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

[Drunken Monk]

It's not a movie, but I recently started the first season of Vikings. Why haven't I given this a go before!? It's fantastic. Probably the best slice of television I've watched all year. I look forward to enjoying five more seasons. Wonderful show.

[DragonClaws]

2 hours ago, ShaOW!linDude said:

Blood Tomahawk (2015) Stars: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins

The little town of Bright Hope is subjected to night raid that results in the kidnapping of a drifter, a deputy, and a lady doctor. Now the sheriff (KR), the doc's husband (PW), and the local dandy/former Indian killer set out to track down the abducted, which leads them to an area in the wilderness the Indians refer to as the Valley of the Starving Men, a place inhabited by a tribe of prehistoric troglodyte cannibals.

 

Picked this one up, under the title Bone Tomahwk, not the kind of movie I expected Kurt Russel to turn up in.

 

1 hour ago, Drunken Monk said:

It's not a movie, but I recently started the first season of Vikings. Why haven't I given this a go before!? It's fantastic. Probably the best slice of television I've watched all year. I look forward to enjoying five more seasons. Wonderful show.

 

Looking forward to getting the latest season, when it does turn up on a physical format.

 

[ShaOW!linDude]

2 hours ago, DragonClaws said:

 

Picked this one up, under the title Bone Tomahwk, not the kind of movie I expected Kurt Russel to turn up in.

Dadgummit. I typed the title wrong..

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

9 hours ago, ShaOW!linDude said:

Bone Tomahawk (2015) Stars: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins

The little town of Bright Hope is subjected to night raid that results in the kidnapping of a drifter, a deputy, and a lady doctor. Now the sheriff (KR), the doc's husband (PW), and the local dandy/former Indian killer set out to track down the abducted, which leads them to an area in the wilderness the Indians refer to as the Valley of the Starving Men, a place inhabited by a tribe of prehistoric troglodyte cannibals.

Dude! This movie is good! This is a little bit different kind of Western. It's got a run time of about 2 hours 15 minutes, but I didn't even realize it. It's got a small cast and the acting is aces. The moments of humor can be very dry which make them funny. The story sets up quick, but the build to the finale is slow and taken up with the journey of the 4 man posse. And that's not a bad thing as it goes to character development. But when events start happening...oh man, it's gets pretty gruesome real quick. 

Saw it, dug it. Remember that the white man did horrible shit to the natives and still does, but as a story it's great horror.

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

Kim's Convenience on Netflix. Funny as hell, heartwarming, watch it.

[DragonClaws]

21 hours ago, NoKUNGFUforYU said:

Saw it, dug it. Remember that the white man did horrible shit to the natives and still does, but as a story it's great horror. 

 

Soldier Blue, being one of the very few honest Westerns, when it comes to the treatment of the natives. I think Buffy Saint Marie wrote a song of the same nae for the film?, sometime since I watched it, a very heavy movie.

Edited August 7, 2018 by DragonClaws

[AlbertV]

Along Came the Devil (2018): 21st-century Exorcist with some twists about a young woman who after suffering an abusive childhood, is attempting a shot at a normal life until a dark force slowly transforms her into a fully possessed woman. Loosely based on real events based on the director's friend and interviews with priests. The film marked the directorial debut of Jason DeVan.

Summer of 84 (2018): The Canadian trio of RKSS return with this meshing of coming of age film and intense mystery. The film revolves around a 15-year old who suspects his next door neighbor,a  local police officer, is a serial killer. The film combines coming of age film for the four friends of the film and the intense mystery. Not much on the gore, but more of an intense film by the film's end.

[ShaOW!linDude]

On 8/6/2018 at 5:35 PM, NoKUNGFUforYU said:

Kim's Convenience on Netflix. Funny as hell, heartwarming, watch it.

This is my new favorite show. I'm 4 episodes in and it has moments that make me laugh out loud.

Edited August 8, 2018 by ShaOW!linDude

[DragonClaws]

 

Detective Harrigan (2013) a.k.a Harrigan - Superb performances all round, in this grim, bleak crime story, set in a small Northern British town, in 1974. There was an energy crisis at the time, black outs were a common occurrence, and the government introduced a three-day working week. Not only is there a real setting, but it's based on a true story. Though I guess names and places, have been changed to mask people’s identities.

