Movies you've just watched

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Stevens
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Stevens »

BrianC wrote:I watched Princess Bride again. Good stuff. All star cast too. Inconceivable!
Been way too long since I've sat down to watch that. One of the few movies from childhood that has aged well.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

Stevens wrote:
BrianC wrote:I watched Princess Bride again. Good stuff. All star cast too. Inconceivable!
Been way too long since I've sat down to watch that. One of the few movies from childhood that has aged well.
It's like a fine wine.

And Emperor Ing may have me sold on Death Wish. It's available on Prime at the moment I believe.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

The dramatized story of Ted Bundy, through the eyes of the one woman other than his mother that he didn't try to bludgeon to death. I don't think Zac Efron did a bad job, but not really a fantastic one either. There were times he pulled it off. Others, not so much. It feels pretty Netflix-y (which most Netflix films do, unfortunately). It's 6.7 on IMDB seems not too far off the mark. Definitely a rung or two above the last Netflix film I watched, which was the Sandra Bullock blindfolded one.

If you are under 30 and not familiar w/ the story, it is probably worth knowing, but the 4-part documentary series may be better. The sad thing is, this thing had some potential. The courtroom part was actually pretty well done. Was nice to see Malkovich as the judge. Had that been the central focus of the film with the other parts being flashbacks (and only about half of the footage being shown), I think it would have been far more interesting.

Pretty in Pink (1986)

One of the few John Hughes 80's films I had not seen (even though this one was only produced by him). Definitely one of the weaker ones. As is expected, the soundtrack is excellent, and very few directors really had that signature after him. (The closest I can think of is Danny Boyle w/ Trainspotting, but that was just a one time [well two] thing). Anywho, despite a great soundtrack, it has some god awful scoring in between the scenes. Also quite a bit of cheese in the form of not-well thought dialogue between the main characters. Oh, well. #80s. Kids from the different sides of the track try to date... residence of both sides sabotage it. Etc. I would have expected far more out of John Cryer after this... but we got 2 and a half men. :|

On a brighter note, the same director did a much better job exactly one year later with a very similar script, again by John Hughes, with Some Kind of Wonderful. Not seen it in a while, but I remember it being quite a bit better. Similar themes, and equally as impressive soundtrack. Eric Stoltz probably all around better at acting than Molly Ringwald. Need to bust that out again soon.
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Re: the rich and the pink

Post by NYN »

Re-watched Pretty n Pink recently, and I'd like to add that while the ending isn't memorable (we forgot it and were surprised it is that plain) it houses some fine co-star performance. Harry Dean Stanton here gives the most warm (and a bit sad) Dad I've seen in a movie and bother to remember. Spader seems coked up in every scene. Annie Potts as the weird, uh, eccentric chick ("Can you hold me at least 'til the song is over?"). You know what? The Duckie dance scene is how the film should've ended. Roll credits.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by soprano1 »

Danton (1983)
Depiction of the last days of Georges Danton, one of the leaders of the French Revolution. While I think Gérard Depardieu is a piece of shit person, there's no denying he delivered a fantastic performance as Danton himself. Polish actor Wojciech Pszoniak plays Robespierre, a good choice too, fantastic oratory skills. Anyone who enjoys seeing the ugliness of real politics will enjoy this.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Vexorg »

The Lego Movie 2: ***1/2

Not quite as good as the first one, but still pretty good. It pretty much requires you to have seen the first movie (or at least be familiar with the third-act "plot twist") to have some idea what's going on here, but it does all make sense (sort of) in the end.

Interestingly enough, I think the best part might be the closing credits, made with some very elaborate mechanical Lego construction that stands out mostly by being real, unlike most of the rest of the film.

Further discussion in spoilers:
Spoiler
If you understand that all of this is happening in a child's imagination (or in this case two children's competing imaginations) it all makes sense, but even though the movie pretty much explicitly calls this out early on, it's easy to forget about it until later on when it comes to a head, resulting in Armamageddon.

