The Grapes Of Wrath is a classic. I've seen it twice in my life. I never want to see it again.
The most depressing film I've ever seen. The whole way through -- I'm wanting desperately to buy the Joad family a number six value meal.
But seriously, I don't see what David Carradine's death has to do with his father's performance.
And another seriously, I don't believe Henry Fonda, "politically at odds" with his daughter is a fair assessment, I think he was just slightly pissed off she was doing photo-ops with the NVA, who we were at war with. Fair argument dad.
Well, just saying that you look at Henry Fonda here and his daughter seems more a chip off the old block. Then you see Carradine senior's touching performance, and the theme of struggling to survive against all odds, then you have his son dying in a sex game, well, different strokes I guess.
At the end I expected Fonda to be roped into a sadistic wagon rally, with his old jallopy doing battle against the others for public sport to earn a few cents for his family. Sort of Death Grapes. ) Oh, please yourself (though not like David Carradine did).
I just realised I confused the title of Jean Rollin's Grapes of Death with the Henry Fonda flick in a review a couple of pages back. ;%
The 10th Victim
Groovy piece of 60's pop-art that's both of its time and way ahead of it. It's about a reality TV show in which contestants hunt each other down and kill each other, while looking impossibly stylish in shades. Marcello Mastrioni makes for a cool hero, but it's the original Bond girl Ursula Andress who shines here. If you thought she looked hot in DN you should see some of the outfits she puts on in The 10th Victim. Oh and I think this may be the film that influence the scene in the first Austin Powers movie with the bullet firing bras. Highly recommended for fans of 60's pop culture.
Groovy piece of 60's pop-art that's both of its time and way ahead of it. It's about a reality TV show in which contestants hunt each other down and kill each other, while looking impossibly stylish in shades. Marcello Mastrioni makes for a cool hero, but it's the original Bond girl Ursula Andress who shines here. If you thought she looked hot in DN you should see some of the outfits she puts on in The 10th Victim. Oh and I think this may be the film that influence the scene in the first Austin Powers movie with the bullet firing bras. Highly recommended for fans of 60's pop culture.
One of my favorite films; Marcello is hilarious, cooly wading thru the film, hatching all manners of scams and plots to stay alive and bickering with an ever increasingly odd cast of characters, while all around him all manner of oddity and chaos reigns. Ursula Andress is impossibly sexy in this one. 60's Italian cinema at its finest. Now, for another delicious double dose of Ming tea.
The Reader. For the first hour or so I thought this was going to be yet another coming-of-age movie, with a young guy who manages to get it on with a hot older woman. Kate Winslet is sans clothing so often that I even thought I was watching a nudist video. Once this section is over the movie becomes a powerful and thoughtful examination of German responsibility for the Holocaust, and it puts the opening hour into a unique perspective. Plus it's a movie that makes reading cool--and sexy.
The Reader. Kate Winslet is sans clothing so often that I even thought I was watching a nudist video. Once this section is over the movie becomes a powerful and thoughtful examination of German responsibility for the Holocaust...
The story of Michelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel, as seen here.
It took years, apparently. Well! I got my mate Ray to paint my bedroom, it took him half a day and that's including the walls! Mind you, Ray did have a roller to hand.
The conflict comes from Michelangelo's (or Benetio, as he's called here) conflict with the Pope of the day, who called him away from his marble sculptures and said, hey, I want you to be a painter and commission you to do this. A bit like Babs Broccoli saying to Marc Forster, don't worry about your serious drama flicks, come and do a Bond film, I insist. Except Quantum of Solace didn't end up being a masterpiece, of course. )
Anyway, the first part is like watching paint dry. A rushed 10-minute bio of Michelangelo in documentary form put my back up, esp as it's narrated by an American very typical of the 1960s, like a Disney documentary. Then the movie starts, and it's Chuck Heston as the artist and Rex Harrison as the Pope, great stars but always playing themselves. Though it's good to see Rexy as a more devout, contemplative type rather than some rascally self-centred rogue. Still, once we had Thunderball's Adolfi Celi turn up only to be (badly) dubbed into an American accent, I lost sympathy with the film. I mean, the one Italian in the cast... Then again, Celi's accent was hard to decipher when he appeared in The Bourgas, a later TV series. In the Bond film, he doesn't say much, he's more a prescence, so he got away with it.
