Last Movie you Watched?

Or Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson.

Or...

Tubes wrote:

If Fast Five is anything, it's fun. Sure, it sticks strictly to the fomula of 30% cars, 30% tits, 20% fist fights, 10% gun fights, and 10% grunting from the male characters. However, you could do much worse for a popcorn film right now.

Then again, I liked the 1st, 2nd, and 4th one. So take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Spoiler:

I like it if only for crushing the B.O. expectations of Thor, cause I'm sick of f*cking comic book movies.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Or Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson.

Try DEATH HUNT.

THOR (2011)

Went to a press screening of this last night. It was everything I thought it would be.

"Thor" is Incredibly dull and woefully boring. The film's first action set piece gives the impression that it will be fun summer popcorn fare, but the rest of the film fails to keep the momentum.

Only redeeming quality of the film was actually the CG. Asgard was a visual treat.

So, in the battle between Kenneth Branagh and Justin Lin, the winner is Justin Lin?

Go figure.

I've actually heard that THOR is at least as good as IRON MAN. Not that I'm rushing to see it on the basis of that praise, mind you.

Same old shit with different actors and costumes.

Yeah, just look at this year: Sucker Punch, Thor, Captain America, X-Men Prequel, Green Lantern, Green Hornet, Transformers 3, etc.... it's absurd. The narrow interests of 10-year old boys are being shoved down everyone's throats. I don't have a problem with the genre, it's just too damn much of it. For instance, how annoying would it be if Bond, Bourne, Mission: Impossible, Austin Powers, Spy Game, Get Smart, and XXX would all come out within weeks of each other?

Pop will eat itself.

Tubes wrote:

If Fast Five is anything, it's fun. Sure, it sticks strictly to the fomula of 30% cars, 30% tits, 20% fist fights, 10% gun fights, and 10% grunting from the male characters. However, you could do much worse for a popcorn film right now.

Then again, I liked the 1st, 2nd, and 4th one. So take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Spoiler:

I caught this one the other night, too. It was what I expected. At this point, these films are more nostalgia for me.

And fuel for my school girl crush on Paul Walker....

I was going to mention a random old movie I saw yesterday for educational purposes:

The Big Show (1936)
Gene Autry doing what he does: Singing and acting like a cowboy.

The reason I watched it was because it was filmed at the Texas Centennial Exposition at the Dallas State Fair grounds. It sure is fun to see landmarks from a place you've been to often in your home town in a movie from 75 years ago. It was super corny, but there was something incredibly fun about it. It isn't even an hour long, so it's a fun way to spend a class period in a Texas history class where both the students and teacher are ready for summer vacation....

Even though I dont see many comic book movies - I thought THOR was great fun. However, I thought the Asgard scenes were boring whilst the earthbound ones were hilarious.

Ah well.

Sayonara (1957) Dir. Joshua Logan

Although others may have trumped him retrosepctively for overall output, when it came to the 1950s, Marlon Brando was the actor. Although there were other method newcomers (ie. Clift, Dean), new pros (like Kirk and Burt) plus old hands still getting hits (ie John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart), Brando was the big one. Starting with his gamechanging role in STREETCAR, Brando amassed 5 Academy Award noms (the most of any actor in the decade), with a win for ON THE WATERFRONT, other hits had established him as a cinematic god in just 7 years. 1957 represented the end of the honeymoon of sorts for these method actors - Dean was dead, and both Clift and Brando were going epic - Clift took on MGM's biggest-most-expensive-pic-of-all-time in RAINTREE COUNTY, and lost. The film failed, he had his car crash and was never quite the same again. Brando appeared in Warner's big hope in SAYONARA. It did better - like Fox's big hope in PEYTON PLACE it took a swag of noms (10) but not the big prize, however it snagged a decent number of wins in 4.

The previous year he played a Japanese for comic effect in THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON, this time he's a Texan (odd accent and all) hot-shot son-of-a-general pilot who's been given a cushy job in Korea. His closest friend in Red Buttons (who snagged an Oscar) wants to marry a Japanese girl (fellow winner Miyoshi Umeki). Brando doesnt approve, but for his friend he agrees to be best man. Unfulfilled by his childhood sweetheart in Patricia Owens, he hits the town with James Garner and, at a show, he falls in love with the beautiful Miiko Taka - and from then on we have the love, racial politics, trials and tribulations of an epic romance. Of course like most of these epics theres superfluous stuff - the subplot of Owens and Ricardo Montalban playing a Japanese just drops off the map, we get a happy ending and all - but theres some spectacular imagery, most of the performances are sound though Umeki winning an Oscar instead of either Dianne Varsi or Susan Harrison is not on. Just not on. ;)

A last hurrah of sorts for the young Brando - there are a few scenes where you can really see how similar Paul Newman could have been in this role, and I suppose he picked up the juicy roles from here on in. From here on in was a slow descent from the public eye for 15 years until THE GODFATHER came round. As for Clift, it never really got so high again - for those who need some proof watch THE YOUNG LIONS. A big attempt by Fox for an epic war drama, its a big cinemascope black and white epic that wastes its promise by having an American half to the story which Clift and Dean Martin fail to make interesting (largely because its taking a lot of "inspiration" from FROM HERE TO ETERNITY) and it wasnt a big box office success.