In the end, you can pretty clearly tell what message Lego is trying to send with the movie, and between the first movie's calling out the obsessive AFOLs and this movies calling out kids who won't share their toys, it's clear that Lego is using these movies to carefully reinforce a certain brand image.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by soprano1 »

The Silence of The Lambs (1991)
Exquisite performing from Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. Fantastic quotes as well.
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Re: the rich and the pink

Post by GaijinPunch »

Ronyn wrote:Re-watched Pretty n Pink recently, and I'd like to add that while the ending isn't memorable (we forgot it and were surprised it is that plain) it houses some fine co-star performance. Harry Dean Stanton here gives the most warm (and a bit sad) Dad I've seen in a movie and bother to remember. Spader seems coked up in every scene. Annie Potts as the weird, uh, eccentric chick ("Can you hold me at least 'til the song is over?"). You know what? The Duckie dance scene is how the film should've ended. Roll credits.
Looking back now Duckie is indeed the most standout. And Spader being... well Spaderish (for the time). Also, worth noting, one of the faces in the crowd girl bullies was Gina Gershon and Andrew Dice Clay was the club doorman... perhaps playing himself.

Reading up a bit, the original scripted and shot ending had Andie being w/ Duckie. It tested abysmally, and the studio forced the one we got. Apparently John Hughes was livid, and is why Some Kind of Wonderful (which had a shit ton of drama) turned out the way it did.
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Re: phil it's phil / i'm no animal

Post by NYN »

GaijinPunch wrote: Looking back now Duckie is indeed the most standout.
Volcanic (hot and dangerous).

One more mesmerizing thing about the Duckster is in a transition shot that shows him in a room on a mattress sans more furniture and some crude graffiti on the walls. Is he that impoverished or just, y'know, squatting, like any healthy young man? Maybe it's more of a individual thing and the representation of his freedom. One thing is sweetly over the top, though. His bike-riding skills. Look, Ma! Just on my way to Chinatown, demonstrating devotion for my girl. No, Ma, don't call it stalking!

On another note, I had my premiere of the 2nd Lynch The Elephant Man and enjoyed it very much. There's no sentimentality I'm able to detect. In other hands a very obvious thing to do. Cant and such. The kinks of the director are present, too. Amazing to see that there was a time and place where newcomers were granted a shot like this. And I have no idea how John Hurt did it, but done it he did. And than some. A pleasure.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by dan76 »

Leon (International cut)

I hadn't seen this since it came out. Obviously it would never get made today, but I think it's a good film, not great. There are a couple of weird "pedo" moments I suppose but the whole film makes sense, especially her love for Leon. The film does sexualise her though, so it's a bit uncomfortable to watch. Portland performance is one of the best she's given. She seems cold or reserved in a lot of her roles. Oldman chews up the scenery and Reno is brilliant.

Even from the opening titles it's a relief to watch a film shot on... film. The colour grading is great - blacks are black! Things look real, not overly styalised. The teal and orange fad was still a few years away. Some of the music is a bit intrusive, and who the fuck put a Sting song at the end.

Pretty good. Not a Luc Besson fan really, but the story is good. The whole hitman training thing,
like Bronson and Jan Michael Vincent in The Mechanic crossed with... Lolita.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

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dan76 wrote:Leon (International cut)

I hadn't seen this since it came out. Obviously it would never get made today, but I think it's a good film, not great. There are a couple of weird "pedo" moments I suppose but the whole film makes sense, especially her love for Leon. The film does sexualise her though, so it's a bit uncomfortable to watch.
Don't watch the Director's Cut then.

Though I've mentioned it a few times here already but there was more, I'm 99% sure the original theatrical (at least the french release) has Leon say the line he wanna have sex with her, at the very end just before letting her go. There are no traces of it left afaik so I'd bet Besson did everything he could so that wouldn't be remembered, that was before the internet went mainstream so I'd say it's plausible that most of the original audience completely forgot about it. Maybe Besson even swapped reels for edited ones during the very first days or weeks after receiving complaints and not everyone heard it. Didn't help much since the man is a notorious lolicon anyway.

