What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

MagicMarker

Grand Budapest Hotel.

I was watching it, then got distracted briefly. I then proceeded to sit at my computer and listen to music for an hour or so, totally forgetting that I had the movie waiting on pause. So I guess that says all that needs to be said about what I thought of this movie.

e_e

A better argument for seeing things in the cinema I haven't heard.

MagicMarker

MagicMarker wrote: »

Grand Budapest Hotel.

I was watching it, then got distracted briefly. I then proceeded to sit at my computer and listen to music for an hour or so, totally forgetting that I had the movie waiting on pause. So I guess that says all that needs to be said about what I thought of this movie.

Do that I do, watch a film on your tv, turn off your phone, dim the lights and spend 90+ minutes devoted to nothing but the film. If the doorbell rings, ignore it. If your other half calls, drown them out by raising the volume.

OldRio

MagicMarker wrote: »

Grand Budapest Hotel.

I was watching it, then got distracted briefly. I then proceeded to sit at my computer and listen to music for an hour or so, totally forgetting that I had the movie waiting on pause. So I guess that says all that needs to be said about what I thought of this movie.

It is utterly sumptuous on the big screen. An utter feast for your eyes.

mike65

Mother's Day 2010, loosely inspired (if that's the right word) by Charles Kaufmans incredibly un-PC and cheap debut film of the same name made in 1980. Rebecca de Morney directs her clan of repressed violent semi-hicks as they seek money hidden in their old house which is now full of innocent folk who are terrorised by same. Slick with gore effects that looked proper old school rather than CGi but I must be getting old as by the end I was glad it was over, the utterly needless and implausible end didn't help.

Runaway (1984) Dir Michael Crichton. The blockbuster author decided he wanted to be a working director this was nearly the last of a run of largely sci-fi themed flicks he churned out up to the mid 80s before he got bored and returned to writing full time. Tom Selleck stars as the cop who's job is to disarm pesky robots of various types that have run out of control, swarthy Kiss vocalist Gene Simmons is the evil mastermind who he must stop from doing stuff that I'll not mention cos its a spoiler.

Very very mid 80s with the hair, the synth score, the slightly diffused filtered photography and Kirsty Allie still quite hot.

B.A._Baracus

The Wild Geese ( 1978 )
Stars Richard Burton, Roger Moore and Richard Harris.

IMDB.com Summary:

"A British multinational seeks to overthrow a vicious dictator in central Africa. It hires a band of (largely aged) mercenaries in London and sends them in to save the virtuous but imprisoned opposition leader who is also critically ill and due for execution."


Was actually good with some nice humor thrown in there. Recommend people watch it some time (if thats your type of movie). It's on NetFlix.

pavb2

The WArriors 1979

Just watched this again baseball furies, the boppers etc etc and this from Luther

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NwwY9y6O3hw

FortuneChip

Watched Michael Mann's "Heat" for the first time in years.
It's just shy of 20 years old, and all the better for it. The heist scenes and shootouts are more tense than any effects reliant action you'll find in current "blockbusters". Probably helped by the fact you're rooting for both sides though.
De Niro is great as the smooth criminal, but Pacino is just brilliant as the coke fueled lieutenant. His scene with Hank Azaria is priceless!

I only realised it was well over 2 hours long when it was over and I realised I'd missed my bus for work. It plays along at a real good pace.

Bipolar Joe

My favourite part of the shootout is the complete lack of score. Just the guns and shouting, really tense stuff.

otnomart

Just seen The Homesman
I liked that there was some humour interwoven in it, and that there was no Hollywood optimism in it

ancapailldorcha

The amount of films I've yet to see is staggering. I'm referring to classics that everyone else has seen several times.
Watched Fargo last week. Loved it but can't say why, annoyingly.

Bipolar Joe

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

The amount of films I've yet to see is staggering. I'm referring to classics that everyone else has seen several times.
Watched Fargo last week. Loved it but can't say why, annoyingly.

I decided a while back to make a point of watching one film I always meant to watch, and one film I'd never heard of before every night (Thank fuck for second hand DVDs). I've seen some great movies, and a fair amount of stinkers, but if you find yourself with the time, spare cash and inclination, I'd recommend it.

On topic...

zero Charisma.

A Game Master and mega geek watches his life fall apart with the arrival of a new game player, and his estranged Mother.

