What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

DZappy

Welcome to the punch

British action movie, but it was just awful mind numbing gun fight after gun fight.The cast was the only reason this movie has any credibility.

krudler

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

Mission Impossible 3&4

Second time viewing both films. MI4 is a decent film but not a patch on the brilliant MI3 (it's still way better than the awful second film). MI3 has a great baddy played wonderfully by the always reliable Philip Seymour Hoffman and a dark undertone throughout the movie that the others in the series lack. The set pieces are top class and it also has the best team supporting Cruise, Ving Rhames is definetely missed in MI4.

MI3 is the best of the series imo, have watched it a bunch of times.

markomuscle

Watched Braveheart for the first time yesterday, great film, hopefully the Irish historic epic that is rumoured will be as good.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Braveheart is very historically inaccurate though. Although it never seems to bother most people.

markomuscle

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Braveheart is very historically inaccurate though. Although it never seems to bother most people.

I'm not bothered as i'm not Scottish or English though I think it should have been accurate. I think the nine-years war and flight of the earls would be good for an irish historic film, easy to throw a love story in there.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

^ The love story in Braveheart was made up though, she was 9 when he died, they were never even in the same country at the same time. I'm fine with tweaking things for entertainment value but making something up entirely seems to defeat the purpose of making a historical film. Why not just make it all up?

markomuscle

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

^ The love story in Braveheart was made up though, she was 9 when he died, they were never even in the same country at the same time. I'm fine with tweaking things for entertainment value but making something up entirely seems to defeat the purpose of making a historical film. Why not just make it all up?

I think the film was based on a long poem 'The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace' from the 15th century which was historically inaccurate

Tony EH

Like the vast majority of war films, 'Braveheart' bears no resemblance to any historical fact, nor the people involved.

Particularly maligned is Robert the Bruce, who's shown as some sort of traitor to Wallace, which is terribly wrong and Edward I of England lived for two years after Wallace had died and died himself on campaign.

The whole film is bunkum, entertaining bunkum, but bunkum nonetheless.

Judgement Day

I didn't like Braveheart because my hero Mel Gibson

dies in the end just when you expect him to break free and lay waste all around him.

Also it portrays the English in a bad light. I've watched it a good few times to make sure that I don't like it.

pixelburp

Was at the IFI today and saw the 70mm showing of Big Trouble in Little China. Ah, it was great fun by all accounts; they really don't make 'em like that anymore - though I'm still not sure if that's a good or a bad thing It's a hard film to criticise tbh because it's clearly very self-aware, in on the joke and plays things with a constant wink & smile to the audience; always acknowledging its own silliness without stifling the natural fun of it all. A tremendously 80s film by all accounts - bizarre fashions, excessive neon et al. Plus it's also a neat reminder why Kurt Russell really was the go-to guy for B-movie action back in the 80s; his droll one-liners and John Wayne impersonation is just the right pitch for the adventure.

The performance itself was decent; the 70mm looked pretty good, although there were a couple of skips in the print, and a few odd problems with the audio here and there. Nothing major though & it didn't spoil the experience overall. I hadn't been in the IFI in ages, so it was good to remind myself why I enjoy visiting; especially with it's damn tasty burgers. Nyom.

briany

Stewart Lee does a hilarious bit on the Brave heart innacuracies. Also did a thing based on it in TMWRNJ.I dont think Gibson is hugely worried about nailing the historicity of the man though.

cursai

The Purge. Good first ten mins. Interesting scenario. Then someone forgot to flush the loo.

e_e

briany wrote: »

Stewart Lee does a hilarious bit on the Brave heart innacuracies. Also did a thing based on it in TMWRNJ.I dont think Gibson is hugely worried about nailing the historicity of the man though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHA1ufmLZQY

Brilliant stuff, can't stand Braveheart though.

old hippy

I think if you take Braveheart as a fantasy romp, it's quite enjoyable. I like big epic films like that. (Titanic is the exception, mind)

Tony EH

The second half of 'Titanic' is pretty good though.

Corkfeen

Last night's viewing was Caché by Michael Haneke. I'm slowly working my way through his collection.So far i've seen The Time of the Wolf which I have rather mixed feelings on and Funny Games which I found to be an excellent particularly for it subversion of the horror genre.

Caché is entirely from the aforementioned. I found that he embraced simplicity in the film, prolonged shots with no camera movement and first person camera work were common throughout. The plot basically shows how individuals willingly hide their pasts even from their loved ones and even themselves.