PS: Nikita's much better.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by boagman »

"John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum"

Pretty good! I don't think I enjoyed it quite as much as the second one, but this one was plenty good, too. Both sequels are better than the first, IMHO. Worth the time.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by xxx1993 »

Just saw John Wick 3. Really good.
Spoiler
Did it really have to end on a cliffhanger, though?
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Speaking of Luc Besson I watched the more recent BD transfer of Fifth Element a week or so ago. Superb and MUCH better than the early BD. If you are a collector and care about PQ, get that BD or the 4K of the same transfer. I'm personally just not heavily invested in 4K yet.

As for the film itself there is still a lot to like. Amazing effects, actually looks like a movie instead of a CGI blob, fun albeit generic story but with entertaining characters. The downside (may not be a downside depending on your mood) is it doesn't really have anything interesting to say. From an entertainment perspective it's great and worth watching.

I also watched a trashy 90s movie I hadn't seen before. Fast Money. Really not a lot to say about it, just a completely played straight action (also romance kinda?) film about a female thief that stumbles into 2.7 million dollars and some counterfeit printing material and runs into a boring reporter type guy. They end up running around and falling in love while evading and killing (how romantic amirite?) the baddies. By the end of the movie the guy has completely adapted from by the book wussy to do whatever it takes to escape.

@Xyga: I need to watch Nikita again, it's been too long.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

Steamflogger Boss wrote:The downside (may not be a downside depending on your mood) is it doesn't really have anything interesting to say.
I'd say it has, in a way similar to Star Wars (when it was new). It was the first big screen "epic" in ages (I know about) refreshingly un-Christian under the skin (meanwhile, The Matrix was looming just around the corner, getting all ready to bring the good old crypto-messianism back).
The fact that Zorg's haircut looks much like stuff I see on male human heads a lot THESE days is nothing short of interesting, either. Younger generations should know it was hardly a norm back then. My strong suspicion is, some influential autuer hairdresser couldn't get it out of their mind any other way than spawning it all over the world.

Also, the story is just perfectly befitting the format (film's neither too much, nor too little for its own good). I suppose it's the Besson's earlier experience as a producer, along with the history they had together with Patrice Ledoux by that point, which had helped him not make it bloated only for someone else to have barge into and trim it down.
By the way, I recommend watching Gary Oldman's Nil By Mouth (produced by Luc Besson) "in the vicinity of" The Fifth Element.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

dan76 wrote:Leon (International cut)

I hadn't seen this since it came out. Obviously it would never get made today, but I think it's a good film, not great. There are a couple of weird "pedo" moments I suppose but the whole film makes sense, especially her love for Leon. The film does sexualise her though, so it's a bit uncomfortable to watch. Portland performance is one of the best she's given. She seems cold or reserved in a lot of her roles. Oldman chews up the scenery and Reno is brilliant.

Even from the opening titles it's a relief to watch a film shot on... film. The colour grading is great - blacks are black! Things look real, not overly styalised. The teal and orange fad was still a few years away. Some of the music is a bit intrusive, and who the fuck put a Sting song at the end.

Pretty good. Not a Luc Besson fan really, but the story is good. The whole hitman training thing,
like Bronson and Jan Michael Vincent in The Mechanic crossed with... Lolita.
Accurate... except that it is a great movie. So well made... intense, well shot, good performances. Watched it not long ago and I"m sure I'll give it another go soon.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

The Human Condition / Ningen no Jouken Trilogy [1959 - 1961]

Very long film (or 3 long films, depending on how you look at it) about a pacifist's struggle during WWII in Asia. Set mainly in Manchuria and the surrounding areas, the story follows Kaji, not quite an idealist, but obviously someone that has issues with the way people are treated in Japanese-occupied territories. People not familiar will probably be shocked at the raw look at Japanese hierarchial mentality. Those that have experienced Japanese culture first hand will probably nod their heads and think, "so that's where it comes from". Plenty of atrocities of war here, although it definitely is not all encompassing of what Imperial Japan did. Nonetheless, I could see it as getting a lot of shit when it came out, just 15 years after the war ended. Very dark, and somewhat slow (there's not much action, despite clocking in at 9 hours and 45 minutes in total), but is shot in beautiful Cinemascope, similar to his follow up with Harakiri.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

