Hard not to mickey-take this film when you see it and equally hard not to get swept along with it. The finale - a superbly played out visual gag involving nuns and the Nazi staff car, seguing into the panoramic shot of the Austrian Alps - is an emotional sucker punch, esp viewed after copious wine and in the festive spirit.
That said... It's the sort of film set in Austria where everyone speaks English. Okay, but then there is a caste system within the cast. Anyone with impeccable moral authority - Fraulein Maria, the nuns, Captain Von Trapp - speak with English accents.
The children speak with American accents, because they are boisterous, naive and easily led...
The Nazis? They all speak with German accents. This is because... of a nod to cultural diversity.
Oh, and those two scheming Austrian friends of Captain Von Trapp have American accents too, they are kind of the Karen and Jack to Captain Von Trapp (does he have a Christian name?) and Maria - they sort of make things a bit more fun.
Perhaps this is all less anomalous given that Americans are a nation of immigrants, with many second-generation Germans or Italians, with the great originators (ignoring the Native Americans) being English...
I'll admit that Andrews and Plummer are all the better in their roles for being somewhat apart. I can't think of many other films they did, they didn't quite settle into movie stardom so have an otherworldly quality. Connery was said to have been considered for Plummer's role, and Michael Caine got his big break as Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File because Plummer turned it down to do Sound of Music.
Oh, the young Nazi Rolphe or whoever is American too, but he isn't quite a Nazi yet so that's alright. The sheer perversity of the Nazi regime is summed up by the fact that originally he wants to cop off with hot young Liesle, but once he is signed up he no longer wants to - I mean, that's just unpardonable.
Actually, 'young' Liesle (way into her 20s at the time) does have an odd scene of flirtation with her 'father' in the film that is a bit iffy. If you were the director you'd want space kept between the two actors.
You get this kind of stuff in Die Hard, where the German terrorists all obligingly speak in English over the walkie talkie even though John McClane has given himself away as American. Also in Schindler's List, where it's all English - this time in convincing German accents, but angry swearwords are in German. Done well, as in these two films, it takes several viewings to realise this.
In his book on History in the Movies, Flashman writer and one-time Bond scribe George MacDonald Fraser wrote about the kind of accents that seem 'acceptable in such films, including Roman Epics. It does uncover all kinds of subliminal attitudes towards different nationalities. Films like The Sound of Music might explain why America thinks it can invade or 'liberate' foreign lands who will be jolly grateful, because they're all English/Americans really, they just don't quite know it yet.
Now it turns out that Sound of Music star Christopher Plummer has a key role in this film, though he is playing a family patriach, like he did in another Daniel Craig film, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It's odd to see Plummer still at it, while contemporary Connery has been long retired. Plummer is older than Connery and it seems busier than ever.
The film is okay but not quite right. Craig plays Southern American, his accent is not bad but for the first 20 mins you are noticing it, more than in that heist movie cameo of two years ago, perhaps because he looks like Bond in this, wearing a smart suit and being all knowing.
The actors are not quite right because we know them and are trying to get past that, when really they are playing caricatures. The humour should be played up, the flirtiness. It isn't.
Suddenly after half an hour of what's the point, it picks up and maintains momentum. That said, you don't see the plot holes because the denoucement is ludicrous. Oddly, you can get away with this nonsense in Midsomer Murders, less so in a big movie.
I did enjoy this however, it's was a nice break at the cinema over Christmas.
In his book on History in the Movies, Flashman writer and one-time Bond scribe George MacDonald Fraser wrote about the kind of accents that seem 'acceptable in such films, including Roman Epics. It does uncover all kinds of subliminal attitudes towards different nationalities. Films like The Sound of Music might explain why America thinks it can invade or 'liberate' foreign lands who will be jolly grateful, because they're all English/Americans really, they just don't quite know it yet.
I've seen a copy of this and thought about picking it up, having run out of Flashman adventures to read. Do you recommend it?
Can't do any harm, it's a decent read esp if you're a fan of historical movies. The main thesis of the book is to assess how realistic - or not - these historical movies actually are. It's quite an eye opener, and has a witty turn of phrase or slant on it quite a lot. Been a while since I picked up my copy, but it has photos in it to illustrate the similarity or not between the actors and the actual historical characters.
Dated of course, with no coverage of the numerous recent historical films like Lincoln. The author's been dead a few years. Of course, you'll know he wrote other adventure novels like The Pyrates, might be worth a look if you haven't done so.
