Quoting Alex:
Saw Alexander. Considering he was one of the greatest military intellects in history, they've shown this by giving us two, (yes that's right, a big ol two) battles. Harumph!! Alexander the not so great, rather watch the mediocre Burton version ..
Oh and Angelina played Farrell's mother. Yes you heard that right.
Obviously Angelina's Olympias gave birth to Farrell's Alexander when she was a year old .
But ONLY two battles?Amazing.That's one more than in the Burton film,isn't it?
Watched "Secondhand Lions" today. I must say it was a pleasing endeavor of storytelling. And Micheal Caine once again manages to nail a subtle accent...Texan. There were moments when he sounded just like my grandpa!
I saw `The Incredibles`, I thought it was quite different to other Pixar films as it wasn't laugh out loud all the way, although I did think it was a very good superhero/action move with some very funny parts. I thought the problem with capes scene, and the scene when Elastigirl gets stuck between the automatic doors were very funny.
Watched Lawrence of Arabia for the first time on TCM, and I can definitely see why it's a classic ... Maurice Jarre's sweeping, majestic, but relatively monothematic score is a bit grating after awhile.
I loved the music. The theme is not just a soundtrack, it's part and parcel of Lawrence as a character. The musical theme is like a ghost actor, a second voice. The theme/music follows Lawrence as if it was ciceron. It contributes beautifully to the continuity of the character, as well as the story itself.
Fantastic Voyage. As usual, Donald Pleasance steals the show. The scene when his claustrophobia kicks in (after effects of the blitz) is worth a million. And his first bit of dialogue very familiar to YOLT's Blofleld. (made a year after I believe)
Raquel is gorgeous, Stephen Boyd had a calm restrained performance, Edmund O'Brian and the coffee was nice, just wish they traveled to the nose or other parts of the body. Think of the possibilities! (just kidding) A Fantastic movie, which deservedly won an award for special effects.
I was rewatching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on the SciFi channel, and it was even better than I remembered it to be. I still can't decide whether or not I like the first or the third Indy movie better-I watched them a lot as a kid and still love them.
Flattery will get you nowhere, but don't stop trying.
"if we didn't have crucifixion this country'd be in a right bloody mess. nail them up, i say. nail some sense into them" -- prisoner on the wall
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,721Chief of Staff
Caught Lord Of THe Rings: The Return Of The King last night. It's okay, not as good as expected but the SFX are brilliant ! Much prefered The Two Towers.
There were some nice plot changes/surprises in there (compared to the original), but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The original blows big time... er, I mean the opposite of sucks, of course ;-)
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jfm
"you damn fool. you've ruined the door!" -- old man
Quoting Sir Miles:
Caught Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King last night. It's okay, not as good as expected but the SFX are brilliant ! Much prefered The Two Towers.
I'm still waiting to see how Jackson handles the final novel as I refrained from going to the theater or purchasing the original DVD release. Hopefully, I'll receive this for Christmas. That girl I met so fair will really be in the darkest depths of Mordor if she decides to go with the socks. :v
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,721Chief of Staff
Quoting Alex:
I'm still waiting to see how Jackson handles the final novel as I refrained from going to the theater or purchasing the original DVD release. Hopefully, I'll receive this for Christmas. That girl I met so fair will really be in the darkest depths of Mordor if she decides to go with the socks. :v
Never having read the books, I can't comment on how Jackson rates on that level but, IMHO, he delivers 3 good/great films. I'm more interested in how he's going to handle King Kong - I think he'll get his butt kicked here as the first is a classic in every sense of the word.
I just watched "Jaws" on TCM. It's not a film I would normally see, but since its part of the American culture, its one of those "must see" films. It turned out to be okay, and when it started to get boring, it would suddenly become interesting. How the filmmakers made four films in the series is beyond me, however.
The film reminded me that Robert Shaw died too young, and appeared in too few memorable films. He would be a household name today if he lived longer.
Quoting Sir Miles:
I'm more interested in how he's going to handle King Kong - I think he'll get his butt kicked here as the first is a classic in every sense of the word.
I thought Guillermin's sequel to his own remake was pulled off fairly well -- technically speaking. Plot-wise it was pretty awful.
The original still holds, though, even technically. Being a b/w movie helps a lot. The "fake" look is hardly more fake-looking than the cartoon bits in Star Wars. Or DAD, for that matter.
The original King Kong is definitely on my desert island list.
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jfm
"i've got the key to the gates of paradise, but i have too many legs!" -- geoff murdock
"The original King Kong, a classic in every sense of the word." Nice phrasing Sir Miles.
Saw George Pal's brilliantly made Conquest Of Space this weekend. The creator of War Of The Worlds and The Time Machine, to name just a few in his superb library, creates another excellent film with innovative special effects and superior story dealing with the weakness of man. I read this was one of the movies Kubrick viewed prior to making his own 2001. There are similiar plot lines used. We might have gained better effects today but in doing so we lost something else, creative story telling with believable acting. If I had a choice between any of Pal's movies such as this one or When World's Collide for example in contrast to The Matrix's mumbo jumbo martial arts or Star Wars' half baked jedi philosophies, I'd take these pioneering works anyday, anytime.
Kirk out.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,721Chief of Staff
Watched Planet Of The Apes - original 1968 Charlton Heston version - why do people try to re-make these great films ? As Alex pointed out, the effects get better, the acting and storytelling doesn't.
Amen! It's too bad she couldn't have been a Bond girl. I know most people like Claudine Auger, but I would have rather have seen Raquel. Va Va Va Voom!!!
