Movies you've just watched

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Here's an interesting tidbit relating to the new Need For Speed film out today in the USA:

In the September 2013 issue of Sunset magazine, on page 67, there's a little article that tells about the NFS filming crew -- here it is in it's entirety...

Voices of Highway 1 - Mendocino Coast - Mandi Dillin - Film Location Manager

"Highway 1 along the Mendocino Coast is so serpentine and on such precarious cliffs over the (Pacific) ocean, it lends itself to being filmed. That's why we chose it for Need for Speed. The movie is set to come out in the spring of 2014 (well actually, today on 3-14-2014). It's about a young man -- Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad -- released from prison and out to get revenge on the bad guys. He enters a cross-country car race (reminds me of the real-life 'Gumball Rally' race hosted stateside, indeed). On filming day, I got there before dawn. We had a safety meeting, we made sure everything was copacetic. We were going to be racing cars, having cars flip over, filming them from the ground and from a low-flying helicopter. We used a 2-mile stretch of highway, so the cars drove back and forth again and again. They're pretty sexy cars, though. We did eight full hours of filming. It may be five minutes of the movie (in itself). A lot of times working on location, you're too busy to appreciate where you are. But on Highway 1, even on shooting day, everybody talked about how beautiful it was."

End of article.....

If you watch the earlier racing flick of Shaker Run circa 1985 with actor Cliff Robertson (he uses a heavily modified Trans-Am to outrun the bad guys chasing him), the ending of that particular flim is the same one with the new NFS flick as well...how original, eh? I used to watch bits 'n' pieces of Shaker Run with it's interesting high-speed car chase scenes from time to time on Direct TV in years past but could never find out what the movie title of it was called but did know that actor Cliff Robertson got top billing for it. A bit of google searching and presto, it lead me to find the "Shaker Run" movie title at last. Dang!

Apparently, the NFS movie clocks in at a whopping 140 minutes in length...so yes, you'll get your $$ worth.

Another cool high-speed car racing flick by the name of "King of the Mountain" comes to mind along with the 2013 version of "The Getaway" with a Shelby Super Snake as the main attraction.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[DEL]

Thanks for the Shaker Run recommendation PC Engine Fan X!
A rare title indeed. 1 copy left on UK Amazon at £31.98, plus I can't find it to view anywhere.
I like a good muscle car movie. Two Lane Blacktop, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry and Vanishing Point are others to see.
So Shaker Run has Lisa Harrow from the Omen 3....

[eatdogs]

Here's an interesting tidbit relating to the new Need For Speed film out today in the USA:

In the September 2013 issue of Sunset magazine, on page 67, there's a little article that tells about the NFS filming crew -- here it is in it's entirety...

Voices of Highway 1 - Mendocino Coast - Mandi Dillin - Film Location Manager

"Highway 1 along the Mendocino Coast is so serpentine and on such precarious cliffs over the (Pacific) ocean, it lends itself to being filmed. That's why we chose it for Need for Speed. The movie is set to come out in the spring of 2014 (well actually, today on 3-14-2014). It's about a young man -- Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad -- released from prison and out to get revenge on the bad guys. He enters a cross-country car race (reminds me of the real-life 'Gumball Rally' race hosted stateside, indeed). On filming day, I got there before dawn. We had a safety meeting, we made sure everything was copacetic. We were going to be racing cars, having cars flip over, filming them from the ground and from a low-flying helicopter. We used a 2-mile stretch of highway, so the cars drove back and forth again and again. They're pretty sexy cars, though. We did eight full hours of filming. It may be five minutes of the movie (in itself). A lot of times working on location, you're too busy to appreciate where you are. But on Highway 1, even on shooting day, everybody talked about how beautiful it was."

End of article.....

If you watch the earlier racing flick of Shaker Run circa 1985 with actor Cliff Robertson (he uses a heavily modified Trans-Am to outrun the bad guys chasing him), the ending of that particular flim is the same one with the new NFS flick as well...how original, eh? I used to watch bits 'n' pieces of Shaker Run with it's interesting high-speed car chase scenes from time to time on Direct TV in years past but could never find out what the movie title of it was called but did know that actor Cliff Robertson got top billing for it. A bit of google searching and presto, it lead me to find the "Shaker Run" movie title at last. Dang!

Apparently, the NFS movie clocks in at a whopping 140 minutes in length...so yes, you'll get your $$ worth.

