'300.' Very entertaining. Insane, but entertaining. I have to say, Gerard Butler surprised me by being quite good. I'd always thought he was the worst Scottish actor in history, worse even than Dougray Scott. He's gone up in my estimation after this. Some great one liners too. And I laughed out loud when he was happily eating food amongst a load of slaughtered Persians and talking about being civilised.
Last night I watched another entry in "Daniel Craig Theater"--Infamous. It's a good movie that has the misfortune to have come out in the wake of a great movie (Capote--and, for that matter, Richard Brooks's film of In Cold Blood). The movie is really an unconventional love story between TC and Perry Smith, and it works as such. However, there's also a glossy and, dare I say it, fluffy tone to the movie that makes it inferior to the gritty and more psychologically-oriented Capote; and while Toby Jones looks more like TC than does Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jones's performance is more mannerisms than heart. Sandra Bullock, however, is very good as Harper Lee, showing that when she gets the right script (which isn't often) she's a fine performer.
But Craig. Interesting performance. Both Robert Blake in ICB and the guy in Capote played Perry Smith as an asprin-crunching, semiconscious man-child; but Craig plays him as an out-and-out thug whose anger and brutality frequently give way to a sensitive, artistic side. There's also a scene where Craig sings to the camera, and if that's his voice then he's got pretty good pipes. Unfortunately, the black dye on his eyebrows makes him look a bit like Groucho Marx.
And I'm sure that, in the scene where the noose is put around Perry Smith's neck, all the Craig-haters out there cheered. . .
There's also a scene where Craig sings to the camera, and if that's his voice then he's got pretty good pipes.
Not having seen the film I cannot comment on whether it is DC's voice. I would be very surprised if it wasn't because he definitely sings 'There's A Goldmine In The Sky' on the Infamous soundtrack. And he has got pretty good pipes.
First saw this on the flight to Cancun. I didn't really enjoy it back then. Probably due to the tiny screen and uncomfortable 11 hour flight. I picked it up a little while ago and just got round to watching it. This time I actually quite liked it. I like Cage and am a big fan of Sean Bean, especially from sharpe. It did seem to drag a bit at the end and went on a little bit, but I never felt like turning it off.
***
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,722Chief of Staff
Borat on DVD - hysterically funny - even the out-takes are funnier than most films !
TMNT at the cinema. Just returned from taking my son to see this - he loved it, and I quite liked it as well
Borat on DVD - hysterically funny - even the out-takes are funnier than most films !
TMNT at the cinema. Just returned from taking my son to see this - he loved it, and I quite liked it as well
Borat is easily the funniest film I have seen after Dirty Sanchez. I had been told by several friends TMNT was terrible. Perhaps I will have to give it a go.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,722Chief of Staff
Borat is easily the funniest film I have seen after Dirty Sanchez. I had been told by several friends TMNT was terrible. Perhaps I will have to give it a go.
I agree about Borat but couldn't disagree more about Dirty Sanchez - I just don't find that sort of stuff funny.
Well, I enjoyed TMNT and my son loved it, I'm not in their demographic but he is so, in that respect, it gets our vote.
Well, I enjoyed TMNT and my son loved it, I'm not in their demographic but he is so, in that respect, it gets our vote.
Definitely a good movie for the pleasant father/son evening, Sir M. It gets my vote in that regard as well. The live action Turtle craze during the 90s wasn't achieved as well as this new animation appears to be doing.
And if Dirty Sanchez is akin to Jackass, it gets a big thumbs down from me.
I do have a pretty weird sense of humour. Some may say it's sick. But that's just me. I absolutely loved TMNT as a kid. So it's something i'd like to go see.
An early episode of The Avengers, with Patrick Macnee and Honour Blackman.
Actually, I've recently been watching a whole bunch of Avengers episodes on youtube. Not the best picture quality, but I'm definitely hooked. The absurdity of the villains and plots are masterpieces of imagination.
Did you know that one of the Emma Peel episodes actually includes an early prototype for Q's Identigraph? It's called the Identicat. With it, you can identify, you guessed it... cats.
