What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

Charlie19

R.I.P.D
Very poor, pure shyte. I never watched Men in Black but I would guess this wasn't much different.

Aidric

Carlos Kleiber - I am lost to the world

A wonderful documentary about the conductor, acknowledged by some as the greatest of the last century. Despite his undoubted brilliance he was an intensely private and reticent individual, often cancelling and pulling out of performances at the last minute. He struggled in measuring himself against the influence of his late conductor father, perhaps explaining the brevity of his work.

Nevertheless when he did work he demanded nothing short of perfection which often led to frustration and bemusement with his orchestras. His recordings of Beethoven's symphonies 4 & 7 are particularly distinguished.

German with English subs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycu0vJQJODM

siblers

World War Z- I was pleasantly surprised by it, first 20 minutes or so is pretty ordinary, everything that happens is fairly run of the mill but then the film changes gear and starts to come life. My favourite part of the film is the part set in Israel, really get a great feeling of the sense of panic and hopelessness of the whole situation. I thought they did a pretty good job of the zombies too, not a fan of running zombies but they suit this film very well. One thing I didn't understand is why did Matthew Fox get such a pointless role in it, I guess he had a larger part that was left in the editing room.

mike65

Auto-Focus More > Movies (2002 Paul Schrader)

Auto-Focus is the (somewhat contentious) biography of a DJ turned actor who was famous for an American sitcom, "Hogan's Heroes" never seen in this part of the world before his life took a turn - Bob Crane was a sex maniac and DIY video-porn pioneer in the late 60s/early 70s who's relationship with women and his partner in carnal crime - John Carpenter (not that one) was friendly then fraught as Crane becomes ever more obsessed with screwing and filming same. I'll say no more plot wise, Paul Schrader loves a poke around the dark recesses of the soul and this story is therefore right up his street, he handles the shift in tone nicely aided no end by Angelo Badalamentis fine score and terrific performances by Greg Kinnear and William Defoe in particular though every one of the main actors is on form.

Just a warning if you want to check this out, Move > Movies really likes ad breaks so record it and save some annoyance.

and The Great Escape Channel 5 (1964 John Sturges) The fastest 163 minutes in movie history! Hardly a shred of truth beyond the basic outline of the Boys Own adventure but that hardly matters. I'd forgotten James Coburn plays a Aussie by way of Pimlico (nearly expected to hear Dick van Dyke in the next bunk)! and the use of soft focus for the July 4th outdoor scene was curious. Otherwise first class from the (far too old) boys and their stiff upper lips, esp Dickie Attenborough and Donald Pleasence.

Baked.noodle

Dangerous Liaisons (1988) Great film. Well written and excellent performances all around. 9/10.

Dead Poets Society (1989) Very good. Intelligent and a lot of fun. Robin Williams was born for the role of lecturer. 9/10

A Royal Affair (2012) Really enjoyed this story, based on true events. The main character; Johann Friedrich Struensee, is worth a google. 9/10

Rob Roy (1995) Lots of duelling with good sword fighting. Good plot. 7/10

The History Boys (2006) Good fun with a very talented cast. Story was a bit predictable though. Good fun if you have been to collage. 8/10

The House of the Devil (2009) This was ok. The violence was sharp and overall it was very well put together. Just felt a bit slow in places, and the ending could have been much better. 6/10

Bless Me, Ultima (2013) I'm not usually interested in magic, fearing superstition breeds superstition, but I liked this charming movie. The ending could have been fleshed out a bit more, but it's worth a watch. 8/10

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

^ Did you pick a lot of those up from this thread? I notice a few of them have been mentioned here recently

siblers

The Hunt- Absolutley superb Danish drama about a playschool teacher wrongfully accused of molesting one of his students. Mads Mikkelsen is unreal as a man whose life begins to fall apart right in front of him, the tension throughout the film is almost unbearable at times, its been a while since a film made me root so much for the protagonist.

