1970s British horror recommended by someone on this thread a few pages back. It's okay, it follows the usual Dead of Night formula where some people meet in a mysterious setting and reveal their respective recurring nightmares, so it's really a quartet of short stories. It's good to see Terry-Thomas in a semi-serious role, but two of the tales aren't that amazing, I didn't care for the Curt Jurgens story about the conjurer and the snake charmer. A pre-Dr Who Tom Baker shows up in the finale tale, which is one of the better ones, about an artist who takes revenge using voodoo when he finds he's been sold short.
However, the punchline that's meant to encompass the four participants who have met ie the reason for their meeting, just didn't really stack up for me.
Unexpected, unflagged up ITV tribute to Tony Curtis, though of course this is a film in which he probably spends least time being Curtis, dressing up as Josephine then the Cary Grant-a-like oil magnate. Terrific stuff, though I can see why it got duff previews; the first 10 minutes or so is rather serious and slow to get going, once we meet our two lads it picks up a bit of course but only really hits full stride once they have to get in drag. To audiences expecting to see something else, that would be a struggle to overcome.
Watched The Town and How to Lose friends and Alienate People the other day, both of which I actually really liked. Although the former took a lot from Michael Mann's Heat, it was still a solid, well paced crime thriller with a solid performances and exciting action sequences.
HTLF&AP was a pleasent suprise. I haven't read the book so can't compare but I liked Simon Pegg's performance as the amusingly arrogant central character.
The 1969 classic starring Gene Hackman and Gregory Peck is about three astronaunts, nearly completing a seven month mission in a space station, stranded and it's up Peck and the entire ground control crew to rescue them. There certaintly a chilling element to this film, quietness. When the retro rockets refuse to fire, the problem is presented with somewhat of a wimper than a bang. The ground control notice the problem with some surprise but they thick they can handle it, the tension builds and soon the calm and controled Peck is fighting it out with his own crew. Gregory Peck's unshakable demeanor helps his role as a leader figure he operates on logic but sometimes forgets emotion, it's the perfect casting. Hackman plays the astronaunt who eventually snaps, going into a boiling rage with his unfounded guilt and his desire to go home; It's an intense preformance to say the least. The finale is probably one the greatest and simultaneously eerily quiet in film history. One of tha astronaunts already killed themselves to perserve the dwindling oxygen supply and Hackman and his fellow astronaunt suffer the effects of a low amount of oxygen to the brain; Or should I say they fall into a false sense of security because of the low oxygen. I was almost tempted to cheer with ground crew when the two survivors were rescued because the entire film was just so intense. This film was more affective than Ron Howard's Apollo 13 which far too concerned with special effects and the loud music hightening the attention. This film directed by John Sturges created a far darker atmosphere with those three men being stranded in space, every breath they drew could have been their last and you felt it. An amazing film which still holds up today.
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
One of the worst James Bond films. Bond is a emotional wimp, M is a stupid grandmother, and the so called "worlds dangerous terrorist" with the banal alias of "Renard" acts like a school boy with a crush. This appearantly is all the doing of one silly little girl named Elektra King who wants to regain control of her family's oil company and is obessed with letting the world know. King is appearantly is so evil she can make everyone turn into third rate soap opera stars gushing over their emotions instead of thinking logically. This film makes everything so personal to the point of being a joke. Everyone has something whine about or some regret. The World is Not Enough is far removed from Ian Fleming's books which were targeted for warm-blooded metrosexuals.
The action scenes are dull and sometimes badly executed and the plot is far too convoluted even for a Bond film. I will admit this film is actually pretty stylish in terms of clothes set decor but the dreary cinematography hampers the film's image quite a bit.
This a huge miss and I would say the last major insult was the return of Goldeneye's Valentin Zukovsky who is now just comical fop as opposed to be a ruthless Russian gangster with a sense of humor. No, they had throw in Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist. Not even Ed Wood could have bought something that stupid.
