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

Watched Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street last night w/ some friends and loved it, everyone loved it and we arent a musicals crowd.

I've always had a hard time with musicals because they generally are quite frankly just too damn happy and flamboyant for me. Goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that this was certainly no happy-go-lucky affair! I was looking forward to the next musical number, the lyrics, music, and performances were great. This is definitely one to see in the theater.

Instant classic for me, thinking of picking up the soundtrack.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
5,228
Location
San Diego, Ca
Just got back from Alvin and the Chipmunks. Don't blame me, the Wild Dogs refused all reason. Good movie for young children, but anybody past elementary school is going to be snoring. Of course, here in the Bustling Metropolis, there was a fair bit of adult laughter, but I don't think that disproves the theory. ;)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
13,535
Location
Illinois, USA
Lust|Caution
============


Tony Leung (Mr. Yee in the film) is no doubt one of the best actor in Asia, and also one of my more memorable star from 1980's. He appeared in a lot of Classical Age Eastern Fantasy serial drama, and i remember him best as the cop in the Police Cadet (1984) but haven't followed his movies since then, except "Happy Together/Buenos Aires Affair (1997)". Tang Wei (as Wong/Mrs.Mak) is new but she apparently acted very well in Lust:Caution.

The film is based on Eileen Chang short story - about relationship between Tang Wei as young female spy tried to seduces and then kills Mr. Yee, the power collaborator to Japanese occupation government in Shanghai around early 1940s. The running time of the film stretched to almost three hours, to the point bored some film critics so don't expect any action.

The most controversial thing of the film though, is the explicit and raw sex scenes between Yee and Mrs. Mak. Even the hot scenes in Monster's Ball is nothing compare to this. Roger Ebert commented them as "involve so many arcane and athletic sexual positions" and that really make me day!, ROLFLMAO.... I'd agreed with critics that the director Ang Lee didn't create the love scenes in void or without purpose, and there're several interpretations on these (read more on Rotten Tomatoes). What i going to say is probably Ang Lee purposely choose sex scenes as "vessel" or medium to convey the degree of obssesion on one side (and Mrs.Mark painfull relatioship with another guy), while on another the danger (caution) for both Yee (imaging what would happen if Japanese find out Mr.Yee weaknes put their whole occupation government in jeopardy), and Mrs. Mak dangerous position (more than once Mr. Yee seems very suspicious of Mrs. Mak). What else has more impact as an "amplifier" than the sex?

These probably an inadequate explanation but hey, i think i would better go watch those crazy peguins with mexican accent in Happy Feet or play Gears of War for instant entertainment instead of keep dissecting Ang Lee's latest art film effort... So, yeah if you're looking WWII films with lot of action or fast paced drama, keep this one as last choice unless you have nothing better to do.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
1,028
Location
Malaysia
Watched Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street last night w/ some friends and loved it, everyone loved it and we arent a musicals crowd.

I've always had a hard time with musicals because they generally are quite frankly just too damn happy and flamboyant for me. Goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that this was certainly no happy-go-lucky affair! I was looking forward to the next musical number, the lyrics, music, and performances were great. This is definitely one to see in the theater.

Instant classic for me, thinking of picking up the soundtrack.

I watched this film because I just watch all Tim Burton's film. I wasn't really expecting much out of it because I didn't like Burton's last three films. So I thought he was losing it. Plus, it was a musical. I'm not into it either. But I was blown away. The costume, the atmopshere, and the songs (except for the "I feel you Johanna" song maybe), all were great.

Speaking of musicals, I got a DVD of Once on Christmas. I can't stop watching it since then. It's just a charming movie and a musical that actually make sense. Characters just don't burst out and sing without a moment's notice. The characters sings in appropriate times like when they are rehearsing, recording, performing, or writing songs. The songs don't advance the story as well but showcases the characters' feelings.
 
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
16
Location
Chicago, IL
On New Year's eve we watched the Final Cut of Blade Runner (I got the 5-disc collector's edition, the one that comes in the briefcase modeled on Deckard's briefcase, for Christmas). It was a nice cut, very nicely cleaned up although the main titles could have used some sharpening. I'll have to compare it with the other cuts that are included, it's been so long since I last watched the movie and I can't recall which version I last saw, the theatrical cut or the 1990's director's cut. The Final Cut takes the decidedly darker and minimalistic approach at any rate. No voice over and no happy ending at the least.
I don't know if it was just me looking for certain things in this viewing, or whether it was the cut itself, but this time around it seemed more glaringly obvious that Deckard is indeed a replicant - I don't recall ever watching the movie and thinking "yep, he's certainly a replicant".

There were a few other changes I noticed in terms of narrative direction and scenes. The movie is still a wonder to behold and though it's influenced so much it still stands as completely unique, I've never seen anything else like it.

Also watched Strange Days, as part of a New Year's "cyberpunk" theme. Fun movie, as good as I remember it being back when it came out.
 
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
Messages
658
Watched "The Burning" last night on IFC. It was your basic "Friday the 13th", summer camp slasher film, rip-off from 1981.

It was much more gory than the original "Friday the 13th", but the acting was simply atrocious... what fun :)
 
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
532
Location
Ohio
We saw a few things over the holidays:

Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (6/10): big, loud and unfocused, but a fun thrill ride.

