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

[dvdjunkie]

Was feeling a little silly today so I watched Spaceballs on Blu-ray for the umpteenth time. Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman and Mel Brooks himself star in the parody of the Star Wars films. It gets funnier and sillier every time I watch it. Good way to spend an hour and a half.

[littlefuzzy]

Well, I missed one day in the Jackie Chan marathon, I only watched Star Trek: Nemesis that day. So far, I've still watched at least 1 movie every day (and often 2-3).

More Jackie Chan:
The Magnificent Bodyguards
All in the Family - The infamous JC "porno", except it's nothing more than a standard R rated comedy if it were filmed in America.
Police Story 3: Supercop
New Fist of Fury
Twin Dragons - Two Jackies for the price of one! Think Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap, or Cheech & Chong in The Corsican Brothers.

[dvdjunkie]

As a family we watched Red in the Junkie Home Theater. No kids just the adults. The kids were busy watching "Despicable Me" in the playroom.

"Red" is one of the better 'let's get the old gang back together' movies. Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Ernest Borgnine, Helen Mirren, and Brian Cox star in this action-filled fun fest about former CIA members being assassinated one at a time, and the efforts of a small group of former agents trying to figure out why and who. Lots of action, and lot of great "one-liners" from this movie.

[Goliath]

Watched two very different movies:

Altiplano (2009)

From the moment it started, I immediately knew I was going to enjoy this film, and I did. (There's just something about the 'right' films that I can sense from the beginning.) This touching, gripping drama about a small village in the Andes whose inhabitants get slowly poisoned by the activities of a nearby goldmine, is best appreciated by viewers who don't mind a somewhat slower-than-usual pace, who take time for reflection and who are open to trying to understanding other cultures.

Dossier K. (2009)

Flemish (Belgian) crime story which feels like an ordinary extended episode of one of their crime series on tv. Not bad, but nothing new or exceptional about it.

[Lazario]

This is actually a little bit of history right here, one of the very first movies I rented through Netflix- more than 2 years ago. I didn't like it the first time. Well, a re-watch can do amazing things. It's practically a masterpiece and required viewing for horror fans- that's all there is to it. It seems like a jumbled mess of screaming (in hilarious, rather than frightening, closeups), stabbing (got to love the bricking here as well- our midget-sized killer really knows how to swing one of those things), bad acting (though more in the intentional, John Waters, vein), and religion religion religion, but it takes a couple viewings to see how brilliantly it all comes together. For some reason, knowing what is coming before it happens REALLY makes the set-ups pop! Which before I took for granted because I didn't make any connections to the characters (emotional, comical, or sexual). Nor did I find much amusement in the mother's mission to create harmony between her bitchy daughter and even bitchier sister (what a harpie! This lady's a hag for the record books- move over, Shelley Winters!). If you love 70's horror like I do, a second chance with this one is the most fun you're likely to have all week. I'm telling you: it's a winner (just short of the Mr. Alphonse stuff, I can't say this enough - that shit ain't funny).







Bless you, Netflix! That's all I can say. MGM won't release this, Sugar Hill, or The Town That Dreaded Sundown on DVD, but thanks to Netflix: Watch Instant, we can actually finally see pretty good widescreen transfers of them. Anyway, this one's a relentlessly clever and entertaining good time- fully justifying the cult reputation it has. Don't watch unless you have previous experience with the likes of The Dead Next Door, There's Nothing Out There, or Psychos in Love. I've seen them all and only Nothing can fight Video Dead for the title of the-best non-Troma no-budget horror-comedy parody. Giggles were ripped from my torso throughout (what the hell is up with that maid? I lost it when she just walked in the room). References (half of these are debatable) Phantasm, Evil Dead, Children of the Corn, The Boogeyman, Videodrome, Nightmare on Elm Street, Day of the Dead, and in the movie's only annoying obnoxious moment- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; "I've seen that movie 6 times!!" So have I. Highly inventive, surprising, and intelligent final 20-something minute ending is worth the time of checking this out alone. See it. If you're a Netflix member, that is.







AIP in the 70's is a crapshoot. You have your serious - Stepford Wives, Last House on the Left, Deranged - and your silly - The Thing with Two Heads, Frogs, and Sugar Hill (Larry Cohen combined the two perfectly later on). Sugar Hill is just not my kind of silly. There's little to say; it's PG, no sex or gore, the killings are about half-inventive but the zombies look like bad props left over from a kid's whatever'th grade school play (The Fly: the musical), and the blaxploitation cut and pastings are laughable at best: lame chick-fight, even lamer racial epithets, and goofy closeups of phony kickings and in-our-face bloody knuckled threats. Zara Cully from the Jeffersons has the best line ("Oh, he's a greedy God"), the humans' costumes are okay, and the music score has some jump-worthy moments. Well-shot but not well structured.







