Movies you've just watched

[emphatic]

it's still better than anything I've seen Michael Mann turn out.

This. Except for some really great Miami Vice episodes, I don't have a friggin' clue what all the Mann hype is about.

[Skykid]

it's still better than anything I've seen Michael Mann turn out.

This. Except for some really great Miami Vice episodes, I don't have a friggin' clue what all the Mann hype is about.

Me either, the guy iz one lameass director.

But - original Don Johnson Miami Vice is too rad, you called it spot on.

[neorichieb1971]

The fall.

David Fincher with a paint brush. I like the storyline quite a bit, especially the game type characters that go topple General Odius.

[rapoon]

Both "Heat" and "Thief" are excellent movies; two of the best heist films.
The earlier Miami Vice episodes are awesome as well. What's up with the Mann hate?

[JBC]

Inland Empire.

Had no idea it was going to be quite that long, and got distracted about 2 hours into it. Completely lost any threads I was desperately clutching onto after that. I'll be avoiding online interpretations, and revisiting this at a later date. I sense there are rewards in there to be had, with much effort

Eyeh... it's no Mulholland Drive or Lost Highway. From my understanding Lynch didn't even have a plan when filming it. It's just a mesh of craziness with no deeper hidden meaning and for that I felt jipped. Scary ass lampshade though.

[Moniker]

Both "Heat" and "Thief" are excellent movies; two of the best heist films.
The earlier Miami Vice episodes are awesome as well. What's up with the Mann hate?

I quite like Michael Mann movies, but in each of them there's always something that falls flat and keeps it from becoming a classic. Oftentimes, it's the romantic interest - that was the main problem in Thief and Public Enemies - he just can't seem to write or direct convincing romantic dialogue. Also he tends to have casting issues. Robert DeNiro nearly tanked Heat, the cast of the Miami Vice movie was pretty bad. His pacing tends to toe the line b/w deliberate and slow, often falling in the latter category. No one can do sound in a movie like Mann does, though, and he often expands a shot where it's least expected to great effect.

That's what's frustrating about Mann - flashes of brilliance, but too many problems to elevate his work from good to great.

[emphatic]

What about the cheesy "makin' love in the shower" SCENES (plural) in the new Miami Vice movie? Come on!

[Skykid]

Both "Heat" and "Thief" are excellent movies; two of the best heist films.
The earlier Miami Vice episodes are awesome as well. What's up with the Mann hate?

I quite like Michael Mann movies, but in each of them there's always something that falls flat and keeps it from becoming a classic. Oftentimes, it's the romantic interest - that was the main problem in Thief and Public Enemies - he just can't seem to write or direct convincing romantic dialogue. Also he tends to have casting issues. Robert DeNiro nearly tanked Heat, the cast of the Miami Vice movie was pretty bad. His pacing tends to toe the line b/w deliberate and slow, often falling in the latter category. No one can do sound in a movie like Mann does, though, and he often expands a shot where it's least expected to great effect.

That's what's frustrating about Mann - flashes of brilliance, but too many problems to elevate his work from good to great.

Good synopsis.

[RGC]

Inland Empire.

Had no idea it was going to be quite that long, and got distracted about 2 hours into it. Completely lost any threads I was desperately clutching onto after that. I'll be avoiding online interpretations, and revisiting this at a later date. I sense there are rewards in there to be had, with much effort

Eyeh... it's no Mulholland Drive or Lost Highway. From my understanding Lynch didn't even have a plan when filming it. It's just a mesh of craziness with no deeper hidden meaning and for that I felt jipped. Scary ass lampshade though.

Don't tell me those things. I felt like I was onto something.

I Want
To
Believe

[MovingTarget]

Just watched Real Steel, was pleasantly surprised.

[rapoon]

Both "Heat" and "Thief" are excellent movies; two of the best heist films.
The earlier Miami Vice episodes are awesome as well. What's up with the Mann hate?

I quite like Michael Mann movies, but in each of them there's always something that falls flat and keeps it from becoming a classic. Oftentimes, it's the romantic interest - that was the main problem in Thief and Public Enemies - he just can't seem to write or direct convincing romantic dialogue. Also he tends to have casting issues. Robert DeNiro nearly tanked Heat, the cast of the Miami Vice movie was pretty bad. His pacing tends to toe the line b/w deliberate and slow, often falling in the latter category. No one can do sound in a movie like Mann does, though, and he often expands a shot where it's least expected to great effect.

That's what's frustrating about Mann - flashes of brilliance, but too many problems to elevate his work from good to great.

