader of this gang of chicks who have a strange way of getting their kicks, is a truly awesome amazonian piece of work if I've ever seen one. She's just gorgeous, in fact all the women in this film are nice to look at, but that's what you get with Russ Meyer's stuff.

I liked it, and think it's worth the praise it receives. Some may call this film campy, but I disagree, this movie shoots from the hip and is stylishly bizarre and outrageous. The characters are shallow but larger than life, that's the way it's supposed to hit you, as subtle as a 2x4 across the face, and I think it accomplishes this well.

Mudhoney

Another big-boobed Russ Meyer epic about an ex-con from Detroit who stops in a small midwest town of weird hicks on his way to California. He finds work on a farm, as well as falls in love with the farmer's wife. It aint that straightforward of course, as a great deal of this town's denizens are hick stereotypes on acid who "dont take kindly to no city-slickers!".
This one has the basic "stranger-in-a-strange-land who falls in love" theme of city boy caught up in the vagaries of small town country livin', and while there was some pretty funny moments of stereotypical backwoods hillbilly humor, it wasnt one of the better old cult films I'd seen.

[xSamhainx]

Children of the Corn
Actually liked seeing this one again. Great setup for a unique story of a town in which the children, all guided by a religious zealot, kill all the adults of the town. Typical to most Stephen King tho, this isnt merely a tale of delusion and the affairs of humans, there is a supernatural being at the core of this twisted tale, "He Who Walks Behind The Rows". Like most 80's fare it seems to show it's age even moreso than quite older stuff (they had an excuse!), but I still liked revisting this one. I can never watch this movie without at least once yelling out "MALACHIIII!"

Eyes Without a Face

Old french film, roughly 1950's, about a surgeon whose daughter was horribly disfigured as the result of an auto accident. Her face is gone, basically leaving her the girl with the "eyes without a face". It's a simple tale really, obsessed doctor kidnaps and takes young womens' faces and tries to transplant them onto his daughter, without success. He comes close, but each time her body rejects the tissue and due to necrosis, it must be removed. The bodies stack up, the doc gets wackier, the cops start getting suspicious, and his daughter becomes more and more wracked with guilt and loneliness. There's some very good scenes of the hopeless girl, who wears an expressionless stage mask all the time, that are really quite sad and well done. I liked it.

[Haitham]

I was seein' some oldies ..

1) Troy: Released in 2004, Starring: Brad Pitt as "Achilles" - It's a film about The Iliad (From the Greek Myth).

2) Gladiator: Released in 2000, Starring: Russel Crowe as "Maximus" - A film about the treason on a great Roman war general and his revenge & efforts for the Roman salvation.

3) Braveheart: Released in 1995, Starring: Mel Gibson as "William Wallace" - A short story about the Heroic life of "William Wallace" from the history of Scotland.

These 3 movies are special.. They're all from History, all about Heroic deeds and all have that charming tragedy/drama.

[Khass]

Rather off-topic in the off-topic forum, but has anyone seen the trailer to the "300" movie? It's the best one I've seen yet, and has totally caught my attention through an interesting story, superb filming and the certain "noble" feeling that is my drug.

Here's the short trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300/trailer1/
And the longer one, but not-too-good quality: http://www.worstpreviews.com/trailer.php?id=453&item=0

They're all from History, all about Heroic deeds and all have that charming tragedy/drama.

Then you're gonna love this one ;)

And guess who's gonna go ticket camping on the 9th of March =)

[txa1265]

Nosferatu - introducing my kids (and wife) to some classics. Last month it was Metropolis, now this! Truly great, still chilling. Got it before Halloween, watched it again this morning and send it back (Netflix) tomorrow.

[xSamhainx]

Nosferatu - introducing my kids (and wife) to some classics. Last month it was Metropolis, now this! Truly great, still chilling. Got it before Halloween, watched it again this morning and send it back (Netflix) tomorrow.

Good one, I love that old flick! There's a good modern movie with Willem Dafoe (as nosferatu!) and John Malkovich doing sort of an alternate-reality "what if the actor playing Nosferatu was really a vampire?" type story. It's called "In the Shadow of the Vampire", I highly recommend it! In my top ten fave flicks of all time as a matter of fact.

Slow movie weekend for me, only saw two.

Gothika
'twas alright I guess. One of those movies where the first half is great, and the second half totally blows. Halle Berry plays a shrink who ends up being locked up in her own psyche ward, supposedly after murdering her husband. She just wakes up there after an accident and is clueless, also being haunted by a ghost to boot. Just a disjointed, weird movie that starts out with a bang and ends with a whole lottle "yeahhhh righht!" moments. I almost turned it off.

Sisters
Rob Zombie hosted this flick on Turner Classic Movies "Underground" show. It was pretty good, freaky 70's film about seperated siamese twin sisters, one of which is a psychopath. Or is she? After a nosy neighbor thinks she sees sister#1 commit a murder, she calls the cops, they find no evidence, and the cat-and-mouse murder mystery begins as she digs deep and finds the truth about the sisters. There's a hardcore acid-trippy scene in which she's captured and sedated, and I have to say that was pretty awesome. A nice psychodrama cult film Im glad I finally saw, but I dont think it's worth buying on DvD or anything.

I still need to see "A Boy and His Dog", really been wanting to see that one!

[Arhu]

1) Troy (..)
2) Gladiator (..)
3) Braveheart (..)
These 3 movies are special.. They're all from History, all about Heroic deeds and all have that charming tragedy/drama.

Add this one:

4) Musa - The Warrior. It's a Korean movie that's as epic as it gets. What I found very intriguing is that I was reminded of Gothic a lot, mostly due to the weapons they are using - big two-handed skull splitter sort of things - as well as the overall rough style. A review (http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/musa.htm) describes it with the three adjectives "epic, bloody, thrilling".
English Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtQKp0PXcDY


Rather off-topic in the off-topic forum, but has anyone seen the trailer to the "300" movie? It's the best one I've seen yet, and has totally caught my attention through an interesting story, superb filming and the certain "noble" feeling that is my drug.
Awesome. I hope the story is deep enough and there's not only good looks, because it does look rather polished, in an MTV-ish kind of way.

But here's another movie trailer, for a movie called "The Fountain" that's coming out this month: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thefountain/trailer1/

[JDR13]

Saw 'Borat' this past weekend, I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time!

Saw 'Saw 3' last weekend. Didn't like it as much as either of the first 2.

Saw 'The Prestige' 2 weeks ago. Very good movie that will have you thinking about it long after you've watched it.

[xSamhainx]

Freaks
Really liked this one! Buncha real true to life deformed and such carnival freaks, suspect that the leggy trapeze non-freak dame might just be scheming to get at the Main Midget's inheritance by luring him into marriage. They have good reason to, as there is really no redeeming qualities whatsoever to her, she's really a harridan. All real freaks were used, including some creepy looking microcephalics, a dude with no arms or legs (who can still strike a match and light a smoke!), a dude with just no legs, siamese twins, and assorted midgets and bearded ladies and such typical cirus fare of the time. http://www.horrortalk.com/reviews/Freaks/d.jpg

The gem of this show however is Frieda, the main midget (Hans) fiance who gets brushed aside for the trapeze artist. She's such a doll, and literally looks like a little Cabbage Patch Kid or something. She did a good job playing the stung beloved, and I felt bad for her! She's just too damn cute, you dont want to see her cry.
I liked it, anyone who wants to see a weird, albeit quite simple and predictable old flick needs to see this one. Plainly said, Freaks kicked ass!

Freaks page at Horrortalk (http://www.horrortalk.com/reviews/Freaks/Freaks.htm)

Mad Love
http://www.scifilm.org/images/madlove3.jpg
I do believe this is the youngest that Ive ever seen Peter Lorre, and he's just as creepy back then as he is later on in his career, close shaved head and his bug eyes. Ive heard a lot about this one, and finally sat down and watched it, and was kinda underwhelmed. It's your basic "mad doctor obsesses over woman he cant have" and the inevitable murder and mayhem that surrounds such affairs. I dont blame him all that much, Francis Drake is really a beaut!

The "insanity sequence" where Lorre first officially starts losing his mind is done poorly in my opinion, although later on he cuts loose and it's pretty effective when they dont try and go all Twilight Zone or Hitchcock. Just let Peter do his thing, you know. Also, a main plot point, the notion of someone who has transplanted hands from a killer who threw knives suddenly starts murderously throwing knives himself is a little ridiculous even for me. That's saying a lot.

Overall not an overly bad film, but not a particularly good one either. Maybe it's just that I liked Freaks so much, and it was a tough act to follow.

[Jaz]

Freaks was a wonderful movie, loved that one. I loved how they managed to 'normalize' the freaks... after perhaps ten minutes into the movie the 'normal' folks seemed freakish.

[ShadowMoses]

The Departed (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407887/) - It was mostly a very good film, Nicholson is excellent, but the end was quite stupid and although it betrayed the "hollywood" ending it felt just as much a cop out.



4) Musa - The Warrior. It's a Korean movie that's as epic as it gets. What I found very intriguing is that I was reminded of Gothic a lot, mostly due to the weapons they are using - big two-handed skull splitter sort of things - as well as the overall rough style. A review (http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/musa.htm) describes it with the three adjectives "epic, bloody, thrilling".
English Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtQKp0PXcDY


Very good film!

[xSamhainx]

page with info on the actual "Freaks" of the film (http://www.missinglinkclassichorror.co.uk/freaksnattxt.htm)

[Khass]

page with info on the actual "Freaks" of the film (http://www.missinglinkclassichorror.co.uk/freaksnattxt.htm)

That Prince Randian guy is seriously freaky! Like, whoa! He gives me the shivers ...

[xSamhainx]

He's pretty amazing, the guy actually lights his own cigarette during the film, it's something else. Imagine that tho, born like that, just when you think life's got you down, this guy lived til 63 like that. Had kids, I mean, wow...

[xSamhainx]

Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

Just an all around classic that I appreciate more every time I see it.

2 words - Peter. Sellers.

I know, Im probably preaching to the choir on this one, but it just has to be said after seeing this film again. Brilliant comedic actor, he's like Steve Martin to me, just his very presence alone on the screen almost makes me bust out laughing. George C Scott is great, everyone's great in this movie, I dont think there's one bad thing I can say about this film.

Never take your precious bodily fluids for granted!

[Corwin]

Actually, Steve M is like Peter S!! If you haven't seen it, get hold of "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" it's excellent!!

[Ragnar]

Finally got around to watching Passion of the Christ. While I found it to be…well…harsh as religious movies go, it was a very well made movie. The cinematography was excellent.

[xSamhainx]

Love that film! I hate it when reviewers get their panties in a bunch and get all political about it and dont just watch it for what it is, a remarkable period film with supernatural overtones dealing with a prominent religious figure in history. Ok, maybe that's not quite accurate, but you dont have to get all bitchy about it while reviewing the thing because you dislike the Christian religion or Mel Gibson.

Half the reviews Ive read are so tainted by such BS, they dont reviews the actual film on it's technical or dramatic merits.

[Ragnar]

I agree. I think that reasoning had more to do with me not getting it when it was released than any other. I wanted to watch it for what it was...a movie. And it's a darn good one.

[xSamhainx]

BTW- "Freaks" is on Turner Classic Movies tonight!

So is "Mark of the Vampire", another Tom browning flick which is supposed to be a remake of the lost "London After Midnight". While "Mark.." is horribly disappointing in the end in my opinion, it has some great moments during it's running time featuring a certain female vampire skulking about.

[Korplem]

Le Bossu (English: On Guard) (1997)

I picked this up on a whim and enjoyed it. It's a tale of revenge but doesn't get mired in brooding. Instead, it manages to have plenty of light hearted laughs and quick wit meshed into an overall fun story. The main character, Lagardere, reminds me of Tuco (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) with a sense of honor.

The Fountain(2006)
This was quite possibly the single most confusing movie I have ever seen. Very beautiful though.

[Cormac]

Recently I watched Ivan the Terrible again. The over the top theatricality is a bit absurd but it wins me over. And the silence in many scenes -- I hate that in contemporary films there's always a heavy score playing, trying to dictate what emotion the viewer should feel at all time.

[xSamhainx]

Cleopatra (1934)

Good old Turner Movie Classics! This one is nigh impossible to find on VHS or DVD, but Turner came thru for me, now I got it on VHS. Glad I taped it. It's a good film, but like many historical type flicks, it toys pretty significantly with the actual history.

History be damned tho, it was a good flick even by modern day standards in my opinion. Maybe it's just me, but the Roman armor and regalia seems to look better and more authentic in these old black and white films, and this film is a good example of this. Color tends to make these period pieces look cheap, unless they are fairly modern and very high budget. The naval Battle of Actium is done suprisingly well, I was pretty impressed at all the full scale ships and pyrotechnics that were used, this thing must have cost an arm and a leg.

And then of course if the centerpiece of the whole thing that simply must be done right for the film to succeed, Cleopatra.

http://verbalcroquis.wordpress.com/files/2006/03/Claudette-Colbert---Cleopatra--C10104368.jpeg

Of the multitude of Cleos that Ive seen over the years, the Claudette Colbert incarnation is in my opinion, the sexiest. Yes, even moreso than Liz Taylor's rendition. This little manx looks like she could easily seduce any man, I'm an instant Colbert fan. The outfits that she's in are a bit risque for the time, but theyre well done, she looks regal.

This is a great 30's Cleo flick, probably going to have it on a loop in the background this weekend while I'm getting some gaming done.

[SirDeity]

I watch practically everything worth watching... there's just too many great movies to recall here... but just recently I watched The Davinci Code. I thought it was very good... but it's probably only going to appeal to open-minded people when it comes to religion. If you're very devout in virtually any religion you might find this movie boring (due to lack of suspension of disbelieve as caused by your own beliefs) or even offensive. If you believe unquestionably that there is no God and Jesus was just a man like any other, then the movie similarly will probably just seem pointless to you.

The Remote with Adam Sandler was a very good movie which was released recently. That one was funny and very, very sad. It had some great life lessons that could be learned from it. I'd recommend it to anyone of any age.

For older movies, Vanilla Skies and What Dreams May Come immediately come to mind. Those are works of art in the purest sense of the word. They're poetic creations of the imagination that I for one appreciate immensely. Whether or not they relate to your own beliefs in any or all aspects of your life, they're still worth watching.


I rented the New Superman Returns movie but I heard some bad things about it. I'll have to decide for myself after I watch it. I'll get around to watching it probably tonight. If it is as good as the Spiderman movies then I'll be happy. The spiderman movies are pretty fun to watch.

[xSamhainx]

The Cat People (1982)
The newer one, with Nastassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell. I cant say that I didnt like it, but I was certainly disappointed. One of the strengths of the original 1940ish version was the ambiguity of the "cat people" curse. Was Irena really cursed, one of a long line of cat people who transform into a pather and devour their human mates, or simply just neurotic? That's what gave the before-it's-time psycho-sexual thriller it's edge, it was up to the viewer to decide. That edge is nonexistent in the 80's version, it's clear that we have supernatural forces at work here, complete with full-on transformation scenes and strangely catlike things she does even while in human form. It's just overkill that destroys all the mystery. I'm suprised there wasnt a scene of her sharpening her manicure on Malcolm Mcdowell's furniture!

