Movies you've just watched

[Leandro]

Whiplash

Fantastic movie

[JBC]

Brainsmasher: A Love Story

Not as awesome as Ford Fairlane, but awesome. Kinda reminds me of a cross between Streets Of Fire & say, Big Trouble in Little China, but with none of the budget.

[pokemon123]

graveyard of the fireflies. it was pretty good

[Ed Oscuro]

"The book is awful. Kibner's book is awful. His ideas are garbage. Pure garbage."
"How can you say that about a man like Kibner?"
"Not a man like Kibner. I'm saying it about Kibner."

Man, night of disappointments. The first half of the film is great - and I rather wish they could have found a way to wrap it up quickly. On the other hand, I can't remember feeling such dread and anxiety while watching a film, so well done there. But the long denouement doesn't feel right - very nearly half the film's running time, as you know the ultimate ending very early on. Add to this silly (yet not comic) plot points in the second half, the talky pod people, a foolish action sequence, "ships!" and the simply depressing ending don't help the cause for the last hour or so of the film (more explicitly, the last 45 minutes of the film - the last continuous parts that felt "right" end with the scene with the indoor fireplace, right before Matthew Bennell goes to sleep) and the only thing that really feels worthwhile are the scenes with the pod people organizing distribution in the city. There are some things that are nearly or actually sadistic - the dog, the final scenes with the kids and Nancy are all obvious candidates.

Being more chatty for our edification, the film certainly invites criticism in its internal consistency, and while it arguably escapes with an argument, I think it would be easy to miss in light of the focus on silly action. "The function of life is survival," parrots the pod people's representative while blithely taking part in what would seem to be a kind of genocide. Maybe the "hybrid" was supposed to be a clue that it was not a biological genocide, as somehow the pod people are still somewhat homo sapiens, but Kibner's other dialogue about "evolving into a new life form" doesn't help it. Of course the remaining question is why the pod spores need intelligent life forms to begin with. There might not be actual plot holes here, but the irritating thinking about it is a bit like trying to work an splinter out from under your skin. It's definitely not like the more renowned sci-fi horror films of the era which more clearly delineate the boundaries of humanity, otherness, and the truly alien (or Alien, in the case).

[Stevens]

wrong thread

[lilmanjs]

Drug War
Another Johnnie To movie, but his first in mainland China. Good soundtrack as usual with some of his later movies. Other than that it was pretty interesting. A drug underlord tries to get his way to freedom by offering to help the cops nab a notorious drug ring and grab a couple others in the process, yet leads them on a wild goose chase. Has a couple of great shootouts, yet the ending twist is quite nice.

[Tregard]

I watched Rush and Interstellar on the plane the other day. Rush was great, telling the story of Niki Lauda and James Hunt's rivalry in F1, leading up to the events of the 1976 season. I think people would enjoy it even if they're not into F1; the two characters are polar opposites and it's fascinating to watch them butt heads, each secretly admiring the other for his skill. As a fan myself it made me feel sad to have missed such a spectacular era, and also made me want to get hold of old footage of the actual races.

Interstellar on the other hand is harder to recommend. I'm not that fond of Nolan, but the first half of the film pleasantly surprised me; I even felt quite moved when Coop was catching up on his messages. It took a turn for the worse though once they reached the ice planet, and the ending left me cold. Equally inconsistent was the music. Some of it reminded me of the classic point-and-click adventure The Dig (a very good thing), but the Big Grand Dramatic Awe music playing over the main scenes was tiresome and overwrought.

[Ed Oscuro]

Just dropping a note so I can forget about that film now: The music when Matthew is breaking in sounds a *lot* like something out of Resident Evil 4. Don't have it in front of me to check, but I think it's Evil Malaise (from the RE4 soundtrack) that is similar. In short, I like that scene a lot.

[options]

this article is awesome.
Notes on Watching "Aliens" for the First Time Again with a Bunch of Kids

(didn't wanna start a new thread)

[JBC]

^ Ha! I'd love to have been there. I had a bunch of early 20's hipster-ish friends watch Alien for the first time a couple years back & they just didn't get it. They kept commenting on the fx like it wasn't from 79'.

[Mischief Maker]

Context is everything. I made the mistake of bringing my copy of "Suspiria" to a Halloween party once and it was a total flop. That's not a movie to watch in a well-lit room full of drunk assholes.

Good God, don't tell me we've raised a generation that thinks CGI looks more convincing than practical effects.

Speaking of which, who in their right mind shows "Aliens" to a bunch of 11 year olds? That's Star Wars age, not body horror/Vietnam analogy age. If he got annoyed the kids wouldn't stop chattering about inanities, he has nobody to blame but himself. Next thing you know he'll be showing them Glengarry GlenRoss and fuming because the kids kept giggling at all the swear words instead of relating to Jack Lemmon's situation.

