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

Watched Frank Herbert's Dune over the last couple of days.

It was the director's cut, which weighs in at 295 minutes. I didn't find it to be all that compelling, and I remember enjoying the 1984 David Lynch film a lot more, despite the fact that it was less faithful to the book. I can only wonder what it could have been with a larger budget and better acting.
 
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Watched Frank Herbert's Dune over the last couple of days.

It was the director's cut, which weighs in at 295 minutes. I didn't find it to be all that compelling, and I remember enjoying the 1984 David Lynch film a lot more, despite the fact that it was less faithful to the book.

Have you watched the Lynch one recently? I haven't seen it since the theatrical release ... wondering how it aged? I really love Lynch's stuff ...
 
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Have you watched the Lynch one recently? I haven't seen it since the theatrical release … wondering how it aged? I really love Lynch's stuff …

I just started watching Children of Dune, and I plan to watch Lynch's Dune again in the very near future.

Oddly enough, I don't think I've ever seen any of of his other films. I've been meaning to check out Blue Velvet.
 
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I think Lynch's Dune aged rather well. You just have to accept that everything is weird and only small pieces of the story are actually shown.

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You haven't seen any other Lynch movie? :wideeyed:

Blue Velvet is extremely slow and especially at the beginning too beautiful to be true. That Hopper and Isabella Rosselini enter the scene ...

Wild at Heart is the opposite. Excessive from the very beginning. Few but bloody action scenes. Romantic, wild, unpredictable ... and with a fairy tale ending. This used to be one of my favourite movies.

Twin Peaks (the series) is still great. Watched it again last year. Slow, strange, funny and well acted.

Lost Highway is undescribable. Maybe a mix between a darker Blue Velvet and a more serious Wild at Heart. I don't understand this movie. Interesting to watch though.

Eraserhead, The Elephant Man and Mullholland Drive are his other relevant films.
 
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Eraserhead, The Elephant Man and Mullholland Drive are his other relevant films.

Guess you didn't think too highly of the Inland Empire then ? If I had to guess from the order and emphasis on your list I guess he lost you with the more weird and surreal stuff :) Several of my cinema buff friends feel that way too I guess…

I am not certain what to think about that one myself tbh... Can't say I didn't like it though...
 
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Eraserhead is definitely a fave of mine - I remember watching it with some friends a few years back and them being disturbed at how much of it I found really amusing ...

Saw both Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart in theaters, Blue Velvet also remains a fave, but I found Wild at Heart aged less well ... some of the over the top (for Lynch, even) stuff doesn't travel as well for me.
 
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Children of Dune

I liked it more than the Dune mini-series, but that might be simply because there are no other version to compare it to. They tried to mash the stories of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune into one film, but even with a length of 4&1/2 hours, they obviously had to cut a lot out. It seemed to cover a lot more from Children of Dune, although my memory of those books is a little sketchy considering it's been well over a decade since I've read them.
 
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Once upon a Time in the West

Finally got around to seeing this one. I'm not a huge fan of Westerns, but since so many people rave about this movie, I felt compelled to see what all the fuss was about.

I always thought this film pre-dated the "Man with no name" trilogy, but I just realized it actually came afterwards.

What can I say? I liked it. It didn't blow me away, but I can see why it's so popular among fans of the genre. I thought the pacing was great, and I especially liked the slow build ups that led to some of the action scenes. I even thought Charles Bronson, who I've never liked, was great in the role of Harmonica.

Anyone here seen "A Fistful of Dynamite" (aka "Duck, You Sucker!")? It's supposed to be a pseudo sequel. Just wondering if it's worth checking out.
 
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Anyone here seen "A Fistful of Dynamite" (aka "Duck, You Sucker!")? It's supposed to be a pseudo sequel. Just wondering if it's worth checking out.
aka "Once Upon a Time, a Revolution". Totally different movie. Chaos in a mexican revolution. A mix between The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in America, with a serious setting and some tragic elements. Sometimes cool, sometimes slow, often strange and of course violent. Some great scenes with Rod Steiger and /or James Coburn. I guess no other Leone movie is as hard to describe as this one.
I enjoyed it. Certainly worth watching and by any means a good movie. Just not everyone's cup of tea. I gave it away as a Christmas gift 2 years ago.