The scene at the end in the woods was almost too tense for me to watch, just waiting for something sinister to happen to Mads was too much to handle

I'll definintly be watching A Royal Affair now.

quickbeam

Threads. The old BBC apocalyptic nuclear war story. It's on YouTube in full. I'd heard a lot of about it on here so finally thought I'd check it out. Very disturbing watch, but glad to have seen it.

johnny_ultimate

Le Samourai - Jean Pierre Melville's slick, existential hitman movie has lost little of its edge. The cold visual presentation, ethereal delivery, eccentric soundtrack and Alain Delon's definitive anti-hero still improbably gel together in a way that's quite a challenge to articulate. To say it was influential is an understatement - you can easily identify how its calculated, deadly serious genre delivery went on to woo John Woo and co. (the Criterion release comes with an essay from the man that acknowledges his fondness in no uncertain terms). Derivatives aside, the film's brave silences, muted palette and strange underlying poetics ensure this remains a unique, fascinating watch.

Double Suicide - Masashiro Shindo experiments with form in this distinctive melodrama. Influenced by kabuki and traditional Japanese puppetry, the film sees classical storytelling and new wave filmmaking collide with intriguing results. The OTT story and highly stylised acting are extreme even for Japanese cinema, but manage your way through the culture shock and there's plenty of interest. Sets are reminiscent of the much later Dogville, the world often visible though non-existent walls that grants us intimate access. Nonetheless, the cinematography places strong emphasis on barriers, with the narrative utilising concepts of imprisonment and inevitability to reflect on grander ideas of fate. Stagehands donned in black 'influence' events throughout the film, although morph into analogues of ourselves as the film speeds towards its intensely and abstractly tragic conclusion. A film fascinated with the way stories are told, and asks us to reflect on our own (lack of) participation in the drama.

Gamayun

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Le Samouraï

Quite possibly the coolest film I've ever seen.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
I heard mixed things about this but I enjoyed it. Tom Waits was great. I thought that some of the CGI scenes were a bit cheap looking and distracting though.

salacious crumb

I really enjoyed that.

Barna77

The Mist. Very good, liked it a lot and the build up tension. And how a religious nutter can turn people against each other... The end was kind of predictable but sickening.

Very appropriate for a day like today :pac:

bellinter

had a very high-brow weekend's viewing

White House Down - Exactly what I was expecting! It's knowingly stupid and good fun as a result! 6/10

Parker - meh. Fairly bog standard 'revenge' movie but has J Lo in her knickers, so not all bad. 5/10

Judgement Day

"The Informant" (1997) on DVD. IRA thriller set in Belfast but largely shot in Dublin. Loosely based on the Supergrass trials of the 1980s. Gingy McAnally (Anthony Brophy) is an IRA volunteer who has already done time but is forced back into active service. However, things start to go wrong when he's spotted by a British Army officer as he escapes following a successful terrorist attack on a judge. He's soon arrested and falls into the hands of RUC Chief Inspector Rennie (Timothy Dalton) and is coerced into turning informer.... While not bad as NI "Troubles" thrillers go, the total miscasting of Dalton as the RUC man and the character of the unrealistically friendly British Army officer Lt.David Ferris (Cary Elwes) undermine the whole effort. Watch it if you get the chance but don't go out of your way to track down a copy. 5/10.

martyoo

Watched The House I Live In last night, fantastic documentary about the so called war on drugs. Mainly told from the perspective of America, well and truly worth a watch.

This was excellent.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Into The Wild

Based on the true story of a guy who just took off after he graduated college to live on the road and eventually ends up in Alaska.

I thought this was set wholly in Alaska, so I was pretty disappointed when most of it was flashback. I love a good snowy film. The structure of it was a bit all over the place too and it seemed overly long. Like a lot of these types of films it seemed a bit repetitive at times.

I get the idea behind what this guy was thinking, I've thought about it myself a fair bit, but at the end of the day he seemed really selfish. I get he had issues with his parents but he just abandoned his sister too and most of the time it seemed like he was just running away from being an adult.

I'm interested to find out more about the real guy though.

briany

Citizen Ruth (1996)

A temperamental, homeless, solvent addicted young woman finds herself faced with the decision of what to do about her latest pregnancy. Luckily (?) for her she finds herself taken in by a society of staunch, militant pro lifers , becoming the latest poster child in the abortion debate.

Laura Dern's hilarious in this. Her character remains quite self centered throughout but that's what's good about it - it's not a corny redemptive story and deadlock, a refusal to budge or change, is part of what this film is getting at with the pro lifers and pro choicers both totally unwilling to give an inch of ground. Film parodies both sides with equal enthusiasm, too.

---

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

Robert Redford plays the titular character - a man weary of civilized life who decides to head for adventure and a simpler life in the Rocky Mountains.