1917 An amazing film all round... visually epic (this has to be an Oscar, and every other award, for Deakins) with beautiful pace, and yes, that much talked about 'single shot' style, that I felt worked brilliantly, as you're kept in the moment the whole time; it's a technical masterpiece. Great performances from the cast, and a stunning score from Thomas Newman. It's gruelling and visceral at times, as could only be the case for a such a subject, and both my wife and I found it very moving. I'd love to see it again at the cinema, as it needs that 'big screen' experience... I hope when released on Blu-Ray it comes with an in-depth making of, as there is much to admire in the process here. Mendes finest work to date.
I saw two of the films up for Best Picture Oscar. First, via Netflix, I saw Marriage Story. At first I thought I wouldn't like it--a twee (love that Britishism) show biz movie about the woes of show biz folks--but it turns into a searing look at divorce, and especially of how the words and actions of very good people get twisted around so that they can only be seen as villains. Really a good show. The next day I took in 1917, which is brilliant. It manages to use a simple premise to follow two characters through all the things that made World War I such hell: claustrophobia, confusion, broken or indifferent officers. . . I actually felt a little nauseated during the film: I'm not sure if it was my recently-consumed lunch or the seemingly-uninterrupted camerawork or both. . .but, still, brilliant.
I saw 1917 on Friday night with a packed audience, which resulted in me having to watch from near the front of the cinema with my neck at an uncomfortable angle, and certainly that combined with the continuous motion of the camera did make me feel a little bit off-kilter and a tiny bit nauseated - but that certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film. I think it will become a bit of a modern classic in the war genre. It's an intimate epic, with some astonishing visuals both in the trenches and also in the hypnotic, noirish night sequence with flares creating an eery shadow world. The 'going over the top' sequence is also pretty spectacular, especially when you consider the complications of achieving that sequence in one take. Now that my first viewing has sunk in, I'm looking forward to seeing the film again. I think I'm safe in saying that this is going to go down as my favourite film by Sam Mendes.
PPK 7.65mmSaratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,253MI6 Agent
I saw Caddyshack on the big screen for the first time with my brother recently. I have been a fan of actor Bill Murray since my childhood in the 1980's. Despite the cinema not having a capacity crowd, everyone present was having a good time. All of the jokes caused a lot of laughs for everyone present. My brother really enjoyed it too, since he had never seen it from start to finish. 1917, is next on my must see list. I am hoping that next weekend, I can go see it at my local cinema.
Dark Phoenix, the DVD cover of which now reads X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Take the "dark" in the title literally: this is a downright dreary film: melancholy, slow-moving, and devoid of the least hint of fun. The last few years have shown that superhero movies can be a lot of things; one thing they shouldn't be is Bergmanesque.
One of Hitchcock's first American films, and the evolutionary missing link between the Thirty Nine Steps and North by Northwest. Not only does it repeat the handcuffs, the respectable country gentleman, and the chase through a crowded theatre from the earlier film, but it climaxes with a scene on the outside of the Statue of Liberty, that is a prototype for the Mt Rushmore sequence in the latter film.
What is unique to this film is all the marginal but saintly characters who aid our heroes on their journey, including the cast of a circus sideshow. Also, dialog polished by Dorothy Parker, specifically the noble patriotic speechifying. A bit more optimistic than our typical Hitchcock worldview. This was a wartime film, so it's a bit of propaganda, but contrast the saintly circus sideshow folk with who the real villains are!
I found this excellent and lengthy article on the film, including a PDF of the script, Truffaut's interview with Hitchcock discussing this film and the other two I see as related, as well as storyboard art for the Statue of Liberty sequence and other scenes.
I thought I'd watch the classic Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks trilogy.
Joe versus the Volcano-An underrated surrealist film I loved to bits about a man who finds out he has only a few months left to live so he agrees to throw himself down a pacific island volcano to appease the local tribes's god.
Sleepless in Seattle- Classy movie. Top tier romance movie. And they did such a great job considering that Hanks and Ryan aren't on screen till the end.
You've got Mail- wonderfully clever plot about two people who hate each other, while sending anonymous love emails to one another without realising they're the same person.
Fantastic
“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. "
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
I'm not sure I've seen this movie since it was at the cinemas, and I'm relived it still as great as I remember it. The Movie is almost operatic with the exotic locations, big ideas and doomed love, but somehow it works. A modern classic!
If you haven't seen it, please do yourself a favour and do. If you have, treat yourself to this very well made paradoy - "The Toy Patient":
I'm not sure I've seen this movie since it was at the cinemas, and I'm relived it still as great as I remember it. The Movie is almost operatic with the exotic locations, big ideas and doomed love, but somehow it works. A modern classic!
