Movies you've just watched

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rapoon
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by rapoon »

BIL wrote:I think he might do really well with Dunwich, given the relatively foolproof "scientists v alien" premise. Some of Color's effects undeniably recall John Carpenter's The Thing, but its handling of an innately more harrowing family dynamic didn't 100% grab me.
given his propensity to turn shit into Cronenbergs, he'll have ample opportunity in Dunwich, and regarding family dynamic... well shit, now we're dealing with the most deranged families in New England! We're probably in good hands.
I think he should stay well away from the larger bodies of work: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Shadow Out of Time, etc

I'm hoping all this demonstrates to production companies that we are interested in HPL films, and Guillermo del Toro's pursuit to get funding for a Mountains of Madness adaptation is reignited. Why not SpectreVision? They're behind Stanley's trilogy.

I'm watching The Whisperer in Darkness tonight.
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BIL
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by BIL »

Been a few years, but I remember loving Whisperer, finding it comparable to their earlier benchmark Call of Cthulhu. Authentically grim!

Incidentally, it seems Blumhouse is adapting "Frozen Hell," John W. Campbell's original manuscript of The Thing source novella Who Goes There.

I've no feels nor expectations whatsoever. Image But I like to check out Thing-adjacent stuff, even though Harbinger Down aka Inanimate (involving Thing 2011 SFX personnel, starring Lance Henriksen) goddamn near finished me off. If anyone's curious - don't bother, seriously. It's not even especially bad, let alone so bad it's good. Barring the always commanding presence of Mr. Henriksen, it's even less memorable than Thing 2011.

Watch classic Henriksen Tales from the Crypt turns Cutting Cards ("Park it yourself, asshole!") and Yellow ("He's yyyellaaah!") instead! Image

Image
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drauch
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by drauch »

BIL wrote:Been a few years, but I remember loving Whisperer, finding it comparable to their earlier benchmark Call of Cthulhu. Authentically grim!

Incidentally, it seems Blumhouse is adapting "Frozen Hell," John W. Campbell's original manuscript of The Thing source novella Who Goes There.
Interesting, but yeah, not expecting much. At all. There's really not enough difference in the original Campbell story to distance itself from JC's The Thing in the first place, but methinks that's part of the reason to not get compared to Our Lord, Carpenter's film, and I guess that last attempt isn't really that old.

Regarding HP adaptations: I dunno if we'll ever get a good one. Obviously most of the Gordon stuff rules, but clearly different tone and such. Stanley's Hardware is good fun, but never great, which kind of sums up his career. I'd love a period rendition of something like Mountains, which maybe, maybe early Del Toro could have done if that actually transpired. I think his heart and fandom is in the right place, but his name is attached to too much junk, and that early creativity seems all but evaporated. Granted too I've stayed away from him for a while, but hard to shake the bitterness!
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Mischief Maker
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Mischief Maker »

drauch wrote:maybe, maybe early Del Toro could have done if that actually transpired. I think his heart and fandom is in the right place, but his name is attached to too much junk,
I remember hearing somewhere once that Del Toro is one of the few names in Hollywood that will get the okay to do practical effects in your film instead of CGI, so there's a legit reason for him to loan his name to a bunch of up and comers who may disappoint. Kinda like how half the horror movies made in the late 90s were "Wes Craven presents."

I heard an interesting explanation the other day for why Hollywood prefers CGI to practical effects: it's easier to make post-test-screening changes after filming's done.
Two working class dudes, one black one white, just baked a tray of ten cookies together.

An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.

Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
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rapoon
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by rapoon »

drauch wrote: I'd love a period rendition of something like Mountains, which maybe, maybe early Del Toro could have done if that actually transpired. I think his heart and fandom is in the right place, but his name is attached to too much junk, and that early creativity seems all but evaporated. Granted too I've stayed away from him for a while, but hard to shake the bitterness!
not sure how much stock i'd put into his names attachment to other(s) work; MM mentioned Wes Craven, but there was also Tarantino's 'seal of approval' slapped on all sorts of b-grade shit in the late 90's and early 00's and it had no bearing on his ability as a director or writer.. unless I'm missing your point. 8)

you mentioned Del Toro's most redeeming quality: he's a huge fan. In fact, and this is obvious speculation, maybe his desire to make MoM a period piece faithful to the source coupled with an adamant refusal to include cross-dimensional cosmic space battles is why he couldn't get funding. *shrug*.
I find it interesting the HPL adaptations this forum holds in the highest regard are typically of modest production values and acting caliber, but the most faithful; which I agree with.

edit: also wanted to share these two bbc podcasts: Whisper in the Darkness and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, both have been reconfigured to be detective stories in a modern setting. Not as good as Dark Adventure Radio Theatre, but still excellent.
Last edited by rapoon on Wed Jan 29, 2020 10:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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drauch
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by drauch »