D.S Harrigan, brought to screen by actor Stephen Tompkinson, has just returned from a tough tour of duty, in Hong Kong. To find his home town even colder and meaner, than he first left it. The law is struggling to keep the local criminals in control. When a long-time friend is killed, he takes things into his own hands, and faces up to the gangs. This is by no means a bullit riddled actioner, it’s a realistic thriller, that slowly pulls you in. If you want fast car chases, and big action set pieces, go elsewhere, because you will be disappointed. However, if you want a well-acted, tight slow burning thriller, then this is for you. We get a few Jud style self-defence moves, very accurate for the era. There's also the odd subtle nod, to the popular Bruce Lee driven Kung Fu craze of the era.

Tompikson is on top for, as the honest, hard but fair police man, who makes a stand. One of my old teenage crush’s of Gillian Kearney, is equally good, as the one of Harringan's gutsy colleagues Bridie. It's actor Craig Conway, who almost steal the whole film single-handedly, as one the psychotic inhabitants of the town. He's recently turned up in the Dave Bautista actioner, Final Score. Director Vince Wood's has done a excellent job here. The production values might be low, giving it a T.V movie feel at times, but that’s no critique at all. It really helps to re-create the sparse, poverty ridden streets, the film takes place in.

 

 

 

[whitesnake]

BlackkKlansman, which had a comedic undertone until the horrifying images from Charlottesville, VA at the end.  At one point the hero asks his girlfriend "Shaft or Super Fly?  Ron O'Neal or Richard Roundtree?"  The responses were "Shaft" and "Richard Roundtree", and there was also a reference to the Cleopatra Jones movie, including an image of the Cleopatra Jones movie poster.  There was some audience applause at the end of the film.  Over the weekend I was at a conference where one presentation was on "AfroFuturism".  Someone asked about BlackkKlansman, and I agree with the response, discussed in a couple of movie reviews:  "his best nondocumentary feature in more than a decade and one of his greatest" and "Although it's occasionally weighted down by cinematic choices, this dark comedy is director/co-writer Spike Lee's strongest work in years." 

Edited August 22, 2018 by whitesnake

[Rodolphe Dux]

That demon within by Dante Lam. Nick Cheung rocks.

[Koravec]

Watched a couple of movies about making it in LA. La La Land and The Disaster Artist. 

Both movies surprised me at how much I enjoyed them. Here's my spoiler reaction to the ending of La La Land: To see him sitting there in a dark space with something as trivial as jazz (yes I absolutely love jazz even) and not what it seems like he actually desires, her. He seems entirely unfulfilled and somehow at the end of his path. This scene literally made me feel a sort of physical internal pain.

However a second viewing two days later had me realizing more about their relationship as well as the scene on the cliff bench where they say their potential farewells to eachother, I completely glossed over it the first time, face palm.

Disaster Artist- Wow, what strange circumstamces of making a movie. this may be an unpopular opinion but Greg often comes across as stranger than Tommy at times. I cant help but wonder why the two havent acted too much since the release of that movie, or maybe the reasons should be more obvious.

Logan Lucky- I was mostly interested in seeing more of Adam Driver (after being a fan of his performance as Kylo of course) and Daniel Craig to an extent. Decent movie, the actresses are drop-dead-hot brunettes. It took me a long time to finally see Adam in the role he was playing, he initially felt miscast for the first portion of the movie to me.

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

"Thats the third thing, Ive buried this week"

 

Bad Day For The Cut (2017) - Strong performances all round, in this Irish revenge thriller, directed, and co-wrote by Chris Baugh. Decent little film, with some nice twists and turns, that set it apart, from all the other Revenge movies out there. Nigel O'Neil is Donal, a stoic single, middle aged man, who stilll lives with his mother. He also enjoys the odd Kung Fu movie. When he's not working on the farm, or necking pints in the local pub. When his Mum is murdered during a house raid, Donal and his twin barrelled cannon of a shotgun, goes looking for the one's responsible.

Not the kind of movie, where I was expected a referance to Jackie Chans Half A Loaf Of Kung Fu to pop up. During one seen, Donal is seen watching the finale of said movie, on his T.V. Now just who was the Kung Fu movie fan on the set of this production?. Apart from this one moment, theres not one single use of Martial Arts in the whole movie. Not that'sa negative in anyway. The witty and at times dark script, has some nice use of Black Comedy, that breaks the sombre heavy atmosphere. With a very talented cast of actress's and actor's, to bring the script to life on-screen.

Irish born actress Susan Lynch is on top form, as a unhinged crime boss's daughter. O'Neil is aslo joined by up-comng Polish actor Jozef Pawlowski, and Anna Prochniak, who plays Jozef's on-screen sister Kaja. The naturalistic style of the performances, really makes you think, they've just randomly plonked a camera down, in someones living room at times. This is no whizz-bang gun-ho film, but one that relys more on the story and character's, to keep you engaged. It wont be for everyone, but for fans of Independent European cinema, will most likely enjoy this.