I went and saw Mr Bean's Holiday recently, and I was quite disappointed by it. I really quite liked Mr Bean episodes on TV, and thought that Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie was just a small blimp in an otherwise brilliant series. Sadly, Mr Bean's Holiday isn't even a patch on Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie. Not recommended unless you're a huge Mr Bean fan.
Quite an enjoyable film. I like cage and he puts in a good performace alongside Michael Caine. I didn't think there was much to it. But it kept me watching.
***
Hard Candy
Strange film, lots of unexpected twists. Ellen Page puts in an excellent performance.
***
The Rock
This film is absolute perfection. I can't remember the amount of times I have watched it. Easily more than any other film. For quite a long film, it still holds my attention for the whole length even after seeing it so many times. It is not only a great plot, with great action scenes, fight scenes, car chases. It has everything. The music is brilliant, the cast is top notch. Not only great performances from Connery and Cage. But also excellent performances by Ed Harris and David Morse. This film has everything for me. I may even invest in a ps3 just to watch this on Blu-Ray when it's released.
*****
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
"Borat"
Wow
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
'Dumplings.' Hong Kong horror, starring Bai Ling as a woman who cooks meals that are supposed to prevent ageing. Unfortunately she uses a special ingredient that is really, really gross. Recommended for fans of Asian horror, but anyone with a weak stomach might want to avoid this.
LazenbyThe upper reaches of the AmazoPosts: 606MI6 Agent
The Namesake and Lives of Others. Excellent movies both.
Directed by Orson Welles, feat. Welles, E.G. Robinson an Loretta Young.
It's about a government investigator (Robinson) who is hunting for an escaped Nazi war criminal (Welles), who has established himself in a nice local community and married a judge's daughter (Young).
The Stranger is one of Welles' forgotten gems; at least it's very rarely talked about. It's a great noir film, a genre of films that seldom fails to satisfy (me). The dialogue and acting is extraordinaire, and Welles' directing is immaculate.
Anyone seen the absurd Ninja strikes back starring imitator Bruce Le...Le ain't so bad but in no way in the league of the real Bruce Lee...but that's hardly surprising
The villain is none other than Harold Sakata , it was filmed just a yr before his passing.
Directed by Orson Welles, feat. Welles, E.G. Robinson an Loretta Young.
It's about a government investigator (Robinson) who is hunting for an escaped Nazi war criminal (Welles), who has established himself in a nice local community and married a judge's daughter (Young).
The Stranger is one of Welles' forgotten gems; at least it's very rarely talked about. It's a great noir film, a genre of films that seldom fails to satisfy (me). The dialogue and acting is extraordinaire, and Welles' directing is immaculate.
---
jfm
The Stranger
Thursday 19 April 12:20am-2am BBC2
for any UK residents...
'London.' Not to be confused with the film of the same name starring Jason Statham. This 'London' is what the poncey people call a cinematic essay. It's a documentary with a narrator ruminating over events in the city way back in 1992; the Tory victory at the General Election, the IRA bombing campaign, the developments at Canary Wharf. The narration was a little flowery, but its the images that stay with you. Seeing people just going about their daily business; waiting for trains, shopping for food, or simply walking to work, was oddly moving. Maybe its because this was filmed 15 years ago, which sounds like a long time, but 92 doesn't feel that far away if you are old enough to remember it.
'Killer Tomatoes Eat France.' Final film so far in the killer tomato franchise. Joke was wearing a bit thin by now, although there was one or two funny moments. Sadly George Clooney decided not to come back for this sequel, despite his fine work in 'Return of the Killer Tomatoes.' (I really don't know why Clooney is embarassed by having RotKT on his CV. I always found it pretty funny.)
I enjoyed this alot more than I thought I would and apart from my neighbours complaning about all the heavy bass, it was pretty good. The fight scenes were really good and some of the most realistic I have seen for a while. It got a bit tedious but worth watching.