[Mortificator]

I recently showed The Thing to a friend who'd heard nothing about it before.

She got super angry at the guys trying to shoot the dog at the beginning, while I tried not to laugh.

[drauch]

Yeah, that's pretty disheartening regarding CGI/practical FX.

A big reason I basically refuse to watch most movies with people. Almost one inch-punched my old roommate in the heart because he'd always walk by when I was watching shit and giggle for no reason. A buddy laughed inappropriately the other night at the end of a movie and it got my angry gears turning. I wanted to ask what the fuck he was laughing at, but I pushed it aside and stuck with that bastard "reasoning." #oldman, #getoffmylawn

[drauch]

I recently showed The Thing to a friend who'd heard nothing about it before.

She got super angry at the guys trying to shoot the dog at the beginning, while I tried not to laugh.

I'm confused. You thought her getting mad was funny, or them trying to shoot the dog was funny?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Currently working through Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the 1978 version. This movie is in a class of its own compared to other things I've seen recently. And Goldblum! and Sutherland! Looking here pretty much as they do and running recognizable enough characters compared to films of theirs from the early '90s. Inbetween those dates - very nearly all of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career! Great film so far, and the only jarring note is literal - I don't quite get some of the musical choices. The intro has me laughing, imagining the aliens announcing their launches with silly yells. Most everything is great though - even things that might look kind of poor with another director - like the flowered form of the space buds from the beginning of the film - don't look so bad because of excellent lighting choices and camera work. At brief points this seems like noir, even, but it's its own thing. Man, if I follow this up with The (Carpenter's) Thing, the '50s will be ruined forever.

You know, I bet people back at the time bitched a good deal about how Hollywood couldn't come up with any new ideas. These are legitimately excellent films though - why can't Hollywood work the formula like they once did?

I've got the pocket picture book of this particular film that was being sold at a temporary bookstore back in mid-1990s brand new...it tells the whole film through a series of pictures from beginning to the eventually conclusion, indeed. Never knew that you could buy such pocket books that show the entire film from start to end and in full-color as well. Interestingly, the background scenery is pure San Francisco as it was shot on location there.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[DEL]

Bought the Blu Ray of John Wick.
Extras are interesting. Keanu trained 8 hours a day every day for 4 months before the shoot. Jiu Jitsu, Judo, stunt driving and Gun Fu. He did pretty much all the action and even though it doesn't have a story like Street Kings, I have to rate the action in this film.

[JBC]

I watched Byzantium with a drunken friend last night but luckily he still liked it, despite it being sorta slow paced & requiring your attention. I'm gonna attribute it to the all the bosoms & blood. Saoirse Ronan is pretty mesmerizing to look at too, even without being painted in a sexual light. Probably one of the most genuinely beautiful actresses out there IMO

[Mortificator]

I recently showed The Thing to a friend who'd heard nothing about it before.

She got super angry at the guys trying to shoot the dog at the beginning, while I tried not to laugh.

I'm confused. You thought her getting mad was funny, or them trying to shoot the dog was funny?

He reaction was funny, since as someone who's watched the movie before, I know it's not really a dog. She was unknowingly against the survivors of a desperate nightmare battle, and on the side of the alien monstrosity driven to consume all life on Earth.

In general, I'm strongly opposed to shooting dogs (except for that prick from Duck Hunt).

[drauch]

Ah, okay, I thought that's what you meant. Just making sure you weren't making fun of The Thing!

[BIL]

Always liked how efficiently Carpenter introduces the film's ongoing menace of communication breakdown, allowing the S̶w̶e̶d̶e̶ Norwegian a futile warning to the protagonists and audience before brutally silencing him.

Futile unless you're watching in S̶w̶e̶ Norway! Surely there exists an appropriate dub where the shooter exclaims "GAWD DAMN IT BOY, GIT AWAY FROM DAT DERE MUTT, DAT AIN'T NO POOCH - YOU KIN BET YER SWEET DICK"

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Always liked how efficiently Carpenter introduces the film's ongoing menace of communication breakdown, allowing the S̶w̶e̶d̶e̶ Norwegian a futile warning to the protagonists and audience before brutally silencing him.

Futile unless you're watching in S̶w̶e̶ Norway! Surely there exists an appropriate dub where the shooter exclaims "GAWD DAMN IT BOY, GIT AWAY FROM DAT DERE MUTT, DAT AIN'T NO POOCH - YOU KIN BET YER SWEET DICK"

Amen bro. The Thing is a classic in my book...I was surprised to watch the alternate ending version of The Thing (where the Husky dog shown in the first part of the film is back) -- lets the audience know that the story doesn't end and is still on-going (hence the on-going story in the comic book series "The Thing From Another World" comes to mind).

