What movies have you seen recently?

[DJ]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Diner. (again)

I just didn't want this movie to end. Paul Reiser didn't have enough lines in this movie.

Probably the best line of the movie, though, came from Timothy Daly while in the jail cell.....

Spoiler

"Do you wanna fight? Do you? C'mon... c'mon you son of a bitch! I'll hit you so hard I'll kill your whole family!"

That movie came and went way too quickly on Netflix Instant Stream. Never got a chance to watch it.

[ubernoob]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Secret World of Arrietty.

It was fairly short but typically whimsical and amazing like any Ghibli movie. Caught it on Starz. I wish they'd show Studio Ghibli more often as I still don't have them on Blu-Ray yet.

An adaptation of "The Borrowers" basically.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Point Blank (1967)

This is a movie i've been meaning to see for quite some time and it's actually kind of timely as it's an adaptation of a Donald E. Westlake novel The Hunter which has been used as the template for a few other movies including the recently released Parker. (the first time the title character's name has been used on film) Lee Marvin plays Walker, a hard nosed tough guy who seeks revenge after his partners leave him for dead, steal his cut of stolen money and stealing his wife from him. He more or less gets hired by a mysterious figure to take down the guy that wronged him and in the process tear down the structure of "The Organization". Said organization is run in a corporate structure and to say that Marvin destroys said structure is an understatement.

There are quite a number of good scenes in this film and while Marvin's character doesn't talk much it actually gives him more gravitas as he becomes a fascinating figure as we see things spiraling downward for the people he's up against. The sequence where Marvin gets into the high security of the Huntley House building was quite good as he uses the diversion of having the cops responding to a false home invasion in the apartment across the street to get him into the building as the security people don't know exactly what to make of it all. Marvin works his way up the chain as he ruthlessly tries to get back his money which in the grand scheme of things wasn't that much to begin with.

There is a twist in here but one can hardly call it that as I figured it out about halfway through but the movie is still worth seeing for Marvin being the brutal and violent force of nature. The only real complaint I have with this film is that it gets a little avant garde and too clever with itself what with the flashbacks and using images from earlier in the film to convey Marvin's emotions. I think that could've been handled in a slightly different way but other than that this is well worth the time to watch.

The ending is highly cynical and ambiguous as well but it really fits the overall tone and feel of the movie. Watch for Carroll O'Connor as the big talking 2nd in command in the Organization. His role is small and towards the end but he left a great impression.

3 out of 5 stars.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Darkest Hour (3D) Pretty bad sci-fi flick from start to finish. 3D was decent, but did not help this movie at all.

[thaima1shu]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Silver Linings Playbook. Very good movie. It was funny and had great performances throughout. Glad I went and saw it.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I know I promised to do a compare/contrast of the Assault from Precinct 13 movies but I felt it best to get the Torchy Blane movies out of the way. Needless to say after the interregnum with Lola Lane and that other guy they came back with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane but they changed the formula from knotty murder mysteries where Torchy was definitely a couple steps ahead but it seems Steve was at least game to follow her for the most part to straight 1930s style crime films of the sort where the cop and newspaper reporter were rivals and NEVER saw eye to eye. It may have led to more straightforward stories but a lot was lost in doing so.

That's not to say that the characters became enemies as they still intended to get married and were lovers. It's just that the storytelling was more akin to something out of Boston Blackie. Anywho, despite the changes this did give us the strongest film in the bunch in Farrell and MacLane's last movie together Torchy Runs For Mayor (1939). The title sadly gives away a plot point late in the film but other than that this was a much more serious film with the comedy dialed down and the danger ratcheted up with Torchy taking down a crime boss who is more or less running the city. It's quite good and if you ever run across it check it out. At least you'll get an idea for the characters. As for the best film in the other format I'd go with Blondes at Work which I gave a review for earlier.

I'll do the Assault on Precinct 13 original and remake next.

I PROMISE!

[goh]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Pact

Pretty good. If you know one of those easily scared people be sure to watch it with them. I'm not sure why it's called The Pact as there doesn't seem to be any sort of pact. Also doubt it lends itself to repeated viewings,it wouldn't be nearly as intresting a second time. Certainly worth watching once.

