What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Mickeroo wrote: »

Old favourite of mine that, I think Clarkson earned an Oscar nom for the portrayal of the mother.

Yeah, I was looking at the list of awards it got and she won a fair few for it. I've heard her name but I'm not sure I've seen her in anything else.

EDIT: Looked her up, I've seen her in lots of stuff.

Judgement Day

Judgement Day wrote: »

"The Blackstuff" and "Boys from the Blackstuff" (1980/82) on DVD.
The best €8 I've spent in a charity shop in years.
Comprising the original BBC.1.Play for the Day feature "The Blackstuff" and the follow-on mini series written by Alan Bleasdale.



Storyline centres on a gang of Liverpudlian tarmac layers who come a cropper on a get rich quick scheme laying tarmac in Newcastle while drawing the dole. From then on it's all downhill for the boys as they are relentless watched and hounded by social security. A bitter social commentary on the harsh Thatcher era in Britain. Despite being interspersed with Scouse humour it would move the hardest soul to tears - not one to watch if you're already feeling low but definitely one to watch. Possibly the best British drama that I've ever seen. The unfortunate Yosser Hughes (Bernard Hill) had a catch cry throughout the series 'Gizza' job! I could do that' which entered the popular culture in England at the time. 10/10

Having watched all of these the last few days I wouldn't put it at the top of the tree by any means of British drama despite it being top quality. It needs something more to make it truly outstanding. House of Cards, Traffic I found much more engrossing. I give the Boys 8.5/10

charlie_says

I watched Drug War last night. 2012 modern Chinese meth deal gone wrong extravaganza.

That was one of the most intense balls to the wall crime thriller I've ever seen. No let up at all.

The shootout at the end is amazing, rivals the bank hiest street gun battle in Heat and the brilliant gunplay in Way of the Gun.

Totally impressed, must check out this director's other films.

Great watch!

johnny_ultimate

The thing about Jonnie To's filmography is that it's simply so vast that if can be quite a task even picking a film to watch :pac: Of the few I've seen, I'd strongly recommend Exile, which would be the closest to matching Drug Wars' quality.

Glad the latter is getting some more attention, if slowly. By all rights it should have the same sort of breakthrough success as the likes of Infernal Affairs.

Exiled is a great jumping in point, it plays like spaghetti western through the lens of To who has to be the finest action director working today. Vengenace is similar in the themes it explores and includes of the most memorable shoot outs you well ever see and it managed to make Johnny Hallyday look like a bad ass.

To's filmography is so broad that trying to get into it can take a lot of time. Unlike a lot of his contemporaries he's keen to work in different genres and for every Drug War or Mad Detective you have a romantic comedy such as Yesterday Once More or Love for All Seasons. Then you have the many marital arts films he made earlier in his career, the most well know being The Heroic Trio and it's sequel Executioners aswell as underrated fare such as the Aaron Kwok starring The Bare-footed Kid.

To is one of those rare directors who really does have a film for every mood and anyone with an interest in his work should check out the Yves Montmayeur directed documentary, Johnnie Got His Gun which offers an insight into how To works. It's not a great doc by any stretch of the imagination and is rather superficial but To is great to listen to and there's some nice input from Anthony Wong and Simon Yam.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Once

About 8 years later I finally got around to watching it. It's alright. It's quite clever how they managed to make a musical without actually making a musical. I could be wrong but it seems like outside of Ireland this gets a much warmer reception. Not that Irish people don't like it but I've seen Americans sing it's praises from on high. I wonder if there's something that you miss out on if you're from where it's actually set? It just seemed like a little slice of life type film to me whereas I get the impression that people from elsewhere view it like a fairy tale or something? I don't know. Anyway..... Falling Slowly is a lovely little song

PandyAndy

Watched Zodiac again last night.

This is just a great film. Pretty sure everyone here knows all about it. Forgot it was nearly 3 hrs long...

Then watched This is the Zodiac Speaking (youtube link for full documentary) afterwards. A documentary about interviews with the officers, surviving victims and others associated with the case. Makes the film even better knowing how much work went into it to make it as accurate as possible.