I was gonna write a big long thing about how I'm a dork, but listen; if you're tired of seeing your life turned into a joke by the writers of The Big Bang Theory, or feeling completely left out of the films that are supposed to cater to you, then this is your movie. We've all known guys like the protagonist, some of us even are that guy. But I'm tired of wanting something with substance that speaks to my geek. Knights of Badassdom is a travesty. Watch this instead, and then watch The Gamers, which has a sequel you should also watch. 7 / 10.

cursai

The lunchbox_ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2350496/

Absolutely brilliant. Cannot recommend enough. My heart about three times. Perfect cinema and storytelling.

e_e

Lovely film alright, I think if I ever do watch it again I'll order in some food too.

cursai

e_e wrote: »

Lovely film alright, I think if I ever do watch it again I'll order in some food too.

Make sure its not cauliflower!

bnt

Re-Animator, recorded from a few nights ago. An estimated 24 gallons of fake blood was used during production - and it's not as if they did many takes of each scene ..! :eek:

mike65

Top film! Horror Channel show the third film in the series, Beyond Re-Animator every now and again. Worth seeing, the first hour is fairly quiet but the last 30 is Screaming Mad George going full tilt.

marko93

So,

Evil Dead
Didn't really enjoy it, maybe because I watched A Cabin In The Woods before I seen this and felt myself comparing it to it. When in fact it should of been the other way around, nice visuals but didn't find it overly entertaining.

Tucker And Dale Vs Evil
Probably shouldn't of enjoyed this as much as I did, I knew what I was getting myself into, but I enjoyed all of it.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

There was a day last October where 3 films starring young English actor George MacKay were released. I thought to myself, there's a challenge. See all 3 in the cinema in the one week. 8 months later I managed to do it, at home, on DVD.

For Those In Peril

Aaron is the sole survivor of a fishing boat accident that killed 5 men, including his brother. The small tight knit village shuns him on his return and matters aren't helped by the fact that he can't remember anything that happened at sea.
I was expecting a standard drama about this lad struggling to cope with the deaths and survivor guilt and all that but I was surprised by where the film actually goes. We're introduced to Aaron in that way, struggling to come to terms with what's happened but through snippets of home video and remembered conversations we start to get a clearer picture of how life was before the accident and how Aaron is struggling with a lot more than just the boat accident. It gets quite dark and there's a mix of folklore and superstition there that creates quite an atmospheric film. A very interesting debut from writer/director Paul Wright.

How I Live Now

Starring our own Saoirse Ronan this is another example of the recent trend of trailers seriously underselling the films.
Ronan plays Dasiy, an American teen sent to live on a farm in the English countryside with her aunt and cousins. There's some sort of war happening in Europe at the start and this is in the background for the first part of the film as Daisy settles into life in the country. Then the war reaches England and all hell breaks loose. Separated from the rest of the family Daisy and younger cousin Piper try to find a way back home. This is where the film really takes off with some pretty heavy scenes of war and chaos. Ronan shines, as she always seems to, but the film is let down massively by the teen romance sub plot. It's barely even a sub plot it's so under developed and yet it's Daisy's entire driving force to get back to the farm. (Let's not even mention the fact that he's her cousin!)
I know there's a lot of these teen future apocalypse type films out there but this one is a cut above for the most part. There are some really amazing scenes, like where

a massive bomb is set off in London and the kids witness the distant impact of it hundred of miles away

. The whole section of the film from the soldiers come to the farm to the last scene are great. It's just a shame about the wishy washy romance tacked on at either end.

Sunshine on Leith

The Proclaimers musical directed by Dexter Fletcher. It's an absolute joy. Two young soldiers return from Afghanistan to Edinburgh and try to settle back into life after the army, all the while breaking into song. It sounds terrible and yet somehow it works so well. I love a good musical but I'll be the first to admit most of them come with a heavy dollop of cheese but this one just seems to have a magic about it. Some of the singing voices aren't that great and may make you cringe a tiny bit but on the whole this is a wonderfully surprising 100 minutes of pure joy. The Proclaimers songs were just made to be turned into a musical.

ButtersSuki

Not a movie, but I watched True Detective in 2 sittings after getting the blu ray at the weekend (I'm not one for downloading and streaming you see....). I'd gone out of my way to avoid reviews/plot descriptions etc. until now so I saw it in about as raw form as could be expected. Needless to say, McConaughey and Harrelson deliver in spades (McConaughey certainly got value for his weight loss for Dallas Buyers Club for his "look" in this and The Wolf Of Wall Street, whilst Harrelson has some memorable lines), and though there are recurring support characters (Shea Whigham in particular delivers a fine turn as a Southern preacher), it's really all about them. It's dark, it's intense, it's broody, and has plenty of nods to other detective/thriller movies/tv shows along the way for nerds like myself. Whilst episodes 1-7 are right up there with the very best of TV, I found the finale a little disappointing. I'd really love to have seen this storyline run over multiple seasons, incl.

tracking down the rest of the perpetrators

as at times, it did feel rushed and left a lot of threads unexplained - or maybe to the imagination? But a great show nonetheless. I'd give it an 8.5/10

To balance the darkness, I watched Jackass 2.5. To be honest, this may have been a rewatch as it felt so familiar - or else it's because it's the same joke over and over again. I used to like jackass, and I've seen the movies. This however, has a real DVD extras vibe to it - something that's referenced by the cast themselves a couple of times. It's dumb as sh*t, but I think that's the point. Giggled a bit, but overall, it's disapponiting compared to some of their other efforts. 5/10.

