FOCUS: Review old movies or DVD's. Tell us about the classics that we should see, or the new DVD releases that we should run away from. I saw Transformers Revenge of the Fallen... I don't care how hot Megan Fox is, that thing was a shit sandwich. I downloaded Star Trek, and thoroughly enjoyed that; it was really, really well done, so much so that I'm going to buy the DVD.
the majority of people think that The Cold War officially ended in 1991, those people are wrong. It ended in 1985 when Rocky IV was released. This masterpiece had everything, 3 of the most perfect montages, including one where he out runs two KGB members in a fucking car, a robot that brought you beer, one of the best fights of the entire Rocky series (if not any boxing film outside of anything Mohammed Ali related) and the ace in the hole, James Mother Fucking Brown. It even had sex, drugs and rock and roll because deep down you know Paulie blatantly fucked (or at least attempted to) his robotic beer providing sex slave, implied steroid use and the epic rock ballad, Hearts On Fire. Ignoring all of the symbolism of the film, Rocky effectively ended the cold war in a single sentence Wise words Stallion, wise words. Fuck it, think I'm gonna have a Rocky marathon tomorrow.. except 5, Like Indy IV, that film just doesn't exist.
The Peter Weir directed "Fearless" starring Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez is one of my favorite films and is an underrated classic. Both Bridges and Perez give an incredible performance, and the timing used by Weir in delaying the actual plane crash until the very end was very well done. I think that the show Lost took some of their ideas for the plane crash from this movie, it was surprisingly similar. The way the music is used in this movie is beyond amazing. The use of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" when Bridges drives his car into a brick wall with Perez in the car to prove she couldn't hold onto her baby when the plane crash happened was amazing. This was Jeff Bridges' best performance ever and if you haven't seen it I implore you to do so.
A Kubrick trio: Honestly Im huge fan of Kubrick's work. I bought the dvd collection of his a while back. Of the the movies I'd only seen 70-80% of The Shining and Barry Lydon, how I can say Im a huge fan yet pass out every lazy afternoon after popping either in, is beyond me, and I've never watched Lolita. So over the past week Ive made it a goal to watch all of them. ****Spoiler Warning**** Instead of hiding every other sentence in my reviews Ill just warn ever one up front. Lolita: Wasn't really all that impressed with this movie. Mainly because of coarse it was heavily censored from the source material so that it could be released in 1960. Even at the time it was still considered risque material. The subject is still a major societal taboo, but the story telling was definitely hampered. If only he could have told the story during the age of infinite online streaming hardcore porno, he could have done it right. It also wasn't as stylized as his later films and has the same feel as most old black and white movies. The good, the acting. Shelly Winters character did really feel like a desperate jealous lonely wife, it seemed a little over done in that 50's sort of way but still effective. Peter Sellers, of Dr Strangelove and Pink Pather fame, is the other big named stand out. Like Dr Stranglelove he plays multiple rolls albeit as the same character. He's pivotal to the plot but is only seen infrequently. His odd ball quirkiness does add a great deal of tension to what ever scene he's in. The title role went to an unknown and really I was surprised how she played as a manipulative underage nympho. Barry Lydon I can see why this is a totally overlooked movie by main stream audiences. It is friggin sllooooooooooooow. I thought the pace killed most of the whit that Kubrick was known for. There are admirable things about the movie. Somehow Kubrick was able to turn every shot into a recreation of a masterpiece oil painting. I also liked the Lord Bullington character probably one of the best cast and acted sniveling losers in all of film. The Shining : I really don't know how I let this one slip threw the cracks. Like Ive said Ive seen most of it. But not until last night did I sit and watch it start to finish. Great moody film. Not as rewatchable on a consistent basis like Dr Strangelove. Clockwork Orange, or Full Metal Jacket but still awesome. Jack Nicholson made one of films all time bad guys from that film.
I recently re-watched "Throw Mama From the Train" starring Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal. It's funny, damn funny. Basically it's the tale of this failed writer who has his only book, that happens to be a widely successful, get stolen by his ex-wife. He experiences writer's block and resorts to teaching about writing to a class full of dimwits to get his mind off things. Danny DeVito is one of the students and he plays the dimwitted but surprisingly clever schemer perfectly. Things go awry when DeVito's character misconstrues what Crystal is teaching and applies his motive/alibi writing advice to his real life plan to kill his own mother. The back-and-forth dialogues are funny, so are the bit characters and general pacing is well executed. 4/5
I'm going to second the Throw Momma From The Train review. "I'm buying a gun, Owen." Classic. One of my favorite movies from back in the day was Excalibur. The only good King Arthur movie. The scenery is amazing, the acting is flamboyant (Nicol Williamson as Merlin is exceptional), the music is cool, it has a young Hellen Mirren, Liam Neeson, and Patrick Stewart has a role near the beginning. It's a little cheesy looking back on it now, but overall I'd say it stands the test of time. And I'm guessing most people on this board have seen it, but Oldboy. Twisted from beginning to end, the filmmaking is brilliant and it has one of the best long shot action sequences I've seen. If you've heard what it's about, just know that it's several levels beyond what the plot summary would have you believe. Whole-hearted recommendation here.