I tried to watch Blake Edwards' comedy The Great Race, but it was an Indian summer so I went out into town. I saw the first 35 minutes or so, it seemed really static and dated. You'd think there'd be laughs to be had with Some Like It Hot's Jack Lemmon and the late Tony Curtis as antagonists, but Curtis seemed very bland and Lemmon miscast as a stereotypical silent movie villain, twiddling his moustache. Wacky Races was a lot more fun, this barely raised a laugh from me though it may have picked up later on.
I tried to watch Blake Edwards' comedy The Great Race, but it was an Indian summer so I went out into town. I saw the first 35 minutes or so, it seemed really static and dated. You'd think there'd be laughs to be had with Some Like It Hot's Jack Lemmon and the late Tony Curtis as antagonists, but Curtis seemed very bland and Lemmon miscast as a stereotypical silent movie villain, twiddling his moustache. Wacky Races was a lot more fun, this barely raised a laugh from me though it may have picked up later on.
Personally, I've never been a big fan of Edwards. I've only seen his Panther films but they barely got a laugh out of me.
Sergio Leone's Duck, You Sucker! (aka A Fistful of Dynamite)
The last of Leone's spaghetti westerns. While I didn't enjoy it as much as his earlier efforts, I thought that the film was still very well done and definitely one I will rewatch many times. As usual, the Leone elements really carry the film, and Ennio Morricone's unusual and experimental score is a big plus. Rod Steiger and James Coburn play the leads and do a good job, although I am not much of a Steiger fan. I wish there was a way to see the film with Eli Wallach in the role of Juan (he was the first choice but apparently the studio wanted a bigger star).
I now feel kinda sad that there are no more Sergio Leone westerns for me to discover. Oh well....
Daniel Craig stars in this British Indie pic released in the slipstream of Casino Royale. He has the same sort of look, such as in his 'I complete you' type speech to Vesper, though he doesn't get to emote much in this initially as he plays an emotionally repressed burnt out coked up actor living the 'dream' aka nightmare out in LA.
Craig is an interesting actor to look at and seems more natural here than in CR - his body is good but not overdeveloped. But he seems like an actor's idea of what a good actor is like. You can see him trying a bit too hard. The film did have its moments however and did develop an atmosphere.
Daniel Craig stars in this British Indie pic released in the slipstream of Casino Royale. He has the same sort of look, such as in his 'I complete you' type speech to Vesper, though he doesn't get to emote much in this initially as he plays an emotionally repressed burnt out coked up actor living the 'dream' aka nightmare out in LA.
Craig is an interesting actor to look at and seems more natural here than in CR - his body is good but not overdeveloped. But he seems like an actor's idea of what a good actor is like. You can see him trying a bit too hard. The film did have its moments however and did develop an atmosphere.
I thought this film was ok, but with just a bit more editing - ie more flashbacks and less having virtually the whole film set in the teen years, this could have been so much better. There are some great scenes in this film, but the message is lost along the way. Craig's charactor could really have learned more from the experiences and "flashbacks", and the director should have made more of Craig, although in essence the teen years were at the heart of the story. I just felt this had a great premise, but was a wasted attempt.
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Managed to see this in a preview screening as part of the 2010 London Film Festival. George Clooney starred as the charming yet lonely hitman (sound familiar? ) who hides out in Italy.
This is a thriller which is low in full-on action yet high in terms of suspense. The film succeeds largely due to Clooney, who carries the film with grace and style. The chemistry between him and prostiute Carla (Voilante Placido) is undeniable.
Visually the film is superb. The long-shots of Italy are spectacular and enforce the character's sense of isolation. Additionally the use of sharp colours during some of the nightime scenes add to the tension.
Daniel Craig stars in this British Indie pic released in the slipstream of Casino Royale. He has the same sort of look, such as in his 'I complete you' type speech to Vesper, though he doesn't get to emote much in this initially as he plays an emotionally repressed burnt out coked up actor living the 'dream' aka nightmare out in LA.
Craig is an interesting actor to look at and seems more natural here than in CR - his body is good but not overdeveloped. But he seems like an actor's idea of what a good actor is like. You can see him trying a bit too hard. The film did have its moments however and did develop an atmosphere.
