What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching?

[weier78]

"S: The Last Policeman", Japanese tv series

[paimeifist]

Dog Day Afternoon, great movie.

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

The Thing (1982)

 

While Escape From New York is my all time favorite film, Kurt Russell’s portrayal of R.J. MacReady in The Thing is my favorite performance of his. It’s very low key and real, despite the horrific and fantastic story the character is dropped into. 

 

Twelve men are stationed in the U.S. outpost 31 in Antarctica, their usual routines abruptly screwed up by some cabin crazy Norwegians. Soon the U.S. team figures out why their Norse fellows went more than a little nuts. The Norwegian team unearthed an ancient alien capable of overriding any being and replicating it. But why stop at one person when you can assimilate an entire world?

 

Friendships are destroyed, trust is shattered and everything goes to hell real fast as the thing starts to do it’s ugly work upon the men at Outpost 31. 

 

Kurt’s chopper flying ‘Nam vet* MacReady shows all the signs of P.T.S.D. and, yet, when it comes down to it, he ultimately becomes the leader.  MacReady’s slow burn call to action is terrific to watch.  I feel like I’m actually seeing this character try to deal with his new reality and fully accept responsibility for doing whatever it takes to stop The Thing from reaching the mainland.  You believe this guy is rebounding from yet another bender and not sleeping while abruptly realizing just what a dire situation this is. And his ultimate sacrifice proves the good man that was always there, remained. 

 

Now lest this get into a character love fest (too late), the insane FX of Rob Bottin are still unmatched when it comes to the Thing’s gory, gloopy assimilations. No joke, my poor mom had this on her tv a few weeks back and I knew what film it was because I recognized Doc Copper’s scream. Yeah, I’ve watched this movie enough times to have it assimilate a little bit of memory too. 

 

I may not watch this as much as I used to (despite this being my favorite Kurt Russell role), but I cannot deny the impact it had on me not simply as a great example of when trust goes completely awry, but too, seeing how subtle acting can make a character feel real. And, yes, just how imaginative and crazy FX people were in the early 80s. 

 

*Kurt Russell and John Carpenter said they talked about MacReady’s history in ‘Nam on The Thing Commentary so learning that made me take a real close look at the character and his anti-social tendencies. 

[weier78]

Genghis Khan (1965), starring Omar Sharif, Stephen Boyd, James Mason, Telly Savalas

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Kentucky Fried Movie (1977) A compilation of sketches, this satire doesn't hold up as some other off color 1970s comedies still do. The "commercials" and public service announcements are still pretty spot on and the Enter The Dragon spoof is nowhere near as funny as it could have been. 

...

I was a bit disappointed when I first saw this (only seen in once.)  Have you seen Amazon Women on the Moon (a later follow up to this; John Landis does several skits)?  It is also highly uneven but has a few very strong gags.  Monty Python's also highly uneven The Meaning of Life is one of my favorite "segment" comedies.

[DragonClaws]

The Evil Of Frankenstein (1964)

Anvil (1998) documentary   

Once (2007)

The Duellists (1977)

 

Edited December 15, 2015 by DragonClaws

[Takuma]

The Graduate (USA, 1967) [BD] - 5/5
I didn't remember how bloody great this was. Hoffman's performance, the soundtrack, the editing, the cinematography, the capturing of the era... this is a damn near perfect movie.

Where Eagles Dare (UK / USA, 1968) [BD] - 4.5/5
They don't make this kind of manly epic war adventures anymore. New films tend to be too slick, too edited, too dark, even too realistic in some ways. This one is like Eastwood himself: a bit slow, a bit romantic, and very manly. Great film, even though it runs slightly too long and could use more German dialogue. I saw this a number of times as a kid, but liked it even better now.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (USA, 1974) [DCP] - 4/5
I wish I could have seen this from film, but since it was playing right here and I had a chance to take a few friends to see it for the first time, I settled for a digital screening. The ending is a text book example of how to end a film.

