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  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    Seven Nights In Japan (1976). I love films set in Asia and this is a pretty ordinary romantic story involving a British prince, obviously modelled on Charles, played by Michael York. But what makes the film fascinating is that the director is Lewis Gilbert back in Japan 9 years after YOLT, along with the screenplay by Christopher Wood, edited by John Glen and produced by William P Cartlidge. But the Bond alumni doesn’t end there, it also stars Charles Gray, James Villiers and Anne Lonnberg. The Japanese locations are stunning, the story just about passes muster but the assassination subplot seems to have been tacked on to add length to a thin storyline. Worth seeing just for connections to the Bond series.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • Golrush007Golrush007 South AfricaPosts: 3,418Quartermasters
    Fort Apache (1948)

    I recently got my hands on a boxset of John Ford-John Wayne collaborations including the so-called 'Cavalry Trilogy' (of which Fort Apache is part 1). I'm a big fan of John Wayne as a screen persona, also The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance are two of my favourite Westerns. Fort Apache was made about a decade earlier than those films, and The Duke is in his prime in this film.

    Central to the film is the conflict between Wayne's cavalry Captain and his new commanding officer, a stubborn, by-the-book Colonel played by Henry Fonda. The contrasting characters make for a compelling, if somewhat predictable, drama. The resolution of this drama also comments a bit on myth-making in the story of the old west, which Ford would later explore fully in Liberty Valance. The sideshow to this character study is a romantic plot involving Fonda's daughter and the son of the regiment's Sergeant Major. A significant supporting role is played by Pedro Armendariz, whose portrayal of Kerim Bey in FRWL is one of my favourite characters in the whole Bond series. I'd previously seen him acting with John Wayne in the awful The Conqueror, so it was nice to see him and the Duke appearing together in something good. As usual with Ford, the stars are surrounded by a bunch of colourful supporting characters who provide some charming, and sometimes silly, humour. Another John Ford staple is grand, and beautiful cinematography set in Monument Valley, as well as kinetic action scenes involving impressive horse stunts and fast moving cameras.

    It was a very entertaining film, and I certainly look forward to continuing the Cavalry Trilogy.
  • HardyboyHardyboy Posts: 5,882Chief of Staff
    Spider-Man: Far from Home. After their multipart operatic saga, Marvel have finally gone back to having a little fun. This one puts Peter Parker and his high school chums (apparently every single one went through that five-year vanishing--that's convenient) on a trip through the capitals of Europe. . .which all manage to get destroyed by inter-dimensional beings. It's all fast-moving and fun, with Mysterio beautifully realized (if you know the comic character you won't be surprised by how the plot develops, but if you know nothing of him you're in for a big reveal). But those who complained Toby Maguire had a hard time keeping his Spidey mask on won't like that Tom Holland barely seems to put on the Spidey costume!
    Vox clamantis in deserto
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Final destination 5 :
    Unintentionally one of the funniest films, I've seen in years

    The Rezort :
    Basically, Jurassic park with Zombies, worth a look. There is a twist
    Ending but you'll have figured it out long before that.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    Since my niece and nephew are visiting I've been watching a different type of movies lately :D

    Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998)

    This is a French animated movie based on West African folk tales. Kirikou delivers his first line while stlll in his mother's womb. Shortly after he crawls out of his mother and decides to takes a bath.
    The village is terrorised by a sorceress and Kirikou fights her in any way he can. The movie is entertaining, funny and the kids I had over for "movie night" loved it. If you're tired of watching Disney and Pixar movies with the kids, this movie is for you!
    The visual style and music is distinctive and different, it never tries to mimic anything elese. BTW: The tiny hero never thinks of puting on any clothes and every woman in every scene is topless. This movie has more nudity than an episode of GoT :))
    If you like it there is also Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) and Kirikou and the men and the women (2012)

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181627/
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    edited July 2019
    The Fantastic Mr Fox (2009)

    The story in this stop motion animated movie is by Roald Dahl and directed by Wes Anderson. This means a lot of deadpan humor, inventive setpieces and characters talking directly into the camera or standing in profile (not to mention voice acting from Bill Murray and Jason Swartzman)
    The story about Mr Fox who has turned away from a life of crime (stealing poultry from local farms) to get a house in a tree and a job as a newspaper colomnist. But of course he returns the old life for one last heist, or rather breaking into the farms of the three meanest and most vindictive farmers in the world. This movie is so funny, of-beat and smart I actually watched it for my own entertainment this winter, but my nephew loved it when we re-watched it last night. Perfect if you want a quality family movie that's definitely not Disney or Pixar.