Another sticking point with me was the cheese factor, which is rare for a cheese lover such as myself. Now, for a film that takes itself as serious as this film does, there is no room for cheese. While the former version was made in a low-tech and often times horribly acted era for film, especially for the horror genre, it was the newer version which made me laugh out loud twice.

"Irena" calls a woman's voice behind the growl of a panther. "Mom?" says Nastassja Kinski. I'm sorry, there's just no way I could keep myself composed there! Then at another point, as Nastassja is getting it on with her lover, she makes this weird face and lets out a big "HISSSSSS".

Hilarious! I even checked the subtitle just for kicks and it said [hisses], cracked me up even more!

And while I'm ranting, I have to say that Simone Simon (there's a name for ya) was far more sympathetic than Nastassja. Kinski aguably doesnt even know she's a "cat person" 'til like 3/4 thru the film, where Simon is sure she is from the get-go, and it torments her the entire time. But then again, is she?

Good question, and one that should have went unanswered, in this Tiger's opinion!

[Horst Wessel]

Just watched Alice (Jan Svankmajer, 1988)- the most disturbing version of Alice in the Wonderland. Still shivering. Fantastic film- stop-animation, real people and puppets. But so disturbing...

[xSamhainx]

wow, sounds cool.

I need to check that one out

[Prime Junta]

Any of you guys into Maddin/Toles? Life hasn't been quite the same since I saw Careful (which, by the way, is extremely disturbing if experienced under the influence of certain vegetable alkaloids, not that I recommend or even regularly do that sort of thing). I also loved Archangel, and liked Tales from the Gimli Hospital well enough. Didn't much care for Twilight of the Ice Nymphs though.

[xSamhainx]

The Bad Seed

Weird 50's flick about a little girl who's a murdering psychopath. Little misanthrope gets hit by lightning at the end, cracked me up, best part of the film!

[xSamhainx]

Ball Of Fire (1941)

Awesome! Gary Cooper in a role unlike Ive ever seen him, a stuffy scientist type, studying modern slang for an encyclopedia he's pat of writing. Barbara Stanwyck as a ganster's honey and showgirl, goes into hiding (as a subject) in the almost monastic house which Cooper and his fellow scientists are writing the encyclopedia. Suprisingly funny film, loved it!

[xSamhainx]

Watched "Rocky" again last night. I was just laying around being lazy tiger, when it came on TCM. You cant just watch half of a movie like that, so I ended up just watching the whole thing.

Lazy tiger be damned, I worked out and punched the bag for like an hour afterward!

[magerette]

The Bad Seed

Weird 50's flick about a little girl who's a murdering psychopath. Little misanthrope gets hit by lightning at the end, cracked me up, best part of the film!

Yes, that one's a classic--scared the grits out of me as a child--I swear she was the image of my little sister!;)

[Jaz]

Hubby, sister-in-law, her hubby and Jaz are about to watch the 'Team America' special edition. After that we'll watch 'Ghost in the Shell: Innocence', and after that, 'FFVII Advent Children', and after that, Enki Bilal's 'Immortal'. I have seen all four, but I haven't seen the dubbed versions of the two in the middle yet, so I'm rather excited...

[Gorath]

A few days ago I´ve watched the restaured version of Spartacus. I hadn´t seen it for years. It´s one of the rare movies who get better over time. Olivier as Crassus and Laughton as Gracchus are phenomenal. The attention to detail on almost every set is unbelievable. Last time I enjoyed Spartacus´ adventure, this time it seemed to be only a device to show Rome´s descent from republic to dictatorship.

[JemyM]

Ill just bomb this thread with: Films worth to see from 2006

Apocalypto
Babel
Blood Diamond
Cars
Casino Royale
Children of Men
Clerks II
Inside Man
Little Miss Sunshine
Lucky Number Slevin
Pan's Labyrinth
Rocky Balboa
Stranger than Fiction
The Departed
The Prestige
The Science of Sleep
The Illusionist

Now, carry on.

[xSamhainx]

There's probably some good movies on there, but I have such an initial prejudice against any film made after 1990, that i prolly wont see any of them until I'm like 60!

[Gorath]

How good is The Departed compared to the Hong Kong original (Internal Affairs) ?

[JemyM]

Difficult to tell, but here's the score from IMDB:
The Departed 8.4/10 (47,938 votes) top 250: #80
Internal Affairs 8.0/10 (10,903 votes)

http://www.movie-remakes.com also voted The Departed as "Better than the original". http://www.movie-remakes.com/film_detail.asp?id=157

[xSamhainx]

"Rest Stop"
One of the most truly idiotic films I have ever seen, and I have a huge amount of tolerance when it comes to bad films.This film has no excuse whatsoever for being as bad as it is, except for an idiotic script and director. This film had the money, the technology, the time, and the eye-candy to be good. It's a simple premise for a film, nigh impossible to screw up. "Rest Stop" is one big screw up.

It's expected that when a movie begins with a road trip, there will be an almost mandatory music video montage. Acoustic guitar will play, scenes of the happy travelers cruising along in their car past farms, cities, etc. will play out. They will fumble with the radio and make silly faces, smoke dope, laugh etc. The director chose to up that count a bit, and as a result several times in this film the viewer is sitting around watching what is effect a meaningless music video. Even worse, the music sucks.

Now horror movie protagonists are not known for their intelligence, we all know this, but when the viewer is absolutely flogged with idiocy it's very hard to play dumb ourselves.

- near-dead policeman lays at your feet, victim of the killer. The killer is ambling around like a drunken fool before you. Do you grab the policeman's gun? Do you perhaps grab the policemans radio? Not this idiot.

- The killer's vehicle is before you, empty with keys inside. Do you jump in and flee? Not this idiot.

- You have a deranged lunatic on your trail. You find a bottle of whiskey. Do you get so plowed that you finally pass out? This idiot chose to do so.

Im sorry, there's just no excuse for the sheer stupidity of the central character of this film, other than a reason to draw the film out.The entire movie itself should have been boiled down, cut in half. The lead character is a stupid, whiny poltroon that had no right to survive the ordeal as long as she did. The killer, an incompetent moron. And the stupid, almost randomly inserted "wacky backwoods family" was an utterly lame attempt to portray something like a Texas Chainsaw type backwoods brood. Unfortunately, they have none of the realistic panache that makes the aforementioned hicks from hell so memorable. There's some ok gore, but I can say without a doubt that it isnt worth sitting thru the rest of this absolutely tedious film. Thank God I only rented it

"The Descent"
Now this baby was worth the rental. A multitude of Lara Croft wannabes go caving and discover a race of CHUDs. That is, Carnivorous Humanoid Underground Dwellers, for those who didnt grow up in the 80's. This film was good in many ways, one being that the suspense wasnt limited to just the monster encounters, the actual climbing and caving stuff the women go thru had me biting my nails!

I rant and rave about the bad movie, and give a little blurb about the good film, I know. It's late. Trust me, Descent is a decent film that you wanna see if you like a good old suspenseful monster movie.

[xSamhainx]

Hard Candy

Well, I guess this is finally the last of the horror community's "must see" big releases of 2007. My opinion? Meh, it was alright.

Im not saying that Hard Candy isnt good, Hayley's dialogue absolutely ranks in the top Ive heard all year. She's funny, deadly serious, slightly off her rocker, and she's ultimately right. She's detective, judge, and executioner, a little pixie of doom. Unfortunately, Hard Candy is in a way a one-trick pony. The entire second half of the film is a one-sided ordeal, and it simply grows tiresome after a while. Not fast-forward tiresome, but ho-hum.

The film would have been better served had Jeff gotten the upper hand and reversed roles, he had the opportunity. Have her wake up tied to the chair, now his prisoner, this now-crazed man on the brink. Her bid for escape would have been totally thrilling. She made the call to his ex, have Janelle knock on the door during this, the distraction she needs to wiggle thru the proverbial ropes. Perhaps even have some real ambiguity regarding his guilt, instead of laying it all out so soon. Maybe Hayley is just freakin nuts after all? Maybe he is truly innocent?

The film was too repetitive, and cut and dry for it's own good. Worth the rental, but not a purchase IMHO.

[JDR13]

Just got back from seeing "Children of Men"

EXCELLENT!

[dteowner]

I'll toss in a supporting vote for Sammy's Descent review.

[JDR13]

I saw Descent at the theatre. While it was nothing groundbreaking, it was quite entertaining. The DVD version would actually be better to see because you can view both endings. (NA and Europe were different)

[Black Hood]

I manage a movie theatre, and oddly enough, because of that, I watch LESS films than I used to because I'm so busy all the time! Though I've been contemplating getting a portable DVD player so I can catch up on stuff while I'm working at my desk. Hmm, I seem to have had enough time to kill this morning that I posted 4 times here... of course, it gets busy later in the day when I would LIKE to be gaming, reading or watching films.
The last films I saw were the new David Lynch film "Inland Empire" which, despite my falling asleep twice during (3 hours!), I quite liked; and "Pan's Labyrinth" which is the first film that has made me get choked up with tears at the end for a very long time. Beautiful, tragic, and brutal.
I'm planning on re-watching Miyazaki's Nausicaa movie soon, as my girlfriend hasn't seen it. We're working our way through all the Miyazaki films in no particular order.

[xSamhainx]

Im going to see Pan's Labyrinth pretty soon w/ some friends, I cant wait for that one. Guillermo Del Toro is generally a pretty good director.

Ive been busy lately, so havent watched too many flicks. Caught two good old detective flicks called "The Girl Hunters", and "Murder, My Sweet". Both pretty good, tho the latter tended to drag on about a half hour longer than it needed to be.

[spars]

Last film I viewed was The Saragossa Manusript which is this amazing Polish film from 1965 telling a story of stories or nested stories of a matryoshka doll. A captain of the Walloon Guard, of Napoleon's armies, discovers a text that tells the adventures of his father. Unwittingly, he travels through the text learning about more adventures than one person's life could hold.

[Corwin]

er, I watched Pirates of the C 2 on my PC yesterday, does that count!! :)

[xSamhainx]

I dont see why not. What did you think if it? I havent seen it purrsonally

[Corwin]

I actually preferred the first one. I found all the extra bonus stuff on the DvD's quite interesting!! I was intrigued by how much they tried to avoid CGI as much as possible, and how much they used real actors to enhance the CGI they did use!!

[JDR13]

I was very dissapointed by Pirates of the C. I went in thinking it was going to be a serious adventure type movie and didn't realize it was a Disney movie until I got there.

Saw Pans Labyrinth a few days ago. A very sad and entertaining movie, the kind that you'll still be thinking about for days after you've seen it.

Still didn't top Children of Men though, I can't stress enough how great that movie is. I highly recommend it to anyone here.

[Jaz]

As most of the time, I expected nothing out of Pirates when I first saw it because I hadn't followed the hype at all. I was pleasantly surprised. I also liked the second one, though I liked the first part better - it was as zany, but didn't feel as contrived as PotC2. Though I have to admit that I liked the cuddly sea monsters.

I saw the 2005 version of Mel Brooks' 'The Producers' only recently, and I'm still laughing :D.

[txa1265]

I saw the 2005 version of Mel Brooks' 'The Producers' only recently, and I'm still laughing :D.

The concept alone sends my head spinning ... a movie version of a theatrical production based on a movie ...

[Corwin]

Watched Superman Returns (finally) and enjoyed it. Thought it was FAR better than most of the originals!!

[Jaz]

The concept alone sends my head spinning ... a movie version of a theatrical production based on a movie ...Better still: it's the movie version of a Broadway musical based on a movie about a Broadway musical!

[xSamhainx]

A friend sent me this link, I think it's worth sharing here. I started watching a few of them and they seem to work, and have the full time listed on the player.

freemoviescinema.com (http://www.freemoviescinema.com/index.php)

From what I can see, these films have i think went "Public Domain". This site puts them up for you to watch. Some of them are obvious, being quite old, and some of them are newer, so Im not quite sure how the PD thing works out. There's quite a few good flicks here, right off the bat I noticed:

Reefer Madness
Nosferatu
Freaks
Carnival of Souls
The Mansion of Madness (which pisses me off because I just bought it for like 15 bucks)

animated
Blood - The Last Vampire
Mobile suit Gundam
GI Joe pilot
Beowulf (which is pretty awesome, watching it now)


the "Automan" pilot from 1983!

and who can deny the awesomeness of "Rad", the movie that singlehandedly sparked the BMX craze of the 80's?

Interviews with David Lynch, Bill Hicks, Dario Argento

There's some good stuff on here. Like with anything on the net tho, proceed w/ caution!

[Cormac]

They have Shaolin Drunken Monk ?! Greatest Movie Ever !

[xSamhainx]

"Cinema Paradiso"

Terrific film! This is one of those that I had no desire to see, at all. It was playing in the background as I was doing my homework. Time passed, and my homework became less and less important, until I finally just tossed it aside and watched the movie. I wasnt getting anything done!

It's about a boy growing up in WWII Italy. His father is killed in action, and his new father figure becomes the owner of a local movie house. This film is in a way about this small Italian town, and the movie house where the boy works being their central entertainment venue. It's the one thing that binds them all together. The films that are shown onscreen in the theatre thru the boys life, lock the film at different places in time. For some, it can be a sort of nostalgia piece, as the theatre goes the way of the buggy as technology advances. The theatre, town, and everything changes with the passage of time, as seen thru the eyes of this boy as he grows older, moves away, then comes home again for the funeral of the old man. My blurb doesnt do it justice, that's for sure!

I got homework to do

100% on the tomato-meter at rottentomatoes.com -

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cinema_paradiso/

[Corwin]

There was an American 'remake' (or perhaps hommage would be better) called the Majestic with Jim Carey!!

[txa1265]

Movie: How to Eat Fried Worms
Rating: 3/5
Summary: A 'new kid at new school' story with a twist - the new kid has an extremely weak stomach and the bully and his crew put worms in the kids' thermos. All of this leads to a challenge - eat 10 worms prepared by the bully and his friends within one day. It is a decent bit of family entertainment with some fun moments, but ultimately forgettable and nothing that even my younger son (for whom pretty much all movies are 4/5 or better) really wants to see again.

[Lucky Day]

The Majestic was terrible..terribly long. Martin Landau goes on to prove why he won the Oscar then Jim Carrey shows why he doesn't deserve one for these kind of films. The Ace Venturas are incredible if you just stand back and watch him. Its like watching Jerry Lewis.

I love Jerry Lewis' hit song, Great Balls of Fire.

Anyone seen Russian Ark?

also, www.archive.org has a number of free movies including Duck and Cover.

[Jaz]

Wasn't that Jerry Lee Lewis? :D

[Corwin]

Yes it was, two totally different people!! :)

[txa1265]

Its like watching Jerry Lewis.

I love Jerry Lewis' hit song, Great Balls of Fire.

