Last Movie you Watched?

Considering the Weeping Angels in Doctor Who gave me nightmares, the Blair Witch Project really only threatened to kill me with boredom. It was just unconvincing.

Urban Legend was better.

Jack Wade wrote:

Sharky wrote:

I really don't get all the hooplah for PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. Cheap scares for a cheap audience, just like its spiritual predecessor - THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.

True, but the endings alone almost justify the viewing experience, I think. And hell, it beats watching "Saw 12" or "The Human Centipede."

Just like how I'd prefer waterboarding to having my finger nails pulled out.

I've just got back from watching TINKER TAILOR in Islington. An excellent film. Slow, icy, methodical, yet with a heart. Like a good watchmaker. Reminds of the music of Sibelius. Very Scandinavian. Awe inspiring performances all round, the highlights being Gary Oldman, Kathy Burke, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, John Hurt, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Along with Alfredson's direction, Van Hoytema cinematography, production design and sound design, I was also impressed by Alberto Iglesias's score. Bloody well spotted, restrained and with a lot of unusual influences.

Good to see something about Tinker's soundtrack. I thought it was quite good but what do I know.

Femme Fatale (2002)

I enjoyed it. It didn't rock my world, but I enjoyed it. I wish it had had a lusher score.

Hilly wrote:

Good to see something about Tinker's soundtrack. I thought it was quite good but what do I know.

You got taste. :)

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Femme Fatale (2002)

I enjoyed it. It didn't rock my world, but I enjoyed it. I wish it had had a lusher score.

It's essential De Palma from an auteurist POV, and one of De Palma's richest ventures in terms of subtext. It also has a kind of joy that's rare in De Palma's body of work (though I guess it carries on from films like MISSION TO MARS, although I despise that film). FEMME FATALE is also crammed to the brim with striking images. De Palma films tend to be, of course, but FEMME FATALE features some especially elegant sequences. I'd love to watch a double feature of MULHOLLAND DRIVE and FEMME FATALE. And, FWIW, I think FEMME FATALE has a lovely score. It's lush when it needs to be. Sakamoto's remake of Ravel's "Bolero" is splendid.

Incidentally, I watched BODY DOUBLE last night. De Palma knows how to create a good suspense sequence, but I can't say I find the film particularly admirable.

Sharky wrote:

I've just got back from watching TINKER TAILOR in Islington. An excellent film. Slow, icy, methodical, yet with a heart. Like a good watchmaker. Reminds of the music of Sibelius. Very Scandinavian. Awe inspiring performances all round, the highlights being Gary Oldman, Kathy Burke, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, John Hurt, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Along with Alfredson's direction, Van Hoytema cinematography, production design and sound design, I was also impressed by Alberto Iglesias's score. Bloody well spotted, restrained and with a lot of unusual influences.

Glad to see you dug it. Can't wait for this one.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Femme Fatale (2002)

I enjoyed it. It didn't rock my world, but I enjoyed it. I wish it had had a lusher score.

Lesbian scene was a riot...

Harmsway wrote:

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Femme Fatale (2002)

I enjoyed it. It didn't rock my world, but I enjoyed it. I wish it had had a lusher score.

It's essential De Palma from an auteurist POV, and one of De Palma's richest ventures in terms of subtext. It also has a kind of joy that's rare in De Palma's body of work (though I guess it carries on from films like MISSION TO MARS, although I despise that film). FEMME FATALE is also crammed to the brim with striking images. De Palma films tend to be, of course, but FEMME FATALE features some especially elegant sequences. I'd love to watch a double feature of MULHOLLAND DRIVE and FEMME FATALE. And, FWIW, I think FEMME FATALE has a lovely score. It's lush when it needs to be. Sakamoto's remake of Ravel's "Bolero" is splendid.

Incidentally, I watched BODY DOUBLE last night. De Palma knows how to create a good suspense sequence, but I can't say I find the film particularly admirable.

Of course, I watched FEMME FATALE on Instant, with an HDMI cable coming from my laptop into my TV. Sometimes it doesn't have the best picture quality, but I don't have a wireless connection in my Blu-ray player. I enjoyed FEMME FATALE as a purely cinematic ride. Maybe I would have liked a more blaring score. I did like that it had Peter Coyote, whose voice I wish I had. I'd love to see what De Palma would do with a Bond film, as that idea appeals to me more than a Sam Mendes Important Oscar picture. Dare I say, I have to reassess MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE soon.

