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

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

2 hours ago, Morgoth Bauglir said:

I figured Blazing Magnum was a giallo because it follows the same formula as a lot of the other movies I just watched.  A killer is on the loose, there's a lot of suspects, and we don't find out until the end who the killer is and why they are killing.     But I always considered it more of an action movie.  Stuart Whitman has way too many fight scenes for a guy his age. 

Indeed! 

 

I understand some of the early police films followed the giallo pattern... LOL at the Stuart Whitman comment, too true. 

 

If you want to see a fun Italian crime film,  Shoot First, Die Later! hits the spot. 

[Secret Executioner]

8 minutes ago, Lady Jin Szu-Yi said:

Bless you for sitting through some of the worst films Enzo ever made, Secret.   Boy did you nail how wooden Marc Gregory is!

 

After Escape from New York came out, Italian directors lost their minds and thought this would be the next great filone to produce.  So between that film, Mad Max and The Warriors they tried to create some kind of edgy post apocalyptic SF that was often more bad than good. 2019 After The Fall of New York is schlockly as hell and unintentionally funny in spots (personally I think these are much funnier), but it has its charms. 

 

I'm not sure how much Castellari you've seen, but if you haven't watched The Big Racket (try to get the Italian print if possible), High Crime, The Heroin Busters or Keoma, you're in for a treat. You may like Street Law too.  

 

I adore Enzo's 1970s films. He was a fine western director, but his true genius was in crime / police films.  His eye for action was particularly good in those and the characters / situations were very intense.  I was very surprised he made something as gruelling as The Big Racket, as that film is so ugly it just doesn't seem to fit Enzo's personality (perhaps that's the angry boxer coming out in him I don't know.)

 

 

 

 

I'm not too familiar with Castellari's work, I just happened to have those 3 movies that I mainly bought for how bad they are actually. But I guess I could dig in his output - I'm looking for his Inglorious Bastards for instance and I guess I'll pick some of those you mentionned (Keoma sounds worth a look, not sure about the others).

 

And there's a ton of post apocalyptic films from Italy - with more or less colorful titles and sometimes a LOT of inspiration from certain big movies of the time - some draw more of Escape from NY, but several also took a lot from Mad Max 2 visually. A very interesting subgenre, though there doesn't seem to be that much of them available on DVD over here (France). But still, a lot of those look damn fun.

[FieryReign]

The Martian- Didn't care for this cookie cutter Hollywood tripe. Felt like I was watching a NASA commercial, never seen so many logos forced down my throat.

 

Jeff Daniels looked bored. Matt Damon tries to spice up his character but it seemed forced. Just like the attempt at comic relief in this film. Cringe factor is high with this one.

 

Eddie Ko pops up out of nowhere for a couple scenes, and I announced it out loud. My companion I was watching it with replied, "who's that"?

[Secret Executioner]

4 hours ago, FieryReign said:

The Martian- Didn't care for this cookie cutter Hollywood tripe. Felt like I was watching a NASA commercial, never seen so many logos forced down my throat.

 

Jeff Daniels looked bored. Matt Damon tries to spice up his character but it seemed forced. Just like the attempt at comic relief in this film. Cringe factor is high with this one.

 

Eddie Ko pops up out of nowhere for a couple scenes, and I announced it out loud. My companion I was watching it with replied, "who's that"?

 

Gotta agree it feels a bit forced at times - the fact the odds keep getting against a guy you know will be safe and sound in the end (is that even a spoiler ?) and the out of nowhere involvment of Chinese who randomly show up and end up helping save the day (probably because a Chinese company was involved in the production ?) are what kinda got me with this. I understand the characters and comedy may not have been up your alley, though I found some stuff was okay in this.

 

I liked the movie, but I honestly don't think it's anything Oscar-worthy - but seeing how many movies got awarded while in competition against much better movies, I wouldn't be surprised if this and stuff like Star Wars ended receiving a lot of them.