Yes, I've got both Todd McFarlane's Movie Maniacs "The Thing" action figures that were released back in the day -- still brand new and unopened to this very day. They're interesting to look that considering that they're full realized in the third dimension (even from the backside). A diorama set to both figures would be cool to do for completeness/realism.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Ixmucane2]

Asteroid vs Earth

Low budget is no excuse for ridiculously wrong SF. There are many unreasonable ways to avert an extinction-level asteroid impact, but dodging it by driving Earth off its orbit is a rather short term solution, and driving Earth off its orbit by causing earthquakes by detonating nukes at weak spots implies throwing a significant portion of Earth mass into space, which (even if possible) would be vastly more Earth-shattering than any asteroid impact.

The whole film is so stupid that the overall impression is insulting rather than silly.

[boagman]

Asteroid vs Earth

Low budget is no excuse for ridiculously wrong SF. There are many unreasonable ways to avert an extinction-level asteroid impact, but dodging it by driving Earth off its orbit is a rather short term solution, and driving Earth off its orbit by causing earthquakes by detonating nukes at weak spots implies throwing a significant portion of Earth mass into space, which (even if possible) would be vastly more Earth-shattering than any asteroid impact.

The whole film is so stupid that the overall impression is insulting rather than silly.

You *do* realize that the name of this movie is "Asteroid vs. Earth", right?

[Ed Oscuro]

The whole film is so stupid that the overall impression is insulting rather than silly.

You *do* realize that the name of this s movie is "Asteroid vs. Earth", right?

It sounds like it should've been called Earthlings vs. Earth.

[GaijinPunch]

this article is awesome.
Notes on Watching "Aliens" for the First Time Again with a Bunch of Kids

(didn't wanna start a new thread)

I believe I saw Return of the Jedi at the same theater he talks of.

Amen bro. The Thing is a classic in my book...I was surprised to watch the alternate ending version of The Thing (where the Husky dog shown in the first part of the film is back) -- lets the audience know that the story doesn't end and is still on-going (hence the on-going story in the comic book series "The Thing From Another World" comes to mind).

Where was the alternate ending shown?

[BIL]

It was used in an edited for TV version, which added an intro voiceover and differed on many other things.

The version broadcast on television in the eighties ended with a few shots of a dog running, stopping to look around and heading off into the distance, leading the spectator to believe the Thing had survived.

It's also been included in the Deleted Scenes of some DVD releases. Theatrical cut or nothing. ;3

[PC Engine Fan X!]

this article is awesome.
Notes on Watching "Aliens" for the First Time Again with a Bunch of Kids

(didn't wanna start a new thread)

I believe I saw Return of the Jedi at the same theater he talks of.

Amen bro. The Thing is a classic in my book...I was surprised to watch the alternate ending version of The Thing (where the Husky dog shown in the first part of the film is back) -- lets the audience know that the story doesn't end and is still on-going (hence the on-going story in the comic book series "The Thing From Another World" comes to mind).

Where was the alternate ending shown?

The "alternative" version of The Thing (with the different ending) is shown from time to time on TNT in it's entirety -- even has cool voiceover narration of all the characters introduced at the beginning of the film to give the audience more background info to digest/absorb (background narration of all characters was axed from the original theatrical version shown back in 1982). Interestingly, director John Carpenter prefers the original theatrical version over the alternative version. Back in the late 1980s, NBC did show the alternate version of The Thing on national TV airwaves -- I do recall watching that version and was intrigued by it. So yes, it does exist.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[GaijinPunch]

Blade Runner originally had narration. I'll pass.

[Xyga]

13 Assassins (better late)

Well it's an interesting 'beat-em-up' remake of Seven Samurai, with inflated numbers, explosions, and ass-rape.

It's certainly good, but unlike most critics websites I don't see it as one of Miike's best films.

[BIL]

13 Assassins

Enjoyed. ^__^ Good pastiche of Seven Samurai's premise and Samurai Rebellion+Harakiri's ideals. Not as substantial as those 50s-60s classics but it pays tribute well (comedy assrape aside >_>). Much like Westerns, sometimes I enjoy kicking back with a standard-issue samurai flick. I appreciate that it didn't go nuts with either the gore or the pyro, giving more emphasis to the instances of both.

I'm curious about the original 1963 movie, now. I kept thinking of Rebellion+HK's respective Mifune and Nakadai performances, where the similarly excellent Koji Yakusho was concerned.

assraping beat 'em up OMAKE