[Baseballking888]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Drive: I didn't like this one as much as others did, but it's still a great film. Ryan Gosling gives a fantastic performance that should of netted him an Oscar nomination. Albert Brooks is highly memorable playing against type as a loathsome gangster. Nicolas Winding Refn directs with such style and flair that it always feels that the film has a voice in its own. And as a plus, the elevator scene has to be one of my favorite scenes in any movie released within the last few years.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Drive: I didn't like this one as much as others did, but it's still a great film. Ryan Gosling gives a fantastic performance that should of netted him an Oscar nomination. Albert Brooks is highly memorable playing against type as a loathsome gangster. Nicolas Winding Refn directs with such style and flair that it always feels that the film has a voice in its own. And as a plus, the elevator scene has to be one of my favorite scenes in any movie released within the last few years.

Elevator scene = awesome.

Although Drive wasn't one I would rank very highly like others did, Carey Mulligan was so intriguing that she is the one person I am looking forward to most in The Great Gatsby (more than Leo).

[goh]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The ABCs of Death

Horror anthology. A story about death for every letter of the alphabet. Kinda like 3 Extremes but there's 26 of them and obviously each one is a short.

The language switches to whatever the native language of the director so that was intresting. Can really only go over each one on its own as it's difficult to judge as a whole. Though as a whole I liked how most of them made me think of another word for what each letter could represent (they don't say until after the segment).

A - Very good.
B - Meh.
C - Not really sure how this one worked.
D - Very good. From the director of Deadgirl.
E - Alright. This one was done by Angela Bettis who was in May.
F - No...no. Just no. Nope.
G - Didn't really make sense. It was in a first person view. I think I know what happend but there didn't seem to be any reason for it to happen.
H - Uhh...well...I guess if it was animated...but no. I suppose the overall story was nice but...furries.
I - Good.
J -
K - See F.
L - Ah hell no. Some creative kills at least.
M - This was the shortest and didn't seem meaningul in any way. This was by Ti West who did the recent and fabulous Innkeepers.
N - One of the best. From the guy that made the original Japanese version of Shutter.
O - I thought it was on P so was thinking of something else.
P - Decent.
Q - Fantastic. Enjoyed the 4th wall breaking.
R - I didn't quite get this one so I won't comment on quality.
S - This was the best one.
T - It was claymation. Enjoyable irony.
U - Done well but the overall was a bit of a throw off. This was from the director of The Kill List and it appeared to actually be happening during the events of that or at least in the same place.
V - Another one of the best.
W - Well that happend. By the director of Metalocalypse.
X - Very,very good. From the director of the Hitman movie.
Y - That ain't right.
Z - I don't even...

This is one of those things where some people won't make it to the end or will easily regret watching so you should consider that.

[marshallfever]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Seen a couple awesome movies lately:

Life of Pi-9.0: Truly an awesome movie with an interesting ending. Movie definitely isn't for everyone because it is lacking action but definitely makes up for it in atmosphere and visuals.

Batman The Dark Knight Returns PT2-8.8: I liked that it picked off right where the last one left off. I've never read the comics but it definitely did a great job of showing an older version of Batman still trying to be relevant. The Superman scenes were awesome as well and their right at the end was epic.

Hotel Transylvania-7.8: Adam Sandler's voice angers me, however the movie was fine in it's own right. The story was not spectacular but at least it was original and it certainly had some funny moments

Taken 2- 6.0: Pretty boring. The first was so amazing and caught so many people off their guard. This one was pretty bland and uninspiring.

Expendables 2- 7.4: Movie was pretty predictable and certainly full of explosions and a terrible script, however I must say, having Jean Claude Van Dam in the movie was genius and making him a bad guy, even better. He stole the show and made the movie actually watchable.

The Hobbit- 8.9: I loved it, I was pretty sure it was going to be meh after hearing the movie could of been done in one sitting and then they broke it into three separate movies. The movie caught me off guard because it was much more personal than The Lord Of the Rings trilogy which gave it a better story in a way. Can't wait for the following movies, too bad it's 2 more movies over being just another one.