The film picks up, and you get to appreciate just how hard it was to get the job done, but it's a bit simplistic in the writing. Connery's wife of the time, Diane Cilento (but despite the Italian name, is not Italian really) pops up as a sort of shoulder to cry on, prospective love interest for the artist, but is not attractive in this and is a bit of a harpy. During one awful moment she rallies the beleaguered, fretful artist in his turmoil by saying, "Get that ceiling finished!" and she sounds for all the world like a nagging wife. "And I want that front gate fixed as well!! Then I want you to drive round to my mother in law's..."
Not quite an epic in length, but the genre irked me, as in the 1960s these films tended to be a bit more knowing. A Man for All Seasons, for instance. The tension is a bit manufactured, with many of Michelangelo's fretful speeches starting with, "Besides,..."
The Reader. For the first hour or so I thought this was going to be yet another
coming-of-age movie, with a young guy who manages to get it on with a hot older woman. Kate Winslet is sans
clothing so often that I even thought I was watching a nudist video. Once this section is over the movie
becomes a powerful and thoughtful examination of German responsibility for the Holocaust, and it puts the
opening hour into a unique perspective. Plus it's a movie that makes reading cool--and sexy.
{[]
Finally, someone who really likes this film. I thought it was a terrific film, and a great examination of German guilt and responsibility. My one disappointment (which wasn't really the film's fault) was that Kate Winslet won an Oscar for a performance that, whilst good, was not IMO among her better performances. That aside, I thought it was fantastic and a worthy addition to the Holocaust-themed movie subgenre.
"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
24 meets The Thing meets The Hidden. Carlos Bernard aka Tony Almedia plays an alien hunter trapped in a supermarket with a parasitical alien who takes over people's bodies. Bernard's presence makes this feel like a bizarre episode of 24. I kept expecting Kiefer Sutherland to stop by for a little action bromance. Highly entertaining B-movie.
I'm not a huge fan on this genre - but I had heard this was more along the lines of 'leaving it up to your imagination' rather than having to show you all the graphic details - something I don't find enjoyable.
It was clever and original, and the dialogue between the two main characters was clever - I liked the twist, (although there was a point were I was thinking, 'really, is this it?') but the ending resurrected itself - although
I didn't really feel the whole cutting his foot off to get the phone scenario )
I am looking forward to seeing the next one.
She's worth whatever chaos she brings to the table and you know it. ~ Mark Anthony
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Nor I*, and I don't think I'll ever have a look. I totally 'get' the concept...but I've also heard enough, second-hand, to be wary of any so-called 'art' that leans so heavily on gratuitous viscera and contrived, situational 'glad it ain't me!'-style escapism
Just my own taste, naturally. Many of my friends are gleeful about their enjoyment of these pictures, so clearly there's an audience for it...so 'Saw XXXIV' is only a matter of time...
*Don't get me wrong: I enjoy horror...and revere well-executed suspense...but bloody and cruel 'torture porn' holds no appeal for me, not even theoretically.
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
well, some might say I like to go out of my comfort zone - and this series of films got so much 'press' I felt like I was somehow missing something by not seeing at least 1 of them. And I think because I left enough time between the 'hype' I was able to enjoy it for what it is.
I totally 'get' the concept...but I've also heard enough, second-hand, to be wary of any so-called 'art' that leans so heavily on gratuitous viscera and contrived, situational 'glad it ain't me!'-style escapism
Yeh, I can understand your view, but I didn't see this because of the 'art' concept, more rather the fascination of what has made this particular series so popular - and the way the film ended, I am quite intrigued in seeing the next one. (Although, I am aware that the gore does get more intense, and it's at that point, gore for gore's sake, that I will probably stop watching the series )
She's worth whatever chaos she brings to the table and you know it. ~ Mark Anthony
I've been dragged to see several Saw films by my GF, who has also convinced me (although that may be overstating it a bit) to see both Hostel films and the repugnant remake of the masterful Halloween. Incidentally, while I loved the original version of Halloween, she did not. Although this actually isn't all that surprising as I prefer earlier horror films, such as from the 70's and 80's which were brilliantly made and were not torture porn at all, while she loves 21st century torture porn films. I personally see no redeeming elements in the Halloween remake or Hostel 2, and these kind of films make me want to take a long shower afterwards.
