I just finished the old Flash Gordon serial yesterday, and I've been watching Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars.
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
I also watched About A Boy saturday night. I never tire of it and love the contrast between Will and Marcus's thoughts.
I rarely watch films and especially not on telly but did saturday. Though I used Sky + and made sure I didn't start til about 20 minutes after the original broadcast's starting time, so that I could fast forward through the comercials
BTW, forgot to mention that the young, long limbed, romantically vulnerable fellow in Local Hero, was none of than a young Peter Capaldi, who went on to be the foul mouthed spin doctor in The Thick Of It.
Jean Claude Van Damme comes undone in this clever, but rather underwhelming deconstruction of his screen persona. It's worth a look, but nowhere near as much fun as the trailer, which has him crashing a screentest and pleading to be give the lead role in this film.
Early Coen Brothers movie set in the late 30s, in which the eponymous up-and-coming playwrite is tempted by a fat fee to move to Hollywood and write for the movies, he checks into a pretty rough and eerie motel so he can keep in touch with the common man, but gets writer's block.
The first hour lost me, I kept pausing it. It's the usual clever, stylistic Coen Brothers thing where it's all so quirky and amusing but you don't identify or relate to the main guy, he seems a jerk. I mean, Hoffman played a jerk or nerd in The Graduate, but made him charismatic and funny, you warmed to be him. That said, nerds aren't usually appealing so maybe this is the better more accurate portrayal.
Vivid satuated colour made this visually memorable.
Early Coen Brothers movie set in the late 30s, in which the eponymous up-and-coming playwrite is tempted by a fat fee to move to Hollywood and write for the movies, he checks into a pretty rough and eerie motel so he can keep in touch with the common man, but gets writer's block.
The first hour lost me, I kept pausing it. It's the usual clever, stylistic Coen Brothers thing where it's all so quirky and amusing but you don't identify or relate to the main guy, he seems a jerk. I mean, Hoffman played a jerk or nerd in The Graduate, but made him charismatic and funny, you warmed to him. That said, nerds aren't usually appealing so maybe this is the better more accurate portrayal.
Vivid satuated colour made this visually memorable.
Yeah, that movie looks amazing. Roger Deakins is one of the all time great cinematographers in my opinion. B-)
Yeah, that movie looks amazing. Roger Deakins is one of the all time great cinematographers in my opinion. B-)
{[] I comnpletely agree. Fargo, Kundun, The Man Who Wasn't There, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford are all gorgeous. He is a truly magnificent artist.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
Nic Csge sci-fi thriller that is one of the most entertaining films I have seen in a long time. Now I am not a big fan of CGI, but their are two scenes in this movie that are so realistic it is unbelievable. The plot hooks you early on and doesn't let go. The performances are very good, Nic Cage as the obsessed astro-physics professor trying to solve the mysterious numbers, and almost Bond girl Rose Byrne as the daughter of a woman who may have been able to see the future are stellar. I am not a big fan of sci-fi, but I loved this film, as did everyone at the very crowded cinema as some folks broke in to applause at the end.
Duplicity starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. Two spies leave their government jobs and join the corporate world in an effort to pull of one big score. The film opens with a fight scene that I really loved. Owen and Roberts have good chemistry and it was an enjoyable film, 3 out of 5 stars. I left the movie thinking that Clive Owen would make a great Bond.
"A blunt instrument wielded by a Government department. Hard, ruthless, sardonic, fatalistic. He likes gambling, golf, fast motor cars. All his movements are relaxed and economical". Ian Fleming
Nerve-jangling war movie about a team of bomb disposal experts in Iraq. It's Kathryn BIgelow's best film in years. Guy Pearce makes an explosive cameo as the team's leader, whose replacement (the brilliant Jeremy Renner) likes to live close to the edge. This is tense stuff and Bigelow will fray your nerves with some of the bomb defusing sequences. Ralph Fiennes makes a brief appearance as a mercenary and starts shooting at people. Wish he'd done that in The Duchess.
