What have you watched recently?

kearneybobs

Basq wrote: »

Rewatched The Prestige' for the 3rd or 4th time on Blu-ray - and am still spotting new little "bits and pieces / nods" even now. Still as fantastic now as the time I saw it fresh.

That film is my number one film of all time. Think I might watch it again tonight for the 10th time i think. Thanks Basq. Have it on DVD and am tempted to get it on BluRay too.

ronoc 1

saw the town,really liked it,action really well done,acting was excellent even ben affleck wasnt too bad.it could have been a classic only for its spectacularly lame ending

tim_holsters

I saw Sucker Punch at the weekend. Absolutely appalling, one to avoid.

SarahBM

Saw the movie Limitless today. It was actually better than I expected. I really enjoyed it!
and Bradley Cooper is a bit of alright ;-)

Galvasean

Watched Source Code today. It's not bad. Won't blow your mind, but it passes the time.

The Volt

Watched Muxmauschenstill. Very weird, black comedy from Germany. Enjoyed it though

Tony EH

'Star Wars'

Unfortunately, not the original 1977 cinema version, but the “bastardised” 2000’s version. Albeit, with an improved (but still pointless) “Jabba” sequence, but it’s still a pale viewing experience, when compared with the more streamlined original. Like ‘Jaws’ from 1975, ‘Star Wars’ represents the kicking off of the Summer blockbuster that has, unfortunately, diseased Hollywood for decades. However, in 1977, it was a truly spectacular event and such “event” movies were unheard of. ‘Star Wars’ was so successful, it made bucket-loads of money and knocked ‘Jaws’ off of it’s “top earner” spot. It made a star out of carpenter Harrison Ford, household names out of the three leads, a multi-millionaire out of George Lucas and enabled one of the greatest trilogies ever to grace the screen.

It’s funny to think now, but ‘Star Wars’ was very nearly a non-starter. Nobody was willing to pick it up, until 20th Century Fox took a huge gamble and threw a modest amount of money at Lucas and expected him to turn in a low budget, but respectable sci-fi flick. Little did they know that they were going to get the biggest cinema extravaganza that the movies ever produced. The studio would certainly not have figured that out from reading the script, which was a mish mash of nonsense depicting a princess in distress and a farm-boy who runs off with a wizard and a scoundrel to rescue her. The story was simple enough and rather hokey, but the vision that Lucas (and many others involved) had, would elaborate on the paltry story and enable the viewer to buy into it. Such care was put into the visuals, that the story became believable within the realms of the world that was created, because the world that was created was filled with objects that looked used. They looked functional and operational. Gone was the sparkly Sci-Fi of ‘Logan’s Run’ or the semi-future (but recognisably 70’s) visions of the likes of ‘Soylent Green’. Here we had a brand new world, something from “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” It was just never done before and it carried off a generation of imaginations and made obsessive’s out of millions of 70’s kids. In fact, so loving created was the world of ‘Star Wars’, it still stands up today, nearly 34 years later and even surpasses the more “modern” prequels, simply because the world was made up of sets, models and other tangible items, rather than…er…nothing.

‘Star Wars’ is far from perfect though. Often, the acting is weak, the story confusing (to some people) and the editing is so fast paced, that it can leave some people behind. But it never fails to entertain. And, in this form (the director’s cut as it were), it has some appallingly bad inserts, including the aforementioned “Jabba sequence”. Most of the “improvements” Lucas decided to put into ‘Star Wars’ helped. The computer aided clean-up of the picture was a good idea, as was upping the number of spacecraft on the screen in certain scenes. But, having silly edits like “Greedo” firing first and “Jabba” meeting with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) were so inept, it made me realise that the constraints that Lucas had imposed on him, but financially and time-wise, for the original 70’s production were a good thing as it forced him to rethink his ideas, instead of simply going with them. The “Greedo” thing is absolutely laughable and has been the subject of many a “Han fired first” internet outrages since it first spoiled our memories in the 90’s re-release. It actually nulls Han Solo’s personality to a great degree. It takes his edge off and Lucas’ explanation for the change was pathetic to say the least. In short, he didn’t want to present a hero of his films firing without provocation. Considering Greedo was threatening to blow him away, Solo was well within the right. Not to mention “Greedo” manages to miss Solo from just 2 metres away, the whole scene ends up just looking stupid. Likewise, after Solo whacks Greedo, he meets up with Jabba the Hutt in a sequence that has always bothered Lucas as he simply didn’t have the money or time to film the scene in the 70’s. What a pity that changed, as the resulting insert ends up being so stupid and inept, that it could nearly ruin the entire film. It’s a completely unnecessary inclusion and not only that, much of the dialogue from the Greedo scene several minutes earlier is repeated! Unfortunately, these interferences were not limited to ‘Star Wars’. Lucas couldn’t resist messing with ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi’ too. The former got away with light changes, but the latter was destroyed in a similar way to ‘Star Wars’.

