Last movie watched...

[Theblazeuk]

Book of Eli has one moment that justifies whatever comes next; when Denzel steps back into the shadow of the overpass...

[sheldipez]

The Book of Eli
Not half bad, can anyone tell me why it was seemingly universally hated upon release?

It's stunning to look at but collapses in on itself of lack of any real world logic the moment you think about most things that happens ([spoiler]funny how the young woman didn't know how to read because of lack of reading materials (I guess) but she could drive a car just fine even though there's a distinct lack of vehicles thoughout the movie - who (and why) learned her to drive? there's numerous questions I had around how Washington did if he was blind - like his superhero-melee fighting or how did he find himself into the shop in that village or how did you manage to hide the book in the TV in a few seconds he had until they broke in when I would struggle getting that TV back off fully sighted - the movie wasn't interesting enough to give it a second to watch to see if they explain that in any way. The "twist" was up there with that godawful Law Abiding Citizen.[/spoiler]) - pretty, pretty stupid, preachy.

[Sideshow Bob]

Just finished watching ( a very old DVD ) of Amadaeus.....

An absolutely fabulous film,  starring Tom Holtz ( what happened to him ? ) and Sir Ben Kingsley and telling the tragic story of Wolgang Amadaeus Mozart....
A wonderful movie, with an amazing score ( obviously ),  and an absolute stand out performance by Holtz as Mozart,  and an excellent performance by Kingsley as his chief antagonist....The older composer who hates the brilliant Mozart and his eccentric ways and 'different' music.....and the ease with which he seems to 'make' it...
Just sublime and a highly recommended watch....

And a truly quotable comment by the King ( or Emperor ), when asked if he enjoyed the performance and replies.....Too many notes !!

Cheers

[I, Cosh]

One of my favourite pieces of movie trivia is the nugget about Soldier being a Blade Runner sequel/spin-off! Even watching it I had no idea.

Yes hadn't the Soldier [spoiler]fought in the battle of Tannhauser Gate [/spoiler] or something, I am sure he says that in the movie, which links him to Rutger Hauer's speech in Blade Runner

Never heard that before. For some reason, I've always had it in my head that Soldier started out as an adaptation of Gordon Dickson's Dorsai books.

[Mabs]

One of my favourite pieces of movie trivia is the nugget about Soldier being a Blade Runner sequel/spin-off! Even watching it I had no idea.

Yes hadn't the Soldier [spoiler]fought in the battle of Tannhauser Gate [/spoiler] or something, I am sure he says that in the movie, which links him to Rutger Hauer's speech in Blade Runner

Never heard that before. For some reason, I've always had it in my head that Soldier started out as an adaptation of Gordon Dickson's Dorsai books.

Soldier was written by David Webb Peoples, who also wrote Blade Runner hence the injokes. Peoples' greatest script for me though, remains 'Unforgiven'. Some magnificent lines in that film..."we all have it coming kid".

[willthemightyW]

Raw Deal

Early Schwarzenegger ridiculousness, but a LOT of fun!

[Mabs]

Raw Deal

Early Schwarzenegger ridiculousness, but a LOT of fun!

You're right Will, it's great fun! Swarzenegger was always great to watch, in fact along with Clint Eastwood he was my idol growing up. All his 80's film from Raw Deal to The Terminator are so much fun!

[Ghost MacRoth]

You're right Will, it's great fun! Swarzenegger was always great to watch, in fact along with Clint Eastwood he was my idol growing up. All his 80's film from Raw Deal to The Terminator are so much fun!

I heard they used to hang out and train together.  Clint got the benefit of Arnie's exercise info, and Arnie learned how to act without talking (a bit anyway!).  Just look at the scene in 'Terminator' when Arnie pulls up in the cop car behind Reese and Connor, as he realises it's them, the facial expression is such an Eastwood's 'the man with no name' sort of squinty eye urgency!

As for 'Soldier', yep, terrible cinematography, but Kurt Russell is brilliantly restrained throughout.  It's a tough gig for an actor to do a role with little to no emotional expression.  Loved the bit when she asks him 'What are you going to do?' and he simply replies 'Killk them all sir.'  Brilliantly underplayed.

[Mabs]

Why did he (Kurt) refer to the female character as "Sir"? I thought that odd at the time. Couldn't he of said "ma'am" or even"love" instead? 

[Ghost MacRoth]

Think it was a combo of their 'equality' training, there was no difference between genders, just allies and foes? Maybe a de-sexualisation sort of thing as well, like with the Judges? More effective soldiers as they have nothing but soldiering?

[Buttonman]

Burton and Taylor try some free lovin' in The Sandpiper followed by William Shatner playing cowboy and Indian and being equally dreadful as both in White Comanche.

[Tiplodocus]

Just finished watching ( a very old DVD ) of Amadaeus.....

An absolutely fabulous film,  starring Tom Holtz ( what happened to him ? ) and Sir Ben Kingsley and telling the tragic story of Wolgang Amadaeus Mozart....