As noted:
Jerry Lee Lewis:
http://www.hhrf.org/ifi/200003/im11.jpg

!= Jerry Lewis:
http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_03_img1191.jpg

[JDR13]

LOL!!!!!!!

[xSamhainx]

Of them both, I like the comedian better!

I always hated Ace Ventura tho, I can watch it for about twenty minutes max. Jerry is never really annoying to me, but Ace is a walking annoyance imho.

"PELTS"
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000KJTFBG.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Another entry in Showtime's "Masters of Horror" line of short films. Think Tales from the Crypt, with each episode done by an acclaimed director of the macabre. This one is done by Dario Argento, and is easily the bloodiest and most NPM (nudity per minute) of all the episodes so far. It even outdoes Takashi Miike's "Imprint", not in sheer cruelty of course, but in the gore and sex department it surpasses it. It's like he's trying for some sort of penance after the truly mediocre, out of character crime dramas "The Card Player" and "Do You Like Hitchcock". Well, he achieves that here in spades, as even my jaded self was cringing at some of the stuff taking place. The 70's rock star "Meatloaf" seems to take on many a supporting role in these types of films, but lands the lead role here as a greedy and perverted furrier. He's a slimeball basically (which might I add he plays quite well), and will stop at nothing to get the stripper of his dreams. Even if it's making her a fur coat out of a bunch of enchanted raccoons. Seriously.

Yep, it's magical 'coons guarding an ancient place of power, with the prerequisite old crone living in a shack near them, filled with dire warnings and so forth. Cute little fellas, I might add. Now, while I will concede that raccoons are truly underrated animals when it comes to their great looks, I do have a hard time seeing a furrier getting all too excited about coon furs. The people in this flick in general are totally aghast at raccoon furs, and it's a little unbelievable. But then again, I dont know much about the fur trade, perhaps 'coons are the meat of the industry. All in all, I enjoyed this little hour-long video nasty for what it is - a little bit of brain fast-food between serious movies. Nice cover too.

Just dont watch this one with the kiddies, or for that matter, anyone who is sensitive to boobs and blood!

[xSamhainx]

Texas Chainsaw : The Beginning

Basically goes into the backstory of the Hewitt family and their beloved son, "Leatherface". Youve got pretty much a replicate of the last modern TCM film, with the pack of disposable, pretty young things meeting their maker in various ways, the majority at the end of a chainsaw. Not necessarily a bad thing, it's a very simple formula, and you know that going in. I liked it.

Nice gore, pleasant violence, and convincingly doomed, dirty, rusty, 60-70's rural Americana look. As Sir Mellencamp once said, "Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the chains- er, i mean plow."


Murder-Set-Pieces
The horror messageboards were spammed with it's de-facto announcement for months before it's release, so I went ahead and gave it a whirl. There's advertising in action for ya there. It was bad, real bad. I'll just put it this way- this is one of those films that you lament the money that was spent to create it while youre watching it

The aforementioned Texas Chainsaw series of films are very simple film in both premise and execution, yet they do what they do competently, with style to boot. They make sense, in their own sick little way. This film (and it's PR ground troops) not only misrepresents itself as some sort of shockfest, it features some incredibly idiotic characters that make no sense whatsoever, and are increasinly hard to watch as time goes on.

[xSamhainx]

"Grindhouse" trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yaU16_lTeQ)

damn, I cant wait!

[txa1265]

We saw Bridge to Terabithia yesterday for my younger son's 9th birthday (at a cool 'dinner theater' place that has huge over-stuffed chairs) - very true to the book and well acted.

[JDR13]

"Grindhouse" trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yaU16_lTeQ)

damn, I cant wait!

I'm looking forward to Grindhouse as well.

Have you guys seen the trailer for "300" yet?
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300/

[dteowner]

Have you guys seen the trailer for "300" yet?
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300/They've got commercials all over TV. I'm going to have to figure out a way to ditch the kids and sweet talk the Mrs into going. Would hate to wait until it's out on DVD.

[xSamhainx]

watched Ball of Fire on TCM again, taped it this time. God I love that movie, and moreover, Barbara Stanwyck herself. She's steadily becoming one of my all-time favorite actresses. Printed this one 24x36 at work of her as "Sugarpuss O'Shea", nighclub singer and gangster moll from Ball of Fire.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-3/668811/0Barbara_02.jpg

a good site for great scans of the classic beauties can be found here at "Dr. Macro's High Quality Movie Scans" (http://www.doctormacro.com/Previous%20News/News%20(2005-12).htm)

[JDR13]

Just got done watching "The Departed". I'm a little confused about the end.

[dteowner]

Found that "The Prestige" lived up to my lofty expectations. A little tricky to follow at times due to the intermixing of 3 time lines, but well worth the effort. One of those movies (like "Diehard") where you appreciate the way seemingly meaningless details are woven in once you understand the big picture.

[JDR13]

I saw "The Prestige" at the theatre and was blown away by it. A very underrated movie that didn't get the attention it deserved. I'll definitely be buying the DVD.

I would put it with "Children of Men" as some of the best movies I saw over the past year.

[Remus]

The Devil's Rejects
===================

I heard a lot negative comments of previous Rob Zombie's film, the HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES and naturally i never went to see that film. I half expecting "The Devil's Rejects" as another bad horror movie - as the film's title seems to implies so, but it was not the case and actually better than most B-list horror films i watched.

The movie is fully loaded with gritty violence, wacky, funny, satirical about a group of people (a seriously dyfuntional family) who apparently hold no qualm and see no law to butcher, torture, hunt, massacre, kidnap almost everyone they met. While on the other side, there is this local sheriff head who suspecting that his brother has been brutally murdered by them, and swore to bring down hammer of justice, vengeance and wrath of God upon them (or "...wrath of God up their *sses..." as the lines in the movie). The results of the conflict, of course - even more decapitation, massive shoutout, maimed bodies, road-kill (and i have to agree with Roger Ebert - one of the best you'll ever see!).

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050721/REVIEWS/50712001/1023

[narpet]

Just watched Bubba Hotep for the Nth time... it's a great movie if you like Bruce Campbell... he does a great Elvis.

[txa1265]

We just watched "Thunderbirds" before I left on my business trip ... totally generic and forgettable.

[Khass]

If anyone has seen it, I would like a rating for '300'. Also, curse you darn Americans for getting it earlier than the rest of us. >.<

[txa1265]

The buzz is *not* good - it is supposed to be a dumb hack-fest, so if you like that sort of thing ...

[Remus]

I saw the "300" trailer in theater when watching "Ghost Rider". It's really impressive; but yeah most film critics dished it on Rotten Tomatoes.

[JDR13]

Not sure how a movie that's not even out yet(opens today), could have so many negative opinions.

I think it looks great from what I've seen.


*edit* Actually, the majority of reviews(61&#37;) on Rotten Tomatoes were positive towards 300.

[txa1265]

*edit* Actually, the majority of reviews(61%) on Rotten Tomatoes were positive towards 300.

With an average review score of ~6.2 ... what would you think if that was a game? Mediocre?

[Khass]

The buzz is *not* good - it is supposed to be a dumb hack-fest, so if you like that sort of thing ...

Actually I think it'll come out more as a Half-Life 1 than a Doom 3. So if it's done well (as the trailer indicates, although they aren't exactly a trusted source) I don't care what type of movie it is, I'll watch it.

[xSamhainx]

Here's a good review of it that got me pumped up for the film, The Arrow is one of my most trusted sources. And his writing style pretty much always has me in stitches too!

The Arrow Reviews "300" (http://www.joblo.com/arrow/reviews.php?id=1156)

Yep, I'm so there!

[curious]

whoa its directed by zack snyder--that changes things! i really loved the dawn of the dead remake he did and not just because it was a zombie movie, or that i was in the first audience to pre-screen it (by pure luck had no idea) six-months before release and not because it had ving rhames. my favourite thing about horror/survival movies is weapon/vehicle improv. thanks for the review xSamhainx.

[xSamhainx]

oh no kidding, that bus conversion w/ the chainsaw slots on either side was awesome!

[JDR13]

With an average review score of ~6.2 ... what would you think if that was a game? Mediocre?

If those were regular people giving it that score I might be concerned, but since those are film critic scores, I could care less.

[txa1265]

If those were regular people giving it that score I might be concerned, but since those are film critic scores, I could care less.

Good point - and the whole thing is that you should look and see if you are likely to enjoy it and go on that. We went with my wife's sister's family (8 of us together) to see Eragon and enjoyed it much more than the reviews indicated we 'should'. Oh well ...

[JDR13]

Information just released about "300".....

The number of movie-goers for the Warner Bros. epic "300" outnumbered crowds for the rest of the top-10 movies combined. If the estimate holds when final numbers are released Monday, "300" would break the record for best March debut ever, topping the $68 million haul for "Ice Age: The Meltdown" last year.

"300" played in 3,103 theaters, about 850 fewer than the "Ice Age" sequel, making its box-office performance even more notable. It averaged $22,567 a theater, a whopping number for a wide release.

The total for "300" includes $3.4 million from 62 IMAX theaters, a record opening weekend for the large-screen format.

Kiss my ass critics, I can't wait to see this movie!

[Remus]

Vampire Assassin
================
Be warned, these is one of the most crappiest movie i ever watched. It makes Uwe Boll horror flicks look extraordinary and much, much better you really think.

http://www.horrorwatch.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1260

[txa1265]

Kiss my ass critics, I can't wait to see this movie!

You should never need to justify watching / listening / playing things based on what critics say. Doesn't mean it is all that great, but that often has little to do with whether or not you will like something.

We watched "The Celestine Prophecy (2006) (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_celestine_prophecy/)", which is a somewhat spiritual tale of the discovery of a series of insights or prophecies that lay out a potential future for humanity. Pretty lame movie ... it was OK to watch as a 'down time' Netflix thing, but not much else ...

[JDR13]

[QUOTE=txa1265;22338]You should never need to justify watching / listening / playing things based on what critics say. Doesn't mean it is all that great, but that often has little to do with whether or not you will like something.
QUOTE]

You're absolutely correct. It just felt good to say that:)

[Jaz]

Just saw (the new) Appleseed last night; I can't remember a single good review, but I liked it. I liked how they showed Bri 'in the flesh' - they never showed his face (yet you saw it at least once in the books). I really don't remember much of the old movie (art was mediocre at best, and I have it on video, but I mean to remember that it wasn't overly faithful to the books, either.

[txa1265]

[QUOTE=txa1265;22338]You should never need to justify watching / listening / playing things based on what critics say. Doesn't mean it is all that great, but that often has little to do with whether or not you will like something.
QUOTE]

You're absolutely correct. It just felt good to say that:)

I actually have no interest in 300, but thought that this (http://grumpygamer.com/9361493)was interesting given how film critics are using a video-game comparison as a put-down:

300 is a vacuous film filled with bad dialog, stiff acting, a pointless one-dimensional plot and interchangeable characters that hardly deserve to be named in the script. The film barely has a first act and does nothing but drive to a preposterous conclusion led along by a sequence of ridiculous events. The Visuals are nothing more than technical masturbation.

Simply put, 300 is the best damn film I've seen all year. I haven't had this much fun watching a movie in a long time. It's nice to see Hollywood is finally striving to be more likes games.

[ToddMcF2002]

My brother came over last night and we watched DragonSlayer. I have a dedicated HT with a projector - so it was like 1981 all over again! Suprisingly the effects hold up pretty well. This I could not say for Sword and the Sorcerer which we watched a few months back. It was a turd in 1982 and has aged accordingly!

[xSamhainx]

I really love those old fantasy flicks, Krull, Beastmaster, Conan and Sonja one and all. Strangely enough tho, I dont remember Dragonslayer, like at all.

This cannot stand, I just ordered a copy off Amazon for 5.95!

[ToddMcF2002]

I really love those old fantasy flicks, Krull, Beastmaster, Conan and Sonja one and all. Strangely enough tho, I dont remember Dragonslayer, like at all.

This cannot stand, I just ordered a copy off Amazon for 5.95!

You'll be shocked how much better it is than anything you listed (other than Conan that is!)

Red Sonja LOL!

[narpet]

Recently pulled Eraserhead out of my collection and watched it again.

To this day, that is the most disturbing movie I have ever seen.

If you've never watched it and you're prepared to sit through a movie and wonder at the end of it "What the he!! just happened to me", you should watch it.

The atmosphere, the tension, the unfathomable dread, and even the comedy are all incredible.

Many will disagree with me on all of that... but that's the way I feel about it.

It's the only movie that I've ever seen that I can't tell you if I hated it, liked it, or loved it. I simply don't know... it is just disturbing, but you can't help but watch it.

[Jaz]

I really love those old fantasy flicks, Krull, Beastmaster, Conan and Sonja one and all. Strangely enough tho, I dont remember Dragonslayer, like at all.

This cannot stand, I just ordered a copy off Amazon for 5.95!Dragonslayer? Oh yes, i remember. And don't forget Deathstalker ("Deathstalker? Is that your first or your last name?") and Circle of Iron... very entertaining flicks. Oh, and The Archer...

[ToddMcF2002]

Isnt Circle of Iron a Kung Fu movie? I'm drawing a big blank on The Archer.

Does anyone remember Fire and Ice? I think Ralph Bakshi wanted desperately to finish his Lord of the Rings movies and out of frustration made that instead. I actually liked the animated LoTR quite a bit. In fact I thought Bakshi handled the Nazgul scenes better than Jackson.

[txa1265]

Recently pulled Eraserhead out of my collection and watched it again.

To this day, that is the most disturbing movie I have ever seen.

If you've never watched it and you're prepared to sit through a movie and wonder at the end of it "What the he!! just happened to me", you should watch it.

The atmosphere, the tension, the unfathomable dread, and even the comedy are all incredible.

Many will disagree with me on all of that... but that's the way I feel about it.

It's the only movie that I've ever seen that I can't tell you if I hated it, liked it, or loved it. I simply don't know... it is just disturbing, but you can't help but watch it.
One of my all time faves ... but since I can't get my wife all the way through Blue Velvet I've not even *tried* this yet ... she'd have nightmares for decades ...

[Jaz]

Isnt Circle of Iron a Kung Fu movie? I'm drawing a big blank on The Archer.

Does anyone remember Fire and Ice? I think Ralph Bakshi wanted desperately to finish his Lord of the Rings movies and out of frustration made that instead. I actually liked the animated LoTR quite a bit. In fact I thought Bakshi handled the Nazgul scenes better than Jackson.
Circle of Iron was a rather absurd western Fantasy/Kung Fu movie with David Carradine and Christopher Lee. The Archer was supposed to be the pilot of a series that was never produced; it was also known as 'Fugitive from the Empire', with Belinda Bauer and Kabir Bedi. Ridiculous special effects :).

Fire and Ice was the animated movie with the bikini bimbo, right? About the animated LotR - I saw it a a movie theater when it came out, and I own the DVD. I liked it then, and I still like it.

