Last Movie You Watched? the 8th

strewth

LUST, CAUTION (2007, directed by Ang Lee). Riveting blend of melodrama and thriller set largely in Shanghai under Japanese occupation, a place and time brought to life by outstanding production design, costume design and cinematography. There are many good things about LUST, CAUTION - it's a visual treat and the story is absorbing, while Alexandre Desplat contributes a fine score and Lee's assured direction carries strong echoes of peak-form Bertolucci and Wong Kar-wai.... but what truly steals the show and indeed elevates the film almost to the level of a masterpiece is an absolutely remarkable lead performance by newcomer Tang Wei.

I can't believe I'm having to do Jay Seven's work.

Largo's Shark wrote:

I can't believe I'm having to do Jay Seven's work.

a dirty job, but somebody has to

Hmm. Cute bum, but doesn't get a Dat Ass out of me. I like 'em big.

I like bubble butts.

Nothing there that disproves CJB's statement.

Just finished watching, for the eon time:

Manhunter (1986)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091474/

Michael Mann's 1986 adaptation of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon, the prequel to The Silence of the Lambs, later remade by Brett Ratner into the unnecessary and inferior Red Dragon.

Featuring an awesome music soundtrack, beautiful photography, and an up and coming list of stars:

a pre-CSI William Petersen;

Stephen Lang (Colonel Quaritch in Avatar) as the goofy tabloid news reporter;

Dennis Farina as Jack Crawford (the same character Scott Glenn later played in The Silence of the Lambs);

Joan Allen (she went on to receive three Best Actress Oscar nominations for her work in The Crucible, The Contender and Nixon. She'd also played John Travolta's wife in Face/Off and Pamela Lundy in all three Jason Bourne films) as the Blind Woman

Brian Cox (Ward Abbott in the Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy) as Hannibal Lecktor;

and finally the towering, very under-rated actor Tom Noonan as the Tooth Fairy Killer.

I still believe this is Michael Mann's best work along with Thief, Heat and his TV series Miami Vice and Crime Story.

5/5

Lincoln

methinks a good film. Nothing too spectacular perhaps but full of strong performances. The obvious is Day-Lewis who, it feels, brings to life Lincoln all these years after his death. Strong, strong performance yes. Likewise Tommy Lee Jones who I quite like anyway but does his thing as the be-wigged Thaddeus Stevens and with such style. Sally Field as Molly Lincoln, oh...Smokey and the Bandit be long past.
Surprise to see James Spader so prominent but he's not too bad. David Strathairn as mentioned with Memphis Belle and Good Night and Good Luck is the consummate actor.
Mad Men's Jared Harris (you know, the British chap people here mock and at that, I've not seen Mad Men since it jumped ship to SkyAtlantic so who cares) as Ulysses S. Grant isn't too bad, looks more like his old man Richard by the day.
And Williams' score is good. Seemed to accompany the film. Until I listen to it in isolation I'd say the music accompanying Lincoln's ride at Petersburg and the end of the film (the CS surrender/Lincoln's speech) was something else.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK (2005)

Better than CRASH, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, MUNICH, WALK THE LINE, and CAPOTE. Shame it was robbed at the Oscars in 2006.

Agreed. David Strathairn should have also won especially.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD FUCK better than MUNICH? Bullshit.

The Guns of Navarone

(the Blu-Ray 50th Anniversary Edition)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054953/

4.5/5

Look who is in this as a Nazi.

:cheers:

ZERO DARK THIRTY (2012, directed by Kathryn Bigelow). An overlong and often leaden-footed account of the hunt for Bin Laden, mired in vast stretches of expositionary dialogue that's hackneyed when it isn't impenetrable. Far too much of the film consists of uninteresting characters spouting undiluted CIA-speak about people offscreen who mean nothing to the audience (potential terrorists, possible al-Qaeda couriers, so-and-so's cousin who may once have met Bin Laden), which may be "realistic" but hardly makes for compelling drama.

While ZERO DARK THIRTY does perk up considerably in its second hour, and delivers a finale as gripping as expected, the first hour or so is a bore. Bigelow indulges in far too much preamble and directs it with a Greengrassian faux-documentary style that seems dated and dull. When telling a story that everyone already knows the ending of, it's advisable to hook the viewer's interest with some suspenseful, absorbing scenes and at least one engaging character. All too often, though, the narrative of ZERO DARK THIRTY plods rather than flows, and Jessica Chastain's CIA operative comes across as little more than a retread of the likes of Clarice Starling and HOMELAND's Carrie Mathison (with a touch of Sarah Connor and Ripley) - y'know, the sort of super-driven agent who has nothing and no one in her life, just her job and her assignment, and is so obsessively focused that she won't even give someone the time of day unless she'll get a solid lead on her quarry by doing so, and her pigheaded male superiors think she suffers from hysteria, et cetera.

This role (like a number of others in the film) is a cliché, which in and of itself is no problem, but there's precious little charisma or character development going on here to make one care. Who is this person? How did she wind up in the CIA and why is she so fiercely dedicated? I'm not asking for masses of backstory or subplots involving her personal life, but ZERO DARK THIRTY seems, in effect, to say to the audience: "Right, there you go, here's your main character. Any questions? No? Okay, let's get on with it." It all seems a bit too pre-packaged. Chastain does have some good scenes, and she does what she can with the material, but the material isn't all that great.

Last night I watched MARATHON MAN. It had been a couple years. Enjoyed the hell out of it. I'm not sure about the ending, though. Originally Hoffman was supposed to shoot Szell dead, and I like that idea. They also cut out stuff with Scheider sadly. But it's a very nicely directed movie. That Marthe Keller is very appealling indeed. Dig Michael Small's score.