Mr. Brown wrote:

Same old shit with different actors and costumes.

Yup. "Thor" is virtually the same old Marvel product. Completely shallow and pretty boring.

The thing that separates "Thor" from "Iron Man" is that it doesn't have Robert Downey, Jr. to carry it. That said, how this film has an 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes is beyond me.

The Thing from Another World (1951; dir. Howard Hawks)

A good film, but I liked the first half better. The cast was alright, and I liked Kenneth Tobey. I liked the typical Hawks depiction of profesionals doing their jobs.

Overall it was mostly satisfying, but I'm spoiled by the remake. Here we get some dude running around.

None too excited by the presequel coming up.

Them! (1954; dir. Gordon Douglas)

First time I've seen it all the way through. Very enjoyable. Cleanly shot in black and white. I like how it really feels like all of these guys came out of WWII and mean business against the giant ants. Nowadays this movie would probably star skateboarders or some shit.

Nimoy at 54 minutes.

colly wrote:

The previous year he played a Japanese for comic effect in THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON

perhaps the inspiration for Sean Connery's masterful interpretation in YOLT?

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Them! (1954; dir. Gordon Douglas)

First time I've seen it all the way through. Very enjoyable. Cleanly shot in black and white. I like how it really feels like all of these guys came out of WWII and mean business against the giant ants. Nowadays this movie would probably star skateboarders or some shit.

Nimoy at 54 minutes.

Loved THEM! A slickly packaged cop story, with the perp happening to be a bunch of giant amotic ants. Its amazing it works so well, but it does. 8)

Rebecca

Fine film, all things considered.

Minority Report

I think this is one of Spielberg's best, but it's a goddamn ugly film. It uses the same color scheme through out the whole picture. The "everyone's happy now" ending doesn't work with the rest of the film either. I think it should have ended with Burgess (von Sydow) dead on the ground.

During the viewing, I also noticed how Spielberg abuses the close-up shot. It seems like everyone other scene had one.

I loath Samantha Morton.

ambler wrote:

I loath Samantha Morton.

Yeah, I'm with you on that one. I also don't like Neal McDonough or Kathryn Morris.

$ (Dollars)
under appreciated heist flick starring Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn
I’d have to rate it one of the best I’ve seen, managing to balance humour and tension better than most examples of the genre
the two leads are at their most youthful and beautiful, Goldie is allowed to show off her kooky humour skills without terminally undermining the dramatic side of the movie, the scheme is nifty and nicely executed, but it has one flaw, which allows for an extended chase sequence finale
former Bond villain Goldfinger is along as the comic relief bank manager, and even gets to wave around a bar of the yellow stuff


Raw Deal
Arnold takes on the Chicago Mafia
solid gold 80s action, except that Arnie forgets to bring his bag of one liners
probably the least of his classic 80s output and yet still attaining a higher standard than many a Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis effort, IMO no one could match Arnie for the consistency of his output
future Bond villain Robert Davi brings his special sauce as the nasty henchman
but the soundtrack is a clunky generic 80s abomination of the worst order
over beer and a pizza on a Friday night this one won’t let you down

Defence Of The Realm (1986)
Dir. David Drury

Was in the mood for watching an espionage thriller along the lines of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold , or something of the sort, and remembered having an unwatched copy of this hidden away at the back of my shelf. And it didn't disappoint. It turned out to be an intelligent ,highly suspenseful (in due part to Richard Harvey's score) and , for the most part, realistic film (although the ending beggars belief). Gabriel Byrne (who bears a striking resemblance to the James Bond featured on Pan's 1959 cover for From Russia With Love) turns in a good performance as a journalist investigating the links between the resignation of an important member of parliament, rumoured to have KGB contacts, the crash of a US plane carrying nuclear weapons in the East of England, and the death of a young prison escapee. An excellent Denholm Elliott, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Bannen and Greta Scacchi also feature. Well directed by David Drury, the elevator scene stands out in particular, this is a very good film indeed.

4/5

Drop Zone
I had only read bad things about this, but I found it to be quite good
the story is slightly insane at times, but it moves along and has plenty of decent action sequences
definitely near the top of the list for a Wesley Snipes action flick and better than many of JCVD, Sly Stallone or Bruce Willis' efforts
with Gary Busey as the villain, 'nuff said