[Ionstormsucks]

I watched Casino Royale yesterday evening and was pleasantly surprised. I've never been a huge Bond fan, and found most of the movies rather stupid, the later ones with Pierce Brosnan being more comedy than anything else.
The new Casino Royale is for me the best Bond movie I've seen so far since the plot is not quite as stupid (it's still not quite believable, but anyway). Also the action is just more believable. I loved the chase at the beginning of the movie (when Bond tries to catch the guy with the bomb), it's fairly awsome I think.
I'm still not a huge Bond fan, but I'll definetly watch the next one, in hope the producers will stick to the new Bond concept.

[dteowner]

Mrs dte rented "The Return" for us last night. There's a bit of a lull going at Blockbuster right now, so it's sort of thin pickin's, but we had high hopes for this one. I must say I was rather disappointed. While the story is pretty straight-forward (can't tell much without venturing into spoiler territory), the presentation is pretty muddled. I think the idea was to convey some frantic energy of the protaganist's breakdown, but it ended up chopping up the story to the point where I never developed any sympathy for the heroine. I really didn't care that she was wigging out nor why. 3 stars of 5 at best.

[Ionstormsucks]

Well, I just watched "The guardian" (it's raining outside and I wanted to see something with water). Safe to say that movie is a total waste of time. Costner is playing a member of the national coast guard, and has to safe every single life on the west or east coast himself - who cares? - the plot is complete crap anyway.
I watched the trailer and thought, "cool, they got flipper in the movie," but as it turned out later on it's just Ashton Cutcher.

[xSamhainx]

Watched "Shriek of the Mutilated" again.

Really is quite an unintentionally hilarious film. Basically, one of those Bigfoot-sploitation films of the 70's. The title leads one to believe that it's far gorier than it actually is, as this genre of crazy film from this era sold themselves to a great degree by their insane titles. "Bloody Pit of Horror" comes to mind, an entirely PG at most film in which not a single drop of blood is ever shed onscreen.

This one does have quite a bit of blood in it tho, and seemingly random bits of nastiness thrown in for good measure. Like when the distraught nutcase cuts his harridan wife's throat with an electric carving knife (offscreen), or her hilarious last-breath revenge, when she crawls across the floor barely alive, and throws a toaster in the tub while he's bathing! The "Yeti" looks like the Shaggy DA, it's one of the funniest things Ive ever seen on film, and I just cant help but bust out laughing when I get a glimpse of his tennis shoes beneath his outfit.

This film is truly insane, I love every minute of it

[Corwin]

Sometimes you're a sick puppy Sammy!! :)

[Zaleukos]

Finally rented Borat a few days ago. Good fun.

[xSamhainx]

Pan's Labyrinth was great by the way, I forgot to mention that I saw, and thoroughly enjoyed it. What a great film, I'm definitely getting it on DVD.

[JDR13]

Finally rented Borat a few days ago. Good fun.


I saw it at the theatre and bought the dvd as well. Hilarious!

[xSamhainx]

The Mad Miss Manton (1938)

The glory of Turner Classic Movies is not so much in the honored classics they show, you can theoretically see those anywhere. It's in these type of relatively unknown films that are actually quite good, that you catch purely by chance. This is another of those un-detective murder mysteries that were common to this era, where an unlikely high school student, husband and wife team, socialite, or some other unlikely person with no "detective skills" gets wrapped up in a murder and finds their inner detective, for the win. It casts one of my favorites, Babs Stanwyck, as a socialite and her gaggle of somewhat lovable (if yet totally stereotypical) rich bitch friends as amateur sleuths, aided by a young Henry Fonda as a news reporter out for the quintessential "scoop".

It's all too predictable, you know that Babs and Peter will fight like cats and dogs, then fall in love, mystery solved, and everything will be hunky dory. It's how it's portrayed that matters, the "configuration" of this particular system that will make it rise above or sink below the bar. This movie made me laugh good a few times, and the humor is very time-specific, with little anti-communism barbs here and there that really clue you in to what the general attitudes of the time were.

I loved it, and am glad I decided to see what was on that late, even tho it kept me up far too long after my bedtime!

[Corwin]

Unfortunately, TCM is no longer in my cable package and I'd have to pay an extra $30 a month to upgrade to the one it's now in!! Stupid Aussie cable TV system!!!!

[dteowner]

Hey, need some opinions on Terabithia. I know Mike can offer an opinion, but perhaps some others can as well. Appropriate for 6 and 9 year old girls? They enjoyed Narnia but got a little freaked out by the Willie Wonka remake.

[Corwin]

TB might be a little above that age group, not sure!!! I have a complete collection of Disney which my kids loved growing up.

[JDR13]

They just released a trailer for Day Watch(sequel to Night Watch) for those who are interested.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/daywatch/

[Ionstormsucks]

Well, thought it couldn't get after "The Guardian," but I was wrong. I watched "Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny..." I'm not sure why Jack Black is producing such movies really. I really liked the things he made at the beginning of his career, but lately is just doing crappy movies. "Nacho Libre" was already quite on the edge... when I watched it I really had to drink a lot to find it funny. But "Tenacious D" - I'm not quite sure what drugs it needs to laugh about that one. Honestly, maybe if I were younger... I dunno. Two fat people acting in a very stupid way is just not enough to make me laugh really.
Anyway, one of the very few movies that I did not watch to the end - simply because I was extremly bored... and drunk.

[dteowner]

Any other parental guidance on Terabithia? Bueller? Bueller?

[txa1265]

Any other parental guidance on Terabithia? Bueller? Bueller?

It is excellent - very true to the book, and just a really good movie in general.

[dteowner]

OK for 6 and 9 year old girls, or would it be too much for them?

[narpet]

OK for 6 and 9 year old girls, or would it be too much for them?

I have to chime in here with a very important comment, since you are concerned if it is appropriate for 6 to 9 year olds...

If you know the book you know what happens... and it truly upset my 9 year old boy... who did not expect it. It was quite traumatic to him. I had not read the book so I didn't know to expect it, but it has caused me to become extremely careful about the movies I take my kids to (I will do more research before a movie intended for children now).

I'm not going to put the event here since it's a spoiler... pm me if you want to know in case you haven't read the book.

My 2 cents.

[curious]

9 years old might be kind of young, more so probably for boys. i read it in elementary school though can't recall the grade and it was one of the most memorable books of my childhood. the traumatic event actually played, and i imagine for other too, a 'positive' effect on my personality. i've even written poetry in the more recent years that is heavily inspired and makes reference to the book. also i saw the tv movie of it in class after reading the book and that may have helped my memory of it as well. plus i think i had a crush on annete o'toole...
i've seen a clip of the books author praising the movie, but if the new disney version retains the 'darkness' of the book and tv movie version it certainly doesn't do those people going to watch it much warning by the trailers, but i guess since its the kids dragging the parents to the theatres these days your trailer options are limited. still i plan on watching it when it comes to dvd, a rarity since i never watch children movies as i have yet to produce offspring.

[txa1265]

We had my younger son's 9th birthday at a 'dinner theater' showing Terabithia, and the kids (15 between 7 and 10) were all fine. My 9 year old is very sensitive and came and sat on my lap when he knew that certain scene was impending, but I think it bothered me more than him :)

Important thing - the trailer makes it look like a 'Narnia clone'. It isn't. Reading the book will take an adult a couple of hours, and took each of my kids about the same time. It is worth reading, regardless. We made sure we communicated to all of the parents what would be happening in the movie so they could prepare the kids if necessary.

I don't think they are too young, but it is more about their perception and acceptance of emotional scenes in movies, when sad things happen.

[curious]

dug this poem up but couldn't find the more recent one ~2004.
this one was written in feb of 02. while the book/movie has played muse to much of my writing, this poem makes nearly direct reference to it.

Remember

Some days the rain slicks more than the streets.
With drenched hair, and dripping wet socks, I
struggle to find warmth. Howling wind and its
passenger waterbeads find my cloaked face. Now
I know you won't remember this, but that just
makes it all the more real for me. It was so
long ago, but I still remember those woods, the
cold, and the warmth I found in your wet eyes,
the ones that looked like you were running from
something, or someone. Just like me. Anyway
that's where the water goes when it rains. Down
throught the gratings, into the creeks, filling up
the well in my heart where the water sloshes over
the brim, slicking the streets, and drawing
reflections back to you--this is why I never hate
the rain--I cherish it.

[dteowner]

Haven't read the book, but it sounds like I'd better take a pass on this one. As Mike said, the commercials had me thinking it was a Narnia clone. The Wild Dogs get upset pretty easily and feed off each other to make it worse, so it probably wouldn't go too well. Thanks to everyone for the advice.

[txa1265]

I would recommend checking out this review (http://familyfun.go.com/parties/kids-games/feature/bridge-to-terabithia/bridge-to-terabithia.html) from Andrew Bub (who runs GamerDad) - it is pretty good and touches on things from a family perspective.

[narpet]

I would recommend checking out this review (http://familyfun.go.com/parties/kids-games/feature/bridge-to-terabithia/bridge-to-terabithia.html) from Andrew Bub (who runs GamerDad) - it is pretty good and touches on things from a family perspective.

I think that Mr. Bub hits on it pretty well when he notes that it is important that your child is ready for the drama of this film. Even though it is recommended for children 9 and over, I think you really need to know what's going to happen in this film so that you can assess whether your child is ready for it emotionally.

And keep in mind that this film (although it contains elements of fantasy) is fairly reality based... meaning that the children have real lives in the real world, and therefore are perceived as being more real than characters from a strictly fantasy movie.

Example: My son can watch all the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies without a flinch. The fighting doesn't bother him, seeing people and creatures hurt and killed doesn't bother him. This is because he goes into it knowing that these films are pure fantasy. But the characters in Terabithia are normal kids and therefore my son identified with them as real people. Even though he is 9 years old (the recommended minimum age) he was not ready for the realistic drama that would unfold in this movie. And since I didn't do my reasearch before going (I too was fooled [by the TV advertisements] into thinking it would be a Narnia type movie) I was unable to prepare him for it.

[Corwin]

Caught a 'kiddie' movie on TV last night, it's a 'modern' remake of Cinderella in a fantasy setting. It's called Ella Enchanted and stars Anne Hathaway (of Princess Diaries). Quite entertaining and funny and most suitable for the Young Pups!!

[txa1265]

Caught a 'kiddie' movie on TV last night, it's a 'modern' remake of Cinderella in a fantasy setting. It's called Ella Enchanted and stars Anne Hathaway (of Princess Diaries). Quite entertaining and funny and most suitable for the Young Pups!!

That is wonderful - my boys protested, but were thoroughly engaged the whole time!

[Gorath]

Cinderella? :lol:

Are those wonderful Czech fairy tale movies available in English? This one (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070832/) is excellent, for example.

[Ionstormsucks]

Cinderella? :lol:

Are those wonderful Czech fairy tale movies available in English? This one (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070832/) is excellent, for example.

"Tri orísky pro Popelku" - sounds kick ass.

[JDR13]

Finally saw "300" last night. What can I say? It was awesome.

[Arhu]

I thought I'd post here rather than in the "favorite movie" thread.

Re: Metropolis
There's also an Anime called Metropolis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_&#37;282001_film%29) (trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObS4kos9YL0)), which incorporates several elements from the silent movie, particularly the style (like Blade Runner), but is in fact a pretty good film in its own right. Recommended, especially if you like the theme.

And I need to see the original Metropolis.

[Ionstormsucks]

Just seen Babel. Disappointing movie to say the least. There are no doubt nice actors in this movie, but the story is just not good enough in my opinion. The intention of the author remains a mystery really - at least to me. It's on the edge of being one of those pseudo-intellectual movies of which everyone says that it is a "great movie," but no one can really say why.

[mytgroo]

A Touch of Zen--
A classic Chinese martial arts movie. There is a lot of thinking involved in this film. One of the major characters the scholar actually plots strategy and philosophizes rather than beating everyone up. The monks are very cool. Lots of jumping sword action. Many good one liners. Very nice cinematography with beautiful country settings.

[Ionstormsucks]

Seen 300 yesterday. While I think that the movie is ok and a passable piece of entertainment I don't get all the hype about 300. It really has become a trend lately that whenever a movie is shown that features a bad story and bad dialogues, but a lot of action and special effects half of the critics proclaim an evolution or revolution of modern movie-making - just think about "Snakes on a Plane." 300 is certainly not as bad as "Snakes on a plane," so don't get me wrong here. It's a rather well made movie, the special effects are great, the scenery looks awsome, the action is breathtaking... unfortunately there isn't much more to the movie really. There is hardly any story (300 Spartans venture North to fight against an invading Persian army - that's it), and the dialogue in the movie seems to be limited to sentences like "This is Sparta," "We are Spartans," "Ahooo!!!," and "Arrrrrgh!" Of course the whole movie is as bloody and brutal as possible to make up for the lacking story and dialogue. You won't find any humor in 300, except involuntary one - especially the godking Xerxes who looks like he stumbeld from a gay techno parade first into a piercing studio, and then into the set of 300, was fairly amusing.
No doubt, 10 or 12 years ago I would have applauded enthusiastically.
Even today I think the movie is still a fun ride - after all it's only 117 minutes and therefore just too short to become boring. Watching it with friends and being drunk also helps a lot.

[xSamhainx]

El Baron Del Terror aKa "Brainiac" (Mexico 1961)

Truly one of the most outright bizarre films I've seen in quite some time! The old "heretic burned at the stake vows vengeance on the ancestors" song and dance is the foundation of this mexican acid trip of a horror film. The concept of the Spanish Inquisition in Mexico is pretty funny to begin with. Then, not going the mundane route of just killing the ancestors, this hombre actually uses his serpentine, hollow, forked tongue to remove their "encephlatic mass" as it is scientifically referred to in the film. In other words, he sucks out their brains. Methinks we are seeing the result of one kid's nightmares about el Chupacabra.

The creature itself is some kind of demonic-looking guy with pincers for hands. While in human form, he's still snackin' here and there on a brain he keeps in the cupboard! (actually looks like the delicious mexican pudding "flan") The film doesn't make it clear if he must eat brains to retain his monster powers, or if he's just having a snack or something. I already have some Mexican/South American horror, but this one's got me checking out some more.

[txa1265]

Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
Rated: R
Score: 4.5/5
Summary: Very charming movie, and Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins are excellent, and the whole wartime storyline is nicely brought across.

[narpet]

Just took my 9 year old to see Meet the Robinson's on Saturday night. It was really a great movie. It was completely appropriate for just about any movie-going age-group, and although it was a bit predictable, it was well written, animated and voice-acted.