Another cool high-speed car racing flick by the name of "King of the Mountain" comes to mind along with the 2013 version of "The Getaway" with a Shelby Super Snake as the main attraction.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I remember the film Ronin having some awesome car chases.

[Moniker]

A Fish Called Wanda (Netflix)

Not my first viewing, but this movie is seriously awesome. Jamie Lee Curtis is impossibly sexy, and Kevin Kline is beyond (good and evil) hilarious. I think I'd nominate Otto as one of the greatest comic characters, like ever.

I remember the film Ronin having some awesome car chases.

I was kind of blah on the car chases in Ronin since there was no damage or consequences whatsoever to driving a very crowded wrong lane. The French Connection remains the best mostly because Gene Hackman's car was basically shitcanned by the end of the sequence. I don't see why filmmakers don't get that. Well, maybe Tarantino did in Death Proof, since there was some serious attrition. Also: the opening sequence in Drive, although for different reasons.

Same reason that Eastern Promises's fight scene is the best ever. Viggo turned around what should've been a one-sided fight, but was ridiculously maimed in the process.

[boagman]

A Fish Called Wanda (Netflix)

Not my first viewing, but this movie is seriously awesome. Jamie Lee Curtis is impossibly sexy, and Kevin Kline is beyond (good and evil) hilarious. I think I'd nominate Otto as one of the greatest comic characters, like ever.

"Re-venge!"

That movie is an all-time classic, for certain. Everybody threw everything they had into the production, and it came through gloriously.

I just rewatched "Clerks" again last night. For as morally awful as it is, it's still one of the most hilarious movies I've ever seen, bar none. If I haven't seen it in a while, I can guarantee that I'll be guffawing my way through at least 2-3 scenes, if not more. It amazes me that the same person (my brother) who recommended "Clerks" to me and guaranteed I'd like it, also said the exact same thing to me about "The Whole Nine Yards". Couldn't have been more opposite in both quality and reaction.

[boagman]

I remember the film Ronin having some awesome car chases.

I was kind of blah on the car chases in Ronin since there was no damage or consequences whatsoever to driving a very crowded wrong lane. The French Connection remains the best mostly because Gene Hackman's car was basically shitcanned by the end of the sequence. I don't see why filmmakers don't get that. Well, maybe Tarantino did in Death Proof, since there was some serious attrition. Also: the opening sequence in Drive, although for different reasons.

Same reason that Eastern Promises's fight scene is the best ever. Viggo turned around what should've been a one-sided fight, but was ridiculously maimed in the process.

I think that one of the reasons I so love the car chases in "Ronin" is because of the camera work, not necessarily because of the "realistic/non-realistic damage quotient". The camera in those scenes really captures some serious close-quarters driving with terrific perspective, and I like the ever-increasing difficulty of the final one. I'm definitely not "blah" on the ones in "Ronin".

[emphatic]

Veronica Mars - 4/5.

Not quite as good as seasons 1-2, but it's so much fun seeing the whole gang again, 9 years later.

[Ixmucane2]

47 Ronin (Keanu Reeves)

The traditional (and presumably factual) Japanese story of the 47 ronin is simple: lord Asano, ruler of Akō, assaults lord Kira and makes amends with seppuku, Asano's samurai are disbanded, and some time later about 47 of these ronin assault lord Kira's residence and kill him to revenge their master, even if it means being charged of murder. They carry Kira's head back to Akō and consign themelves; one is pardoned, the others resort to seppuku.

The best thing that can be said about this film is that it conforms to this skeleton; the problem is how.
Marginally ambitious authors would explore the moral and existential issues (what is honour? Are you ready to die? For what?), more entertainment-minded productions would show thrilling and heroic combat, many would portray the life of feudal Japan in historically accurate or genre-accurate ways, any writer would make good use of at least 49 interesting characters.

Instead, what does this film fleshes out the story of the 47 ronin with?

• Monsters from Japanese folklore. Nobody is particularly troubled by them, though.
• A guy with superpowers. To add insult to injury, he's reluctant to show his true strength, presumably afraid of disintegrating the whole plot.
• Sorcery, because what self-respecting nobleman or samurai would solve his problems with mundane violence and subterfuge?
• Magical weapons, acquired wholesale.
• Surprisingly close parallels with The Lord of the Rings, particularly the films. For example, a relative of the cave trolls of Moria makes a sudden appearance.
• Lord Kira as a complete villain, with a perpetual evil grin. Maybe he wouldn't deserve to die as a mere courtier?
• For extra villainness, lord Kira's mansion is high in the mountains, in a land of perpetual winter, even more menacing than the prison in Kung Fu Panda 2.
• A princess! Save her from marriage with lord Kira, because revenge isn't enough!
• Keanu Reeves as a half european and wholly submissive protagonist. Everybody except the princess hates him, but he seems OK with that.
• A vague, doomed and "platonic" love story between the above, because nice girls like total pushovers. Special offer: only for you, a kiss before dying!
• Ambivalent references to Buddhism.

As can be guessed from the list, the film makes as little sense as possible; it loves to accumulate completely inappropriate fantasy clichés in order to neglect the actual story.
Maybe someone wanted to make a samurai film, someone wanted to make a Japan-themed fantasy film, they decided to unite their efforts, and the result combines the worst of both genres.
Added characters and subplots that depart from the core revenge plot are particularly weak, often completely illogical.

Acting: Keanu Reeves seems stuck in previous characters, particularly Neo. The rest of the cast consists of Japanese actors that look right.
Costumes and scenery: high quality, but fairly strange.
Special effects: mainly the mentioned monsters and sorcery, too irritating to be enjoyable.
Combat scenes: decent, but not particularly heroic given the presence of monsters and/or the mediocrity of Kira's mooks.

[GaijinPunch]

Jamie Lee Curtis is impossibly sexy.

I never really saw her in anything until much later in life b/c my mom wouldn't allow it. I'm sure she'd have been a welcome addition to my age 13 spank bank, but due to R-ratings, Olivia Newton John in Last Number of Grease outfit was generally at the top. Laura Brannigan (RIP) was up there too.

Fun Fact: Randomly heard two Laura Brannigan tunes in one day last week.

You're the One That I want.
If you wouldn't hit that, you need your head examined. Leaving the floor open to all kinds of Travolta jokes.

[lilmanjs]

Hotel Hibicus.
A nice Japanese movie that is slow, and out in a small town about a family that runs a Hotel that happens to have only a single room. The youngest happens upon a man who gets sunstroke and pretty much becomes the guest in the hotel. The other part of this movie is strange though. They never really much mention how the mother at one time slept with just about anybody seeing as how she's got children from all walks of people(black man/japanese kid for the oldest child). Still a good movie that is broken up into sections.
Next up is the first 2 Mike Hama Private Investigator Trilogy movies. Worth checking out or not?

[rapoon]

A Fish Called Wanda (Netflix)

Not my first viewing, but this movie is seriously awesome. Jamie Lee Curtis is impossibly sexy, and Kevin Kline is beyond (good and evil) hilarious. I think I'd nominate Otto as one of the greatest comic characters, like ever.

awesome movie. the back and forth between Otto (Harvey Manfrenjensenden) & Archie's wife is hilarious. One of the greatest comic characters, I couldn't agree more.

[Skykid]

Captain America 2


Just wandered into this based on strangely high reviews. Eh, it was okay. I enjoyed it more than Iron Man, which is unusually overrated.

Didn't see the first, so not sure how they got him from WW2 Nazi killing to present day, but there was some nonsense about deep freeze. Liked Evans, loved Johannsen. She's not as young as her Match Point days but still has an ass good enough to eat and all that sex appeal.

Surprise casting with Robert Redford and Jenny Agutter - real classics. Plot wise it's absurd and total nonsense, but the pacing is decent and the action pretty well formed.

Would recommend if you have nothing better to do.

[Vexorg]

Anchorman 2 *

Apparently there's no middle ground on this one. You either think this is one of the funniest movies you've ever seen, or you absolutely can't stand it. My GF seems to fall into the first category, while I'm in the second one. Combine a bunch of characters you despise immediately with a script that seems to confuse being a chauvinistic idiot with being funny, and I was ready to turn this off less than 45 minutes in. I thought this one one was walk-out-of-the-theater bad, and there aren't a whole lot of movies I'd say that about (although most of them I'll just avoid in the first place.)

Your mileage may vary, of course.

[GaijinPunch]

The Thing (1982)

Definitely not my first viewing (probably 3rd this year actually) but I got the delight of showing it to two friends (who are by no means film idiots) that had some how missed this one over the years. The viewing went over well. When one was slightly surprised at the abrupt ending, her better half gave a pretty interesting take on it that I had never heard. "That's the only ending it could have had...".

Anyway, brilliant as always. Gets better every time.

[spadgy]

Swedish movie Together (AKA Tillsammans) about collective/communal living and it's differences and parallels with more typical societal cohabitations.

Amazing that, considering it was released in 2001, it appears to be shot in the 70s. That side of things, from the way it's lit and filmed to the sets and costumes, was brilliant.

Great film in general, and at its best when the scenes about friends and family and their relationships (99% of the content) felt a touch Harold Pinter.

[Xyga]

The Thing (1982)
...
Anyway, brilliant as always. Gets better every time.

+1
No cgi will match those stop-motion abominations, ever.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

The Thing (1982)
...
Anyway, brilliant as always. Gets better every time.

+1
No cgi will match those stop-motion abominations, ever.

+2

I showed The Thing to a good friend recently, we made the mistake of allowing our girlfriends to be there too. They were both in full vapid-bint mode throughout. One wished there was a cool female scientist along with them. The other said the monster looked like something a child would draw. They made sure to tell me that Ebert didn't like it too. Oh god, I was mad. I think they were doing it on purpose.

Harbinger Down can be considered the official apology for The Thing 2011 (which wasn't that bad second time around) can't wait to see how it'll turn out. It's a Kickstarter movie so I'm not sure what kind of release it'll get.

[null1024]

Noah..
didn't know what to expect, I want my money back though

Didn't see the first, so not sure how they got him from WW2 Nazi killing to present day, but there was some nonsense about deep freeze.

That's exactly how they got him there.
As long as it's better than the first Captain America movie, which was so eh it hurt, I'll be happy.

[GaijinPunch]

I showed The Thing to a good friend recently, we made the mistake of allowing our girlfriends to be there too. They were both in full vapid-bint mode throughout. One wished there was a cool female scientist along with them. The other said the monster looked like something a child would draw. They made sure to tell me that Ebert didn't like it too. Oh god, I was mad. I think they were doing it on purpose.

I hope nobody gave them any dick that night. I wouldn't have, but my GF enjoyed the film. She was rewarded accordingly.

Harbinger Down can be considered the official apology for The Thing 2011 (which wasn't that bad second time around) can't wait to see how it'll turn out. It's a Kickstarter movie so I'm not sure what kind of release it'll get.

We actually loaded up The Thing 2011 on some dodgy streaming site for shits and giggles just to see. From what I could tell it was the same story with absolutely zero tension and a lot of Hollywood cliche'.

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

Anchorman 2 *

Apparently there's no middle ground on this one. You either think this is one of the funniest movies you've ever seen, or you absolutely can't stand it. My GF seems to fall into the first category, while I'm in the second one. Combine a bunch of characters you despise immediately with a script that seems to confuse being a chauvinistic idiot with being funny, and I was ready to turn this off less than 45 minutes in. I thought this one one was walk-out-of-the-theater bad, and there aren't a whole lot of movies I'd say that about (although most of them I'll just avoid in the first place.)

Your mileage may vary, of course.

I've never understood why Anchorman is hailed as some sort of comedy classic. It has it's moments but it seems as though people enjoy the adulation of it more than the actual film itself. As a comedy it's not particularly witty or hilarious and is mostly just a bit silly. Could be that i'm a bit pretentious though, to me comedy is a serious business.

[CMoon]

We actually loaded up The Thing 2011 on some dodgy streaming site for shits and giggles just to see. From what I could tell it was the same story with absolutely zero tension and a lot of Hollywood cliche'.

Yup! I tried in every way to like this film. I mean, it was clearly a labor of love, not a cash-in, but that wasn't enough. It just fell flat. Can't see any reason to watch it again.

Harbinger Down can be considered the official apology for The Thing 2011 (which wasn't that bad second time around) can't wait to see how it'll turn out. It's a Kickstarter movie so I'm not sure what kind of release it'll get.

Oh thank god!

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

The Protector has almost no redeeming features whatsoever (maybe just the presence of Moon Lee’s luscious lips and the odd bit of gratuitous nudity), and I’m disappointed in myself for actually paying $13 for this crap.

You might consider getting the Hongkong version of this film. Chan filmed new action sequences for it (and recut the film? not sure), and while the film as such is still shite, it at least has that Chan charme in some places.

[lilmanjs]

The Most Terrible Time In My Life.
Long title for a movie, but one that really fits. I quite enjoyed the shooting style and really did feel like one of the many 60s gang flicks. Though the main dude is quite stupid for taking money to find somebody when he should already clearly know by that point he is being set up. Still, the choice of car, and the way he always has to leave the place is quite amusing to see. A nice movie that I liked. Shame not many movies are in black and white anymore.

[dan76]

King Kong - 1976 version. This is great, not as good as the original, but way better than the cgi turd that Jackson spat out. Charles Grodin makes it, as does Rick Baker in that suit, and the John Barry score... and Bridges with long hair.

[Acid King]

Armored Car Robbery - A nice, tight B-grade noir. It's as straightforward as it gets, just look at the title, and very well done.

Crime in the Streets - An awesome opening sequence followed by a mediocre drama. By the end of the opening credits I was stoked for some old school gang brawls, but what followed was a story about a social worker trying to lure a couple of kids away from a life of crime and notable only for featuring Sal Mineo and John Cassavetes. The opening is definitely worth a look though.

Kiss Me, Deadly - Another noir classic that rubs me the wrong way because its changes to the source material. Mike Hammer is changed from a moralizing, tough as nails vigilante to a sleazy divorce PI, the setting change from New York to LA lowers the grime factor, and the changes to the plot to emphasize cold war paranoia and the mystery of the package make some of the characters actions questionable. Enjoyable, well shot, and the treatment of the box reminded me of classic Outer Limits, but I would have preferred a more straightforward adaptation.

Prisoners - A decent, if long winded, thriller. I don't think I'll ever go back to it, but it kept my attention well enough.

The Most Terrible Time In My Life.
Long title for a movie, but one that really fits. I quite enjoyed the shooting style and really did feel like one of the many 60s gang flicks. Though the main dude is quite stupid for taking money to find somebody when he should already clearly know by that point he is being set up. Still, the choice of car, and the way he always has to leave the place is quite amusing to see. A nice movie that I liked. Shame not many movies are in black and white anymore.

I thought that whole trilogy was pretty good, but I think that was my favorite of the bunch.

[drauch]

Maiku and Mike Hammer on one page! Glad you guys brought that up. Saw the first film years ago and kinda just forgot it was a trilogy. Looks like they're still in print and cheap, so I'll have to pick those up soon if I can.

Acid King, have you seen any of the Stacy Keach Hammer stuff? I've still yet to read any of the source material myself, but was curious how those films stack up to the stories.

[Acid King]

Unfortunately, I haven't. I have the TV movies from the early 80's in my Netflix queue but I haven't gotten to them yet. I've heard the tone is a bit different from the novels, but I can't say for sure. I know that My Gun is Quick made changes to the plot, switching from white slavery to some Nazi jewel nonsense, but atleast the character was somewhat accurate. Some of the other adaptations aren't readily available so I haven't had the chance to see them, but I know the first adaptation of I, the Jury is supposed to be pretty close to the book. I've been meaning to check out the remake of that released in 1984 that starred Armond Assante, which Amazon has for download for like 6 bucks. They made changes to the plot from the book, but it's the only R-rated version of the character to exist and I can see Assante being kinda perfect for the part. Plus, the script was written by Larry fucking Cohen and is supposedly filled with gore and tits so I can see it being pretty bad ass. Hammer is such an over-the-top character I could see it being the most true to the character even if the plot is ridiculous.

On a side note, since I saw the Most Terrible Time trilogy before I read Spillane's novels I didn't make the connection but... Maiku Hama? Fucking genius.

[drauch]

Whoa, holy shit; I had no idea Cohen wrote one of those. I'll be tracking that down as well! Probably won't ever get a DVD release, but I could see it getting an eventual release as one of those made-to-order DVD-Rs that have been coming out lately.

[DEL]

13 Sins - Nice movie. Has similarities with The Game and The Manchurian Candidate. A guy receives a phone call and is offered 6mil for completing 13 increasingly nasty tasks. The opening scene sums up American companies, at least for me, I worked for one recently.

[CMoon]

Goddamn I've had some Mike Hammer books sitting on my shelf for years. Need to get around to reading them.