What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

briany

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

A man is suspected of murder and gets subjected to some vigilante justice. When accidents begin to befall the vigilantes, fear and paranoia grips them as they suspect they're being tormented from beyond the grave.

This was a made for TV film that you wouldn't expect to be anything special but it's really a fantastically made little film. The music and cinematography is spot on and Charles Durning plays the evil coward role quite well.

Sleepy

Redemption (Hummingbird) - A Jason Statham movie with half a brain. This was much better than I expected when I put it on as a "switch off the brain and enjoy the fight scenes". Of course the krav maga / close quarters combat stuff is still there but it's a lot darker in tone and Statham even acts a little. I can't see it converting anyone who hates his usual fare but it really does stand head and shoulders above a lot of his other stuff.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters - Enjoyable enough but lacks some of the charm of the original.

Dragonheart - I wasn't expecting much and, yet, I was still dissapointed.

ButtersSuki

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer. Excellent documentary about the man who as Attorney General and later Governor of New York who was Public Enemy No. 1 on Wall Street such was the voracity with which he sought to tackle the dodgy dealings of banking and high end finance pre the global finacial crisis. I was fascinated by Spitzer's views on the finacial crisis in "Inside Job" (another excellent documentary) but you get to see far more of him here. I only knew of the more tabloid version of his downfall, this gives the other side. Spitzer blames no-one but himself for his downfall which is admirable, but the documentary shows the price one can oay for going up against very powerful and wealthy people, and for making enemies in the US political system. A fascinating human story. Lacks the style/polish of Inside Job, but is as compelling and interesting a story. 8/10.

Also watched a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary on wikileaks and Julian Assange from 2011 but recently repeated and recorded from More 4. Assange really is a fascinating character - clearly highly intelligent and articulate, but yet there's just something unnerving about him in the one to one interviews that form the earlier part of the programme. Interesting input from senior people at various media outlets such as the Guardian, Der Spiegeleisen and the NY Times that were involved in the original publishing of material and how their relationships with Assange broke down over time and the change in Assange over the timescale involved. I haven't seen either of the wikileaks movies but may I've them a go on the back of seeing this. 8/10.

poundapunnet

jcsoulinger wrote: »

I really liked prisoners, one of the better films I've seen in a while. I can see your points about the plot being overly complicated, they kinda tried to do too much with it.

I think Gyllenhal is very good in it, but I am a fan so maybe bias. 6.5 seems a bit low to me, solid 8 in my book with the ending being particularly satisfying.

also I don't see anything ambiguous about the ending especially given the inquisitive nature of our god damn hero cop.

Mmm, I'm a hard marker, 6.5 is a decent score from me :P I just can't warm to Gyllenhal, he doesn't seem to have any range. Maybe his looks work against him but he never seems to really disappear into a role.

Ambiguous was probably the wrong word for what I meant (

keller could easily be dead by the time the cop finds him

) it's just irritating to have them show so much unnecessary stuff and drag the film out, and then dick you out of those 2 minutes of resolution at the end. In my opinion like

Heckler wrote: »

I thought Prisoners was good but not great. I thought Jackman was a bit ott. Dano, better than he was in there will be blood, was great. Nice review but calling Gyllenhal "stupid" just because you don't like him makes you sound like a 13 year old. His character did some stupid things. You may not like him as an actor but he is recognised as a talented actor. I would say way ahead of Jackman. Anyway each to their own.

If you do mean his character was stupid about the whistle thing rewatch the film. Its obvious what happens.

Like I said above, when I said ambiguous what I meant was

keller could be dead by the time he finds him

. I don't like his stupid face, I don't think he's anything more than a competent actor, occasionally pulls a good performance out of the bag, otherwise solidly ordinary verging on boring. In terms of range I think Jackman might actually have the edge on him, but yes, each to their own.

Thought Dano was very good too, meant to say that. Don't think Jackman was OTT, you couldn't really play that role and those lines restrained, and if he did, given his scenes with Dano he'd seem like a psychopath.

hefferboi

Just watched prisoners there myself. Thought it was very good. Gyllenhal was excellent.

poundapunnet

Oy, I'm going to have to start a one woman I-hate-Jake-Gyllenhal club

Call Me Jimmy

Saw mud it was gud.