My son and I both enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Role-Player]

Seen 300 yesterday. While I think that the movie is ok and a passable piece of entertainment I don't get all the hype about 300. It really has become a trend lately that whenever a movie is shown that features a bad story and bad dialogues, but a lot of action and special effects half of the critics proclaim an evolution or revolution of modern movie-making - just think about "Snakes on a Plane." 300 is certainly not as bad as "Snakes on a plane," so don't get me wrong here. It's a rather well made movie, the special effects are great, the scenery looks awsome, the action is breathtaking... unfortunately there isn't much more to the movie really. There is hardly any story (300 Spartans venture North to fight against an invading Persian army - that's it), and the dialogue in the movie seems to be limited to sentences like "This is Sparta," "We are Spartans," "Ahooo!!!," and "Arrrrrgh!" Of course the whole movie is as bloody and brutal as possible to make up for the lacking story and dialogue. You won't find any humor in 300, except involuntary one - especially the godking Xerxes who looks like he stumbeld from a gay techno parade first into a piercing studio, and then into the set of 300, was fairly amusing.
No doubt, 10 or 12 years ago I would have applauded enthusiastically.
Even today I think the movie is still a fun ride - after all it's only 117 minutes and therefore just too short to become boring. Watching it with friends and being drunk also helps a lot.

As per my post on the same subject matter over at the Obsidian boards:

I find the biggest flaw of 300 is also the reason why I enjoyed it so much: it faithfully recreates Frank Miller's graphic novel. I certainly would have appreciated a lot more detail concerning the historical and political realities of the time, but 300 was more of a stylistic interpretation of history than an actual depiction. It works well for what it tries to be. I also didn't like some of the events because of special effects: the "human tree" for instance, gains good foreshadowing but is then ruined by a poor use of camera and lighting effects; by comparison, the rather bare bones (no pun intended) display of the wall being built with bodies of Persian soldiers was more effective. The battles were also a bit hit or miss, with the use of slowdown being a bit convoluted for my tastes (though I prefered that to the chaotic and epileptic camera juggling of, say, Braveheart).

However, it was still a somewhat enjoyable movie - there were some very good scenes in it - but it's not something I'd bother watching a second time.

Now, someone *needs* to make a movie adaptation of Miller's Daredevil: Born Again or Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

[xSamhainx]

finally got around to seeing Office Space

I think it was kinda funny, you know, especially in the beginning when the "office life" jokes were fresh. Toward the end, the movie definitely started weakening, and I started watching the clock myself. Lots of people recommended this to me, and I guess it was alright if you work in an office. I wouldnt buy it or anything.

Dont get me wrong, office life for those who really live it such as I, does start to suck just like any other job. However, I sure as hell would rather be right here at my desk than out in the warehouse, or installing on some jobsite or something, or taking customer bullshit all day long. What I'm saying is that the sympathy I have for the characters and relation to the woe and angst they feel, which is needed for this to be a hit with me, is quite thin. The copier sucks, cubicles suck, etc., sure, but in the end it just aint that bad when you look at some of the horrendous jobs others have to put up with day in and day out.


I also loathe rap, so I really wasnt into the "nigga this-nigga that" rap break every 20 mins or so, it really started getting on my nerves. And Jennifer Aniston, or "Jen", as she is known by everyone who stands in a grocery store line and has to stare at idiot tabloids while checking out, just rubs me the wrong way. Some stars can transcend their television roles successfully, and some cant.

[txa1265]

finally got around to seeing Office Space

You have to remember that it is 8 years old now, and anything like this definitely has a 'shelf life' ... and I find this has aged better than, say, the Shrek movies. That said, I would never call it 'great' ... it is fun for what it is.

[Ionstormsucks]

Beowulf & Grendel... It's a waste of time really. Apart from the fact that it's obviously some kind of b-movie (partly it has fairly cheap costumes), the movie is just boring. There is hardly anything that catches the viewer's attention. When I was about half through the movie I began using fast forward, mainly so I did not have to listen to the terrible boring and stupid dialogues.

[Asbjoern]

I'm viewing a great deal of the American Vietnam war movies for an upcoming project I've decided to do at college.

The films include:
- Platoon
- Hamburger Hill
- Full Metal Jacket
- Apocalypse Now Redux (One of my favourite movies)
- Born July the 4th

To buy:
- Deer Hunter
- Casualties of War

[JDR13]

Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now are definitely the best movies on that list, FMJ is one of my personal favorites.

So many great lines in that movie, especially by Lee Ermey.

[Jaz]

Beowulf & Grendel... It's a waste of time really. Apart from the fact that it's obviously some kind of b-movie (partly it has fairly cheap costumes), the movie is just boring. There is hardly anything that catches the viewer's attention. When I was about half through the movie I began using fast forward, mainly so I did not have to listen to the terrible boring and stupid dialogues....well, it's a Chris Lambert film (if it's THAT Beowulf you just saw) , which doesn't really help... I don't think there was a single film with him I liked (Greystoke, perhaps, at least I thought it was okay). And the Beowulf musical score was totally off... there are porn flicks with better music. And dialogues.

[Asbjoern]

Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now are definitely the best movies on that list, FMJ is one of my personal favorites.

So many great lines in that movie, especially by Lee Ermey.

Yes, the beginning of FMJ was fabulously humorous. Though the rest of the film seemed a bit vague to me.
And Apocalypse Now is in my world just one of those masterpieces.

[txa1265]

Yeah, I'd put Apocalypse now up there as one of my all time faves, whereas FMJ has loads of cool stuff but isn't so cohesive.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
Rated: G
Score: 5/5
Summary: This is still a completely amazing movie ... and totally effective. My older son has wanted to see it for some time, my younger son is always ambivalent about this stuff, so we just watched it. I probably hadn't seen it in 20 years, and it was still just as good as I remembered.

[Bartacus]

I've just seen Neverwas. Not that is was any spectacular or even damn good, but it made me remind another movie. Neverwas is for me much like the Fisher King. It's also a not so common movie, not easy to categorise.
Has any of you watched it?

[Ionstormsucks]

...well, it's a Chris Lambert film (if it's THAT Beowulf you just saw) , which doesn't really help... I don't think there was a single film with him I liked (Greystoke, perhaps, at least I thought it was okay). And the Beowulf musical score was totally off... there are porn flicks with better music. And dialogues.

The one I see was directed by some guy called Sturla Gunnarsson. Gerard Butler (the Spartan king from 300) is playing Beowulf... So I don't think it's the same movie (but yeah, you're right Lambert's movies usually suck... I'm still wondering how Highlander managed to be so damn successful - that movie must have the worst story ever!).
Anyway, I was pretty much done with the Beowulf from Sturla Gunnarsson after I had to listen to a dialogue in which the two persons involved (two norsemen of some sort) were talking about Grendel, constantly calling him "the fucking troll."

[dteowner]

While my parents were in town over the weekend, the Mrs and I snuck away for a dinner-n-movie date. Saw "Disturbia". Not going to win any Oscars, but a fun suspense film. A novel version of a standard story with just enough surprises ot keep it interesting. The female lead was a real hottie, not that I'd notice that sort of thing while sitting next to my lovely wife...

The theatre was about half full, which would normally be a disaster waiting to happen, but we were treated to the best crowd we've ever experienced: no talkers, no cell phones, no wrapper rattlers, no concession stand runners.

[xSamhainx]

El Vampiro (http://www.amazon.com/Vampiro-Vampire-Ataud-Vampires-Coffin/dp/B000HXDWXC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5988252-9270306?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1176953228&sr=8-1)

On a Mexican horror kick here lately, strange films. "El Vampiro" is the Mexican stab at vampire films, starring Abel Salazar, Ariadna Welter, Germ&#225;n Robles, basically the main cast from "El Baron Del Terror" (http://www.amazon.com/Brainiac-AKA-Baron-Del-Terror/dp/B000GI3KVM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_7/104-5988252-9270306?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1176953355&sr=8-7). It was a trip seeing all them again so soon again, I guess they are the Mexican equivalent of Bela Lugosi, Peter Cushing, Cristopher Lee, etc in a way. Actually does much of the same vampire atmosphere and costume things that the later and more widely known Hammer films from Britain would in time make standard. The early special effects are basically jump cuts, but I found them to be employed quite creatively, with the vamps just suddenly "appearing", or walking forward and taking flight as a bat (albeit a kinda cheesy looking one!).
It's all good tho, you cant go into these type of early 50's films expecting freakin spielberg! I liked it, glad I got the two disc set with the sequel, "El Ataud del Vampiro (The Vampire's Coffin)"

[roqua]

I saw "An Unreasonable Man" the other day. It's about Ralph Nadar. Great documentary. Its out in theaters but if you have Cox on demand you can rent it at home.

[narpet]

I watched (Dee Snider's) Strangeland a couple of nights ago. It was on IFC late at night. It was fairly intense and actually pretty good. Definitely not for the kids.

Interesting note... the guy who played the part of the "buddy cop" is Brett Harrelson, who is the brother of Woody Harrelson. Both went to my high school. Woody was older than me and I never knew him. Brett was a year younger than me and I did know him, though not that well. Suffice it to say that I never thought in a million years that Brett would become an actor. He's only been if a few films, but I was pleasantly surprised by his performance in this film. He did a pretty good job.

My best friend in high school was dating a girl who dumped him for Brett... so I remember us hating him at the time... :devilish:

[xSamhainx]

"The Werewolf of Woodstock" (mid 1970's-ish)

Dick Clark-produced made for tv movie from like 1975 about a werewolf run amok on the hallowed grounds of the largest longhair gathering since biblical times. This was a very rare score indeed, courtesy of the order of Cosmic Hex (http://www.cosmichex.com/category.php?c=horror).

Bert is a local Woodstock farmer who's been driven over the edge by the recent visit of roughly five-hundred thousand hippies on his front lawn, playing that god-damn rock and roll day and night. The human tide has finally gone and in it's wake has left a huge landscape of garbage, and their empty soundstage. Enraged, he proceeds to try and tear the stage apart with his bare hands. A power line snaps, Bert is lit up like an xmas tree, *presto* we have an electric werewolf. Might I add, this is the first confirmed case of lycanthropy as the result of severe electrical shock. As such, he forgoes the traditional lunar cycle method, and only transforms when theres lots of electricity in the air. Unfortunately for an unlucky pack of long-haired, Mystery Machine driving stragglers, it's stormy forecasts for the rest of the week.

The 60's hippie slang hits with all the subtlety of a stepped on rake, as it's obviously the work of a bunch of suits a decade later. The generation-gap conflict is slathered on thick as well, which was common in this era's made-for-tv movie fare. The innocent, mystical (and apparently psychic) hippies are definitely being pushed around by The Man, man. Bert the werewolf has an unbelievable range of emotions (albeit spending most his time in rage mode), it's impossible not to laugh when he gazes skyward, his plastic bottom jaw clenching in angst. He shakes his furry paw at people in anger, kills a yappy little dog, and even at one point dramatically steals a dune buggy! Moments like that just dont happen in films anymore.

Alas, poor Bert in the end catches a silver bullet whipped up by the local pigs. The ballistics dept actually MAKES ammuntion?

oh yeah... hurts so good

Go download it.

...then, I watched like half of The Elephant Man. I just didnt need the heart-wrenching tale thing today, and that is one of the big ones, so I turned it off. It was somewhat of a shock to go from the ridiculously fun and bizarre, hippie-chasing electric werewolf to this relentlessly sad and serious film. The Elephant Man is one of the only films that I can remember making me truly sad, it just absolutely sledgehammers me. Just the scenes over at Dr Anthony Hopkins' house between the Dr's wife and John Merrik are so powerful, it's just an amazing film. I knew right then and there that it was either in or out, there was no middle of the road with this thing. Good stopping point.

Brilliant period piece as well, the retro black and white is gorgeous, everything "works" in this film from a technical standpoint as well. I personally love it, but it's not something that I can casually just flip the channel and sit back with a box of cheeze-its to.

[Remus]

The Reaping

I end up watching "The Reaping" (Staring Hilary Swank) on the Labour Day eventhough i wanted to see "Spiderman 3", as no ticket available anymore as everyone else gone to the spidey guy. I checked the whole floor and have 3 persons watching including me (poor Hilary Swank!). The film was certainly a cliches (sudden loud noises, nasty images flash by, etc); almost everyone trashed it on Rotten Tomato.

Suprisingly i'm quite liked the movie but I'm annoyed by amateurish cinema operator, as the sound system is overly loud - now and then chair and floor will shaked whenever there's noises or something jumped into the movie frame (that surely make me jumped even more) and the full blowing air cons almost freezed my ass off!

[xSamhainx]

Devil's Rain

Made for TV movie from the 1970s about black-eyed devil worshippers in a small town. William Shatner. John Travolta. Tom Skerritt. Ernest Borgnine as Satan. Includes a nigh-intolerable, five minute, strangely gross sequence of literally melting-down satanists in the titular tempest.

Beam me up St Peter, I got a black-eyed Ernest Borgnine on my tail!

[dteowner]

I think I saw that one on TV back in the day, Sammy.

[Cleric]

I remember seeing the last 20mi's or so of that one! Didn't catch the name though.

It was on late at night and I'd just gotten home from a party. I always wondered if I'd really seen it, or if it was just an overactive sub-conscious and the after effects of the party!

[xSamhainx]

It was quite bizarre, and at times it actually was a bit creepy due to the black eyes. They've always unnerved me more than red eyes or glowing eyes or whatever, something about them. Even in a corny movie like "Invasion of the Bee Girls", I remember one of them turning around suddenly and startling me with those black bee girl eyes!

as usual, my homies over at BadMovies have a killer page on this flick-
http://www.badmovies.org/movies/devilsrain/index.html

[xSamhainx]

Beowulf & Grendel... It's a waste of time really. Apart from the fact that it's obviously some kind of b-movie (partly it has fairly cheap costumes), the movie is just boring. There is hardly anything that catches the viewer's attention. When I was about half through the movie I began using fast forward, mainly so I did not have to listen to the terrible boring and stupid dialogues.

Agreed, one of the most chronically anticlimactic films Ive ever seen. Build up, nothing. Build up, nothing. Over and over again, to the point of ridiculousness.
A perfect example is when they finally reach the troll cave the first time, and dont have a friggen rope! Even if it's logical that they wouldnt, write one in the script for the sake of the flow. Or make his cave not need a rope to access, whatever. Dont take us all the way there (finally making progress in the film), then pop up and yell "PSYCHE"!

One of the scenes that really drove me nuts was when Grendel finally busts into the barracks or whatever, and all these trained swordsmen proceed to battle him with their fists! PICK UP A GODDAMN SWORD ALREADY, YOU DORKS! These buffoons are flailing away with their fists and jumping on his back, trying to grapple this big oaf literally twice their size!

Just a retarded script, and coming from someone who lives for retarded scripts, that's saying something.

Also, the cast was pretty much populated by laughably pathetic characters. I could barely make out half the dialogue, and what I could was lamentable. No background, explanation, nothing on the sea witch or whatever. Or maybe it slipped by me or something. Lame flick, pretty disappointed here. Glad I didnt pay for the rental.

[xSamhainx]

I watched one of the most awesome films ever - Night of the Werewolf or "El Retorno del Hombre Lobo" circa mid-70's.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-3/668811/notww.jpg

Look at that cover!

I knew that I was holding something special in my paws.