 

[Rodolphe Dux]

Rampage & Jumanji ----> Yeah I know that's very mainstream but I like to keep an eye on some mainstream movies like the rock's. Well, as much as I like the rock (the dude is a very talented actor) and he saves the movies from the ultimate dull crapfest but let's be honest I didn't like it because I think it's dull and predictable. And the action is as stupid as the script.

 

So I won't dare to watch the deadpool sequel, three hours of pain is enough.

 

I watched bleeding steel to wash my brain after that but that was not so great either. The opening action scene is awesome but the ending is as dull as another marvel movie with Jackie Chan... Disappointing to write the least...

What a disappointing movie weekend 😰

Edited August 26, 2018 by Rodolphe Dux

[DrNgor]

I had myself a Dario Argento triple feature, which I really needed to get out of my system. 

Opera (1987) - After the lead soprano of a disaster-ridden production of Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark MacBeth is hit by a car, her understudy is brought on board and sings the opera to success. Unfortunately, a hooded killer has begun stalking her and forcing her to watch him/her murder people associated with the production (with the sadistic trick of tying her up and taping needles under her eyes. On the bad side, the film has one climax too many and some of Goblin's rock music isn't the best choice for the murder sequences. However, the visuals and camerawork are magnificent: like Suspiria, the baroque architecture, POV shots, extreme close-ups, and tracking shots are sheer beauty. The scene with the raven at the final presentation of "MacBeth" is one of the most beautiful moments I've seen in a horror film.

 

Trauma (1993) - One of Argento's two English-language movies, the other one being the anthology film Two Evil Eyes. Asia Argento plays a 16-year-old anorexia patient who escapes from a rehabilitation clinic and tries to commit suicide. She's rescued by the art director(?) of a TV news program. Later, her parents--for the record, her mother is a famous medium--are murdered by a serial killer nicknamed "The Headhunter" because his pechant for decapitating his victims with a wire saw (or something). She ends up finding shelter with the aforementioned TV guy, and the two slowly assume the responsibility for discovering the killer's identity, who may or may not be linked to Asia's past.

The film runs a bit long and Pino Donaggio's score is fairly pedestrian. But I found the story rather compelling, even if the undertones are rather icky. David, the male protagonist, is currently sleeping with the TV station anchorwoman, but takes Aura (Argento's character) under his wing. But slowly the two fall in love (ew!) and even kiss on the mouth at one point. One can't help but watch this today and see it as an omen of things to come (should Asia really be guilty of the accusations made against her). And what the hell is wrong with Dario Argento? Asia was either 17 or 18 when she made this, and there's a brief scene of David watching her undress. First of all, why are you filming your daughter in any sort of nude scene? And if she was 17...well that opens another can of worms.

That said, there are nightmarish sequences, a lot of beheadings (including a memorable, if silly, one involving an elevator), and like I said, I found myself honestly caring about David and Aura by the end.

 

The Stendhal Syndrome (1996) - This is probably Argento's last good (or at least solid) movie before his career took a nosedive, starting with 1998's Phantom of the Opera. It's a disturbing psychological thriller about a female cop, Anna (Asia Argento again), who's assigned to a case to track down a rapist/murderer. While in Florence, she is attacked and raped by the killer. While on leave in her hometown of Viterbo, she is kidnapped and raped again by the villain. She eventually gets the upper hand and kills him...or does she?

The movie is two hours long, and almost feels that length, especially in the second half. There's a twenty-minute lull that kills of the film's momentum and threatens to derail the entire movie before things pick up for the tragic finale. And Asia Argento in two rape scenes...filmed by her father? What the hell, Dario? Asia Argento has been on record saying that she never wanted to be an actress, but took up acting so she could have something resembling a relationship with her dad. And then he puts her roles like this--although to be fair, Argento casted her only because he couldn't score the lead actresses from Single White Female.

There are some neat visuals in this film, like the first scene at the Florene Art Gallery and a later sequence at a museum. Ennio Morricone's score is appropriately haunting. The best part of the movie is Asia Argento's performance, as she runs the entire gamut of emotions as a strong woman who has suffered from some truly traumatic events, which trauma refuses to go completely away. She plays sad, weepy, angry, vicious, vampish, determined, and downright insane...the whole she-bang-a-bang.

[SMK]

Lately, every chance I get, I have been binging the Showtime series, Billions.