The Saw films are admittedly not as bad IMO, but are still extraordinarily unpleasant. What I hate about the Saw films in particular is the self-righteousness of it all. This villain is killing people, and make no mistake about it, he is the one doing the killing, so that he can teach people about life and the importance of experiencing it. 8-) Add to it that the filmmakers devise the most horrific scenarios possible and the Saw films (as well as the new version of Halloween) are all cast in an unpleasant pseudo-realistic brownish light, alternating with the mandatory darkness, that only cinematographers of 21st century torture porn films would use, and so the only thing keeping me in the cinema is that my GF is the one who drove us there. )
"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
You see this is something that puzzles me. Dan Same comes across as a nice, friendly sort of fellow, yet is making the beast with two backs with a gal who enjoys the most gruesome torture porn imaginable. Talk about opposites attract. It's like my hairdresser, nice gal, touch of the Saffron Burrows about her, she happily prattles on about the horrible films she's scene. Or my flatmate, a rather insipid type, so much loved Hostel 2 she persuaded her boyfriend to see it the very following night...
I am really starting to get into James Cagney and this film is no exception to his phenominal repertoire. This film is about three former WWI vets getting into the bootlegging business and it tears them all apart in someway. Humprey Bogart co-stars and I think his team up with Cagney was of the great on-screen pair-ups. They really don't make films like this anymore.
Yep, went back for more ) This time we are in a house with 5 or so people, one in particular who you really can't wait to come to an end, a obnoxious, macho type man who doesn't want to listen or talk, and completely out for himself, even though it's been made very clear that teamwork is required to get them out in time.....
This time we see the man behind the game, a character called Jigsaw, who feels he needs to teach these people the true meaning of what it's like to value life. It's all a bit preachy and far fetched, but entertaining - and I do like the premise of these people are actually having to mutilate themselves in order not to die - (ordinarily I'm not a sadomasochist, but you have to admire the this type of psychological control.....)
More gore this time - but strangely not enough to put me off, well not just yet
Saw three is in 2 weeks time
She's worth whatever chaos she brings to the table and you know it. ~ Mark Anthony
Yep, went back for more ) This time we are in a house with 5 or so people, one in particular who you really can't wait to come to an end, a obnoxious, macho type man who doesn't want to listen or talk, and completely out for himself, even though it's been made very clear that teamwork is required to get them out in time.....
This time we see the man behind the game, a character called Jigsaw, who feels he needs to teach these people the true meaning of what it's like to value life. It's all a bit preachy and far fetched, but entertaining - and I do like the premise of these people are actually having to mutilate themselves in order not to die - (ordinarily I'm not a sadomasochist, but you have to admire the this type of psychological control.....)
More gore this time - but strangely not enough to put me off, well not just yet
Saw three is in 2 weeks time
When I watch a Saw movie, I desire to be one of the victims.
Sometimes known as Forever Emmanuelle, this is a fine piece of 70's sexploitation with bleach blonde fox Annie Belle hooking up with a hairy-faced filmmaker who likes to film what he refers to as 'love.' They take a trip to somewhere exotic to find a mystical tribe who undergo a transcendent ceremony that turns them into different people, or something daft. There's a professor whose performance and look seems entirely modelled on Terry Thomas and a couple of standout sequences involving a public lecture and a tennis match.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
I'm a huge fan of these books, and the boys and I are fans of the films...but my complaint with this one is the same as with nearly all films made from very good books: there's a lot of the story---whole plot threads and subplots---that don't make the transition. It's true of all the Potter films, but I think I notice it more in this one than in previous offerings. If you don't know the source material, I can see where it would become very easy to get left behind.
The performances are all quite good, but I think this is certainly Michael (Dumbledore) Gambon's best work in the series, followed closely by Alan Rickman. The kids all know their parts by heart, and deliver what you'd expect---I hope that The Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2 give them a nice big meaty challenge on which to end the series. There's a massive sudden scare/shock in Act 3 (easily the biggest of the series!) in which everyone in the cinema came out of their seats. It was hilarious; I laughed at my own reaction.