GaijinPunch wrote: The Human Condition / Ningen no Jouken Trilogy [1959 - 1961]

Very long film (or 3 long films, depending on how you look at it) about a pacifist's struggle during WWII in Asia.
Having known the title for ages, I've only recently developed an intention of watching it. The thing which brought it back was Love Exposure by Sion Sono - four hours long (SIX in the first cut, but even trimmed down can be hard to bear in one sitting), spanning two DVDs of Third Window Films release. While being fairly sympathetic to Marian devotions (strongly present in my country of origins), I have not found it nearly as awkward or downright offensive as I believe many devout Catholics would. Just how political it is in the eye of beholder surely depends on the viewer's cultural background. Perhaps in Japan, where Christians were a minority most severely persecuted in the past, it can be viewed as extremely charged.
That out of the way, there could be something Japan-specific about making feature films THIS long. I heard Seven Samurai was meant to be significantly longer than the version distributed nowadays and when watching it A.D. 2003 for the first time, I could tell something was missing (what's left of the faint-hearted samurai arc resembles amputation mark so to speak).
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Xyga »

Steamflogger Boss wrote:Speaking of Luc Besson I watched the more recent BD transfer of Fifth Element a week or so ago. Superb and MUCH better than the early BD. If you are a collector and care about PQ, get that BD or the 4K of the same transfer. I'm personally just not heavily invested in 4K yet.

As for the film itself there is still a lot to like. Amazing effects, actually looks like a movie instead of a CGI blob, fun albeit generic story but with entertaining characters. The downside (may not be a downside depending on your mood) is it doesn't really have anything interesting to say. From an entertainment perspective it's great and worth watching.
Yeah it wasn't half bad, and really welcome sci-fi entertainment back then...
...except for me the second the diva starts dancing to the beat is the second both the movie, and Besson's career as a film maker, take a nosedive.

(and yeah Nikita was totally his peak, simply one of the best noir references on screen ever, Anne Parillaud is perfect)
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by neorichieb1971 »

Girl in the spiders web -

Quite a good story with a few twists. Wasn't overwhelmingly satisfying at the ending. Has a James bond kinda story. I'd give it 7.5/10.


Bumblebee -

Hollywood doing its thing. I really enjoyed especially compared to the more other recent Transformers additions. Another 7.5/10.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Ixmucane2 »

John Wick Chapter 3

The ongoing plot (John Wick kills a lot of people) develops some variations (John Wick spares a few people, other characters kill a lot of people, there are so many people to kill that John Wick plans and negotiates a bit) but the story crashes in a very disappointing finale.

Combat scenes are too long and repetitive, but very well made, with funny moments and an unusual loving attention to scenery and fighting styles. For example, there are someone who wrestles like John Wick (directly suggesting where he learned) and horses used as weapons.

Criminal technology is very fun:
  • Bulletproof vests for dogs
  • A deluxe kit for cutting fingers, Yakuza-style
  • Special interior lighting for combat
  • John Wick's special cartridges, already seen in the previous chapters and featured prominently in a pump-action shotgun sequence: if you load one, you can shoot four times or more.
Looking forward to chapter 4, where meaningful plot will have to make a comeback.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Stevens »

Ixmucane2 wrote:John Wick Chapter 3
Looking forward to chapter 4, where meaningful plot will have to make a comeback.
Full disclosure - I liked chapter three a lot. It felt like a two hour finale to chapter two more than its own movie though. I thought it could have been called 2.5 in that respect. They did a good job of going more places, killing more people in new and different ways, introducing new characters (casting Dacascos as a chef was a great), his henchman
Spoiler
Hyped for months when I saw they got the guys from The Raid series
and setting up what will hopefully be the finale.

