Last Movie you Watched?

Makeshift Python wrote:

I think there's some potential in followups but from what I saw they just screwed the pooch. The first couple of minutes with Murphy watching his family's home suggested a more interesting flick going deeper into the concept of RoboCop. Just how much is left of the man in that machine? But then it focuses on stupid crap with the punk kid and child molester villain and got boring fast.

To see two different directions the sequel might have gone, look at
a) the RoboCop comic book, based on the original Frank Miller (300, Sin City, Dark Knight Returns) script whose elements were used in both RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3
b) The pilot for the RoboCop TV show, based on an unused RoboCop 2 script by the writers of the original

Makeshift Python wrote:

I think there's some potential in followups but from what I saw they just screwed the pooch. The first couple of minutes with Murphy watching his family's home suggested a more interesting flick going deeper into the concept of RoboCop. Just how much is left of the man in that machine? But then it focuses on stupid crap with the punk kid and child molester villain and got boring fast.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Oh yeah, the action itself is a'ight. I do love the violent black comedy aspects. I watched this on Netflix Instant and was very happy to see it was the extra gruesome version. Give 'em a hand.

It's funny this is the only version I have ever seen of the flick. I can't imagine it working without the gore because the over the top nature is part of its charm. Which makes me dread seeing the PG-13 RoboCop 3 even more.

I've pondering what I'd do with a 10-episode (45 minutes a pop) miniseries. I should post about that in the ROBOCOCK thread.

As for sequels to the first film... Where is the story really gonna go anyway?

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Makeshift Python wrote:

I think there's some potential in followups but from what I saw they just screwed the pooch. The first couple of minutes with Murphy watching his family's home suggested a more interesting flick going deeper into the concept of RoboCop. Just how much is left of the man in that machine? But then it focuses on stupid crap with the punk kid and child molester villain and got boring fast.

To see two different directions the sequel might have gone, look at
a) the RoboCop comic book, based on the original Frank Miller (300, Sin City, Dark Knight Returns) script whose elements were used in both RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3
b) The pilot for the RoboCop TV show, based on an unused RoboCop 2 script by the writers of the original

I knew of A, didn't know about B. That's pretty interesting.

I think a lot of the crucial creative members of 1 being absent is what especially hurt 2. Just imagine if Paul Verhoeven was still attached to 2 instead of working on his other flick TOTAL RECALL.

Makeshift Python wrote:

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Makeshift Python wrote:

I think there's some potential in followups but from what I saw they just screwed the pooch. The first couple of minutes with Murphy watching his family's home suggested a more interesting flick going deeper into the concept of RoboCop. Just how much is left of the man in that machine? But then it focuses on stupid crap with the punk kid and child molester villain and got boring fast.

To see two different directions the sequel might have gone, look at
a) the RoboCop comic book, based on the original Frank Miller (300, Sin City, Dark Knight Returns) script whose elements were used in both RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3
b) The pilot for the RoboCop TV show, based on an unused RoboCop 2 script by the writers of the original

I knew of A, didn't know about B. That's pretty interesting.

I think a lot of the crucial creative members of 1 being absent is what especially hurt 2. Just imagine if Paul Verhoeven was still attached to 2 instead of working on his other flick TOTAL RECALL.

TOTAL RECALL feels more like the spiritual successor to RoboCop, what with half the cast transferring over.

Oh man, TOTAL RECALL with Weller instead of Ahnuld would've been great!

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Makeshift Python wrote:

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Makeshift Python wrote:

I think there's some potential in followups but from what I saw they just screwed the pooch. The first couple of minutes with Murphy watching his family's home suggested a more interesting flick going deeper into the concept of RoboCop. Just how much is left of the man in that machine? But then it focuses on stupid crap with the punk kid and child molester villain and got boring fast.

To see two different directions the sequel might have gone, look at
a) the RoboCop comic book, based on the original Frank Miller (300, Sin City, Dark Knight Returns) script whose elements were used in both RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3
b) The pilot for the RoboCop TV show, based on an unused RoboCop 2 script by the writers of the original

I knew of A, didn't know about B. That's pretty interesting.

I think a lot of the crucial creative members of 1 being absent is what especially hurt 2. Just imagine if Paul Verhoeven was still attached to 2 instead of working on his other flick TOTAL RECALL.

TOTAL RECALL feels more like the spiritual successor to RoboCop, what with half the cast transferring over.

Oh man, TOTAL RECALL with Weller instead of Ahnuld would've been great!