A simple film that appeals to your inner manly man. More official synopses tell of a vendetta concerning Indians but in truth that's not really the main focus of the film at all and it's really just about the life he leads while up there and the people he meets.

---

Gypsy '83 (2001)

A frustrated mid western slightly goth Stevie Nicks fanatic and her younger gothier, gay companion go on a road trip to New York city to attend the 'Night of a Thousand Stevies'.

Great fun, funny, road movie about two surprisingly well written outcasts. If you like slightly bigger woman with heaving cleavage, Sarah Rue's character has a lot of that going on in this film. Not something I would normally comment on but it was seriously distracting in this picture. Also,

there is a pretty full on sex scene about 2/3rds of the way through featuring a topless Rue, and some plainly filmed gay + heterosexual sex in a public toilet. Kind of took me by surprise a bit.

Whew. Little part for John Doe from the punk band 'X' as well.

Mickeroo

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Into The Wild

Based on the true story of a guy who just took off after he graduated college to live on the road and eventually ends up in Alaska.

I thought this was set wholly in Alaska, so I was pretty disappointed when most of it was flashback. I love a good snowy film. The structure of it was a bit all over the place too and it seemed overly long. Like a lot of these types of films it seemed a bit repetitive at times.

I get the idea behind what this guy was thinking, I've thought about it myself a fair bit, but at the end of the day he seemed really selfish. I get he had issues with his parents but he just abandoned his sister too and most of the time it seemed like he was just running away from being an adult.

I'm interested to find out more about the real guy though.

Give the book a read, I love the film but it's very much a look at his story through rose tinted glasses. The book questions him a lot more.

briany

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Into The Wild

Based on the true story of a guy who just took off after he graduated college to live on the road and eventually ends up in Alaska.

I thought this was set wholly in Alaska, so I was pretty disappointed when most of it was flashback. I love a good snowy film. The structure of it was a bit all over the place too and it seemed overly long. Like a lot of these types of films it seemed a bit repetitive at times.

I get the idea behind what this guy was thinking, I've thought about it myself a fair bit, but at the end of the day he seemed really selfish. I get he had issues with his parents but he just abandoned his sister too and most of the time it seemed like he was just running away from being an adult.

I'm interested to find out more about the real guy though.

I know a lad who says he cried for about an hour after watching that film. It never spoke to me on that level though, but that's me. I've never been to Alaska but I know it's reputation for being a harsh and unforgiving place to even experienced bush men. His fate was quite tragic but not to be totally unexpected it has to be said.

Films set in the northern wilds are good though. Grizzly Man and The Snow Walker would be up there in my estimation.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

briany wrote: »

I know a lad who says he cried for about an hour after watching that film. It never spoke to me on that level though, but that's me. I've never been to Alaska but I know it's reputation for being a harsh and unforgiving place to even experienced bush men. His fate was quite tragic but not to be totally unexpected it has to be said.

Films set in the northern wilds are good though. Grizzly Man and The Snow Walker would be up there in my estimation.

It didn't speak to me at all which is weird because ever since I was about 7 or 8 I've dreamed of going exploring places like Alaska. As I said though he just struck me as selfish and as running away (and a bit of a ponce at times) so I didn't really feel anything for him or for his journey. Mainly I felt bad for his sister.

salacious crumb

Sorry to lower the tone, but I went to see We're the Millers tonight, and it was a hell of a lot better than I expected. Pretty much laughed the whole way through...

Seedy Arling

Watched a film called Boy Wonder on netflix. A revenge movie with a great story line and a good bit of fighting action.

Well acted, good soundtrack and great story to it. Would highly recommend.

Barna77

The Green Hornet
21 Jump Street

Just for laughs.

jcsoulinger

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Into The Wild

Based on the true story of a guy who just took off after he graduated college to live on the road and eventually ends up in Alaska.

I thought this was set wholly in Alaska, so I was pretty disappointed when most of it was flashback. I love a good snowy film. The structure of it was a bit all over the place too and it seemed overly long. Like a lot of these types of films it seemed a bit repetitive at times.

I get the idea behind what this guy was thinking, I've thought about it myself a fair bit, but at the end of the day he seemed really selfish. I get he had issues with his parents but he just abandoned his sister too and most of the time it seemed like he was just running away from being an adult.

I'm interested to find out more about the real guy though.

Seen this on film 4 the other night. I thought it was good but nothing special, I did not sympathize one jot with supertramp tho. He was so under prepared for the reality of living like that it was borderline suicide.