Great fun. 4 out of 5 stars.
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
Legendary Mike Leigh TV drama from 1977 about the drinks party from hell... or suburbia, much the same thing from Leigh's point of view. Those who think Leigh likes to look down on the lower classes will find much to support this here. However, I liked it a lot and it grew on me. There's more to it that class or outlook snobbery - the horrible consumer tat of the time, plus a battle of the sexes going on, plus the fact that the middle-class woman who is clearly uncomfortable with her neighbours, who are social inferiors, has nothing to bring to the party, so to speak.
Turns out if you watch the documentary that this Play for Today episode, as it was, won popularity on its second repeat in 1979, as ITV had a strike at the time and there was a deathly dull arts programme on BBC2, and there were only three channels back then so everyone watched this.
The ending is a bit contrived, as is the case with Leigh's films which are based on impro, they have to come up with a bit of a contrived climax to the thing...
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
"The Darjeeling Limited"
I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson---his The Royal Tenenbaums is my favourite of his work---and I found this one to be as entertaining and quirky as I've come to expect. Granted, his stuff isn't for everyone. His debut, Bottle Rocket, is something of a cult classic, and Rushmore even moreso. The Life Aquatic: With Steve Zissou, with Bill Murrary, was also something of a grabber for me. Weird...and charming. That's Wes Anderson.
Darjeeling is very much along these lines: the story of three estranged brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzmann) who take a train trip across India, following the death of their father, in an attempt to reconcile with their mother (the divine Anjelica Huston :x ), who's run off and joined a nunnery in the Himalayas It's tragic, and funny, and absurd. And I'm sure it will take another couple of viewings, so I'll probably have to own it.
3.75 out of 5 stars; recommended if you're feeling a bit 'offbeat' B-)
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
Much acclaimed, in my view somewhat overrated US comedy currently on release. It's about a stag night that goes wrong, four thirtysomething lads are heading out to the city of sin, Las Vegas - when they awake the next morning things have gone badly wrong but they can't remember any of it and have to retrace their steps.
I enjoyed it enough but it didn't quite hit the spot, somehow I felt Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40 Years Old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) would have made it work better. It has the flavour of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but we don't quite get time to know the characters and the humour is a bit broad, a bit obvious in that it's designed to evoke the audience sympathies. Ooh, one of their friends is a bit weird with a horrid beard and lets his pants hang down of his backside! He's not allowed to be near schools it seems!
What it did have in common with Apatow's films is the vein of misogyny throughout, all of the women are shrews bar the happy hooker in Vegas played inevitably by Heather Graham. But none of the actors in this were really comic actors quite, another problem.
Caught this on HBO the other night. Having seen the play many years ago, I was curious to see how it would translate onto the screen. Answer: poorly. All the fun, noise and spontenaity of a live show were lost through the restrictions of a camera lens. Everything seemed forced and contrived. To the film's credit, none of the cast were dubbed, which left me listening to singing that was surprisingly good (Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep - is there nothing this woman cannot do??), so-so (Christine Baranski, Julie Walters) and just plain bad (Colin Firth, Stellan Saarsgard). Special mention must go to Pierce Brosnan, who lets loose (none of the Bond preening) and looks like he's having a ball, but simply cannot sing a lick. Much like the late-model Elton John, his voice drops at least an octave when he sings, to the point where it is unrecognizable from his speaking voice. Unlike any model of Elton John, Pierce can't carry a tune. Still, gotta give him props for sticking his neck out.
If you want to see ABBA tunes woven into a thin story, see the play. If you just want to hear ABBA tunes, buy their greatest hits. Either way, can't see a reason to spend much time with this film.