Never thought of that before, but yeah, he would have been PERFECT casting for that kind of role instead of a musclebound action star. That's what hurt it. Quaid is supposed to be an average joe who gets thrown into this crazy world.

But yeah Paul Verhoeven's sci fi trilogy (RoboCop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers) have a lot of similarities that make them spiritually a trilogy.

I still like the idea of Richard Dreyfuss, turning the whole idea of an action star on it's head.

As for the film, I enjoy it more as an artifact than as a film. If that makes any sense. Dig the score.

Also, "Let's do eht. Mooove tuh mahs," is one of the funniest movie lines to me.

THE LOOKOUT Scott Frank, 2007

A solid crime thriller, but not a great deal more. A decent way to spend ninety minutes. Nice performances from all three of the leads, Gordon-Levitt and Goode in particular. It's well shot, well plotted, but not really anything very substantial. I can't help but feel that the development of our afflicted central character is somewhat undermined by just tossing him into a heist scenario at the end, but the heist itself is quite well executed.

CARRIE Brian De Palma, 1976

A good watch, but I'm sort of puzzled by it. In something like Dressed to Kill, I understand the conclusions De Palma is reaching. This just seemed a little incoherent. Carrie is very effectively portrayed as a vulnerable victim in the first hour of this picture. We're expected to feel for her and sympathise with her. How, exactly, are we meant to react to what happens in the remaining thirty minutes? I'm genuinely quite perplexed. Other than that, typically great De Palma.

De Palma-O-Meter:

1. Blow Out
2. Dressed to Kill
3. Sisters
4. Raising Cain
5. Carrie
6. The Fury
7. Hi, Mom!
8. Carlito's Way
9. Scarface
10. The Untouchables

THE BRUTE Luis Buñuel, 1953

I liked it a great deal. It's my first Buñuel film, although I'm aware it isn't necessarily a great example of his usual style, and I'm tempted to seek out more of his work - especially from his Mexican period. It's a bit of a superficial reason to like something, but I love the Mexican flavour this film has. Same with Kazan's Viva Zapata!.

I've only seen BELLE DE JOUR, but I wanna see more Bunuel. Guy was like F***IN' crazy man.

My Pal Gus (1952) Dir. Robert Parrish

While the 50s saw some of the stuffing knocked out of American fathers in contempary drama (especially by a fella named Nicholas Ray), its good to see they werent forgotten when it came to the family film. In a film thats got some similarities to the following year's TROUBLE ALONG THE WAY (which starred John Wayne), here's its Richard Widmark showing an uncharacteristically soft side as the dad of the piece - a guy who's gone from rags to riches a few times in his life, but that doesnt win the love of his son. With the help of his ever capable secretary and the lovely teacher of his boys new school, Widmark discovers his own soft side, and how he really loves his son. An absolutely disarming and charming ball of fun, leaves you smiling. :)

The White Tuxedo wrote:

I've only seen BELLE DE JOUR, but I wanna see more Bunuel. Guy was like F***IN' crazy man.

I''d recommend Un Chien Andalou, it's a zany 16 min experience.

Un chien andalou is pretty awful, but latter day Bunuel is very rewarding.

HIGHLANDER

"HERE WE ARE! BORN TO BE KINGS! WE'RE THE PRINCES OF THE UUUUNIVERSE!!".

Highlander. Another great 80s fantasy movie that did NOT need to be a franchise.

It Happens Every Spring (1949) Dir. Lloyd Bacon

Typically fun and extremely late 40s/early 50s baseball comedy from the boys at Fox - with a bunch of recognizable names/faces in Ray Milland, Paul Douglas (the chief), Jean Peters (surprisingly more attractive than her later pictures), Ed Begley, Ted De Corsia, Jessie Royce Landis and Ray Collins. Milland's an extremely meek professor who loves his baseball; and by chance finds out that his new experiment - a compound to repel insects from wood - works as a general wood repellent. And when attached to a baseball.... strikes aplenty. A similar science altering comedy in the formula of MONKEY BUSINESS, Milland gets onto the St Louis baseball team and leads them to the world series - all under a fake name because he's afraid his sweethearts father (and his boss) wont approve. All good fun. :)

Return of the Living Dead

For my money the best zombie movie ever made, and one of the best horror flicks ever too. Directed by Dan Obannon of Alien fame.

Under Ten Flags (1960) Dir. Duilio Coletii

Unexpectedly enjoyable B-grade De Laurentiis produced WW2 flick - as someone said on IMDB its kinda like THE ENEMY BELOW.

