Last movie watched...

[Charlie boy]

Only God Forgives
Disappointed by this to say the least. To try and keep my problems short and sweet instead of going off on one- I like the works of David Lynch and know a lot of his style and whatnot was influenced by European cinema (Polanksi's The Tenant being a noticeable example). With Only God Forgives, I couldn't help but feel it was a European director showing he has been influenced by David Lynch, so it's kind of gone full circle. But it just doesn't seem to work. There are a couple of memorable scenes and a lot of it looks great but to me that just seemed to be the problem; all (weird) style over substance. Thoughts on this won't keep me occupied for too long however because I received a copy of Disney's The Jungle Book as a gift recently and it only has an alternative ending and a deleted scene with 'Lost Character' Rocky The Rhino! I know what I'll be watching on my day off this week...

[TordelBack]

Finally got to see Extended Edition of Unexpected Journey tonight.  Very much enjoyed it, although the added bits have nothing like the impact on the film that they had on Fellowship et al.  Highlights were [spoiler]L'il Bilbo, which almost made up for the ill-judged framing sequence, in that it was at least something new, the Great Goblin's awesome musical number[/spoiler], and all the extra waffle at Rivendell, all of which was fascinating (to me).  I was hoping to see the Eagles get a line or two to prove they were more than Gandalf's trained budgies, but no such luck. For such plot-critical creatures they get very short shrift in Jackson's films.

However, with this viewing I have fallen into a dangerous and distracting trap, which is trying to work out what the two-film version would have looked like.  Some of the additional lines here seem to confirm my suspicions that Part 1 would have ended with the Barrel Ride: Kili moons over an elf-maiden, emphasis on the tombs of the Nazgul - all things that would have borne fruit by the end of the original first film, but now fetch up rather awkwardly in the middle of the second.  Equally distracting is trying to figure out what would not originally have featured: I have my doubts about Thorin's fight with Azog, which gives Unexpected Journey its rather weak and (storywise) premature climax.

[JOE SOAP]

Some of the additional lines here seem to confirm my suspicions that Part 1 would have ended with the Barrel Ride

Officially confirmed.

[TordelBack]

Some of the additional lines here seem to confirm my suspicions that Part 1 would have ended with the Barrel Ride

Officially confirmed.

Can't decide whether I'm pleased that I guessed right, or whether I'm sorry that my speculation is over!

[Professor Bear]

Someone gave me a copy of Cutthroat Island on DVD and I've decided it's time.
If I don't come back, tell my wife hello.

[JudgeE1M1RT]

Just watched Pi. What a crazy film.

[Tiplodocus]

Some of the additional lines here seem to confirm my suspicions that Part 1 would have ended with the Barrel Ride

Officially confirmed.

Can't decide whether I'm pleased that I guessed right, or whether I'm sorry that my speculation is over!

Dang! I was wrong then.  I thought it would end with the line that says "And Bilbo, this is what we brought you along for" and him going "Ulp!".

[TordelBack]

I thought it would end with the line that says "And Bilbo, this is what we brought you along for" and him going "Ulp!".

I had definite suspicions in that direction too, but the way the sub-plots are arranged, particularly as emphasised in the Extended Edition (bits I presume were excised from the original film to preserve the revised structure), pointed to most being finished before Laketown.  I still think that could have been a good way to go, leaving the journey in one film and Smaug/Five Armies/Dol Guldur in the second. If this was an adaptation of the book(s), it would have made sense, but with the foregrounding of entirely new material (Radagast's woodland chums, Tauriel and her love triangle, Bard's family) the split would have had to come earlier.  As noted, I do really like the new stuff, but I'm not so keen on how it diminishes the time given to the original scenes (in particular Eagles-Beorn-Mirkwood-Spiders seems to be over in a flash). 

Four-part version, anyone?

[von Boom]

Anyone else think Jackson should go back to LotR and make some films to, you know, flesh out the story a bit?

[GrinningChimera]

Monty Pythons The Meaning Of Life

My least favourite of the python films. Yet almost every sketch is gold. The ending has always been a let down to me. The final song and dance number is very cringe worthy (Christmas in heaven) but everything before that is great.