Ralph Fiennes makes a brief appearance as a mercenary and starts shooting at people. Wish he'd done that in The Duchess.
I liked The Duchess. ;%
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
Ugly remake of Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring from Wes Craven. A group of escaped criminals kill two teenagers, then are murdered in turn by the parents of one of the girl's.
Ugly remake of Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring from Wes Craven. A group of escaped criminals kill two teenagers, then are murdered in turn by the parents of one of the girl's.
Is that the one directed by Craven in the early 1970s or the new remake (of the remake)?
Ugly remake of Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring from Wes Craven. A group of escaped criminals kill two teenagers, then are murdered in turn by the parents of one of the girl's.
Is that the one directed by Craven in the early 1970s or the new remake (of the remake)?
The old one. Very 70's. Lots of brown colours. Very unpleasant too. I wanted to see it before the new one came out. Now I think I might just leave the new one alone.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
edited March 2009
"Mutiny On The Bounty"
The 1962 version, starring Marlon Brando as Fletcher Christian and Trevor Howard as William Bligh. Quite a different beast than the 1935 film with Clark Gable and Charles Laughton in those respective roles, this one sets out, rather self-consciously it seems, to be an epic...but it's not surprising that it lost the Oscar race that year to Lawrence of Arabia, that epic to end all epics.
Still, I enjoyed this film for several reasons, not the least of which was the ship itself, which lends an aura of nautical authenticity to the proceedings. The cinematography is lush and beautiful; Tahiti never looked so good (particularly later on, when a binging, corpulent Brando occasionally lolled there in his declining years ). Brando's performance, in the first act, is gratingly affected in its flaky, over-the-top reading of Christian as an effete aristocrat who has no place in the King's Navy. Thankfully, Brando gives the character sufficient layering to make him an interesting figure by film's end. My favourite moment was when Bligh reluctantly orders Christian to make love to the lovely daughter of the Tahitian king...and Brando hesitates...asking if the order can be entered into the ship's log ) ) )
The story is the story, so to speak---the tale of the Bligh's loss of the Bounty at the hands of his first officer, and the botanical mission which naturally failed. Unfortunately, Bligh's remarkable story of survival in the Bounty's launch---his 3,600-mile feat of seamanship---is completely glossed over here. It's interesting how differently each of these two versions of this true story handle the survivors on Pitcairn Island, but each effectively hints at there being no happy ending for the mutineers.
A great score helps the picture quite a lot, and it's certainly worth a look for the sake of its production value alone, but the Gable/Laughton film of 1935 is ultimately superior.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Sequel to the French martial arts/parkour hit District 13 produced by Luc Besson. The fight scenes are as inventive as ever, and once again middle-aged men in suits are the enemy. It's fun, but forgettable.
Legend - Starring Tom Cruise (before the crazy), Tim Curry and Mia Sara
Jack (Tom Cruise) is in love with a foolish Princess named Lili (Mia Sara). He takes her to see the unicorns, which represent all that is good and light in the world. Meanwhile, Darkenss (Tim Curry) and his goblins are trying to cast the world into ultimate night, so that he may rule.
I'd seriously forgotten how awesome this movie is. Though, I only have the director's cut edition, which I hate. The cut scenes should have stayed cut. The theatrical version is much better, so if one is planning to rent this, go with the theatrical.
it has a (small) connection with Bond as well. They filmed this movie entirely on the old Pinewood soundstage. This movie, sadly, is to blame for the original stage burning down when a gas line caught fire and set the 'woodland' aflame.
French drama with Kristin Scott Thomas excelling as an ex-convict moving in with her sister after her release. I didn't care too much for this. I found it admirable, but a little too claustrophobic. If I'd been eating with this family, I would have left the dining room table.
Over-the-top cop movie filled with cliches. Nothing surprising happens here. Everything is obvious. Daniel Autiel is excellent in the lead role and it's stylishly directed, but like the recent TV adaptation of David Peace's 'Red Riding' novels, it's a lot of mock film noir b****ks.