***
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
Saw 'Grindhouse' today. I have mixed feelings about it, and this is why:
The first film, Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, is great. I really enjoyed this movie, and was laughing throughout.
The previews inbetween the two films were great, with Thanksgiving being the best one. Hilarious.
And then we come to Tarantino's film, Death Proof. It sucked. It was boring, it dragged on, basically nothing happened, and any part of it that could have been cool or funny was not. I was really disappointed with Death Proof. I expected more of Tarantino. It starts out with some great cinematography, and it is all downhill from there.
My advice? Go see it, and walk out after the middle previews. You'll thank me later.
Royal Flash, written by George MacDonald Fraser and based on the second book in his wonderful Flashman series of novels. I've been a Flashy fan for some time now--we can thank our own Willie Garvin for really turning me on to them--and I've wanted to see this film since first hearing about it. Well, it's now out on DVD and what can I say but. . .
A terrible disappointment. Malcolm McDowell is badly miscast as Flashman, capturing none of the character's bullying and bravado, and the film is really undone by Richard Lester's love of physical and visual comedy. The novels are funny, too; but the laughs come mainly from Flashman's first-person narration, which is bawdy, cutting, and always capable of piercing the pomposity and silliness he sees around him. The books are also serious at the core, satirizing (yet oddly appreciative of) literary and film cliches as well as the entire project of building empires.
GMF himself appears in the bonus features, and he mentions that Royal Flash got bad reviews when it first came out and expresses amazement that its reputation has gotten worse over time. There's a simple reason why: his own literary series has continued in the 32 years since this movie was released, and it's grown rich and complicated in ways the movie can never capture.
Mary Harron's 'The Notorious Bettie Page.' An oddly sweet biopic with Gretchen Mol baring her all, as a God-fearing Southern belle, who became a 50's pin-up queen, posing for dainty S&M pics in leather boots and such like.
As is common with British drama TV, it's fantastic from beginning to end. Extraordinarily well-written (by Terry Nation) and with some great acting from all parts.
The plot, briefly, is about how to cope in society when 99% of its population has been wiped out by a plague. No technicians, doctors, police, carpenters, electricians, go-go-girls, etc. The entire infrastructure is completely without any maintenance.
The series' protagonists have to start all over again, trying to cope with what they can find, steel, or make.
Comments
You'll find that the original is the superior film, which is often the case!
But Craig. Interesting performance. Both Robert Blake in ICB and the guy in Capote played Perry Smith as an asprin-crunching, semiconscious man-child; but Craig plays him as an out-and-out thug whose anger and brutality frequently give way to a sensitive, artistic side. There's also a scene where Craig sings to the camera, and if that's his voice then he's got pretty good pipes. Unfortunately, the black dye on his eyebrows makes him look a bit like Groucho Marx.
And I'm sure that, in the scene where the noose is put around Perry Smith's neck, all the Craig-haters out there cheered. . .
Not having seen the film I cannot comment on whether it is DC's voice. I would be very surprised if it wasn't because he definitely sings 'There's A Goldmine In The Sky' on the Infamous soundtrack. And he has got pretty good pipes.
First saw this on the flight to Cancun. I didn't really enjoy it back then. Probably due to the tiny screen and uncomfortable 11 hour flight. I picked it up a little while ago and just got round to watching it. This time I actually quite liked it. I like Cage and am a big fan of Sean Bean, especially from sharpe. It did seem to drag a bit at the end and went on a little bit, but I never felt like turning it off.
***
TMNT at the cinema. Just returned from taking my son to see this - he loved it, and I quite liked it as well
Borat is easily the funniest film I have seen after Dirty Sanchez. I had been told by several friends TMNT was terrible. Perhaps I will have to give it a go.
I agree about Borat but couldn't disagree more about Dirty Sanchez - I just don't find that sort of stuff funny.
Well, I enjoyed TMNT and my son loved it, I'm not in their demographic but he is so, in that respect, it gets our vote.
And if Dirty Sanchez is akin to Jackass, it gets a big thumbs down from me.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+avengers+mr+teddy+bear
An early episode of The Avengers, with Patrick Macnee and Honour Blackman.