Take the Countess Erzebet Bathory and make her a vampire, give her a werewolf boy-toy, resurrect them in modern times, and put a legendary Spanish horror icon (paul naschy) at the helm of the whole thing, and youve got one hell of a good old-fashioned horror film. The title sounds very trite, the concept stupid, but after all the initial guffaws have faded (and granted that may take a few minutes ='.'=) youll find a pretty dang good monster mash here. There's some unexpectedly nice and scary moments to be found here. Remember the part in Salems lot where that one shrieking vamp gets a cross burned on her forehead? There's a similar event in this film, and it's one of like three that are actually kinda creepy. It's as good any homage to the old classic horror films of Hammer and the like can be, good stuff.

[dteowner]

Where do you find this stuff, Sammy? It's not like you pick up it at the corner Blockbuster.

[xSamhainx]

Well, I usually find out about them by either:

A.- reviews and recommendations by my fellow cultists at
http://www.eccentric-cinema.com/
http://www.dvdmaniacs.net/
http://www.bleedingskull.com/
and a few other sites

B.- I get into one film series/star/etc and research what other related items are available.

C.- Or I just stumble upon them while searching for something else. It's like researching one band and someone mentions that they sound a lot like someone else, so you go check them out too.

I'm going to be putting up my own movie review site! I just bought a domain and am deciding what the layout and theme of the site, content, and all that is going to be like. Bouncing around some ideas right now (i actually have too many), even tho i have favorites in all genres, prolly going to be strictly horror/exploitation/cult type films. Thinking of maybe later doing some game and music reviews, but would like to concentrate and realize one avenue fully first.

Still kinda learning and refining my CSS, graphics, and general website design skillz, this is a one-tiger effort. I'd really like it to be a unique site. There's some movie reviews that I read, that are fun in themselves. I dont even have to be interested in the film in the least bit, but reading the review for it, and checking out the wild screens is a kick in the shorts. That's what I want.

I want to use my cats in the mix somehow, I'm thinking of making them guest reviewers with distinct personalities. I'll do a review, and at the bottom will be their additional commentary. Sounds kinda dumb, but I think if done right it just might be cool!

[dteowner]

Sounds cool. But I'm still curious where you procure your obscurities. With the recent run of Hispanic titles, I envision you visiting some Mexican selling stuff out of the back of his AMC Pacer.

[xSamhainx]

Amazon FTW!

[Gorath]

A TV show I never missed over the last months is Kozure Okami (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0227912/). A Japanese series from the mid seventies about a homeless samurai and his little son on a 5 year path back to honour and revenge. The English title must be something like Lone Wolf and Cub.

Very strange, calm and interesting. Now the showdown is getting near and the tempo accelerates.

[narpet]

Watched Hostel last night. I'm way behind on my horror movie list. It was better than I thought it would be.

[txa1265]

Transamerica
Felicity Huffman playing a man in the final stages of a sex change to a woman. The story is interesting and touching and has all to do with identity and search for self. Really good stuff!

[dteowner]

Took the Wild Dogs to Shrek 3. They enjoyed it completely. I don't think there were as many "over the kiddies' head" jokes as the previous 2 shows and the movie wasn't quite as good for the Mrs and I. Still an enjoyable show, but probably only rates a B+. The infighting of the fairy tale princesses was the best part for me, but I imagine that was toned down some to keep it kid-friendly.

[bjon045]

In the last 2 weeks I watched Predator (why can't they make movies like this anymore), Predator 2 and Hellraiser 1-3. Next time I go to the video store I plan on getting Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. I like my movies like I like my cRPGs - from the 80's and 90's.

[Cleric]

I recently watched "The Great Gatsby" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith".

It was good to see Redford again, even if this wasn't one of his best movies. And of course the nonstop action of BradJolina.

[magerette]

Rarely watch movies (as you probably can tell by my lack of numerous posts in this thread) but happened to catch a 007 movie last night I had never seen, an amazing thing in itself ;) : Die a Different Day.
Pierce Brosnan(WHO the hell thought up that name??) was surprisingly good as Bond, and Judi Dench did a good job of defining the new politics of espionage--not to mention the North Korean ambience was a nice change from the Cold War thing. And any movie with a John Cleese cameo can't be all bad.


@Sammy: Make sure and post linkage when you get your site up. I'd like to see the paws of doom get a hold of some films. Reviews with a claw up or down?:)

[curiously undead]

@magerette-i actually caught the opening sequence and the ending (or near it) of that as well last night but it didn't capture me enough to not leave the room. i used to really like pierce brosnan and his first couple of bond movies but for some reason he just seems like, forgive the expression "a punk ass" to me these days. i really dug remington steele reruns as a kid though...

doesn't north korea fall into the category of the cold war?

though as they say "once a communist..."
and for those who aren't living in a communist state and wearing one of these
http://www.fmft.net/archives/castro/castro-teeth.jpg
your cool for at least the rest of the year

[magerette]

@magerette-i actually caught the opening sequence and the ending (or near it) of that as well last night but it didn't capture me enough to not leave the room. i used to really like pierce brosnan and his first couple of bond movies but for some reason he just seems like, forgive the expression "a punk ass" to me these days....

Good to see you back amongst us, c.u. Was Brosnan Remington Steele? God, that was a silly show. :)
When I say surprisingly good, the emphasis is definitely on'surprisingly;'--I agree he has a certain smarmy British punk quality totally lacking in the preceding iterations. I like Connery, but his Bond has quite the mysogynist flavor. Favorite is probably Roger Moore--let's face it, this is not serious drama, and his tongue in cheek delivery seems to fit.

doesn't north korea fall into the category of the cold war?

Technically it probably does--it certainly qualifies as one at the moment. At the time I think it was a pretty warm little war, or police action, as they called it back then. (And you thought political correctness came in in the nineties!) ;) I was thinking more of the 'From Russia with Total Improbability' stuff in the Connery flicks. ;)


though as they say "once a communist..."
and for those who aren't living in a communist state and wearing one of these
http://www.fmft.net/archives/castro/castro-teeth.jpg
your cool for at least the rest of the year

bad teeth--reeaally bad teeth. Not perhaps the best argument for socialized medicine. :)

[dteowner]

Mrs dte rented "Norbit" over the weekend. A truly awful movie. 2 or 3 laughs (not gut-busters, mind you) and that's it.

Also rented "Hannibal Rising". Meh. Nice to get his history, but pretty lacking in the suspense department. Worth the rental, but glad I didn't pay theatre prices.

[JDR13]

I also just watched "Hannibal Rising", and I agree it wasn't very good compared to the other Hannibal movies. It was worth seeing once for entertainment purposes, but definitely the least out of the 4 Hannible movies.

[xSamhainx]

doesnt his little sister get eaten or something?? I hear it was way off the beaten path and was basically a revenge flick, but it has him studying martial arts in the far east and... I dunno, doesnt sound the cannibal we know and love.

anyways, I watched the film noir classic The Big Sleep w/ Bogey and Lauren Bacall

[dteowner]

Studies martial arts in Paris with the Asian widow of his uncle, and yes, Misha becomes kebob. It's as much about building Hannibal's backstory as being a story unto itself.

[narpet]

I watched a film last night on IFC that I had never even heard of before. It's called May. It's about a girl named (obviously) May.

I don't want to give any spoilers so it's hard to say much. I will say that it's a very well presented movie. It's quite strange.

It's kinda like a drama/horror movie (for lack of a better way to classify it).

If you like weird movies... definitely not standard Hollywood fare... you should see this film.

[xSamhainx]

Yeah, May was a pretty strange flick. Unlike those "outsider" films where you can perhaps identify, sympathize, and perhaps even see yourself in that universe being able to fall for the poor unfortunate getting dumped on (think sissy spacek in Carrie), May was just a complete nutjob you need to flat out avoid at all costs. I think that's partially the reason i just didnt like it all that much. I found it hard to see myself understanding May, and being hard-pressed to even want to. Does IFC cut the film, or is all the violence and gore there?

It's an ugly, creepy film, and I think that actress is just one of the strangest looking women Ive ever seen onscreen. I had a very grim feeling in the pit of my stomach after I watched it, kinda like after I watched Joshua. Check that one out if you want to see how jaded you are, it'll kick thy royal butt, royally. I guarantee it or my name isnt Sammy T. Tiger

[narpet]

IFC doesn't cut movies... as a matter of fact they usually show the "director's" cut if it exists.

I'll check out Joshua... that's another one I've never heard of. I do consider myself pretty jaded when it comes to watching shocking or gore-ific films, so that will be interesting.

<edit> @Sam - is this the one you're talking about? - Joshua (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491000/) <edit>

[xSamhainx]

yep, that's it. Blockbuster video actualy had it on their shelf.

The majority of the film is nothing big, and is actually kinda lame at times. However the last 15 minutes or so rocked my f&*&#37;$^ world. It's at one time absolutely masterful, disturbing, and a bit nauseating. I watched it in the dark, late at night, and it did a pretty good number on me. I couldnt get some images out of my head for days.

I doubt that I'll ever watch it again!

[xSamhainx]

well, for starters I watched The Lost Weekend. To me, it was kinda a waste of time. While it was cool to see Ray Milland young and in his prime, I'm just not a fan of "addiction films". See Ray drink, scavenge for spare change like a squirrel looking for nuts, then watch him drink more as his loved ones look on helplessly. It's just boring and repetitive, I just dont like this type of film. Except Drugstore Cowboy, now that addiction flick was great.

Alas, my celluloid salvation this day came from the oddly named kung fu acid trip Faster Blade Poisonous Darts (1984)
Although there are fast blades aplenty, and the film does really throw the kitchen sink at you, I did not spot any poisonous darts in the mix. Maybe it isnt meant in a literal way. In any case, I thought that this was one wild kung fu film that was definitely a blast. It sports some really gorgeous setpieces such as temples, lush gardens, etc., and nice traditional flowing robes and decor. Just an awesome looking film in my opinion, but it's all flash and fun. Man, is it ever fun tho!

The story is largely incoherant, as the first part seems to develop the plot in one direction, then it careens in a wildly different direction that consists of a demonic assassin, a serial killer, a murderous cult, and some evil overlord type behind it all. Throw in there some half-beast men, a vat of acid, totally hot asian (and an oddly placed indian) babes, secret passages, 80's special effects left and right, beams, explosions, magical weapons (a folding fan that shoots some type of beam or something), underground egyptian temples, actual chinese water torture, and classic triple-takes (an action or expression is replayed several times quickly) aplenty, all glued together by gloriously airborne wire-fu and seemingly jedi force powers, and youve got something that will make you sit up and proclaim "WTF???" at least three times. I know I did, maybe more.

For example, this like 12 year old chick whips off the cape she snapped someones head off with earlier (definitely an LOL there), and hurls it at someone boomerang-style. This guy avoids it, jumps up onto it and rides it back to her, then leaps off and nails her with a kick! Too much fun, I gotta show this one to company!

I saw this and like ten others from this series of releases in the bargain bin at a Walgreens for around three bucks, so I picked this and Wu Tang Swordsman both up. I'm going to go grab a few more. If they are anything like this one, theyre well worth 3 bucks!

Here's (http://www.amazon.com/Faster-Blade-Poisonous-Darts-Brigitte/dp/B00009IAXV/ref=pd_sim_d_4_img/102-3438241-3120907) the edition I got, they all have very nice packaging, chapter card, and a very nice animated menu. Unfortunately no extras or subtitles, and unfortunately it's dubbed english which I hate. Just gimme the mandarin and hook me up with the subtitles, Id rather hear the actor's voices.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MQJSGA10L._AA240_.jpg

[Prime Junta]

Just watched "Stalker" yesterday. Definitely worth it; some amazing camera work there, and true genius in saying much with little. Some of the philosophizing was a bit on the obvious side, though, and detracted from the full impact of the film.

I also read The Roadside Picnic [ http://www.cca.org/cm/picnic.pdf ]. The novel, the film, and the game all explore the same themes. Lots of stuff in the text that didn't make it into the movie were found in the game, and vice versa. All three felt like rough diamonds; perhaps the final expression of this idea is still to be made.

[xSamhainx]

watching the trailer (http://www.linferno.com/trailer_high.htm) for L'Inferno (http://home.comcast.net/~flickhead/LInferno.html) (1911 - Italy).

Thinking about buying it, utterly fascinated by films as old as this.

[dteowner]

Took the Mrs to "1408" last night. Very good movie, and just when you think it completely failed, it makes a comeback. Cusack does a nice job of going nuts without getting too carried away.

[Corwin]

Went to see Pirates 3 last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Laughed a great deal, thought JD was brilliant and wondered why it got so many poor reviews!!

[narpet]

Oh man... last night I watched Sleepaway Camp (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086320/) on IFC. It's a 1980s slasher type film that is truly bad and truly twisted.

The acting was horrible... the murders were cheesy (for the most part) and the ending was one of the weirdest I've seen. I'm not going to say anything... just click on the link to read more.

If you love bad horror movies this one is really for you.

[Remus]

Transformers
============

I'm not transformers fan per se, but woww...., this transformer movie is good. Very good in fact. Oh Wait, that probably is still an understatement. It's impressive action movie, the best so far this year IMO (even after i just watched Die Hard 4.0). In short the film is "huge robots + massive destruction + awesome CGI + slick combat actions," - with tight and visceral action scenes as we would expected from director Michael Bay. Definitely best action movie this year. Apparently the movie is targeted at young and male moviegoers segment, as you would deteced in terms of "teen-friendly" dialogs, gadgets humors (cellphone, internet & computer jokes), handsome new rising male lead shia Labeouf (look like younger version of Russel Crowe to me - but man, his acting was really good in Disturbia), and certainly in a movie like these - plus a hot female co-star (Megan Fox) with a nice butt. :wink:


Die Hard 4.0
============

I like all previous Die Hard films. As always, Bruce Willis still bleeds tons of blood in this newest Die Hard series, but that's after every bad guys got their balls badly kicked and left them bleed profusely. The typical John McClane's jokes is back (in one scene after blasting a bad guy out into street below, he said "that would wake the neighbours up"), with the head-on, bad police attitude. A Nice movie not unlike the Transformers, if you're for looking action stuffs, not some Oscar winning dialogs, story or acting.

[xSamhainx]

Nice, i'm glad to hear that about Transformers, I got advance tickets for Tuesday night w/ some of the CCA. I have to admit, I was a little disheartened when I was surfing the official site and saw how different they all look.

[curiously undead]

somehow i never saw "Who is Harry Crumb" but i caught it on tv last night. an excellent John Candy flick...i miss him. He's goes through tons of costume/character that put austin powers to shame. check out this scene of him as a hungarian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAwODkuVTxU

oh an annie potts was quite atypical as a golddigging sexpot which yet she played one flawlessly.

[xSamhainx]

Watched Ghost Rider last night.

'Twas cool in a comic book summer flick sorta way. I liked it when Sam Elliot went ghost too, and they both rode out together. That definitely rocked.

[dteowner]

Did you get the feeling a scene got cut though? Sam talked about a final ride as if he was going to soften up Big Baddie, but then he just kinda disappeared. It didn't really make sense for his final ride to be escorting Cage to the OK Corral, so I was waiting for something to happen.