Tony EH

‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’


A disjointed coming of age teen movie “classic” from the early 80’s that has a special place in many a heart of an American 40 something. Although extremely popular in the States, it never really travelled in the same way as other teen flicks, such as ‘The Breakfast Club’. Perhaps the more serious elements of the story held it back from being as successful as John Hughes’ charming efforts, or maybe the rest of the world was just better prepared for American teen flicks by 1985.
‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ is now largely watched for sentimental value, by people who remember it from their youth, or for people who are interested in seeing familiar faces in their early roles. There are plenty of them in there too. Judge Reinhold (Beverly Hills Cop), Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hudsucker Proxy), Phoebe Cates (Gremlins) and of course Sean Penn mix it up well in their roles, with the stand out stories being Leigh’s “nice’but’dim” Stacy Hamilton and Penn’s, now legendary, waster Jeff Spicoli. These two take up the bulk of the screen time and are easily the most interesting characters on offer from a largely clichéd bunch of High Schoolers obsessed with sex and themselves.
But, ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’, for all the fresh faced talent on offer and standard setting, is a bumpy road, to say the least. Although presented as a comedy, the film contains some very serious strands, especially in Stacy’s story. But those injections of sobriety seem extremely out of place among the twee nonsense of stoners, school trials and tribulations and, largely insignificant, teen angst. For example (spoiler alert), Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) comes from a middle class suburban Californian home, where she lives with her parents (whom we never see) and her brother (Judge Reinhold). She’s (probably) a typical Californian schoolgirl (I don’t know) who works part time down the local mall, is desperate for a boyfriend and generally seems a bit on the dim side. Her 15 year old character sleeps around, seemingly without care and quickly gets herself knocked up. Without any kind of real reaction, she ships herself off to an abortion clinic and “bish bash bosh”, all is well again and she’s back in the game. I was genuinely surprised at how the script handled this part of her story with such blasé abandon. In another film, this tragic event would have been handled with the tender approach it demands, but in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’, it’s just as insignificant as her brother’s job flipping burgers at the local eatery. It’s a serious subject, terribly handled, in a film that shouldn’t have that subplot. For instance, the next most serious topic on offer is her brother getting fired from his job!
Apart from Stacy’s story, there’s not much else going on. Penn’s stoner, is on a one way trip, Reinhold is merely suitable as “the big brother”, Phoebe Cates is gorgeous (but largely wasted), Robert Romanus is perfect as the teen wheeler dealer who thinks he knows everything, but has an underdeveloped story, as does Ray Walston as the dictatorial history teacher Mr. Hand.
Perhaps, a longer running time was need to properly flesh out everything else, for example months go by in a blink of an eye and the only indication we have of that is a line from one of the characters. But, I don’t think the extra minutes would have done much to redeem the flaws that the film possesses. The main problem lies with the script, which tends to meander along, drifting from one set piece to another without any true connection and unfolds a very “Hollywoodised” snapshot of 1980’s high school life in California, that I would imagine was quite a distance from reality.
‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ was universally panned on its release, even though it’s now considered "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the US National Film Registry. Roger Ebert called the film a “failure of taste” and I’m sort of in agreement with him on that, but it’s certainly worth viewing.


5/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzva_I8WPAg

old hippy

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

The amount of films I've yet to see is staggering. I'm referring to classics that everyone else has seen several times.
Watched Fargo last week. Loved it but can't say why, annoyingly.

I saw Fargo when it came out and it wasn't until the second viewing that I really appreciated it. I was a bit dismissive when a tv series was mooted but now I'm glued to it. Not only does it revisit the oddness of Fargo but there's a bit of David Lynch to the feel of the show. Magnificent.

upstairs for coffee

Capturing the Friedmans

Enthralling documentary concerning the guilt or innocence of a father and son regarding pedophilia. Really makes you wonder about the judicial system.

Free on youtub

ButtersSuki

upstairs for coffee wrote: »

Capturing the Friedmans

Enthralling documentary concerning the guilt or innocence of a father and son regarding pedophilia. Really makes you wonder about the judicial system.

Free on youtub

Have that on DVD somewhere, great documentary. My OH was upset by some of the subject matter, I thought it was very cleverly and intelligently made.

nicklauski

Psycho (1960)

After watching both series of Bates Motel (actually not bad) myself and herself sat down to watch this last weekend.

