Movies you've just watched

[xbl0x180]

That scorpion was a bit... limp-clawed!

[Mischief Maker]

If you want to play a videogame that is a spiritual adaptation of "Drive," keep an eye out for Hotline Miami next week.

xbl0x180 is just angry that Ryan Gosseling and Albert Brooks didn't get into a shootout in a warehouse after they left the restaurant.

Also, if Drive was a Samurai movie, no one would be bitching about its minimalistic storytelling.

If you want to play a videogame that is a spiritual adaptation of "The Fountain," try Immortal Defense.

[xbl0x180]

What I really wanted was a remake of Walter Hill's The Driver with this new guy's cinematography and choice of music. In this case, a remake wouldn't have been so bad. I mean, the first 15 minutes was very reminiscent of that other movie. At the very least, give us another Vanishing Point or Two-Lane Blacktop. I wanted to see what the driving force in this movie was - and it was stuck in the garage the whole fucking time!

[drauch]

The Dirty Dozen - It had been too long since I'd watched it. Possibly one of the best casts in a film, ever. Bronson is the epitome for cool; I'm pretty gay for Clint Walker. If you consider yourself and action fan and haven't seen it, shame on you.

Timecop - The other Van Damme pseudo-stringy-mullet movie. Also, 1 of 3 films where there are two Van Dammes on screen at once. A fun flick with some brutal deaths. Most notably an arm gets frozen, Van Damme kicks it off, then throws the dude over a railing into a circuit board pit thing. Top tier Van Damme, indeed.

Frankenstein Conquers the World (AKA Frankenstein Vs Baragon) - I love when Toho gets really wacky. Frankenstein is a hard ass. He eats cats and dogs, runs around in the woods, and just attempts to live life as a goliath retarded child. Then Baragon shows up and gets pissed, resulting in one of the more bizarre fights in the Toho universe. The alternate ending is even more absurd, but I'll leave that for those to see.

[spadgy]

I did enjoy so many elements of Drive, and I wanted to like it, but there was something missing for me.

Christina Hendrick's cans not big enough? In all seriousness, I think you guys are all closeted and don't want to admit you get hard for Ryan Gosseling.

Its the cars in those movies I get hard for. I wanted more Vanishing Point/Two Lane Blacktop style auto-porn. Camera angles that scrape the tarmac and show just a bit of wheel arch and door trim – that kind of thing. Phwoar, etc.

In all seriousness, Drive clearly tried to capture the spirit of those movies, but even with most of the key elements in place (like a nameless driver protagonist and all the silences and the style of car) it just missed the mark.

A shame it wasn't a 25 minute film; then it might have worked.

[njiska]

Its the cars in those movies I get hard for. I wanted more Vanishing Point/Two Lane Blacktop style auto-porn. Camera angles that scrape the tarmac and show just a bit of wheel arch and door trim – that kind of thing. Phwoar, etc.

In all seriousness, Drive clearly tried to capture the spirit of those movies, but even with most of the key elements in place (like a nameless driver protagonist and all the silences and the style of car) it just missed the mark.

A shame it wasn't a 25 minute film; then it might have worked.

Drive works wonderfully as the movie it is. The problem is with marketing. It was pushed and portrayed as a car film in the sense of Vanishing Point or what have you, but it's not that kind of film. When you go in with the wrong expectations, you're probably not going to enjoy it.

And if we're going to talk car guy movies, then we need H. B. Halicki to be reincarnated.

In other movie news, I just watched The Man With The Golden Gun and I loved it. I don't get why this movie is seen as a bad bond film when it's got an enjoyable plot, good action and fantastic interplay between Christopher Lee and Roger Moore. Not to mention that it has one of the best theme songs in the entire series, behind only The Living Daylights, You Know My Name and Goldfinger.

[trap15]

Just watched American Psycho. Holy crap why didn't I see this earlier!? The character development is phenomenal and the atmosphere is ridiculously tense and awkward. So good.

[GaijinPunch]

Drive works wonderfully as the movie it is. The problem is with marketing. It was pushed and portrayed as a car film in the sense of Vanishing Point or what have you, but it's not that kind of film. When you go in with the wrong expectations, you're probably not going to enjoy it.