Once Upon a Time in the West is one of my favourite movies. Every time I watch it I see something new. Lots of unforgettable scenes in it. Fonda, Bronson and Cardinale were never better.

edit: All 8 Leone films starting with A Fistful of Dollars are worth watching. There's only one relatively average but still quite entertaining film among them (the 2nd Nobody movie). All others are at least good, if not very good.
 
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edit: All 8 Leone films starting with A Fistful of Dollars are worth watching. There's only one relatively average but still quite entertaining film among them (the 2nd Nobody movie). All others are at least good, if not very good.

Agreed ... his use of space and silence remains stunning. I watched Good, Bad & Ugly with my kids for the first time last year and had really forgotten about the use of silence until my younger son mentioned that it was more than 10 minutes before the first word was uttered.
 
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Alien 3 Assembly Cut

I had never seen this version of Alien 3 before despite being a big fan of the franchise, and I was quite suprised by it. Usually, extended versions or "director's cuts" are just a few deleted scenes added back in here and there. A3 Assembly Cut however is significantly different than the theatrical version of A3, and several major scenes were changed completely. It's impossible to go into detail without spoilers, but I'll just say that any fan of the franchise needs to see this version if they haven't already.

With the exception of one scene, I liked it a lot more than the original version. A3 was always my least favorite of the Alien films, but seeing this version made me appreciate it a lot more.


The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

In short, this movie was terrible. The original Human Centipede wasn't exactly a masterpiece of cinematography, but it had some moments as a decent horror flick. THC 2 just seems like an attempt to be as extreme as possible, and I had a hard time finding anything redeeming about it. I won't bother going into details about the plot, but suffice to say unless you're simply interested in the shock value, skip this movie.
 
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Alien 3 Assembly Cut

With the exception of one scene, I liked it a lot more than the original version. A3 was always my least favorite of the Alien films, but seeing this version made me appreciate it a lot more.

Pretty much how I felt about it. I must admit I do not remember the original version at all these days. I feel very comfortable including #3 with its siblings as a part of a great trilogy after watching this version and just usually ignore #4 :) (although I do watch it when revisiting the Quadrilogy set, because well, its aliens and Ron Perlman! ;) )
 
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Enter the Void. Tokyo and drugs. A bit of an assault on the senses. Original and demanding movie, very unlike mainstream movies. Visually as confusing as David Lynch's narrative. Exhaustively long but enjoyable.
 
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The Woman In Black

Really liked this one. A few too many jump scares (though one actually worked really well - and I almost did jump), and an actor that's a few years too young for the part of the protagonist - but otherwise a pretty perfect classic horror story.

Fantastic atmosphere - and I'm a big fan of these very simple and effective plot structures. Most of the horror was built up slowly - in that old-fashioned gothic "haunting" style. Strong imagery - and a great supporting cast. I especially liked Ciarán Hinds as the benevolent friend.

If you're tired of gore buckets and visually depicted torture, this is the film for you.
 
We saw that one last weekend. I agree that it was very well done. Still not sure if I liked the end or not, though.
 
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We saw that one last weekend. I agree that it was very well done. Still not sure if I liked the end or not, though.

I agree it was kinda silly, but seeing as how the entire movie is about things that go beyond reality - I gave it a pass. At least it wasn't a common ending. My interpretation, as far as I bothered to have one, was that the woman allowed him to be reunited with his wife, because he helped her find her son. Makes sense to me, anyway. That said, it doesn't quite make sense that he was so laid-back about being obviously dead.
 
Agree with your spoiler on all counts.
 
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Sonny wanted the Corpse Bride for Christmas, and his auntie bought it. Unfortunately she bought a BD ...
Now that we finally got a BD player, we got to see it in toto (I have seen parts of it on TV before), and twice at that because Sonny wanted to see it yesterday and this evening. Well, the good thing is that I must say that I really like it a lot better than Nightmare Before Christmas. The bad thing is that the ending made me cry*. On both accounts.


*So far, only three other movies managed to do this: Toy Story 2, Treasure Planet and The Bicentennial Man. :'(
 
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