I got this video on eBay for my Dad. It's a 1953 musical with Howard Keel, Kathyrn Grayson and Anne Miller and it rocks. More memorable songs in it that I thought, one of them Too Darn Hot, sung by Miller with amazing tap skills, sounds a bit like Dr No's Three Blind Mice. Or Aint She Sweet. Lots of battle of the sexes fun, with an Amy Winehouse tinge to it, and it's seriously suggestive... the song Tom, Harry or D!ck surely deliberate innuendo as an on-heat Miller lasciviously sings the praises of D!ck.. It wouldn't get past SiCo's censors... )
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
"The Bank Job"
It's a never-ending job, playing catch-up with Netflix ;%
It's late, and I'll just say I thought this film was brilliant---directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Jason Statham---this is the first Jason Statham film I've ever seen, mind you, and I'm quite sure I've had the happy luck to see his best work, as I can't imagine him having more depth in one of the Transporters, or whatever the hell else is out there (I'll be happy to be proven wrong about that, BTW, and now I'm motivated to have a look). It's a good, solid bit of business. And Saffron Burrows...well, it's probably well known in these parts that I love her (s/b Moneypenny in #23, IMRO)...unsurprisingly, she lights up every single scene she inhabits here...but then there's not a subpar performance in the piece. The sets, the costumes, the writing, et al., sing like a perfectly-tuned guitar string. Great stuff.
Let me just renew my ongoing plea, at this point, for the excellent David Suchet to finally assume his rightful place in the pantheon of great James Bond supervillains B-)
I'm a huge fan of 'caper pictures'---always have been---and the knowledge that something similiar to this actually happened in 1971 (inevitable artistic licence notwithstanding) greatly added to its appeal. I will certainly own it.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
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
Ralph Bakshi's greatest animated film and one of the greatest animated films ever made. This surreal look on just the struggle to survive makes for a thrilling story. The main characters are Mike Coleone, an underground cartoonist, and Carole, a tough, street smart young woman. Unlike the inspid, sausage factory CGI films of today, this film actually as a individual's POV on reality. Their is a bit of filler but it's enjoyable, Micheal's father Angie who is mob hood that control's a dock in new york in the vein of ON THE WATER FRONT. You have to be willing to open minded to enjoy this film, if not then you aren't going to like it.
You see this is something that puzzles me. Dan Same comes across as a nice, friendly sort of fellow, yet is making the beast with two backs with a gal who enjoys the most gruesome torture porn imaginable.
) I've never heard that phrase used before. I'm very impressed.
Yes, I sometimes wonder that myself. The thing is, she's a wonderful girl; extremely kind, yet she likes the most horrible films imaginable. To make matters worst, she's not interested in older and far superior horror films. She wasn't impressed with the original Halloween; I don't think she's even seen the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and probably wouldn't be interested in it; and I haven't convinced her to see the original The Hills Have Eyes or A Nightmare on Elm Street with me. The one 70's/80's horror film she liked alot was Carrie and that wasn't really a horror film. Yeh, I wonder why I'm with her myself. ) (Well, not really. )
Talk about opposites attract. It's like my hairdresser, nice gal, touch of the Saffron Burrows about her, she happily prattles on about the horrible films she's scene. Or my flatmate, a rather insipid type, so much loved Hostel 2 she persuaded her boyfriend to see it the very following night...
I'm actually not surprised about the latter. If a couple see a horrible film together, the woman is almost certainly the one who suggested it. At least that true of me and other couples that I know.
I'm not sure the exact significance of this but I am certainly with a woman who kicks ass. :x
"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
It's funny that you mention this film. I LOVE the stage musical; I've seen it twice, and will be seeing it for a third time when it returns to Melbourne next year. Although I like the film, I don't love it however as, among other reasons, it lacks the excitement of the stage musical. My mother, however, loves the film, but doesn't like the stage musical nearly as much as me.
"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
Comments
The most depressing film I've ever seen. The whole way through -- I'm wanting desperately to buy the Joad family a number six value meal.
But seriously, I don't see what David Carradine's death has to do with his father's performance.
And another seriously, I don't believe Henry Fonda, "politically at odds" with his daughter is a fair assessment, I think he was just slightly pissed off she was doing photo-ops with the NVA, who we were at war with. Fair argument dad.
At the end I expected Fonda to be roped into a sadistic wagon rally, with his old jallopy doing battle against the others for public sport to earn a few cents for his family. Sort of Death Grapes.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
The 10th Victim
Groovy piece of 60's pop-art that's both of its time and way ahead of it. It's about a reality TV show in which contestants hunt each other down and kill each other, while looking impossibly stylish in shades. Marcello Mastrioni makes for a cool hero, but it's the original Bond girl Ursula Andress who shines here. If you thought she looked hot in DN you should see some of the outfits she puts on in The 10th Victim. Oh and I think this may be the film that influence the scene in the first Austin Powers movie with the bullet firing bras. Highly recommended for fans of 60's pop culture.
