What movies have you seen recently?

[slickdtc]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Rematched Zoolander this weekend. Probably quote this movie at least a couple times a week but it had been a while since I watched start to end.

I enjoyed this humor so much. Today's comedic delivery is all the same and it's funny but everyone does the same thing. Stiller and Wilson and the rest were dynamic and I hope they can bring the magic back in the sequel.

The funniest part this time around was actually a non-dialogue part. When Mugatu builds a model of Derek's school and when he goes to show him, how he prances over made me lose it.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The other night I watched both versions of Cape Fear back to back. I've got to say that I think I like the original a bit better than the Scorsese directed version starring Robert De Niro. There are a few things that make the original stand out more than the more famous (to some people) remake.


1. The first thing that comes from watching these two films are the portrayals of the psychotic Max Cady. Robert Mitchum to me, gave more of a grounded and sinister performance. He didn't need to tattoo himself up or change much about himself. He was just menacing and disturbing when he spoke. There's a great scene where he talks to Bowden about how being locked up in jail has taken away everything in his life. He tells of how he threatened and tortured his ex wife after he got out of jail implying that he would do something just as bad or worse yet to Bowden's family. There's a gravitas to Mitchum that makes you believe every word he says. He's also more believable as being the cunning stalker who will tear down everything Bowden holds dear whereas De Niro's portrayal is more over the top and that of a wild man. Most of the time he undercuts his threats because of his over the top acting. I will say though, that the seduction scene with Bowden's daughter Danielle (Juliette Lewis) was creepy and was the closest to capturing the essence of Mitchum's portrayal.

2. The difference in plot and how Bowden and by extension his family life is a helluva lot more shady than in the original. The original film saw Gregory Peck being a strong and principled lawyer who is forced to do things he'd never dream of in order to get Cady out of his life. The decision to hire thugs to take Cady down in the original film shows the depths to which Peck's Bowden has sunk whereas in the remake Nick Nolte is nowhere near a good person. He's cheating on his wife with a court clerk, he's not the best father and he's constantly getting into loud arguments with his wife which alienates his daughter.

Yes, this gives the remake more of a sense of realism to some degree but it undercuts the idea of rooting for him. Until Cady truly goes off the rails and crosses the line I was more on his side than Bowden's.

Spoiler

Cady is by no means a good guy but Bowden took the executive decision of burying evidence that would've gotten Cady off when he defended him 14 years earlier. Sure, the motives may have been pure but as a lawyer he betrayed his duty and thus Cady's hatred and wantng revenge becomes somewhat justified.

One last point in regards to the plot, I didn't like that the remake takes the plot of the original film and more or less rams through it in a compressed time in order to concentrate on the themes that Scorsese wanted to touch on.

3. Speaking of Scorsese, his version of the film comes off as more style than substance especially in the first 20-40 minutes with quick cuts, "stylish" use of color and light. In a lot of ways Scorsese was doing his best Brian De Palma impression and that's damning with faint praise right there. I will say that he does tone it down for the most part after the first 40 minutes but again, by doing that kind of stuff it undercuts the menace of Cady.

4. Last but not least and this is actually something I like about the remake. The whole subplot with Cady and Danielle was well done and gave De Niro's Cady some gravitas mainly with the seduction scene in the school theatre. The sexual undertones to that aspect of the film worked well to illustrate just how sick and perverted Cady really was. They couldn't do anything close to that in '62 so that's some fleshing out of the plot that works well.


In the end though, while both films have their strengths I feel that the remake just has too many weaknesses compared to the original. If I had never seen the original film i'd still feel the same about some of the plot and definitely the technical side but i'd hold the film in higher esteem. Both are good films for their time but the original is more timeless, has better tension and the Cady/Bowden antagonistic relationship feels stronger due to the acting.

[kingkilla56]

What movies have you seen recently?

American Sniper

I remember when this can out Bradley Cooper got Oscar buzz, people said he was amazing. I thought he was alright. Felt his character was a zombie through the majority of it.


The movie he did with Jennifer Lawrence was much more legitimately an Oscar performance imo. I forget the name of it though.


I also saw Inside Out. Pixar back at it again. Loved it. The human characters were kinda blah, but the story they told about how complex emotions are, I thought it was great. Family Psychiatrists probably gonna be showing their patients this movie for years to come.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The movie he did with Jennifer Lawrence was much more legitimately an Oscar performance imo. I forget the name of it though.

I assume you're referring to Silver Linings Playbook and not American Hustle.

I also saw Inside Out. Pixar back at it again. Loved it. The human characters were kinda blah, but the story they told about how complex emotions are, I thought it was great. Family Psychiatrists probably gonna be showing their patients this movie for years to come.

I do wish, however, that the human portion was a bit more streamlined so that you could literally edit the film without the emotions. I'm not saying I want that kind of cut, but I'm saying if somebody made a cut like that, everything would feel very natural and not too instantaneous. For example, when Riley wants to slide down the rail. Without the emotions in between, she would look a bit stupid going back and forth between wanting to slide down it.

[RockinDaMike]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

American Sniper

I remember when this can out Bradley Cooper got Oscar buzz, people said he was amazing. I thought he was alright. Felt his character was a zombie through the majority of it.


The movie he did with Jennifer Lawrence was much more legitimately an Oscar performance imo. I forget the name of it though.


.

Silver Linings Playbook? American Hustle? I agree, I thought he did alright and I felt the movie was a bit overrated.

[kingkilla56]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Silver Linings is the one in thinking of. I thought he showed some great skill in that film. At least compared to American Sniper.

[BDKiiing]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I think American Sniper is one of the most overrated movies ever. For the hype it had and what everyone was saying how good it was, I did not agree. For recent war action movies, Lone Survivor was considerably better.

[dickey1331]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Perks of Being a Wallflower

What a great movie. I wish I've seen this earlier. This is how a movie should make you feel.

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I think American Sniper is one of the most overrated movies ever. For the hype it had and what everyone was saying how good it was, I did not agree. For recent war action movies, Lone Survivor was considerably better.

But this was not a war action movie... it was a biopic and tribute to the man.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Perks of Being a Wallflower

What a great movie. I wish I've seen this earlier. This is how a movie should make you feel.

Love this film. It also hits close to home on several counts.

[dickey1331]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Love this film. It also hits close to home on several counts.

Yeah it was easy to relate to some of it.

[BDKiiing]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

But this was not a war action movie... it was a biopic and tribute to the man.

Well Lone Survivor is the same thing. But better.

[dickey1331]

What movies have you seen recently?

Well Lone Survivor is the same thing. But better.

Lone Survivor isn't a biopic.

Even Wikipedia says Lone Survivor is a war film and American Sniper is a biopic.

[SeaTownGamer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Same thing or not they're both based on a true story

[dickey1331]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Same thing or not they're both based on a true story

I guess if you want to paint broad strokes. You have 2 hours to tell a story. One is someone's life and the other is 1 mission.