The Yellow Canary

ludicrous movie with plot holes you could drive the Bismarck through. Striking Anna Neagle going to Canada to expose a plot to blow up Halifax Harbour. Is she a Nazi? Noooooo! She's a British spy masquerading as a German spy whilst pretending to be a socialite shunned by high society because of her German past.
Film might as well have 'Watch out for Jerry' stamped across every scene. Kind of good fun in that regard. Have a proper giggle at.

(but thumbs up for Margaret Rutherfurd. OHMS.)

curiously someone pondered whether Hitchcock took inspiration for Notorious from this film. http://www.postmodernjoan.com/pomoYCWEB01.htm

DREDD (2012, directed by Pete Travis). Taut, energetic and moderately watchable though it is, DREDD is ultimately one of those movies that serves mostly as a reminder of much better movies. There's the skeleton of a terrific thriller here, but it lacks the key attributes that would have made it shine: the agonising suspense of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, the imaginative sci-fi visuals of BLADE RUNNER and the brilliantly staged action of DIE HARD. Alas, none of those things is present. DREDD looks as cheap and dull as 1995's JUDGE DREDD, and the thrills and spills are very much by-the-numbers. The use of 3D is gimmicky and irritating. Karl Urban is pretty good (although he doesn't really bring the Dredd of the source material to life any better than Stallone), as is Olivia Thirlby, while Lena Headey richly deserves a Razzie for her super-wooden turn as the villain.

Everything Or Nothing - thoroughly enjoyed this Bond anniversary docu. Hadn't heard the stories before of Broccoli and Saltzman's reconciliation at the FYEO premiere or of Connery's brief chat on the phone with an ailing Cubby, found them very moving.

Loomis wrote:

Interesting. I've added THE VERDICT to my rental list. Any other Lumets worth a squirt? (I've seen 12 ANGRY MEN, of course, and it's excellent.)

I'd say that one should see THE HILL and THE OFFENCE (not only because Connery stars in both, of course), but I cannot guarantee those films will please every one. THE OFFENCE I didn't really like on my recent viewing, but this may well not be the film's fault.
I've got FAIL-SAFE and PRINCE OF THE CITY on my DVD shelf, I'll be able to comment on them soon, after I've gotten round to watching them. A lot of people recommend SERPICO, but I haven't seen that either yet.
NETWORK should be viewed once at least, but I think you already know that.
I've seen THE FUGITIVE KIND once, but I don't really remember anything of it.
I think one should focus on his films up to THE VERDICT in 1982. (Personally I didn't like EQUUS).

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Manhunter wrote:

THE VERDICT is in the league of 12 ANGRY MEN. A really fine film. It seems Lumet was best at court room/jury room dramas.

Have you seen ANATOMY OF A MURDER?

No, I still haven't seen it yet. I'm waiting for a good bargain to get the DVD.

j7wild wrote:

Just finished watching, for the eon time:

Manhunter (1986)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091474/

Michael Mann's 1986 adaptation of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon, the prequel to The Silence of the Lambs, later remade by Brett Ratner into the unnecessary and inferior Red Dragon.

Featuring an awesome music soundtrack, beautiful photography, and an up and coming list of stars:

a pre-CSI William Petersen;

Stephen Lang (Colonel Quaritch in Avatar) as the goofy tabloid news reporter;

Dennis Farina as Jack Crawford (the same character Scott Glenn later played in The Silence of the Lambs);

Joan Allen (she went on to receive three Best Actress Oscar nominations for her work in The Crucible, The Contender and Nixon. She'd also played John Travolta's wife in Face/Off and Pamela Lundy in all three Jason Bourne films) as the Blind Woman

Brian Cox (Ward Abbott in the Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy) as Hannibal Lecktor;

and finally the towering, very under-rated actor Tom Noonan as the Tooth Fairy Killer.

I still believe this is Michael Mann's best work along with Thief, Heat and his TV series Miami Vice and Crime Story.

5/5

A breathtaking, magnificent film. Incredibly tense, visually and musically astonishing, with many a great performance and top-notch direction.
One of the best films ever made.
(I can't wait to finally watch the English/American version; I've only seen HEAT and ALI in English yet. I may start soon and watch all of his films again on Saturdays.)
THIEF, MANHUNTER, and HEAT are indeed his best films, all three of them excellent. (THE INSIDER is not as tense and emotionally gripping as those three, but still very good.)

Slick but soulless is how I'd describe MANHUNTER. Also applies to another Michel Rubini scored film - THE HUNGER.

The influence of the TV commercial on cinema was one of the late 70s and early 80's worst developments. Pinnacling in tripe like TOP GUN. Its influence is still felt today from CARLOS, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, and THE AMERICAN to PROMETHEUS.

The much overrated BLADE RUNNER is another victim. Beautiful but dead behind the eyes.

Largo's Shark wrote:

The influence of the TV commercial on cinema was one of the late 70s and early 80's worst developments. Pinnacling in tripe like TOP GUN. Its influence is still felt today from CARLOS, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, and THE AMERICAN to PROMETHEUS.

The much overrated BLADE RUNNER is another victim. Beautiful but dead behind the eyes.

Agreed - although I did quite enjoy THE AMERICAN. The source novel by Martin Booth, A VERY PRIVATE GENTLEMAN, is better, though.

Operation: Daybreak (1975)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075019/

Rousing, exciting, thrilling World War 2 action movie about the little known British and Czech combined operation to assassinate SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi Germany acting Reichsprotektor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

Directed by Lewis Gilbert, this little known movie is a good view at a riveting 118 min.

4/5


Objective Burma!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037954/

Good World War 2 movie but it's laced with a bit of Propaganda and what people nowadays may consider racist (I didn't).

4.5.5

Below (2002)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0276816/

This movie is a joke!

1/5