What Movie Did You Just Watch? ... And Robin

[Super Aurora]

City Hunter is coming up next.

One thing that's hilarious (and kinda sad too) is that Jackie chan pulls off Chun Li's looks and personality in that one scene 100 tens better than both Chun Li from the two different shitty Street Fighter movies.


I still prefer the original manga over that movie though.

[jpanimation]

Today's 'teen comedies' could learn something from it.

Yes they can. Those John Hughes movies - The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off in particular - perfectly defined a generation.

Still, I find myself loving Superbad, which seems to define this generation fairly well.

Like when Martin Scorsese finally won an Oscar for that lame, lifeless, Americanized remake of Infernal Affairs.

Exactly. It's their way of saying: "Sorry for nominating Babe for Best Picture in 1995, instead of Casino. Our bad!"

City Island (2009) 7.5/10 - I really enjoyed this one more then I thought (truthfully, I expected one of those indie films that falsely advertises a comedy but gives you a boring character study). Luckily they deliver a comedy and while it's not as lol funny as some other recent comedies, it was a more entertaining and well rounded film. It's the story of a family that lies to each other and we watch as the boiling pot bubbles. Pretty much all of the characters are likable, which is a rarity now-a-days. The music sets the quirky tone that maintains throughout. Not the greatest but entertaining and it certainly surprised me in a good way.

[Super Aurora]

Today's 'teen comedies' could learn something from it.

Yes they can. Those John Hughes movies - The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off in particular - perfectly defined a generation.

Though John Hughes also made numerous shitty movies as well like Baby Day's Out.....

[Cheshire_Cat]

I stayed up late watching all three Toy Story movies in one setting. I can't seem to get over the emotional intensity of the third movie's ending.

[PixarFan2006]

The Social Network (2010) - It may not be as 100% amazing as a lot of people are making it out to be, but it still was pretty good.

True Grit (2010) - Maybe not the Coen Brothers' best film (and I have not seen the John Wayne version), but it was still enjoyable. Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and were good in their roles.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

The Maltese Falcon

For my Film Noir class we have to watch some of the classics, and on Monday nights we can watch the film that we'll be discussing on Tuesday in the classroom. I would have to say that it wouldn't be my first choice of a film to see, but it was pretty good and suspensful to say the least.

[littlefuzzy]

City Hunter is coming up next.

One thing that's hilarious (and kinda sad too) is that Jackie chan pulls off Chun Li's looks and personality in that one scene 100 tens better than both Chun Li from the two different shitty Street Fighter movies.


I still prefer the original manga over that movie though.

I had a ball with City Hunter, it's so over the top that it's more about the slapstick than the martial arts (kind of like Kung Fu Hustle.)

I haven't seen the manga or any of the anime, they've been on my wishlist for a while.

[Goliath]

Three Monkeys

Also known as Üc maymun in its original Turkish. I'm not gonna bore you with the story, because this was a real snooze-fest! Now, I don't mind slow pacing and accentuating character's emotional states and I usually like the un-Hollywood atmosphere of these kinds of films, but this one took it way to far.

Mrs. Henderson presents (2005)

I liked this one far more than I expected beforehand. Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins are -of course- wonderful actors and they have great chemistry together. At times touching, at other times hilarious. A fun little film.

[dvdjunkie]

The King's Speech - what a marvelous movie and I am going to watching the Academy Awards this year to see how many this one wins. Great performances and fabulous story. Didn't know what I going to see, and am glad that I went to see it. Nice surprise.

[BelleGirl]

Rapunzel aka Tangled in 3D with my mum this afternoon. We both liked it very much! I think this movie truly will earn the title 'classic' Disney. I have to admit I found it a better story than "TPatF' that also has that 'classic' feel to me.

[dvdjunkie]

Watched another of my favorites today - The Final Countdown starring Kirk Doublas, James Farentino, Martin Sheen, Katherine Ross and Charles Durning. The story about an American aircraft carrier gets swept into a time-warp and ends up in the Pacific on the day before Pearl Harbor is attacked. Facing the dilemma of changing history is where the story hangs. Lots of fun, and really good special effects. Love watching this one.