I guess it's a mix of both for me, as I don't care about his own projects or anything he produces. And same with Tarantino and Rodriguez, whom I abhor. But I won't get into that because I've already done so ad nauseum in the past :lol:. I'll probably give Del Toro a shot again at some point (The Shape of Water seems original and interesting enough), but seeing him as director for a remake of Nightmare Alley makes me sour again.
rapoon wrote: I find it interesting the adaptations this forum holds in the highest regard are typically of the lowest production and acting caliber, but the most faithful.
Generally curious, but in what regard? The Lovecraft adaptations I suppose?
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rapoon
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by rapoon »

drauch wrote: Generally curious, but in what regard? The Lovecraft adaptations I suppose?
yep. edited and clarified my post.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

Mischief Maker wrote: I heard an interesting explanation the other day for why Hollywood prefers CGI to practical effects: it's easier to make post-test-screening changes after filming's done.
I think it's just straight up cheaper. I'm sure once you're good you can make bank, but the programmers that do that work are probably grinding for a minimal salary.
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BrianC
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by BrianC »

Dr No. Classic Bond. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Spoiler
Now I know what the ending song in Rolling Thunder referenced
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BIL
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by BIL »

BrianC wrote:
Spoiler
Now I know what the ending song in Rolling Thunder referenced
Also Soukyugurentai, at least I like to think. :wink:
Spoiler
Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image
FLAMETHROWER DRAGON TANK


Image

Image
Kidding. Kinda. Mostly. Image
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by BrianC »

Dang. I almost forgot about that game. Ordered! Funny thing is I have also been watching Godzilla movies (last one was invasion of the Astro Monster) and that monster almost looks like a mash up between the "dragon" in Dr. No and King Ghidorah (though the latter has three heads).
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

Contagion (2011)

Life imitating art? I had seen this before and always thought it was pretty underrated. The GF hadn't so we cranked it up. Not a scientist by any stretch but I do wonder if we've reached a point where humankind can't be wiped out by disease. Obviously there are some w/ no cure (AIDS) that took a long time to at least treat, but infection is obviously limited.
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SuperPang
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by SuperPang »

Uncut Gems. Superb. Adam Sandler! Who knew!
GaijinPunch wrote:I do wonder if we've reached a point where humankind can't be wiped out by disease.
Oh I do hope not.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Stevens »

It is a very different movie than Uncut Gems (which is on my list), but Reign Over Me also stars Sandler in a very non traditional Sandler role.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

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Stevens wrote:It is a very different movie than Uncut Gems (which is on my list), but Reign Over Me also stars Sandler in a very non traditional Sandler role.
Obligatory.
Two working class dudes, one black one white, just baked a tray of ten cookies together.

An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.

Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by BIL »

Whiplash (2014) A friend and jazz obsessive once excoriated this to me, chiefly for its dining out on the apocryphal tale of Jo Jones attempting to decapitate a 16y/o Bird Parker onstage (in reality, Jones kicked a cymbal stand over to get an oblivious Bird's attention). Not a very charitably musical film either, steeped in mechanistic repetition, abuse and outright violence ala Full Metal Jacket.

That said, Rocky's boxing ain't shit either, and This Is Spinal Tap is no less classic for its fictitiousness. Taken as fantasy, a bracing, perhaps cathartic tale of obsessive desire. Bonus points if you like JK Simmons' Oz work. It's practically Vern Schillinger Gaiden!
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

BIL wrote: It's practically Vern Schillinger Gaiden!
It's so weird seeing him in a role where he's actually compassionate.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Jonny2x4 »

Saw the whole Godfather trilogy earlier last week for the first time ever. I might had seen bits and pieces of the movies before without knowing it, but for the most part I was mostly familiar with the series due to pop-culture osmosis than anything else. The first two movies are clear classics that compliment each other and while Part III does not hold up as well (being pretty much a rushed afterthought), it's more watchable than I was expecting it to be and almost made me regret that they never got around to filming the proposed fourth film that would've concluded Vincent Corleone's story arc (I felt there was more to his character than what was shown in Part III).