French version of Hostel with some street kids escaping Paris only to find themselves checking into an inn ran by Neo-Nazi psychopaths. Tsk, should have looked them up on TripAdvisor first.
Changeling, Clint Eastwood's "other" 2008 movie--the one starring Angelina Jolie, not himself. This one got knocked a bit by the critics, but actually it's a fairly good film, with fine performances and great period atmosphere. The problem is that Clint should have bitten the bullet and cut about half an hour out of the movie. Some scenes are extraneous, and after the big emotional climax the film goes on and on. What happens in the denoument is important, but it could have been just as easily handled with titles saying what happened to the principles. Still, a very worthwhile film.
The Diamond Mercenaries, aka Killer Force. Circa 75 or 76.
Lotta Bond alumni here. The director's Val Guest, with Telly Savalas as the protagonist and both Maud Adams and Chris Lee making a Golden Gun reunion. Unfortunately there's also O.J. Simpson, who I am all in favor of CGing out of the picture completely.
Basically the plot goes like this, a major diamond heist is orchestrated by head man Peter Fonda, who, along with TonyDP's automatic-rifle toting hootchie mamma, Maud, enlist a sort of Magnificent Seven group of ex-mercenaries for the impossible mission. And Telly's the evil mastermind attempting to thwart them.
Comments
Why ye sassenach ponce! You'll feel the wrath of the Scots, so ye shall.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I rarely watch films and especially not on telly but did saturday. Though I used Sky + and made sure I didn't start til about 20 minutes after the original broadcast's starting time, so that I could fast forward through the comercials
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I don't agree with John Drake a lot, but I certainly agree withn this!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Coming soon: Vincent Price stars in The Basement Tapes by Edgar Allen Poe.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Jean Claude Van Damme comes undone in this clever, but rather underwhelming deconstruction of his screen persona. It's worth a look, but nowhere near as much fun as the trailer, which has him crashing a screentest and pleading to be give the lead role in this film.
Some like it Hot 4.5/6
Lone Wolf & Cub 1-3 4/6 (prefer kung fu films)
Anniversaries coming up :
Some like it Hot 50th
Police Academy 25th
{[]
Early Coen Brothers movie set in the late 30s, in which the eponymous up-and-coming playwrite is tempted by a fat fee to move to Hollywood and write for the movies, he checks into a pretty rough and eerie motel so he can keep in touch with the common man, but gets writer's block.
The first hour lost me, I kept pausing it. It's the usual clever, stylistic Coen Brothers thing where it's all so quirky and amusing but you don't identify or relate to the main guy, he seems a jerk. I mean, Hoffman played a jerk or nerd in The Graduate, but made him charismatic and funny, you warmed to be him. That said, nerds aren't usually appealing so maybe this is the better more accurate portrayal.
Vivid satuated colour made this visually memorable.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Yeah, that movie looks amazing. Roger Deakins is one of the all time great cinematographers in my opinion. B-)
Nic Csge sci-fi thriller that is one of the most entertaining films I have seen in a long time. Now I am not a big fan of CGI, but their are two scenes in this movie that are so realistic it is unbelievable. The plot hooks you early on and doesn't let go. The performances are very good, Nic Cage as the obsessed astro-physics professor trying to solve the mysterious numbers, and almost Bond girl Rose Byrne as the daughter of a woman who may have been able to see the future are stellar. I am not a big fan of sci-fi, but I loved this film, as did everyone at the very crowded cinema as some folks broke in to applause at the end.
Highly highly recommend
Nerve-jangling war movie about a team of bomb disposal experts in Iraq. It's Kathryn BIgelow's best film in years. Guy Pearce makes an explosive cameo as the team's leader, whose replacement (the brilliant Jeremy Renner) likes to live close to the edge. This is tense stuff and Bigelow will fray your nerves with some of the bomb defusing sequences. Ralph Fiennes makes a brief appearance as a mercenary and starts shooting at people. Wish he'd done that in The Duchess.
