Last Movie you Watched?

I've never rare RAISING ARIZONA over LEBOWSKI. It just don't work for me.

Up in the Air (2009)

Good movie. That's about it. Some nice shots. Clooney is good. Vera Farmiga is fantastic. Good actress, sexy lady. Anna Kendrick does well as a character that annoyed the fucking shit out of me.



X-Men: First Class (2011)

With the presence of January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, and Rose Byrne, all in little clothing, they should have called this movie X-MEN: FIRST ASS.

Thoughts? I'm in the minority on this one. I'd put it over X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, but not with the Singer ones. Why? The script. Something, in my eyes, doesn't work. I think that maybe the problem with this movie is a lack of focus.

I'll say there is good here. The production design is good. Some of the cast is very good. I'd be very happy to learn that Daniel Craig has been fired from BOND 23 and replaced by Michael Fassbender. I'd like to see him as the next Bond regardless, unless someone better comes along. McAvoy is good, but doesn't captivate like Fassbender does. Bacon is good. Nice to see Supreme Commander of Badassery Michael Ironside back in action.

But the movie trips up to me. It's never bad, but it never really takes off. At least in my eyes. I'd maybe call it "episodic". It doesn't build to anything. Like I said, there's a lack of focus. It's telling more stories than it should, and not telling any of them with any depth. Not even the Magneto/Shaw one IMHO, which is the most compelling of them all.

What would I do? Cut the cast down quite a bit. Focus on...

-Magneto's story. His hunt for Shaw.
-Xavier's story. Recruited by the CIA for something that really sticks out.
-The missile crisis. This movie should have been X-MEN: THIRTEEN DAYS. There should have been more suspense about the very real threat of nuclear war. Shit, they should have started the movie with the beginning of the crisis and have the whole film take place during the crisis, not just have it show up out of nowhere in the last reel. I didn't get the sense that Shaw was palnning something I should be concerned about. It should have started with the crisis beginning, and have Xavier follow the clues and find Eric too.

I'd have Magneto, Xavier, and a couple other mutants. That's it. I'll be honest, I don't know about having Mystique in here. Maybe she's in the comic version, but it doesn't fit in with what I recall of the films. Suddenly Xavier and Mystique grew up together? The fuck?

A lot of what happens is perfunctory, a real danger for prequels. Things happen merely to line up with what we saw in the first movie, but there isn't sufficient reason or motivation for a lot of them to happen. I don't buy Mystique leaving Xavier. There isn't enough of a friendship between Xavier and Eric for the end to mean a damn thing. I wouldn't end the film with Magneto already established. That's like ending EPISODE I with Darth Vader popping out.

Oh well. Nice production design. Nice playfulness. But the movie doesn't work for me.

Yeah I agree with three of your points --

Mystique growing up with Xavier is a WTF.
Magneto and Xavier aren't friends long enough for it to have an impact.
Erik should not have become Magneto so soon.

I think point 3 was done because they weren't going into production thinking there would be sequels to FIRST CLASS, but now it's clear that this will be the case, and I think having Magneto already established as a villain is going to realy hamper them dramatically.

It's just gonna be more of the same, but with miniskirts. Fantastic.

Really, if not for the 60's setting, would this movie be as popular? Take that away what are you left with?

WATCHMEN has it's retro setting and own set of narrative flaws, but it's certainly more interesting to me than FIRST CLASS.

Another thing, Xavier should not have become a crip- a .. a.. handicapped... guy in the first movie.

I have to say was I sort of amused that they killed off the one black guy. Really? I guess it is the 60's. And it's a pity because he was much more interesting actor from what I saw than the other young X-dudes.

Oh yeah, Jackman's cameo is great. Wish I saw that in the cinema. But they linger on him too long. It's like, okay you told a good joke. Now get off stage fast. Leave them while they're laughing. Don't stand there until they stop laughing, it'll be awkward.

And that's what they did!

I didn't mind Xavier getting crippled in FIRST CLASS, but like Erik becoming Magneto so quick, it goes against the info in the original movies, which stated Xavier ended up in the chair after he became bald Patrick Stewart.

Oh yeah, didn't he walk in THE LAST STAND?

Well, if it's a choice between accepting either movie as canon...

Indeed just like EONs' James Bond is the same as Ian Flemings' James Bond. :lol!:

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Oh yeah, didn't he walk in THE LAST STAND?

Well, if it's a choice between accepting either movie as canon...

If anything what I like about FIRST CLASS's version is the idea that Magneto was accidentally responsible for crippling Charles. That's a good dramatic idea.

MYSTERIES OF LISBON (2010, dir. Raul Ruiz)

MYSTERIES OF LISBON is a staggeringly immense epic, weaving together multiple narratives of operatic passion and desire into a broader memory-narrative patchwork. The late Raul Ruiz draws upon great predecessors to set the visual tone (there's plenty of THE LEOPARD and BARRY LYNDON here), but then toys with the aesthetic by adding playfully surreal touches, so that the events seem perched on the edge of a dream. By design, it's all a bit messy, one narrative tumbling into the other, but Ruiz displays such complete mastery of the medium that MYSTERIES OF LISBON remains gripping, even over the course of its four-hour running time (there is an intermission). The word "masterpiece" is fairly overused, and as a result, devalued, but MYSTERIES OF LISBON is the real thing.

Machete.

:roll:

Mrs Aural Sects wrote:

Machete.

:roll:

I saw this film in theatre. Good for a laugh if you can stomach the over-the-top violence and general craziness.

John Carpenter's Assault On Precinct 13 1976

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074156/

excellent film, my first time viewing it and it's better than the 2005 remake

4/5

p.s. it would had gotten a 5 but I am giving it 1 point off for the Ice Cream truck scene!!