I was surprised to learn that the first two movies have so many unused scenes, that they re-edited them as a mini-series back in the late 70's, when Francis Ford Copolla was looking for investor to fund Apocalypse Now (which incidentally now has an even longer cut than the Redux edition). Really fascinating stuff.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

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Jonny2x4 wrote: I was surprised to learn that the first two movies have so many unused scenes, that they re-edited them as a mini-series back in the late 70's, when Francis Ford Copolla was looking for investor to fund Apocalypse Now (which incidentally now has an even longer cut than the Redux edition). Really fascinating stuff.
How many version of the Godfather films are there?
I'd never know of the TV adaptations, apparently known as The Godfather Saga.
My first full viewing was The Godfather Epic, which was a 1981 remix of part 1 and 2 into a chronologically continuous film. What stood out to me (early 90s I think) was that I was looking for letterboxed VHS tapes and The Godfather Epic was the only version available in letterboxed format. At the time I didnt realize I was watching parts 1 and 2 together.
It was riveting, as they say.
Spoiler
Appalonia's demise took me entirely by surprise and was the first time I'd shed a tear from a film.
Years later I'd watched the individual parts 1, 2 and 3. It could be first exposure bias, but I feel pretty strongly that the Epic remix is the best presentation of the story.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Jonny2x4 »

Koa Zo wrote: How many version of the Godfather films are there?
I'd never know of the TV adaptations, apparently known as The Godfather Saga.
In terms of the individual films, Part 3 had a so-called "Final Director's Cut" which adds 9 minutes of new footage and is the version they released on Blu-ray and DVD as part of the "Coppola Restoration." Parts 1 and 2 only had theatrical cuts by themselves.

Otherwise, there's been quite a few re-edits of the first two movies made for television (as shown in the link I've posted), with later re-edits even incorporating Part 3, but none of them are currently available on DVD or Blu-ray. Apparently HBO aired an uncensored remastered cut of the Saga version not long ago.
My first full viewing was The Godfather Epic, which was a 1981 remix of part 1 and 2 into a chronologically continuous film. What stood out to me (early 90s I think) was that I was looking for letterboxed VHS tapes and The Godfather Epic was the only version available in letterboxed format. At the time I didnt realize I was watching parts 1 and 2 together.
It was riveting, as they say.
Spoiler
Appalonia's demise took me entirely by surprise and was the first time I'd shed a tear from a film.
Years later I'd watched the individual parts 1, 2 and 3. It could be first exposure bias, but I feel pretty strongly that the Epic remix is the best presentation of the story.
While I did enjoyed all three movies (even Part 3, with all its flaws), one aspect that disappointed me the most about the theatrical cuts (related to your spoiler) is that
Spoiler
Fabrizio (Michael's backstabbing bodyguard) gets away with killing Appollonia in the first movie. He dies in a car explosion in the TV edit, but it seems they filmed a more violent death scene where Michael takes matters into his own hands.
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in the family

Post by NYN »

Jonny2x4 wrote:(even Part 3, with all its flaws)
Hey, you know what, suddenly I'm getting the hots thinking about two cousins rolling them gnocchi in flour with their bare nude hands for some reason or other. But maybe I shouldn't hate my hots, it affects my judgement. Instead give our best to Joey Zasa, will ya? On horesback.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Mischief Maker »

Godfather 3 was doomed from the start because the studio was being a dick to Coppola for some reason. He wanted 6 months to write the script, they gave him 6 weeks. He wanted the finale to be about Michael vs Tom Hagen, but the studio offered Robert Duvall so little money it was an insult, forcing them to come up with a whole different concept on the fly.

On top of all that, it definitely didn't help that Wynona Ryder backed out of playing Michael's daughter at the last minute, resulting in Coppola's daughter playing the role. I hate to be judgmental, but while I can understand Andy Garcia tossing aside a young Bridget Fonda and risking his position in the mob for Ryder, doing it for Sofia Coppola stretches credibility.

Godfather 3 is one of those movies that really benefits from youtube. It has some great scenes when viewed in isolation, but put together they're less than the sum of their parts.
Two working class dudes, one black one white, just baked a tray of ten cookies together.

An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.

Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by EmperorIng »

Next Monday at the Music Box I'll be seeing Disco Godfather, one of the Rudy Ray Moore movies that I all consider essentially the Dolemite saga.

I haven't seen the movie in 8 years, so it will be a great refresher. All I remember is that all of Rudy's non-dolemite movies tend to have real downer endings! I managed to get my siblings to join me for the fun too. My brother and I got together with friends to watch Petey Wheatstraw not too long ago, and that was a great deal of fun.

One thing that the Netflix movie gets a little wrong is it makes it look like Rudy was clueless about the quality of his movies. I mean, watch Petey Wheatstraw: Devil's Son-in-Law and all the goofy gags, silly faces, and slapstick makes it pretty clear that Rudy 'knew' exactly what he was doing. It doesn't change the general incompetence but I think he had a good sense of humor about it, vs. being oblivious to how lame his movies looked. It wants you to like Rudy, whereas he says in his movies "I am who I am and if you don't like that, then, confidentially, I don't give a damn." Confidence! It's all about confidence. In movies, ladies, and life.

That being said, I really liked the Netflix film as a feel-good story and I am glad to see others in this topic enjoyed it as well. It's not perfect, but it's probably one of the best Dolemite tributes you could ask for - a fictionalized take on his life centered around a fun Eddie Murphy performance. I'd recommend it! How often do you get a love-letter to Rudy Ray Moore?