Watch the trailer for The American, and then go and see the movie. Great movie... but totally mis-marketed for Americans. It's Anton Corbijn, so anyone that knows him knows it's going to be nothing like the trailer. But most don't know him.

[BPzeBanshee]

Just watched American Psycho. Holy crap why didn't I see this earlier!? The character development is phenomenal and the atmosphere is ridiculously tense and awkward. So good.

I thought it was pretty funny myself.

Hey guy! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*chainsaw*

[Skykid]

In other movie news, I just watched The Man With The Golden Gun and I loved it. I don't get why this movie is seen as a bad bond film when it's got an enjoyable plot, good action and fantastic interplay between Christopher Lee and Roger Moore. Not to mention that it has one of the best theme songs in the entire series, behind only The Living Daylights, You Know My Name and Goldfinger.

I think any serious Bond enthusiast considers most of Moore's films to be lacking in integrity. For the most part they're complete farce: totally enjoyable as a pseudo bond send up, but not if you're expecting to see Fleming's character properly represented. There's been strong argument for a long time that the Moore films should be remade properly, as they fly so far from Fleming's original novels that they would end up being different films altogether if they were done accurately.

Also, lovable as he may be, Roger Moore is an utterly appalling actor.

[replayme]

Really looking forward to the new Bond film. I like the Daniel Craig movies - he's to Bond (ok, Casino Royale), what the Nolan films are to Batman. Dark. Tense. Brooding.

Skyfall is meant to be a REALLY, REALLY good film.

[BIL]

fantastic interplay between Christopher Lee and Roger Moore.

Lee did brilliantly, and is about the only reason I enjoy MwtGG, but his Anti-Bond should have appeared opposite Connery. Moore matches Lee well on genial terms but can't approach his cold-blooded lethality, slightly spoiling the concept of a suave killer confronted with his ruthless doppleganger. When Moore admits he'd enjoy killing Scaramanga, he's as benignly brown-voiced as ever, like a cross headmaster.

It'd have been a blast to watch Lee and Connery in a murderface showdown across Britt Ekland at that table.

[njiska]

I think any serious Bond enthusiast consider's most of Moore's films to be lacking in integrity. For the most part they're complete farce: totally enjoyable as a pseudo bond send up, but not if you're expecting to see Fleming's character properly represented.

There is no doubt that Roger Moore's Bond is different than Connery's, which is closer to Flemming's, but I fail to see how this is a bad thing as long as the film itself is enjoyable and it works. Moore may be a bit farcical, but he's also a lot less dry and frankly I have problems with Connery's later resume because the character just isn't that interesting. He work's really well in Dr. No, but by the time you get to Thunderball or You Only Live Twice it's like he's stuck between being a serious spy and being a romanticized version of one and it feels weird. Moore at least goes straight for the romanticized image and it fits in better with the kind of gimmick's they have Bond do. If I want a serious spy done well I'd read John Le Carré.

I also try to treat Moor's interpretation of Bond as it's own separate series as the studio did want it to stand out from Connery's. This is also not a bad thing as multiple interpretations of a character can still work. TMNT is a fine example as the Comic, 1987 series, 2003 Series and 2012 series are all drastically different, but all work in their own ways. Adaptation does allow for creative freedom.

There's been strong argument for a long time that the Moore films should be remade properly, as they fly so far from Fleming's original novels that they would end up being different films altogether if they were done accurately.

Also, lovable as he may be, Roger Moore is an utterly appalling actor.

Well if you want to do that you may as well remake You Only Live Twice and Diamonds are Forever as they also wildly deviate from the source material. The only objection I have is that a lot of the novels themselves are quite boring and would not work as films. The Man With the Golden Gun in particular is not a great book.

fantastic interplay between Christopher Lee and Roger Moore.

Lee did brilliantly, and is really the only reason I enjoy Golden Gun, but his Anti-Bond should have appeared opposite Connery. Moore matches Lee well on genial terms but can't even approach his cold-blooded lethality, spoiling the concept of Bond the killer facing his doppleganger. When Moore admits he'd enjoy killing Scaramanga he's as benignly brown-voiced as ever, like a rather cross headmaster. It'd have been a blast to watch Lee and Connery in a murderface showdown across Brigitte Bardot at that table.

