What movies have you seen recently?

[Jonesy]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

I finally got around to seeing Law Abiding Citizen last night (had it sitting there for months) and WOW i was really missing out. I freaken loved it!!!

The whole start of the movie was basically my worst nightmare realised (those that have seen it will know what i'm talking about) so I was really pulling for Gerard Butler's character but then it just went crazy! Very suspenseful in parts and while some of it was somewhat unbelievable it was a great ride and time really flew by. If you haven't seen it do yourself a favour and go watch it.

A really badass movie imo - 9/10.

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Monsters.

Fell asleep.

Even the tramp stamp didn't do it for me. No, it wasn't on the girl.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

I'll make this short:

Sheriff of Sage Valley (1942): This was one of the Billy The Kid B-Westerns that Crabbe did back in the day. As far as it goes it was pretty good. There's actually some pathos to the story which I will paste the summary to in a second. Crabbe was certainly a very charming guy (after all he's the only actor ever to portray Tarzan, Flash Gordon AND Buck Rogers!) and while his acting wasn't any great shakes it was serviceable.

One of his sidekicks in the movie caught my attention though. Al "Fuzzy" St. John who got the nickname due to a stroke of luck as his part was originally intended for "Fuzzy" Knight so he took the "Fuzzy" name for himself and the character in the movies. Anyways Fuzzy got my attention due to his comic relief status. He struck me as a low rent Gabby Hayes but even more "comic".

Anyways here's the summary for the movie:

Billy and his pals, on the run from the law again, travel to Sage Valley where Billy is made Sheriff. The local outlaw gang is run by Kansas Ed who closely resembles Billy. Ed captures Billy and changing clothes with him, now plans to run the town as Sheriff.

The Pathos really comes into play with the Kansas Ed/Billy the Kid connection.

Spoiler

It turned out Kansas Ed was Billy's long lost brother. The last part of the movie really played the revelation up and went for a rather dramatic and somber type of ending for the film.

As a modern viewer this can't get more then 2 stars but it's a good "rainy day" type of flick.


Next, somewhat of an underrated Fritz Lang directed flick

Human Desire (1954): This is a great noirish film directed by Lang and starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Broderick Crawford. Let me give you the summary first and then talk more about this flick:

Engineer Jeff, returning from Japan, falls in Love with his co-worker Carl's wife Vicky, who both committed a murder. Naturally Carl gets jealous but can't say a thing because Jeff knows a little bit about the case

The wording is a little stilted so let me clear it up. Carl (Crawford) loses his job and begs his wife Vicky (Grahame) to contact the head of the company whom she knows because of her past living in his home and she reluctantly does so but when she comes back 5 hrs after seeing the boss Carl gets so jealous which leads to the murder of said boss.

Anyways, this movie really ratchets up the tension and the railroad/train setting really plays well with the theme of the movie of lives intersecting and the paths our decisions take us. There's a sense of forboding and dread draped throughout the film and all the actors do a bang up job with it. The Femme Fatale/average guy dynamic is done pretty well in this movie as Glenn Ford really does a swell job. If there's one thing you can fault him for though is he doesn't give the sense of despair that's prevalent towards the end of the film. Broderick Crawford who's not remembered too much today but was a damn fine actor (one of the few with 2 Walk of Fame stars) and he doesn't disappoint every time he's on the screen. Gloria Grahame however, was the one weak link. She was made for a role like this but was pretty rote in her acting.

The cinematography is fantastic in this movie and the use of shadows and light is splendid. There's a scene where Carl and Vicky see Jeff as they leave the train and the gauze like look of the screen as you see them in front of the train just gives it a gritty yet soft feel to it. There's also a scene where Jeff is conflicted about being involved with Vicky as he's in his room and you see him blow some smoke from his cigarette as he walks out the room the puffs of smoke behind him add to the atmosphere and sense of doom for what's about to happen later.

All in all this is a bit underrated but great film. It's probably not one of Lang's better ones as the film is a bit heavy handed at times but all in all it's fantastic. If you love drama and noir you should check this out. 4 out of 5 stars.

[Hova57]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Unstoppable - Loved it.

did you see Taking Pelham 123 is it like that. I love that movie it I thought taking Pelham 123 was a great movie that many may not know about.

[Mo]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

I saw two version of Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

Frankly I liked the Edwards James Olmos version better than the Denzel Washington version.

