Movies you've just watched

[Acid King]

I've read the first six novels, with three more on my shelf, and they're enjoyable as pure pulp. Hammer's roots as a comic book character really show through in how broadly drawn the characters are and the dialogue. They're also pretty formulaic and are predictable after a couple of books, but they're enjoyable as long as you don't go in expecting literary masterpieces. He turns out some good phrases here and there, but it's pretty schlocky, like all good pulp and exploitation media. You can definitely see how Spillane set out a number of well worn tropes and how thoroughly his character template for Hammer has invaded various forms of media.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Recently checked out the 3D version of The Need For Speed movie. Apparently, if you watch the ending credits, the film was originally filmed in 2D and the digital 3D conversion was added in post-production by a 3rd-party company. Disney spent a paltry $63 million dollar budget for this NFS film, indeed, and distributed through it's Touchstone Pictures subsidairy. No CG was used and all the action high-speed scenes were done with stunt drivers and professional racers.

I wouldn't be surprised if a 3D Blu-Ray version of NFS appears at retail whenever that may be down the road.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BIL]

Armored Car Robbery

Fuck me, that title. I can't not watch now. Onto the list with Attack The Gas Station.

[Obiwanshinobi]

the setting change from New York to LA lowers the grime factor,

Well, isn't L.A. like the most generic noir land? I've known Raymond Chandler writings, but it's the Altman's take on The Long Goodbye that made me realise why The Big Lebowski had to take place around there.

[Acid King]

the setting change from New York to LA lowers the grime factor,

Well, isn't L.A. like the most generic noir land? I've known Raymond Chandler writings, but it's the Altman's take on The Long Goodbye that made me realise why The Big Lebowski had to take place around there.

I don't know about most generic, a lot of noir stories take place in nameless small towns and plenty of urban noir is set in New York. The topography and layout of LA and southern California fits certain styles of noir better than others. Stuff like Armored Car Robbery, the Postman always Rings Twice, the Big Caper, or Plunder Road use it well, but others like 99 River Street, Pickup on South Street, and the Dark Corner all all benefit from grimier atmosphere of New York. With all the changes they made to the plot and characters you could make the case that the change in setting is justified, but I would have preferred a darker setting.

[IrishNinja]

maaan...as a Cap fan, Winter Soldier was better than Avengers, for me. so good.
Strider-Soldier didn't hurt either.

[Lord Satori]

eXistenZ.

Interesting movie, but the core concept of the movie frightens me. The unsettling biological themes aren't much help, either.

[ExMars]

Just watched Hobo with a Shotgun. Pretty fun, it had a Mad Max feel going for it which I really liked.

[nasty_wolverine]

eXistenZ.

Interesting movie, but the core concept of the movie frightens me. The unsettling biological themes aren't much help, either.

my roomie didnt want to watch the movie because it had a video game theme, he thought it would be outright stupid. then inception came out and i told him that it wasnt the first movie that did the whole layers of reality thing and this movie did it before. so he did watch it, liked it even.

even now the last scene still gives me the kick (pun intended).

[Moniker]

Rocky 4 and Rambo 3. Sylvester Stallone was obviously the chief catalyst for the end of the Cold War.

edit: the main problem with eXistenZ was Jude Law affecting an American accent. Brits (or some subset thereof) have that prominent tongue thing going on with their speech. Just couldn't get past that bit of the illusion. Also, The Matrix did it better (sadly to say).

[CMoon]

Not to just repeat what is proven fact, but Road Warrior is still one of the best action films ever made, and very much because of editing. Sure, I'm drunk writing this, but truth is Road Warrior is a short movie even with a prologue and epilogue, and that every scene is just enough to carry a narrative (plus a lot of dark humor) says something sort of amazing for the genre. If cinema fucked itself after the early-90's it is because it didn't understand editing. I'm still stuck in Yojimbo land where that dude walks into town and deals out a wagonload of hurt cuz everyone is a fucking shit-head looser. You can add CG to that or some fucking drama backstory, but it only waters the basic idea down.

Road Warrior is so much better than every other movie because of what it doesn't do. Huge blue skies, understated violence, and one hell of an anti-hero. Verhoven flirted with greatness after this, but what next?...nothing.

[Skykid]

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Absolutely marvellous. Considering I've been put off Wes ever since the Royal Tenenbaums greatly offended me, I now concur with the sentiment I've been missing out.

The Grand Budapest is brilliantly directed, beautifully cast, wonderfully scripted, very funny, superbly photographed and decorated, and a genuinely excellent piece of film making.

Quaint and absorbing, it's a Bavarian adventure of unexpected wonderment, and I highly recommend it to people who appreciate film and acting.

Ralph Fiennes is superb - as was everyone, really - and the script was like music to the ears.

Oh, a script! My kingdom for a good script! The contrast was probably that much more profound since I had the unfortunate misfortune of watching Battleship on TV last night for forty-five minutes before I had to turn it off for fear of it searing through all the remaining braincells not yet destroyed by its shocking intellectual affront.

[Ed Oscuro]

Finished up Monster Squad, finally. I don't think that roughly splitting my watch into two parts hurt it; it's pretty good at setting the scene and tone, but for me the movie really starts when dad and son are on the roof, stealing a movie.

The soundtrack was great - well, once you got past that rap song. The main composer for the film (well, "orchestrator" for some reason), Mark McKenzie, gives it a familiar classic feeling - he did some extra work on Sleepy Hollow, did Van Helsing, and some extra work on Star Trek VI. Van Helsing's soundtrack I don't remember at all (despite having seen more recently than Sleepy Hollow and Star Trek VI) - but if that's his style in the closing credits music, it's pretty timeless, and I can see how he'd fit in to the other films mentioned here. Just great stuff - I actually rewound the film a few times just to listen to that closing music.

Your time is almost up...it's your last chance for pie. Meeting adjourned.

[boagman]

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Nuts. And I was hoping I could ask you to compare/contrast it with "Moonrise Kingdom", in which both my cousin and I were disappointed. Obviously, though, you haven't seen it, and so my question is moot.

[Skykid]

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Nuts. And I was hoping I could ask you to compare/contrast it with "Moonrise Kingdom", in which both my cousin and I were disappointed. Obviously, though, you haven't seen it, and so my question is moot.

Much to my disappointment, many people seem to think Grand is his best to date, which means I may have been missing out on less than I suspected.

[boagman]

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Nuts. And I was hoping I could ask you to compare/contrast it with "Moonrise Kingdom", in which both my cousin and I were disappointed. Obviously, though, you haven't seen it, and so my question is moot.

Much to my disappointment, many people seem to think Grand is his best to date, which means I may have been missing out on less than I suspected.

Well, if you haven't seen "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou", see it for the humor. At least I thought it was funny, and the Owen Wilson factor didn't kill it for me. Oh, and I love the music.

[chempop]

Caught the first two Berserk movies on hulu, enjoyed them greatly. Very fast moving as expected compared to the anime series. Unfortunately the music can't compare, and as a result many moments I was struck by in the series didn't have the same intensity. Looking forward to the 3rd, seems puck and the skeleton knight will be present.

[drauch]

Finished up Monster Squad

Seen Fred Dekker's other film (not Robocop 3, ugh), Night of the Creeps? One of my favorites since I was a wee lad, full of fun references, aliens, zombies, evil slugs, and Tom Atkins!

[Some-Mist]

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Nuts. And I was hoping I could ask you to compare/contrast it with "Moonrise Kingdom", in which both my cousin and I were disappointed. Obviously, though, you haven't seen it, and so my question is moot.

Much to my disappointment, many people seem to think Grand is his best to date, which means I may have been missing out on less than I suspected.

I wouldn't say Grand Budapest is his best - then again my favorites are the darjeeling limited and bottle rocket and not many people liked either of those.


----

watched Nymph()maniac parts 1 + 2 and not really sure if I liked it. it was graphic, the story was entertaining, and the ending sucked. I'm a pretty big Charlotte Gainsbourg fan, but not the biggest Von Trier fan (only saw Antichrist and Melancholia) pretty happy I watched it by myself as I probably would've felt uncomfortable watching it with someone else.

I still think michel gondry's l'ecume des jours is gonna be hard to top for 2013/2014. though I'm especially excited for inherent vice since reading it was a treat and surprisingly easy for a Pynchon :>

[emphatic]

my favorites are the darjeeling limited

My fave. Haven't seen the latest though.

[rapoon]

Well, if you haven't seen "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou", see it for the humor. At least I thought it was funny, and the Owen Wilson factor didn't kill it for me. Oh, and I love the music.

Mothersbaugh did not write the score for Budapest and it lacks the same 60's, 70's rock/glam rock soundtrack Bottlerocket, Rushmore, Zissou, Tenenbaums & Mr. Fox had. It's a good film (although I wouldn't shower it with the same accolades Skykid has, Ralph Fiennes is amazing) but I enjoyed Rushmore and Darjeeling far more.

[Some-Mist]

my favorites are the darjeeling limited

My fave. Haven't seen the latest though.

hell. yes. I think you're one of the first people I've come across who would also put darjeeling at the top.

not 100% sure why but I think the

Spoiler

look at these assholes..

scene in darjeeling is one of my absolute favorite Wes Anderson scenes.

but I enjoyed Rushmore and Darjeeling far more.

I love this forum

[Moniker]

then again my favorites are the darjeeling limited and bottle rocket and not many people liked either of those.

Ditto this. Fantastic Mr. Fox ranks pretty high, too.

[emphatic]

Fantastic Mr. Fox ranks pretty high, too.

Oh, cuss, yes.

[Ed Oscuro]

Finished up Monster Squad

Seen Fred Dekker's other film (not Robocop 3, ugh), Night of the Creeps? One of my favorites since I was a wee lad, full of fun references, aliens, zombies, evil slugs, and Tom Atkins!

Haha, nope, but it sounds great. It's called a horror film, but with the description of the opening acts on Wikipedia, surely it's also a horror-comedy?

[boagman]

Well, if you haven't seen "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou", see it for the humor. At least I thought it was funny, and the Owen Wilson factor didn't kill it for me. Oh, and I love the music.

Mothersbaugh did not write the score for Budapest and it lacks the same 60's, 70's rock/glam rock soundtrack Bottlerocket, Rushmore, Zissou, Tenenbaums & Mr. Fox had. It's a good film (although I wouldn't shower it with the same accolades Skykid has, Ralph Fiennes is amazing) but I enjoyed Rushmore and Darjeeling far more.

Good *call*. While I haven't seen Tenenbaums or Bottlerocket, the rest have absolutely awesome soundtracks and mostly are my faves from him, "Fox" being probably the best. I often forget "Fox" is one of Anderson's because it's not a live-action movie.

Now you've got me thinking that I need to watch the other two.

[rapoon]

Well, if you haven't seen "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou", see it for the humor. At least I thought it was funny, and the Owen Wilson factor didn't kill it for me. Oh, and I love the music.

Mothersbaugh did not write the score for Budapest and it lacks the same 60's, 70's rock/glam rock soundtrack Bottlerocket, Rushmore, Zissou, Tenenbaums & Mr. Fox had. It's a good film (although I wouldn't shower it with the same accolades Skykid has, Ralph Fiennes is amazing) but I enjoyed Rushmore and Darjeeling far more.

Good *call*. While I haven't seen Tenenbaums or Bottlerocket, the rest have absolutely awesome soundtracks and mostly are my faves from him, "Fox" being probably the best. I often forget "Fox" is one of Anderson's because it's not a live-action movie.

Now you've got me thinking that I need to watch the other two.

Tenenbaums soundtrack is incredible; it's up there w/ Rushmore. Bob Dylan, Nico, Nick Drake, Elliott Smith + Mothersbaugh gems.

[CMoon]

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Absolutely marvellous. Considering I've been put off Wes ever since the Royal Tenenbaums greatly offended me, I now concur with the sentiment I've been missing out.

In usual shmups fashion, this place is completely dead for days then *woosh* a whole page of Wes Anderson love-in. Can't see how Tenenbaums offended you. Top of my list is Life Aquatic and Fantastic Mr Fox, while darjeeling and bottle rockets are at the bottom (whatever that means). Given that almost all his films are vaguely the same with new setting and different characters, I've come to think that it depends on which film you discover first or has the most little things you connect with. Run into people who love Tenenbaums but hate Zissou. A good friend of mine says Rushmore is his Rushmore. Really hard to argue one is better than the other on any objective level. I just think Bill Murray makes a good talking badger.

So how is Budapest and why haven't I gone and seen it yet?

[Skykid]

I found Tenenbaums static and boring. The format was dull and I didn't like the plotlessness or pointlessness.

I'm unsure why everyone is barrelling in to talk about the movies with the soundtracks they dig the most. A good score is always a good thing, but not usually the top of my list when it comes to what defines a good movie.

Budapest has no 70's glam rock, but then it's a European, Prussian, Bavarian-eqsue caper that's as charming as it is amusing, and goes at a helluva pace in both development and dialogue. The music is absolutely suitable, and the casting and performances are nigh-on faultless, although I'll agree some manage to outshine others.

Although my only frame of reference is Tenenbaums, this one felt like a much more accomplished film.

[Ixmucane2]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

A standard save-the-world plot, with a mostly wasted political issue at its core: do you want freedom or order? The film's answer is KILL NAZI TRAITORS!

Few plot holes, but in important positions: bad handling of the Winter Soldier, implausible hacking and SHIELD internal security.

There's a significant problem with characters: Captain America and Nick Fury are involved as leading good guys at SHIELD, but others are quite arbitrary. Black Widow is only a colleague, Sam is a random acquiaintance who gets promoted to team member, Maria Hill is a boring friend of Nick Fury of doubtful importance, the Winter Soldier is related to Captain America but not to the plot, most villains are insignificant pawns.