Blow-Up (1966)

Here's another one that I admire, but didn't blow me away. I liked looking at it (wish I could see a hi-def version), but it only grabbed me from time to time. And I probably saw a censored version, which I only realized after seeing the film. Ugh, that ticks me off.

Meh, I liked it. The mimes. I hated them. They're probably symbolic n stuf, but they annoyed me.

Did you find my mum?

Sharky wrote:

Did you find my mum?

Only after seeing the film.

So she was dancing? With the black dude?

I do love Vanessa Redgrave. One of my favorite actresses. Chuck Heston said she was his favorite actress to work with, "Even though she's a Maoist".

Keep guessing.

Hint: you can't see her eyes.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

I'd love to see what De Palma would do with a Bond film, as that idea appeals to me more than a Sam Mendes Important Oscar picture. Dare I say, I have to reassess MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE soon.

I hope you find more to admire than I did during my last stroll with M:I.

But yeah, the idea of a De Palma Bond film is intriguing. Though I'm not sure what he's got left in him at this point. We'll have to see how PASSION and THE KEY MAN turn out.

At the very least we'd have decent music.

And sexuality. I swear, QOS had less sex than a convent. De Palma Bond would more sexuality than a convent, but would probably be set in one.

M:I was what I consider "okay", there are script issues but beyond that I loved his framing. I caught some of it on HBO HD and the way it was always framed gave me the impression that, shit, it actually felt like a movie. 2:40 used to the fullest compared to other modern films that a 4:3 cropping would barely effect them. This is all just technical of course.

Today I watched the following films for $3 total (75 cents Tuesdays at the $1 theater):

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - better than I expected!!
4/5

Colombiana - not a bad action movie!!
4/5

Shark Night - if you seen the Jaws and Piranha films, you've seen this movie!!
3/5

Fright Night - much better than the original! This was an unexpected fun ride!!
4.5/5

Johnny English:Reborn, 2011, Rowan Atkinson, Dominic West, Rosamund Pike, Gillian Anderson.

This might be must-view for Bond-aholics. In the fine tradition of Get Smart and other spy spoofs. Enjoyable little flick with plenty of Bond homages. Bond is the direct inspiration for Johnny English. The list of homages include, the GF golf match, the CR parkour-chase, Piz Gloria and cable-car, TSWLM cliff parachute-jump, Q and his gadgets, the taking of direct shots to the sensitives(ala CR), Bond's tricked-out cars, a crabby female M, who doesn't relate to Bond's ways andBond worthy spy music, including a closing female vocal number, over credits.

Gillian Anderson plays crabby M, but here her agency handle is Pegasus, not M. Rosamund Pike, (actual Bond-girl) is lead babe, while Dominic West is another Bond-inspired agent and Johnny English MI-7 rival. The parkour "chase", in which English finds ways not to break a sweat, while his target carries on like Mollaka in CR, is qute funny as is the golf round. Pike is great to gaze upon as are others Bond-girl types who populate the film.

Product placement is taken to new heights. English works for the Toshiba MI-7. The secret service has its own corporate sponsor.

The Three Musketeers 3d, 2011. Milla Jovovich, Christoph Waltz, Mads Mikkelsen, Orlando Bloom.

First off the atmospheric 3d doesn't suck. It doesn't add much either but it doesn't get in the way, and make you wish the movie was in 2d. It occasionally does enhance the presentation, but this movie could just as easily have been done in 2d. So there is that at least; a 3d-film that doesn't make one curse James Cameron for indirectly causing the industry to go 3d loco. I still hope 3d is just a fad and goes away for good.

Jovovich teams with her Director hubby Paul W.S. Anderson. The pair also do the excellent Resident Evil films. Milla plays another kick-ass chick, but this time she's a double-dealing femme fatale, who breaks the heart of poor Athos.Christoph Waltz is an understated but still menacing Richelieu. He's probably the coolest character in the film. Mads Mikkelson echoes his Le Chiffre interpretation, as the villainous Rochefort. Gabriella Wilde provides additional eye-candy as the brave Constance, lady-in-waiting.