Haneke's talent is that he has an insight into the human condition that many directors are lacking. Life continues as normal around the characters even though it's technically a thriller. There lives are thrown into dissarray but the plotline is far from predictable in terms of predicting the outcome. For the first time ever I gasped during a film.

When Georges' brother Majid slashed his neck to commit suicide. The viewer was given no hint that this would be outcome of their meeting and the film couldn't remotely be considered reliant on violence, however it wasn't out of place but it fitted perfectly with how the narrative progressed.

The protagonist's lack of overall remorse for his actions can be a struggle for the viewer to deal with however if you were to place yourself in his position, you can't help but agree with him. Haneke has a talent for showing what can sometimes be a horrific reflection of humanity.

So my tangent is complete, I liked it in case I wasn't clear. :pac:

johnny_ultimate

Got through the remainder of Ray's Apu Trilogy today with Aparajito and World of Apu. Really fascinating films, and as a whole they tell a compelling story of one boy's life from childhood through his twenties. It's a rollercoaster of joy and sadness, Apu experiencing a deep and profound range of emotions as he experiences the harsh Bengal reality. But his curiosity - and that's one word I'd feel is key to the trio as a whole - is what makes it all so fascinating. He discovers the power of art, the pleasures of nature, the confusion of love and the profundity of life & death (the trilogy as a whole has a higher mortality rate than some slasher films :pac:). You can also see Ray's curiosity in film form and function growing, his aesthetics and storytelling becoming more confident as Apu's tale progresses. A highly recommended watch - deeply accessible and unpretentious, a film that simply but artfully tells a very human story. (one minor shame is some weird subtitling issues on the Artificial Eye release, that often seem to cut the first and last letters out of sentences, usually when they're italicised)

And on a completely different note... rewatched Reefer Madness last night. Such fun, even sober! The 1930s equivalent of a Daily Mail article, this entertainingly ridiculous cult classic demonises marijuana to increasingly comedic lengths. Replace references to marijuana with heroin and you'd still have an OTT tale of spiraling drug addiction, moral decay and homicide. Worth watching for the zany close-ups of the weed smokers alone - literally looking like their heads are about to explode at any given moment.

Bozo Skeleton

[QUOTE=johnny_ultimate;85221113

And on a completely different note... rewatched Reefer Madness last night. Such fun, even sober! The 1930s equivalent of a Daily Mail article, this entertainingly ridiculous cult classic demonises marijuana to increasingly comedic lengths. Replace references to marijuana with heroin and you'd still have an OTT tale of spiraling drug addiction, moral decay and homicide. Worth watching for the zany close-ups of the weed smokers alone - literally looking like their heads are about to explode at any given moment.[/QUOTE]
Haha, haven't seen that in years, unintentionally funny.

Rubber_Soul

A Prophet (2009)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235166/

Had this on the to watch list for a while now until someone reminded me of it yesterday. Annoyed I didn't watch it sooner as it's an absolutely fantastic film. Tahar Rahim is brilliant in it.

ButtersSuki

FontWatched a couple of movies I hadn’t seen over the weekend.

First up was The Bourne Legacy. I really liked the MattDamon Jason Bourne movies so was curious to see how Jeremy Renner would domanning the ship. There’s a couple of visually and sonically stunning scenes (the drone attacks for example – my dogs nearly jumped straight through the window such was the shock they got!). It’s kind of hard to describe in that it’s not actually all that bad; but equally, it’s not all that good either. Renne ris quite good in the lead, but the story seems a little flat in places. As good as he is though he just lacks the tortured part of Damon’s portrayal and seems laser focused and too “together” by comparison. The pace is a bit all over the place as it starts quite slowly, then builds quickly, then falls again, then builds and then just dies. It’s long enough but even still the ending just comes very quickly – so much so that I was really surprised to see the credits when they came! I was expecting another chapter to tie up some loose ends. Maybe my expectations were too high given its predecessors? It’s entertaining to a point and by no means the worst thing you’ll ever watch but it could have been so much more. 5/10