I know it's classified as one of the all time greats and one of the game changers in movie making, but I just couldn't take the film serious at all. As soon as Norman arrived, it was bugging me who he reminded me of. I watched while constantly racking my brain as to who it was, and just before THAT SCENE, it struck. Phil Dunphy from Modern Family. I burst out laughing, scaring the ****e out of her (even though she's seen it numerous times) I just couldn't finish watching it. I'll have to re watch it again on my own as now I know what to expect regards Phil/Norman and won't be as giddy.

Judgement Day

nicklauski wrote: »

Psycho (1960)

After watching both series of Bates Motel (actually not bad) myself and herself sat down to watch this last weekend.

I know it's classified as one of the all time greats and one of the game changers in movie making, but I just couldn't take the film serious at all. As soon as Norman arrived, it was bugging me who he reminded me of. I watched while constantly racking my brain as to who it was, and just before THAT SCENE, it struck. Phil Dunphy from Modern Family. I burst out laughing, scaring the ****e out of her (even though she's seen it numerous times) I just couldn't finish watching it. I'll have to re watch it again on my own as now I know what to expect regards Phil/Norman and won't be as giddy.

It is one of the all time greats - to this day I can't take a shower without the door being locked.

shazzerman

nicklauski wrote: »

Psycho (1960)

After watching both series of Bates Motel (actually not bad) myself and herself sat down to watch this last weekend.

I know it's classified as one of the all time greats and one of the game changers in movie making, but I just couldn't take the film serious at all. As soon as Norman arrived, it was bugging me who he reminded me of. I watched while constantly racking my brain as to who it was, and just before THAT SCENE, it struck. Phil Dunphy from Modern Family. I burst out laughing, scaring the ****e out of her (even though she's seen it numerous times) I just couldn't finish watching it. I'll have to re watch it again on my own as now I know what to expect regards Phil/Norman and won't be as giddy.

It's only one of the very best American films. I would place it in the top five for sure.

nicklauski

Judgement Day wrote: »

It is one of the all time greats - to this day I can't take a shower without the door being locked.

Start taking baths (like Janet Leigh)

It has been more than 35 years since Janet Leigh saw herself on the screen in Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror film "Psycho." After viewing the famous shower scene, in which she was repeatedly stabbed, Ms. Leigh was seized with an overwhelming -- and lasting -- terror.

"I stopped taking showers and I take baths, only baths," she said. In fact, when the former movie star stays overnight in a hotel or at a friend's home where only a shower is available, she panics. "I make sure the doors and windows of the house are locked," she said, "and I leave the bathroom door open and shower curtain open. I'm always facing the door, watching, no matter where the shower head is."

mike65

nicklauski wrote: »

Psycho (1960)

After watching both series of Bates Motel (actually not bad) myself and herself sat down to watch this last weekend.

I know it's classified as one of the all time greats and one of the game changers in movie making, but I just couldn't take the film serious at all. As soon as Norman arrived, it was bugging me who he reminded me of. I watched while constantly racking my brain as to who it was, and just before THAT SCENE, it struck. Phil Dunphy from Modern Family. I burst out laughing, scaring the ****e out of her (even though she's seen it numerous times) I just couldn't finish watching it. I'll have to re watch it again on my own as now I know what to expect regards Phil/Norman and won't be as giddy.

This is what happens when a cultural artefact gets buggered by history, the classics are so frequently referenced for cheap laughs its hard to clean your head and view with fresh honest eyes.

If you get the chance see Psycho 11 (2), which was made in 1983 with Anthony Perkins back as Norman Bates, its a very smart sequel/homage with a glint in its eye. Richard Franklin who directed was a true student of Hitchcock and he learnt well.

ButtersSuki

mike65 wrote: »

If you get the chance see Psycho 11 (2), which was made in 1983 with Anthony Perkins back as Norman Bates, its a very smart sequel/homage with a glint in its eye. Richard Franklin who directed was a true student of Hitchcock and he learnt well.

When I was very young in 1983 (i.e. a couple of years short of being a teen) I went to my local cinema one day and one of the staff was throwing out some posters and asked me did I want any. Naturally I said of course. Pretty much all were torn and therefore pretty much useless, save for the poster for Psycho II. So I took it home and carefully mounted it above my bed. Cue an interesting conversation with my folks.

I hadn't seen Psycho (it would be many years later before I would) and I've never seen Psycho II, but that poster was on my wall for years. Had forgotten about it completely until you mentioned it there! What I found most unusual about it at the time was the thickness and feel of the paper. If you were used to 1980s shiny posters, this was almsot cardbaord-like by comparison. This was the poster: