Movies you've just watched

[soprano1]

"Jack Nicholson was amazingly demented, only surpassed in 1989 with the Joker's role."

Disagree. While I thought he was terrific in both roles, his role in "The Shining" was better than his turn as The Joker in "Batman". Both are great, but "The Shining" was his better performance.

OK.

[Obiwanshinobi]

UKM: The Ultimate Killing Machine anticipates Tunnel Rats, doesn't it? Canada involved in both.

[GaijinPunch]

After The Storm / [Umi Yori Mada Fukaku (Deeper Than the Sea)]

The one film in the Chicago Film Festival I actually got out and saw. Set in a suburb of Tokyo, the story follows a washed up and quite irresponsible novelist after the death of his father, divorce from his wife, and in the middle of the estrangement from his son. Soft-spoken, and well-paced. The grandmother is fantastic. Other than going with something a bit more obvious in the title, the translation was good.

I went with an old friend from Tokyo who said another film of his, Daremo Shiranai, was also worth seeing. She actually just assumed it was the same director.

[Ed Oscuro]

My assumption that Tarantino directed "The Man With the Iron Fists" was wrong, though he was involved in some ways. RZA directed, and I thought he did a pretty decent job.

Some of the characters didn't really pull it through for me - Silver Lion is an obvious choice, but I could see people having issues with other top billed performances here as well. Still, nitpicks totally miss the point. It basically accomplishes what it set out to do. The sequel, on the other hand, I haven't read much good about.

[soprano1]

Police Story II (1988)
Glad i watched it. Best comedy scene was the elevator fart, imo. Now to see the sequel to Drunken Master...

[soprano1]

Drunken Master II (1994)
Many funny scenes, last half hour was fucking intense. The kicks villain was fucking great, it seems he was Jackie's bodyguard at the time the movie was made. Which begs the question, why the fuck does Jackie Chan need a bodyguard? (In before he can't dodge bullets)

[Some-Mist]

middle man (2016) - another flick I saw at the chicago international film festival. read a negative review before seeing it so I set my expectations low which I was surprised by how much I liked it (other than the ending). first time chicago director ned crowley starring jim o'heir (parks and rec) about an accountant who lost his job and is now in pursuit of his life long dream of becoming a standup comedian. he isn't very talented and finds a manager that tricks him into committing murders which positively affects his comedy routine.

[soprano1]

King Kong (1933)
One of the most impressive movies ever, considering the time it was made. Now, is the 2005 remake worth a watch, or is it just a CG fest with lol Jack Black?

[lilmanjs]

Drunken Master II (1994)
Many funny scenes, last half hour was fucking intense. The kicks villain was fucking great, it seems he was Jackie's bodyguard at the time the movie was made. Which begs the question, why the fuck does Jackie Chan need a bodyguard? (In before he can't dodge bullets)

The original it was? My Hong Kong Rescue blu-ray edition arrives on Saturday. At least I hope it does! It uses the Japanese blu-ray as a source and goes from there. I think this is one of Jackie's best movies he's done.

[emphatic]

King Kong (1933)
One of the most impressive movies ever, considering the time it was made. Now, is the 2005 remake worth a watch, or is it just a CG fest with lol Jack Black?

The remake is worth watching if you're a fan of Peter Jackson, rather than a fan of King Kong. Jack Black is OK, but Naomi Watts is really great. It's very modern (duh).

[Skykid]

Jackson's King Kong is too long and occasionally runs away with itself, but for the most part it's great fun and ploughed with massive set piece antics. The CG is still genuinely impressive too.

[soprano1]

The Great Gatsby (2013)
I read the book earlier this year, didn't think much of it except as being a critique of the American 1920's high society decadence, or something like that.
As for the movie, i can only say i'm sad i didn't watch it in cinemas, the pan shots and the colours are superb, it's just a beautiful movie to watch. I can understand why Skykid says Leonardo DiCaprio's critics are wrong when saying he can't act: I didn't like him when he was every teen girl's fantasy, but he does a good job at doing what he's supposed to do.

[Zen]

The Great Gatsby (2013)
I read the book earlier this year, didn't think much of it except as being a critique of the American 1920's high society decadence, or something like that.

King Kong.
The Great Gatsby.
If "Anna and the King of Siam" is next, were in Freudian territory

[soprano1]

The Great Gatsby (2013)
I read the book earlier this year, didn't think much of it except as being a critique of the American 1920's high society decadence, or something like that.

King Kong.
The Great Gatsby.
If "Anna and the King of Siam" is next, were in Freudian territory

How so?

[Zen]

How so?

The common theme of the three and for me at least, the most powerful, is that beauty is only "skin deep". It can be mistaken for something more than it is. This is usually a fatal error.
"It was beauty killed the beast".

[soprano1]

How so?

The common theme of the three and for me at least, the most powerful, is that beauty is only "skin deep". It can be mistaken for something more than it is. This is usually a fatal error.
"It was beauty killed the beast".

Ha ha, i see.

[Vexorg]

Ghostbusters 2016: ***

Tried to go into this with no preconceived notions, and found it better than I expected, but not spectacular. In spite of all the bluster on the Internet there's nothing particularly political about the film itself and it was funny in places, but the bad guy was entirely forgettable, and the Chris Hemsworth character just felt like they were trying WAY too hard. The plot also felt really disconnected in places, and even without watching the extend edition there were a number of scenes that were basically filler. Not as terrible as half the Internet would have you believe, but not up to the level of the originals.

[Stevens]

Drunken Master II (1994)
Many funny scenes, last half hour was fucking intense. The kicks villain was fucking great, it seems he was Jackie's bodyguard at the time the movie was made. Which begs the question, why the fuck does Jackie Chan need a bodyguard? (In before he can't dodge bullets)

Chan's magnum opus. I would kill for a a version in Cantonese with English sub. French and Spanish? What the fuck Dreamworks?

They dropped the ball with that one.

Still slogging through a fair amount of horror with the Mrs.

Deathwatch is probably the biggest surprise as far as movies we haven't seen before.

Watched Dawn of the Dead (78) again for the first time in years. I usually have a hard time with 70's films, but Dawn has aged pretty well for the most part. The cast is small, the characters are well developed (particularly Peter), and while dated now Savini's special effects still look awesome.

Just ordered Dog Soldiers. I've seen it before, but it has been a while. It is on Youtube, but I get the feeling it will never be on any streaming service (that I pay for) so I picked up the DVD/BR combo since it was only 2$ more than the DVD. I'm not against free shit, but if I really like a movie, game, or artist I try and support. Looking forward to seeing it again.

Also on our watch again list is The Descent (same guy that did Dog Soldiers). Haven't seen that either since a few Octobers ago, but more recently than Dog Soldiers.

[Ixmucane2]

Unfair comparison week.

Stalker

In the near future (the near future of Soviet Union in the seventies) a "stalker", i.e. a guide, takes a Writer and a Professor to the heart of the Zone, where something happened (maybe an alien visit) about twenty years ago, and a room is said to make the wishes of the visitors real.

The science fiction plot, taken from a novel where it was the main point, is only an excuse for a meaningful quest, and the quest is an opportunity for rich symbolism and self-exploration. The pacing, the photography, the complete lack of wasted time and pointless detail are so extraordinary that nobody even tries to emulate Tarkovsky.

American Pastoral

Seymour "Swede" Levov is handsome, popular, wealthy, married to a beauty queen, but after Lyndon Johnson & co. turn his daughter into a fugitive terrorist with blood on her hands he breaks down.

Without knowing the novel, it might be accepted as a relatively well told story about how the Vietnam war can afflict New Jersey and how a happy man and his family can be crushed by tragedy. Good acting, historically faithful but obvious and unimaginative style, a not too flawed Hollywood product.

But as an adaptation it's horrible. Almost all of the action and dialogue is very faithful to the original, but everything lacks the original depth and meaning.

In the novel, Nathan Zuckerman the writer serves as a witness of the Swede's youth and as an external, coherent point of view (with the narrative roughly evenly split between his first-person recollections and conversations, and his clearly imaginary third-person version of the Swede's tragedy). Common wisdom would consider such a framing device the first thing to cut, but instead Zuckerman has significant screen time, with almost all of the departures from the novel's plot involving him, and he doesn't contribute anything. Even the magnificent school reunion speech is reduced to a brief fragment, out of context, that makes Zuckerman look like a useless intellectual.

More substantial omissions and degradations include Jews and religion (neglecting the Swede's family, Merry's conflicting education, being out of place in rural Old Rimrock), gloves (not a symbol of order and personal skill and achievement, but a random byproduct of a successful business), and the epic party in which the Swede hits the bottom (discovering his wife's affair is not a warm-up for the more important realizations that follow, but the sudden end of the scene).

[BIL]

Just ordered Dog Soldiers. I've seen it before, but it has been a while. It is on Youtube, but I get the feeling it will never be on any streaming service (that I pay for) so I picked up the DVD/BR combo since it was only 2$ more than the DVD. I'm not against free shit, but if I really like a movie, game, or artist I try and support. Looking forward to seeing it again.