I thought this film was ok, but with just a bit more editing - ie more flashbacks and less having virtually the whole film set in the teen years, this could have been so much better. There are some great scenes in this film, but the message is lost along the way. Craig's charactor could really have learned more from the experiences and "flashbacks", and the director should have made more of Craig, although in essence the teen years were at the heart of the story. I just felt this had a great premise, but was a wasted attempt.
I would have posted a longer review. It seemed odd that Craig is around my age, but is a teenager in the mid 70s - er, not quite right surely, when is the film meant to be set? Craig would have been about eight in 1975.
I sort of appreciated the film for trying to move you, even if it was a bit clumsy, sometimes the attempt is as much appreciated even if the execution doesn't quite work. Craig seemed more like his slimmer Quantum of Solace self in the final scenes, suggesting they might have added those on later. Also, it seems that in movies a rite of passage must include a nale group masturbation scene, this is one part of films that I don't regret not ever participating in. I wonder if teenage gals indulge in group masturbation - now that's an event crying out to be filmed.
I watched a British film called "The Shouting Men" last Friday. It focussed on a group of Gillingham supporters going to Newcastle to watch the team play against Newcastle United F.C. in the quater finals. Really funny film which, though sad by the end of it, is well worth a look. Here's a clip...
V v good film about the founding of facebook and legal complications that ensued. Jesse Eisenberg is Mark Zuckerberg, the geeky unpopular Harvard guy - I've known the actor since Roger Dodger (recommended) and he was also in The Squid and the Whale. He's always good value. Justin Timberlake shows up too with a barnstorming performance.
It's kind of funny and a bit like the sitcom The Big Bang Theory in that the nerds occupy their own world; one is not really of this world while his mate is also a nerd but more grounded and weary of what he's getting up to. It's that Jewish Tony Curtis Jack Lemmon thing from Some Like it Hot in a way. It's also a bit like Risky Business.
It's a nerdy subject so director David Fincher frontloads the film with lots of hot chicks and raunchy narcissistic sex. It's also emotionally manipulative but it really holds the attention throughout. The final playout song from a Sixties band is a masterstroke.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
"RED"
A bit of silly fun based on a DC graphic novel that I never read...starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Karl Urban, Mary Louise Parker...and the exquisite Helen Mirren :x A bunch of aging espionage agents enjoying the twilight of their violent careers. Nicely self-aware, and appropriately tongue-in-cheek. Possibly more machine gun rounds fired here than in any three other films I can think of
Decidedly not "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold," but a good time. 3 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
recently watched the film version of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS with Rick Moranis as Seymour, Ellen Greene as Audrey, and Vincent Gardenia as Mr. Mushnik.
cameos by:
Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello, DDS
Bill Murray as The Masochist
John Candy as Wink Wilkinson
and John Belushi as Patrick Martin, a marketing exec.
this film is just good fun. magnificent music (it's become my default yardwork music) and truly genius puppets by the ever amazing Frank Oz.
recently watched the film version of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS with Rick Moranis as Seymour, Ellen Greene as Audrey, and Vincent Gardenia as Mr. Mushnik.
cameos by:
Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello, DDS
Bill Murray as The Masochist
John Candy as Wink Wilkinson
and John Belushi as Patrick Martin, a marketing exec.
this film is just good fun. magnificent music (it's become my default yardwork music) and truly genius puppets by the ever amazing Frank Oz.
Test audiences found this ending too dark so they changed it. A shame since it really fit the atmosphere of the film and the "Don't Feed The Plants Song" was very catchy. This alternate ending was actually included on the original SE DVD of Little Shop of Horrors but the producer of the film bitched and moaned and as a result it got pulled off shelves and replaced. That original SE DVD is extremely rare and I have seen it on Amazon for no less then $100 USD.
recently watched the film version of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS with Rick Moranis as Seymour, Ellen Greene as Audrey, and Vincent Gardenia as Mr. Mushnik.
cameos by:
Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello, DDS
Bill Murray as The Masochist
John Candy as Wink Wilkinson
and John Belushi as Patrick Martin, a marketing exec.
this film is just good fun. magnificent music (it's become my default yardwork music) and truly genius puppets by the ever amazing Frank Oz.