That said this needs to end in chapter four.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

Obiwanshinobi wrote:
GaijinPunch wrote: The Human Condition / Ningen no Jouken Trilogy [1959 - 1961]

Very long film (or 3 long films, depending on how you look at it) about a pacifist's struggle during WWII in Asia.
Having known the title for ages, I've only recently developed an intention of watching it.
Each one is a pretty big commitment. I watched them on 3 separate flights... all rather long. Reading up on Wikipedia, (don't read too much as it spoils a lot, unfortunately) Shochiku Films was initially not so keen on it as it basically shows Imperial Japan as the shit show it was. Apparently after Kobayashi threatened to quit they finally relented.

One small irk I had about the show was that, despite having many Mandarin speakers in the show, none of them were Chinese. I'm assuming securing such a large number of Chinese actors would have proven difficult. The film was reportedly filmed in Hokkaido due to non-existent Sino-Japan relations. I assume this would extend down to the cast. Similar deal w/ the Russians. There are only two credited westerners and the names didn't sound Russian. But yeah, it's quite old, from a country that was flattened just 15 years prior.

Reading on the Japanese Wikipedia, there's zero mention of the supposed controversies in the English version. They do mention that the Self Defense Force did participate in some of the battle scenes, and even loaned the production firearms.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by z0mbie90 »

GaijinPunch wrote: The Human Condition / Ningen no Jouken Trilogy [1959 - 1961]
Just got the bluray release of it from Arrow Films in the mail few weeks ago and been looking forward to watch it. But need to find the time for it :D
Been on my To Watch list forever so this is gonna be a treat!
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Re: Movies you've just watched

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GaijinPunch wrote:
dan76 wrote:Leon (International cut)

I hadn't seen this since it came out. Obviously it would never get made today, but I think it's a good film, not great. There are a couple of weird "pedo" moments I suppose but the whole film makes sense, especially her love for Leon. The film does sexualise her though, so it's a bit uncomfortable to watch. Portland performance is one of the best she's given. She seems cold or reserved in a lot of her roles. Oldman chews up the scenery and Reno is brilliant.

Even from the opening titles it's a relief to watch a film shot on... film. The colour grading is great - blacks are black! Things look real, not overly styalised. The teal and orange fad was still a few years away. Some of the music is a bit intrusive, and who the fuck put a Sting song at the end.

Pretty good. Not a Luc Besson fan really, but the story is good. The whole hitman training thing,
like Bronson and Jan Michael Vincent in The Mechanic crossed with... Lolita.
Accurate... except that it is a great movie. So well made... intense, well shot, good performances. Watched it not long ago and I"m sure I'll give it another go soon.
It's well made for sure, but I felt like it could have used another act at the end. Stansfield cutting down Leon as he walked toward the light: great. If Mathilda then had to take down Stansfield on her own it would have been the culmination of her arc and redeemed her for the earlier botched attempt. However, Leon's reverse-suicide bombing leaves Mathilda with nothing to do but go back to school, so the assassin training subplot ultimately goes nowhere. Leon's boss Tony also seemed positioned to become an antagonist, with how he resented Mathilda for compromising his pet killer, yet he ends up just giving her an allowance.
Xyga wrote:and yeah Nikita was totally his peak, simply one of the best noir references on screen ever, Anne Parillaud is perfect)
I had the sensation of abruptness from Nikita as well, though I may be influenced by the '90s TV show, whose first season was fundamentally an extended retelling of the film.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by soprano1 »

Foxy Brown (1974)
Pam Grier dealing some pain to rotten drug dealers. Great movie.
EDIT: First line didn't sound so racist in my head, sorry.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

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Obiwanshinobi wrote:
Steamflogger Boss wrote:The downside (may not be a downside depending on your mood) is it doesn't really have anything interesting to say.
I'd say it has, in a way similar to Star Wars (when it was new). It was the first big screen "epic" in ages (I know about) refreshingly un-Christian under the skin (meanwhile, The Matrix was looming just around the corner, getting all ready to bring the good old crypto-messianism back).
The fact that Zorg's haircut looks much like stuff I see on male human heads a lot THESE days is nothing short of interesting, either. Younger generations should know it was hardly a norm back then. My strong suspicion is, some influential autuer hairdresser couldn't get it out of their mind any other way than spawning it all over the world.