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432283/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    Quantum Of Solace

    You might have heard of this one. My nephew asked to see a Bond film, and chose this one. Once again, I enjoyed this film's good points and grieved over its faults. He liked it, but commented on the poor editing (unprompted by me) and the awful title song (again, unprompted by me).
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,906MI6 Agent
    Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

    Its wall-to-wall gross-out gags on this one, once we get past the opening sequence in ShangHai.
    That opening sequence itself is similar to the dancehall sequence from 1941.

    Willie is like the prototype of Stacey Sutton from our films isn't she, but much more annoying. Stacy only screamed once or twice, when there was very good reason to panic. This entire film is Willie seeing something gross and running in circles causing more mayhem.

    Aside from the reliance on grossout gags and screaming Willie, this film doesn't actually do much once we get to India, does it? Indy vows to retrieve the sacred stones, there's five minutes of jungle trek, then the whole rest of the film is either in the Palace or in the cave system underground. The original film had a whole lot more globetrotting, part of its appeal.

    The basic concept is like a melange of Rider Haggard, Tintin, Carl Barks, Ray Harryhausen and our own James Bond. This film has less Bond-elements than did the original, but more Haggard and Harryhausen, which is OK by me.
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,906MI6 Agent
    Number24 wrote:
    The Fantastic Mr Fox (2009)
    yeh I liked this one too.
    George Clooney is perfectly cast as a smooth-talking fox.
    Did you see the Royal Tanenbaums and the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou?
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    I've seen those, but I acgtually prefer "The Fantastic Mr Fox" and "Isle of Dogs".
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,906MI6 Agent
    ooh, I didnt know there was such a film as Isle of Dogs
    I'll have to watch that one

    even his live action films look like childrens' book illustrations brought to life
  • Golrush007Golrush007 South AfricaPosts: 3,418Quartermasters
    I had a bit of a binge of westerns starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Anthony Mann. These were Winchester 73, Bend of the River, The Far Country and The Man From Laramie. Over the last 10 years or so I've watched the films of many of the great Western directors, but never Mann. I thoroughly enjoyed these 4 films, and in fact I think that Winchester 73 and Bend of the River will go straight into my list of 25 favourite Westerns. The only one of the Mann-Stewart westerns that I haven't yet got in my collection is The Naked Spur which doesn't seem to be as easy to come by on DVD or Blu-Ray.

    Stewart is a first rate leading man, and I found the plots of these films were enjoyable and well worked out. But in addition to good stories, the character conflicts and relationships in each of them made them particularly engaging. Stewart always plays a pretty good guy in these films, but with varying shades of darkness and coldness. All four films had cinematography that was very nice to look at, plus they are al tightly paced film of 90-100 minutes. I like it when films make economical use of running time.

    I highly recommend these films, especially for Western fans.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Bought a few HD downloads and have been enjoying them, .....

    Jaws, a classic
    The Black Hole, a gothic sci-Fi epic
    The Rocketeer, Dalton is fantastic in this, playing an obvious Errol Flynn type Nazi supporting actor.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    Midsommer

    A weird and nasty trip you can't get off.

    Not a fun scary switchback ride at all. Brilliant but not enjoyable.

    It's not altogether surprising the way this horror pans out in plot terms, but the sense of place and atmosphere and gathering dread coupled with ennui is very well done.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • walther p99walther p99 NJPosts: 3,416MI6 Agent
    Recently saw Crawl and absolutely loved it. It stars future Bond girl (hopefully) Kaya Scoderlario who was phenomenal as a girl trapped in a rapidly flooding house with her injured dad and a bunch of hungry alligators.
    Crawl.jpg
    crawl3.jpg
  • Golrush007Golrush007 South AfricaPosts: 3,418Quartermasters
    I saw Yesterday yesterday, and it was a most enjoyable trip to cinema - light-hearted and fun, well shot and naturally featuring a stellar soundtrack of Beatles songs. It's a fun conceit - the Beatles music has somehow in an instant been erased from history except that one person (who happens to be a struggling singer-songwriter) remembers the songs, and is able to pass them off as his own, which kickstarts his music career. It runs the risk of being a silly, cheesy film, but I think Danny Boyle handles it rather well. And the screenplay is by Richard Curtis, whose work I like very much. Good performances, great songs, pretty cinematography, a few enjoyable references for Beatles afficionados...definitely worth a watch.
  • Red IndianRed Indian BostonPosts: 427MI6 Agent
    "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood."

    I really enjoyed this one, it's easily my favorite QT film. DiCaprio's best work to date, and Brad Pitt really stole the movie!

    Those of you who grew up around the 60's-70's will have a field day with all of the film, music, and cultural references. It's an absolute time capsule and deserves repeated viewings.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    Rocketman

    Sir Elton gets to libel the dead in this biopic, it's as well the Northern comics Morecambe and Wise on whose show Elton guested don't appear - perhaps there's a scene on the cutting room floor in which they tell our follicly challenged friend: 'You're not funny and you never will be you Southern sh*te... and you're crap at piano too!'