I'm glad I get a chance to see a Rudy film in an appropriate venue - shitty seats and all.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Jonny2x4 »

Ronyn wrote:Hey, you know what, suddenly I'm getting the hots thinking about two cousins rolling them gnocchi in flour with their bare nude hands for some reason or other. But maybe I shouldn't hate my hots, it affects my judgement. Instead give our best to Joey Zasa, will ya? On horesback.
It's funny that Michael's issue with Vincent dating his daughter isn't the fact that they're first cousins, but that he's involved with the family's business.
Spoiler
And then she gets shot anyway right after breaking up.
Mischief Maker wrote:Godfather 3 was doomed from the start because the studio was being a dick to Coppola for some reason. He wanted 6 months to write the script, they gave him 6 weeks. He wanted the finale to be about Michael vs Tom Hagen, but the studio offered Robert Duvall so little money it was an insult, forcing them to come up with a whole different concept on the fly.

On top of all that, it definitely didn't help that Wynona Ryder backed out of playing Michael's daughter at the last minute, resulting in Coppola's daughter playing the role. I hate to be judgmental, but while I can understand Andy Garcia tossing aside a young Bridget Fonda and risking his position in the mob for Ryder, doing it for Sofia Coppola stretches credibility.

Godfather 3 is one of those movies that really benefits from youtube. It has some great scenes when viewed in isolation, but put together they're less than the sum of their parts.
I didn't find Sofia Coppola as annoying as I was expecting her to be. While her acting did leave a lot to be desired (especially that one last scene), I don't think having Winona Ryder would've made that much of an improvement to be honest. I remember a lot of people made fun of her and Keanu Reeves' performance in Bram Stoker's Dracula and that was also directed by Coppola.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by xxx1993 »

Birds of Prey was the "Deadpool" to Joker's "Logan".
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mind if you scan this for me?

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^That's either high praise or universally panned. When you put it like that, it's just one more bullet to dodge.

As for me, I'm filling bleeding gaps. Had a watch of Scanners for the first time. Blew my mind, pardon the bad pun. So minimal in terms, so dense in atmosphere. The score keeps it all together. Smooth camera movement. I know peeps a primed for the first ultra-violence as part of "have-you-seen-that?" when they remember it, yet all extremes are high caliber. You know what's up when folks exit a car carrying shotguns, it's not gonna stop there. The showdown is one intense screaming. The ending is Really? Awesome! variety. I even dug the credit-roll, with the stern, coldly computed names.

Going for The Dead Zone and Videodrome next!
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by BIL »

Doctor Sleep (2019) Acceptably lightweight Shining sequel. Alcoholic older Danny and young friend with TEH SHINE run afoul of child-torturing psychic vampires. Stronger at drama than horror. Compellingly performed all-around, even as its early macabre descends into fanservicey quasi-capeshit.

The film's problem, in a frame (actual spoiler):
Spoiler
Image

I always thought of the original movie's ghosts as amorphous, malleable snatches of torment caught in the vortex of the Overlook itself. Here they're practically Danny's surrogate Ghost Family. Dunno, I'd have preferred something a bit less literal than GHOST SQUAD. Poor bathtub hag, she must've been dog-tired after being trotted out five or six times in this film.
Not terrible for what it is, though definitely a bit over-long.

EDIT: Watched the DIRECTOR'S CUT. Concurring with hack frauds - this is the better watch. As a supernatural drama of recovery, adolescence and mortality, it's a pretty strong movie. The DC's runtime largely focuses on the better stuff. Decent vampiric b-horror with some excellent performances.
Wikipedia page wrote:Prior to the film's release, Warner Bros. had enough confidence in the film that they hired Flanagan to script a prequel with the working title Hallorann, focusing on the character of Dick Hallorann. Following the disappointing box-office performance of Doctor Sleep, the future of the project is unclear.
Dammit! So close yet so far, Mischief Maker! Image
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by xxx1993 »

Sonic the Hedgehog was really fun! It's what Sonic X should have been!
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

Parasite
Have had it on the radar after the accolades it got here. Really glad to see it sweep at the Oscars.

Tokyo!
Another one that had been in the queue for ages, and with Parasite winning I figured I'd give it a go. 3 short stories set in Tokyo (none directed by Japanese directors). Worth a watch but I found the one in the middle not very enjoyable.

The Report
Pretty good modern-day thriller. Not sure I learned a lot that was new, but it was still interesting to see how it all tied together. What a shit show.
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Re: Movies you've just watched

Post by Kobayashi »

xxx1993 wrote:Sonic the Hedgehog was really fun! It's what Sonic X should have been!
I agree.
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