Test audiences found this ending too dark so they changed it. A shame since it really fit the atmosphere of the film and the "Don't Feed The Plants Song" was very catchy. This alternate ending was actually included on the original SE DVD of Little Shop of Horrors but the producer of the film bitched and moaned and as a result it got pulled off shelves and replaced. That original SE DVD is extremely rare and I have seen it on Amazon for no less then $100 USD.
thanks for those. I knew everyone died originally, 'cause I've worked the stage show a few times, but hadn't seen the movie's take on it
recently watched the film version of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS with Rick Moranis as Seymour, Ellen Greene as Audrey, and Vincent Gardenia as Mr. Mushnik.
cameos by:
Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello, DDS
Bill Murray as The Masochist
John Candy as Wink Wilkinson
and John Belushi as Patrick Martin, a marketing exec.
this film is just good fun. magnificent music (it's become my default yardwork music) and truly genius puppets by the ever amazing Frank Oz.
Test audiences found this ending too dark so they changed it. A shame since it really fit the atmosphere of the film and the "Don't Feed The Plants Song" was very catchy. This alternate ending was actually included on the original SE DVD of Little Shop of Horrors but the producer of the film bitched and moaned and as a result it got pulled off shelves and replaced. That original SE DVD is extremely rare and I have seen it on Amazon for no less then $100 USD.
thanks for those. I knew everyone died originally, 'cause I've worked the stage show a few times, but hadn't seen the movie's take on it
Was it a local theatre production ?
Also, Did you ever see the original film ? The one directed by Roger Corman ? You can watch it for free on Youtube or the Internet Archive.
Test audiences found this ending too dark so they changed it. A shame since it really fit the atmosphere of the film and the "Don't Feed The Plants Song" was very catchy. This alternate ending was actually included on the original SE DVD of Little Shop of Horrors but the producer of the film bitched and moaned and as a result it got pulled off shelves and replaced. That original SE DVD is extremely rare and I have seen it on Amazon for no less then $100 USD.
thanks for those. I knew everyone died originally, 'cause I've worked the stage show a few times, but hadn't seen the movie's take on it
Was it a local theatre production ?
Also, Did you ever see the original film ? The one directed by Roger Corman ? You can watch it for free on Youtube or the Internet Archive.
yeah, two local ones. still cool.
I have seen the original one. found it really odd lol.
I started wathing the Werner Hertzog remake of Bad Lietuenant last night. Expectations were high after seeing all the good reviews, however I ended up turning it off after an hour and a bit To me the film just seemed rather dull and I lost interest in the central murder mystery story.
I also found all the surreal images (very Hertzog-ian I know) rather irritating and distracting after a while. Cage seemed to be over-acting to the extreme and the film never seemed to go anywhere despite a good start. Considering the good reviews this received I was disappointed I didn't enjoy it more .
Contrast that to a really good film I saw last week which isn't out yet in the UK. "Its Kind of a Funny Story" tells the (ahem) story of a young clinically depressed boy in an adult psychiatric ward. The film strikes an excellent balance between dark comedy and touching drama. It doesn't shy away from a sensitive issue (depression in the youth) and presents all the characters in a sympathetic light.
A bit of silly fun based on a DC graphic novel that I never read...starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Karl Urban, Mary Louise Parker...and the exquisite Helen Mirren :x A bunch of aging espionage agents enjoying the twilight of their violent careers.
There was a great review headline to accompany a pic of Helen Mirren holding a firearm: Granny Gets Her Gun
Micheal Mann's adaptation of Harris' novel is serviceable but it lacks it certain areas. First off the atmosphere of the film is dark but at the same time Mann has that annoying habit of insisting upon the post modern aestetic of the time; cold and lacking in intimatcy and all bathed in white. Worst of all the 1980's pop songs date the film unnessecarily. I am not against films looking contemporary but here it's highly unessecary. The later day Lecter films all succeed in having a timeless look to them.