That's my 'film critic' review!

Nah it was really really really gud. Cinematog, actin', sound... track. Liquid cinema!

jcsoulinger

poundapunnet wrote: »

Mmm, I'm a hard marker, 6.5 is a decent score from me :P I just can't warm to Gyllenhal, he doesn't seem to have any range. Maybe his looks work against him but he never seems to really disappear into a role.

Ambiguous was probably the wrong word for what I meant (

keller could easily be dead by the time the cop finds him

) it's just irritating to have them show so much unnecessary stuff and drag the film out, and then dick you out of those 2 minutes of resolution at the end. In my opinion like

Your opinion, but I don't believe anything was left unresolved. (

the cop would have found him and freed him in a matter of minutes, the old woman also speculated before she but him in the hole that he wouldn't die from the wound until the next day

)


Also to "disappear into a role"sounds to me like a negative trait:-)

poundapunnet

jcsoulinger wrote: »

Your opinion, but I don't believe anything was left unresolved. (

the cop would have found him and freed him in a matter of minutes, the old woman also speculated before she but him in the hole that he wouldn't die from the wound until the next day

)


Also to "disappear into a role"sounds to me like a negative trait:-)

But it was the next day wasn't it? Anyways how's he gonna

move the car

in a matter of minutes, can't see that

keller would survive much longer than that considering the gunshot wound and the freezing temperatures the forensics people referred to, especially seeing as he's below ground

? And I'd have loved that ending under different circumstances, overall I did like the film I just had major quibbles. Disappearing into a role is good I think, you should be able to forget who the actor is no matter how good looking or famous they are. Anyways I think we're derailing the thread, everyone go see Prisoners if you get a chance, tis good, just not amazing

Edit: my final review is this film is to Gone Baby Gone as Bridesmaids is to SATC, that's my final word on the matter :P

jcsoulinger

poundapunnet wrote: »

But it was the next day wasn't it? Anyways how's he gonna

move the car

in a matter of minutes, can't see that

keller would survive much longer than that considering the gunshot wound and the freezing temperatures the forensics people referred to, especially seeing as he's below ground

? And I'd have loved that ending under different circumstances, overall I did like the film I just had major quibbles. Disappearing into a role is good I think, you should be able to forget who the actor is no matter how good looking or famous they are. Anyways I think we're derailing the thread, everyone go see Prisoners if you get a chance, tis good, just not amazing

Edit: my final review is this film is to Gone Baby Gone as Bridesmaids is to SATC, that's my final word on the matter :P

I maybe crazy but he could just push it out of the way. Since you have had your last word I'm gonna be cheeky and say, ya just don't get it do ya :-P.


satc is just terrible.

poundapunnet

jcsoulinger wrote: »

I maybe crazy but he could just push it out of the way. Since you have had your last word I'm gonna be cheeky and say, ya just don't get it do ya :-P.


satc is just terrible.

Can you just push a car out out of the way though,

she was pretty explicit with the keys earlier?

I think I did get the film and I'll labour the point that overall I very much liked this film it's definitely really interesting to see different perspectives on it, I'm really hoping that the blu-ray will come with a couple different cuts and commentaries, I think it definitely didn't get the promotional push that it deserves especially considering the cast and an incredibly strong script in the first hour (I didn't even mention the roles and performance ofTerence Howard and whoever plays the son and the themes of religion just because I thought my initial review was a bit long anyway); also I was just getting a dig in at Gone Baby Gone by comparing it to SATC

I LIKE THIS FILM VERY MUCH, but it could have been cut down by easily 20-30 minutes, which would have made the ending much better, it needs to pick a theme and stick with it and I think

the area of moral ambiguity in relation to justifiable motivations for extreme violence were underdeveloped at the expense of a generic police procedural plot in the last 90 minutes, and that the police procedural plot was unsatisfying

. It just slightly missed being a very very good film, as it is it's a good film.

The Dom

Lone Wolf McQuade.

Hadn't seen it in over 20 years and thought I'd throw it up on the projector.

The last time I seen it was on an old portable and the VCR had tracking issues, so was a step up for sure.

Really loved watching it again and it was was blatantly obvious how many movies that came after it, borrowed from it.