Hopefully, we will get the original versions released on DVD, complete with cleanups and anamorphic presentations and fans can forget the “Lucas” versions. But, many fans feel that the ‘Star Wars’ saga has been wrecked, irreparably, by Lucas’ misguided decisions to “fix” the original trilogy and produce the absolutely awful prequels, not to mention the glut of subpar cartoons, comics and books that have saturated the once excellent universe that carried away so many kids in the 70’s and 80’s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxwGGZ1BXC0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5WpcHQQU1E

Sad Professor

I watched Contact again the other night. Made me long for more intelligent sci-fi films that don't totally throw science to the wind. I've been re-watching Cosmos as well recently and you can really hear Sagan's voice in Contact. I love the optimism of it. I've never read the book though. Is it worth reading?

It also made me long for more live action Zemeckis. There's some brilliantly designed shots in Contact. In particular the scene in which young Ellie runs up stairs to get her father's medicine. Zemeckis overcranks the camera as she is running toward us, then he pulls out to reveal the whole shot is in a mirror cabinet. She opens it, takes the container, the camera zooms in on the label, then the cabinet closes and a framed photo of her and father on the wall can be seen in the mirror. All of it in single shot. Brilliant directing!

MagicMarker

I only watched Contact a few months back and absolutely loved it, I had no idea Sagan wrote the book.

mrsscott

I watched "The Prestige" again last night for about the 4th or 5th time - it really is such a great film, there were still little things I was noticing for the first time.

Although, I do have one question (i've rewound several times to try and catch it, but just cant hear it correctly). I've spoiler tagged it, but if anyone knows the answer, please read and let me know? Thanks a million!

When Borden/Fallon is hung near the end, what does he say right before they drop the him?

Sad Professor

mrsscott wrote: »

Although, I do have one question (i've rewound several times to try and catch it, but just cant hear it correctly). I've spoiler tagged it, but if anyone knows the answer, please read and let me know? Thanks a million!

When Borden/Fallon is hung near the end, what does he say right before they drop the him?

Abracadabra.

mrsscott

Thanks Sad Professor it was wrecking my head

johnny_ultimate

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives - was out of the country for the cinema run of this so had been looking forward to the DVD release for a while. Second film I've seen from Apichatpong Weerasethakul after the super slow but quietly hypnotic Tropical Malady. Boonmee is, for lack of a better description, super slow and quietly hypnotic :pac:

There are moments in this film that are frankly some of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen in cinema, especially a supernatural dinner table reunion. It's all filmed in breathtaking long shots, never looking less than stunning. Thematically, it throws a lot out - much of which is puzzling while other bits resonate somewhere in the brain. It's a film mostly about spirituality, life and death. The past lives of the title lend a surreal edge to these themes, including a bizarre sequence involving catfish loving. It's another of those films which you may not be able to fully articulate what it's about, but barring a particularly hypnotic yet obtuse ending, the film makes a surreal sense within the beautiful rural Thai world it conjures up.

It is spectacularly slow paced, it's impossible to deny it, and I'm disappointed I missed the cinema release as this is the sort of film that demands near sensory deprivation to get the most out of. But even on DVD there's a sense of wonder and awe in this film for those able to stay awake. It's a challenge, but one that will linger and provoke questions after the rock music that breaks the film's revered silence at the very end (in a final act of thematic playfulness) stops playing.

blodvyn

splashthecash wrote: »

Watched this film yesterday - I absolutely LOVED it!!

Brilliantly made and well structured. I completely agree that the less you know about this the better...I've heard of

Banksie and the whole street art movement

but not too any great extent.

I love these kinds of documentaries, does anyone have any silimar ones that they would recommend?

May want to check out, "king of kong" "man on wire" "inside job" 3 fantastically engaging documentaries

krudler

The Last Boyscout, such a great movie, probably Shane Black's finest moment imo. so, so many great lines, Bruce Willis is on top form as burnt out detective Joe Hallenback, and even Damon Wayans has some great moments in it. choice lines:

"I think I fcuked a squirrel to death"

"shut up fcukface"
"i'm fcukface, he's asshole"

"sh1t, we're being beaten up by the inventor of Scrabble!"

