Movies you've just watched

[Skykid]

Though I do like 2001. The book was fantastic and virtually flawless, and the movie was iconic, but pretty slow at times. The ending sequence was different from the one in the book, too.

The film and book were made concurrently and in association, so there are some differences - although I remember the book having the same stargate and evolutionary transformation finale as the film, unless you're referring to an earlier section where HAL busts open the airlock to try and eject Bowman into space (my favourite missing shock moment that should have made Kubrick's cut).

This forum is full of nostalgic old men passed out in the filth that is their childhood

Not really. I'm not old, and I daresay I've had more wild nights partying like a teen in the last year than you're likely to have in your entire life. I don't actually game so much anymore these days because alcohol, women, enterprising and travel have eaten a lot of my time, and I certainly don't deem all the great stuff that existed in my childhood as 'filth'.

Again, the quality of everything, anything and anyone is gradable and identifiable if you have the right tools for the job. Having a handle on the components and assembly is just one of the more important tools for building criticism of a persuasive rather than perfunctory nature. As I've sadly reiterated to your good somewhat-obviously-naive self on several occasions in the past, time is not a factor in the degradation of something's quality of workmanship, only style: a phenomena of change usually referred to as being 'dated'.

That said, being 'in-date' - as are today's current box office smashes - certainly doesn't afford them an instant level of quality. Quality in CG or budget rarely affords these projects great actors, scriptwriters or screenwriters; although money and CG has gone a long way to masking the deficiencies for most people, yourself included.

So thanks for your statement Satori kun. Nice a fellow as you are, and long may you amble down the road in a state of blissful ignorance, I would suggest putting your critical commentaries on hold until you develop some critical abilities beyond the superficial to accompany them.

[chempop]

I've had more wild nights partying like a teen in the last year than you're likely to have in your entire life.

So eloquently written, almost as if you enjoy making people dislike you.

[Ed Oscuro]

So, how bout that acting in Gordon's War

"Uh-uh, man...this is a mistake man. I don't deal."
The next guy's reactions and acting are priceless:
*long pause, then whips his head around suddenly to yell*
"What the fuck you doin in this car?"
*turns back to the front and talks into the windshield*
"It belongs to Luther! Pimp! Dope...peddler!"

Still, it'd be unfair to say that the acting is uniformly bad here, even for the same actors. Paul Winfield's first closeup of note is when he's looking...around...the apartment! but he does strike some classic poses later. Even Mr. "what the fuck you doin" has good moments in the scene immediately following. The "bad" can just be put down to the camp factor if you like.

It's interesting how films made in roughly the same place and time frame (this film compared with The Strangers in 7a or the previously mentioned Rolling Thunder) feel and even look so different. There's not much mistaking this for a high-budget action flick but it's still enjoyable and earnest.

Fun soundtrack, too! Have to admit this track struck me as cheesy in the film but it's really well done. And this one...holy shit!

[Lord Satori]

This forum is full of nostalgic old men passed out in the filth that is their childhood

Not really. I'm not old, and I daresay I've had more wild nights partying like a teen in the last year than you're likely to have in your entire life. I don't actually game so much anymore these days because alcohol, women, enterprising and travel have eaten a lot of my time, and I certainly don't deem all the great stuff that existed in my childhood as 'filth'.

Again, the quality of everything, anything and anyone is gradable and identifiable if you have the right tools for the job. Having a handle on the components and assembly is just one of the more important tools for building criticism of a persuasive rather than perfunctory nature. As I've sadly reiterated to your good somewhat-obviously-naive self on several occasions in the past, time is not a factor in the degradation of something's quality of workmanship, only style: a phenomena of change usually referred to as being 'dated'.

That said, being 'in-date' - as are today's current box office smashes - certainly doesn't afford them an instant level of quality. Quality in CG or budget rarely affords these projects great actors, scriptwriters or screenwriters; although money and CG has gone a long way to masking the deficiencies for most people, yourself included.

So thanks for your statement Satori kun. Nice a fellow as you are, and long may you amble down the road in a state of blissful ignorance, I would suggest putting your critical commentaries on hold until you develop some critical abilities beyond the superficial to accompany them.

I hope you realize I wasn't specifically talking about you.

[drauch]

thatsthejoke.jpg

Hard to tell when you insinuate nostalgia in an arcade forum.