[Goliath]

La vie en rose (2007)

About the tragic life of France's greatest singer of all time, Edith Piaf. Marion Cottillard received a truly deserved Oscar for her amazing performance. The film itself is a bit too conventional -although it jumps back and forth in time a number of times- but it's Cottillard's performance which makes the movie truly memorable.

[JiminyCrick91]

I wrote a couple reviews last week for fun of the movies I had just seen.

MegaMind Years ago Ben Stiller went to DreamWorks Animation (maker of his Madagascar films) with the idea for a film based around “what if Lex Luthor beat Superman?” Obviously the film could not be made with these characters (who are owned by Warner brothers) but they still thought the film was a good idea. Lex became Oobermind who like Doctor Draken in Disney’s tv show Kim Possible was a blue villain. Oobermind was meant to be like Superman also in the fact that he too was an alien. The big boy scout Superman was given the name MetroMan after the Mertopiolus stand in “metro city” where he lives and an outfit that is almost exactly the same as Superman’s fellow DC Comics hero, Captain Marvel. The film hit many a snag as Ben Stiller apparently did not know where he wanted to go with the film. He left the project leaving Oobermind without a voice or story. A new team was brought in and Robert Dowany Jr. was cast as the title character and then Stiller returned as an Executive Producer and to play a smaller role in the film. When RDJ left the film around the time the title and title charter’s name was changed to Megamind the film looked to be in trouble. Stiller was unable to step in as he had already taken the smaller role and was busy doing other films at the time (likely Greenberg and Little Fockers). Will Ferrel came in at the 11th hour apparently to save this rocky production. The film itself stars Ferrel as the villain Megamind who has worked his entire life to defeat the heroic and Patrick Warburton look-a-like Metro Man (Bad Pitt) in a battle of wits vs. brawn. He is aided by his Minion named Minion, played by David Cross, a fish in a bowl that is attached to a robot gorilla body. Tina Fey is our Lois Lane stand in Roxy Ritchi who is ever unimpressed with Megamind’s clichéd attempts to kidnap her and put her in death traps and Johan Hill plays her oafish camera man infatuated with her. The film’s plot goes into the direction Stiller originally proposed when Megamind defeats Metro Man early on (Pitt is not in the film long but his’s early defeat is not the last we will hear of him) and gets thoroughly board without a hero to face. With the help of his every trusty Minion, Megamind tries to make his own hero to fight him and bring back the good old days. The film is amusing and pleasant but not the best dreamworks has to offer like Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek 2. On the other hand the film is far from being SharkTale, Shrek the Third or Monsters Vs. Aliens. It’s an enjoyable film with some genuine laughs but not something you need to see again and again and it does not help that it came so soon after another super villain themed animated film Despicable Me from Universal this past summer. My biggest issues come from some charters having changing motivations or idles much to quickly. Unbelievably so which was my biggest problem with the Robert Downy Jr. comedy Due Date recently as well. I also take issue with a single line where a charter says “There is no Easter Bunny, there is no Tooth Fairy, and there is no Queen of England” while this is meant to be a joke I find it rather unsettling for an animated family film to out of nowhere bring up the possibility that these childhood icons are untrue casing doubt... even if they know that the queen is a real person it can still cause a seed of doubt in the children’s mind which I don’t think is really something a film studio should do in such a film, especially one originally released so close to Christmas, thus causing doubts in doubts in the most prevalent mythical being of the season, Santa Claus. My favorite part of the film (which caused me to spray soda all over my face...which I’m not sure how is humanly possibly) comes from Megamind’s disguise as the new hero’s “space dad”, a stylised version of Marlon Brando dressed as Jor-el from Dick Donner’s classic Superman film. Overall on a 10 point scale I’d give the film a 6 which could be blamed on it's rocky production or just mediocre filmmaking.




burlesque |bərˈlesk|
noun
1 a parody or comically exaggerated imitation of something, esp. in a literary or dramatic work : the funniest burlesque of opera | [as adj. ] burlesque Shakespearean stanzas. See note at caricature .
• humor that depends on comic imitation and exaggeration; absurdity : the argument descends into burlesque.
2 a variety show, typically including striptease : [as adj. ] burlesque clubs.