[DragonClaws]

1 hour ago, Secret Executioner said:

 

Gotta agree it feels a bit forced at times - the fact the odds keep getting against a guy you know will be safe and sound in the end (is that even a spoiler ?) and the out of nowhere involvment of Chinese who randomly show up and end up helping save the day (probably because a Chinese company was involved in the production ?) are what kinda got me with this. I understand the characters and comedy may not have been up your alley, though I found some stuff was okay in this.

 

I liked the movie, but I honestly don't think it's anything Oscar-worthy - but seeing how many movies got awarded while in competition against much better movies, I wouldn't be surprised if this and stuff like Star Wars ended receiving a lot of them.

 

Chinese funding was involved Secret Executioner. I think the only reason they've given Donnie Yen a role in the new Star Wars film is because of the now lucrative Chinese market.

 

 

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

52 minutes ago, DragonClaws said:

I think the only reason they've given Donnie Yen a role in the new Star Wars film is because of the now lucrative Chinese market.

Indeed,  it would be nice if it was the best person for the role / job etc.  Hopefully Gareth had some input in casting too. 

 

Latest: The Wolverine (2013) 

 

I really enjoyed this in the theatre as it felt closest to the character I'd read in the comics, and my thoughts haven't changed. The Wolverine is an excellent, slight rethink of the Miller ronin-era Logan; something I've been longing to see since 2000. The only character I would still omit is Viper: I still think they could insert the nano bugs into Logan insidiously without her character. That minor quibble aside, this is an interesting take on someone whose has lived with war and pain for so long. Hugh nails Logan so wonderfully here and I thought the tweaks on Mariko,  Yukio and Harada  the archer protector were fun. Will Yun Lee had some great moments here, the funeral scene with Harada providing cover was excellent. And this time,  I couldn't help but imagine Yasuaki Kurata as Yashida too. 

 

As I think about this film more, it's one of my favorite American comic book films. The characters, story and tone are done well and rather accurately, given the changes they have to insert for mass audiences. For me, it's up there with Hellboy, Blade, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men First Class. 

 

---

 

Shrek Forever After (2010)

 

While not the best film in the series, the characters are so adorable and likable it's always fun to revisit this universe. And the sweet ending was a really nice way to cap the film series. Rumplestilskin makes trouble for Shrek and we fall into an alternate reality. There's so much for children and adults in this series and the clever observations of real life aspects (often the "cat" stuff they would give to Puss n Boots) is hilariously spot on. Currently the Shrek films are my favorite series of children's films because they have a great message without being preachy, are sweet and at times, hysterically funny. 

Edited January 18, 2016 by Lady Jin Szu-Yi

[DragonClaws]

Quote

Indeed,  it would be nice if it was the best person for the role / job etc.  Hopefully Gareth had some input in casting too. 

 

The actors from The Raid who they cast in The Force Awakens should have been given more screen time. It's like they had a last minute idea to put them into the movie. Maybe some of their scenes ended up on the cutting room floor?.

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

19 minutes ago, DragonClaws said:

The actors from The Raid who they cast in The Force Awakens should have been given more screen time. It's like they had a last minute idea to put them into the movie.

Sounds about right, I would not be surprised if there was more footage. The Visual Dictionary gave the impression their characters would be fully realized...

 

 It's too bad Yayan and Iko aren't in Rogue One. I think they would have fit perfectly into that film and it would allow for a variety of martial arts to be employed throughout. (Imagines something like the CKT vs. Donnie Yen fight in 14 Blades.)

 

Ah well. 

Edited January 18, 2016 by Lady Jin Szu-Yi

[masterofoneinchpunch]

4 hours ago, Lady Jin Szu-Yi said:

Indeed,  it would be nice if it was the best person for the role / job etc.  Hopefully Gareth had some input in casting too. 

 

Latest: The Wolverine (2013) 

...

As I think about this film more, it's one of my favorite American comic book films. The characters, story and tone are done well and rather accurately, given the changes they have to insert for mass audiences. For me, it's up there with Hellboy, Blade, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men First Class. 

...

This was my favorite Wolverine film so far.   I haven't seen it since the theater, but I absolutely loved the train fight scene and much of the characters, scenes etc...  Now I would add I'm a big fan of both Hellboy 2 and Blade 2 probably more than the originals.  I really wish Hellboy would come out with a third movie.