I liked The Duchess. ;%
Ugly remake of Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring from Wes Craven. A group of escaped criminals kill two teenagers, then are murdered in turn by the parents of one of the girl's.
Is that the one directed by Craven in the early 1970s or the new remake (of the remake)?
The old one. Very 70's. Lots of brown colours. Very unpleasant too. I wanted to see it before the new one came out. Now I think I might just leave the new one alone.
The 1962 version, starring Marlon Brando as Fletcher Christian and Trevor Howard as William Bligh. Quite a different beast than the 1935 film with Clark Gable and Charles Laughton in those respective roles, this one sets out, rather self-consciously it seems, to be an epic...but it's not surprising that it lost the Oscar race that year to Lawrence of Arabia, that epic to end all epics.
Still, I enjoyed this film for several reasons, not the least of which was the ship itself, which lends an aura of nautical authenticity to the proceedings. The cinematography is lush and beautiful; Tahiti never looked so good (particularly later on, when a binging, corpulent Brando occasionally lolled there in his declining years
The story is the story, so to speak---the tale of the Bligh's loss of the Bounty at the hands of his first officer, and the botanical mission which naturally failed. Unfortunately, Bligh's remarkable story of survival in the Bounty's launch---his 3,600-mile feat of seamanship---is completely glossed over here. It's interesting how differently each of these two versions of this true story handle the survivors on Pitcairn Island, but each effectively hints at there being no happy ending for the mutineers.
A great score helps the picture quite a lot, and it's certainly worth a look for the sake of its production value alone, but the Gable/Laughton film of 1935 is ultimately superior.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Sequel to the French martial arts/parkour hit District 13 produced by Luc Besson. The fight scenes are as inventive as ever, and once again middle-aged men in suits are the enemy. It's fun, but forgettable.
Jack (Tom Cruise) is in love with a foolish Princess named Lili (Mia Sara). He takes her to see the unicorns, which represent all that is good and light in the world. Meanwhile, Darkenss (Tim Curry) and his goblins are trying to cast the world into ultimate night, so that he may rule.
I'd seriously forgotten how awesome this movie is. Though, I only have the director's cut edition, which I hate. The cut scenes should have stayed cut. The theatrical version is much better, so if one is planning to rent this, go with the theatrical.
it has a (small) connection with Bond as well. They filmed this movie entirely on the old Pinewood soundstage. This movie, sadly, is to blame for the original stage burning down when a gas line caught fire and set the 'woodland' aflame.
~Pendragon -{
mountainburdphotography.wordpress.com
French drama with Kristin Scott Thomas excelling as an ex-convict moving in with her sister after her release. I didn't care too much for this. I found it admirable, but a little too claustrophobic. If I'd been eating with this family, I would have left the dining room table.
Over-the-top cop movie filled with cliches. Nothing surprising happens here. Everything is obvious. Daniel Autiel is excellent in the lead role and it's stylishly directed, but like the recent TV adaptation of David Peace's 'Red Riding' novels, it's a lot of mock film noir b****ks.
French version of Hostel with some street kids escaping Paris only to find themselves checking into an inn ran by Neo-Nazi psychopaths. Tsk, should have looked them up on TripAdvisor first.
Very cool film - Michael Caine is a badass, and while the plot is sometimes made more complicated then it needs to be (
Lotta Bond alumni here. The director's Val Guest, with Telly Savalas as the protagonist and both Maud Adams and Chris Lee making a Golden Gun reunion. Unfortunately there's also O.J. Simpson, who I am all in favor of CGing out of the picture completely.
Basically the plot goes like this, a major diamond heist is orchestrated by head man Peter Fonda, who, along with TonyDP's automatic-rifle toting hootchie mamma, Maud, enlist a sort of Magnificent Seven group of ex-mercenaries for the impossible mission. And Telly's the evil mastermind attempting to thwart them.
Recommended.