Big problem though with the casting of D'Artagnan - only the central character!!!!! Logan Lerman is way too young and way too wimpy. Not only does he look 16 and act it, he's also about half the size of the swarthy grown-up, and quite believable 3 Musketeers,all played by men. I know D'Artagnan is supposed to be young and brash but this is too much. Lerman is no Michael York. The climactic showdown with Mikkelsen's, very dangerous Rochefort is laughable. Mikkelson should wipe the floor with this little pipsqueak. Lerman almost ruins the film he's so badly cast. I was rooting for Mikkelsen's Rochefort.

Jovovich is the star of the show, but that's my Milla, Resident Evil bias talking. The Michael York, Musketeer films are better, in that they are far more grounded and surely more faithful to the source material but this latest take on Dumas' classic story,has its own charm. It's a way-light, but often smart little romp, which does benefit from some inspired casting (Waltz, Mikkelsen and a few others). Paul Anderson does have a nice touch with stylish little action flicks. He knows how to use 3d to advantage, not to mention colour. Musketeers is a worthy companion to his popular Resident Evil work.

if you ever watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes, don't leave when the credits start rolling or you will miss something!

Body Double (1984)

I loved it. It's like someone made a movie just for me. It made me think of THE KING OF COMEDY because it's from the same period, is IMO overlooked, and that's my personal favorite Scorsese movie. Is this my favorite De Palma movie? I dunno yet. But I had a blast watching it.

Craig Wasson (I'll never watch DS9's "Hard Time" the same way again) is quite effective as the frustrated actor. The class scene I really loved, because was in a BS class somewhat like that at one point years ago. Seeing the inside of Barney's Beanery on Santa Monica was cool, as I've never actually bean in there.

Melanie Griffith. WTF did she do her face!!!??? I didn't know she used to look like that! Jebus. She was okay in NIGHT MOVES, but I was too busy looking at Jennifer Warren. She's really good in this. Does a good B-acting thing.

I like Deborah Shelton too. Not much of an actress, but combined with non-star Wasson (it's like having John Gavin star in PSYCHO), and Griffith's good B-thing, it works well for the trashy quality of the picture. I like Gregg Henry too. Guy has a face that's about one-tenth Rondo Hatton to me.

I loved this film. I liked the vibe. I liked that it had a sorta bland non-star in the lead and goes through the shitty side of Hollywood and the porn industry, which I find more interesting in movies than the glamourous side. It also appeals to my sense of humor.

I must be a sick person, because I was laughing during the murder. I nearly lost it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Az0gjmqRw#t=6m41s

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY

A lower-tier Hitchcock film. I hate how it relies so much on dialogue. The scenes are shot beautifully, though, capturing the essence of autumn in New England. Also, I only really cared for Edmund Gwenn's performance.

Interesting musical effort from Herrmann, however. I can tell that Danny Elfman was inspired by the score when he wrote the music for Burton's BEETLEJUICE.

Mr. Brown wrote:

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY

A lower-tier Hitchcock film. I hate how it relies so much on dialogue. The scenes are shot beautifully, though, capturing the essence of autumn in New England. Also, I only really cared for Edmund Gwenn's performance.

Interesting musical effort from Herrmann, however. I can tell that Danny Elfman was inspired by the score when he wrote the music for Burton's BEETLEJUICE.

I like Hitch's humor in his thrillers more than in HARRY.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

I must be a sick person, because I was laughing during the murder.

It is a pretty ridiculous scene. I don't know that you can take it seriously.

But, personally, I find BODY DOUBLE kinda dull. It has some alright set pieces, I suppose--though nothing that isn't bettered by sequences in some of the other De Palma films--and doesn't have much emotional power. I'd take even what I consider to be middle-of-the-road De Palma, ala THE FURY or THE BLACK DAHLIA, over it.

I recommend DOUBLE DE PALMA by Susan Dworkin, written during the production of BODY DOUBLE.

Here's an excerpt:

"Artistically, De Palma could be placed as one of the "Whiz Kids," a group of five directors who constituted a central generation in American auteur filmmaking. Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and Brian De Palma were all friends, connected by old encounters... The Whiz Kids were American spinoffs of the European nouvelle vague of the early 1960s. They had been raised on the notion that the real auteur of a good movie had to be the director. It was originally Francois Truffaut's idea, put forth when he was still a film critic and not yet a director himself. The idea was that a director could take a genre movie...and so imbue it with his vision and technique that it would rise above the genre into the sphere of art."