One of my favorite films; Marcello is hilarious, cooly wading thru the film, hatching all manners of scams and plots to stay alive and bickering with an ever increasingly odd cast of characters, while all around him all manner of oddity and chaos reigns. Ursula Andress is impossibly sexy in this one. 60's Italian cinema at its finest. Now, for another delicious double dose of Ming tea.
Oh well, you can't have everything...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
The story of Michelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel, as seen here.
It took years, apparently. Well! I got my mate Ray to paint my bedroom, it took him half a day and that's including the walls! Mind you, Ray did have a roller to hand.
The conflict comes from Michelangelo's (or Benetio, as he's called here) conflict with the Pope of the day, who called him away from his marble sculptures and said, hey, I want you to be a painter and commission you to do this. A bit like Babs Broccoli saying to Marc Forster, don't worry about your serious drama flicks, come and do a Bond film, I insist. Except Quantum of Solace didn't end up being a masterpiece, of course.
Anyway, the first part is like watching paint dry.
The film picks up, and you get to appreciate just how hard it was to get the job done, but it's a bit simplistic in the writing. Connery's wife of the time, Diane Cilento (but despite the Italian name, is not Italian really) pops up as a sort of shoulder to cry on, prospective love interest for the artist, but is not attractive in this and is a bit of a harpy. During one awful moment she rallies the beleaguered, fretful artist in his turmoil by saying, "Get that ceiling finished!" and she sounds for all the world like a nagging wife. "And I want that front gate fixed as well!! Then I want you to drive round to my mother in law's..."
Not quite an epic in length, but the genre irked me, as in the 1960s these films tended to be a bit more knowing. A Man for All Seasons, for instance. The tension is a bit manufactured, with many of Michelangelo's fretful speeches starting with, "Besides,..."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Finally, someone who really likes this film. I thought it was a terrific film, and a great examination of German guilt and responsibility. My one disappointment (which wasn't really the film's fault) was that Kate Winslet won an Oscar for a performance that, whilst good, was not IMO among her better performances. That aside, I thought it was fantastic and a worthy addition to the Holocaust-themed movie subgenre.
24 meets The Thing meets The Hidden. Carlos Bernard aka Tony Almedia plays an alien hunter trapped in a supermarket with a parasitical alien who takes over people's bodies. Bernard's presence makes this feel like a bizarre episode of 24. I kept expecting Kiefer Sutherland to stop by for a little action bromance. Highly entertaining B-movie.
I'm not a huge fan on this genre - but I had heard this was more along the lines of 'leaving it up to your imagination' rather than having to show you all the graphic details - something I don't find enjoyable.
It was clever and original, and the dialogue between the two main characters was clever - I liked the twist, (although there was a point were I was thinking, 'really, is this it?') but the ending resurrected itself - although
Nor I*, and I don't think I'll ever have a look. I totally 'get' the concept...but I've also heard enough, second-hand, to be wary of any so-called 'art' that leans so heavily on gratuitous viscera and contrived, situational 'glad it ain't me!'-style escapism
Just my own taste, naturally. Many of my friends are gleeful about their enjoyment of these pictures, so clearly there's an audience for it...so 'Saw XXXIV' is only a matter of time...
*Don't get me wrong: I enjoy horror...and revere well-executed suspense...but bloody and cruel 'torture porn' holds no appeal for me, not even theoretically.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Yeh, I can understand your view, but I didn't see this because of the 'art' concept, more rather the fascination of what has made this particular series so popular - and the way the film ended, I am quite intrigued in seeing the next one. (Although, I am aware that the gore does get more intense, and it's at that point, gore for gore's sake, that I will probably stop watching the series
The Saw films are admittedly not as bad IMO, but are still extraordinarily unpleasant. What I hate about the Saw films in particular is the self-righteousness of it all.
So what's your bird like in the sack then DS?