Him not making contact with his family also bothered me especially his sister, it struck me as very strange, things couldn't have been that bad at home. I would question his mental health to be honest.

briany

My Breakfast with Blassie (1983)

Renowned comedian/actor/intergender wrestling champ/troll Andy Kaufman gets together with his pal, the legendary wrestling personality 'Classy' Freddie Blassie to have an informal breakfast and discuss life, careers, the ups and downs of shaking fans' hands and what to do about Andy's latest feud with wrestler Jerry 'The King' Lawler.

I'm an old school wrestling fan so I doubly enjoyed this but even if you don't know or care who Freddie Blassie is, his interaction with Andy is very entertaining.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

jcsoulinger wrote: »

Seen this on film 4 the other night. I thought it was good but nothing special, I did not sympathize one jot with supertramp tho. He was so under prepared for the reality of living like that it was borderline suicide.

Him not making contact with his family also bothered me especially his sister, it struck me as very strange, things couldn't have been that bad at home. I would question his mental health to be honest.

The hitching around the lower 48 was fine because as wild and free as he might have liked to think he was all he really had to do was pick up a phone and call home. He still had that safety net there. Also, despite his hatred of society and what have you he only really survived on the road because of the kindness of others. I would have thought the conclusion he should have come to long before Alaska was that maybe not everyone was as bad as his parents and that there were some nice people out there who would help out a complete stranger out of the goodness of their hearts.

The going to Alaska with no preparation or proper skills was just dumb though. I read an article that said there was a winch thing 1/4 mile up from where he tried to cross the river that hunters used to cross it when it was full. He also had a map of the area and could have walked to safety before he ate whatever made him sick. He didn't even have a compass with him though. It's hard to look past plain stupidity when it comes to his time in Alaska and his death.

salacious crumb

briany wrote: »

My Breakfast with Blassie (1983)

Renowned comedian/actor/intergender wrestling champ/troll Andy Kaufman gets together with his pal, the legendary wrestling personality 'Classy' Freddie Blassie to have an informal breakfast and discuss life, careers, the ups and downs of shaking fans' hands and what to do about Andy's latest feud with wrestler Jerry 'The King' Lawler.

I'm an old school wrestling fan so I doubly enjoyed this but even if you don't know or care who Freddie Blassie is, his interaction with Andy is very entertaining.

Sounds quite interesting.

Mickeroo

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

The hitching around the lower 48 was fine because as wild and free as he might have liked to think he was all he really had to do was pick up a phone and call home. He still had that safety net there. Also, despite his hatred of society and what have you he only really survived on the road because of the kindness of others. I would have thought the conclusion he should have come to long before Alaska was that maybe not everyone was as bad as his parents and that there were some nice people out there who would help out a complete stranger out of the goodness of their hearts.

The going to Alaska with no preparation or proper skills was just dumb though. I read an article that said there was a winch thing 1/4 mile up from where he tried to cross the river that hunters used to cross it when it was full. He also had a map of the area and could have walked to safety before he ate whatever made him sick. He didn't even have a compass with him though. It's hard to look past plain stupidity when it comes to his time in Alaska and his death.

I don't think he had a map, but if he did he would have seen where the winch was. Really was pure arrogance. If I remember rightly from the book, there was nothing conclusive about the actual cause of death, but the plant was the most likely.

What's even worse about the whole thing, going by the book, the film makes his parents look a lot worse than they actually were. I'm glad I saw the film before reading it as it let me enjoy the story independently of the truth behind it.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Mickeroo wrote: »

I don't think he had a map, but if he did he would have seen where the winch was. Really was pure arrogance. If I remember rightly from the book, there was nothing conclusive about the actual cause of death, but the plant was the most likely.

Apparently the map he had didn't have the crossing on it, but if he'd had a compass he would have been able to find a different route back.

There is newer information on his death that seems to be fairly well believed now.... http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/09/how-chris-mccandless-died.html

Gamayun

Agora (2009)

Alejandro Amenábar (The Sea Inside, The Others) film revolving around the life of 4th century philosopher Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) and the religious power struggle in Alexandria. It's very well made (in Malta) and Weisz is great. It's probably rife with historical accuracies but I couldn't care less, I though it was a solid historical drama.

If Wikipedia is to be believed then it lost money, costing us$75m, making us$38m.