Movies you've just watched

[Obiwanshinobi]

Aside from the "Enter the Dragon" parody, the only thing worth watching "The Kentucky Fried Movie" for was all the tits.

Yeah, this kid and I in elementary destroyed a VHS tape rewinding and pausing that shower scene a million times.

That scene indeed.

[BryanM]

That scene.

[GaijinPunch]

Not gonna lie. Used this thread as an excuse to go back and dig it up... "nostalgia".

[Stevens]

I watched it as a kid cause boobs. Watched it maybe ten years ago with the Mrs. and a friend. We cried.

Few months later I find it on a sidewalk for $1 from the defunct Hollywood video. I bought it.

[Vexorg]

The Man Who Knew Too Little: ***

Bill Murray plays a clueless tourist in London who thinks he is involved in some sort of interactive theater experience, but due to a miscommunication he has actually gotten himself mixed up in a plot to detonate a bomb at a the signing of a peace treaty. The first ten minutes or so made me expect that he would be playing an annoying Bob Wiley ("What About Bob") type character, but it gets better over time, even if he does end up inadvertently turning into a big Mary Sue. Did poorly at the box office (41% RT, Roger Ebert gave it 1 star) and is generally pretty obscure today.

[emphatic]

The Man Who Knew Too Little: ***

Bill Murray plays a clueless tourist in London who thinks he is involved in some sort of interactive theater experience, but due to a miscommunication he has actually gotten himself mixed up in a plot to detonate a bomb at a the signing of a peace treaty. The first ten minutes or so made me expect that he would be playing an annoying Bob Wiley ("What About Bob") type character, but it gets better over time, even if he does end up inadvertently turning into a big Mary Sue. Did poorly at the box office (41% RT, Roger Ebert gave it 1 star) and is generally pretty obscure today.

Really enjoyed this back in the day.

[boagman]

We cried.

Is that a good/fun cry, or a pained one?

[Steamflogger Boss]

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

[Zen]

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) - Bryan Singer

Wasn't sure what to expect from this.

To begin, this film is undoubtedly Queen telling their story through the prism of Freddie.
The opening, is pure Mercury.

We then find ourselves in a strange, almost childlike origin-story reverie.
At this point, I thought they were just going to go through the motions of the Queen legend.
And though the film did not stray too far from matinee and ended in melodrama, there is gestalt here, bordering on the brutal.

A big screen, very public effort at resolution and consolidation, by those concerned.

That being said and despite the grand performance, one word still seems to sum up what is going on behind the extravaganza. Pain.

[GaijinPunch]

That being said and despite the grand performance, one word still seems to sum up what is going on behind the extravaganza. Pain.

Thoughts on Rami Malek's performance?

I enjoyed it. Maybe not for the right reasons, but it did some pretty cool shit. Sound engineering being one... and I'm sure many a youngster has watched Live Aid on Youtube since the film appeared, which is a good thing. Younger generations need to know the pains one had to go to to experience music back then. That being said, they glossed over the debauchery which was apparently legendary.

[Zen]

He was very good.
He was obviously bigger than but limited to, the overall production.
He was particularly good, as a young Freddie, I thought.

As the older Mercury, (well, how the hell does one say this without it seeming like a bad joke?!) from the back, he pulled it off . . . darling.
You notice all of those back shots and I think this is one of the reasons why.
From the front, it's Malek.

To nitpick, (because again, his performance was very, very good) Rami, despite being fully animated, did not have Freddie's sheer physicality, his commitment to motion, his follow through, if you will.

I know that they did not want an entire Freddie clone (they did not use brown contacts, for example) but the other issue was the brow.
Malek had the prosthetic nose but it is his brow, as the older Freddie, that broke some of the immersion. Malek's browline makes him look like a shocked and lost little boy.
Whereas, Freddie's entire brow looked like one big frown, when he performed.

Overall though, Rami was perfect for what it was; A light melodrama.

The film itself was not the the dark affair, that I had wanted to see.
Yet, a few scenes really caught me off guard.