The Green Inferno (USA, 2013) (DCP) - 3.5/5
Cannibals are back on screen in Eli Roth's satisfying horror adventure. The storyline is the usual one: a bunch of students crash in the jungles and are captures by a flesh eating tribe. Beautiful locations, some nice adventure film atmosphere during the first half, and pretty damn stomach churning practical gore. It's not a perfect film, though. It doesn't have Cannibal Holocaust's almost schizophrenic mix of strong social commentary and exploitation of the very same matter, even though Roth throws in some superficial commentary, nor does it have Riz Ortolani's beautiful score. But perhaps we shouldn't be comparing it to the best of all cannibal films. It's good enough (and more) the way it is. I'm very happy with the way this turned out.

 

[DragonClaws]

The Graduate (USA, 1967) [BD] - 5/5
I didn't remember how bloody great this was. Hoffman's performance, the soundtrack, the editing, the cinematography, the capturing of the era... this is a damn near perfect movie.

Where Eagles Dare (UK / USA, 1968) [BD] - 4.5/5
They don't make this kind of manly epic war adventures anymore. New films tend to be too slick, too edited, too dark, even too realistic in some ways. This one is like Eastwood himself: a bit slow, a bit romantic, and very manly. Great film, even though it runs slightly too long and could use more German dialogue. I saw this a number of times as a kid, but liked it even better now.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (USA, 1974) [DCP] - 4/5
I wish I could have seen this from film, but since it was playing right here and I had a chance to take a few friends to see it for the first time, I settled for a digital screening. The ending is a text book example of how to end a film.

The Green Inferno (USA, 2013) (DCP) - 3.5/5
Cannibals are back on screen in Eli Roth's satisfying horror adventure. The storyline is the usual one: a bunch of students crash in the jungles and are captures by a flesh eating tribe. Beautiful locations, some nice adventure film atmosphere during the first half, and pretty damn stomach churning practical gore. It's not a perfect film, though. It doesn't have Cannibal Holocaust's almost schizophrenic mix of strong social commentary and exploitation of the very same matter, even though Roth throws in some superficial commentary, nor does it have Riz Ortolani's beautiful score. But perhaps we shouldn't be comparing it to the best of all cannibal films. It's good enough (and more) the way it is. I'm very happy with the way this turned out.

 

 

Where Eagles Dare is a decent adventure film, some say the book its based on is superior. During the late 50's through to the 60's Hollywood went through a phase of adapting Scottish writers Alister Macleans books into films. Ice Station Zebra and The Guns Of Navarone being two others that spring to mind.

 

The Graduate is a classic, I first watched the film due my interest in the band Simon & Garhtfunkel who's songs appear on the soundtrack. Love the shot where he sinks to the bottom of the swimming pool and the song Sound Of Silence kicks in at the same time.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2015 by DragonClaws

[Secret Executioner]

Got Where Eagles dare on DVD (along with a bunch of other war films) - haven't watched it so far, but I guess I should pop it in.

 

Heard of The green Inferno (mainly from Brad Jones/the Cinema Snob videos) but never saw it. I don't even think it's been released over here.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Got Where Eagles dare on DVD (along with a bunch of other war films) - haven't watched it so far, but I guess I should pop it in....

It's a solid war actioner (with some preposterous script elements, but still quite fun.)  I also like the previous mentioned The Guns Of Navarone as well.   But I'm also a fan of both Eastwood and Gregory Peck.  Another solid WWII film I recently saw last week was Sahara with Humphrey Bogart.  

[Secret Executioner]

It's a solid war actioner (with some preposterous script elements, but still quite fun.)  I also like the previous mentioned The Guns Of Navarone as well.   But I'm also a fan of both Eastwood and Gregory Peck.  Another solid WWII film I recently saw last week was Sahara with Humphrey Bogart.  

 

I also have Guns of Navarone. I actually bought a lot of big classics of the genre on DVD this summer.   

Edited December 15, 2015 by Secret Executioner

[masterofoneinchpunch]

I also have Guns of Navarone. I actually bought a lot of big classics of the genre on DVD this summer.   

While I have you here, what are you favorite "war" films?