    It's said Elton made it up with his mother before she died and just as well as if she were alive to see this there's be another estrangement.

    It's a proper musical unlike the much maligned Bohemian Rhapsody, which featured Queen music generally in a rehearsal or concert setting, like the recent A Star is Born - here instead characters break into song albeit in an offbeat, flashback or hallucinatory context, a bit like the classic Dennis Potter serial The Singing Detective.

    Taron Egerton is very good as the star, and at no point did I think that he couldn't pull it off or someone else should be doing it. He sings the songs himself too and very good indeed. The entire cast is good and though it makes a play of being warts and all and uncensored, there is still the sense that it soft soaps at times; at no point is Elton ever bald and his wigs and hair transplants never get mentioned, though his hair loss is. To be fair, to include that stuff would make him a clown and be distracting.

    Richard Madden does his customary Bond audition - the one they all have to do once they're seen as being in the frame. Looks the part, too short and Scottish accent like the Four Weddings Spartacus bloke so not quite Bond. Dunno, has evolution gone in reverse? We went from Connery to this, from Macca 65 to Ed Sheeran. From Kennedy to Trump.
    It seems it's only black folk who have bypassed this unfortunate trend though I should immediately concede that a) Connery had a wig as Bond and b) The whole looks fascism thing was bad for society and made a lot of people needlessly miserable.
    And my argument suffers from the fact that Elton was no looker though personable of course.

    I unwittingly caught the Singalong version so when the lyrics came up on the screen I thought, okay, that's cool and latterly caught on. No lyrics for the Pinball Wizard clip or any song that's not John and Taupin, perhaps for copyright reasons, dunno.

    This was a quality film so I'm not knocking it. Did wonder about other types, like a musical about Macca's Wings, not least because Jamie Bell as Taupin is a dead ringer for Wings' Denny Laine, plus it's the same era.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Batman ( 1989)
    I always loved this film and got it on download. Michael Keaton, is a fantastic Batman
    and Jack Nicholson is just wonderful as the Joker. Simply a great Movie -{
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    The Big Bus (1976) on Amazon prime Video
    The granddaddy of the Airplane/Naked gun type comedies.
    Very, very Funny. I hadn't seen it in years. :))
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    edited August 2019
    Cold Pursuit (2019)

    This movie is is a fairly direct remake of the Norwegian "Kraftidioten" from 2014. The origional starred Stellan Skarsgaard. Skarsgaard is a big fan of the director of both movies, Hans Petter Moland, in spite of his disdain for Norwegian catering.
    Liam Neeson is the star of Cold Pursuit in what he claims will be his last action role. The story takes place in the Rockies (I think) where Coxman (Neeson) Works as a snowplow driver. His son dies of an overdose, but Coxman is convinced it's a murder. The dark and bizzare humor from the origional is still there ( reminds me of the Coen Brothers) and together with the unusual locations it saves the movie from becomeing just the last Liam Neeson revenge movie. Well worth watching, I think.
  • HardyboyHardyboy Posts: 5,882Chief of Staff
    A couple of days ago I took in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino's latest. If you love his films and/or if you like 1960s U.S. movies and TV shows, you'll love this one. Even if you're not a fan of either, you still might get a kick out of the film, which shows that movies correct what's wrong with real life. The film also gives me some hope for the intelligence of moviegoers: it's a hit, despite having few action scenes, special effects that don't hit you over the head (mostly they are used to insert modern actors into older films or shows--Di Caprio doing the Steve McQueen scenes from Great Escape is a trip), and very long scenes of people just talking or of atmosphere being established. Say what you will about QT, dude knows how to make a movie!
    Vox clamantis in deserto
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    I rarely go to the cinema anymore because 90% of the movies are kids movies or superhero movies. "Once upon a time in Hollywood" is none of those, and I'm not going to miss it :D
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    Captain Marvel

    I rarely like superhero movies very much. I guess the fact that The Phantom was the only superhero comic I read when I was a kid is a part of the reason, but I think overrealiance on CGI is the main reason. When too many scenes are CGI heavy I lose interest, it feels like watching a computer game I can't play. I think Captain Marvel is an average superhero movie. Brie Larson does a good job in the lead, but if you want to see her acting really well in a good movie I suggest watching "Room" and "Free Fire".
    I liked best the scenes on earth were Captain Marvel interacts with humans. Many of these scenes are with Lashana Lynch who's also in the Bond25 cast. I still think Lynch isn't as stunning as the women we're used to in Bond movies, even though she's obviously atractive than most of us. Lynch's acting is good and I liked her character, and I think she was convincing as a jet fighter pilot.
  • DrNo007DrNo007 USAPosts: 4MI6 Agent
    Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

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    Decent slasher with a young Crispin Glover doing the most hilarious dance ever and an annoying Corey Feldman (even Ted White who played Jason said he couldn't stand being around him). The film has some of the best kills out of the first four. Highlights include a harpoon to the groin, Jason impaling someones hand with a corkscrew and then hacking them in the face with a meat cleaver, and the coolest kill; double-bit axe through the door into an unsuspecting female.
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,906MI6 Agent
    Psycho

    at least the half dozenth time I've seen it, I always notice new things.