If you haven't seen it, please do yourself a favour and do. If you have, treat yourself to this very well made paradoy - "The Toy Patient":
I normally don't bother watching horror movies, but this one is so good I'm going to mention it in the Best Movies of 2019 thread. It works a treat if you're simply after a good horror movie, but if you look closer it has several more layers to it. Lupita Nyong'o delivers an awards worthy performance in the lead role. There were rumours she was in the running for a part in NTTD. I don't know if that's true, I don't know if the role as Nomi and I absolutely can't say if she would have been better than Lashana Lynch. What I can say is that Nyong'o is a very beautiful woman and a very good actress.
I put that one in the same league as THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, a film that exceeded expectations and was much better than it had any right to be. BLACK SEA is another one that comes to mind.
The Count of Monte Cristo ... is that the Jim Caviezel version?
I put that one in the same league as THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, a film that exceeded expectations and was much better than it had any right to be. BLACK SEA is another one that comes to mind.
The Count of Monte Cristo ... is that the Jim Caviezel version?
Yep, that one. Love that movie to death. I know it takes a lot of liberties with the source material but that's fine...it's an adaptation and it absolutely delivers an entertaining and engaging adventure. It's amazing how many people that I talk to who go 'yeah, that one was pretty great, wasn't it?'
I'll check that out. I love that story. Always had a soft spot for the Richard Chamberlain version.
Certainly one to see on the big screen if you're going to see it at all. I took my 91-year-old Dad and he was gripped by it. I had to pop out for the trailers to avoid the new Bond trailer! They showed it right before hitting 'play' for 1917 so I nipped back in too early....
1917 has the Skyfall team - Mendes, Thomas Newman on soundtrack and Roger Deakins lensing it. The melancholy that suffused Skyfall works well here. You will pick up on one action moment straight from the Bond movie, and Newman's score echoes it just the once. One critic has pointed out that in the latter part of the movie there are virtually no extras, a comment levelled at the last half of Spectre. This may be to emphasise the inner journey and isolation of the key figures.
What the film gains in impressiveness it loses in authenticity and at times it appears to be a tick-box of Great War visuals. The idea of going through all those events in a single trek seems unlikely. The single-track of the camera seems a distracting gimmick at first but once the mission is under way it works well as it builds tension.
This is a brilliant, big movie - thinking back on it reduces it a bit however. It does have a bit of the old 'let's make this a really big film because let's face it, war movies have been done before'. But there is so much stuff in this that sheds a new light on the war and that hasn't been done before, that it's a big plus.
So, I hadn't seen Spectre in about two years, and I showed it to a friend of mine today. And I was blown away by it. I loved it. More than I remembered that I did. It was a shock actually, I always liked the film, and I remember having a great time watching it in the cinema, but I think I placed SF and CR above it But in this viewing, I think it's aged very well. It feels very 2015, with some almost pre-Brexit themes in there about democracy and Britain. The soundtrack was gorgeous, and Craig came across as the most Bondian he had ever been.
Has anyone else realised how good this film is?
Its currently sitting as my favourite Craig Bond film, better than QOS and SF, with maybe only CR as its rival.
“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. "
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
So, I hadn't seen Spectre in about two years, and I showed it to a friend of mine today. And I was blown away by it. I loved it. More than I remembered that I did. It was a shock actually, I always liked the film, and I remember having a great time watching it in the cinema, but I think I placed SF and CR above it But in this viewing, I think it's aged very well. It feels very 2015, with some almost pre-Brexit themes in there about democracy and Britain. The soundtrack was gorgeous, and Craig came across as the most Bondian he had ever been.
Has anyone else realised how good this film is?
Its currently sitting as my favourite Craig Bond film, better than QOS and SF, with maybe only CR as its rival.
Seeing as it’s a Bond movie, the post might be better in the “Last Bond movie you watched.” thread in “The James Bond Films” forum.
But I definitely agree; I also watched it recently and really enjoyed it! ...and didn’t get my underwear in a twist about the plot like it seems many others do. Looking past the yellow tint, I love the cinematography as well. Going off memory, the PTS and the desert train station were stand outs.
This 2018 film isn't directed by Peter Jackson, but the script is written by his writers from LotR and he produced it. While this is a steampunk story we can see his style in it. The story takes place far into the future after a apocalytic war that destroyed our civiliztion and most urban areas have turned mobile, driving around on tracks swallowing and canabalizing smaller towns. Barmy story, but it's something we haven't seen before and high budget steampunk fims is something we rarely get. The unusual setting and plot is a big plus and the film is afeast for the eyes.