Watched "The Messengers" last night. It starts out well and truly creepy but sort of peters out at the end. I am sick of the whole stop-motion-crinkling-paper-sound critter crawl that everyone's doing now. It was OK in Ring, but it's kind of run its course.

[JDR13]

Just wasted 2 hours and 20 minutes of my life watching "Transformers".

It's not often that I see a movie that is so incredibly bad that I'm actually offended. I'm not going to rant on about it, but let me just say that you're not likely to enjoy this movie if you have an intellect higher than that of a 12 year old.

[xSamhainx]

I know what you mean Dt, I thought that Sam Elliot was going to help Blaze fight Blackheart myself, especially seeing as how Blackheart effortlessly snuffed out Blaze's first attack on him.

Just saw Transformers myself last night, and here's my thoughts-

As JDR said, the movie is clearly made for 12 year olds and people that enjoy comedy of that caliber. Masturbation and pee jokes, double entendres of the sort that had me rolling my eyes, while the rest of the crowd was roaring in delight. That's just me, perhaps I'm getting grumpy in my old age, but I just simply cannot for example find someone getting hit in the nuts or a dog peeing on someone funny anymore. It's like "cue laugh track", you know.

Stuff was drawn out and agonizingly overwrought. Bumblebee was the "cute" robot, so he was the designated heartstring-puller. It felt like at least 5 minutes of slow motion footage set to sappy synth music as he's taken captive. Poor Bumblebee *sniffle*

I truly loathe with all my heart the Michael Bay style of quick-cut, shaky-cam action sequences where it's practically impossible to focus on anything, it ruins the action for me. All I see is flashes of movement, an explosion, falling debris, and practically nondescript things whizzing by. Makes me yearn for the static camera angles of the old Godzilla creature fights, at least I could tell what the hell was going on. Adding to this confusion is the fact that most of the robots dont have the distinctive look and colors that they all used to have in the animation, thus it's quite difficult to tell who's-who in the midst of battle. What just happened? I have no clue!
Wait til the fight's over and see who's standing. Takes the thrill out of the thing for me and just gives me a headace, it's frustrating.

I'm suprised that a hip hop or rap style score and soundtrack wasnt present. The entire soundscape was suprisingly rock and metal based! I dont think overall it was a terrible movie, I mean, some of the sights were truly beautiful. The chase sequences were amazing, because they have focus, youre along for the ride and it's exciting. Starscream or Megatron in-flight transforming and hitting the ground or vice-versa, and some of the other mobile transformations were really unbelievable looking. Lots of nice explosions and flights into and thru buildings and such definitely were cool.

it was worth ten bucks to see it in a theatre with pals, but I just wouldnt buy the thing.

[narpet]

Watched Cabin Fever (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303816/) last night. It wasn't bad... but I wasn't really that impressed.

[dteowner]

Took the Wild Dogs to see Ratatoie (however it's spelt, damn French). Typical kid fare with the requisite "Be Yourself" message. Reasonably fun, but certainly not world-shaking. The detail of the animation was exceptional, though. The various closeups on the principal bad guy are insane-good in their detail and realism.

[xSamhainx]

Apocalypto

Pretty freakin awesome, never seen a movie about the Mayans. Always been fascinated by early mesoamerican cultures, they were a trippy bunch. Some pretty mean dudes in this flick!

[Gorath]

This evening I watched Intacto (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220580/) on TV. The movie is the proof that Spain has more than just Almodovar. ;)
It&#180;s a fascinating movie about addicted "luck hunters". Just look on IMDB, it&#180;s hard to describe. Serious, entertaining, well made and acted (Max von Sydow is the only celeb in it). Intacto demands the viewer&#180;s full attention though. Otherwise you could overlook details in the beautiful photography or gestures revealing what a person really thinks.
The movie has a bit of The Color of Money, some Memento and a little Final Destination - but without most commercial or funny elements.


edit: The same director is shooting 28 Weeks Later. Now I&#180;m convinced the movie is in good hands. :)

[xSamhainx]

since Apocalypto got me all bent on the Mayans, I had to go ahead and download Maya (http://www.cosmichex.com/category.php?c=horror) from Cosmic Hex.

It was pretty cool, one of those "vengeful ancient deity" flicks, where the old superstitions wipe out the new school before they can say damn ignorant villagers. Fairly light on the Mayan temples and such unfortunately, we only get one pyramid, and the "legend" central to the story was created for the film, it doesnt seem to have any basis in actual Mayan lore that I have read.

[xSamhainx]

Jaws

Tcm is having a spielberg-fest lately, so I caught Jaws again tonight for like the fiftieth time tonight during my half-asleep post-work quiet time that I must have every night. I guess that qualifies as a nap, and I should be lamenting the fact that I now need a daily nap. It sure does feel nice tho ='.'= *yawns*

Jaws is not a movie that has any hidden meanings, any subtle hints of dimensions only unlocked after several viewings or anything like that. The characters dont get any deeper, you dont understand anyone further, nothing. At least I dont. I know everything now about the film that i knew the first time I saw it. The old skipper was on the Indianapolis. It was rough. Now roll out the shark again!
That's what i love about it, it's a monster movie, plain and simple. It does it well tho, and that's the reason that Ive been able to watch and enjoy it so many times.

[dteowner]

Mrs dte was pissed that she only caught the last 2 minutes of it. She's got the DVD, mind you, but that's irrelevant. She's better at quoting Jaws than I am quoting Sixteen Candles, and that's no mean feat.

[xSamhainx]

The Last Picture Show

Another one Ive seen countless times, but an altogether thoroughly depressing and bleak film, though I can never stop watching it once I start.

[Remus]

The Prodigy
==========

Pretty nice movie, although not as good as i hoped. However it is still no small feat for a small budget feature film by dozen first time filmmakers.

It tells the story on gang rivalries between two underworld groups, but the opening fight quickly cut short when a mysterious guy show up (always wearing a dark trench coat and goggle) and start brutally kills almost everyone. A small-time enforcer named Truman from one of the gangs seems to became his main target, although at this stage no one know the cause for sure. Later it turn up the mysterious guy had pretty unusual background and pass history as an assassin.

In the end though, the film never build up enough interesting story or the depth of characters, nor the lingering disturbing emotions to generate a catharsis. I'm sure in the hand of directors like David Fincher or David Lynch, the film could be far more better, but hey, it's unfair to compare to them!.

[dteowner]

DieHard 4: Just what you'd expect. I enjoyed it a fair bit as did the Mrs. Not as good as the original, but certainly holds up to the second and surpasses the third. Only one scene made me want to "call bullsh!t".

Captivity: This is a Sammy special. Hostel-grade nasty puke puke. The "twist" isn't terribly hard to see coming. It isn't until you start predicting the twist that the movie has any point whatsoever- it's just nasty for nasty's sake until then. I'd save this one for video, but probably worth the rental if you enjoyed Hostel.

[xSamhainx]

wow, sounds grody.

I watched Sorry, Wrong Number this last weekend. My woman Babs plays a meanspirited rich bitch, and she does it well. Walks all over Burt Lancaster!

That is, until she gets hers.....

[dteowner]

Well, I am in the Bustling Metropolis of God-fearin' rednecks, but the movie was gross enough to get one couple to walk out. I'm not sure the two teenie-bopper couples came up for air long enough to notice the movie was playing, so really Mrs dte and I were the only ones that stuck it out.

[xSamhainx]

poor Mrs Dt!

I'm not really a fan of just all-out gore for gore's sake. I'm finding this out as I see such films as the asian gore sensation "guinea pig". Theyre pointless, gross, and I just dont find myself enjoying it. Evil Dead and Dead Alive are tremendously gory films, yet they also in my opinion can stand on their own without it. Slashers are fun, just because it's kinda funny to watch various stupid stereotypes die in various stupid ways. Lots of stupid crap to laugh at, lots of jump scares, it's a date movie for the deranged. Hostel was a weird film, and I dont think that while gore was part of it, was all the film had going for it. Films that just throw guts in your face as their mean feature arent even worth the rental imho.

[dteowner]

Well, the point of walkout was when Ms. Cuthbert was forced to drink a smoothie made of blood, an ear, and an eyeball complete with optic nerve. Now I'll admit that during her stints on 24, I begged for Cuthbert to die an agonizing death, but this was a bit, umm, vivid. Although there was no way I was walking out of $7.50 tickets, I did give the Mrs one of those "What the #$^@#$&#37; have we signed up for?" looks.

[txa1265]

Recent stuff ...

Music & Lyrics (2007): what an uninspired piece of mediocrity! The whole thing depended on the on-screen chemistry between Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, but there wasn't any and the entire movie collapsed around that fact.

Arthur and the Invisibles(Minimoys) (2007): quite charming and fun! Very much better than the scathing reviews would have led me to expect.

The Mask (1994): first time for the kids. It is a fun romp for Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz does pretty well also.

Transformers (2007): took the boys to this while my wife was away. Just as well, she wouldn't have liked it much. It was action packed, switch off your brain fun and not much else.

[Sorcha Ravenlock]

We went to see Arthur and the Minimoys when it was in the cinema, and I fully agree, Mike, iot wasn't as bad as the critics made it out to be. We enjoyed it a lot, and so did our 7-year-old.

last movie I watched was X-men 3, and I wasn't too impressed. Especially the deaths of certain main characters were underplayed in favor of big implosions and special effects... I kept thinking they would return in the end or weren't really dead due to the lack of impact their deaths had.

[Sir Markus]

I watched the original Odd Couple the other day with Lemmon and Matthau. It's seriously old school, but has some amazingly funny scenes. The one with the double date with the 'Pigeon Sisters' is classic.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063374/

[xSamhainx]

Night of the Howling Beast or released to American audiences as Werewolf vs the Yeti.

In either case, it's Paul Naschy reprising his role as the lycanthrope Waldimar Daninsky once again, this time as a researcher headed to Tibet in search of the fabled Abominable Snowman. This one plays out more like an adventure movie than a horror film, with oppressive Khans in a stronghold who kidnap some of the researchers in one of their countryside rampages, after the scientists survive a Yeti attack. Waldimar barely escapes, gets attacked by a wolf, and ends up in the care of two bisexual witches in some cave, who nurse him back to health. He stumbles upon them munching on a human arm one night and freaks out, then kills them both and takes off. I dont see why he freaked so hard, because soon he's munching down on mankind himself, werewolf style! He wipes out the Khans (did I mention they had an evil Khan queen?), frees what's left of the researchers, and basically walks off into the sunset with the Final Girl.

But with that sunset comes nightfall......

As the movie wore on to almost finished, I was getting worried that I wasnt going to get my Wolfman vs Yeti brawl. Maybe it was just marketing, you know. Thankfully, in the final minutes, the moon rises, Waldimar gets wolfy, and to my delight, who shows up but a wandering yeti who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Their eyes meet, fangs are bared, and it was obvious that some serious fur was gonna fly under the light of the full moon!

The yeti had a strength advantage, but the big oaf had none of the agility of the werewolf. Also, the human-like hands and dull teeth were no match for the sharp claws and fangs of a raging werewolf. When the dust settled, the legendary snow beast lay in a pool of blood, awaiting some researcher, cult, or maybe even Leonard Nimoy.

I can say that I prolly liked this one the least so far in my journey thru the Spanish horror of Paul Naschy films. He's best when he sticks to pure horror, this almost reminds me of Satanic Rites of Dracula or something in a way, there's just too much wakka wakka guitar and crazy tom toms going for me. There's too much action, and not enough dread. It was the 70's and they had to try and update the formula I guess. I say stick to the castles, dames in flowing nightgowns, rubber bats flapping around, canned howls, burning witches spewing final curses, and a classical score. That's where it's at.

Even tho I must give them credit for busting out a Yeti vs Werewolf showdown ='.'=

[slam23]

I have been on a documentary spree, all of 'em about astonishing stuff happening in the US (just coincidence by the way, although this country has a propensity for the preposterous :-). It either gets me sad, pissed off or plain flabbergasted.

"Who killed the electric car": how GM actually makes electric cars and then does their best to discourage people using them. In the end they get all called back and destroyed while being in perfect condition. It's a damn shame.....and waste. Back to the oil addiction I guess....

"When the Levees broke". The documentary/requiem by Spike Lee about the Katrina Hurricane that left New Orleans totally devastated. This made me cry several times. It's a shock to see third world footage actually coming from an American city. People were (and still are!) utterly neglected. I mean, the damn Canadian Mounties were there to help in two days while official help from the government arrives after 5 days! The Bush family is completely out of touch with reality and their own people. Barbara Bush said on national television that people who got "shelter" at the Superdome actually improved on their former living conditions. It's beyond sad and hilarious at the same time. Then she continued to speak and said that she hoped that all those people would stay put and not come to Texas, because "they was all criminal and stuff". Dumb ignorant b**tch (sorry for cussin' but that made me mad!). They should put people in jail for not building floodproof levees, not coming to the rescue of the people in time, not providing shelter to homeless fellow Americans, not paying insurance, scattering families all over the States, not providing money to rebuild. The best way to judge a government is to look at how they treat their own (disadvantaged) people.

"Sicko" by Michael Moore. Although a bit populist at times and confusing anecdote with established pattern, there is too much proof that the health care system in the States is utterly flawed and beyond redemption. It's totally absurd if one looks from the outside in and discovers that the system is essentialy driven by profit! Insurance companies will stop at nothing to try to deny medical procedures to people who actually pay taxes and are insured. The pharmaceutical companies are mobsters also in Europe but boy do they go to extremes in the States. Canadians actually take extra insurance when they come to the US in case they get sick over there and have to pay hospital bills they can't afford. And what's with the fear for "socialized" medicine? It's a total crap story that was invented to ensure the continuing profit of large health care companies.

Well, enough ranting for tonight, I had to get this off my chest.....

[xSamhainx]

After The Thin Man (1936)

The husband-and-wife-detectives movies are always fun, this is the second time Ive seen this one. Jimmy Stewart's in this one too, it's cool to watch him totally flip out in the end!

[Pladio]

I just saw some Kubrick movies.
A Clockwork Orange
The Shining
Barry Lyndon.

Good movies, but I think only The Shining survived the changes since being made.
Barry Lyndon has a very nice story, but I think it was much too long for what it was, the music in the film was perfect and the actors were good too.
A Clockwork Orange is nice, but nothing spectacular.
The Shining was great. Good actors, good music, good atmosphere...

[xSamhainx]

I agree about Clockwork Orange. People seem to generally think that it's really great, but I just dont feel the magic myself. It's a cult film, so like any other of them, it has it's devoted fanbase. I think it's the alternate vernacular used in the film that people really latch onto, people that I know that are into the film tend to try and talk like the narrator.

[Pladio]

Alternate vernacular in laymen terms means ?

[xSamhainx]

A different, made up slang or language than what is commonly used. I'm just trying to sound smart I guess.