    Norman starts to tell Janet Leigh a falsified version of what happened to his parents, and cuts himself off: "er, it's not really something to talk about while you're eating."

    Janet Leigh asks if Norman likes birds, and he says no, taxidermy is just a hobby to keep himself busy. Later we find out he has preserved his mother's corpse (mommy-fication?), so this is why he's into taxidermy despite not liking birds. It's a skill he had to master and he needed practice.

    Norman points to the bathroom but cannot say the word, he is so repressed. Cool worldly Janet Leigh completes the sentence. Some books I've read claim the very presence of a bathroom was a big taboo at the time, forbidden by the Hayes Code and all, and the scene where she tried to flush her notes down the toilet was the first toilet in a major motion picture ever!!
    so who's repressed? the Hayes Code people? (Hollywood was selfregulating so that just means Hollywood itself), or the hypocritical viewers who'd rewarded selfcensored film production for decades but were now lining up round the block to see the infamous shower scene?
    And of course what happens in the shower is what the nasty filthy viewer should expect for daring to have paid to see a movie with an actual toilet in it!

    Janet Leigh has three separate scenes in her brassiere, and gosh does she make that bra look stacked!
    since last time I saw the film, there has been Hitch, the dramatised making of..., where Hitchcock (played by Anthony Hopkins) specifically asks for a buxom lass to play the lead, then the film cuts to Scarlet Johansen as Janet Leigh waggling her way on screen to vavavavoom burlesque style music. So I was paying extraspecial attention this time, and, it's true! the real Janet Leigh was a buxom lass!!

    during Janet Leigh's long car ride during the first half of the film, Herman's music is telling the story.

    The second half is more boring than the first. I dont really care about the new cast of characters who investigate Janet Leigh's death, and the sequencing of scenes is less elegant.
    The logical explanation at the very end is much better than the logical explanation in Vertigo though. The Freudian lingo may be out of date, but I think Norman Bates' mental condition s what we now call disassociation.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    All four of the Matt Helm films ;)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    Once upon a time …… in Hollywood

    Tarantino is never boring, and that goes for his ninth film too. I like that it's about people and not superheroes or singing animated animals. Movies made for adults is are all too rare these days. It's a completely original work ("before I sat down to write the screenplay, these characters didn't exist" - Quentin Tarantino), again something that's too rare in feature movies these days. Tarantino takes time for long dialogue or mood scenes, just do let the audience get to know characters and places, and I think that's great. His screenplays are full of great dialogue.
    What I don't like so much is Tarantino's tendency to include extremely violent scenes and make them in a way that funny. I know his stories are about movies are about movies and not life, but I still often find it jarring. I felt the most violent scenes don't really fit the rest of the movie and it would be a even better film if he changed the most gory scenes.
  • The Red KindThe Red Kind EnglandPosts: 3,119MI6 Agent
    Number24 wrote:
    Once upon a time …… in Hollywood

    What I don't like so much is Tarantino's tendency to include extremely violent scenes and make them in a way that funny. I know his stories are about movies are about movies and not life, but I still often find it jarring. I felt the most violent scenes don't really fit the rest of the movie and it would be a even better film if he changed the most gory scenes.

    Agree. I do quite like his films (Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds especially) but the level of extreme violence and gore he insists on including, don't sit well with me and detract from my complete enjoyment of his films. Just seems OTT to shock for the sake of it.
    "Any of the opposition around..?"
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    Number24 wrote:
    Once upon a time …… in Hollywood

    What I don't like so much is Tarantino's tendency to include extremely violent scenes and make them in a way that funny. I know his stories are about movies are about movies and not life, but I still often find it jarring. I felt the most violent scenes don't really fit the rest of the movie and it would be a even better film if he changed the most gory scenes.

    Agree. I do quite like his films (Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds especially) but the level of extreme violence and gore he insists on including, don't sit well with me and detract from my complete enjoyment of his films. Just seems OTT to shock for the sake of it.

    If I remember correctly, "Jackie Brown" is his only movie where he avoids this.
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