There are negatives. Most of the leads are unknowns who aften have a generic young adult film to them. I can easily imagine them in the Maze Runner films or the "100" TV series, Hugo Weaving being a welcome exeption. I aslo feel the music could have been more imaginative in such an imaginative environment, but what we get is a typical big action/adventure soundtrack.
Last but not least I find the dialogue is often very action movie generic, to the point where I started pausing the movie after some lines to guess the next line. For example "Stay out of sight until I give you the signal" "What signal? How will I know?"
I guessed the reply, of cource it's_"Trust me, you'll know". This happened again and again. I don't remember if they used "We've got company!", but it's often that kind of dialogue. There are thankfully exceptions. At it's best the lines hint at a history and a world with words and references we only half understand.
It's not a bad movie, it's an inventive action/adventure film.
I think the plot and setting has a lot of potential that better dialogue, casting and music.
Mortal Engines was filmed in NZ, where I'm from, and a lot of my uni friends ended up being extras in the film. I think Jackson wanted it to be his next big film series, yet it flopped hard. I saw it in my bday, and had a good time, even though it was quite rubbish. Had two Brosnan era Bond actors in it though, Patrick Malahide and Colin Salmon.
“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. "
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
Yes, I think the Mortal Engines should be better than it is.
The Edge of Seventeen" (2016)
Last night I saw a wonderful little film titled "Edge of Seventeen". It stars Hailee Steinsfeld and Woody Harleson. It's about a teenage girl with a brother who's far more attractive and popular than she is. She dislikes him and doesn't fit in with most people her age. After her father died the only people she really connects with are her history teacher and a girl whos'been her only fiend for years. Both the humor and the drama is top notch. This is the kind of movie that gets largely ignored in a world where cinemas are dominated by superhero blockbusters. Steinfeld and Harleson are hillarious when they spar off each other!
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). DC has found its sweet spot: violent movies set in Gotham City centered around a psychotic clown. But while Joker channels the tortured Scorsese of Taxi Driver, Birds is more like the Tarantino of Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill--a kinetic funhouse ride. This is a blast, made more so by Ewan McGregor's nutso Black Mask and especially by Margot Robbie's Harley. And I'll finally say it: Margot Robbie could be the best film performer working today. She's got Marilyn Monroe looks and Meryl Streep acting chops. . . She does comedy, drama, action, you name it--and while she may have done a couple of bad films I don't think I've ever seen her in a bad performance. Birds was apparently her idea and she serves as the producer as well. . .which shows she's a real force. You go, girrrrl!
This was actually pretty awesome, much better than it should have been. It crushes the 1970s version with Charlton Heston. It's not high art but it's a really rousing, well paced, very well executed film that by all accounts is actually very historically accurate.
Thanks for the recommendation. My great uncle was on the USS Yorktown. He survived but never fully got over the experience.
Comments
a follow up movie.
From the same YouTube channel ....
The Abominable Dr. Phibes a 1971 black comedy with Vincent Price.
Hard not to mickey-take this film when you see it and equally hard not to get swept along with it. The finale - a superbly played out visual gag involving nuns and the Nazi staff car, seguing into the panoramic shot of the Austrian Alps - is an emotional sucker punch, esp viewed after copious wine and in the festive spirit.
That said...
The children speak with American accents, because they are boisterous, naive and easily led...
The Nazis? They all speak with German accents. This is because... of a nod to cultural diversity.
Oh, and those two scheming Austrian friends of Captain Von Trapp have American accents too, they are kind of the Karen and Jack to Captain Von Trapp (does he have a Christian name?) and Maria - they sort of make things a bit more fun.
Perhaps this is all less anomalous given that Americans are a nation of immigrants, with many second-generation Germans or Italians, with the great originators (ignoring the Native Americans) being English...
I'll admit that Andrews and Plummer are all the better in their roles for being somewhat apart. I can't think of many other films they did, they didn't quite settle into movie stardom so have an otherworldly quality. Connery was said to have been considered for Plummer's role, and Michael Caine got his big break as Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File because Plummer turned it down to do Sound of Music.
Oh, the young Nazi Rolphe or whoever is American too, but he isn't quite a Nazi yet so that's alright. The sheer perversity of the Nazi regime is summed up by the fact that originally he wants to cop off with hot young Liesle, but once he is signed up he no longer wants to - I mean, that's just unpardonable.