"you couldnt protect a cup of warm piss"

"Leather pants?"
"yup"
"how much they run?"
"650"
"650 dollars?"
"yup"
"they're pants"
"yup"
"you wear them"
"yes"
"they dont got like a tv in them or something?"
"nope"
"I am very old"

"last night I fcuked your wife"
"how'd you know she was my wife?"
"she said her husband was a big pimp looking motherfcuker in a hat"
"you're funny for a guy about to take a bullet"
"after fcuking your wife I'll take two!"

quality

Tony EH

‘The Empire Strikes Back’

Continuing a re-run of the “original” ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ was up next. With no argument from the vast majority of fans, the middle section of the three acts was easily the best of the trilogy and the best of the whole series, as far as I am concerned. The ‘ESB’ marked a departure from the “first” film, as George Lucas took his hands off of the directorial reigns and handed them over to the late Irvin Kirshner, whose only films of note before 1980 were ‘Return of a Man Called Horse’ and ‘The Eyes of Laura Mars’. But, despite a lack of Sci-Fi / Blockbuster experience, Kirshner managed to trump Lucas’ 1977 effort and turn in an absolute gem.

Set three years after the events in ‘Star Wars’, The ‘ESB’ sees the continuing adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia, as the Rebels are chased through the Galaxy by Darth Vader. The action in this chapter focuses on Luke’s continuing studies into the ways of the “Force”, while the other major characters try to evade capture by the Empire. Like it’s predecessor, it’s a remarkably lightweight story, but it’s division into “chapters” and Kirshner’s engaging direction maintains the viewers interest til the end. The characters are all expanded too and there are some new ones introduced, like Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), Jedi master Yoda and the insanely popular bounty hunter Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch). All in all, the acting has improved too and everything has taken a step in the right direction.

The set pieces too have been beefed up as well. The amazing battle sequence on Hoth, the ice planet on which the Rebels have been forced to hide from the Empire on, rivals many a war movie for it’s intense action. It’s easily the best battle scene from any of the films and includes some fantastic (if somewhat unwieldy) hardware, in the form of “Imperial Walkers”, whose stop frame animation can still hold its own today against the glut of CGI monstrosities. This battle sequence is worth the viewers time alone and again is produced with a loving care and feels absolutely real, because everyone takes it seriously.

This set piece is followed later by Han Solo’s attempts to escape the clutches of Darth Vader, in some spectacular space action, as he ties the Empire ships up in knots with some impossible manoeuvres in an asteroid field with the "Millennium Falcon”, which ranks as another of the greatest scenes in the entire series.

Along the way, we get some “twists” and even though I won’t say what they are here, there cannot be anyone alive with even the remotest interest in cinema that doesn’t know what they are. Even so, they were crazy when people first found out in 1980!

Unfortunately, again we only have Lucas’ “interfered with” version on offer here for DVD and while the messing about is limited here in The ‘ESB’, it can still be somewhat annoying, simply for the fact that it exists. There are slightly expanded scenes on Hoth and the Cloud City on Bespin, which in fairness don’t intrude too much. But, the bottom line is that the film didn’t need it.

Unlike the terrible prequels though, we can be thankful that Lucas chose to remain focused on the production side of things and leave the direction and screenwriting to more capable hands. The contrasts are amazing. Lucas, while full of ideas, is an awful writer (especially of dialogue) and not a terribly good director either. Which can be witnessed in Episodes I – III.

Lucas’ “Industrial Light and Magic” effects department pull out all the stops and deliver state of the art special effects, which were unbelievable in 1980 and still can hold it’s head up high today. Ironically, The ‘ESB’ muppet version of Yoda (voiced by Miss Piggy’s Frank Oz) remains far more convincing here than the laughable CGI version of the Prequels. Yoda’s puppet creators imbue him with a more meaningful life and personality than any number of computer animators could possibly hope for and again, the world of ‘Star Wars’ feels more real, because sets and models are used. The actors interact with objects, helping their performance. Although, Mark Hammil bemoaned the fact that he was the only human character on set for months during the filming of the “Yoda” scenes. I wonder what he would have made of the limitations of “Green Screen” acting, that the likes of Ewan McGregor had to endure for the prequels!

