Last Movie You Watched? 6.0

Prometheus (2012)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446714/

This is a thinking man/woman movie.

You don't have to have seen Alien to watch this but it does help a bit.

The movie is good but I do feel they could had flesh out the characters a bit more and added about 20 more min to the running time to give us a bit more plot information.

Furthermore, the

Spoiler:

was totally unnecessary.

Finally, the film leaves the ending open to two sequels (according to Ridley Scott, there will be 2 more films before it comes full circle to connect to Alien).

I give it 4.5/5

p.s.

Does anyone know

Spoiler:

Men in Black III (2012)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1409024/

Sorry!

But you lost me at Men in Black!!

I didn't enjoy the first one that much; the second one was forgettable to me and this one is just totally unnecessary except to milk money out of movie-goers.

2.5/5

The Thing (1982)

This is a well acted horror/science fiction flick with some freakish and repulsive scenes. Morricone's minimalist score is another plus. Still, this film is not as good as it should have been. The level of emotional intensity doesn't rise to the level it should have given the circumstances in which the protagonists are placed. The dramatis personae are a bit too even-keeled. This criticism aside, The Thing is very much worth a watch, and a watch again.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

The Thing (1982)

This is a well acted horror/science fiction flick with some freakish and repulsive scenes. Morricone's minimalist score is another plus. Still, this film is not as good as it should have been. The level of emotional intensity doesn't rise to the level it should have given the circumstances in which the protagonists are placed. The dramatis personae are a bit too even-keeled. This criticism aside, The Thing is very much worth a watch, and a watch again.

Morricone's main theme is hands down the most unsettling, creepy film music to me. It sounds like the end of the world.

The Story of GI Joe

no, not that GI Joe. Based on the wartime accounts and reports of journalist Ernie Pyle (whose quotes proved invaluable in my Blitz writing) as he followed troops through Italy in 1943-44. Film was released two months after he was killed by the Japanese. Besides then Captain Burgess Meredith as Pyle there is Robert Mitchum who is impressive in his role (dare I say almost like Lee Marvin in the Big Red One).
As for the title, Pyle himself said he wasn't thrilled about it "but I was too lazy to change it."

solid stuff.

THE PATRIOT

Probably the only Emmerich film that I don't mind watching. A lot of it is pretty basic, over-dramatized, cliched, and somewhat cheesy. However, Mel Gibson and John Williams's score work well at moving this film forward. I always get a laugh from Mel Gibson's action hero attack during that final battle. That's typical Emmerich nonsense at its finest.

Gibson should have yelled "WELCOME TO EARF!" after killing him.

Haven't seen that thing in over 10 years.

Snow White and the Huntsman

Loved this. Tense, tight, beautiful, imaginative well written,acted and cast. Could have been a bit tighter here and there, but given everything that could have gone wrong with a movie like this in this day and age, it's a small miracle that what we got is as good as it is. 9/10.

Prometheus 3d

At its worst a metaphysically and ontologically confused, disjointed mess. At it's best a visually engaging and entertaining popcorn flick with some solid performances and occasional patches of brilliance, depth and wonder. On the whole a bit of a disappointment (though fortunately not on the level of The Avengers).

Glad I'm not the only one who is not on board with THE AVENGERS. Drax, you can join Sharky and me as THE OTHER AVENGERS. I'll be Robert Downey Jr. Sharky is probably the Hulk.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Glad I'm not the only one who is not on board with THE AVENGERS. Drax, you can join Sharky and me as THE OTHER AVENGERS. I'll be Robert Downey Jr. Sharky is probably the Hulk.

I'll be Thor.

PROMETHEUS (2012)

This is a film I'm a bit perplexed about. But let me first say I liked it.

Why did I like it? As a bit of standalone, summer sci-fi fare, it's great. Sure, its "message" is a bit heavy-handed, and it might take itself a bit too seriously, but I'd willfully take that over some of the other brainless dreck we get this time of year.

Visually, it sure is nice. It does seem a bit too clean and digital, sure, but that's something we'll just have to get used to. The scale and general sci-fi-ness of it all works for me.

However, I can see why this wasn't marketed as an Alien film, as it just didn't feel like one to me. There's really no palpable sense of suspense or horror here. I guess Damon Lindelof calling it a "remix" of Alien is a pretty apt description. Also wish his script would have done a little bit more of the heavy-lifting for viewers. A few too many dots to connect here.

And, apart from Michael Fassbender, who is terrific, the rest of the cast is a bit wooden. Noomi Rapace is OK, I suppose.

I'd give it a B or B-.

Couple of the last few films I've seen on the big screen:

The Avengers - Decent entertainment, but yet again the 3D factor tested my patience with its dark lighting. I liked the businesslike start to the film, with Loki's machinations underway right off the bat. Tom Hiddleston was the best character in Thor and now The Avengers. I was surprised with how much screentime Natasha got - that was a pleasant surprise. From our four main heroes, Captain America was my favourite, giving orders left and right. Thor and Stark were in their usual element, but I found Ruffalo as Banner underwhelming. Norton had far greater screen presence in the role. Although I suppose the choice of actor doesn't matter once Banner turns into Hulk, as it's all CGI. The main weakness for me were the painfully slow and awkward middle act on board the invisible aircraft carrier. Maybe Marvel fans got a kick out of watching a bunch of costumed men figure out their issues and all, but to me it felt like television rather than cinema. The climactic battle in New York also also uninspiring unfortunately - tiring location, tiring Transformers-like set pieces and robot aliens. At least it wasn't Michael Bay doing the filming. And no Shia LaBeouf bouncing around. 7/10