[spadgy]

Let's all be nice to each other folks. And resist antagonism. I know not all posting are guilty; not at all. But in general, let's keep it friendly.

We can debate films without being unpleasant to each other.

And we're not that old! Or if we are, we're old enough to know better!

[Skykid]

I've had more wild nights partying like a teen in the last year than you're likely to have in your entire life.

So eloquently written, almost as if you enjoy making people dislike you.

I do.

I also enjoy watching people pick choice cuts and ditch the rest of the coil.

[Skykid]

The Lincoln Lawyer


Flakey, often comic book plot, cringey level of scriptwriting and tremendously awful acting to compliment a courtroom drama that looked like a standard episode of CSI with worse camera work and more cliche.

McConnaughey's ego was overbearing, sucked something out of his performance, although he wasn't bad. But most of everyone else stank. I even found Bryan Cranston's open mouth gaping to be completely devoid of nuance, and it's all a criticism of the director rather than the actors, who has gone in with a complete not-giving-a-fuck style of class. I remember when Marisa Tomei was actually good back in that Cousin Vinny movie - in this it was like she had barely attended a drama class.

Complete throwaway bullshit written on the back of a napkin, flogged for real cash.

[JBC]

The last pizza I ate wasn't this one really good pizza I ate 42 years ago, so I don't like it. In fact, no pizza in the last 42 years has been as good as that one pizza, yet I still go out for pizza & then criticize each one as shit on the Internet. Don't go out & eat pizza, it's trite garbage compared to this one pizza I had in 68, before I was even born. Off to rate Interstellar an honest 1% on Rotten Tomatoes!

I'm over it!

[KindGrind]

I think it's very hard to post opinions about movies online without encroaching on someone's love for what may of may not become a classic somewhere down the line. Crazy how many times I've read the hackneyed phrase "Instant classic!" in movie reviews in the last years. I think distance is necessary for making such claims, but maybe that's just me. I would be hard pressed to find 5 movies from the last 15 years that will undoubtedly become timeless.

Solaris is, for me, the science fiction golden standard. Would it be fair to compare all the new sci-fi offerings to it? Not at all. Fact is, I have no problem whatsoever with people that get ahead of themselves when they come back from the movie theater, and say things like Interstellar tops 2001! I think they're utterly wrong, but...

What do I care? Why bother? This is the kind of debate I've decided was not worth wasting energy on.

[drauch]

The entire "gold standard" of film kind of rubs me the wrong way in general. Putting anything on a pedestal is ridiculous, especially with the amount of films that exist. Haven't seen Interstellar myself, but I've always despised sayings like "it's no Citizen Kane," because yeah... thousands of movies weren't trying to be a goddamn drama, and most people are terribly uneducated in film outside of the big websites and big name reviewers. Like any type of media, each respective (good) film has its own merits and goals and direction and what-have-you. The only thing really "fair" to compare is remakes and adaptations, otherwise you're not really saying anything besides a poor argument because the rest of the world considers it so. Love 2001 myself, but I probably enjoy about four or so films of his much better.

[GaijinPunch]

I've had more wild nights partying like a teen in the last year than you're likely to have in your entire life.

So eloquently written, almost as if you enjoy making people dislike you.

I hope that's not grounds for dislike. Ages 38 and 39 for me closest resembled ages 22 and 23.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

Is Interstellar good then? Haven't seen it yet, too busy banging all the fit birds. I love anything with practical model fx though.

[Leandro]

I've had more wild nights partying like a teen in the last year than you're likely to have in your entire life.

So eloquently written, almost as if you enjoy making people dislike you.

I hope that's not grounds for dislike. Ages 38 and 39 for me closest resembled ages 22 and 23.

The "dislike" is about his childish, idiotic bragging, and not the experience itself.

--------

Anyways, my newly bought Blu-Ray copy of Heat is freezing midway through the movie, I'm pissed.

[JBC]

Is Interstellar good then? Haven't seen it yet, too busy banging all the fit birds. I love anything with practical model fx though.

It's pretty great. The only similarity between it & 2001 is that it has a semi-realistic tone & space stuff. It's not an Elysium/Oblivion/After Earth type action sci-fi. It's a world hopping, Lost In Space for 2014 kinda thing.

[KindGrind]

The entire "gold standard" of film kind of rubs me the wrong way in general.