DeNiro was mediocre in Heat but Pacino makes up for it. I saw that fucker in the theaters and to this day, the shootout in the middle of LA is still one
of the most intense scenes; the sound is deafening. A bit on the long side, lousy romance (agreed) (particularly between Niel and Eady). Regardless, it's a classic IMO.
"An epic saga of crime and obsession" is an appropriate description. I haven't seen the new Miami Vice movie. Farrell and Fox? Fuck you, no thanks.

[Skykid]

I haven't seen the new Miami Vice movie. Farrell and Fox? Fuck you, no thanks.

It's terrible.

Heat is too overrated. There's nothing wrong with De Niro in performance terms (the guy can out act Pacino with his eyes shut) it's the casting that's wrong. The two didn't work at all in the movie together, it was awkward clash of personas.
Everyone always cites the heist as the best thing ever, and within the context of the movie it is: it's the best thing in it. Everything else is pretty bum-numbing. The pace is so weird in that film, the whole time you're like, "right, here we go, about to pick up," and then two minutes later you're comfortably back in a reclining position watching people waffle about not much.

[jonny5]

Been sick with a cold for like 3 or 4 days and spent pretty much the whole time watching movies.

Resurection County - Not bad, but not great. Out of towners fuck with the wrong hillbillys and deaths ensue.
See no Evil - Gorey, and some fit girls naked....about all it had going for it.
Shadow - Not bad, but poorly executed twist at the end. Again, people in the woods bump into the wrong guy, deaths and torture ensue,
American Psycho 2 - Not as bad as I expected. Nothing like the original. Some good twists.
Victim - Liked this one. Very disturbing. Dude gets kidnapped, tortured, brainwashed and given a sex change. Yup
Wizard of Gore - Not bad. Crispin Glover was in it. Lots of gore, and Suicide Girls.....mmmmmm
Simon Says - Another Crispin Glover flick. Again, very gory, and some hilarious kill scenes.
The Crow - Hadn't watched this in at least a decade. Not nearly as good as I remembered.
The Cave - Not bad. Standard Creature Feature horror flick, same vein as The Descent, but under water.
Shutter Island - Pleasantly surprised by this one. Pretty good story, and some interesting twists. Watched with the G/F
Teeth - Girl has teeth in her vagina. Yup.
Hostel pt2 - Hadn't seen this since it first came out. Meh, fairly tame for me. It tries so hard to be disturbing, but it's really not, unless you are squeemish at the site of blood.
Brother - Takeshi Kitano....nuff said
The Devil's Rejects - Saw this before, but I do like it more than House of a 1000 Corpses. I must say Rob Zombie's films are getting better; I was quite surprised how good his Halloween remake was.
The Dead Zone - Classic!
Catch me if you can - Not bad. Not really my thing though. Watched with the G/F
Carriers - OK, sort of post apocalyptic virus story. Could have been better. Story had promise though, just not executed as effectively as it could have been.
X - Some random Aussie flick following hookers on the run after witnessing a murder. Fit girls naked, 'bout it.

Kind of funny, I watched more movies in the last 4 days than I probably have in the last 3-4 months.

[Skykid]

Brother - Takeshi Kitano....nuff said

One of the worst movies I've ever had the misfortune of watching.

In other news, I watched Red State last night. I didn't think Smith had a movie like this in him, has anyone else seen it? I thought it was pretty damn good.

[jonny5]

Brother - Takeshi Kitano....nuff said

One of the worst movies I've ever had the misfortune of watching.

In other news, I watched Red State last night. I didn't think Smith had a movie like this in him, has anyone else seen it? I thought it was pretty damn good.

It wasn't that bad really. Certainly not the best he's ever done, but watchable.

Seriously though, there were a lot of bad films in that list. As you always point out, apparently I have 'bad' taste in films.

[Skykid]

It wasn't that bad really. Certainly not the best he's ever done, but watchable.

Seriously though, there were a lot of bad films in that list. As you always point out, apparently I have 'bad' taste in films.

I haven't seen most of them. I just thought Brother was awkwardly bad.

The Crow: I watched this not too long ago either and I wasn't disappointed. I still dug it and I cream for that shootout scene.
The Cave: Just watched this over Christmas. It was shit, but it entertained me and gave me a few laughs, which is all I really expected.
Shutter Island: Everyone seems to like this, so I guess I was in the wrong frame of mind. I figured out the twist after 5 minutes, which I thought was a woeful faux pas.
Hostel Pt 2: Crap, especially compared to the original.

[jonny5]

Check out Teeth. It sounds like it would be a completely twisted movie, but really its not. I was kind of surprised; it's more of a teen horror flick.....with vagina teeth.

[JBC]

My friend just got me to watch Dead Birds with him.