Also, the story is just perfectly befitting the format (film's neither too much, nor too little for its own good). I suppose it's the Besson's earlier experience as a producer, along with the history they had together with Patrice Ledoux by that point, which had helped him not make it bloated only for someone else to have barge into and trim it down.
By the way, I recommend watching Gary Oldman's Nil By Mouth (produced by Luc Besson) "in the vicinity of" The Fifth Element.
Yeah, don't get me started on the Matrix. It basically took Ghost in the Shell and made it much worse. This info is probably out there somewhere but I have wondered if the Wachowskis put in the religious ham or if it was some kind of mandate from higher up the chain.

Recommendation has been noted.
Xyga wrote:
Steamflogger Boss wrote:Speaking of Luc Besson I watched the more recent BD transfer of Fifth Element a week or so ago. Superb and MUCH better than the early BD. If you are a collector and care about PQ, get that BD or the 4K of the same transfer. I'm personally just not heavily invested in 4K yet.

As for the film itself there is still a lot to like. Amazing effects, actually looks like a movie instead of a CGI blob, fun albeit generic story but with entertaining characters. The downside (may not be a downside depending on your mood) is it doesn't really have anything interesting to say. From an entertainment perspective it's great and worth watching.
Yeah it wasn't half bad, and really welcome sci-fi entertainment back then...
...except for me the second the diva starts dancing to the beat is the second both the movie, and Besson's career as a film maker, take a nosedive.

(and yeah Nikita was totally his peak, simply one of the best noir references on screen ever, Anne Parillaud is perfect)
Looked at his filmography and wow. His best movie after Fifth Element is what...The Transporter? Not much even watchable there. Valerian was a hot mess.

I had a friend pick up a huge LD lot for me (multiple players, 200+ discs) and I think Nikita was in there, so I'll just watch that release. Want to make sure either way before just going and buying the BD.

RE Human Condition those waiting to watch it you are in for a treat. If you find yourself wanting more Kobayashi, I recommend Harikiri. More destruction of your emotions? I recommend Sansho the Bailiff.

Nice to see this thread poppin' with good discussion.
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GaijinPunch
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

z0mbie90 wrote:
GaijinPunch wrote: The Human Condition / Ningen no Jouken Trilogy [1959 - 1961]
Just got the bluray release of it from Arrow Films in the mail few weeks ago and been looking forward to watch it. But need to find the time for it :D
Been on my To Watch list forever so this is gonna be a treat!
Definitely section of some time. It has a lot of subtleties in it, and with this day and age sometimes I have issues focusing. Also w/ a partner that has the attention span of someone her age, I only get to watch such films on my own. Report back when you're done!
If you find yourself wanting more Kobayashi, I recommend Harikiri. More destruction of your emotions? I recommend Sansho the Bailiff.
Haraikiri (recommended in this thread, and very deserving of it's 8.7 on IMDB) is what got me on to his filmography. While that, IMHO, has superior cinematography (damn near every shot looks like it could be framed and hung in a museum) The Human Condition is nothing to shake a stick at... despite it being an even slower burn. Apparently Samurai Rebellion is apparently the same tier as Harakiri.
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Steamflogger Boss
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

I have Samurai Rebellion on DVD, and will rebuy on BD whenever Criterion gets around to it. Nuff said.
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Xyga
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Xyga »

Steamflogger Boss wrote:I had a friend pick up a huge LD lot for me (multiple players, 200+ discs) and I think Nikita was in there, so I'll just watch that release. Want to make sure either way before just going and buying the BD.
IIRC the english dub is crap, they even removed music that's absolutely crucial to the film. If you get a BR make sure the very unaltered original is there w/ subs.
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