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

I was a bit disappointed when I first saw this (only seen in once.)  Have you seen Amazon Women on the Moon (a later follow up to this; John Landis does several skits)?  It is also highly uneven but has a few very strong gags.  Monty Python's also highly uneven The Meaning of Life is one of my favorite "segment" comedies.

Yeah, I saw Amazon Women... but I cannot really comment beyond that as I've forgotten the movie completely. 

 

 

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

The Evil Of Frankenstein (1964)

Anvil (1998) documentary   

Once (2007)

The Duellists (1977)

 

 

The Duelists is a such great movie.   Feels like every frame is a painting.  Hands down my favorite Ridley Scott film along with Alien. 

 

 

[weier78]

While I have you here, what are you favorite "war" films?

the big red one, the longest day, battle of britian, the light horsemen, the dirty dozen, pork chop hill, platoon, 

[Takuma]

Where Eagles Dare is a decent adventure film, some say the book its based on is superior. During the late 50's through to the 60's Hollywood went through a phase of adapting Scottish writers Alister Macleans books into films. Ice Station Zebra and The Guns Of Navarone being two others that spring to mind.

The Graduate is a classic, I first watched the film due my interest in the band Simon & Garhtfunkel who's songs appear on the soundtrack. Love the shot where he sinks to the bottom of the swimming pool and the song Sound Of Silence kicks in at the same time.

 

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe Maclean wrote Where Eagles Dare as an original screenplay and the book version only came out a bit later (or perhaps at the same time). So the differences between the film and the book would be due to Maclean making changes to the story, rather than the filmmakers.

I first saw The Graduate when I was maybe 13 or 14. I thought it was a very good film, but of course I didn't fully understand it back then (I thought I did, but no). Now, at the age of 29, I thought it was so spot on, and so funny, in its portrayal of a shy and insecure young man with all the masculine pressure on his shoulders, all the confusion about what he really wants to do and who he really is... I could relate to him more than I want to admit (though I never had an affair with anyone's mom .)

 

While I have you here, what are you favorite "war" films?

 

The Bridge on the River Kwai, Where Eagles Dare, The Great Escape, The Human Condition, The Thin Red Line, Army in the Shadows, Apocalypse Now, Under the Flag of the Rising Sun, Full Metal Jacket...

 

 

Edited December 16, 2015 by Takuma

[DragonClaws]

 

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe Maclean wrote Where Eagles Dare as an original screenplay and the book version only came out a bit later (or perhaps at the same time). So the differences between the film and the book would be due to Maclean making changes to the story, rather than the filmmakers.

I first saw The Graduate when I was maybe 13 or 14. I thought it was a very good film, but of course I didn't fully understand it back then (I thought I did, but no). Now, at the age of 29, I thought it was so spot on, and so funny, in its portrayal of a shy and insecure young man with all the masculine pressure on his shoulders, all the confusion about what he really wants to do and who he really is... I could relate to him more than I want to admit (though I never had an affair with anyone's mom .)

 

 

The Bridge on the River Kwai, Where Eagles Dare, The Great Escape, The Human Condition, The Thin Red Line, Army in the Shadows, Apocalypse Now, Under the Flag of the Rising Sun, Full Metal Jacket...

 

 

 

You are right he wrote the screenplay and book at the same time. I think Richard Burton had some influence on the creation of the script but I'm not 10% sure on that.

 

On the subject of war films here's a few of my favorites.

 

The Train (1964)

Too Late The Hero (1970)

The Deer Hunter (1978)

The Hill (1965)

Cross Of Iron (1977)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

 

 

 

The Duelists is a such great movie.   Feels like every frame is a painting.  Hands down my favorite Ridley Scott film along with Alien. 

 

 

 

It holds up really well visually even now and they must have been inspired by some of the paintings created in the era the story is set. They clearly didn't have a huge budget but paid a lot of attention to detail in each shot.

Edited December 16, 2015 by DragonClaws

[Jadedragon61]

I've been watching the original TV series Dark Shadows (1966), for  months now, about 4 days per week... Don't judge me...

Well, today was episode 125, and, man, they sure drag things out in this series. For about two weeks now Vicky has been held captive by the psycho caretaker Matthew - somebody better save her Saturday, next show, or I might freak the eff out.