Actually, I've recently been watching a whole bunch of Avengers episodes on youtube. Not the best picture quality, but I'm definitely hooked. The absurdity of the villains and plots are masterpieces of imagination.
Did you know that one of the Emma Peel episodes actually includes an early prototype for Q's Identigraph? It's called the Identicat. With it, you can identify, you guessed it... cats.
---
jfm
Quite an enjoyable film. I like cage and he puts in a good performace alongside Michael Caine. I didn't think there was much to it. But it kept me watching.
***
Hard Candy
Strange film, lots of unexpected twists. Ellen Page puts in an excellent performance.
***
The Rock
This film is absolute perfection. I can't remember the amount of times I have watched it. Easily more than any other film. For quite a long film, it still holds my attention for the whole length even after seeing it so many times. It is not only a great plot, with great action scenes, fight scenes, car chases. It has everything. The music is brilliant, the cast is top notch. Not only great performances from Connery and Cage. But also excellent performances by Ed Harris and David Morse. This film has everything for me. I may even invest in a ps3 just to watch this on Blu-Ray when it's released.
*****
Wow
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Directed by Orson Welles, feat. Welles, E.G. Robinson an Loretta Young.
It's about a government investigator (Robinson) who is hunting for an escaped Nazi war criminal (Welles), who has established himself in a nice local community and married a judge's daughter (Young).
The Stranger is one of Welles' forgotten gems; at least it's very rarely talked about. It's a great noir film, a genre of films that seldom fails to satisfy (me). The dialogue and acting is extraordinaire, and Welles' directing is immaculate.
---
jfm
The villain is none other than Harold Sakata , it was filmed just a yr before his passing.
The Stranger
Thursday 19 April 12:20am-2am BBC2
for any UK residents...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu35O3rv57I
LMFAO
Terrorist : American , do you hear me...american ?! We want to negotiate !
Norris (after shooting the radio to pieces) : Loud and clear !
I enjoyed this alot more than I thought I would and apart from my neighbours complaning about all the heavy bass, it was pretty good. The fight scenes were really good and some of the most realistic I have seen for a while. It got a bit tedious but worth watching.
***
The first film, Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, is great. I really enjoyed this movie, and was laughing throughout.
The previews inbetween the two films were great, with Thanksgiving being the best one. Hilarious.
And then we come to Tarantino's film, Death Proof. It sucked. It was boring, it dragged on, basically nothing happened, and any part of it that could have been cool or funny was not. I was really disappointed with Death Proof. I expected more of Tarantino. It starts out with some great cinematography, and it is all downhill from there.
My advice? Go see it, and walk out after the middle previews. You'll thank me later.
A terrible disappointment. Malcolm McDowell is badly miscast as Flashman, capturing none of the character's bullying and bravado, and the film is really undone by Richard Lester's love of physical and visual comedy. The novels are funny, too; but the laughs come mainly from Flashman's first-person narration, which is bawdy, cutting, and always capable of piercing the pomposity and silliness he sees around him. The books are also serious at the core, satirizing (yet oddly appreciative of) literary and film cliches as well as the entire project of building empires.
GMF himself appears in the bonus features, and he mentions that Royal Flash got bad reviews when it first came out and expresses amazement that its reputation has gotten worse over time. There's a simple reason why: his own literary series has continued in the 32 years since this movie was released, and it's grown rich and complicated in ways the movie can never capture.
Recently finished watching the first season of the superlative British post-apocalyptic drama series "Survivors". Read all about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivors
As is common with British drama TV, it's fantastic from beginning to end. Extraordinarily well-written (by Terry Nation) and with some great acting from all parts.
The plot, briefly, is about how to cope in society when 99% of its population has been wiped out by a plague. No technicians, doctors, police, carpenters, electricians, go-go-girls, etc. The entire infrastructure is completely without any maintenance.
The series' protagonists have to start all over again, trying to cope with what they can find, steel, or make.
Highly recommenced.
---
jfm