It's pretty crap. Just schlock horror where nothing has to have any explanation and characters don't react to things realistically. I was bored to tears.

Every now and then I'll catch one of the modern horror films on late night Cinemax or whatever and actually find an enjoyable movie. I really liked the Nature's Grave remake with Jim Caviezel and another cheap flick I caught called Eden Lake. There isn't anything extremely special about either of them but they were effective as horror films and didn't do much to annoy me.

[chempop]

Red State was difficult to watch for me, very depressing take on extremist church goers. Made me wish for the extinction of mankind. Pretty surprising that it came from the same guy as Mall Rats, I give Kevin Smith credit for going there, especially with the title.

[Skykid]

Red State was difficult to watch for me, very depressing take on extremist church goers. Made me wish for the extinction of mankind. Pretty surprising that it came from the same guy as Mall Rats, I give Kevin Smith credit for going there, especially with the title.

I thought it was great. Made me laugh.

[chempop]

It was good, and I'm sure I laughed too. It's just that the fact there are people in this world who can be so F-ed up which made me cringe a bit.

[MX7]

Brother - Takeshi Kitano....nuff said

One of the worst movies I've ever had the misfortune of watching.

No way! I thought it was a gripping exploration of the pitfalls of loyalty and made excellent use of the American setting. But I feel that you and I are destined to disagree about every film ever

[Skykid]

Brother - Takeshi Kitano....nuff said

One of the worst movies I've ever had the misfortune of watching.

No way! I thought it was a gripping exploration of the pitfalls of loyalty and made excellent use of the American setting. But I feel that you and I are destined to disagree about every film ever

It was facepalmingly awful.

[spadgy]

I think the director of Honneamise was Yamaga Hiroyuki. I have the Manga Video videocassette and DVD of this movie - and, yes, it is one of the best films ever made

A late +1 for this. No doubt this is my favourite animation. I'd always seen the PAL edits. The dodgy scene that you don't get in PAL-land put me off a bit considering it just get's treated like it's nothing, but that aside it's wonderful.

And thanks to everyone for all the retro sci-fi movie tips and enthusiasm. I'll check out all the recommendations.

[CMoon]

I still haven't seen Honneamise (nothing in the description of the movie intrigues me, but I guess I will see it based on recommendations.) I'm going back to hollywood this weekend to see Totoro on the big screen.

[xbl0x180]

Well, as a video collectro, of which a large portion of it is devoted solely to anime, I'd say Honneamise stands out for me. I've seen it about 10 times already and used to give it as a Christmas present back in the 90s. It's not only one of the best - if not THE best - animated films I have ever seen, but also one of the best movies I have seen. Now I killed the movie by hyping it up too much, but it's on the level with 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris

I think the director of Honneamise was Yamaga Hiroyuki. I have the Manga Video videocassette and DVD of this movie - and, yes, it is one of the best films ever made

A late +1 for this. No doubt this is my favourite animation. I'd always seen the PAL edits. The dodgy scene that you don't get in PAL-land put me off a bit considering it just get's treated like it's nothing, but that aside it's wonderful.

And thanks to everyone for all the retro sci-fi movie tips and enthusiasm. I'll check out all the recommendations.

I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone who has not seen it, but I used to feel the same way about it. Looking back on it, though, I think it adds depth to the character; it added a bit of ambiguity to the simpleton, country bumpkin that was Shirotsugu Ladhat. At that point, he began to believe the propaganda being put out about him. You know what it reminded me of? The same dynamic shown in Saturday Night Fever between Tony and Stephanie, except that Stephanie's personality was of a girl who was street-smart, whereas Riqunni was weak and a bit naive

[Aguraki]

William Friedkin's "To Live And Die In L.A." - A film that's impossible to remember how good it is - because every time you watch it, it gets even better.

wtf did I just watch
didn't expect any of the things that would happen in this.
the heist scene is glorious.

In other news, I watched Red State last night. I didn't think Smith had a movie like this in him, has anyone else seen it? I thought it was pretty damn good.

I enjoyed it and all long I thought "ah america!"

[jonny5]

Brother - Takeshi Kitano....nuff said

One of the worst movies I've ever had the misfortune of watching.

No way! I thought it was a gripping exploration of the pitfalls of loyalty and made excellent use of the American setting. But I feel that you and I are destined to disagree about every film ever

I couldn't have said it better! I think that was I kind of liked about it; the stark contrast of Japanese yakuza clashing with US gangstaz. It worked. And Kitano was great, as always.

[xbl0x180]

Kitano plays the same guy with the twitchy eye in every movie

[jonny5]

Kitano plays the same guy with the twitchy eye in every movie

It's so true....but he does it so well!