I've been dealing with a bout of insomnia lately, thus I've been watching a ton of movies lately. Sticking with the thread, I'm going to have to nominate The Last Boyscout. Bruce Willis teams up with Damon Wayons to solve a murder case involving Wayons' ex-stripper girlfriend, and the owner of a professional football team. Willis plays a down-on-his-luck cop that he has come to play so well, while Wayons is the disgraced ex-quarterback that's out for justice. Willis and Wayons work perfectly together, both beating up/killing bad guys, and talking shit along the way. To quote Willis in the movie, "This is the '90s. You don't just go around punching people. You have to say something cool first." There is a ton of action in the movie, as well as hilarious one liners -- a classic action movie. A great movie for late night/drinking times and can easily be found at HEB/WalMart/etc in the $5 bin. You can't beat that, but if you do, make sure you say something cool first.
Once starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova [or The Swell Season] is the best music based movie I have seen. Watched it again tonight, both delivered great performances for people that aren't trained actors. Way better than using the original plan and going with Cilian Murphy. The original plan was to use two actors who could play a little but they changed to a duo that could play and act a little. It was a good plan. The music the band wrote works so well within the realm of the film. They use their own music to create montage like scenes and the pace of the movie is great. I don't want to spoil it but if you like singer songwriters this is sort of a story based around a guy trying to make it as a musician.
Check these movies out. They are some of my all time favorites. Things Change In David Mamet's acclaimed comedy, Jerry (Joe Mantegna), a misfit Mafia henchman, is assigned the low-level job of keeping an eye on Gino (Don Ameche), a shoe repairman fingered by the Mob to confess to a murder he didn't commit. But Gino's mistaken for a Mafia boss, and the two are suddenly catapulted to the highest levels of mobster status. Only friendship will see them through this dangerous adventure alive! Once Around Renata Bella (Holly Hunter) is feeling the soul-sucking torpor of a dead-end career -- and life -- until she meets whirlwind sales guru Sam Sharpe (Richard Dreyfuss) at a real estate-selling seminar. The slightly older Sam could be Renata's new lease on life if she can just convince her skeptical dad, Joe (Danny Aiello), and other family members (Gena Rowlands and Laura San Giacomo) that he's the real deal. The Freshman Clark Kellogg (Matthew Broderick) had no idea film school would land him in the clutches of bona fide godfather Carmine Sabatini (Marlon Brando), but that's what happens when a thug robs Clark 20 minutes after he sets foot in New York City. Soon Clark gets enmeshed in Carmine's affairs -- including delivery of a Komodo dragon to the mafioso's chef, who intends to dish up the big lizard at a "gourmet club" specializing in endangered species! How could they leave out the name of the thug, the late great Bruno Kirby! Brando's spoof on his Godfather work is hysterical. Favorite line: Clark, referring to a picture on the wall: Is that Mousolini? Carmine: It ain't Tony Bennett. Oh there are so many more, but I'll start off with these three for now. Happy viewing, and your welcome.
Since many of you admitted to liking romantic comedies in the Guilty Pleasures thread, I am going to list some of my favorites, a few of which you probably haven't heard of: Better Off Dead - John Cusack's girlfriend dumps him, he contemplates suicide and befriends a French foreign exchange student. American Dreamer - Housewife wins a trip to Paris, gets knocked in the head during a mugging and thinks she's a famous fictional female spy. Working Girl - Melanie Griffith is sick of not getting ahead in the corporate world, and decides to grab opportunity (and Harrison Ford) by the balls. Sixteen Candles - Molly Ringwald pines for the hot guy in school, and is mortified by her extended family who forget her birthday while in town for her sister's wedding. Splash - Tom Hanks get some hot mermaid action. Wedding Singer - I think most of you know this one. And a couple of movies that came out maybe even before your parents' time: Charade - Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn exchange adorable quips as they dodge bad guys who are after money that her dead husband supposedly left her. Donovan's Reef - Yes, friends, John Wayne was actually in a romantic comedy. Straightlaced Bostonian gal goes to an island in the South Pacific to work out some legal issues with her estranged father, and does a lot of verbal duking it out with The Duke, who is a friend of her father. Lee Marvin appears periodically to steal scenes.
Let the Right One In-A new twist on all the vampire movies running around right now. It's a Swedish romantic horror about a 12 year old loser Swedish boy who's life is changed when a 12 year old vampire girl moves in next door to him. It was my favorite movie of last year and it's bullshit it wasn't even nominated for a foreign film oscar. Make sure to watch with subtitles, not dubbed.
Dead Man's Shoes It's got Paddy Considine (hot Fuzz and Bourne Ultimatum) playing an ex paratrooper who has returned to his home town. Violence ensues. Can't really go into the plot too much without risking spoiling it but suffice to say this thriller is amazing and Paddy Considine puts in an amazing performance... Gonna have to echo Once as well. Fantastic soundtrack. Loved the way it was used to tell the story.