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

 

One of my favorite John Carpenter films, it’s  Rio Bravo in a mid-1970s inner city setting.  Precinct 13 is about to be closed down (literally in hours at dawn), when a vengeful yet catatonic father brings the wrath of the city’s biggest gang (Street Thunder) to bear upon the staff and prisoners within P13.  The prisoners wind up there due to a very sick inmate, so P13 serves as a holding tank. The father winds up there because of the terrible event that makes him and everyone else a target. 
 

It’s up to Lt. Bishop and convict Napoleon Wilson to try and stay alive. Wilson is Carpenter’s early attempt at a Plissken-like anti-hero and while he does work (Duane Johnson is decent), the stage belongs to Austin Stoker’s newly minted police  Lieutenant and Laurie Zimmer’s police woman Leigh. Leigh is pure 1940s John Ford tough cookie; Laurie played Leigh very low key (not unlike Kurt's portrayal of MacReady in The Thing.)  Street Thunder are largely ciphers: the creeping, crawling unrest, a gang compromised of many different people. I kind of chuckled at the almost George Romero rationale as to why Street Thunder went more than a little homicidal ("Sun spots..." um, yeah, sure.)

 

But enough about wonky science here, this is a solid, sometimes claustrophobic film that still holds up. You really like most of the people fighting for their lives in Assault on Precinct 13, so when the finale comes, it’s  very satisfying.  I have seen the remake and it’s almost a completely different animal. I liked it, but do not consider it a companion piece to the original. 

[DragonClaws]

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

 

One of my favorite John Carpenter films, it’s  Rio Bravo in a mid-1970s inner city setting.  Precinct 13 is about to be closed down (literally in hours at dawn), when a vengeful yet catatonic father brings the wrath of the city’s biggest gang (Street Thunder) to bear upon the staff and prisoners within P13.  The prisoners wind up there due to a very sick inmate, so P13 serves as a holding tank. The father winds up there because of the terrible event that makes him and everyone else a target. 
 

It’s up to Lt. Bishop and convict Napoleon Wilson to try and stay alive. Wilson is Carpenter’s early attempt at a Plissken-like anti-hero and while he does work (Duane Johnson is decent), the stage belongs to Austin Stoker’s newly minted police  Lieutenant and Laurie Zimmer’s police woman Leigh. Leigh is pure 1940s John Ford tough cookie; Laurie played Leigh very low key (not unlike Kurt's portrayal of MacReady in The Thing.)  Street Thunder are largely ciphers: the creeping, crawling unrest, a gang compromised of many different people. I kind of chuckled at the almost George Romero rationale as to why Street Thunder went more than a little homicidal ("Sun spots..." um, yeah, sure.)

 

But enough about wonky science here, this is a solid, sometimes claustrophobic film that still holds up. You really like most of the people fighting for their lives in Assault on Precinct 13, so when the finale comes, it’s  very satisfying.  I have seen the remake and it’s almost a completely different animal. I liked it, but do not consider it a companion piece to the original. 

Hi Lady Jin Szu-Yi, have you ever gotten round to seeing the re-make of this?. Ive not watched Assault On Precinct 13 for that long time. This is along with Ghosts Of Mars are the John Carpenter films Ive watched the least.

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

 

Hi Lady Jin Szu-Yi, have you ever gotten round to seeing the re-make of this?. Ive not watched Assault On Precinct 13 for that long time. This is along with Ghosts Of Mars are the John Carpenter films Ive watched the least.

Hi DragonClaws,

 

I mentioned seeing the remake of Assault at the end of the review. It's completely different and I liked it, but not as a remake of a Carpenter film. I can understand why people wouldn't be into AoP13, because it's a more grounded story. i got into a couple of the characters though (Lt. Bishop and Leigh) so I really enjoy it for what it is.

