Last Movie You Watched? Mark 9

Frank

aka the Jon Ronson story.

There's a good film in here struggling to get out, but Frank Sidebottom it ain't.

Forgot to post this awhile ago.

John Wick (2014)

I'm reminded of Ambler's remark about how a film is better off when not thrown a $100 million dollar budget at it. This certainly was. JOHN WICK is probably among the best in the action genre of recent years. So many big time action films today are riddled with CGI to amp things up, it's always refreshing to see a film have some slick camera work, stunts, choreography, ect. A contrast to something like the recently released KINGSMAN (doesn't help I watched that one right after WICK). Keanu has always been a strange anomaly. He's only worked well when used in films like THE MATRIX, and I have to say this makes a good addition. Never thought I'd buy him as a grizzled retired hitman, but they sell him well here.

Apparently there will be sequels. I hope they largely remain independent thrillers. I do like the backdrop a lot, which would make good for spin-offs with background characters like Perkins.

After the Thin Man

The irresistible duo of Powell and Loy make this another Joy, a young James Stewart is notable among the suspects. Wonderful stuff.

I really like the world building in JOHN WICK (the hotel for hitmen is pretty amusing). Great action flick and Keanu always commits to his roles which I love.

The Disappearance Of Alice Creed - tense, taut kidnap thriller that pulls enough twists and turns out of the bag along the way to keep you interested. Not often you see a movie with a cast of just 3.

Makeshift Python wrote:

Forgot to post this awhile ago.

John Wick (2014)

I'm reminded of Ambler's remark about how a film is better off when not thrown a $100 million dollar budget at it. This certainly was. JOHN WICK is probably among the best in the action genre of recent years. So many big time action films today are riddled with CGI to amp things up, it's always refreshing to see a film have some slick camera work, stunts, choreography, ect. A contrast to something like the recently released KINGSMAN (doesn't help I watched that one right after WICK). Keanu has always been a strange anomaly. He's only worked well when used in films like THE MATRIX, and I have to say this makes a good addition. Never thought I'd buy him as a grizzled retired hitman, but they sell him well here.

Apparently there will be sequels. I hope they largely remain independent thrillers. I do like the backdrop a lot, which would make good for spin-offs with background characters like Perkins.

I also forgot to post about that movie, I got the Blu-ray a couple weeks ago and loved it. Lots of fun, well made and surprisingly humorous at times. I personally hope we haven't seen the last of the hotel for hitmen.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Not often you see a movie with a cast of just 3.

Not a porn viewer I presume.

I am ... but not of threesome scenes that often, funnily enough.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

I am ... but not of threesome scenes that often, funnily enough.

Ah, a Lisa Sparks fan. Well, I suppose threesomes are a bit tame these days.

More Gianna Michaels.

A threesome without double penetration creampies and felching is a waste of time, as far as I'm concerned.

Makeshift Python wrote:

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

Well, that was disappointing. I'm very mixed. On one hand, I enjoyed it in parts while finding others insufferable. The talks of this being a Roger Moore film for the 21st century couldn't be more false. I was wondering why Moore wasn't brought along as a veteran Kingsman agent or something, just to give a nod to the kind of flamboyancy and flippancy of an era that's long gone. Well, I can see he probably would have never agreed to be in it anyway if it was offered. I didn't like the ultra violence, or at least its cartoonish style. I hated that sped up thing that Vaughn does with the action (particularly in the bar and church). Characters talk about how they prefer the old Bond films, before the series took itself more seriously, yet this film seems to take that sentiment up a notch by amping up the humor in a way that not even those old Bond films went for. For example, the main villains were not treated like jokes (why waste Samuel Jackson by giving him a lisp is just baffling) and there wasn't a gag every five minutes in those flicks. I'm all for bringing back some of the fun of the older films (and I hope SPECTRE brings some of it back to a degree) but at least the older films knew how to keep the right balance.

But onto the positive stuff. I dug the gag at the end, it's the only part that really felt in line with those Moore films (including having the decency of not showing our man in action, leaving it to the imagination). In the context of what the rest of the film (Lancelot getting a very curious demotion, ect), yeah, I'm not crazy about it. Might have worked better to just have the two agents shag at the end instead of with that princess (but then again I guess the literal damsel in distress was the joke, I don't care for it). While I'm not crazy about the OTT violence, I dug the henchwoman in concept. That's pretty awesome. It's curious that she's not given a more extravagant death though. Just cut and poisoned. After having people sliced in half and heads exploding, you think they'd up it with her. Not that I'm complaining, it's just a curious decision. I like Eggsy okay. I LOVE Colin Firth and admit that my enthusiasm with the film died when his character was offed. I would have preferred to have him to have been the lead.