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I am really starting to get into James Cagney and this film is no exception to his phenominal repertoire. This film is about three former WWI vets getting into the bootlegging business and it tears them all apart in someway. Humprey Bogart co-stars and I think his team up with Cagney was of the great on-screen pair-ups. They really don't make films like this anymore.
Yep, went back for more
This time we see the man behind the game, a character called Jigsaw, who feels he needs to teach these people the true meaning of what it's like to value life. It's all a bit preachy and far fetched, but entertaining - and I do like the premise of these people are actually having to mutilate themselves in order not to die - (ordinarily I'm not a sadomasochist, but you have to admire the this type of psychological control.....)
More gore this time - but strangely not enough to put me off, well not just yet
Saw three is in 2 weeks time
When I watch a Saw movie, I desire to be one of the victims.
Sometimes known as Forever Emmanuelle, this is a fine piece of 70's sexploitation with bleach blonde fox Annie Belle hooking up with a hairy-faced filmmaker who likes to film what he refers to as 'love.' They take a trip to somewhere exotic to find a mystical tribe who undergo a transcendent ceremony that turns them into different people, or something daft. There's a professor whose performance and look seems entirely modelled on Terry Thomas and a couple of standout sequences involving a public lecture and a tennis match.
I'm a huge fan of these books, and the boys and I are fans of the films...but my complaint with this one is the same as with nearly all films made from very good books: there's a lot of the story---whole plot threads and subplots---that don't make the transition. It's true of all the Potter films, but I think I notice it more in this one than in previous offerings. If you don't know the source material, I can see where it would become very easy to get left behind.
The performances are all quite good, but I think this is certainly Michael (Dumbledore) Gambon's best work in the series, followed closely by Alan Rickman. The kids all know their parts by heart, and deliver what you'd expect---I hope that The Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2 give them a nice big meaty challenge on which to end the series. There's a massive sudden scare/shock in Act 3 (easily the biggest of the series!) in which everyone in the cinema came out of their seats. It was hilarious; I laughed at my own reaction.
Great fun. 4 out of 5 stars.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Legendary Mike Leigh TV drama from 1977 about the drinks party from hell... or suburbia, much the same thing from Leigh's point of view. Those who think Leigh likes to look down on the lower classes will find much to support this here. However, I liked it a lot and it grew on me. There's more to it that class or outlook snobbery - the horrible consumer tat of the time, plus a battle of the sexes going on, plus the fact that the middle-class woman who is clearly uncomfortable with her neighbours, who are social inferiors, has nothing to bring to the party, so to speak.
Turns out if you watch the documentary that this Play for Today episode, as it was, won popularity on its second repeat in 1979, as ITV had a strike at the time and there was a deathly dull arts programme on BBC2, and there were only three channels back then so everyone watched this.
The ending is a bit contrived, as is the case with Leigh's films which are based on impro, they have to come up with a bit of a contrived climax to the thing...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson---his The Royal Tenenbaums is my favourite of his work---and I found this one to be as entertaining and quirky as I've come to expect. Granted, his stuff isn't for everyone. His debut, Bottle Rocket, is something of a cult classic, and Rushmore even moreso. The Life Aquatic: With Steve Zissou, with Bill Murrary, was also something of a grabber for me. Weird...and charming. That's Wes Anderson.
Darjeeling is very much along these lines: the story of three estranged brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzmann) who take a train trip across India, following the death of their father, in an attempt to reconcile with their mother (the divine Anjelica Huston :x ), who's run off and joined a nunnery in the Himalayas
3.75 out of 5 stars; recommended if you're feeling a bit 'offbeat' B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Much acclaimed, in my view somewhat overrated US comedy currently on release. It's about a stag night that goes wrong, four thirtysomething lads are heading out to the city of sin, Las Vegas - when they awake the next morning things have gone badly wrong but they can't remember any of it and have to retrace their steps.
I enjoyed it enough but it didn't quite hit the spot, somehow I felt Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40 Years Old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) would have made it work better. It has the flavour of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but we don't quite get time to know the characters and the humour is a bit broad, a bit obvious in that it's designed to evoke the audience sympathies. Ooh, one of their friends is a bit weird with a horrid beard and lets his pants hang down of his backside! He's not allowed to be near schools it seems!