Tony EH

One of the best films of the decade.

johnny_ultimate

Went to see Peter Greenaway's Goltzius and the Pelican Company earlier today, which is pretty much just about as experimental a release as is likely to get theatrical distribution in Ireland. However, while the film itself was unique, beautiful, self-important, fascinating and infuriating, the highlight definitely came around 10 minutes into the madness when the visibly confused man sitting in front turned and asked me: "erm... is this Boyhood?"

(as for the film itself? Well I'd be hard pressed to find many others film this year that is quite so stylistically unique and ambitious. The visuals are magnificent and like nothing I've ever seen before - everything is shot in one amazing cavernous warehouse, the framing / imagery is sometimes remarkably beautiful, the set design imaginative, and Greenaway makes impressive use out of special effects, layering, text and all manner of other stylistic tricks. The film itself - a non-traditional period piece following the unhinged events that take place when the eponymous theatre company stage a series of 'erotic' takes on bible stories - is all over the gaff. This is both a good and a bad thing. While there's far too much stuff happening meaning lots gets lost in the melee, there's a whole lot of curious ideas and commentary in there about everything from sexuality to religion to modern media. It's a complete mess, but an enjoyably idiosyncratic mess that succeeds just as much as it disappears up its own rear end. Also: there are lots of rear ends).

e_e

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Went to see Peter Greenaway's Goltzius and the Pelican Company earlier today, which is pretty much just about as experimental a release as is likely to get theatrical distribution in Ireland. However, while the film itself was unique, beautiful, self-important, fascinating and infuriating, the highlight definitely came around 10 minutes into the madness when the visibly confused man sitting in front turned and asked me: "erm... is this Boyhood?"

Reminds me of when two elderly women walked into the very gruelling Horrothon surprise film "Chained" 10 minutes late and asked "Is this Ginger & Rosa?"

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Bobby

Follows 22 people in the hotel where Bobby Kennedy was shot, on the day he was shot, leading up to .... when he was shot.
There's a huge cast here, too big and it seems to drag a bit at the start. What it does do, very well, is give you a sense of what exactly was lost that night. Not just a man, not just a (possible/probable) future president but the future for an entire nation. You get a real sense of being on the cusp of something amazing and then it's just gone. So many people had their hopes and dreams pinned on this one man and when he died so many other things died with him. One line that sums it up quite well from the perspective of one of his black campaigners "Now Dr. King is gone Bobby is all we have left."

If nothing else it's sparked my interest in the man himself. JFK tends to hog the limelight over here, I know very little about Bobby. The speech over the end sequence "On the mindless menace of violence" is worth reading too.

Duggy747

Manhunter

Never actually seen this despite knowing a fair bit about that universe and enjoying the Hannibal TV show. Found it entertaining with some typically great shots from Mann, solid performances from all involved (Stephen Lang looked so different then), and a mostly enjoyable soundtrack (when it included the sappy ballads it really took me out of the scenes). The GF had the hots for William Peterson as Will Graham :pac:, which he played perfectly and much preferred his perfomance of the character than of the Will Graham in the TV show.

Brian Cox was very commanding in his short stint as Hannibal Lecktor and a nice take from the usual cartoony, but still enjoyable, portrayal we got from Hopkins and Mads Mikkelsen's reserved Hannibal from the TV show.

I was disappointed with the ending though, the editing went crazy and felt incredibly amateurish considering the sleekness and precision of shots that went before it. It ultimately felt out of place and brought down an otherwise solid thriller which I liked better than Red Dragon.

Tony EH

I have to say, I've never liked 'Manhunter'. I used to laugh when people tried to tell me that it was better than 'Silence of the Lambs'. This was before 'Red Dragon' was made.

Although, I agree it is better than the TV show, which just has too much wrong going on to be enjoyable.

Sleepy

That entire series begins and ends with "Silence of the Lambs" for me. It's like Highlander: one great ludicrous movie that spawned a load of rubbish.

Mickeroo

Sleepy wrote: »

That entire series begins and ends with "Silence of the Lambs" for me. It's like Highlander: one great ludicrous movie that spawned a load of rubbish.