 

A random video I watched on YouTube, Larry King interviewing 50 Cent, and Larry asked him, "Best show on TV right now besides Power?". 50's answer was Billions. I was intrigued. I do not recall ever really hearing about this show before. I searched for the trailer of the show, it looked interesting, so later that day I watched the 1st episode.... and .... I was hooked!

This was just last week. I am now at the beginning of Season 3. Great show. Highly recommended.

 

I am also a big fan of the Starz series Power btw. 

[Koravec]

2001 Space Odyssey- Was happy to see they were showing this one in imax at the theatre. Great way to see it all the way through for the first time. 

Really captured the coldness of what it would feel like to work on these spacecrafts. 

Great direction, I could really see how the shots of the spacecrafts influenced the filmmaking of Star Wars. Experimental storytelling, analysis videos were helpful coming out of this one. 

Solo: A Star Wars Story- Saw this the morning after seeing 2001 the night before. Very happy to catch it in theatres again before its out for good, in a dingey old dollar theatre that shows movies well past their regular run.

Just like Rogues, it was unnecessary and didnt need to be made. I cant recall a single reference to the force throughout the film, and the only showing of a lightsaber is at the end (not used in combat either).

Its a heist film, but a damn good one at that. The many escape scenes show the protagonists slipping their way through by a thread, if at all. 

Cant say I really see Alden as the Solo we know from the original trilogy, but that didnt bother me at all as I wasnt a fan of Harrison Ford or his character in the original trilogy. I really enjoyed his performance. Wasn't initially a fan of Donald Glover's acting or involvement in the film or the actress who plays Han's love interest.

Also interesting to note that Han can't end up eith the girl from this one since we know him and Leia get together. So does she just get decapitated by a saber in the next one?

This movie was even better watching the second time around, even from a nice theatre to a dingy dark screen. Can't wait to rewatch it on blu ray even.

Edited September 1, 2018 by Koravec

[ShaOW!linDude]

Hardcore Henry (2015) starring: Sharlto Copley, Tim, Roth, Haley Bennett

A sci-fi thriller done completely in 1st person perspective. I'll just leave it at that. I love Go-Pro stuff. Still, 90 minutes worth would seem to be a bit much. However, this is a really fun movie with a fairly interesting plot, non-stop action, and some really stupendous stunt work & special f/x. And the end is absolute madness. I'll be watching this again.

 

Corbin Nash (2018) starring: Corey Feldman, Dean S, Jagger, Malcolm McDowell, Richard Wagner, Fernanda Romero, & Rutger Hauer

People (specifically kids, hookers, & strippers) are going missing. Corbin Nash (DSJ) is a cop determined to find them. What he finds is an old friend of the family (RH) who informs him of his dead parents' past as vampire killers and a blind man/vampire (MM) who offers him guidance along the way. What he encounters is a pair of sadistic freaky vampires in the way of Queenie (CF), a garishly grotesque transvestite bloodsucker, and cohort Vince (RW), a former serial killer. These two also capture people who fight in a nasty little underground tournament for the enjoyment of an age old group of vampires. Nash soon finds himself in among those pitted in death fights, while trying to find the son of Macy (FR). Refusing to play the bloody game, he's bitten and left for dead, but found and taken care of by Macy until the moment he turns, which also happens to be the moment the vampiric pair kidnap her. Thus, Nash has to go save her and slay the fangers.

Been a while since I've watched a vampire film. This was okay. The action was pretty solid and had a smattering of martial arts in it. Feldman (now a Lost Boy in his own movie) is properly amoral and revels in it. I kept saying to myself how much that guy made me think of him and learned in the end credits I was not wrong. He will absolutely make you cringe. Jagger is a suppose to be a sort of poor man's Blade, but he uses a sharpened baseball bat rather than a sword. Still, it's not something I'd sit through again. It's a passable watch, but nothing I want to revisit. 

[ShaOW!linDude]

Batman & Bill (2017)

Bill Finger was the uncredited co-creator of Batman, a very unknown fact among even the most ardent of comic book fans for decades. It was he who tweaked the Batman's costume so that it was more aptly fitting. It was he who came up with Batman's origin. It was he who invented Batman's gallery of rogues and supporting cast. It was he who came up with the Batcave & the Batmobile, and the city of Gotham. And it was he who coined the term "the Dark Knight". But it was artist Bob Kane who made a deal to publish the character and made no mention of his fellow creator, thus securing sole credit for himself. The documentary is very informative and absolutely heartbreaking. But justice cannot be denied, and that is due to the undying efforts over the course of a decade of a certain man, Marc Tyler Nobleman, author and documentarian. His crusade to get the caped crusader's co-creator the recognition he rightly deserved was almost like a detective story that Finger had penned for the Dark Knight. And the conclusion is almost a tearjerker.