Charles Laughton's the admiral of the British Fleet, and here were concerned with events in the Indian Ocean in 1940-41. The problem is German Ship Captain Van Heflin, a master sailor who's sinking British ships at will while remaining a supporter of "clean warfare" - he's an honourable man who refrains from any bloodshed and treats prisoners like his own men. Interestingly enough the character that he plays later turned out to be a big NATO man. Which might explain the sympathetic portrayal. Heflin's also operating under a secret form of positioning, which the Brits are desperate to crack.

So we've got a naval plot, and an intelligence plot. And a silly little subplot which DeLaurentiis uses to get in some scantily clad hotties, but its immaterial to whats really going on. And whats really going on gets quite excting to be honest, a solid film.

Ten North Frederick (1958) Dir. Philip Dunne

Interesting Fox melodrama that improves as it goes along into a rather satisfying picture. Starring Gary Cooper in a much more relaxed, human role than his more famous laconically stoic heroes (which although they're quite good, this was an appreciated string to the bow) - he's a man who's just turned 50 at the beginning of the pic. He's a good man but unfulfilled, he's at the mercy of his loveless marriage with an absolute monster wife (Geraldine Fitzgerald) and cant quite get the grasp of his now grown children - played by Ray Stricklyn and the lovely Diane Varsi, from the previous years PEYTON PLACE. Various dramas bring him down somewhat, but then he meets first-time Suzy Parker; whose inexperience as an actress convinced Spencer Tracy to give away the project. Probably we can be thankful they did, because Cooper's good, Parker proves fine enough and although not a true heart puller, its accomplished enough to probably get a soft excellent rating.

Drax wrote:

Return of the Living Dead

For my money the best zombie movie ever made, and one of the best horror flicks ever too. Directed by Dan Obannon of Alien fame.

Ugh, I can't stand Return of the Living Dead. It's a terrible movie, IMO.

Saw the new Battle LA with Aaron Eckhardt.

Moral of this tale is that it is very important that NATO maintain the latest weapons tech and a huge army with lots of big guns, because you never know when alien invaders are going to come crashing down from the heavens and wreak havoc on our largest cities, ostensibly to gain access to our water. Space is a thirsty place

2nd lesson: When one is fighting aliens or fighting any battle for that matter, its always best to have Michelle Rodriguez on your side. Nothing gets done until she turns up.

This film is like being imbedded with an overmatched marine unit for two hours as they battle non-stop with the ugly aliens and their drone airships. Actually thats exactly what the film is.

Of all the cities to save though- Los Angeles.
I'd concede that territory in a heart beat and make a stand somewhere more worthy- like Cleveland maybe.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Drax wrote:

Return of the Living Dead

For my money the best zombie movie ever made, and one of the best horror flicks ever too. Directed by Dan Obannon of Alien fame.

Ugh, I can't stand Return of the Living Dead. It's a terrible movie, IMO.

HAHA I won't argue too hard with you. I have a soft spot for the genre and this one has been a fave since I was 10. It's kind of like the Evil Dead movies-- it's certainly crap on the surface, but dim glimmers of genius trickle through here and there.

tiffanywint wrote:

like Cleveland maybe.

Or Vancouver.

Ladyhawke

Ah, can't beat a bit of dork and dorkery ;)

Drax wrote:

tiffanywint wrote:

like Cleveland maybe.

Or Vancouver.

No I'd give them that too. They could have the whole west coast, as long as they agreed to stay there. Eventually a tsunami would take care of them. You want water- here you go!

THE ADJUSTMENT TEAM (2011, dir. George Nolfi)

An okay film, but since we have so few of those these days, it looks better than it is. Damon and Blunt have great chemistry, and I hope they star together in more films.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Highlander. Another great 80s fantasy movie that did NOT need to be a franchise.

What exactly about 'there can be only one' wasn't clear to them, anyway?

A Touch Of Larceny (1959) Dir. Guy Hamilton

Can't you just imagine James Mason saying that title? Unfortunately he doesnt, but thats one of the very few things missing from this absolutely delightful comedy. Mason's an absolutely charming rake of an officer of the admiralty, a former war hero stuck with an office job. By chance one day he runs into stuffy old war buddy George Sanders (always a class act) and his fiance, played by Vera Miles (garbed in Edith Head gowns and looking decidedly more glamourous than usual). Deciding he needs money - Mason hatches a genius scheme to dupe the newspapers into thinking that he's defected to Russia - all the while hiding out on a rocky island off Scotland with plenty of comforts. Of course, all goes wrong and he ends up marooned for real! Some hilarious fun ensues with a cast that also involvles Harry Andrews and some other familiar faces.