The following has to be one the greatest cheesy lines of 80's cinema:

"My kind of trouble doesn't take vacations."

Heckler

Just watched "Grave of the fireflies". In Japanese with subs.

After reading the reviews, "you have no soul if you don't cry at this movie" and an earlier poster calling it "gut wrenching", i was totally unmoved.

It was a good movie but I was waiting for the gut punch. its sad but no big deal. I don't think i'm a pitiless monster. I cried like a baby at toy story 3 the furnace scene..............

What am i missing ?

sorry i think the earlier poster i referred to posted a clip from "grave of the fireflies" in the bawwww thread.

poundapunnet

Heckler wrote: »

Just watched "Grave of the fireflies". In Japanese with subs.

After reading the reviews, "you have no soul if you don't cry at this movie" and an earlier poster calling it "gut wrenching", i was totally unmoved.

It was a good movie but I was waiting for the gut punch. its sad but no big deal. I don't think i'm a pitiless monster. I cried like a baby at toy story 3 the furnace scene..............

What am i missing ?

sorry i think the earlier poster i referred to posted a clip from "grave of the fireflies" in the bawwww thread.

Yeah, you're not alone there. I watched it subbed too (is there a dub and does it make a difference?) and was totally dry-eyed by the end. Think maybe it was built up too much in my mind as a Very Sad Film before I saw it from reading reviews. Because seriously it's not hard to make me cry (that's an understatement if anything, Star Trek: Into Darkness was a close call...), the STATE of me coming out of Toy Story 3

Sleepy

Not a stellar night for cinema in our house...

The Internship - by the numbers comedy from Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, thoroughly pedestrian and both are capable of far better.

Grown Ups 2 - Utter dreck. I wouldn't be one of those that discredits a movie simply for Sandler's presences and tbh, Happy Gilmore is a bit of a guilty pleasures but, honestly, the best I can say for this is that Salma Hayek is still looking well...

e_e

poundapunnet wrote: »

Yeah, you're not alone there. I watched it subbed too (is there a dub and does it make a difference?) and was totally dry-eyed by the end. Think maybe it was built up too much in my mind as a Very Sad Film before I saw it from reading reviews. Because seriously it's not hard to make me cry (that's an understatement if anything, Star Trek: Into Darkness was a close call...), the STATE of me coming out of Toy Story 3

Maybe you were expecting a more obviously sentimental manipulative tearjerker? The reason GOTF was so upsetting to me was 'cause of its harsh honesty, it lays its cards out in such a brutal, to the point way that I was really knocked down by it. I could barely eat for a whole day afterwards.

e_e

Also the Toy Story comparison is a bit unfair. Completely apples and oranges, like saying "Schindler's List, it's no Harry Potter!"

Fysh

Fists Of Legend

I caught this last night as part of the London Korean Film Festival. It was pretty good, although at almost three hours it was a bit too long. The easiest comparison to a recent film is Warrior, but I found Fists of Legend a much more engaging film - not least because it features a much better balance of character development and lighter moments. In fact, it's sort of like what you might get if you took the narrative structure from the 20th Century Boys films and replaced the conspiracy storyline with an amateur fighting tournament. The fight scenes are visceral and tense, although I personally enjoyed the street brawls a bit more than the one-on-one tournament fights because of the choreography and direction on display. Meanwhile the character's stories are told deftly, and while there's a bit of sentimentality, it's well-balanced and never overpowers the film. All in all, it's a tad long but definitely worth a watch.

bellinter

Breakdown (1997)

Kurt Russel's car breaks down in the middle of nowhere... His wife gets a lift to the nearest payphone (!) and disappears. And so begins his mission to find out what happened to her and get her back. Kurt Russel, for a man whose wife has just been kidknapped, never really seems that bothered. JT Walsh is the main antagonist and is great as usual in one of his last roles. It's hardly edge-of-the-seat stuff but a solid, fast-paced thriller nonetheless. My main complaint is that is revealed its hand far too early. A bit more mystery would surely have added a great deal to the suspense, like The Vanishing... but they couldnt have completely ripped that off now could they?