What it did have in common with Apatow's films is the vein of misogyny throughout, all of the women are shrews bar the happy hooker in Vegas played inevitably by Heather Graham. But none of the actors in this were really comic actors quite, another problem.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Caught this on HBO the other night. Having seen the play many years ago, I was curious to see how it would translate onto the screen. Answer: poorly. All the fun, noise and spontenaity of a live show were lost through the restrictions of a camera lens. Everything seemed forced and contrived. To the film's credit, none of the cast were dubbed, which left me listening to singing that was surprisingly good (Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep - is there nothing this woman cannot do??), so-so (Christine Baranski, Julie Walters) and just plain bad (Colin Firth, Stellan Saarsgard). Special mention must go to Pierce Brosnan, who lets loose (none of the Bond preening) and looks like he's having a ball, but simply cannot sing a lick. Much like the late-model Elton John, his voice drops at least an octave when he sings, to the point where it is unrecognizable from his speaking voice. Unlike any model of Elton John, Pierce can't carry a tune. Still, gotta give him props for sticking his neck out.
If you want to see ABBA tunes woven into a thin story, see the play. If you just want to hear ABBA tunes, buy their greatest hits. Either way, can't see a reason to spend much time with this film.
I got this video on eBay for my Dad. It's a 1953 musical with Howard Keel, Kathyrn Grayson and Anne Miller and it rocks. More memorable songs in it that I thought, one of them Too Darn Hot, sung by Miller with amazing tap skills, sounds a bit like Dr No's Three Blind Mice. Or Aint She Sweet. Lots of battle of the sexes fun, with an Amy Winehouse tinge to it, and it's seriously suggestive... the song Tom, Harry or D!ck surely deliberate innuendo as an on-heat Miller lasciviously sings the praises of D!ck..
Roger Moore 1927-2017
It's a never-ending job, playing catch-up with Netflix ;%
It's late, and I'll just say I thought this film was brilliant---directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Jason Statham---this is the first Jason Statham film I've ever seen, mind you, and I'm quite sure I've had the happy luck to see his best work, as I can't imagine him having more depth in one of the Transporters, or whatever the hell else is out there (I'll be happy to be proven wrong about that, BTW, and now I'm motivated to have a look). It's a good, solid bit of business. And Saffron Burrows...well, it's probably well known in these parts that I love her (s/b Moneypenny in #23, IMRO)...unsurprisingly, she lights up every single scene she inhabits here...but then there's not a subpar performance in the piece. The sets, the costumes, the writing, et al., sing like a perfectly-tuned guitar string. Great stuff.
Let me just renew my ongoing plea, at this point, for the excellent David Suchet to finally assume his rightful place in the pantheon of great James Bond supervillains B-)
I'm a huge fan of 'caper pictures'---always have been---and the knowledge that something similiar to this actually happened in 1971 (inevitable artistic licence notwithstanding) greatly added to its appeal. I will certainly own it.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Ralph Bakshi's greatest animated film and one of the greatest animated films ever made. This surreal look on just the struggle to survive makes for a thrilling story. The main characters are Mike Coleone, an underground cartoonist, and Carole, a tough, street smart young woman. Unlike the inspid, sausage factory CGI films of today, this film actually as a individual's POV on reality. Their is a bit of filler but it's enjoyable, Micheal's father Angie who is mob hood that control's a dock in new york in the vein of ON THE WATER FRONT. You have to be willing to open minded to enjoy this film, if not then you aren't going to like it.
Yes, I sometimes wonder that myself. The thing is, she's a wonderful girl; extremely kind, yet she likes the most horrible films imaginable. To make matters worst, she's not interested in older and far superior horror films. She wasn't impressed with the original Halloween; I don't think she's even seen the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and probably wouldn't be interested in it; and I haven't convinced her to see the original The Hills Have Eyes or A Nightmare on Elm Street with me. The one 70's/80's horror film she liked alot was Carrie and that wasn't really a horror film. Yeh, I wonder why I'm with her myself.
I'm actually not surprised about the latter. If a couple see a horrible film together, the woman is almost certainly the one who suggested it. At least that true of me and other couples that I know.
I'm not sure the exact significance of this but I am certainly with a woman who kicks ass. :x