Fantastic 4: Rise of Silver Surfer (7/10): much better than the original, but still missing something in terms of team chemistry and non-obvious plot elements.

Evan Almighty (7/10): works great as a nice 'feel good' movie - light and fun ... so long as you don't look too close.

The kids went with their cousins (who are college age) to see The Golden Compass and rated it as 7-8/10 between the four of them.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,930
Just caught a rerun of Judge Dredd on TV. Did I mention that I like my movies cheesy and camp? :biggrin:
Anyway, watching a dazed and moronic Hammerstein stumble through the movie made me want to re-read my ABC Warriors comic books, lest I forget that he's the one usually getting the heroic parts.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
3,754
We are the strange
==============

This is a strangest film i ever watched, made by some dude called himself M. Dot Strange!. The film comprised of pixelled objects as images from old arcade games, real world images, some Japanese style animations, while the sound tracks/background music seems heavily influced by video games. The story - about a young girls named Blue (abused by her master) joints a boy (Emmm) who is on the quest looking for some ice cream. When they arrived in front an ice cream shop the whole town somehow attacked by monsters...ugh...not sure it's attacked or what...

You could see the trailer on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qCSahatkbk&feature=related

Review:
http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=10209
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
1,028
Location
Malaysia
Great find, Remus :biggrin:!
I watched this example of greatness last night:
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared Syn. A very, very cheaply made post-apocalypse movie from 1983.

Didn't I say only yesterday that I didn't like post-apoc settings? Now I actually remember why. The flick was greatly entertaining, though... at least for me. I like them Z-rated. Hubby couldn't bear it any longer after watching it for 10 minutes, he went to bed instead...
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
3,754
Watched 20 movies or so during the holidays. The selected few:

Arn - Tempelriddaren 7/10 Swedish movie about 12th c politics and a bit on the third crusade. Much better and more believable than Kingdom of heaven. You can tell that we Swedes have a smaller budget for battle scenes and CGI though:p I'd just wish there was a greater sense of urgency to the political parts, as people were fighting for their lives as well as for power. A plus for NOT bringing out the clear political agenda of the books.
Indigenes 8/10 good war movie. Not much to add about this one.
The triplettes from Belleville 9/10 excellent French animated thingamajig that brings back memories of comics such as Gaston and fifties comedies. Not much dialogue though.
Secret Window 7/10 Solid performance by Johnny Depp.
Ladyhawke 6/10 Cool old adventure movie, but the music is truly horrible, and you get a bit of a "blue screen feel" from this 80s classic...
Yamato 5/10. Japanese movie about the battleship in WW2. A bit too emotional, lots of blue screen sensations, mediocre CGI. And since I do let politics affect my reviews I must admit that the continuous (and irrelevant) Hiroshima references left a foul taste in my mouth given Japanese attitudes to the war... And did battleship EVER use their big ass main guns for AA purposes????
 
Joined
Nov 4, 2006
Messages
2,013
Chocolate = Dope?

"ONG BAK director has a new flick called CHOCOLATE!"

chocolate2.jpg


Watch the Trailer!

Kick ass! =)
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
3,486
He also made a flick called Dom Yam Gung, which happens to be my favorite soup (though it's not my favorite movie featuring Tony Jaa).
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
3,754
Was that the one with the elephant? And that scene where he breaks the bad guys' arms for like ten minutes? That did make me cringe a little, I have to admit. ;) But good stuff.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
3,486
Yup, that's the movie :).
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
3,754
He also made a flick called Dom Yam Gung, which happens to be my favorite soup (though it's not my favorite movie featuring Tony Jaa).

eeee~ that burns my throat Oo

Back to topic. If anyone is interested in classic music, Amadeus is an excellent movie. It's about Mozart and I'd give 9.5/10 for this movie. Gave me goosebumps, it did.
 
Just saw Ratatouille and liked it. It's a nice little fun ride of a rat that uses a human as a puppet:biggrin: It had some laugh out loud moments and any movie with a rat as the main character is ok in my books.

As far as a family film goes, it's not bad. The evil little chef character was a bit odd though. He was the main villian in most of the movie and then they got rid of him pretty fast. Still definatly worth seeing.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
5,347
Location
Taiwan
Just saw Ratatouille and liked it. It's a nice little fun ride of a rat that uses a human as a puppet:biggrin: It had some laugh out loud moments and any movie with a rat as the main character is ok in my books.

As far as a family film goes, it's not bad. The evil little chef character was a bit odd though. He was the main villian in most of the movie and then they got rid of him pretty fast. Still definatly worth seeing.

My one caveat is that it is the 'oldest' of the Disney/Pixar stuff. Younger kids get quite bored ... conversely, it seems more interesting to a broader range of teens and adults than most of their other films. Personally I loved it.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,930
Saw I am Legend last night. Good show. We had a group of schoolgirls sitting right on top of us that were not well-behaved which made it a little tougher to enjoy. Overall, I thought it was quite good. I missed, due to the idiots, the explanation of how the woman got across to the island when all the bridges had been destroyed. That plot hole troubled me.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
13,535
Location
Illinois, USA
Back
Top Bottom