Both definitions of the word seem to fit the film Burlesque staring Cher, Christina Aguilera and Stanly Tucci. The film is campy as all get out. It’s exaggerated, stupid and predictable and yet it’s infectious and bubbly. This has been getting bad reviews all over which caused me not to see it originally and did not do all to well at the box office. Those who did see it however, are enjoying it if Flixster is too believed which recently had 77% of the people who say they saw it liking it. The film debut of the notorious XXXtina begins with her playing a good girl from Iowa who runs off to LA to get away from her life working in a divey little bar that rarely pays her on time. When she moves she quickly finds Tess’s (Cher) Burlesque lounge and is enthralled by the start. With the help of Jack, the friendly eyeliner wearing yet straight bartender she gets a job at the club as a waitress when Tess refuses to see her. She works hard but always has one eye on the stage attempting to memorize every one of the dances she sees on stage. When her apartment is broken into and her money stolen she moves in with Jack who believes he has a fiancee in New York. When one of the dancers becomes pregnant she auditions for Tess and finally becomes a dancer much to the chagrin of fellow dancer Kristen Bell. While you have one part Showgirls (just with acting a script that are not nearly as bad) rising star story another part of the film is rather reminiscent of a Muppet movie where the Tess and the girls need to save the theater that is still in the red despite great business. Cristina seems to be trying but is not a great actress. Her singing however is impeccable if not in the way of a few more Cher numbers (there were only two). Stanly Tucci is a delight as always but then you have people like Dianna Agron of Glee fame and Alan Cumming who get rather high billing but are completely wasted. In Dianna’s case you barely see her face and Cumming only speaks in 3 of his five scenes, two of which are so quick most may only recall him speaking in the very beginning of the film. In with the bad story and acting on the part of Christina (who I will say is not nearly as bad as Britney Spears in Crossroads) there is a problem of the shots themselves. Often the camera is oddly annoyingly shaky and the cuts are much too fast. There seems to be no attempt to show how glorious LA is in comparison to Iowa as it seems that we are supposed to see. There version of this is simply showing Christina singing in the Iowa bar then cut to Palm trees before a quicker cut to the capitol records building then before we know it we are in the club. This just seems lazy. If you are going to have a Los Angeles montage have one don’t show us one place and some tees. There is a lot of bad but every time we hit a new song or perhaps a scene with the adorable relationship between Cher and Tucci the film becomes hard not to like on some level. But with all it’s flaws I’d say I have to give it a mere 5 of 10 but wish I could give it better.


And here are the films I've watched since...


Black Swan Well crafted but not my cup of tea.

Dr. No &
From Russia With Love Both as fun as ever... on the big screen.


-Skyler

[jpanimation]

The Maltese Falcon

For my Film Noir class we have to watch some of the classics, and on Monday nights we can watch the film that we'll be discussing on Tuesday in the classroom. I would have to say that it wouldn't be my first choice of a film to see, but it was pretty good and suspensful to say the least.

Some other classics I love that I'm sure you'll watch at some point are Laura, Double Indemnity, The Killers, The Big Sleep, The Third Man, Out of the Past, Sunset Boulevard, Touch of Evil, and Kubrick's The Killing. Hopefully you enjoy them more then you did The Maltese Falcon (which I love and own on Blu).

The next four movies were just Blu-Rays from my personal collection that I felt like re-watching:

Casablanca (1942) 8.5/10 - I hate to use the term masterpiece so soon after just using it to describe Psycho but this movie just is. I like every character in this movie (except Paul Henreid, who for some reason acts really stiff and unsympathetic here, nothing like his Now, Voyager persona). Bogie's chemistry with Ingrid Bergman (the love interest) is just as strong with Claude Rains and Dooley Wilson (his two best friends). There is just fantastic dialogue, character acting, music, and I love the fantasy version of Casablanca. I guess my only real complaint is the HORRENDOUS model planes they used (the model planes used years earlier in Only Angels Have Wings looks much more convincing in motion). Still, it's easy to overlook when everything else is soo good.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) 7.5/10 - probably the best screen portrayal of greed slowly breaking down a man. There is fantastic acting throughout and the whole movies feels really gritty and raw (the authentic mexican actors and location shooting really helps). The public avoided this movie upon initial release as it was depressing and they couldn't empathize with Bogie (or any of the other main players with their questionable morals) and I kind of agree with them, although there is soo much more to appreciate here. How Bogie can think the man that has saved his life twice before suddenly wants to kill him and steal his gold is beyond me. I think my biggest complaint is something I just recently found out was shared by critics upon initial release, the Max Steiner score. It's just too overblown and bombastic for the type of realism Huston was going for (except the scene where Walter Huston is resurrecting the indian boy, the music there is fantastic).

The Searchers (1956) 8/10 - I'll just echo what dvdjunkie said earlier. My favorite from Ford.

Superbad (2007) 8/10 - it just felt so realistic to me, especially since I knew many of the types of kids presented here when I was in high school. Not to mention it was funny as hell.

Buried (2010) 6/10 - to sum it up, Ryan Reynolds in a box for 90 minutes making emotional phone calls and then dying. I waited for something to happen but nothing ever did, just standard operational procedures from both his employer and the US government (nothing unexpected). Just too uneventful.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

We are planning on watching the following, though I guess it's always subject to change:

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Out of the Past (1947)
Chinatown (1974)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Lonestar (1996)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
The Limey (2000)
Memento (2000)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
No Country for Old Men (2007)


We're also watching another film, but it's TBA on the syllabus. To tell you the truth, I've only ever heard of The Maltese Falcon and No Country for Old Men. And from that list I've only ever seen one of them (and that's because we've just watched it). Film Noir is certainly an interesting genre; it's not something I think I would normally watch, but it's good broaden my horizons and see some other films. I have always wanted to see No Country for Old Men, though. Didn't it win Best Picture?

[jpanimation]

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Out of the Past (1947)
Chinatown (1974)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Lonestar (1996)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
The Limey (2000)
Memento (2000)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
No Country for Old Men (2007)

Hmm....I've never seen Lonestar or The Limey. Let me know how they are. I'm also surprised that Miller's Crossing, Memento and No Country for Old Men are considered noir

[Avaitor]

Double Indemnity and Out of the Past are, in my opinion, two of the finest noir films ever made. I also see a lot of other good ones on here.

I hope you enjoy what you see.

[littlefuzzy]

A good handful of movies since I last posted, most are still Jackie Chan movies:
The Accidental Spy
Dragons Forever
The Fearless Hyena
Fearless Hyena II - Jackie walked out after shooting had started, so they tried to make the movie anyway - borrowed bits from other films, doubles wearing disguises, etc.
Police Story
Kung Fu Girl - just a bit part for Jackie, before he was big.
Police Story 2

Since finishing the Star Trek Next Generation complete series, I've started on the movies: Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, and Star Trek: Insurrection. I'll probably watch Star Trek: Nemesis tomorrow. I'm doing it out of order, but at some point I'll watch the TOS movies, although I will probably watch that series first.

A friend came over last night and we went to see The Green Hornet in 3D, it was pretty decent. Seth Rogen really reminds me of Will Ferrel, though.

[Goliath]

To tell you the truth, I've only ever heard of The Maltese Falcon and No Country for Old Men.

Ooooh, you're gonna LOVE L.A. Confidential! I just know you will! Now, whether or not you'll like Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive depends on personal taste. They're both very surreal and hard to 'get'; don't expect to get one singular 'meaning' out of those films. But that's David Lynch for you.

BTW, jpanimation, I just love Treasure of the Sierra Madre! It's my favorite Bogart film. (But I always need Dutch subtitles for Bogy films, which is unusual for me, because I can never figure out what the hell Bogart is mumbling!)

[Goliath]

Gomorra (2008)

Italian film about the devastating influence of the maffia in a little community. It was internationally acclaimed, lauded with praises, heaped with awards and nominations... but it put me almost to sleep. A lot is going on, but not much is really happening. After an hour I hadn't really seen anything interesting. Classical case of high expectations and then, a cold shower...