 

 My fondness for Carpenter pretty much ends with They Live. I shamefully admit I saw Escape from L.A. theatrically 15x because it was Snake Plissken, but I cannot watch that film now.  Anything after They Live is tough to almost impossible for me to watch these days. Even though I interviewed John Carpenter for In the Mouth of Madness, I prefer his older material, now more so than ever.   There was a lot more character and the scenarios were often pretty unique even if they were remakes as Assault on Precinct 13 and The Thing were (and what a remake The Thing is.) As a Carpenter fan for eons now, I admit I am very sad at his cashing in on his legacy and just letting his really great characters / ideas go to complete poop. 

 

Ghost of Mars was awful, (and I thought Vampires was bad.). I am glad I've pretty pretty much forgot both. 

[DragonClaws]

Hi DragonClaws,

 

I mentioned seeing the remake of Assault at the end of the review. It's completely different and I liked it, but not as a remake of a Carpenter film. I can understand why people wouldn't be into AoP13, because it's a more grounded story. i got into a couple of the characters though (Lt. Bishop and Leigh) so I really enjoy it for what it is.

 

 My fondness for Carpenter pretty much ends with They Live. I shamefully admit I saw Escape from L.A. theatrically 15x because it was Snake Plissken, but I cannot watch that film now.  Anything after They Live is tough to almost impossible for me to watch these days. Even though I interviewed John Carpenter for In the Mouth of Madness, I prefer his older material, now more so than ever.   There was a lot more character and the scenarios were often pretty unique even if they were remakes as Assault on Precinct 13 and The Thing were (and what a remake The Thing is.) As a Carpenter fan for eons now, I admit I am very sad at his cashing in on his legacy and just letting his really great characters / ideas go to complete poop. 

 

Ghost of Mars was awful, (and I thought Vampires was bad.). I am glad I've pretty pretty much forgot both. 

Do'h feel daft asking the question now lol. I'll get round to reading your entire comments Lady Jin Szu-Yin, bit busy multitasking at the moment.

 

Vampires has grown me and I enjoyed it a lot more the second time round. I'll not comment on the sequel starring Bon Jovi. Ghosts Of Mars has a good idea behind it and I like the first half hour but it just looses me about mid way through.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

... I mentioned seeing the remake of Assault at the end of the review. It's completely different and I liked it, but not as a remake of a Carpenter film. I can understand why people wouldn't be into AoP13, because it's a more grounded story. i got into a couple of the characters though (Lt. Bishop and Leigh) so I really enjoy it for what it is.

 My fondness for Carpenter pretty much ends with They Live. I shamefully admit I saw Escape from L.A. theatrically 15x because it was Snake Plissken, but I cannot watch that film now.  Anything after They Live is tough to almost impossible for me to watch these days. Even though I interviewed John Carpenter for In the Mouth of Madness, I prefer his older material, now more so than ever.   There was a lot more character and the scenarios were often pretty unique even if they were remakes as Assault on Precinct 13 and The Thing were (and what a remake The Thing is.) As a Carpenter fan for eons now, I admit I am very sad at his cashing in on his legacy and just letting his really great characters / ideas go to complete poop. 

Ghost of Mars was awful, (and I thought Vampires was bad.). I am glad I've pretty pretty much forgot both. 

I actually liked Escape from LA the two times I saw it, but it has been years.  In the Mouth of Madness I thought was effective and scary for about half the film and then slowly got worse (probably one of the worst effects I have seen from him to involving the "that's really a bad looking head" scene.)

Carpenter's The Thing is one of the few remakes where I like the remake better (including The Maltese Falcon, most people forget that there was a few earlier filmed versions.)

It's been years since I've seen Vampires, but my old review on it was not positive.  I've stayed away from Ghost of Mars and your comments are not making me want to see it any sooner.

[weier78]

Run, Man , Run. (1968) "spaghetti western". Cuchillo is chased through Mexico to America, by Americans, bandits, Mexican revolutionary fighters, a female Salvation army worker and his lover for the whereabouts of $3,000,000 in gold, stored for the Mexico Revolution.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Run Man Run is pretty good, but I lost interest by the end of the movie.  If you like Run Man Run check out The Big Gundown.  Cuchillo is a fugitive and gets chased the whole movie by Lee Van Cleef.