I think Tom Holtz changed his name to Tom Hulce and sank into even more obscurity.  And I'm pretty sure it was F. Murray Abraham (not Ben Kingsley).

[Richmond Clements]

Only God Forgives. It was just a bunch of stuff that happened. With swearing. And neon lights. And a very good soundtrack.

[willthemightyW]

Only God Forgives. It was just a bunch of stuff that happened. With swearing. And neon lights. And a very good soundtrack.

I was afeared that's all it would be A shame really!

[Professor Bear]

I have done fuck all today.  I am very proud.

Dracula (1979).  I can see the roots of the better-intentioned portions of Coppola's later pantomime showing through, like the swarthy romeo and Spider-Man impression stuff, but for the most part it's more akin to a restrained Hammer outing with a slightly more nuanced Drac than the usual two settings of "horny" and "murder" you'd get in any given take on the character.
The setting is slightly surreal but supposedly an actual era in British history where coppers could be called out to police anything from serial murders to beached ships, and building your house on the side of an active looney bin was surely never a good idea?  Apart from that, it's a good flick - the horror is creepy and scary, the romance is gothic and the costumes are impractical, which is probably all you want from a screen Dracula right up until you see him galloping about on a horse looking awesome in a cape and you realise you want him to do that more often, too.

As has been clearly established by now, and if the church would allow it, I would gay-marry Batman & Robin if I could, but this time out, despite my love of the film I noticed a lot of things I hadn't before, like Bane's oft-ridiculed resemblance to Honey Monster being cemented when he actually says HONNNEEEEEE onscreen - I have no idea how I missed this before.  There's also a massive subtext to the Bruce/Alfred relationship I didn't recall, where Alfie tells Brucie that Batman is something a child came up with because he didn't want to grow up, a notion furthered by the film's distraction with the idea of legacy such as Alfred's passing the mantle, his niece coming into the fold, Bruce's philanthropy, the work Ivy is doing before she goes tonto, the work Freeze does before and after he goes tonto, all the public events being about charitable foundations or giving to the future of Gotham, all the ruined old buildings in scenes, etc, and Bruce's discomfort at the suggestions that crop up along the way that he needs to mature and grow as a person, which is groundbreaking stuff for the character, really, as his being a massive control-freak and cock is a big part of Batman's appeal to children because he's always being portrayed as thinking three steps ahead and always being in control, whereas here he's lost whenever he has to function within a group and everything is pointing to him having to play better with others and stop being so grumpy.
It is all a bit silly (outside the iconaclastic themes of superheroes acting their bloody age), but in that it seems just to have been ahead of its time as evidenced by the Brave and the Bold cartoon, with the fact that it went the outright silly route and pitched to kids rather than teenagers and 30 somethings long being the main bone of critical contention despite there being plenty of objective flaws to sink the teeth into, though for me it's Clooney that's the main sticking point as he smiles all the time as Bruce Wayne, which just looks off, though I love that his limited range makes it absolutely apparent that [spoiler]Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person[/spoiler], especially when he is standing on a stage talking to the press beside the exact same people (Commissioner Gordon, Gossip Gertie) in multiple scenes that are at most five minutes apart.  This was also the first time I noticed that the not-unattractive Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy character is actually being played and filmed as a male drag queen, utterly sexless and devoid of allure, but also camp and completely barmy from the off, like her plan to make snake/flower hybrid plants that will just make you go WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS at the screen, and Arnie Sweatyknickers' pun-flinging Mr Freeze is a total hoot, with the governator's big stupid rubbery face made for the panto gurning he does here.
My 2nd favorite of the pre-millenium bat-flicks by a country mile - though obviously Batman '66 is the #1.

Also watched screaming-fearmongering National Geographic Channel documentary Evacuate Earth, which resorts to trite cinematic dramatism and splashy CGI more often than is necessary to stop you turning over to Ice Road Fishermen or whatever during the breaks, so before each break they end on some note of violent, global-scale tragedy like antimatter propulsion shuttles exploding on the launchpad, chinless hicks suicide-bombing the site of star ark construction because it's what God would want to stop fags getting into space, and my personal favorite, Christ The Redeemer shooting death ray radiation at the population of Brazil like the gigantic alien monster he is - hell yeah I am coming back after this ad break!
The science involved in the subject - a rogue neutron star puts a deadline on humanity's migration to other worlds - is broad and fascinating, so even being completely hysterical as it is, it can't not be occasionally compelling, especially when you see the boffin pundits on firmer ground discussing their chosen fields than when describing plot elements of a Michael Bay film like they seem to be doing for the most part to keep you interested, but stuff like O'Neil Cylinders are wonderful high-concepts that are picked apart for their glaring flaws in light of our current technological levels - but if we totally had to make one right now, here's how we'd do it in step-by-step detail, and it's pretty interesting.  I like that it drags sociologists into things to explain in scientific terms that when people are told they are going to die they will probably not take the news well, but I also loved the dude who sits on a box in a small room talking right into the camera like he's your best mate sitting your ass down to give you bad news and then pretty much just says "we all dead."
Free to view on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc1fB23iOyU