What's not to like about ice cream trucks?

Top Hat (1935) :5*: Fred & Ginger at it in a brilliant way, I love these classic movies.

Hey, I wanted Vanilla Twist! even has its own Facebook page. Needless to say, I am a member.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hey-I-wanted-Vanilla-Twist/267569686317

j7wild wrote:

John Carpenter's Assault On Precinct 13 1976

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074156/

excellent film, my first time viewing it and it's better than the 2005 remake

4/5

p.s. it would had gotten a 5 but I am giving it 1 point off for the Ice Cream truck scene!!

What of Carpenter's early work HASN'T been remade? They've messed with ASSAULT, HALLOWEEN, FOG, THING, and ESCAPE FROM NY is I guess on its way. The one that might actually benefit in some ways from a remake, DARK STAR, remains untouched.

I guess The Rock will take a lead in THEYLIVE!, right?

I doubt DARK STAR would benefit from a remake.

remake of Escape from New York?

Kurt Russell is Snake Plissken!!

no one couldn't had done that role better than he did in 1981 - name another actor back in 1981 that could had been Plissken!

I bet you can't name any!

GOOD WILL HUNTING(1997)
directed by Gus Van Sant
I've always really liked this film. It's just a nice "feel-good" type of movie. Van Sant was wise to not let his direction get in the way of things, seeing how the writing and performances are the strong suit of the film. Damon, in particular, I don't think has ever been quite as good as he's been here, and both Afflecks (Ben and Casey) also do a fine job in their supporting roles and providing some good humor.
8.5/10



THE THING (2011)
directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

I was disappointed when I first learned that Carpenter's classic horror flick was getting the prequel treatment because, quite frankly, it's a story that doesn't need to be told. But, seeing how the original film is one of my all time favorites, I just had to see the prequel. And although I wasn't expecting much from this, I was still pretty excited to see it. Honestly, though...this film is one gigantic pile of suck. The biggest issue, for me, is characterized in the difference between the two leads (Russel in the original, and Winstead in this one). MacReady is a strong, deliberate character, and we know everything we need to know about him from the very first scene. Mary Winstead, on the other hand, is never afforded such a luxury in this film. Yes, she's a total babe and a hot piece of ass...but her character has no staying power. She just stands around for the first half of the film, and then brandishes a flamethrower and kills things for the other half. It's the audiences connection to the main character, or any character, that this film is missing.

I hated the music, and hated that "shiny Hollywood" look. Carpenter's film gave you those sweeping shots of the Antarctic wilderness that induced an authentic sense of isolation. That, combined with Morricone's brooding synth pallet and dense harmony gave the film an almost palpable sense of dread, right from the very beginning. Carpenter's film was also subtle when it needed to be, had a great sense of character ambiguity, and featured downright shocking visual effects. This film, on the other hand, is about as subtle as being hit in the face with a shovel, and trades traditional VFX for hilariously awful creature CGI. Essentially, this prequel is everything you'd come to expect out of Hollywood these days. Aside from the epilogue that plays over the end credits (a nod to the original film), you'd be better off skipping this one entirely, especially if you're a fan of Carpenter's film.
5/10

DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978)
directed by George Romero

Although not as frightening these days as I'd imagine it was in '78, it's still hugely enjoyable, and definitely the best zombie movie I've ever seen. There's not much in terms of story...just four people hanging out in a shopping mall defending themselves against a horde of zombies. But, the dynamic between the group is interesting, believable and genuine, and you eventually find yourself engrossed not because of the story, but simply because you want to see these people survive. I also got the sense that Romero was trying to say something about racism (the troops assaulting the minorities in the housing complex, the hillbilly farmers drinking beer and killing zombies for fun) as well as American consumerism (the shots over the end credits of zombies just walking around the mall). Finally, I liked how this film had a nice sense of fun, which was demonstrated in some of the music, as well as how the group would start "teasing" the zombies (I thought the pies to the face were hilarious). Great horror flick, and a certainly a classic for a good reason.
9/10

dr. strangelove's Halloween Movie Marathon
1. The Exorcist
2. Rosemary's Baby
3. Dawn of the Dead
4. Repulsion
5. [REC]
6. The Thing (2011)

I feel watching the Carpenter "original" in protest.

I should go occupy my HDTV.

j7wild wrote:

remake of Escape from New York?

Kurt Russell is Snake Plissken!!

no one couldn't had done that role better than he did in 1981 - name another actor back in 1981 that could had been Plissken!

I bet you can't name any!

I'd name Stallone, he was on a roll with the Rocky films, First Blood, and Nighthawks back then. I saw all of these on video closer to the 90s though, including Escape from New York. Its sequel, Escape from LA was a load of shit.

Sharky wrote:

Just when I was thinking of how awesome John Carpenter was in that era and how I need to get cheap Blus of ASSAULT, HALLOWEEN, NEW YORK, BIG TROUBLE, and THEY LIVE, Adrienne Barbeau showed up on screen and I remembered that he was banging her back in the day. Truly awesome human being once upon a time.

BTW, that YouTube guy does good work.

PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961, dir. Roger Corman)

Splendid. I love the title sequence. And the score.


THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964, dir. Roger Corman)

It gets a bit bogged down with the conventional handsome young lad/pretty young girl romance, but it is by far the most exquisitely beautiful of the Poe films.


THE TOMB OF LIGEIA (1964, dir. Roger Corman)

Not the most meticulously photographed of the series (though, at times, it's visuals are astonishing). It's VERTIGO in Gothic clothing.