I think what makes it the least favored is that there is no central group of characters throughout the whole film. Anyone else find that they seem to go to Life Of Brian or Holy Grail before this one? Or is it just me?

[TordelBack]

Anyone else find that they seem to go to Life Of Brian or Holy Grail before this one?

Yup, not just you.  As you say, I do love all the individual sketches (some of the best Python sketches and songs of all:  Every Sperm, Sex Education, Oh God You Are So Big, Waffer Theen Meent, Just Remember etc. etc,), and the Crimson Permanent Assurance story always makes me smile at Gilliam's sheer ambition, but as a film I can never really get too enthusiastic about it.  It's no coincidence that I have LoB and HG on DVD, but not this.

Meanwhile, unwell child meant Jurassic Park for me.  Now there's a film I'm conflicted about.  So much good dino stuff, such an interesting cast, clever set designs, but ultimately there's something very flat about it.

[Mabs]

The Pirates in an Adventure with Scientists - what a fun film! Me and my boy absolutely loved it. In our household we are massive fans of Aardman Animation, from Wallace & Gromit to Shaun the Sheep, and this film is another classic. Aardman animation have come a long way from there their first Wallace & Gromit short, and their techniques have matured over the years. Their work on Pirates was superb, just the movement and expression of the characters and lighting; everything comes together perfectly. The film did take a short while to kick into gear, but when it did, boy what fun it was! The story was really engaging with laugh out loud moments. The film does not overdo the gags as was witnessed in Flushed Away, but gets everything note perfect. I loved it!

[radiator]

The Pirates in an Adventure with Scientists - what a fun film! Me and my boy absolutely loved it. In our household we are massive fans of Aardman Animation, from Wallace & Gromit to Shaun the Sheep, and this film is another classic. Aardman animation have come a long way from there their first Wallace & Gromit short, and their techniques have matured over the years. Their work on Pirates was superb, just the movement and expression of the characters and lighting; everything comes together perfectly. The film did take a short while to kick into gear, but when it did, boy what fun it was! The story was really engaging with laugh out loud moments. The film does not overdo the gags as was witnessed in Flushed Away, but gets everything note perfect. I loved it!

I should really get around to seeing that - I love Arthur Christmas.

[Mabs]

The Pirates in an Adventure with Scientists - what a fun film! Me and my boy absolutely loved it. In our household we are massive fans of Aardman Animation, from Wallace & Gromit to Shaun the Sheep, and this film is another classic. Aardman animation have come a long way from there their first Wallace & Gromit short, and their techniques have matured over the years. Their work on Pirates was superb, just the movement and expression of the characters and lighting; everything comes together perfectly. The film did take a short while to kick into gear, but when it did, boy what fun it was! The story was really engaging with laugh out loud moments. The film does not overdo the gags as was witnessed in Flushed Away, but gets everything note perfect. I loved it!

I should really get around to seeing that - I love Arthur Christmas.

And I haven't watched Arthur Christmas yet!  probably the only Aardman produced film I haven't seen yet. I'll try and see if I can nab it on the cheap from ebay. I'm also set on buying Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol: I saw it over Christmas on TV and it blew me away!

[shaolin_monkey]

Anyone else find that they seem to go to Life Of Brian or Holy Grail before this one?

Yup, not just you.  As you say, I do love all the individual sketches (some of the best Python sketches and songs of all:  Every Sperm, Sex Education, Oh God You Are So Big, Waffer Theen Meent, Just Remember etc. etc,), and the Crimson Permanent Assurance story always makes me smile at Gilliam's sheer ambition, but as a film I can never really get too enthusiastic about it.  It's no coincidence that I have LoB and HG on DVD, but not this.

I'm the same. I could quote that film to hell and back (fishy, fishy, fishy, FISH! Oh where can the fishy BE?), and parts of it are just brilliant ('THE SALMON MOUSSE'), but the lack of cohesion makes it more of an extended episode rather than a film.  Life of Brian is definitely my hands down favourite, though I watched Holy Grail with the kids the other day just to see their reaction to the rabbit.  They enjoyed it all as much as I did.