Actually, 'young' Liesle (way into her 20s at the time) does have an odd scene of flirtation with her 'father' in the film that is a bit iffy. If you were the director you'd want space kept between the two actors.
You get this kind of stuff in Die Hard, where the German terrorists all obligingly speak in English over the walkie talkie even though John McClane has given himself away as American. Also in Schindler's List, where it's all English - this time in convincing German accents, but angry swearwords are in German. Done well, as in these two films, it takes several viewings to realise this.
In his book on History in the Movies, Flashman writer and one-time Bond scribe George MacDonald Fraser wrote about the kind of accents that seem 'acceptable in such films, including Roman Epics. It does uncover all kinds of subliminal attitudes towards different nationalities. Films like The Sound of Music might explain why America thinks it can invade or 'liberate' foreign lands who will be jolly grateful, because they're all English/Americans really, they just don't quite know it yet.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Now it turns out that Sound of Music star Christopher Plummer has a key role in this film, though he is playing a family patriach, like he did in another Daniel Craig film, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It's odd to see Plummer still at it, while contemporary Connery has been long retired. Plummer is older than Connery and it seems busier than ever.
The film is okay but not quite right. Craig plays Southern American, his accent is not bad but for the first 20 mins you are noticing it, more than in that heist movie cameo of two years ago, perhaps because he looks like Bond in this, wearing a smart suit and being all knowing.
The actors are not quite right because we know them and are trying to get past that, when really they are playing caricatures. The humour should be played up, the flirtiness. It isn't.
Suddenly after half an hour of what's the point, it picks up and maintains momentum. That said, you don't see the plot holes because the denoucement is ludicrous. Oddly, you can get away with this nonsense in Midsomer Murders, less so in a big movie.
I did enjoy this however, it's was a nice break at the cinema over Christmas.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Georg. I think he is referred to by his first name quite often in the film.
Dated of course, with no coverage of the numerous recent historical films like Lincoln. The author's been dead a few years. Of course, you'll know he wrote other adventure novels like The Pyrates, might be worth a look if you haven't done so.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggHoXaj8BQHIiPmOxezeWA
One of Hitchcock's first American films, and the evolutionary missing link between the Thirty Nine Steps and North by Northwest. Not only does it repeat the handcuffs, the respectable country gentleman, and the chase through a crowded theatre from the earlier film, but it climaxes with a scene on the outside of the Statue of Liberty, that is a prototype for the Mt Rushmore sequence in the latter film.
What is unique to this film is all the marginal but saintly characters who aid our heroes on their journey, including the cast of a circus sideshow. Also, dialog polished by Dorothy Parker, specifically the noble patriotic speechifying. A bit more optimistic than our typical Hitchcock worldview. This was a wartime film, so it's a bit of propaganda, but contrast the saintly circus sideshow folk with who the real villains are!
I found this excellent and lengthy article on the film, including a PDF of the script, Truffaut's interview with Hitchcock discussing this film and the other two I see as related, as well as storyboard art for the Statue of Liberty sequence and other scenes.
Joe versus the Volcano-An underrated surrealist film I loved to bits about a man who finds out he has only a few months left to live so he agrees to throw himself down a pacific island volcano to appease the local tribes's god.
Sleepless in Seattle- Classy movie. Top tier romance movie. And they did such a great job considering that Hanks and Ryan aren't on screen till the end.
You've got Mail- wonderfully clever plot about two people who hate each other, while sending anonymous love emails to one another without realising they're the same person.
Fantastic
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
I'm not sure I've seen this movie since it was at the cinemas, and I'm relived it still as great as I remember it. The Movie is almost operatic with the exotic locations, big ideas and doomed love, but somehow it works. A modern classic!
If you haven't seen it, please do yourself a favour and do. If you have, treat yourself to this very well made paradoy - "The Toy Patient":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irEivzvZX9s&feature=emb_logo
I have never been as distressed leaving a cinema as I was after seeing 'The English Patient'
I was crying uncontrollably. To the point where I couldn't drive home.
I have refused to watch it again since. The funny thing is I can't remember that much about the story now but I won't revisit it.
A very watchable film about what happened to the Roman 9th Legion who seemed to disappear after marching into Scotland.
A good cast and alongside Fassbender is Dominic West, David Morrisey and Olga Kurylenko.
Lots of graphic violence but I found it enjoyable.
Definitely better than I thought it was going to be.
I was looking for something to watch with my elderly father who loves all that stuff and we both really enjoyed it.