 

Sleeper is in the 30+ viewing club for me.  I grew up with that film and have seen it so many times.  It is my favorite Woody Allen film.

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

2 hours ago, masterofoneinchpunch said:

I really wish Hellboy would come out with a third movie.

 

Sleeper is in the 30+ viewing club for me.  I grew up with that film and have seen it so many times.  It is my favorite Woody Allen film.

I'd love a third Hellboy movie myself.  Kronen was a terrifically awful character and the whole concept behind him was GdT genius (clockworks to sustain his life)... the 2nd Hellboy was fun and definitely provided a dark fantasy world which was interesting to see. The Make Up designs for the dark elves were fantastic. I liked that one, but my ever lingering Rasputin obsession and Kronen's boo-hiss villainy and great design puts the first on top for me.

 

I don't remember Blade 2...

 

100% right there with you on Sleeper, Master. There's still a few moments that make me laugh pretty hard and it's a fun movie. I've seen the Sleeper house (where Miles wakes up) on the outskirts of Denver but wasn't close enough to take photos. 

Edited January 18, 2016 by Lady Jin Szu-Yi

[Secret Executioner]

The dirty Dozen (UK/USA, 1967) flkjflkgjl jklfjflf

 

"  You've got one religious maniac, one malignant dwarf, two near-idiots... and the rest I don't even wanna think about! " Capt. Kinder following the psychiatric evaluation of the dozen.

 

In this Robert Aldrich classic, a US army major (Lee Marvin) is assigned 12 convicted men (among whom Telly Savalas as a religious fanatical and Charles Bronson) to train for a mission in France shortly before D-Day. 

 

Well, that's one fun flick here. The first 2 thirds see the men in training, while the last third see them on the mission. The training provide a lot of comedy, some great lines and develops the characters. There's also some action (essentially fights) and you can see the progression of the group. Following the training, there's a mock operation that allows for some creative strategy and where we see our 12 soldiers work as a great team. Then we have the last 40 or so minutes that are the raid on the castle. The part is done greatly too, with lots of sneaking around, tension being built up as things keep going awry (sometimes worse than others) and ultimately a big shootout, explosions and pretty much a battle occuring. 

I don't have much more to say, except that it's one damn fine movie here - I loved the characters, the comedy, the action, the climax. Nothing to object to, sir.  

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

1 hour ago, Secret Executioner said:

The dirty Dozen (UK/USA, 1967) flkjflkgjl jklfjflf

 

"  You've got one religious maniac, one malignant dwarf, two near-idiots... and the rest I don't even wanna think about! " Capt. Kinder following the psychiatric evaluation of the dozen.

 

In this Robert Aldrich classic, a US army major (Lee Marvin) is assigned 12 convicted men (among whom Telly Savalas as a religious fanatical and Charles Bronson) to train for a mission in France shortly before D-Day. 

 

Well, that's one fun flick here. The first 2 thirds see the men in training, while the last third see them on the mission. The training provide a lot of comedy, some great lines and develops the characters. There's also some action (essentially fights) and you can see the progression of the group. Following the training, there's a mock operation that allows for some creative strategy and where we see our 12 soldiers work as a great team. Then we have the last 40 or so minutes that are the raid on the castle. The part is done greatly too, with lots of sneaking around, tension being built up as things keep going awry (sometimes worse than others) and ultimately a big shootout, explosions and pretty much a battle occuring. 

I don't have much more to say, except that it's one damn fine movie here - I loved the characters, the comedy, the action, the climax. Nothing to object to, sir.  

This is one of my most favorite War movies; one of the all time greats for me. 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2016 by Lady Jin Szu-Yi

[DragonClaws]

23 hours ago, Secret Executioner said:

The dirty Dozen (UK/USA, 1967)

 

Good film, enjoyed reading you comments SE. I think most of the Dozen with the exception of Jim Brown and Donald Sutherland actually served in the military but I'm not 100% sure. Lee Marvin certainly had a military history having served in the marines. I read about this in the book Lee: A Romance by his wife Pamela Marvin.