I understand. I think we all have our preferences, and for me the movie I mentioned is the one I connect to the most in the genre, hence my "golden standard".

Art is very subjective. I really dislike Shindler's List, can't stand The Sound of Music but I love Falling Down, for example. It's not perfect, but it's a great ride.

To each is own. Let's just learn to take the other's rants about movies we like with a grain of salt!

[blackoak]

I thought Interstellar was alright. I appreciated the generally greater respect for science shown here than in many recent "sci-fi" films. It was still a typical Hollywood romantic film in the end, though; what happens in a black hole etc might be unknown, but as usual that open space for speculation is filled in by feel-good wish fulfillment. Still an improvement from something like Prometheus' straight-up appeal to mysticism though. And it's fun provided you just go along for the adventure, but it's definitely not a deep film like 2001 was.

I don't understand circuitface's comments, since I have only read measured and thoughtful criticism of Interstellar here. Where are people saying or implying Interstellar is bad because it's new? Sounds like some sour grapes to me. (EDIT: well, I guess Plasmo said he hates modern cinema, hehe)

In between translating I've been checking out more movies with a reputedly similar intensity to 80s Michael Mann: Ladyhawke (way different than I expected, and better--a straight up fantasy romance. no wonder women always recommend this to me, hehe), Sorcerer (unbelievably good, stark cynical 70s masterpiece. want to write more about it), and The French Connection (need to watch again, surprisingly more hardboiled/bold/experimental than the later Friedkin I've seen). Having another Streets of Fire viewing here tomorrow with friends who didn't see it the first time around. As with drauch, I also want to live in this movie, hehe. Pretty curious about The Perils of Gwendoline now too.

[Xyga]

We can also make it a 'destroy the movies you hate' thread.

For instance I fucking loathe most Spielberg works, with some particularity big chunks of hate reserved for Close Encounters of the Third Rei... er...Kind and E.T. (Ermahgerd Toxoplasmosis).
Another one that made me puke (not Spielberg) is the 78' remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but the worst kind of absolute horrendous cinematic shit I have seen in my damned life is Airport (70').

Aaah, feels so good, like pooping.



--------
EDIT: on a more serious note I'm mostly interested in seeing nice visual effects, so if interstellar got those it'll be enough for me. Same for the last Hobbit movie.

[JBC]

I hate Requiem For A Dream & Fight Club.

[Skykid]

The "dislike" is about his childish, idiotic bragging, and not the experience itself.

The "I daresay", which placed a softening possibility of doubt, was excised from the quote by the quotee, conveniently (childishly?) and the comment was a response to an insinuation that I'm one of many old bastards who exist on this forum - because only old people are able to criticise film. Hence the use of youthful activities as a rebuttal. The rest of the content, simply ignored of course.

Thanks for trying though Leandro.

I hope that's not grounds for dislike. Ages 38 and 39 for me closest resembled ages 22 and 23.

Yeah the same, except I'm not 38 yet. I need to slow down long before I get there: 25% hungover is not an avenue for productivity. I think I'm over the hump now, but it was a great year.

Is Interstellar good then? Haven't seen it yet, too busy banging all the fit birds. I love anything with practical model fx though.

Lucky boy.

It's undoubtedly entertaining, riddled with errors, holes and implausibility, and errs dangerously close to Spielberg melodrama, but otherwise it has a few good moments and is worth seeing once (I saw it twice and it was worse on second viewing).

[GaijinPunch]

In between translating I've been checking out more movies with a reputedly similar intensity to 80s Michael Mann: Ladyhawke (way different than I expected, and better--a straight up fantasy romance. no wonder women always recommend this to me, hehe), Sorcerer (unbelievably good, stark cynical 70s masterpiece. want to write more about it), and The French Connection (need to watch again, surprisingly more hardboiled/bold/experimental than the later Friedkin I've seen). Having another Streets of Fire viewing here tomorrow with friends who didn't see it the first time around. As with drauch, I also want to live in this movie, hehe. Pretty curious about The Perils of Gwendoline now too.

[/quote]

I will check out Sorcerer... thanks for the tip. I assume you know about the legendary car chase scene in The French Connection, right? I actually watched it for the first time like 2-3 years ago. The 70's (and before) are not well-represented in my wheel house. I need to change that.

[Skykid]

We can also make it a 'destroy the movies you hate' thread.