Manhunter came before Lambs and is great imo though not as good, Red Dragon was a frame for frame remake of it with a few extra Hannibal scenes tacked on, though at least it kept the serious tone and didn't go for the same feel as Hannibal.

Tony EH

Oh that 'Hannibal' film was just awful. --->insert puke smilie here<---

mewe

Watched The Pledge last night, having not watched it in a while and it reaffirmed for me what a great film it is.

krudler

I actually like Hannibal...

Looper007

Tony EH wrote: »

I have to say, I've never liked 'Manhunter'. I used to laugh when people tried to tell me that it was better than 'Silence of the Lambs'.

Why would you laugh it is ten times better then Lambs. Cox is the best Lecter he's actually dangerous and not a OTT like Hopkins.

Tony EH

Demme's film is far more accomplished and entertaining. Plus, it isn't drenched with awful "Miami Vice' style 80's emptiness.

Cox is good in his tiny role, but I've never thought that Hopkin's in 'Silence of the Lambs' was anything but a very dangerous and unpredictable character.

Mann's horrible "80's-tastic" approach is really what lets 'Manhunter' down though. It's just awful to watch and I grew up in the 80's. But there are no scenes in it to match some of the set pieces in 'Silence of the Lambs'. The scene where Agent Starling is taking part in the autopsy Buffalo Bill's first girl, Lecter's attack on the guards, Starling's discovery of Lecter's victim in the lockup, or her final encounter in pitch darkness with the killer are all far more chilling than anything in Mann's film.

Plus William Petersen is a pretty awful lead and "Buffalo Bill" trumps the "Tooth Fairy"

Now...Put the fucking lotion in the basket :pac:

krudler

Tony EH wrote: »

Demme's film is far more accomplished and entertaining. Plus, it isn't drenched with awful "Miami Vice' style 80's emptiness.

Cox is good in his tiny role, but I've never thought that Hopkin's in 'Silence of the Lambs' was anything but a very dangerous and unpredictable character.

Mann's horrible "80's-tastic" approach is really what lets 'Manhunter' down though. It's just awful to watch and I grew up in the 80's. But there are no scenes in it to match some of the set pieces in 'Silence of the Lambs'. The scene where Agent Starling is taking part in the autopsy Buffalo Bill's first girl, Lecter's attack on the guards, Starling's discovery of Lecter's victim in the lockup, or her final encounter in pitch darkness with the killer are all far more chilling than anything in Mann's film.

Plus William Petersen is a pretty awful lead and "Buffalo Bill" trumps the "Tooth Fairy"

Now...Put the fucking lotion in the basket :pac:

I like Manhunter but it's a different beast to Lambs, yeah it's very 80's centric but I liked Petersen and Tom Noonan are both great in it.

Silence of the Lambs is a modern classic though, one of those rare films where everything just works so well, I don't think Hopkins is hammy in it, aside from the fava beans scene he's all malicious intent and toying with Starling for his own amusment. His introduction is brilliant, notice how when Starling first sees him he's standing in the middle of his cell, and gives her a courteous if slightly chilling "morning.." Whereas in Red Dragon he greets Will Graham with an insult while lying on his bed not even making visual contact, nice contrast meeting one person he despises and another he's playfully curious about.

Ipso

krudler wrote: »

I like Manhunter but it's a different beast to Lambs, yeah it's very 80's centric but I liked Petersen and Tom Noonan are both great in it.

Silence of the Lambs is a modern classic though, one of those rare films where everything just works so well, I don't think Hopkins is hammy in it, aside from the fava beans scene he's all malicious intent and toying with Starling for his own amusment. His introduction is brilliant, notice how when Starling first sees him he's standing in the middle of his cell, and gives her a courteous if slightly chilling "morning.." Whereas in Red Dragon he greets Will Graham with an insult while lying on his bed not even making visual contact, nice contrast meeting one person he despises and another he's playfully curious about.

I always thought Hopkins so called campiness came from the fact he messed everyone around for years and like you say is toying with them.
I thought Cox's portrayal was more rough around the edges, I really love Mikelsens take on the character.