Wembley, through Freddie's eyes, as he walked on stage was an attention grabber and was done so well, that I practically could remember how that summer "felt".

[CIT]

Fyre

Documentary on the shit show Fyre Festival which crashed and burned (puntastically). I remember as this shit went down. The Burning Man online circles I'm in were having an absolute hay day. You'd think it's quite simple, but fucking hell, what a disaster. It was highly entertaining, yet painful.

I gotta admit, there's a certain amount of glee in watching a professional douchebag fall flat on his face, as well as hundreds of instabitches getting holed up in what amounts to a refugee camp.
Unfortunately it's not very funny for the employees/contractors who devoted their time and energy to this and ended up not being paid a cent.
Really makes you lose faith in humanity, especially considering the whole country is being run by a similar scammer selling people an empty dream.

[dan76]

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) - Bryan Singer

Wasn't sure what to expect from this.

To begin, this film is undoubtedly Queen telling their story through the prism of Freddie.
The opening, is pure Mercury.

We then find ourselves in a strange, almost childlike origin-story reverie.
At this point, I thought they were just going to go through the motions of the Queen legend.
And though the film did not stray too far from matinee and ended in melodrama, there is gestalt here, bordering on the brutal.

A big screen, very public effort at resolution and consolidation, by those concerned.

That being said and despite the grand performance, one word still seems to sum up what is going on behind the extravaganza. Pain.

We went and saw it and it was ok entertainment I suppose, but in order to gleem any enjoyment I realised I just couldn't think about what was based on fact and what was made up. It was all made up.

By the time the Live Aid stuff rolled around I couldn't hardly stand it. Everyone knew at the time that Queen killed it at Live Aid because they they had been touring for ages. There was no split in the band, money was pouring in before Queen took the stage. Mercury didn't find out he had Aids until way later, best estimate is around 87 or 88. It was all made up. It was manipulative garbage, but it didn't need to be. Why couldn't they have made something that at least had some reality to it. The story is interesting enough, you've got the music for fuck sake.

Btw, anyone else spot the kid from Jurassic Park as the bass player?

It was better than the Suspiria remake. I just don't want to get into that. Jesus. I think I hate films.

[soprano1]

My Fair Lady (1964)
Wonderfully made movie, although 3 hours might have been too long. Still worth it for Audrey.

[Zen]

It was all made up.

Of course.

Every real "Entertainer", is always a fraud.
That's Artistic Licence, for you.

It was manipulative garbage, but it didn't need to be. Why couldn't they have made something that at least had some reality to it. The story is interesting enough, you've got the music for fuck sake.

My guess, would be; because Brian and Roger are campaigning again.
Just like Queen have always done.

These boys never settled for just being a mega band. They want to be the band.

What you pointed out about Live Aid, is a case in point.

Anyone who knew music at the time, knew that Queen were going to dominate that stage.
Yet, their performance was heralded like some type of musical revelation.

"The old Rock dinosaurs still have it - they may be more relevant now, than ever - Queen are a national treasure" etc.,etc.
The Queen machine, was campaigning hard in 85.

Queen created the template for a successful X-Factor audition on that day, for fuck sake!
The boys were and are, shrewd.

I think at some point over the years, in the (decades?) long gearing up to this film, it inevitably occurred to the lads, that . . . maybe they might like an Oscar!
One more time, Top of the World, Master's of the Universe and all that.

Perhaps, if the film's purpose is viewed as "Live Aid 2 - The Oscars!", it's Artistic Licence will make more sense.

[GaijinPunch]

He was very good.
[SNIP]

Good sum up. Admittedly, I only listened to Queen in passing as a younger man, and ironically, most exposure to them was through rather conservative jock friends I played football with. I mean, We Will Rock You must have been the anthem of every high school sports team in all of the 80's & 90's.

I gotta admit, there's a certain amount of glee in watching a professional douchebag fall flat on his face

Don't be so modest. It's fucking awesome!

[JBC]

Suspiria remake. It's super artsy fartsy & not scary, but has unique atmosphere & interesting visuals. It's not really anything like the original. Tbh it will bore most people. The deaths are cool but take forever to get to. I think it may have been trying to convey a message through witches of all things, but it probably should have just gone bump in the night. Watch Hereditary instead.