I frankly think Connery's Bond would have been too dry and serious to have made the showdown with Scaramanga work. Yes they're both killers, but it's the eccentricity of the two that makes the confrontation work, not their skill with the gun. Roger Moore's Bond has that somewhat insane over-the-top charm that matches with Scaramanaga's own showmanship (shooting the cork and calling the revolver a harmless toy) and makes the two feel equal on a different ground, while keeping a clear divide between the way they treat the business of killing. Bond's response when he states he'd enjoy killing Scaramanga is like a cross headmaster and that's specifically to show his disapproval of what Scaramanga does and his desire to end it.

For the curious, since this is a subject right for debate, I've been keeping a list of preference as I've been watching my Bond set. This is how I've been ranking them so far:

From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
Dr. No
Man With The Golden Gun
Live and Let Die
Diamonds Are Forever
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
You Only Live Twice
Thunderball

[BIL]

Yes they're both killers, but it's the eccentricity of the two that makes the confrontation work, not their skill with the gun.

That's the thing, though - both characters are professional killers (a pretty eccentric career path in itself) and yet:

Bond's response when he states he'd enjoy killing Scaramanga is like a cross headmaster and that's specifically to show his disapproval of what Scaramanga does and his desire to end it.

Moore can never come across as one, let alone one that'd take pleasure in a killing. Unlike Connery there's nothing intimidating beneath the playboy facade to match Lee's menace. It's not hired killer vs self-employed killer with any ambiguity involved, it's a superhero ("James Bond is here!" as the credits theme proclaims) taking down another nefarious baddie. It's appropriate enough for a fairly lightweight film, certainly. It just feels like Lee is swinging at air when he casts aspersions on Moore's bloody occupation, only for Moore to scold him like a vaguely irritated schoolmaster.

edit: I'm a Christopher Lee fanboy btw.

[trap15]

Hey guy! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*chainsaw*

FEED ME A STRAY CAT

[Mischief Maker]

What I really wanted was a remake of Walter Hill's The Driver with this new guy's cinematography and choice of music.

Well apparently "Taken 2" recycles some music from Drive, so maybe that movie's more up your alley!

[CMoon]

Bond died at the end of From Russia with Love, everything else is heretical

[gundamalpha]

Finally watched Batman Begins and I'm impressed Going to watch The Dark Knight this weekend.

Also watched PTU (Hong Kong) from Johnie To, a very different kind police movie where actual police tactics/skills come into play instead of blind gun shooting or solving cases.

Any other HK film lovers here?

[lilmanjs]

Finally watched Batman Begins and I'm impressed Going to watch The Dark Knight this weekend.

Also watched PTU (Hong Kong) from Johnie To, a very different kind police movie where actual police tactics/skills come into play instead of blind gun shooting or solving cases.

Any other HK film lovers here?

I doubt we are the only ones. Still wanna know why Flashpoint got 2 different dvd releases here in the states. PTU, I liked it. though the dragon dynasty trailer makes zero sense. anyone seen the other PTU movies?

[gundamalpha]

I only watched Flashpoint recently as well.. well most of my movie time has only started this year after 7 years of movie hiatus. I have the HK BD version of Flashpoint so I'm not sure what's the difference between the 2 US release. I must say SPL is a much better film, the spiritual sequel of Flashpoint despite released earlier.

Watched Tactical Unit: Comrades in Arms, definitely more "tactical" than PTU but can tell it has a much lower budget than the main movie. The Code was terrible though while the other 3 haven't watched.

[CDexWard]

Saw this one yesterday: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0824330/

Fun little 70s style european action movie. Even crossing over into nazisploitation occasionally. I like my movies trashy.

[system11]

I liked the Roger Moore Bond films, they were an interesting era and a couple of them were superb. Overall not as good as the Connery set of course, but having said that I think the best Bond was Timothy Dalton, so it's a crying shame that legal proceedings caused him not to appear in a third.

The weakest bond in my opinion was Pierce Brosnan, he just didn't come across well to me. Too smug & smooth.

[MX7]

Just watched American Psycho. Holy crap why didn't I see this earlier!? The character development is phenomenal and the atmosphere is ridiculously tense and awkward. So good.

I definitely recommend the book. It's notoriously harrowing at times, but by and large it can be read as a very dark comedy. If you enjoy that, then the rest of Bret Easton Ellis's output is equally amazing.

