Last movie watched...

[brendan1]

ALIEN

The other night, while i couldnt sleep due to my knackered shoulder, i thought i'd put this on- hadnt seen it in donkey's years.

Sad to say it bored the absolute tits off me. Not in the least scary, slow, drawn-out, with a boring script, and the usual camp hamming from ian holm and john hurt. Not a single scare that wasnt telegraphed in advance like a clumsy film student trying his hand at horror, 'cos it's easy, roight?'. Absolutely hated it.

SBT

Proof, to me, that you live in a parallel dimension where good is bad and bad is good.

Alien is my absolute favourite film of all time and is perfect in every way. There's no 'camp hamming' from anyone, each performance is subtle, restrained and naturalistic. The scares and uneasiness come from the atmosphere and the sense that there's nowhere to hide. Terror lurks round every corner on that claustrophobic ship.

Leave the good stuff to us film fans, you go off and watch Zombie Eye Gougers 14 - The Splattering by Fulccino Georgino.

Hahahahaha!

And: Yep

[Roger Godpleton]

Prof Byah might like Godfather 3. That has helicopters in it and a guy gets stabbed in the neck with some spectacles.

[Frank]

I found (The Godfather) to be a dull fairytale reinforcing the ludicrous notion of gangsters as honorable feudal lords rather than organised bullies with no more honor than a rattlesnake.

Prof Byah might like Godfather 3. That has helicopters in it and a guy gets stabbed in the neck with some spectacles.

Please tell me that the first post (above) is employing the same sarcastic and ironic tone as the second.

[locustsofdeath!]

Last night I re-watched Seven Samurai for the first time in years and found myself completely captivated, as if I had never seen it before. Unlike Yojimbo, Sanjuro and Ran - all of which I watch quite often - I only take in Seven Samurai every few year s(no, not every seven years) and each time I do so I'm astounded how much more there is to "get"; it's truly remarkable on every level, from action film to character study to social commentary, incredibly layered with text and subtext.

[Professor Bear]

I found (The Godfather) to be a dull fairytale reinforcing the ludicrous notion of gangsters as honorable feudal lords rather than organised bullies with no more honor than a rattlesnake.

Prof Byah might like Godfather 3. That has helicopters in it and a guy gets stabbed in the neck with some spectacles.

Please tell me that the first post (above) is employing the same sarcastic and ironic tone as the second.

Roger is not being sarcastic.

And Godfather remains a crime fairytale to me - a dynastic tragedy about misunderstood and honorable Robin Hood types - compared to something like Goodfellas, which feels like a far more accurate portrayal of that kind of scumbag: violent, selfish, amoral and delusional about their own importance in the world.  That to me rings true.

Though if you're interested in such things, there's an interview on the How Did This Get Made podcast with Jack O'Halloran, who's the son of the guy Don Corleone was based upon, and despite being a podcast about what an "odd duck" Superman 2/3 director Richard Lester was, there are some humorous asides about the time O'Halloran throttled Christopher Reeve and when some cops said it was okay if he wanted to beat the shit out of their colleague for giving O'Halloran a parking ticket.
http://www.earwolf.com/episode/superman-iii-live-bonus/

Is it well made? Burton can't direct a narrative to save his life, never could.

He's a truly awful action director, too, but on a production level, Batman is superb on almost every level, from Anton Furst's gothic noir-deco set design to Danny Elfman's score (this being before he got a bit played out) to Dave Lea's stunt work positing Bats as more robotic martial arts machine than quirky-themed detective.
But yes, the script.  Terrible, just terrible - but then there's only so much you can do with a story about a bloke dressed in a gimp outfit who drives around in a car with a giant dildo on the front looking for working class and mentally disabled people to beat up.

[JOE SOAP]

So do I.  I found it to be a dull fairytale reinforcing the ludicrous notion of gangsters as honorable feudal lords rather than organised bullies with no more honor than a rattlesnake.

Isn't that the point though, they play up to the bullshit romantic myth yet they all still lived and died from paranoia and vengeful grudges, hence Mick Corleone ending up pretty much on his own after killing or pushing away his enemies and his family. ultimately, at the end of the day, business was business and family played second-fiddle.