MIB 3 - More mediocrity from Hollywood :D , but nothing awful either. Taking out MIB 2, this film is a worthy addition to MIB, and hopefully that'll be the end it. Brolin was a pleasant surprise - he even looked Bondian at times (at least more Bondian than his father in the Octopussy screentest). After a four year absence from the screen, Smith has just become a pastiche of himself. There's nothing relevant about the product actor anymore. Still, another decent, light piece of summer entertainment. 6/10

Goldfinger - Now here was a great date movie! I had lost interest in the fourth Bond outing over the past few years, but seeing it on the big screen was the only way to get a feel for the Bondmania of the 1960s. None of today's leading men could match Connery's magnetism.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

I rarely have this kind of problem, but it took me 45 minutes to choose a film to watch. When I finally had settled for one, it proved to be a good choice. On my second viewing, I realized that this is a very fine film. The "man, stop making war on earth" stuff could have turned out to be egregious and sappy, but Wise handles it well. I'm glad Shprilebregg wasn't old enough to direct that film at the time. The special effects are most impressive, but when you watch Gort move from behind, it looks as if this steely giant was wearing silver-coloured long johns. It's too cute. The scene in which Helen tries to inform Gort with the words that Klaatu has taught her is incredibly tense. This film features a lot of good stuff.


World on a Wire

Film made for TV from '73. It's about a virtual reality created by a super-computer. It's the intelligent counterpart to the MATRIX rubbish. Watching both parts in succession wasn't too pleasant (205 minutes! I had to miss Russia vs. Czech Rep!), I believe the film was intended to be watched with some pause between the parts, but it was a good experience overall. Gottfried John had a very short role. This must've been my first Fassbinder. It's well worth a watch.


Thief

A very clever, realistic character study about a sympathetic thief. Despite being a man of good morals, the film brilliantly shows that the circumstances under which you have to live and work in such a profession won't let you become a winner in life. The meticulously researched and well-filmed burglaries, the dense atmosphere, the excellent portrayals (Caan's performance is superb), the perfectly tempered TANGERINE DREAM score, and the adept writing and direction make this a crime drama of rare brilliance.
It's the best of the three films I've seen, and one of the very best this year.

Sands of Iwo Jima

not a straight film by any stretch, gungho, Waynetastic thing that sort of plods its way onto Iwo Jima. Often the archival footage has more punch. The film featured the three surviving members of the flag raising team who as seen in Flags of Our Fathers had their problems post-WWII, notably Ira Hayes "the whiskey drinking Indian..."

Wrath of the Titans (2012)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1646987/

Thank the maker for DVD screeners

i would not have paid a penny for this POS

0.01/5

The Fugitive (1993)

quite how ITV2 stretched it an extra twenty minutes is bewildering. Nonetheless it's the first time watching it and not too bad and all that. Quite like Ford and TLJ. Good to see Jeroen Krabbe outside of Living Daylights.

Suspicion

Johnnie is one fuck of an awful guy. Nigel Bruce works well in his small role, almost as well as Grant in his major role. Joan is wonderful, the plot cleverly written. In the end, Hitch leaves undecided whether Johnnie is really just a harmless crook or whether he is telling lies again, and we still have to fear for Lina. The theme of suspicions is really well treated here. Yet another Hitchcock that is superior to NORTH BY NORTHWEST (which is not a bad film at all).
(Not my first viewing of SUSPICION, to be sure).

I had a hard time believing in their romance. Seemed like in Hitchcock's early films marriage wasn't really much of a big deal, it was just something everyone did after meeting each other within a mere three days. FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT being the worst at it.

Hitchcock trusts the viewer will buy the presentation of Lina as an innocent girl who is easy prey for a slick rogue like our Johnnie. I am not sure the hairdo shenanigans that Johnnie does to Lina work well in the story, but considering the film's focus lies on the mystery, I think her behaviour is semi-plausible.

ALIEN (1979)

Rewatching all of the Alien films. Just finished Alien.

I like a lot about this film. It's got a nice tension about it. It's never an outright horror film. It also feels ... dirty. The atmosphere just kind of helps it along. Great score, too.

Sigourney Weaver didn't do much for me, though. Didn't really care either way if she lived or died. Also didn't think the ending was all that suspenseful, either.

Can't help but think the bit with Ash spazzing out was the best part of the film. Also seems like the crew of the Nostromo would have saved itself a lot of problems if it didn't bring that damn cat on board. Still, I really like it. It's a sum of a lot of good parts.

ALIEN-O-METER:

1. Alien
2. Prometheus

Did you see the rape (analogy) scene?

Just be sure to watch the extended cut of ALIEN CUBED, but you probably know that.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Just be sure to watch the extended cut of ALIEN CUBED, but you probably know that.

I think they meant Alien 3...

I think they meant a lot of things.

Deathtrap

curiously I thought this was the Caine film that John Barry appears in but that's Deadfall but Michael Caine was hook enough. Sort of lost interest midway through, Dyan Cannon was beyond irritating and it sort of had its moments throughout seemingly only picking up at the death. Both Caine and Reeve were good yet...it fell quite neatly into the neither here nor there category.