Jesus christ man, if you are gonna pimp The Last Boy Scout the least you can do is tell people one of the best things about the movie. Damon Wayans' stripper ex girlfriend is played by Halle Berry.
I will second this. Additionally, The Bridge on the River Kwai is an absolute classic and should be watched by everyone. I was totally sucked in to the story during the first part with Colonel Nicholson in isolation, and the Japanese Colonel's character provoked quite shocking feelings of loathing. I had long heard about the brilliance of the climax and it didn't disappoint; the film's definitely one to either pick up cheaply on DVD or try and catch on TV sometime.
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins- The 80s were the golden age of action movies. Schwarz and Stallone were in their primes, an aging Bronson and Eastwood were still blasting away villains, we had the beginnings of the American-style martial arts films that would completely dominate the early 90s, and an ancient Roger Moore was still playing an light-hearted version of Bond. While I loved these movies growing up, they were frequently absurd, formulaic, and took themselves too seriously. Thus, Remo Williams, released in 1985, was one an early attempt at parody. After being supposedly killed, an ordinary cop receives plastic surgery, and is initiated in a secret assassination society run by the old man that says "Dia-beet-us" a lot. Remo is taught by a racist old Korean that can dodge bullets, walk on water, and is completely addicted to American soap operas. The actor himself is white and does the worst impression of Pidgin English I've ever heard. While this would all be idiotic if the film were trying to be suspenseful and dramatic, the style of Remo is thoroughly light-hearted, funny, and over-the-top. There are numerous insane, hilarious action sequences, training montages, and great quotes ("women are only good for cooking and making babies!") that would become a hallmark of latter films in the action comedy genre. Exciting and funny throughout, "Remo Williams" is worth checking out. Since I realize that finding it in many places is difficult, here's a torrent for "The Adventure Begins".
Sicko I finally got around to seeing this. Not to get political here, but Sicko is the culmination of everything you would expect a Moore film to be, namely a laughable farce that uses emotionally driven sob stories and misdirection to push its more backwards points. In short, it sucked out loud. Michael Moore's next project should be a suicide note. In this crockumentary, Moore endeavored, ironically enough, to give us the real skinny on socialized medicine. But facts have about as much of a chance appearing in Micheal Moore's 'documentary' as a piece of celery does in the film maker's refrigerator. Continuing the spirit of his earlier work, Moore continues to play a con man of a very brazen sort. His cherry-picked facts, manipulative interviews, and blithe assertions are so stacked that you can literally feel his whole argument sliding sideways as the picture unfolds. Pass.
The Adventures of Pluto Nash I was picking out some movies at the video store after I was a little buzzed a few nights ago, and I saw this on the shelf and remembered all of the awful things I heard about it. Hell, Robot Chicken even made a sketch about it. I thought that certainly with a reputation like that, I would be in for a schlock-fest of 'Plan 9 from Outer Space' proportions. So I rented it with the intention of mocking/heckling it. It was actually not bad. Yeah, it'll never win any awards, but the story line was solid, the main characters were likeable, the acting was decent, and the special effects and sets were all great. Why does everyone give this movie a bad rap? I've seen some stupefyingly awful movies, and this wasn't nearly as bad as American Pie.
Fuck yes Oldboy. God that movie is just soooo fucking badass. Of course, as you said, it is also incredibly twisted, and yes, it may fucking piss you off a little bit as well, as in: Spoiler How the fuck is is Dae-Su's fault? How about DON'T fuck your sister, and then let her fall from the fucking bridge. Classic case of blaming others for your own mistakes. Taken to unheard of proportions that is.
It's almost Christmas season, so I'm telling you that if you haven't seen it, you need to go rent: The Ref. Denis Leary and Kevin Spacey. It's awesome, it's sarcastic, it's hilarious. That and Badder Santa are on the top of my "must-watch" list around the holidays, and you should see them, too.
I'd like to do weekly movie reviews, given that I've seen on avg. three movies a week for the past 5 years. I just saw The Ladykillers [2004, Coen Bros.]. It stars Tom Hanks in a role that is most unlike anything he had done coming up to, and since, The Ladykillers. He's a fast-talking, highly educated native Mississippian dastardly orchestrating, and micro-managing, a hefty casino heist. Except the casino is actually located on a steam-boat and the plan couldn't possibly be less Ocean's11. His plans are placed in jeopardy when his rag-tag group of would-be theives start to meet their match in an old, highly religious widower from whom their subletting their headquarters. It's a remake of a movie released half a decade earlier and it doesn't have the usual Coen Bros. 'crispness' -possibly due to a lack of complete originality over the screenplay- but it is nonetheless a Coen Brother's movie through and through. It's funny on many levels, it's symbolic, beautifully shot, the soundtrack is chock-full of amazing Gospel songs and it's highly misunderstood. You should definitely watch it, I can't see anyone not enjoying the movie.