Documentaries to me are time-wasters. I watch them, to hear people talking about things, for entertainment. To be inspired rather than informed. But mostly, I wanted to see this because of the Uwe Boll gossip- we get an interview with American Psycho's screenwriter, ultra cool Guinevere Turner (an obviously very talented writer and actress- a killer interview subject no pun intended), about how she was being considered by the people making Bloodrayne and how she kinda got screwed on the deal. Kinda. I was hoping the story would be more pissy but instead, she's very funny and jovial about the entire thing. She turned in one draft (and the documentary is about how screenwriters actually have to sometimes turn in as many as 50 to 100 different drafts- Boll took Turner's 1st draft), she expected them to dislike it, she decided that it was not a good draft anyway, and then she was called by someone working on the film to tell her that Uwe Boll and the actors all changed her work. She then went to a screening and recalls that she was the only one who laughed. I dug it, the people were all very smart and said very interesting things even if I'm not sure anyone could learn much from it.







Since the new millennium is the worst decade (soon, enough, to become the worst 2 decades) in horror history, it's no surprise that this one blew. I liked several of the ideas. But holy hell- the acting sucks. The characters are boring as hell. The dialogue sucks. The music score sucks. And since it's so influenced by Stephen King, you're better off just reading one of his books (this steals from: Children of the Corn, Sometimes They Come Back, Thinner, Christine, Shawshank Redemption, and Stand by Me to name just the ones I found). The CGI (that almost ruined Season 2's excellent Right to Die) is thankfully kept to a minimum, and visually- I liked the meltdowns and all the references to cold in the final scenes. But unless you have more patience than I do, just pass.







To slightly paraphrase Heathers, "Goddamn, will someone tell me why I watch this damn thing?" It's an insufferable disaster. Every time. I learned my lesson before. And yet, every couple of years, it ends up in my DVD player: without the commentary on. It can't just be Brian Patrick Clarke's (by the way, when did he become Ed Begley Jr.'s doppleganger?) tight shorts or his bulging thighs and biceps. All the other guys are wearing the same thing. It sure as hell isn't for the almost witty Brat Pack references (all the characters are named after actors from said 80's films: Ally, Molly, Rob, Demi, Judd, Anthony, Lea, etc). Including the not-so-subtle casting of Emilio Estevez's actual sister, Renee (who later got wise and did Heathers). Bruce Springsteen's sister, Pamela, is the killer (the film announces this, ala- Serial Mom, in the first 5 minutes). And as though the unbelievably bad acting and writing aren't enough, this sequel changes the Angela Baker character. She was the Carrie girl who was picked on and bullied. Now she's the bully. So the revenge plot is gone and all she is now is an uptight, puritanical [fill in blank here]. No more feeling sorry for her. About as campy as Police Academy. How this ever got to be a cult film is beyond me (though it actually belongs in company with the likes of Blood Diner - which of the two is worse, I'm not at liberty to say). Watch Serial Mom instead, you'll thank me!



Also re-watched Critters. I already talked about it here before. Nothing's changed.

What did you think of the story? Were the actors believable? How did you like the climax?

Story? Who watch Porn for that?

Doesn't story dictate the action?

Oh, and - does it count as a movie? How long was the program? If it's over an hour, regardless of how much of it you watched, I say yes. Under? No. If it's under, call it a TV show.

[littlefuzzy]

Only one Jackie Chan movie per day the last two days:
Dragon Lord
Island of Fire (aka The Prisoner)

I watched 3 other films, though:
Knight Rider 2000 (1991)
Knight Rider 2010 (1994)
Hamburger: The Motion Picture

[blackcauldron85]

I watched Aladdin a couple nights ago, some stand-up comedy film starring a cowboy-type guy (haha, I don't remember the name of the guy, but he was pretty funny), and some of Bruce Almighty- I need to rewatch it- I was dosing in and out of sleep.

[dvdjunkie]

Watched 2012 for the umpteenth time and still like this movie for the effects and their honest try at a believable story. John Cusack was good but Woody Harrelson steals this movie right from under everybody's noses.

[UmbrellaFish]

Red-

Surprisingly, and pleasingly entertaining. Not much more than that, but worth a peek.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Black Swan

I just got back from seeing this and I have to say that it was a superbly wonderful and beautiful psychological thriller film. Natalie Portman definitely deserves the Oscar for her role of Nina Sayers. I really don't know what else to say--it was spectacular. I will definitely be purchasing the film on Blu-ray when it comes out. It's a must see film.

[dvdjunkie]

Watched Inception on Blu-ray again. I was challenged to explain this film to someone who found it to be quite boring and uninteresting. I was on the internet on FB with him as the film ran, and I explained all the intricacies of the plot and why the acting was so good. Leonardo DeCaprio was amazing in it, and I wish this film found a little more love with the Academy Awards people. It deserves a lot more than it got.