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After the very sad news of Koji Wakamatsu's death, I'm planning a mini-retrospective of his super low budget 1960's stuff. Can't wait to rewatch Go! Go, Second Time Virgin.

[njiska]

Watched The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker last night. Is it just me or the two movies in essence have the same plot? Rich billionaire wants to destroy the world and recreate it in his own image and uses Jaws to fight Bond.

The Spy Who Loves Me tried to play it more straight by introducing an emotional conflict subplot involving Bond killing the lover of the Russian he is paired up with, but it feels force, non-genuine and seems to be all but forgotten for 99% of the film. Pacing is also not great and the film seems to really drag.

Moonraker was better as far as pacing was concerned, but I just couldn't deal with the level of absurdity. The reference to Close Encounters was neat, but by the time it got to parodying Clint Eastwood I just couldn't take it anymore. Bond in space fighting with lasers feels like a bad attempt to cash in on Star Wars and not a genuinely good film. Still entertaining to some degree, but incredibly stupid.

[emphatic]

Just watched American Psycho. Holy crap why didn't I see this earlier!? The character development is phenomenal and the atmosphere is ridiculously tense and awkward. So good.

I definitely recommend the book. It's notoriously harrowing at times, but by and large it can be read as a very dark comedy. If you enjoy that, then the rest of Bret Easton Ellis's output is equally amazing.

The film really has everything really great in it IMHO, all the dark humor is adapted expertly. I saw Informers when it came out and it also came out great as a movie. The Rules Of Attraction is also a very good example of book->film. Ellis' work translates well I guess.

[Octopod]

The American Psycho film leaves out the all important habit trail scene from the book.

[EmperorIng]

Season of the Witch with Nic Cage and Ron Perlman.

This movie is really funny in that it is poorly-acted, paced, and scripted, with terrible-looking CGI (the spoiler: demons! are particularly hilarious, as are the wolves).

It pisses me off from an academic standpoint on how much it misreads and misinterprets the Middle Ages, but on the whole it's mildly fun to slog through to its utterly shit-tastic conclusion. Ron Perlman's and Cage's non-acting are the best parts. These guys put no effort into their roles throughout the entirety of the film. The same can be said for every character. How'd they get Christopher Lee to cameo???

It gets a rock-solid 4/10 from me.

[drauch]

Godzilla Vs Megalon - Wow. Probably sacrilege to some of the elite Kaiju fans, but man, out of the 20 Godzilla films I've seen, this may be my new favorite. 60s and 70s era Gojira really make me happy; they're so much fun. Light-hearted, lots of monster battles, and usually a pretty obscure human sub-plot. The dream team of Jet Jaguar and Godzilla makes me cherish friendship and loyalty more than ever--kinda like John Woo. I want to go give thumbs up to everyone I know and shake their hands after we kick someone's ass.

[rancor]

Godzilla Vs Megalon - Wow. Probably sacrilege to some of the elite Kaiju fans, but man, out of the 20 Godzilla films I've seen, this may be my new favorite.

You're a man after my own heart, drauch. That's my fav as well. It's just sooo campy. Whats the relationship between those two grown men and that young boy? Why do they live in a house full of toys? Doesn't the boy get tossed a few miles while tied up in the back of a box truck? How does he survive that? It's just so mind-blowingly absurd, and I love every minute of it. I have it on a VHS that I dubbed from our local indie channel in the mid 80s - complete with commercials! (Anyone in DFW remember "The Super 1's - Channel 11?") I haven't seen it in years, but it still sticks with me.

[Pyongyang]

Godzilla vs Megalon is my favourite Godzilla movie too. It has three things going for it that make it super epic.

1. The pedal boat that kid is on at the start of the movie. It's the (almost ) best thing I've ever seen in my entire life.

2. Jet Jaguar. I need say no more. He's brilliant, my favourite superhero.

3. It's more psychedelic than a Jean Michel Jarre concert.

I feel I need plead the case of this film any more. In fact, I'm left wondering why I don't own this film on some form of media format. Is there a Blu Ray available? Or perhaps an obscure Japanese Laserdisc? I'd love an LD of this movie with cool Jet Jaguar photos!