[snepp]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

I saw two version of Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

Frankly I liked the Edwards James Olmos version better than the Denzel Washington version.

Walter Matthau.

[clipperfan811]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

I just watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1. I'm sort of surprised it doesn't have it's own thread; anyways here's my take.

If you're into the series and have read the books (which I have) the movie is great. Personally I loved it because I love seeing the book come to life. As always there's a few details which are different but for the most part the movie stuck pretty close to the book.

It really left me wanting to watch the second part but I'm really glad they split them up. There was no way they were going to be able to fit everything from that book into one movie. It would have been rushed and unsatisfying.

If you've never watched a Harry Potter movie, DO NOT start with this one. It'd be cool to get an opinion from someone who's seen a few of the movies but isn't totally familiar with the details.

This movie was much darker than the others. I'm sure some might find it a little slow. The next half is way more action packed and revealing as far as tying things together.

[Jonesy]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

I just watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1. I'm sort of surprised it doesn't have it's own thread; anyways here's my take.

If you're into the series and have read the books (which I have) the movie is great. Personally I loved it because I love seeing the book come to life. As always there's a few details which are different but for the most part the movie stuck pretty close to the book.

It really left me wanting to watch the second part but I'm really glad they split them up. There was no way they were going to be able to fit everything from that book into one movie. It would have been rushed and unsatisfying.

If you've never watched a Harry Potter movie, DO NOT start with this one. It'd be cool to get an opinion from someone who's seen a few of the movies but isn't totally familiar with the details.

This movie was much darker than the others. I'm sure some might find it a little slow. The next half is way more action packed and revealing as far as tying things together.

Cool thanks for posting your impressions man. I am a fan of the series (both books and movies) and my wife LOVES them so i'll def be seeing this. My only apprehension was that the whole movie would just end and i'd be left months waiting for the other one. Does this movie at least have a quasi ending because i usually hate it when a movie just ends even if i do know another one is on the way?

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

I saw two version of Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

Frankly I liked the Edwards James Olmos version better than the Denzel Washington version.

I need to see the original. I thought Denzel's version was meh. I heard Matthau's was great though.

Saw Skyline.... impressive creatures. Ending, not so much.

Out of Her League...... ok story. The brother was hilarious (forget his name).

How To Train Your Dragon. Great story. Great movie, even for animation.

[clipperfan811]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Cool thanks for posting your impressions man. I am a fan of the series (both books and movies) and my wife LOVES them so i'll def be seeing this. My only apprehension was that the whole movie would just end and i'd be left months waiting for the other one. Does this movie at least have a quasi ending because i usually hate it when a movie just ends even if i do know another one is on the way?

It does have an appropriate ending but it does leave you wanting to watch the 2nd part right away. Seeing as you've red the books I can tell you where it ends if you want to find out:

Spoiler

There were two logical spots where I thought it could end and they picked the best of the two. I thought either after the snake attack in Godrics Hollow or after they escaped from the Malfoy Mansion. They end it right after they escape the Malfoy Mansion at Bill and Flur's seaside cottage

I could have sat for another two hours and watched both parts back to back but they definitely made the right choice in splitting up the last book. As it is they have a lot of ground to cover in the second part. July isn't that far away though.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

I'll be brief I promise!

Nevada Buckaroo (1931)

Buck Hurley, known as the Nevada Kid, hangs around a robbed stagecoach flirting with passenger JoAnn Clinton and is captured by one of the passengers, He is sentenced to twenty years imprisonment in the Carson City pen, but most of the citizens of Rattlesnake Gulch feel that he should have been strung up, particularly stage driver Alec, who is interested in JoAnn. On the other hand JoAnn is interested in the Kid. Later, the Mayor of Rattlesnake Gulch has the citizens sign a petition he is taking to the Governor, requesting that Rattlesnake Gulch be made the county seat. The Kid's gang takes the petition from the Mayor, changes it as a request to pardon the Kid, keeps all of the signatures and "Cherokee" Williams presents it to the Governor, who is more than happy to comply with the wishes of the citizens of Rattlesnake Gulch since he is running for re-election and needs all the good will and votes he can get. The Kid is pardoned, returns to Rattlesnake Gulch to personally thank the citizens for getting his release, and the citizenry responds by running him out of town. He returns to the gang, finds out they were responsible for his release, but tells them that he has reformed and is now going to go straight. They run him off, and he returns to town and finally persuades the townspeople to allow him to prove his honest intentions, and gets a job as the stage guard. He asks his old gang not to rob any stages he is guarding but, while he is riding out ahead, they do anyway and shoot one of the passengers. To vindicate himself, the Kid rides to the gang hideout to recover the money and finds only "Cherokee", his only real friend in the gang, there alone as he would not take part in the robbery. When a posse breaks in and arrests "Cherokee", the Kid helps him escape and he is arrested and brought back to be hanged. "Cherokee" goes after the two who robbed the stage, retrieves the money, and takes Slade back with him.He stops the stage on the road, throws the money bags aboard, and climbs into the coach with his prisoner. When the stage arrives in town, "Cherokee" falls out dead as Slade had a concealed knife, killed him and jumped off. The Kid is freed, and goes after Slade.