A grim, low-budget thriller by Shane Meadows. It's got a Get Carter theme, about a soldier in khakis returning to some smalltown in the Midlands or some awful place, to take revenge for an assault by some pond scum, on his younger, simple teenage brother.
It's fun, I suppose, to watch a guy picking off a group who all deserve it, like Get Carter or First Blood. Yet as the actor Paddy Considine is not Mr Charisma, it makes the dodgy morals of it more obvious.
Meadows doesn't quite set his boundaries though. There are some incongruities. Still, it's never less than absorbing, it just doesn't quite deliver the pay-off.
I finally saw the remake of The Manchurian Candidate, and I can honestly say that it's probably one of the best film remakes I've ever seen. Certainly there are homages to the original, but the basic storyline has been altered for modern audiences without being totally corrupted from the original. While I found the original to be a bit predictable, I honestly was only able to figure out just parts of the more recent version's ending. There are lots of subtle satire bits (CNW news and Big-Mart are featured on the newscasts in the ticker tape; it's absolutely hilarious!). The character originally played by the late, great Janet Leigh has a much more interesting role in the remake. Definitely worth watching.
Flattery will get you nowhere, but don't stop trying.
Quoting Stromberg1:
Yes, Teminator 2 was better than the original, and just like I said you don't hear it often. That is only one instance that you named.
I thought Bad Boys 2 was so much better than the original, but I agree that you don't see that very often.
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
Went and saw the movie version of The Phantom Of The Opera. Not the best movie I've seen, but it did keep my interest.
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
Quoting Stromberg1:
Yes, Teminator 2 was better than the original, and just like I said you don't hear it often. That is only one instance that you named.
Another example of that in my opinion is The Matrix Reloaded, but I know that you beg to differ.
Comments
Obviously Angelina's Olympias gave birth to Farrell's Alexander when she was a year old
But ONLY two battles?Amazing.That's one more than in the Burton film,isn't it?
amazing, unbeatable film! if ya aint seen go c it!!!! kostner n connery r gr8!
I think he wanted to leave himself. He didn't want to get stuck being remembered as Geoff for the rest of gis career.
Though I agree, the lack of Geoff killed series 4.
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jfm
"we're almost not even related anymore" -- ginger
I loved the music. The theme is not just a soundtrack, it's part and parcel of Lawrence as a character. The musical theme is like a ghost actor, a second voice. The theme/music follows Lawrence as if it was ciceron. It contributes beautifully to the continuity of the character, as well as the story itself.
In a nutshell, I enjoyed it being monothematic.
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jfm
"it's a matter of principle" -- col nicholson
Raquel is gorgeous, Stephen Boyd had a calm restrained performance, Edmund O'Brian and the coffee was nice, just wish they traveled to the nose or other parts of the body.
---
jfm
"if we didn't have crucifixion this country'd be in a right bloody mess. nail them up, i say. nail some sense into them" -- prisoner on the wall
There were some nice plot changes/surprises in there (compared to the original), but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The original blows big time... er, I mean the opposite of sucks, of course ;-)
---
jfm
"you damn fool. you've ruined the door!" -- old man
Never having read the books, I can't comment on how Jackson rates on that level but, IMHO, he delivers 3 good/great films. I'm more interested in how he's going to handle King Kong - I think he'll get his butt kicked here as the first is a classic in every sense of the word.
The film reminded me that Robert Shaw died too young, and appeared in too few memorable films. He would be a household name today if he lived longer.
I thought Guillermin's sequel to his own remake was pulled off fairly well -- technically speaking. Plot-wise it was pretty awful.
The original still holds, though, even technically. Being a b/w movie helps a lot. The "fake" look is hardly more fake-looking than the cartoon bits in Star Wars. Or DAD, for that matter.
The original King Kong is definitely on my desert island list.
---
jfm
"i've got the key to the gates of paradise, but i have too many legs!" -- geoff murdock
Saw George Pal's brilliantly made Conquest Of Space this weekend. The creator of War Of The Worlds and The Time Machine, to name just a few in his superb library, creates another excellent film with innovative special effects and superior story dealing with the weakness of man. I read this was one of the movies Kubrick viewed prior to making his own 2001. There are similiar plot lines used. We might have gained better effects today but in doing so we lost something else, creative story telling with believable acting. If I had a choice between any of Pal's movies such as this one or When World's Collide for example in contrast to The Matrix's mumbo jumbo martial arts or Star Wars' half baked jedi philosophies, I'd take these pioneering works anyday, anytime.
Kirk out.
Amen! It's too bad she couldn't have been a Bond girl. I know most people like Claudine Auger, but I would have rather have seen Raquel. Va Va Va Voom!!!
The Phantom movie was god awful , it could've been sooo much better
A grim, low-budget thriller by Shane Meadows. It's got a Get Carter theme, about a soldier in khakis returning to some smalltown in the Midlands or some awful place, to take revenge for an assault by some pond scum, on his younger, simple teenage brother.
It's fun, I suppose, to watch a guy picking off a group who all deserve it, like Get Carter or First Blood. Yet as the actor Paddy Considine is not Mr Charisma, it makes the dodgy morals of it more obvious.
Meadows doesn't quite set his boundaries though. There are some incongruities. Still, it's never less than absorbing, it just doesn't quite deliver the pay-off.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
and it was bad!!
I also saw Meet The Fockers and it lived up to expectations! 2nd funniest movie of the year.