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Last movie watched...

Started by SmallBlueThing, 04 February, 2011, 12:40:44 PM

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Keef Monkey

Quote from: Greg M. on 02 December, 2019, 07:10:26 PM
The Fly (1986) – I watch 'The Thing' every year. It's consistently wonderful. But 'The Fly' – possibly the greatest practical-effects body-horror movie of them all – only lurches from its telepod into my DVD player a few times a decade, and then consumes me for weeks on end, living with me unbidden. It is unique – graphically gory but unutterably, achingly sad. With only three significant characters, all of whom are well-played, complex and real, you could almost do the whole thing as a play. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis are superb, but John Getz was the standout this time around – at first he seems the classic sleazy 80s asshole antagonist, but whilst Seth Brundle steadily loses his humanity over the course of the film, Stathis Borans discovers his, and ends the movie a genuine hero.

The Fly II (1989) – Tonally, this film is all over the place – fascinatingly so. It's a B-movie monster flick that cheerfully employs 80s-kids'-adventure-film tropes, whilst also indulging itself in particularly nasty manifestations of post-Robocop cruelty. It misses so many tricks – most of the worst fates are doled out to hapless redshirts when there's at least two characters who deserve far nastier demises than they get -  yet it also lands some sickening punches: poor dog! Poor (evil) Bartok! Best viewed as a 'What If?' rather than a canonical sequel, so it can be appreciated in its own demented right, rather than merely skulking in the shadow of its untouchable sire.

Haven't seen The Fly II in many years but remember [spoiler]the dog[/spoiler] messing me up! The first film is a real masterpiece, what always hits me hardest is the line [spoiler]"I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over and the insect is awake. I'm saying... I'll hurt you if you stay..."[/spoiler], an incredible line delivered in such an amazingly haunting way, twists my guts every time I hear it.

Rately

The Fly really is an absolute masterpiece of a movie.

Jeff Goldblum's performance is just utterly amazing, as he slowly realises what is happening to him and tries desperately to cling onto his humanity.

All these years later, when I have a re-watch, I'm still holding out hope for a happy ending for Seth.


wedgeski

I have little to add except to say that, at age 15, "The Fly II" was the first time I got into an 18 film! The ticket people at my local Odeon were sticklers for that.

von Boom

I saw The Fly in the cinema when it was released way back when and it was a very visceral experience. I watched The Fly a few months ago and my experience is pretty much unaltered. The whole arm-wrestling sequence is a disturbing and brilliant piece of work.

Professor Bear

WELP I thought I liked Call Of The Wild (the 1935 one) because it omitted a great deal of the novel, yes, but the bits it omitted involve animal cruelty and racism so I wasn't terribly bothered by that - and then they shoehorn in a bit of racism and misogyny in the last minute and I was like "hmmm" and then the end credits announced their proud association with the NRA and was like "double hmmm" and then I checked out the movie for any interesting trivia and it turns out this was the one Clark Gable was making when he raped co-star Loretta Young, so... uh.  Fuck this movie, I guess.

Apestrife

Apocalypse now: Final cut on IMAX. Probably the best time I've ever had in a movie theater.

As for the final cut. It's similar to Redux, but tighter. Pretty much perfect.

Keef Monkey

We put up the xmas tree at the weekend so wanted to watch something festive, and Amy made the shock announcement that she'd never seen Scrooged so it had to be that. Was one of my favourite films as a kid, the point where I have to admit I still get a bit emotional at points. It fills me with cheer!

And then another xmas film, Prometheus, which we both still love. I genuinely get a bit anxious putting it on sometimes because so many people hate it that I think I might be about to have some revelation, that the scales will fall from my eyes and I'll see it for the turd that everyone says it is...but nope, still really, really enjoyed it. Looks incredible in 4K too, and still has one of the best home audio mixes I've heard, powerful without sacrificing clarity or stealing space from the dialogue, which is depressingly rare these days.

Dandontdare

Is Prometheus a Christmas movie?

Dark Jimbo

Quote from: Dandontdare on 09 December, 2019, 01:01:17 PM
Is Prometheus a Christmas movie?

Well it all happens in December, so...
@jamesfeistdraws

Keef Monkey


TordelBack

Quote from: Keef Monkey on 09 December, 2019, 10:57:07 AM
We put up the xmas tree at the weekend so wanted to watch something festive, and Amy made the shock announcement that she'd never seen Scrooged so it had to be that. Was one of my favourite films as a kid, the point where I have to admit I still get a bit emotional at points. It fills me with cheer!

Yeah, it doesn't get much more festive than Scrooged.  How Carol Kane doesn't have an Oscar is beyond me.

For identical reasons, we watched Arthur Christmas, which I tend to think of as the Forgotten Aardman, and which may be the only decent Christmas flick on Netflix. As we are experiencing Last Child to Disbelieve growing pains in TordelTowers, it offers a timely perspective on the undeniable reality of Santa: when the titular Arthur, youngest son of a hereditary line of Santas running a hi-tech SHIELD-like magic-free present-delivery operation, looks in despair at a child's drawing of the Smelly Old Man, he exclaims something along the lines of "this isn't a picture of Dad, or Granddad, or Steve [elder brother and Heir Apparent]: this is a picture of SANTA".  Which is very much the point.


JamesC

Quote from: TordelBack on 09 December, 2019, 02:37:03 PM
Quote from: Keef Monkey on 09 December, 2019, 10:57:07 AM
We put up the xmas tree at the weekend so wanted to watch something festive, and Amy made the shock announcement that she'd never seen Scrooged so it had to be that. Was one of my favourite films as a kid, the point where I have to admit I still get a bit emotional at points. It fills me with cheer!

Yeah, it doesn't get much more festive than Scrooged.  How Carol Kane doesn't have an Oscar is beyond me.

For identical reasons, we watched Arthur Christmas, which I tend to think of as the Forgotten Aardman, and which may be the only decent Christmas flick on Netflix. As we are experiencing Last Child to Disbelieve growing pains in TordelTowers, it offers a timely perspective on the undeniable reality of Santa: when the titular Arthur, youngest son of a hereditary line of Santas running a hi-tech SHIELD-like magic-free present-delivery operation, looks in despair at a child's drawing of the Smelly Old Man, he exclaims something along the lines of "this isn't a picture of Dad, or Granddad, or Steve [elder brother and Heir Apparent]: this is a picture of SANTA".  Which is very much the point.

Have you seen the Netflix Kurt Russell Xmas film? I really liked that one.

radiator

I really like Arthur Christmas - a rare modern Christmas movie I can tolerate.

karlos

Hellbound: Hellraiser II

It's 30 years old!

Still a wonderfully odd, creepy and, at times, baffling, follow-up.

The Arrow blu ray is, unsurprisingly, lovely.

Greg M.

Quote from: karlos on 10 December, 2019, 02:33:23 PM
Hellbound: Hellraiser II

To me, it's the best of the Hellraiser films - it's much more over the top and even more grotesque than the first one, and Channard's a great villain.