I remember disliking it at the initial DVD release, expecting something a bit more stone-faced ala Predator (didn't help that the cover blurb namedropped exactly that movie). Had a blast with it and a couple beers more recently, though. Bunch of squaddies in intense werewolf terror that's not quite horror-comedy, but certainly doesn't take itself overly seriously. Sean Pertwee a good grounding presence as usual.

"I'm in the khazi! I'm in the khaziii!"

[GaijinPunch]

Drunken Master II (1994)
Many funny scenes, last half hour was fucking intense. The kicks villain was fucking great, it seems he was Jackie's bodyguard at the time the movie was made. Which begs the question, why the fuck does Jackie Chan need a bodyguard? (In before he can't dodge bullets)

Chan's magnum opus. I would kill for a a version in Cantonese with English sub. French and Spanish? What the fuck Dreamworks?[/quote


For reals? I saw this fan-subtitled (Like, proper English) like 20 years ago. It was on Super-VHS, but still...

[Stevens]

For reals? I saw this fan-subtitled (Like, proper English) like 20 years ago. It was on Super-VHS, but still...

For reals. Though I should have specified DVD.

Also, if I may, where did you live at the time?

[lilmanjs]

Drunken Master II (1994)
Many funny scenes, last half hour was fucking intense. The kicks villain was fucking great, it seems he was Jackie's bodyguard at the time the movie was made. Which begs the question, why the fuck does Jackie Chan need a bodyguard? (In before he can't dodge bullets)

Chan's magnum opus. I would kill for a a version in Cantonese with English sub. French and Spanish? What the fuck Dreamworks?[/quote


For reals? I saw this fan-subtitled (Like, proper English) like 20 years ago. It was on Super-VHS, but still...

I just came here to post about my watching of this same movie last night. Find Hong Kong Rescue on facebook, and there's a post on the page that has links to buy their custom releases. Amazing quality and I couldn't even tell the opening titles had to be done nearly from scratch. As far as action, action, action, this is his best, but man, Hong Kong Rescue did a great job, and you get a high quality transfer on the special features disc of the Mei Ah Gold laserdisc. I watched of course the uncut version, but they include the Japanese release/Asia Warner release, and the Legend of Drunk Master version as well. Tons of special features on and its all on 2 50gb BD-Rs.

[Opus131]

(In before he can't dodge bullets)

Neither can any body guard, but NOT dodging bullets is precisely what they get paid for.

BTW, didn't Van Damme get his ass beaten by his own body guard once? A lot of those martial art action stars probably aren't as tough as they look.

And speaking of Chan, i'm just going to take this opportunity to honor Yuen Baio, one of his most talented collaborators:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFtr4ckzb4U

[emphatic]

Find Hong Kong Rescue on facebook, and there's a post on the page that has links to buy their custom releases.

Getting the digital copy now, thanks a lot!

[xxx1993]

Saw Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. The first one was like Dirty Harry, but this one is more like Jason Bourne. Although the movie was kind of like Jason Bourne all over again, one that I didn't expect. The other thing I didn't expect from this movie was that it took place on Halloween. The first movie was released around Christmas and that one didn't take place during Christmas. But this one was released around Halloween, and this movie ended up taking place on Halloween.

[neorichieb1971]

Watched both HKR's Drunken Master and Drunken Master 2 in the past month and whilst I cannot compare to the official releases I was pleasantly surprised.

The subtitles are excellent on both and especially on Drunken Master 2 which I watched years ago, I remember during the women gambling session the subtitles were long and too fast. They are now easier and slower to read.


The guy uses Criterion cases for his Blu ray releases. It took approximately 2 weeks for them to arrive. I found him on Facebook and just got chatting with him.

For the record, he uses assets from the best release of video and audio and muxes them together. I believe the Japanese releases are sometimes the best without English subs, so he just goes in puts them in for you. Its all very good stuff.

[Stevens]

Hong Kong Rescue

You are both a gentleman and a scholar.

[GaijinPunch]

How do you order from HKR?

[Obiwanshinobi]

Light and the Sufferer - about sphinx-like entities following troubled people on the Manhattan Island. Very "budget" urban film, cinematography by Lana Bernberg (her feature debut as it seems) - remarkably decent. Off-screen first-person narration - mostly sufferable, except for the truly melodramatic ending where it's as horrible as usually in the movies (think A Clockwork Orange).

The film was a typical cheap DVD random find, but I seem to recall reading its English title somewhere before (just the title, nothing else).

Feline CG animation not as good as "the world's first robot libre" of the 2011 film Eva, but we're talking at least a generation's worth of technological difference here (Light and the Sufferer still fares better in this regard than most CG this complex put in live-action films before it).