I largely agree with this.

I thought the cartoonishly graphic violence was rather jarring considering the tone of the film. Guess Game of Thrones has desensitised everyone.

Erica Ambler wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

I am ... but not of threesome scenes that often, funnily enough.

Ah, a Lisa Sparks fan. Well, I suppose threesomes are a bit tame these days.

I had to Google her (steady), to be honest.

I mostly drop by here - www.youporn.com

Obviously don't click on that at your workplace/school/place of worship, kids.

THE GODFATHER: PART III (1990)

I caved and watched it. Disappointing. Although Pacino's performance is committed, and I don't blame him, he's playing an entirely different character throughout most of this. There are a few flashes of brilliance that make it worth watching, I suppose, but by and large this is a far cry from the previous two and I don't even consider it canonical.

Kingsman, again. Still great fun.

Enjoyed this response of Matthew Vaughn's to the film's ending being deemed *offensive* by some -

"If you’ve noticed, this is my Spinal Tap of trying to find 11 with every scene. What happened there was I studied all the old movies, especially the Bond ones. At the end of Moonraker, he’s floating around in space on Dr Goodhead, and they say, 'Bond is attempting reentry'. In The Spy Who Loved Me, he says he’s 'keeping the British end up'.", Vaughn explained.

"The innuendo is pretty strong and always comes from the men. I just thought it would be great to turn it on its head by having the woman say it. I actually think it’s empowering".

He added that "Some bloody feminists are accusing me of being a misogynist. I’m like, 'It couldn’t be further from the truth'. It’s a celebration of women and the woman being empowered in a weird way in my mind, which will cause a big argument again I’m sure. It’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek and crazy".

Without the line, "it just didn't feel as brave as the rest of the movie is". And Vaughn admits that the controversy has caught him by surprise. He's talked of people coming up to him, saying they loved the film, but that they were offended by the joke at the end. "Really? That's more offensive than exploding heads, massacres in church, swearing, people being cut in half?" .

Star Trek II and III, by way of tribute to Mr Nimoy. Wrath Of Khan is obviously terrific, whereas Search For Spock (for me) mostly avoids the so-called 'curse' of the odd-numbered Trek movies.

Night of the Generals

plods along driven by a classic Peter O'Toole performance. Christopher Plummer's role is far too brief (over in about 3 minutes), Joanna Pettet...petting...and liberally sprinkled with well known faces. How odd to see John Gregson as a SS officer some years after thrashing Geneiveve down country lanes.
Best still is two Blofelds in some scenes together, Messrs Pleasance and Gray of course.
Tom Courtenay, no idea. Every film I've seen him in seems to be the same thing.

GONE GIRL

Read the book when Fincher's name was attached to direct, and saw the movie based upon Fincher and Rosamund Pike's involvement. With all the hype about Pike's performance (it's hard to remember that she was actually the "front runner" for an Oscar when the film hit theaters) I guess I was expecting to be spellbound a bit more. There was nothing wrong with her performance and she's very good in it, but compared to similar roles....i.e. Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, and Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns, I just can't help but thinking this was not quite as good.

For most of that I blame Fincher; even at 150 minutes, the film still could stand to be a few minutes longer. He hurries through a few scenes (or else they're badly edited) and motivations and character transformations aren't given enough time to breathe or develop.

Maybe you shouldn't read the book before seeing the movie; that may have prejudiced me a bit towards Pike, since I knew everything that was going to happen (movie stays extremely faithful to book). I don't know.....she actually came off better in DAD.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Been a long time since I've watched this. Kinda glad I kept that distance. That score is probably my favorite thing in the whole movie.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

GONE GIRL

Read the book when Fincher's name was attached to direct, and saw the movie based upon Fincher and Rosamund Pike's involvement. With all the hype about Pike's performance (it's hard to remember that she was actually the "front runner" for an Oscar when the film hit theaters) I guess I was expecting to be spellbound a bit more. There was nothing wrong with her performance and she's very good in it, but compared to similar roles....i.e. Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, and Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns, I just can't help but thinking this was not quite as good.

For most of that I blame Fincher; even at 150 minutes, the film still could stand to be a few minutes longer. He hurries through a few scenes (or else they're badly edited) and motivations and character transformations aren't given enough time to breathe or develop.

Maybe you shouldn't read the book before seeing the movie; that may have prejudiced me a bit towards Pike, since I knew everything that was going to happen (movie stays extremely faithful to book). I don't know.....she actually came off better in DAD.

Don't really understand all of the love Pike has gotten for this performance. Considering the fact that Amazing Amy is supposed to be a master manipulator, the very least you'd expect is for her to convince the audience. Even the two actresses in the minor supporting roles (Carrie Coon and Kim Dickens) outshine her.