End of Watch -8.0: So many police dramas came out after training day trying to be Training Day, this one even though had the same writer went for something a little different which made it much more enjoyable. The camera style as well made it much more unique. Pretty enjoyable movie

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Watched "The Counte of Monte Cristo" again. Overall, love the story and the prison scenes between Caviezel and Richard Harris are marvelous. Then the walking anachronism of Luis Guzmán showed up. I just don't understand his being cast in this movie. He just was so out of place in his mannerisms and interactions. The guy who played his captain (J.B. Blanc) would have been better for his role.

[DJ]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Purple Rain

It had been a while since I had watched this from start to finish, so popped it in last night and came away with a much different feeling than previous viewings. The first half of the film is a lot of 1980's cheese but then really takes a turn - a dark one in that - in the second half, and man, those last 45-50 minutes are really good.

I understand this movie was purely a vehicle for Prince, but the story of the parents' relationship and how it influenced and affected The Kid (Prince) is something I wish would've been further explored.

Still, the ending is great as The Kid learns a truth about his father through a tragic moment, and with all of those emotions, coupled with all of the other issues he is dealing with, lead to him creating a magnificent song. I like that inside look into the creative process of what inspires a song.

Even if you don't care for the story, the movie is worth a watch for the music (amazing songs), Morris Day (scene stealer and he's got 2 catchy songs, too) and Appolonia, who is very easy on the eyes.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Great writeup of Purple Rain, DJ!

"You ladies don't seem to realize just how valuable my time is. You're makin' my boys look bad! ..... Let's have some action! I want to see asses wigglin', I want perfection BAH HAAAH!"

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Well here's the long awaited write up on both Assault On Precinct 13 movies.


1976


2005

The original was quite good IMO and I really like how Carpenter managed to set the mood with his film score and the style of directing early on with its pseudo documentary style. I also thought the script was quite good at taking 3 different stories and having the characters in them all meet as the setup to the assault takes place at the police station.

I came away very impressed with Austin Stoker (Ethan Bishop) and Darwin Joston (Napoleon Wilson) as you really got a sense of who these characters were. Bishop is the somewhat raw cop who has to look after a station that's about to be closed down while Napoleon Wilson is a stone cold killer who, while he doesn't have a heart of gold isn't nearly as bad as you think one like him would be. The interactions between these two characters was fantastic and indeed the rest of the cast was very good in their roles.

The movie was an adaptation of Rio Bravo and it even had elements of Night of the Living Dead what with the gang heading up the siege being dehumanized and faceless like zombies. It gave the movie a sense of impending doom with how those gang members were shooting up the station and trying to get in.

The movie does have it's flaws (the whole setup of the gang wanting to take down the station is a bit contrived) but the acting, cinematography and overall feel makes one forget said flaws.

I give this a solid 3 1/2 stars.


The remake.....is not as good however unlike the remake of The Fog this movie actually has some merit to it. It's nowhere near as good as the original and tries to be its own thing as it's more in the action/suspense vein. There's a whole plot of Laurence Fishburne being a kingpin type who is finally jailed but he's worked with the corrupt police force to commit crime. Now that he's jailed the corrupt cops want to kill him so they don't get ratted out in a trial. The whole storyline is a bit ridiculous but luckily the action shoves that to the side though a lot is lost in translation compared to the original as the corrupt cops are fully fleshed out and very human. There's an entire backstory on Ethan Hawke's character as he's a drug dependent, psychological wreck which is why he's looking after the dilapidated station on New Years Eve.

There is a lot of story in this which I think bogs down the atmospherics but again the director of this film made up for it with the relentless violent as there are quite a number of headshot kills and the manner in which some of the people are killed is pretty disturbing.

The rest of the cast isn't as strong as in the original but look out for John Leguizamo as the conspiracy nut Beck. His character was a bit annoying at times but Leguizamo somehow makes him somewhat likable. Fishburne for what it's worth seemed like he was kind of sleepwalking through the film but he had enough presence to carry off his role. Brian Dennehy plays a cop on the verge of retirement and his story arc is quite good though a bit predictable in the end.

All in all I think the relentless violence and the acting of Hawke (who was very good iMO) carries the day and gives this flick a solid 2 1/2 stars.


Next up i'll be delving back to the Studio Era in Hollywood again.