The characterizations are also questionable. William Petersen as Will Graham seems like a complex indvidual but he is written as more of a "tough guy" better suited as a cop in a Dirty Harry film or his previous effort in To Live and Die in LA and not someone who is truly, emotionally scared by what he does. Brian Cox does a decent job as "Lecktor" but he's forgetable in this film. He doesn't penitrate the screen at all. Cox certaintly comes off as a sociopath but not the the man so evil that professional psychiatrists simply describe as a monster. Lastly the biggest mis-calculation is Francis Dollarhyde. Mann entirely omits Dollarhyde's tragic childhood in his screenplay, the core motivation of Francis' sick fantasties, and makes him to be some sort of super human freak who can kill people with little effort. Tom Noonan just barely manages to capture the pathetic side of Dollarhyde but the character's credibility is all but destroyed at the end of the film. The finale has Dollarhyde pitted against a swat team who he blasts away with a shot gun and manages to survive several gun shot wounds which he shakes off easily. All this occurs with Iron Butterfly's Inna Godda Davida blaring in the background. Mann missed the point of the character entirely. He seemed more focus on making an extreme villian as opposed to a three dimensional person.
Mann's film isn't entirely bad. William Petersen does a good job to hold the film together and at times, there is a genuine feeling of suspense. It's a curiosity in the Lecter series but far from the best. I think Bret Ratner's Red Dragon is definetly the superior film.
The title sounds like a typical Hammer, with nervous passengers travelling by horse and carriage across Transylvannia but in fact it's not, it's set in late 1920s middle England and the action takes place between posh stately homes, driven to and from in classic cars of the period, including Steed's Bentley.
There's the benefit for Bond fans of two big name Bond villains, Christopher Lee and Charles Gray, both it must be said exuding more gravitas than in their Bond outings. Indeed, watching Gray here you can see he could have been the best Blofeld as written by Ian Fleming - he is evil personified. Very nasty indeed.
You also have The Good Life's Paul Eddington, in full-on Jerry Ledbetter 'What the devil's going on here?' mode. No Margo however, just as well, she'd be the most frightening thing in it.
The film is about two men who are alarmed to find that their younger friend has been inculcated into a devil cult, and they take steps to revert him. It's entertaining, and the finale gripping in a way that anticipates The Exorcist and The Omen. But Lee and Gray aside, the fellows are chinless wonders (Patrick Mower does nothing for me) and there are still some silly WTF moments of dumb behaviour (guy charged with looking after girl in her room only goes and falls asleep in his chair). It's also all very genteel: 'Oh, please do come into the drawing room Mr Devil, what can I do for you?'
James Stewart is a chinless wonder who arrives in town as a sheriff in the Wild West, without a gun. Yet he shows he's a dab hand with a firearm, which is a bit like a hellfire preacher admitting he has an eye for the ladies.
By the close of the film, two of his main associates have taken a bullet, illustrating the error of his ways and how he should have stuck with the gun in the first place. X-(
Came back from a screening of Frank Capra's 1934 film "It Happened One Night" with Clarke Gable and Claudette Colbert. Having been a fan of both "Its a Wonderful Life" and "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" I was eager to see this one for the first time.
On the whole very enjoyable, despite the obvious "dated" aspects of the film. One thing that struck out for me was how damn suarve CG is/was. Kept reminding me of a younger Timothy Dalton or Pierce Brosnan. All the more appropriate considering TD starred as Rhett Butler in the "Scarlett" TV series.
Comments
1970s British horror recommended by someone on this thread a few pages back. It's okay, it follows the usual Dead of Night formula where some people meet in a mysterious setting and reveal their respective recurring nightmares, so it's really a quartet of short stories. It's good to see Terry-Thomas in a semi-serious role, but two of the tales aren't that amazing, I didn't care for the Curt Jurgens story about the conjurer and the snake charmer. A pre-Dr Who Tom Baker shows up in the finale tale, which is one of the better ones, about an artist who takes revenge using voodoo when he finds he's been sold short.
However, the punchline that's meant to encompass the four participants who have met ie the reason for their meeting, just didn't really stack up for me.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Unexpected, unflagged up ITV tribute to Tony Curtis, though of course this is a film in which he probably spends least time being Curtis, dressing up as Josephine then the Cary Grant-a-like oil magnate. Terrific stuff, though I can see why it got duff previews; the first 10 minutes or so is rather serious and slow to get going, once we meet our two lads it picks up a bit of course but only really hits full stride once they have to get in drag. To audiences expecting to see something else, that would be a struggle to overcome.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
HTLF&AP was a pleasent suprise. I haven't read the book so can't compare but I liked Simon Pegg's performance as the amusingly arrogant central character.