[dteowner]

@slam23- be careful about taking any of those films as unbiased documentary. Each of the three "targets" certainly deserves a good spanking, but there's blame to be shared in all 3 cases. For example, it is illegal for the President to send federal troops into a state until the Governor of the state requests them. It was several days before the Gov of Louisiana got around to giving that permission. Of course, Dubya and crew bungled things pretty badly after they got the permission, but the picture gets a little skewed when that little detail is left out.

[Pladio]

A different, made up slang or language than what is commonly used. I'm just trying to sound smart I guess.

No, I just have a bad vocabulary and grammar in every language that I know :p

I think I'll see V for Vendetta tonight.
I also want to see Kontroll which is the movie which won at the Cannes Film Festival this year. I'll see that another time.

[slam23]

@dteowner: thanx for the heads-up, I didn't know about that rule. I guess watching three such documentary's in a row kind of messed with my head that evening. But now I get why the governor got such flak for her behaviour. Isn't there an option for the pres to declare something a "national crisis" which supersedes the federal system and bypasses a governor? Dubya can sure get away with something like that if it concerns national security.....that influence even extends to europe, flying terror suspects in and out CIA-bases through sovereign airspace for example.

[JDR13]

Just curious, did that documentary talk about the Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin at all?

Yeah, that piece of sh*t Nagin didn't help matters either. All he did was point fingers at the goverment and Bush, and somehow the people of New Orleans thought he was some kind of hero or something.

Some people criticized Nagin for not handling evacuation procedures properly and, in particular, for allowing hundreds of New Orleans' buses — which might have been used for evacuating poor or elderly people — to sit idle in parking lots that were part of the first sections of the city flooded.

During his bid for re-election in 2006 that racist mother-f*cker made a speech where he said ...*quote*
"We must rebuild a chocolate New Orleans, I don't care what people are saying Uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day," he said. "This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be." *end quote*

Can you imagine if a White man said "We must rebuild a vanilla city"? All hell would break loose. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would be there so fast that there'd be smoke pouring out their asses!

The sad thing is he actually got re-elected.

[Corwin]

Yes, reverse racism is still racism!! Did he mention 'milk' chocolate by any chance? :)

[slam23]

Nagin is one of the prominent central "characters" in the documentary. He gets it from both sides, positive and negative. The thing about the buses is not mentioned but he gets flak for first consulting the companies and corporations that operate in the New Orleans area (the most influential part of his constituency probably) about how to proceed and only thinking about his citizens second. Also he gets criticised for shifting blame on governor Blanco and the federal governement/Bush for stuff he could have done himself (like JDR13 said). The fact that he ultimately openly voiced frustration towards the governement while jeopardizing his own career (he actually thought the CIA or FBI were going to silence him, a scary thought if you realise that a mayor is seemingly scared shitless by his own government) makes him a hero in some eyes but it doesn't get blown out of proportions in the doc. His remarks about a chocolate city make more sense (although still being racist in tone) if you watch the doc I guess because the Bush administration at least has appearances against it when it comes to the fact that they have done nothing to facilitate the return of people to New Orleans and the population is predominantly black. In the mean time a lot of (white) investers are seizing the opportunity to buy (seize?) land and properties at bargain prices. But this whole discussion is probably more complicated than can be distilled from the doc. As an outsider to this all my view of Nagin by watching the doc would be of a moderately vain career man who wanted to do good but who got confronted by a major disaster in which he was completely out of his league. He probably was taking a career risk when he openly voiced his frustration but that shouldn't even remotely compare to the fate of his people who lost their lives, their properties, their families and their future. I think it was his duty by way of his elected position in office at that time. In hindsight he may have taken some bad decisions but I don't think it was out of malice. I would recommend viewing the doc, I think Spike Lee has done a good job of portraying the human side to the disaster and all the major policy makers that were willing to participate get fair screen time. Indirectly he does take a quite clear and strong moral stance on the issue (being failing/neglectful government) by his editing, but that is to be expected with a Spike Lee production.

[xSamhainx]

dont pollute my movie thread w/ your political BS!

Take it to religion/politics forum plz ='.'=

Just watched Plunder the Sun

Old crime drama 'bout the search for treasure among the ruins of old Mayan temples. Makes me want to go to Mexico and check them out myself!

[dteowner]

Now Sammy, it's a natural discussion of the movies he watched. Good clean fun.

Harry Potter 3 last night, Harry Potter 4 tonight. I've seen them before, but we're getting the Wild Dogs caught up so we can take them to HP5 this weekend.

[Gorath]

I agree about Clockwork Orange. People seem to generally think that it's really great, but I just dont feel the magic myself. It's a cult film, so like any other of them, it has it's devoted fanbase. I think it's the alternate vernacular used in the film that people really latch onto, people that I know that are into the film tend to try and talk like the narrator.
How is the language in the original version? In German the whole movie is artsy. New words were created, even young men speak in a completely weird way. They stick to it consequently throughout the whole movie.


Last week digitally remastered Kubricks were announced. Most of his major works. So if you consider buying them better wait for Christmas.

[slam23]

Ok, point taken, guess it got a bit political after all... :) . Saw Zodiac last night, always good to see Downey jr. hammin' it up. Also nice role by Jake Gyllenhaal. I would grade the movie a B for the storytelling and pacing but an A for the research part. On the whole it's a nice snack between proper meals. The director as I understand it had a ball in recreating all kinds of stuff from the case, right up to the grisly details of the murders. Funny how the end of the movie feels like a payoff while not havin' a real payoff. Next up is "the good shepherd" with Jason Bourne, oops I mean Matt Damon. At the movie theatre I'll definitly check out Ratatouille.

[narpet]

Watched Mitchell last night... this movie is so truly bad that it is a pleasure to watch (I know that sounds like an oxymoron)...

It has:
Joe Don Baker as Mitchell - oh my goodness
John Saxon as one of the main bad guys - of course
Merlin Olson as a bodyguard - hehe
Linda Evans as a woman paid to get Mitchell to leave the bad guys alone by using sex as a tool... but of course she falls in love with him - yuck - gotta feel sorry for her

Check our more info here (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073396/)

[Gorath]

Last week I watched 3 mainstream movies I had missed:

Mission Impossible 3:
Average. Couple of nice ideas, the rest is unremarkable. Cruise wanted to compete with the latest Bond and lost in every imaginable way.

Mr & Mrs Smith:
A nice and enjoyable popcorn movie. Not brilliant but funny, sexy and entertaining. Recommended if you want light family entertainment without thinking.

Ong Bak:
Yes, that Eastern re-cut and distributed by Luc Besson in the rest of the world.
Story, acting, suspense? Not much.
More funny than brutal.
The fight scenes? Undeblievable! A mix between slapstick and acrobatic stuff. The camera uses spectacular angles but is rather static. As opposed to most martial arts movies these "actors" really know what they´re doing. They don´t need wires and fast cuts to disguise their own incompetence. It´s absolutely amzing how much control over their body these guys have.
The flow of the fight scenes is very similar to this new French sports "parcours" in which you just run straight through the city and climb and jump over everything. Fluent and almost like a dance.
Definitely a movie you have to see at least once.

[Pladio]

Gorath : In a Clockwork Orange, most of the people speak in their slang, I wouldn't have understood anything without subtitles.


About other movies seen.
I watched the Transformers, which in itself isn't that great but I have to say it's quite funny and the special effects are spectacular, really spectacular.

I also saw This Thing of Ours with some of the actors from The Sopranos, well... most of the acting was great except for the two agents, but the story really s*cked #@= . One of the worst movies all-time.

I also saw The Simpsons : The Movie, which I found to be very funny, the only problem was that the story was 'over'. It was too much even for The Simpsons. All the characters however fitted perfectly in that story which is amazing.



I've been doubting about Harry Potter for a while now, it never really attracted me so I haven't seen any one of the movies, but since so many people like it I'm willing to give it a shot, but I'd like to hear people's opinion here... Anyone ?

[Gorath]

I've been doubting about Harry Potter for a while now, it never really attracted me so I haven't seen any one of the movies, but since so many people like it I'm willing to give it a shot, but I'd like to hear people's opinion here... Anyone ?
Surprisingly serious, increasingly darker fantasy movies with some teenie elements mixed in. Very expensive, high production values. The guy playing Potter is a very mediocre actor. Most of the other kids are quite talented though and get better with every movie. The supporting cast has to be seen to be believed. Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Kenneth Branagh, Robbie Coltrane and the other half I have forgotten. The directors are of similar calibre.

The movies build onto each other to a certain degree. They follow Harry´s fight against "He who must not be named", accompanied by one additional story per movie.
Apparently the books are packed full with details, so don´t expect to get logical explanations for everything in the movies. 2 - 2.5 hours is not enough to losslessly convert 700+ pages of a novel, even though they tried.
The Potter movies have a relatively unhurried pace. They don´t follow the old "one action scene every 8 minutes" rule. All technical aspects are top notch, the atmosphere is convincing. Some of the action seems slapped on and the solutions random and trivial though.
I´m not a huge fan of the Potter movies, but I have to say that they are carefully made, watchable and certainly quality products. Especially the later ones are not really suitable for younger children. Even the earlier ones have critical elements like Harry fighting a giant snake.
There isn´t much to worry. Just get the first one and watch it. Or better read the book. I know half a dozen people who confirm the books are superb and so entertaining that people get addicted to them.
My favourites are the first two movies. The first for the atmosphere and the one with the snake for the suspense. Surprisingly the critics prefer the later ones.

[JDR13]

I can honestly say that I've tried to watch the first Harry Potter movie 3 times now. Twice I've fallen asleep and the third time I just got bored and started watching something else.

[xSamhainx]

I'm saving Harry Potter for some other time on one hand, on the other I'm almost thinking that it's time to give in and just blaze thru the books and movies and see what all the fuss is about. It's crazy, the mania has even run rampant in my D&D group, so much Potter cross talk we barely got anything done. I must be missing something that's truly great. Either that or it's just some fad. Prolly a little of both to some degree!

[txa1265]

I can honestly say that I've tried to watch the first Harry Potter movie 3 times now. Twice I've fallen asleep and the third time I just got bored and started watching something else.

All I can say is that if you like action movies, fantasy movies, and the like at all then you are being disingenuous or allowing a bias of 'that is popular tripe for kiddies' to influence your choice. They are not the best of all time, nor up to the LotR level, but are certainly better than *any* of the superhero movies of the period, and honestly are not really that far below the LotR stuff IMO.

Being knee-jerk anti-anything popular is no better than flowing with the popular trends, really.

The Harry Potter books have brought millions back to reading who had left it behind, and have inspired kids to be better readers before their time than they would otherwise have been. The books are written at a middle school level but with a high school length for the last four, and are a nice set of tales.

Is there a 'fad' aspect? Sure, but pretty much *anything* popular has that element - look at some of the biggest movies this year - Spidey, Pirates, Shrek and Transformers ... all of them over-hyped crap. The quality level in Harry Potter movies, which doesn't rise to the level of the books, *greatly* exceeds any of that stuff.

[Pladio]

Alright so I'll put the first Harry Potter film on my list, the only problem is that I'm not really a reader and since maybe the books are a lot better than the movies I would have to read them, but I don't think I will really do that. I'm too lazy :(

[Jaz]

The first two Harry Potter books still lie dormant on my night table for some unknown reason, but I've seen all the movies so far and must agree to everything Gorath said about them. My personal favorite so far was the third one, though.

[txa1265]

The third is probably the best made - but starting at that point there is a real problem. Time. As Gorath says you simply cannot squeeze all of the material into the time allotted. When it was 309 pages it wasn't so bad, at 341 no biggie. But then we jump to 435 and then the mammoth 734 page Goblet of Fire and then to the densely packed 870 page Order of the Phoenix and then back to 652 for #6 and finishing up with nearly 760 pages in the last one.

I really liked #5 but they had to make cuts with a double ended axe to shoehorn it into 2.5 hours.

[Pladio]

Thanks everyone. Once I get back from vacations I'll get the first one then.

I saw Ratatouille today. It's a nicely made movie with a good story, but I won't recommend it to anyone above the age of 20 except if you like those kind of stories.
However, I'd say bring your kids to see the movie ASAP. Of course it has a 'hidden' message about anyone being able to achieve whatever he wants, but I'd say it's a great movie for kids. I found it cute, but nothing special, for adults, that is; Certainly not Shrek II worthy for adults.

[Lucky Day]

I just saw Cold Mountain. Let's see..about three English actors, one Australian and one Canadian all playing Americans. They were darn fine too. American movies don't usually end that way. The one major flaw in it I could see was character development. You could tell it was from a book the way characters kept popping in and out.

After that I just watched Shane for the first time in 30 years. Didn't remember it except for one scene - we all know what that is. I had my wife watch it for the first time. Thanks to TiVo that aforementioned scene didn't record. My wife couldn't figure out why I was freaking out. Thank goodness for Youtube. We'll have to enjoy Youtube while we can - since Google took it over its all set to go down ..the tube..in a matter of months.

The other night I saw Spider Pig. There's a song about that but it escapes me...

My wife loved all three movies. She counsels old people and brought Shane up with them and so they all reminisced about it. They don't make movies like that.

I just got The Queen from Netflix. I've always wanted to watch this life story of Freddy Mercury. It should be entertaining. It'll be a good reminder of our trip to London when we got off the Tube to go the Museum and had to walk by about 100 16 year olds going to the show. That was just after our visit to Buckingham palace and seeing a state visit procession for the President of Ghana.

@slam
In Canada a couple of leftist documentarians revealed that, among other things, Moore actually did interview Roger Smith for the his movie Roger and Me for about 15 minutes. It s well known in Canada but its being virtually ignored here. Its called Manufacturing Dissent (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0961117/).

[JDR13]

All I can say is that if you like action movies, fantasy movies, and the like at all then you are being disingenuous or allowing a bias of 'that is popular tripe for kiddies' to influence your choice. They are not the best of all time, nor up to the LotR level, but are certainly better than *any* of the superhero movies of the period, and honestly are not really that far below the LotR stuff IMO.

Being knee-jerk anti-anything popular is no better than flowing with the popular trends, really.



Kind of surprised by your response there Mike because your post are usually better thought out.

Maybe you misunderstood my comment, try reading the first sentence again.

Simply having a different opinion doesn't make something a knee-jerk anti-anything popular response.

[slam23]

@Lucky Day: i was aware of the fact that Moore does stage some situations which he then portrays in the docs as occuring spontaneously (like with him gettin' a gun with opening an bank account in Bowling for Columbine) but I wasn't aware of the fact that he deliberately left out something that's actually the central point in Roger and me. It's too bad that Moore seems to justify his means to an end while sacrificing the principles of good journalism. In my view that makes his effort to wake people up and get them thinking less strong. Thanks for the link though, I'll be interested to see it, probably have to search the p2p for it though because it won't air or be rented out at where I live.

I've been watching the series Wonder Years of late, great viewing it again after so many years. I'm a sucker for nostalgia, even when it's not actually something I particularly can share downright (not living in the States), but the feeling of lost youth, the timelessness of spending your days playing in the house or at the corner of the street not bothered by duties and the fate of the world at large, the first flutters lovesickness, the fending for yourself at school, the weird teachers. Those are universal things.