6/10

Psychedelic

e_e wrote: »

Maybe you were expecting a more obviously sentimental manipulative tearjerker? The reason GOTF was so upsetting to me was 'cause of its harsh honesty, it lays its cards out in such a brutal, to the point way that I was really knocked down by it. I could barely eat for a whole day afterwards.

That film couldn't have been more obviously manipulative, going all out to try tug at the heartstrings in the most unsubtle way possible. I thought it was an incredibly mawkish film, really hated it. Didn't like the characters either, from the dumb brother to the whiny sister, and the fact we know the outcome from the start of the film.

LuckyLloyd

bellinter wrote: »

Breakdown (1997)

Kurt Russel's car breaks down in the middle of nowhere... His wife gets a lift to the nearest payphone (!) and disappears. And so begins his mission to find out what happened to her and get her back. Kurt Russel, for a man whose wife has just been kidknapped, never really seems that bothered. JT Walsh is the main antagonist and is great as usual in one of his last roles. It's hardly edge-of-the-seat stuff but a solid, fast-paced thriller nonetheless. My main complaint is that is revealed its hand far too early. A bit more mystery would surely have added a great deal to the suspense, like The Vanishing... but they couldnt have completely ripped that off now could they?

6/10

Ah, Breakdown. J.T. Walsh really was a class act.

bellinter

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Ah, Breakdown. J.T. Walsh really was a class act.

He sure was. Watched Red Rock West there recently too, quality. His fimography on IMDB has a lot of gems in there.

Mizu_Ger

Gods and Monsters:
Liked this one. Ian McKellen is great and even Brendan Fraser turns in a good performance. It's at it's best when it's just the two of them. I think it could have done without the last scene though.

krudler

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Ah, Breakdown. J.T. Walsh really was a class act.

always played a great asshole, he's brilliant in Pleasantville as well, and Good Morning Vietnam.

Duggy747

Elysium

Disappointing and felt very bland despite it visually looking great though the shaky cam for action scenes was lubriciously awful, that camera operator should really see a doctor for his sporadic epileptic fits. The message of rich vs poor divide in medical care was far too thick and weighed the film down.

Copley just gobbled up all the scenery but he was the most entertaining thing about the film and I always enjoy William Fichtner who always makes a good dickhead. :pac: Jodie Foster was acting like some sort of cartoon stereotype of a French person with an accent that was all over the place, bizarre bit of acting from her.

e_e

Psychedelic wrote: »

That film couldn't have been more obviously manipulative, going all out to try tug at the heartstrings in the most unsubtle way possible. I thought it was an incredibly mawkish film, really hated it. Didn't like the characters either, from the dumb brother to the whiny sister, and the fact we know the outcome from the start of the film.

How is it manipulative when it TELLS you how it's going to end within the first five minutes?

If it were really manipulative it would have been a feel-good film for 90% of the runtime and then delivered the harshness. It respects the audience enough not to sugar coat any of it. Also your post completely contradicts itself, you call it manipulative yet then wish for the emotional manipulation of NOT revealing what the ending is. Baffling post.

e_e

Also it seems incredibly churlish to slag off the children in the film for being basically children, even moreso for the true element to the story.

Whiny? Seriously? She's a 4 year old dying of malnutrition, cut her some slack.

TheMollusc

Hoop Dreams

An absolutely terrific documentary. For those who haven't heard of the film it follows two young boys from poor African American neighbourhoods in Chicago who hope to become NBA players. We see young Arthur and William as they begin freshman year of high school and the journey goes from there and what a ride it was! Utterly engrossing.

Some might think of it as a sports film and avoid but it is more than that, it reminded me of The Wire in a lot of ways because of the way it showcased the system in place and told some cold truths about it and American life.

Highly recommended!

Sir Gallagher

The World's End

Terrible film, really can't understand all the praise it got. It was really all over the place, it didn't work as a comedy, drama or sci-fi flick. As a huge fan of SOTD & Hot Fuzz this was a real let down. I have a feeling the good reviews were from fanboys, British critics who always seem to look out for their own and American reviewers falling over themselves to let everyone know that they get British humour. 89% on Rotten Tomatoes for this turkey, madness.

tunguska

V For Vendetta

I havent seen this in ages. What a film, forgot how good it was. The rooftop scene with Natalie portman in the rain is epic.