That basically tells the whole story for me LOL and while it kinda spoils the story I doubt many here will ever watch a single minute of this. This was an early talkie AND a Western to boot starring Bob Steele who would be one of the more famous cowboy stars of the decade. The movie is pretty pedestrian and it's hard to review a movie with such stilted acting which was the case back then but I think it was interesting in a historical way.

The real gem to this flick was seeing George "Gabby" Hayes who would be most remembered for being the sidekick in many western movies being the "bad guy" Cherokee Williams.

I give this a baseline 2 stars but really it's hard to give a rating.


Monte Carlo Nights (1934)

A man wrongfully convicted of murder escapes custody and goes in search of the real killer. The problem is that he only has one clue to go on.

Another cheapie from Monogram pictures. I have to say this, even with poverty row studios back in Hollywood's Golden Age there was still some interesting stuff churned out. There was some originality at times and at other times while the product was very much "comfort food" type fare in that you got what you expected there was at least some competency which you don't often find with some of the cheaper productions today.

Anyways, this movie was a proto Fugitive in that the wrongly accused tries to clear his name. There's a subplot to this movie that really got my attention and it's the whole subplot of the guy using a lady in Monte Carlo to help him find the real killer. The lady clearly has feelings for him but the guy is also clearly still invested in his fiance so when the case is solved you can't help but feel sorry for the Monte Carlo woman.

Anyways George "Gabby" Hayes was ALSO in this movie as a detective and clean shaven too! That pretty much threw me for a loop as i'd never seen him clean shaven or out of the western genre.

This gets about a 2.5 stars mainly because of the subplot and the twist to the whodunit.


The best movie of the lot however was this:

Fear is the Key (1972)

Following the death of his family in an aeroplane crash, a man plots an elaborate revenge scheme on those responsible. By setting himself up as a criminal, he plans to get close to a certain tycoon who has been approached by the culprits to help them retrieve the cargo of the lost plane.

This is a simplification of the plot but it's necessary because there's so many twists and turns to this movie that if you go deeper you'll ruin it for others. Needless to say this was a DAMN FINE flick. This movie is based on the Alistair MacLean book of the same name so you know there's going to be a lot of intrigue and adventure to it.

The movie stars Barry Newman, a guy who achieved a modicum of success with a cult following in the early '70s. He does a pretty good job in his role. There's two things that stand out in this movie the 14 minute long car chase scene which is one of the better ones ever captured on film. It's not as flashy as the chase in Bullitt or The French Connection but it's well done and the craziness of Newman's character driving the car literally EVERYWHERE he can is just cool as cool can be. The second thing that stands out about this movie is the ending. All I can say is that it's intense as all hell and is one of the better endings to a movie of this type from this period that i've seen.

I really urge anyone who likes '70s action flicks to check this out. Unfortunately it's only out on Region 2 DVD.

This easily gets 4 stars from me as it's exciting from beginning to end though it loses a point for a real slow period right smack dab in the middle of the movie.

[Kanobi]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

saw The Other Guys ....I am now a mark Wahlberg fan....Hilarious!

"Let's do some damage!"

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

SALT --- I'm not a big Jolie fan, but this is a stellar action flick.

[~LiverpoolRed~]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Unstoppable - Loved it.

Going to see it tonight.

[~LiverpoolRed~]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Going to see it tonight.

Saw Unstoppable last night. Really, really good movie.

I'm watching Badder Santa with Billy Bob Thornton right now.


Willie: Why don't you go take a shower?
Dancer girlfriend: I'm a dancer, I sweat.
Willie: Well, you smell like a bums nutsack.
Dancer girlfriend: F you!


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