For instance I fucking loathe most Spielberg works, with some particularity big chunks of hate reserved for Close Encounters of the Third Rei... er...Kind and E.T. (Ermahgerd Toxoplasmosis).

I'm game for that thread.

ET I can almost forgive for being a kids movie, and a super weird only-in-the-80s one at that - but it's true Close Encounters is wildly overrated. That's one that certainly benefits from nostalgia until you actually watch it again.

I'm still unsure why criticism of Interstellar is so badly received by some. Although comparing it to Kubrick's seminal sci-fi work is a bit like comparing a spaceship made out of Play-Doh to the real thing, it's not that surprising - nay, totally expected - given Nolan's track record for Swiss cheese scripting.

I put Nolan in the same camp as Danny Boyle, the bracket and goals are very similar. Both aim for stylish highs and original concepts and like to push in new directions, both well-versed but never masterful, but with a good visual eye (Boyle has better music scoring generally).

That said I think Boyle is the better of the two by virtue of his scripts having fewer errors and not aiming for cerebral enterprises above his station.

Nolan hasn't made anything as good as Shallow Grave or Slumdog Millionaire, either.

[iconoclast]

A Fish Called Wanda.
A classic comedy for sure. I'm sure most everyone has seen this! Revenge!

Just watched this, great movie. Kevin Kline stole the show as Otto.

[drauch]

The entire "gold standard" of film kind of rubs me the wrong way in general.

I understand. I think we all have our preferences, and for me the movie I mentioned is the one I connect to the most in the genre, hence my "golden standard".

Art is very subjective. I really dislike Shindler's List, can't stand The Sound of Music but I love Falling Down, for example. It's not perfect, but it's a great ride.

To each is own. Let's just learn to take the other's rants about movies we like with a grain of salt!

Sorry, sort of poor wording on my part. I'm definitely fine with those having their own favorite that's hard to beat, which in your case is Solaris and I definitely respect that. I'm the same way in that regard with different films for each genre and sub-genre. I'm more so upset when there's considered some objective truth that cannot be questioned, much like the overdone and silly Citizen Kane comparison. Kubrick sort of gets lumped in as well very frequently across the net and anytime when film is discussed, which was sorta happening here. Again, love him, just sort of a pet peeve I've encountered way too many times over the years. Don't even know what I would consider when talking Sci-Fi. I'm afraid I'd have to break it down into situation, setting, hard science/not, etc. Too many greats to choose from that accomplish so much on many different levels.

I do enjoy the arbitrary list--it's something I do in my head all the time when driving, at work, wherever life is drab. I've got a buddy that frequently texts me when we're both at work asking about favorite films with X in it. Yesterday was flamethrowers! A bit difficult on the spot, and I feel like I'm always leaving something out. There's always that random Hong Kong action film with a generic title with pure action bliss that escapes the tip of the tongue. Anyhow, came up with this: (and, sorta relevant with the sci-fi conversation)

-Night of the Creeps
-Exterminator 2
-Aliens
-The Thing
-Robo Vampire
-The Road Warrior
-Them!
-The Burning
-Phantasm 2
-The Deer Hunter

Be it custom or military accurate, they all rule. Could easily name a bunch of WWII films that feature it, but The Deer Hunter has always struck out as it's the first thing you see when the film transitions. Almost feels kind of criminal to exclude Lethal Weapon 4 as well, because that scene has always stuck and really impressed me when it came out. I'd love to pick and catalog at my waning brain and scour it for random action films, because I know there's some golden stuff still missing out there. Anyhow, fun!

Pretty curious about The Perils of Gwendoline now too.

While this is one of my favorite films and I would recommend it to everyone, I would also definitely understand if it wasn't everyone's cup of cinematic tea. By Just Jaeckin, probably most famous for his adaptation of Emmanuelle that spanned a million sequels, some official, most under the Laura Gemser "Emanuelle" handle with only one 'M,' and now unfortunately what it's better known as, which is really shitty late night softcore that you'll probably watch in a hotel. Based on some early bondage comics, the film at first glance imitates Indiana Jones and other similar genre films at the time. Really, the respect probably lies more so with The African Queen, as the male lead, Brent Huff, resembles Bogart almost to a T, complete with raggedy old hat. Anyhow, two girls meet up with a manly man boat owner and go on an adventure looking for a particular butterfly. Lots of erotica ensues, bondage, adventure, an ancient and hidden civilization, an absurd Ben-Hur human chariot scene, and one of the most beautiful soundtracks I've ever heard, again by frequent Jaeckin collaborator, Pierre Bachelet. It really combines everything I love: adventure, erotica, fantastic soundtracks, entomology, flapper girls, and just pure absurdity. Anyhow, I hope you track it down and enjoy it!