[soprano1]

Paddington (2014)
Pretty fun movie for everyone and all ages, some nice witty humour use.

Paddington 2 (2017)
Now THIS one is great, same good use of humour, but even better! Hugh Grant steals the whole show though, playing an exaggerated parody of himself. Really worth watching.

M (1931)
Fritz Lang's first sound movie, and the movie that brought Peter Lorre to the eyes of the world. Now, I found the movie to be pretty straightforward, with some nice visual elements, but the scene that makes it all worth watching is the kangaroo court scene near the end, and the matters discussed there that are still argued to this day, almost 90 years later.

[CIT]

Don't be so modest. It's fucking awesome!

I'm just waiting for a Netflix documentary about Watermelon Games and Paprium now.

[emphatic]

Paddington 2 (2017)
Now THIS one is great, same good use of humour, but even better! Hugh Grant steals the whole show though, playing an exaggerating parody of himself. Really worth watching.

Agree, it's a triumph.

[soprano1]

Stalker (1979)
Started interesting enough, but got too boring eventually, like Solaris. Quite a shame.

Sanjuro (1952)
Sequel to Yojimbo, more Toshiro Mifune awesomeness. The rest of the movie was OK.

Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)
Oh God my sides!
"FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK!"
Do watch this one.

[GaijinPunch]

Stalker (1979)
Started interesting enough, but got too boring eventually, like Solaris. Quite a shame.

I loved Solaris... was never a dull moment for me. I unfortunately can't say the same for Stalker, however, I do blame myself. I watched both on the US -> Tokyo leg of a flight, and I had business class both times. For Stalker, I drank way too much and was in and out a lot. I will give it another go at some point. Solaris to me was beautiful.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Sanjuro was good fun for sure.

[BrianC]

Sanjuro was good fun for sure.

I definitely plan to watch it, though I'll watch Yojimbo again first.

[Vexorg]

Wayne's World 2: **

An unnecessary sequel to an unnecessary film. Basically this film (and the first Wayne's World film before it) take something that might have been funny in a five-minute sketch on Saturday Night Live and drag it out for 90 minutes (the same could be said for basically every SNL movie.) There's a few funny bits, but you could find those on YouTube and save yourself 85 minutes of filler in between.

[Steamflogger Boss]

The first WW mostly worked for me, though it's not great. I would agree that the sequel was completely unnecessary.

[soprano1]

Read somewhere the third movie is being made.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Chinatown

What a movie. Jack is great in this and the bleak ending is so good.

[boagman]

The first WW mostly worked for me, though it's not great. I would agree that the sequel was completely unnecessary.

This is pretty accurate, though I'd give the first WW a bit more credit, I think. It's actually pretty well-written for a comedy based on an SNL sketch.

The second one was an *awful* cash-grab that should not have been.

[BryanM]

[s]All You Need is Kill[/s] [s]Edge of Tomorrow[/s] Live. Die. Repeat.

It was ok. About what is expected from A Hollywood Movie. I don't regret watching it and didn't fall asleep in the middle of it and never want to see it again. An apex achievement of that producer's artform.

This thing that modern movies like to do, where they use real news outlets to do their exposition dumps.... it's pretty silly. When Tom Cruise appeared on RT or whatever in his military cosplay, I heartily laughed at how silly it was.

Ghostbusters followed a "domino theory of reality" where the movie gradually becomes more outlandish as it progresses. All You Need Is Edge and Repeat flips from fake reality to utter fantasy in a couple minutes.

There were eyerolls at the dumb hollywood moments they had to shoehorn in there because they're hollywood. But what I still find baffling is when they had the lady dry hump the floor. That's not how pushups are done. Did they do that to try to inject a smidgeon of "sexy" into the movie, or for the moment to be memorable?

Even though it was a bomb, the movie's getting a sequel somehow? Unlike with the Dark Universe stuff, I guess it helps that the people making it sort of wanted to make a movie, instead of just churning out a product for people to buy.