The 1969 classic starring Gene Hackman and Gregory Peck is about three astronaunts, nearly completing a seven month mission in a space station, stranded and it's up Peck and the entire ground control crew to rescue them. There certaintly a chilling element to this film, quietness. When the retro rockets refuse to fire, the problem is presented with somewhat of a wimper than a bang. The ground control notice the problem with some surprise but they thick they can handle it, the tension builds and soon the calm and controled Peck is fighting it out with his own crew. Gregory Peck's unshakable demeanor helps his role as a leader figure he operates on logic but sometimes forgets emotion, it's the perfect casting. Hackman plays the astronaunt who eventually snaps, going into a boiling rage with his unfounded guilt and his desire to go home; It's an intense preformance to say the least. The finale is probably one the greatest and simultaneously eerily quiet in film history. One of tha astronaunts already killed themselves to perserve the dwindling oxygen supply and Hackman and his fellow astronaunt suffer the effects of a low amount of oxygen to the brain; Or should I say they fall into a false sense of security because of the low oxygen. I was almost tempted to cheer with ground crew when the two survivors were rescued because the entire film was just so intense. This film was more affective than Ron Howard's Apollo 13 which far too concerned with special effects and the loud music hightening the attention. This film directed by John Sturges created a far darker atmosphere with those three men being stranded in space, every breath they drew could have been their last and you felt it. An amazing film which still holds up today.
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
One of the worst James Bond films. Bond is a emotional wimp, M is a stupid grandmother, and the so called "worlds dangerous terrorist" with the banal alias of "Renard" acts like a school boy with a crush. This appearantly is all the doing of one silly little girl named Elektra King who wants to regain control of her family's oil company and is obessed with letting the world know. King is appearantly is so evil she can make everyone turn into third rate soap opera stars gushing over their emotions instead of thinking logically. This film makes everything so personal to the point of being a joke. Everyone has something whine about or some regret. The World is Not Enough is far removed from Ian Fleming's books which were targeted for warm-blooded metrosexuals.
The action scenes are dull and sometimes badly executed and the plot is far too convoluted even for a Bond film. I will admit this film is actually pretty stylish in terms of clothes set decor but the dreary cinematography hampers the film's image quite a bit.
This a huge miss and I would say the last major insult was the return of Goldeneye's Valentin Zukovsky who is now just comical fop as opposed to be a ruthless Russian gangster with a sense of humor. No, they had throw in Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist. Not even Ed Wood could have bought something that stupid.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Personally, I've never been a big fan of Edwards. I've only seen his Panther films but they barely got a laugh out of me.
The last of Leone's spaghetti westerns. While I didn't enjoy it as much as his earlier efforts, I thought that the film was still very well done and definitely one I will rewatch many times. As usual, the Leone elements really carry the film, and Ennio Morricone's unusual and experimental score is a big plus. Rod Steiger and James Coburn play the leads and do a good job, although I am not much of a Steiger fan. I wish there was a way to see the film with Eli Wallach in the role of Juan (he was the first choice but apparently the studio wanted a bigger star).
I now feel kinda sad that there are no more Sergio Leone westerns for me to discover. Oh well....
Daniel Craig stars in this British Indie pic released in the slipstream of Casino Royale. He has the same sort of look, such as in his 'I complete you' type speech to Vesper, though he doesn't get to emote much in this initially as he plays an emotionally repressed burnt out coked up actor living the 'dream' aka nightmare out in LA.
Craig is an interesting actor to look at and seems more natural here than in CR - his body is good but not overdeveloped. But he seems like an actor's idea of what a good actor is like. You can see him trying a bit too hard. The film did have its moments however and did develop an atmosphere.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I thought this film was ok, but with just a bit more editing - ie more flashbacks and less having virtually the whole film set in the teen years, this could have been so much better. There are some great scenes in this film, but the message is lost along the way. Craig's charactor could really have learned more from the experiences and "flashbacks", and the director should have made more of Craig, although in essence the teen years were at the heart of the story. I just felt this had a great premise, but was a wasted attempt.
http://apbateman.com
Managed to see this in a preview screening as part of the 2010 London Film Festival. George Clooney starred as the charming yet lonely hitman (sound familiar?