Really glad lots of people are also watching Sorcerer! I put off the film for many years because all the prints before were muddled, full screen garbage. Glad it's finally getting the appreciation it deserves. Again, just reiterating for others, if you buy/download it, get the Bluray copy. Warner fucked up the DVD print, while the BD was supervised by Friedkin himself.

[BIL]

Sorcerer is fucking amazing. Exquisitely slow, heavy, earthy doom dirge of a jungle death trip. One of those movies that made me wonder WTF I was doing not having seen it before, with it seemingly tailored for me. See also Verhoeven's characteristically black-humoured medieval atrocity exhibition Flesh+Blood.

See also Streets of Fire which I just finished having finally gotten my ass in gear after the topic's last few pages. Dear god. Badass 80s Manga/Videogame The Movie. Or rather the font from which a lot of that goodness seemed to spring. Technos/Capcom feels all over. A reaffirming experence.

Spoiler

Rock on old men of schmupsfarm. ;-;7

[drauch]

It's really a shame Michael Pare never really got much success after the 80s, and is now unfortunately relegated to really shitty DTV. I see him on box art for all kinds of crap now, and he still looks pretty good. Handsome dude with a cool voice that could kick ass. Wish I could go back in time and make countless action movies with him as the star. I also really dig the first Eddie and the Cruisers film for some more rockin' Pare. It has a super ridiculous twist, but it's still good stuff if you like rock & roll dramas and the music of John Cafferty (whose songs appear in the film,) or similar stuff like Springsteen.

[Skykid]

Man I have to watch Streets of Fire, sounds amazing and I'm a big fan of Walter Hill in his Driver, Southern Comfort, 48 Hours, The Warriors years - he was a guy who understood grit. I've also heard Streets of Fire was inspiration for Final Fight et al in the gaming spectrum.

I also haven't seen Hard Times.

But that new Stallone movie he made, Bullet in the Head... my god, that's bad. Another example of a modern producer system destroying the integrity of once inspired directors.

[drauch]

Yeah, Walter Hill sorta trickled off in the 90s, despite having some good efforts there as well. Bullet in the Head sorta takes a scene straight from SoF, even. Still, his 70s and 80s years are hard to beat. Once you watch Streets of Fire you'll really start to see the wealth of influence it had on a lot of games at the time. Final Fight basically is Streets of Fire in a nutshell.

Hard Times is probably his manliest and really exemplifies the "true grit" manly man of the depression era. It's such a well crafted film with really nice cinematography. The silence in that film works wonders as two desperate dudes bare knuckle box it out in a warehouse. Essential Bronson!

Extreme Prejudice is another Hill film I'd really like to see given some nice treatment at some point (*Edit: there's a region B Blu). That one's really gritty. You can definitely see the Peckinpah influence in that one; it kind of feels like a modern The Wild Bunch. And of course the Peckinpah influence in The Long Riders is more than obvious with the brutal, slow motion deaths.

Goddamn, I love both of those men.

[BIL]

Fuckin hell, I didn't realise Hard Times was Hill's too. Watching that one tonight. Bronson + bare knuckle fighting already had me sold. This is why we have schmupsfarm, Satori-kun! There's too much good stuff out there for one man to keep track of, even in his wizened thirties! You should carve out your own niche and become a proud man of the farm too. ;3

[Stevens]

See also Streets of Fire which I just finished having finally gotten my ass in gear after the topic's last few pages. Dear god. Badass 80s Manga/Videogame The Movie. Or rather the font from which a lot of that goodness seemed to spring. Technos/Capcom feels all over. A reaffirming experence.

The first thing that I thought of upon seeing that was:

http://youtu.be/dIFFBxX-EJ4?t=27m24s

The showdown in Roppongi from an SOR Remake mod called "Way of the Warrior".

Oh. I watched Gremlins last night. Definitely a few moments (as an adult) where shit doesn't make sense, but overall still solid. Mrs. Peltzer is a bad ass, I am glad they didn't kill her as in the original script.