[blackcauldron85]

I just watched Kung Fu Panda. Obviously it wasn't my choice of film. I had fallen asleep during it, but even when I was awake, I was lost at some parts, and had to rewatch certain scenes 2 or 3 times. It wasn't horrible, but I didn't really like it. I liked Po alright, though.

[pinkrenata]

I just watched Kung Fu Panda. Obviously it wasn't my choice of film. I had fallen asleep during it, but even when I was awake, I was lost at some parts, and had to rewatch certain scenes 2 or 3 times. It wasn't horrible, but I didn't really like it. I liked Po alright, though.

I'm glad somebody felt the same way. I thought it was good, not great. And Jack Black still sort of annoys me.

[pap64]

Alpha and Omega: In all honesty, the movie is not as bad as critics made it out to be. I've seen far worse animated movies than this one, though I will agree that it is a very by the numbers picture. My favorite scenes, as cheesy as they were, were the musical howling scenes. Some were just plain beautiful and easily my favorite of the whole movie. But the movie plays itself way too safely as every twist and turn was predictable. Worse is that they ripped scenes right out of other movies, like the stampede from "Lion King", and some of the humor was pretty lame.

I would give it a 6 out of 10.

[jpanimation]

(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!)

I heard that in addition to his mumbling, the big scar on his lip caused him to spit when he talked (so they had to strategically place cameras). I know I shouldn't laugh at that but I do.

In a Lonely Place (1950) 7.5/10 - being a fan of both Bogart and Rebel Without a Cause, I'm surprised it took me so long to see this Bogart produced/Ray directed feature. It's the story of a film writer with a temper who is accused of murder. Everyone around him suspects him and eventually his girlfriend begins to (it felt very similar to Hitchcock's Suspicion in those regards). I thought it was good but not great. Bogart was great, rivaling his performances in both The Caine Mutiny and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Actually, most of the performances were stellar. While it probably won't be placed on anyone's list of favorites, it's still worth a look.

[BelleGirl]

Wallace and Gromit: the curse of the were-rabbit

second time I watched it:
W & G are always a lot of fun!


Bloodline - 1980

It's always amazing how a movie can boast a great 'classic' cast (Audry Hepburn, James Mason and Romy Schneider) and yet be anything but great and classic. Movie adaptation of a novel by Sidney Sheldon.


Horton hears a Who

Also a second viewing. Still great.

[dvdjunkie]

It was "guys" day in the Junkie Home Theater Sunday, so the three oldest grand sons, my son-in-law, and myself sat down and watched:

Old Yeller - A classic Disney film that make me cry every time.

Johnny Tremain - Just a whole lot of fun with the 'Boston Tea Party' thrown in for good measure.

The Great Locomotive Chase - Jeffrey Hunter and Fess Parker make this classic Disney adventure worth watching. And it is based on a true incident during the Civil War.

We also watched some Warner Bros. cartoons in between the films. Good day of movie watching for all of us.

[Lazario]

Crap day for me:





Though it was really, really bad for the first half-hour, it did get steadily...a little bit better as it went along. The worst problem is that it's shockingly sappy. Kirsty wasn't exactly a cool or consistently tough heroine the first time around, but she's just plain annoying here. Turns out: there's just nothing more they can do with that face. Every scene with her looks like something she did in the first movie. Clare Higgins livens things up considerably, but without her and the circus clown stuff that comes from mute girl Tiffany, this is ugly and drab and boring.







There's just no other way to say it: this thing is one of the biggest piles of cinematic fecal matter I have ever sat through. Though that of course means it sits comfortably in the new-millennium with the other garbage the genre cranks out. Many people think acting has somehow improved over the last 11 years. I chewed that over with myself during the film's impressive first 50 or so seconds. Than a closeup of a woman's ass for no good reason told me what kind of movie I was in-for: crap. Anna Paquin is the only name here, but I gather she's not hard to draw in after Darkness.

[PeterPanfan]

There's just no other way to say it: this thing is one of the biggest piles of cinematic fecal matter I have ever sat through. Though that of course means it sits comfortably in the new-millennium with the other garbage the genre cranks out. Many people think acting has somehow improved over the last 11 years. I chewed that over with myself during the film's impressive first 50 or so seconds. Than a closeup of a woman's ass for no good reason told me what kind of movie I was in-for: crap. Anna Paquin is the only name here, but I gather she's not hard to draw in after Darkness.

Why didn't you like this, Laz? I thought it was one of the better horror achievements in the last decade or so... Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I love anthology films, plus throw in the originality and great cinematography and it equals greatness, in my opinion.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Double Indemnity

I guess it was pretty good. I wasn't too intrigued with this one, though (not that I was really intrigued by Maltese Falcon, either). Maybe these just aren't my type of films? I did like the climax, though, so that's good.