Yesterday I threw on The Next 3 Days. I had seen the French version of this (Pour Elle) a few years ago in the cinema but it’sunfair to really compare the two for obvious reasons so I won’t do that here. Normally I avoid remakes of French movies but the OH wanted to see this as her friend told her it was “amazing”, so I relented. It’s the story of a woman imprisonedfor murder and her husband’s efforts to break her out of prison having exhausted all legal avenues. Though she’s not in it much Elizabeth Banks kinda steals a lot of the limelight from Russell Crowe. Crowe is solid and dependable as you’d expect and through the story is a little implausible in places, there are enough twists and turns and good cameos (Liam Neeson, Brian Dennehy, the RZA and Mrs Sting Trudie Styler amongst others all make appearances) to keep you fully engaged. The tension builds slowly and there are a couple of fairlyhair-raising moments, and though it clocks in at over 2 hours it certainlydoesn’t feel that way.
This is more old-school thriller than Hollywood blockbuster and likely suffered at the box-office as a result, but it is definitely worth a look.

I’d give it a good 7/10.

krudler

watched Cronenberg's The Fly over the weekend, still a horror classic

DazMarz

krudler wrote: »

watched Cronenberg's The Fly over the weekend, still a horror classic

Also had one of the best taglines for a film, ever: "Be Afraid... Be Very Afraid..."

Right up there with: "In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream...", "The True Story Of A Real Fake", "Just Because They Serve You Doesn't Mean They Like You", "Does For Rock N Roll What 'The Sound Of Music' Did For Hills" and "The Coast Is Toast"...

briany

Corkfeen wrote: »

Last night's viewing was Caché by Michael Haneke. I'm slowly working my way through his collection.So far i've seen The Time of the Wolf which I have rather mixed feelings on and Funny Games which I found to be an excellent particularly for it subversion of the horror genre.

Brilliant film. Leaving aside the analysis, it's simply an old fashioned chiller/mystery in a modern skin. Chiller films centered around a mystery are my favorite of the 'scary' genre umbrella and Caché does chills in a slow burning yet satisfying way.

---

Anyway, how's this for a 180. Last night I saw...

Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

Comedy film comprising of a whole load of sketches. Some long, some short, some connected, some not, some rude, some silly, some satirical, some...Well, you get the idea.

Anyway, it was much funnier than I was expecting. Checking the writing credits I see David Zucker and Jim Abrahams names and it makes sense. Between each other they're responsible for some of the funniest, daftest stuff to come out of Hollywood in the last 35 years or more. Titles like Naked Gun, Police Squad, Hot Shots, Airplane are the big ones to their name. Kentucky Fried Movie shows all the hallmarks of that style. Enjoyable film.

krudler

DazMarz wrote: »

Also had one of the best taglines for a film, ever: "Be Afraid... Be Very Afraid..."

Right up there with: "In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream...", "The True Story Of A Real Fake", "Just Because They Serve You Doesn't Mean They Like You", "Does For Rock N Roll What 'The Sound Of Music' Did For Hills" and "The Coast Is Toast"...

Ha yeah, Howard Shore's music is amazing as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKFgktNJWZ0

Hank Scorpio

It's a disaster

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/its_a_disaster/

Very good movie, deals with how people react with impending doom.

kaimera

recently:

Tokyo Gore Police - oh dear! I do enjoy the ridiculous movies and this is right up the top in fairness.

Welcome to the Punch - meh, watched for the cast, movie was poor.

Die Hard 2 - was on telly!

Wreck it Ralph - very good. idk why i hadn't seen it before.

Snitch - not bad, worth watching imo. Not a movie I'd usually associate the Rock with.

A few others that I can't think of right now.

johnny_ultimate

The Insect Woman - another masterpiece from the peerless Shohei Imamura. An epic, provactive and ambitious portrayal of one woman's life in early 20th century Japan, from her birth in the 1910s to the 1960s. Probes the dominant social trends and changes of the century against the backdrop of major historical events (and it's very much the background - our protagonist always seems to miss events of importance) while staying steadfastly focused on the trials and tribulations of one person. Cynical and sympathetic in equal measure, consistently toying with taboos, it's a typically accomplished, witty and intelligent film with a brave and raw lead performance from Sachiko Hidari. I'm increasingly coming around to the opinion that Imamura was one of the most important and brilliant figures in late 20th century cinema.

Tipsy McSwagger

Behind the Candleabra

Brilliant.

AllthingsCP

Sharp- Based on Bernard Cornwell books, Brotherhood based on the North and South Korean war, And the Rome Series, Local Xtra-V just closed down so i have about 40-50 movies to catch up on

upstairs for coffee

Breaking the Waves.

Brilliant.

Surprised Bonham Carter turned down the role, there wasn't THAT much nudity