This is a thriller which is low in full-on action yet high in terms of suspense. The film succeeds largely due to Clooney, who carries the film with grace and style. The chemistry between him and prostiute Carla (Voilante Placido) is undeniable.
Visually the film is superb. The long-shots of Italy are spectacular and enforce the character's sense of isolation. Additionally the use of sharp colours during some of the nightime scenes add to the tension.
Really enjoyed it!
I would have posted a longer review. It seemed odd that Craig is around my age, but is a teenager in the mid 70s - er, not quite right surely, when is the film meant to be set? Craig would have been about eight in 1975.
I sort of appreciated the film for trying to move you, even if it was a bit clumsy, sometimes the attempt is as much appreciated even if the execution doesn't quite work. Craig seemed more like his slimmer Quantum of Solace self in the final scenes, suggesting they might have added those on later. Also, it seems that in movies a rite of passage must include a nale group masturbation scene, this is one part of films that I don't regret not ever participating in.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
http://apbateman.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUrRM_E42cs
V v good film about the founding of facebook and legal complications that ensued. Jesse Eisenberg is Mark Zuckerberg, the geeky unpopular Harvard guy - I've known the actor since Roger Dodger (recommended) and he was also in The Squid and the Whale. He's always good value. Justin Timberlake shows up too with a barnstorming performance.
It's kind of funny and a bit like the sitcom The Big Bang Theory in that the nerds occupy their own world; one is not really of this world while his mate is also a nerd but more grounded and weary of what he's getting up to. It's that Jewish Tony Curtis Jack Lemmon thing from Some Like it Hot in a way. It's also a bit like Risky Business.
It's a nerdy subject so director David Fincher frontloads the film with lots of hot chicks and raunchy narcissistic sex. It's also emotionally manipulative but it really holds the attention throughout. The final playout song from a Sixties band is a masterstroke.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
A bit of silly fun based on a DC graphic novel that I never read...starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Karl Urban, Mary Louise Parker...and the exquisite Helen Mirren :x A bunch of aging espionage agents enjoying the twilight of their violent careers. Nicely self-aware, and appropriately tongue-in-cheek. Possibly more machine gun rounds fired here than in any three other films I can think of
Decidedly not "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold," but a good time. 3 out of 5 stars.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
cameos by:
Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello, DDS
Bill Murray as The Masochist
John Candy as Wink Wilkinson
and John Belushi as Patrick Martin, a marketing exec.
this film is just good fun. magnificent music (it's become my default yardwork music) and truly genius puppets by the ever amazing Frank Oz.
mountainburdphotography.wordpress.com
Check out the original ending:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaBJDRIgJRY
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUiz4WgTB7c&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddIK3CIMzFs&feature=related
Test audiences found this ending too dark so they changed it. A shame since it really fit the atmosphere of the film and the "Don't Feed The Plants Song" was very catchy. This alternate ending was actually included on the original SE DVD of Little Shop of Horrors but the producer of the film bitched and moaned and as a result it got pulled off shelves and replaced. That original SE DVD is extremely rare and I have seen it on Amazon for no less then $100 USD.
thanks for those. I knew everyone died originally, 'cause I've worked the stage show a few times, but hadn't seen the movie's take on it
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Was it a local theatre production ?
Also, Did you ever see the original film ? The one directed by Roger Corman ? You can watch it for free on Youtube or the Internet Archive.
yeah, two local ones. still cool.
I have seen the original one. found it really odd lol.
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I think the best part of Corman's film was definetly Jack Nicholson. I swear that funny and creepy comes natural to that man.
agreed. that man is pure evil genius.
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I also found all the surreal images (very Hertzog-ian I know) rather irritating and distracting after a while. Cage seemed to be over-acting to the extreme and the film never seemed to go anywhere despite a good start. Considering the good reviews this received I was disappointed I didn't enjoy it more
Contrast that to a really good film I saw last week which isn't out yet in the UK. "Its Kind of a Funny Story" tells the (ahem) story of a young clinically depressed boy in an adult psychiatric ward. The film strikes an excellent balance between dark comedy and touching drama. It doesn't shy away from a sensitive issue (depression in the youth) and presents all the characters in a sympathetic light.