[locustsofdeath!]

Isn't that the point though, they play up to the bullshit romantic myth yet they all still lived and died from paranoia and vengeful grudges, hence Mick Corleone ending up pretty much on his own after killing or pushing away his enemies and his family. ultimately, at the end of the day, business was business and family played second-fiddle.

That's exactly the way I see it. The Godfather films are very ugly underneath the glamour. And there was a time in the history of the mob where the big Bosses - Vito's generation - were "honorable" (check out A Man of Honor by Joseph Bonnano) in their way.

[Roger Godpleton]

Prof B's opinion isn't a miscarriage, it's an abortion. An abortion, Bryan. Just like our forum is an abortion, something that's unholy and evil. I didn't want your son, Byron Virgo, I didn't want to bring another one of your sons into this world. It was an abortion, it was a son, a son and I had it killed because this must all end. I know now that it's over, I knew it then there would be no way you could ever forgive me. Not with this Irish thing that's been going on for two thousand years.

[JOE SOAP]

Not with this Irish thing that's been going on for two thousand years.

We have long mickeys and long memories, deal with it.

[Beaky Smoochies]

Prof Byah might like Godfather 3. That has helicopters in it and a guy gets stabbed in the neck with some spectacles.

I like Godfather III, it may not be up to the standard of it's two predecessors, but it's a pretty decent conclus-






... I'll get me coat...

[Professor Bear]

Isn't that the point though, they play up to the bullshit romantic myth yet they all still lived and died from paranoia and vengeful grudges,

The Cost Of Doing Business, is a big part of the fairy tale, as is Being A Man - Godfather may be a film about the myth of the gangster, but it's also an example of it in action, kind of in the same way as someone chucking themselves on a grenade is horrible but ultimately admirable.  Godfather takes that route - for my money, anyway.  Opinions are varying things otherwise everyone would see how awesome Batman and Robin is.

[JOE SOAP]

The Cost Of Doing Business, is a big part of the fairy tale, as is Being A Man - Godfather may be a film about the myth of the gangster, but it's also an example of it in action, kind of in the same way as someone chucking themselves on a grenade is horrible but ultimately admirable.  Godfather takes that route - for my money, anyway.

In the same way you could argue the stylish and equally cinematic Goodfellas makes gangsters look edgy, funny, sharp, glamorous and cool as a continuous rock soundtrack plays over tracking shots of them, but at the end of the day, it's a myth too, and killing is their business.

Neither the Godfather or Goodfellas are verite but they both play with convention and a certain truth while presenting it as genre entertainment to make their point. Neither is any more or less valid than the other.

[Radbacker]

Opinions are varying things otherwise everyone would see how awesome Batman and Robin is.

I hated it when it came out but like you have now come the conclusion that it is infact it is arsom, especially if you like the 60's series.  I've sat with my adopted family (best friend, his mum, his Brother and his GRan) and watched it on cable once and every one had a really good time, we laughed, we cried, we shouted at the TV but overall we all enjoyed it.  You just have to see it as the daft 60's throwback that it is.  I think Prof B has defended it earlier in this thread (opening couple of pages IIRC) and his empassioned views made me watch it again and actually enjoy it.

Wow Battleshit really is crap isn't it, couldn't even get through 30 minutes of it and I'm the sort of person who likes Bay's Transformer movies.  Just goes to show if you want to make a Bay movie hire Michael Bay to make it.

CU Radbacker

[Professor Bear]

If more people accepted I am always right, we would have less problems.

In the same way you could argue the stylish and equally cinematic Goodfellas makes gangsters look edgy, funny, sharp, glamorous and cool as a continuous rock soundtrack plays over tracking shots of them, but at the end of the day, it's a myth too, and killing is their business.

If you think Goodfellas made anyone look cool or glamorous I cannot help you.

Though fair play it was set in the 1980s, when it was physically impossible to look cool.  Science will back me up here.

[JOE SOAP]

If you think Goodfellas made anyone look cool or glamorous I cannot help you.

Tthe fact that Scorsese has repeatedly returned to the genre, and it bringing out the best in him, may attest to its seduction for him. The sizeable fan-base too.