I encourage everyone to watch this. It's available on Hulu. Maybe it can be found on other streaming outlets, too.

(I don't know that I'll ever reference the name of Bob Kane again without a sense of derision.)

[Koravec]

Watched some Matt Damon movies.

The Good Shepherd (2006)-Directed by Robert De Niro, tells some of the early history of the CIA.

This was my first time seeing this movie since it came out. A slow burn and long movie, watched it over a couple of nights. I didnt realize it featured Harry Potter actors Micheal Gambon (Dumbledore) and Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander). I was mostly interested in rewatching because the scenes of the Skull and Bones intimidation part and woman getting pushed out of helicopter. Aside from these two scenes there isnt much external excitement in the way of this movie. 

Invictus- Directed by Clint Eatwood, also a very boring movie. The story could have easily been told in half or a quarter of its runtime (which is why Ive never been a fan of the 2 hour expected runtime). Seeing Morgan Freeman in the prison yard will really have you recall Shawshank Redemption. Decent little political/sports movie, not enough going for it imo.

Downsizing-  A Matt Damon movie actually worth watching. The movie really falls apart halfway through where the plot goes in odd directions which lead nowhere. For instance I think he should have stayed in the capsule made for future settlements, according to his character. But this movie is worth the watch for the intriguing science fiction idea that its based around.

Thats enough Damon for me for a Long time. Although Suburbicon looked interesting and Ill watch any period film for the most part, even something as bad looking as The Great Wall, so if I get around to it.

[Koravec]

By the way, Im confused why so many earlier posts on this thread have users posting about Kung Fu movies they watched, when the thread is clearly titled What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching. Did the thread use to have a different name or was another thread merged into it overtime? Lol.

[DragonClaws]

9 minutes ago, Koravec said:

By the way, Im confused why so many earlier posts on this thread have users posting about Kung Fu movies they watched, when the thread is clearly titled What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching. Did the thread use to have a different name or was another thread merged into it overtime? Lol.

 

Taking a guess here, it's just some members posting stuff in the wrong thread. Iveonly been a member for four year's and the threads never been merged with another, that I know?.

[Koravec]

3 hours ago, DragonClaws said:

Taking a guess here, it's just some members posting stuff in the wrong thread. Iveonly been a member for four year's and the threads never been merged with another, that I know?.

I was mostly referring to some of the first things posted here, page 1 and 2 or so. Im probably in the minority that flips through really old pages lol. I think both of us joined here about the same time, even though I would have thought you were here from the beginning by your points score haha.

[DragonClaws]

21 hours ago, Koravec said:

I was mostly referring to some of the first things posted here, page 1 and 2 or so. Im probably in the minority that flips through really old pages lol. I think both of us joined here about the same time, even though I would have thought you were here from the beginning by your points score haha.

 

I read the older posts too, the ones that have survived over the years at least. My point scores are just number's, if I find anything online, that I think will interest people here, I post it. Along with other stuff that I write exclusively, for the forums.

[DragonClaws]

 

Jawbone(2017) - It's the well told tale, of down on his luck fighter(Johnny Harris), who get's a chance to change his life for the better. Many people might think this kind of thing's been done to death?, but such stories will always be relevant in my opinion. Whether their set in the boxing world or not. It's a dark, realistic, grimey tale, set in modern London. There's a few nods to some relevant topical subjects. In this case, the re-housing of a man, who doesn’t want to leave his home. Housing troubles, being a big part of U.K media at the-moment. Actor Johnny Harris(Welcome to The Punch, Dorian Gray) really exceeds, as the likeable boxing talent Jimmy McCabe, who has some strong demons to battle. Harris also wrote the movie, and he and director Thomas Knapper have managed to pull of something very-unique. No easy task, in the busy world of the boxing movie genre. With some excellent supporting performances from veterans Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, and Michael Smiley. Despite little screen time, McShane almost steals the picture, with very convincing sleazy performance, as an illegal fight promotor.

There's some really frantic but well staged boxing, in the features finale. They managed to create some really realisitc and authentic looking fights. Thanks to the choreogrpahy and were its caputred on screen. Boxing legend Barry McGuin was the films technical advisor, and it really shows. This indie production film is worth watching, if you enjoy boxing cinema and British cinema.

Johnny Harris, as the hard as nails fighter Jimmy McCabe.

Edited September 16, 2018 by DragonClaws