[Secret Executioner]

Thanks for the interesting trivia here DC.  

 

Tonight's viewing was Pooh's grand Adventure: the Search for Christopher Robin (USA, 1997)

Christopher Robin has to leave Pooh to go to school. This causes a mass panic in the Hundred Acre Wood as Owl reads a note the boy left and professes he is in danger in a terrible place. So Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger and Rabbit end on a long journey trying to find the place known as Skull and save Christopher Robin from the terrifying monsters living in the area.

 

This DTV film is a sequel to the 1977 Disney classic The many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, but it's very subpar by comparison. The voice-acting is very different (obviously), but it's not too bad - I wasn't fond of Rabbit's voice and I felt Eeyore didn't sound depressed enough, but Owl sounded great. The animation is somewhat similar, though I was bugged at first - probably because the DTV sequel animation is much cheaper and so not as good as the theatrically released classic animation (just compare Aladdin and its sequels for a striking contrast).

What's REALLY bad in this is that the story drags a lot (and the movie's only 70-ish minutes) and Pooh is annoying as hell (some of the other characters get a bit annoying at times, especially Rabbit when he decides he is the leader of the expedition) with an attitude that's not as charming and loveable as in the 1977 movie, but more of a "duh, I'm a freaking idiot" attitude - seriously, it made me want to punch someone. I nearly stopped watching after a few minutes because of that (Pooh sadly has a ton of lines, most of which having the words "Christopher Robin" in them - I think you could get dangerously intoxicated if you were playing a drinking game based on characters saying that name in this film), but I made it through (though I skipped his two songs). Speaking of songs, the music isn't that great except for the quest song by Owl. It's epic, catchy and gets way OTT at times. But beside that, some rather funny drama between Tigger and his tail and a "conquering your fears" arc for Piglet that's pretty nice and quite inspiring, this is a pretty poor movie. But my guess is that it's intended for very young kids and this aspect shows more than with the first one where you have a lot to enjoy no matter your age.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

AVGN X Bluray- I've been meaning to get the AVGN DVDs for a long time, so it was a nice surprise when this came out.  It has the first 6 volumes of the DVDs.  I figured that the movie footage would be cut out of episodes like Back to the Future and TMNT 3, so that's not a big  disappointment.  But what sucks is that they cut out the theme songs on some episodes.  I was really looking forward to cranking up the diarrhea volume for the extended theme on the Sega CD episode. I was so excited to get this Bluray when it was announced I got a tattoo on my face of a Bluray disc and a goat holding up a baby snorting cocaine off its penis.  But even though it doesn't have the extended theme song I did enjoy watching 19 hours of the nerd and 6 hours of bonus features.  Actually...  That reminds me, the "Contra Memories" bonus feature doesn't work.  I mean, it's like, they rip you off and don't care one bit.  I mean, Cowabunga?  Cowafuckin piece a dog shit!!

Edited January 21, 2016 by Morgoth Bauglir

[paimeifist]

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE MORGOTH.. 

 

AVGN is awesome. I still haven't seen the movie. How is it?

I'm not sure I'd want to buy a DVD/Blu of the episodes though.

Edited January 21, 2016 by paimeifist

[Morgoth Bauglir]

It's well worth it for me to have it on disc because you never know, maybe one day you won't be able to find them on the internet.  I like AVGN probably a bit more than most people.  Some of his work like Ninja Gaiden, Spider-Man and R.O.B the Robot are up there with some of my favorite movies of all time.  

The AVGN movie is, um, it's ok.  It's better than that James and Mike Mondays Bluray.  What were they thinking?  I'd rather drink milk from a rhino's tit than buy that Bluray buffalo shizz (a mix of shit and jizz).

Edited January 21, 2016 by Morgoth Bauglir

[paimeifist]

I really love the console wars episode, even though I am a huge Sega Genesis fan, haha. The Teenage Mutant a ninja Turtles ep is another favorite.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I like the Genesis a tad more than SNES.  The Genesis has high definition graphics.  But of course neither system can compare to the Jag.  I think the only way to describe the Jag is to imagine a mermaid 69ing a grizzly bear. It's that awesome.  