Judgement Day

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) on DVD.

When I picked this DVD up for €2 at a car boot sale I had vague memories of watching it when it was first transmitted on TV and finding it heavy going - I wasn't wrong. That said, I was a lot younger then and more of a "Dirty Harry" fan than of slow moving spy thrillers such as this.

Basically the film is an adaption of John Le Carré's cold war novel of the same name and concerns the attempt to unmask a Soviet spy at the heart of British Intelligence. Alec Guinness plays George Smiley a seemingly retired spymaster who is brought back to hunt for the mole codenamed "Gerald". Slow moving and with many flashbacks the series (315 mins) is best watched in a couple of chunks - early in the evening before you're too weary! Once I figured that out I enjoyed the series and will be keeping. 9/10

Next, the follow-up series "Smiley's People". - but only if I can find it for €2!

Birneybau

'Machete Kills'.

I really don't know why. Weirdly it reminded me of the 1960s Batman t.v. show in parts.

ButtersSuki

Green Zone which I taped from a recent screening on RTE. Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass team up again after the Bourne movies to bring us soldier turns (somewhat) dissident in uncovering US lies about WMD In Iraq. Not as clever or as smart as it likes to think itself, I found myself at times to be quite bored with it. Brendan Gleeson's accent is just weird in it, while for me Greg Kinnear's character is just a bit silly and not helped by Kinnear's OTT portrayal. 6/10 at a stretch.

Paranormal Activity 3 on DVD. Usual PA stuff where long periods of nothing really are interrupted by "scary" scenes. More of the same, if you like this kinda stuff you'll prob like it - I don't mind them tbh but wouldn't go so far as to call myself a fan. That said, I'm sure I'll watch 4 & 5 at some stage! 5/10.

Tony EH

Judgement Day wrote: »

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) on DVD.

TTSS is something you absolutely have to invest your entire attention to in order to enjoy it. But, it is quite rightly considered one of the best adaptations of a Le Carre novel and a great example of old fashion BBC cold war drama, that they sadly don't produce any more.

'Smiley's People' is on par with it.

Judgement Day

Every now and then I dive into my library of repeatedly watched movies for something relaxing that I can rely on; a few nights ago it was the much maligned "Bourne Legacy' which is good but compares unfavourably with the Matt Damon trilogy - last night I made the mistake of throwing on "The Thirty Nine Steps" the 2008 BBC TV version of the classic John Buchan spy thriller.



Oh dear, no wonder I couldn't remember the storyline of this particular adaption - was there one? There's so much wrong with it and it veers off the original storyline so much that I doubt whether the author would recognise it as his work. A horrible mess that I added to my collection a few years ago for the sake of completeness - I have the three other film versions, various audio productions, the spin-off TV series from the 1978 movie - "Hannay" starring Robert Powell, all the John Buchan books featuring the further adventures of Richard Hannay.....I like John Buchan and Richard Hannay.

Anyway, looking through reviews on IMDB I came across this piece which puts it much better than I could and should act as a health warning to the rest of you. 1/10

'This is not the 39 Steps. It's a cross between Heartbeat and Carry On up the Grouse Moors. It has no mystery, it has no suspense, it has no menace. The pace is leisurely, the threats wafer-thin, the villains about as convincing as a cardboard cutout of a pantomime dame'.

Aidric

'Magnolia' for the second time, about 4 years since the first watch. I thought at the time it was a great film, a second viewing only confirmed that. Anderson is a talented director and this for me is his best work.

For a film of such length it never ceases to be engrossing, helped by a cast on top of its game, especially Cruise who has never been better. This is a screenplay from an ambitious director at the top of his game.

the_monkey

300 Rise of an Empire

tripe

Glebee

About Time (2013)

I did not know what to expect when I sat down to watch this rom com from the director of Love Actually which stars our own Domhnall Gleeson. If you liked Love Actually, Nothing Hill, Four Weddings etc or any other film of a similar vain you will like this. Me, I wept like a baby at the ending:o
8/10