Salomé wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

GONE GIRL

Read the book when Fincher's name was attached to direct, and saw the movie based upon Fincher and Rosamund Pike's involvement. With all the hype about Pike's performance (it's hard to remember that she was actually the "front runner" for an Oscar when the film hit theaters) I guess I was expecting to be spellbound a bit more. There was nothing wrong with her performance and she's very good in it, but compared to similar roles....i.e. Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, and Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns, I just can't help but thinking this was not quite as good.

For most of that I blame Fincher; even at 150 minutes, the film still could stand to be a few minutes longer. He hurries through a few scenes (or else they're badly edited) and motivations and character transformations aren't given enough time to breathe or develop.

Maybe you shouldn't read the book before seeing the movie; that may have prejudiced me a bit towards Pike, since I knew everything that was going to happen (movie stays extremely faithful to book). I don't know.....she actually came off better in DAD.

Don't really understand all of the love Pike has gotten for this performance. Considering the fact that Amazing Amy is supposed to be a master manipulator, the very least you'd expect is for her to convince the audience.

Yeah, so you'd need Pike to sell the idea of being the manipulator, and she did. It's only her accent that lets her down a little bit, but she embodied the character otherwise.

Have been catching up with some of the recent Best Picture nominees (and the winner):

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING. Utterly absorbing and profoundly moving. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones give remarkable performances. If I have one small gripe it's that the film could perhaps have done a little more to explain - in layman's terms, of course - just why Hawking is so important in his field. Otherwise, this is stunning stuff and one of the best films I've seen in months.

WHIPLASH. Found it a bit of a snooze, chiefly because I didn't care about the protagonist (who is neither likeable nor interesting) or indeed any of the other characters. Neither did I buy - and this is a serious flaw in a film that I'd felt led to understand was an intelligent and believable drama - some of the situations presented as key moments. And I also had my issues with the apparent and highly questionable moral of the story, which may be stated as Nastiness Breeds Excellence (I wonder whether WHIPLASH was pitched as "What if R. Lee Ermey in FULL METAL JACKET were a music teacher?").

AMERICAN SNIPER. Like THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, this is a compelling biopic that packs, as they say, an emotional wallop while managing to never come across as contrived or pandering. One of Clint's best as a director. Bradley Cooper is superb.

BIRDMAN (OR THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES). My reaction to this one was similar to my reaction to THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL. Both seem highly original and are stunners on a visual level, yet they left me feeling shortchanged with regard to characters worth caring about and a story worth sitting through. BIRDMAN is great to look at, some of the dialogue is wonderful (and a lot of it isn't), and there are one or two scenes that are pure gold. Keaton is terrific. Emotionally, though, the whole thing left me cold and with the sense of having experienced little more than an empty box of tricks. I also found all the showbiz in-jokery (which at least isn't present in BUDAPEST) somewhat tiresome and self-congratulatory.

Salomé wrote:

Don't really understand all of the love Pike has gotten for this performance. Considering the fact that Amazing Amy is supposed to be a master manipulator, the very least you'd expect is for her to convince the audience. Even the two actresses in the minor supporting roles (Carrie Coon and Kim Dickens) outshine her.

I read GIRL WITH DRAGON TATTOO because I heard Fincher was directing it and I saw it because of both Fincher and Craig. Twice Fincher's name attached to a book adaptation has gotten my notice; in both instances I'd never heard of the book(s) that he was adapting. DRAGON TATTOO was a spell-binding book; GONE GIRL....eh, not so much.

In both films Fincher gets great work out of his actresses, but I think he gets more out of Mara Rooney because the script works better. Rosamund Pike was very good, but I think maybe her best work comes too late in the film to really justify an Oscar nomination. If I had seen more of what we saw with her and the wine bottle/surveillance footage scene, or the champagne bottle (you know, the crazy sick stuff), her performance might've been a grand slam. She's not really allowed to loosen up and go full-throttle until much too late in the film.

I've also read some people who thought her performance might've been off a little because she was having to slow down her pronunciation in order to get the American accent, but I'd have written the part to include her having a British background. I do think that slowed her down a bit.

She's still in my Top Five Favorite Bond Girls; they can never take that from her. But her performance as a femme fatale in DAD was better than her performance as a wayward, lost housewife in GONE GIRL. She should've gotten an Oscar for DIE ANOTHER DAY. But she won the Gravity instead for DAD, which is a bigger honor than getting an Oscar anyway.

The Wind and the Lion (1975)

More fun than I expected. Brian Keith nearly show the stole.

Brian Keith was one heck of an actor...well, at least whenever I've seen him in something he's larger than life. The best thing I remember about Meteor.