Edited January 21, 2016 by Morgoth Bauglir

[masterofoneinchpunch]

3 hours ago, Morgoth Bauglir said:

I like the Genesis a tad more than SNES.  The Genesis has high definition graphics.  But of course neither system can compare to the Jag.  I think the only way to describe the Jag is to imagine a mermaid 69ing a grizzly bear. It's that awesome.  

I heard this exact same conversation when I was managing an arcade in 1993 or early 94 except for the weird bestiality mention.  Weird flashback there.  I thought I was looking at a post from years ago.

[Tosh]

6 hours ago, masterofoneinchpunch said:

I heard this exact same conversation when I was managing an arcade in 1993 or early 94 except for the weird bestiality mention.  Weird flashback there.  I thought I was looking at a post from years ago.

I take it you never lived in the Midwest US before lol

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

Fail-Safe (1964) Probably my favorite Cold War film. Still 100% riveting, unsettling and many fantastic performances. Given the cast and Sidley Lumet's direction, it sometimes feels like a stage play (the small rooms.) And what irony. 

Anyway, a terrific movie. 

[Secret Executioner]

Indestructible Man (USA, 1956)

"The scream that shocks the screen with 300,000 volts of horror ! Inhuman ! Invincible ! Inescapable !" tagline.

Police Lieutenant Dick Chasen (Max Showalter, credited Casey Adams) tells us of the strange case of Charles "Butcher" Benton (Lon Chaney Jr.), a criminal sentenced to death who is eventually revived by a scientist (played by Robert Shayne, who went from Dr. Jekyll - see The Neanderthal Man - to Dr. Frankenstein apparently) during experiments that also give him superstrength and make him immune to blows and bullets - yeah just like the title suggests he's pretty much indestructible. Revived and now a superhuman, Benton goes after his former accomplices who betrayed him and the loot they gathered from a an armored-car hold-up.

 

Like I said when I mentionned Robert Shayne played a scientist, this film has elements of Frankenstein in it. However, I felt it's more of a crime/mystery movie than really a horror/science-fiction piece. Most of the movie is focusing on the police and their investigation, while Lon Chaney Jr.'s character isn't featured that much - though its mean appearance (along with being mute as a result of the near 300,000 volts he received during the experiment), the repeated close-ups on these crazy rage-filled eyes and his powers (he can lift a car or toss someone, and he is immune to bullets) make him one scary and unforgettable customer. The movie has a low rating on IMDb (3.9/10), but is worth much more because you have some good acting, the characters are interesting and there's some nice special effects at points. Hell, even the picture quality isn't too bad (while Brain Eaters was very damaged for instance - I'm bringing it up because the DVDs I have are from the same company). The only issue in the movie is there's a weird screen appearing out of nowhere at a point, as though it was a tape that wasn't properly put together because of an issue and my computer screen died about 15 minutes before the end past 10pm Wednesday night... So I finished the movie just this afternoon and I could borrow my mother's computer for a while - just have to wait a couple of weeks till my laptop is fixed.  

[AlbertV]

On 1/17/2016 at 5:58 PM, Secret Executioner said:

 

I'm looking for his Inglorious Bastards for instance

Here's a review I wrote for that film in 2009 on my old film blog:

http://albertvfilm.blogspot.com/2009/10/review-inglorious-bastards-1978.html

 

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

On January 17, 2016 at 5:58 PM, Secret Executioner said:

I'm looking for his Inglorious Bastards for instance

 It's a very poor man's attempt at the Dirty Dozen (sorry Enzo, it's true.) On the upswing, QT paid Enzo 25k for the name and gave him a cameo in Basterds...  (not sure if that name licensing hastened the dvd going out of print.) 

As I already gushed; for me, Enzo's cop / crime films are his best. Very gritty, sometimes brutal,  great characters / music / interesting rethinks of the Dirty Harry template. 

Edited January 22, 2016 by Lady Jin Szu-Yi