There was a great review headline to accompany a pic of Helen Mirren holding a firearm: Granny Gets Her Gun
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Micheal Mann's adaptation of Harris' novel is serviceable but it lacks it certain areas. First off the atmosphere of the film is dark but at the same time Mann has that annoying habit of insisting upon the post modern aestetic of the time; cold and lacking in intimatcy and all bathed in white. Worst of all the 1980's pop songs date the film unnessecarily. I am not against films looking contemporary but here it's highly unessecary. The later day Lecter films all succeed in having a timeless look to them.
The characterizations are also questionable. William Petersen as Will Graham seems like a complex indvidual but he is written as more of a "tough guy" better suited as a cop in a Dirty Harry film or his previous effort in To Live and Die in LA and not someone who is truly, emotionally scared by what he does. Brian Cox does a decent job as "Lecktor" but he's forgetable in this film. He doesn't penitrate the screen at all. Cox certaintly comes off as a sociopath but not the the man so evil that professional psychiatrists simply describe as a monster. Lastly the biggest mis-calculation is Francis Dollarhyde. Mann entirely omits Dollarhyde's tragic childhood in his screenplay, the core motivation of Francis' sick fantasties, and makes him to be some sort of super human freak who can kill people with little effort. Tom Noonan just barely manages to capture the pathetic side of Dollarhyde but the character's credibility is all but destroyed at the end of the film. The finale has Dollarhyde pitted against a swat team who he blasts away with a shot gun and manages to survive several gun shot wounds which he shakes off easily. All this occurs with Iron Butterfly's Inna Godda Davida blaring in the background. Mann missed the point of the character entirely. He seemed more focus on making an extreme villian as opposed to a three dimensional person.
Mann's film isn't entirely bad. William Petersen does a good job to hold the film together and at times, there is a genuine feeling of suspense. It's a curiosity in the Lecter series but far from the best. I think Bret Ratner's Red Dragon is definetly the superior film.
The title sounds like a typical Hammer, with nervous passengers travelling by horse and carriage across Transylvannia but in fact it's not, it's set in late 1920s middle England and the action takes place between posh stately homes, driven to and from in classic cars of the period, including Steed's Bentley.
There's the benefit for Bond fans of two big name Bond villains, Christopher Lee and Charles Gray, both it must be said exuding more gravitas than in their Bond outings. Indeed, watching Gray here you can see he could have been the best Blofeld as written by Ian Fleming - he is evil personified. Very nasty indeed.
You also have The Good Life's Paul Eddington, in full-on Jerry Ledbetter 'What the devil's going on here?' mode. No Margo however, just as well, she'd be the most frightening thing in it.
The film is about two men who are alarmed to find that their younger friend has been inculcated into a devil cult, and they take steps to revert him. It's entertaining, and the finale gripping in a way that anticipates The Exorcist and The Omen. But Lee and Gray aside, the fellows are chinless wonders (Patrick Mower does nothing for me) and there are still some silly WTF moments of dumb behaviour (guy charged with looking after girl in her room only goes and falls asleep in his chair). It's also all very genteel: 'Oh, please do come into the drawing room Mr Devil, what can I do for you?'
Roger Moore 1927-2017
James Stewart is a chinless wonder who arrives in town as a sheriff in the Wild West, without a gun. Yet he shows he's a dab hand with a firearm, which is a bit like a hellfire preacher admitting he has an eye for the ladies.
By the close of the film, two of his main associates have taken a bullet, illustrating the error of his ways and how he should have stuck with the gun in the first place. X-(
Roger Moore 1927-2017
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On the whole very enjoyable, despite the obvious "dated" aspects of the film. One thing that struck out for me was how damn suarve CG is/was. Kept reminding me of a younger Timothy Dalton or Pierce Brosnan. All the more appropriate considering TD starred as Rhett Butler in the "Scarlett" TV series.