I normally don't bother watching horror movies, but this one is so good I'm going to mention it in the Best Movies of 2019 thread. It works a treat if you're simply after a good horror movie, but if you look closer it has several more layers to it. Lupita Nyong'o delivers an awards worthy performance in the lead role. There were rumours she was in the running for a part in NTTD. I don't know if that's true, I don't know if the role as Nomi and I absolutely can't say if she would have been better than Lashana Lynch. What I can say is that Nyong'o is a very beautiful woman and a very good actress.
The Count of Monte Cristo ... is that the Jim Caviezel version?
I'll check that out. I love that story. Always had a soft spot for the Richard Chamberlain version.
Certainly one to see on the big screen if you're going to see it at all. I took my 91-year-old Dad and he was gripped by it. I had to pop out for the trailers to avoid the new Bond trailer! They showed it right before hitting 'play' for 1917 so I nipped back in too early....
1917 has the Skyfall team - Mendes, Thomas Newman on soundtrack and Roger Deakins lensing it. The melancholy that suffused Skyfall works well here. You will pick up on one action moment straight from the Bond movie, and Newman's score echoes it just the once. One critic has pointed out that in the latter part of the movie there are virtually no extras, a comment levelled at the last half of Spectre. This may be to emphasise the inner journey and isolation of the key figures.
What the film gains in impressiveness it loses in authenticity and at times it appears to be a tick-box of Great War visuals. The idea of going through all those events in a single trek seems unlikely. The single-track of the camera seems a distracting gimmick at first but once the mission is under way it works well as it builds tension.
This is a brilliant, big movie - thinking back on it reduces it a bit however. It does have a bit of the old 'let's make this a really big film because let's face it, war movies have been done before'. But there is so much stuff in this that sheds a new light on the war and that hasn't been done before, that it's a big plus.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Has anyone else realised how good this film is?
Its currently sitting as my favourite Craig Bond film, better than QOS and SF, with maybe only CR as its rival.
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
Seeing as it’s a Bond movie, the post might be better in the “Last Bond movie you watched.” thread in “The James Bond Films” forum.
https://ajb007.co.uk/topic/49302/last-bond-movie-you-watched/
But I definitely agree; I also watched it recently and really enjoyed it! ...and didn’t get my underwear in a twist about the plot like it seems many others do. Looking past the yellow tint, I love the cinematography as well. Going off memory, the PTS and the desert train station were stand outs.
This 2018 film isn't directed by Peter Jackson, but the script is written by his writers from LotR and he produced it. While this is a steampunk story we can see his style in it. The story takes place far into the future after a apocalytic war that destroyed our civiliztion and most urban areas have turned mobile, driving around on tracks swallowing and canabalizing smaller towns. Barmy story, but it's something we haven't seen before and high budget steampunk fims is something we rarely get. The unusual setting and plot is a big plus and the film is afeast for the eyes.
There are negatives. Most of the leads are unknowns who aften have a generic young adult film to them. I can easily imagine them in the Maze Runner films or the "100" TV series, Hugo Weaving being a welcome exeption. I aslo feel the music could have been more imaginative in such an imaginative environment, but what we get is a typical big action/adventure soundtrack.
Last but not least I find the dialogue is often very action movie generic, to the point where I started pausing the movie after some lines to guess the next line. For example "Stay out of sight until I give you the signal" "What signal? How will I know?"
I guessed the reply, of cource it's_"Trust me, you'll know". This happened again and again. I don't remember if they used "We've got company!", but it's often that kind of dialogue. There are thankfully exceptions. At it's best the lines hint at a history and a world with words and references we only half understand.
It's not a bad movie, it's an inventive action/adventure film.
I think the plot and setting has a lot of potential that better dialogue, casting and music.
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
The Edge of Seventeen" (2016)
Last night I saw a wonderful little film titled "Edge of Seventeen". It stars Hailee Steinsfeld and Woody Harleson. It's about a teenage girl with a brother who's far more attractive and popular than she is. She dislikes him and doesn't fit in with most people her age. After her father died the only people she really connects with are her history teacher and a girl whos'been her only fiend for years. Both the humor and the drama is top notch. This is the kind of movie that gets largely ignored in a world where cinemas are dominated by superhero blockbusters. Steinfeld and Harleson are hillarious when they spar off each other!
Just watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=EB6Gecy6IP8&feature=emb_logo
Thanks for the recommendation. My great uncle was on the USS Yorktown. He survived but never fully got over the experience.