Although it ended up costing double the $10 million that ‘Star Wars’ cost and was initially released to mixed reviews largely because the story was unresolved, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ went on to be another huge money-spinner for Lucas and 20th Century Fox and later on became recognised as the best entry in the series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSH3n_up6LE

the anser

Have always been a Woody Allen fan and can't understand people who say his later stuff is rubbish......recently saw Vicky/Cristina Barcelona on DVD and thought it was excellent- looked great, excellent script and very well acted. Even enjoyed Matchpoint but lots of folks seem to really hate it..........

Sad Professor

I watched Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout last night. It's a kind of coming of age story about two British school children lost in the Australian outback where they encounter a 16 year old Aborigine on walkabout. Magnificent film, gorgeously shot. Visually this is just my kind of film - slow, beautiful and mysterious. The ending is haunting. I had seen it before, years ago, but only vaguely remembered it. Think Malick, shot and edited in a 70s experimental style.

Nolanger

Bunny Lake is missing - about a missing kid in posh London back in the '60s.

johnny_ultimate

Sad Professor wrote: »

I watched Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout last night. It's a kind of coming of age story about two British school children lost in the Australian outback where they encounter a 16 year old Aborigine on walkabout. Magnificent film, gorgeously shot. Visually this is just my kind of film - slow, beautiful and mysterious. The ending is haunting. I had seen it before, years ago, but only vaguely remembered it. Think Malick, shot and edited in a 70s experimental style.

Watched it a few months ago, very good film alright. Tough pacing, but my word does it look nice. Roeg's filmography is actually something I've been meaning to dive into, or at least Don't Look Now and the Man Who Fell to Earth. He also directed The Witches :eek:

Sad Professor

Yeah, his early films are really good. But everything after 1980 was a downward spiral. Along with Bogdanovich, he's a classic example of a 70s director who just couldn't find a place for himself in Hollywood in later years and was relegated to doing television.

bnt

Started watching Australia last night? For a film by an Australian director with an all-Australian cast, you might think they'd avoid at least some Australian clichés, but no? The overuse of CGI didn't help, either? I lost interest about halfway in -

the Darwin ball after they delivered the cattle to the ship

- and wandered off to do something else?

Renn

?

Goldstein

La Haine: Blown away by it. This is why we watch movies.

Predator_

Unstoppable, good film.

Tony EH

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Watched it a few months ago, very good film alright. Tough pacing, but my word does it look nice. Roeg's filmography is actually something I've been meaning to dive into, or at least Don't Look Now and the Man Who Fell to Earth. He also directed The Witches :eek:

'The man who Fell to Earth' is good, but can be a bit dodgy in places and it outstays its welcome somewhat.

But 'Don't Look Now' is one of the most overrated films I have ever seen. I still cannot understand the appeal of that film. It's unbelievably tedious.

old hippy

Tony EH wrote: »

'The man who Fell to Earth' is good, but can be a bit dodgy in places and it outstays its welcome somewhat.

But 'Don't Look Now' is one of the most overrated films I have ever seen. I still cannot understand the appeal of that film. It's unbelievably tedious.

Nooo. It's haunting, it's a fascinating study on grief. And the sex scenes - well apparently they were, you know, realistic.

I like Roeg's stuff. Even Insignificance which got a drubbing on release.

Sad Professor

The supposedly real sex scene in Don't Look Now has been in the news recently as Peter Bart (former Paramount executive) has a book out in which he claims to have witnessed it. However, according to Sutherland and the producer that's impossible because only 4 other people were in the room at the time and Bart wasn't one of them.

dark crystal

Tony EH wrote: »

But 'Don't Look Now' is one of the most overrated films I have ever seen. I still cannot understand the appeal of that film. It's unbelievably tedious.

Have to agree with you there. Was really looking forward to seeing it, and found it fairly dull. Also, what the hell was 'that' ending all about?

Watched Righteous Kill last night...wish I hadn't. What made DeNiro and Pacino think this script was worth their immense talents?
Some of the worst acting and dialogue I've ever had the misfortune to watch....shame, as it had a really good cast, including the mighty Brian Dennehy and the hugely underrated John Leiguzamo.

tim_holsters

Sad Professor wrote: »

The supposedly real sex scene in Don't Look Now has been in the news recently as Peter Bart (former Paramount executive) has a book out in which he claims to have witnessed it. However, according to Sutherland and the producer that's impossible because only 4 other people were in the room at the time and Bart wasn't one of them.

This. Again.