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

[AlbertV]

The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski, 2013): I can see why this movie did not do well at the box office. The bottom line is while Johnny Depp was good as Tonto, he would have made a better Lone Ranger. Armie Hammer just didn't have the charisma to play the titular character and that's necessary to make the film work.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014): Been a fan of Wes Anderson's work the last few years and this was a great murder mystery that is actually quite funny. Newcomer Tony Revolori nearly steals the film from all but Ralph Fiennes as Zero, the lobby boy. If you haven't seen this yet, and you like Wes Anderson's work, I highly recommend it.

[Secret Executioner]

Continuing on with the Gamera Legacy Collection: 1965-1999 DVD set...

Gamera vs Jiger (Japan, 1970)

This sixth entry in the franchise focuses on the world fair in Osaka in 1970 as a statue to be displayed there attracts a dinosaur-like creature called Jiger - the creature eventually has to fight Gamera.

Decent movie (one of the best Gamera films, though none are great films) with enjoyable lead characters, nice monster action, a creative subplot involving exploring the inside of Gamera because he got infected with a parasite by Jiger (the "artifact taken away from an island attracting a giant monster" original plot feels done to death though...) and some nice promo for Expo '70 as a portion of the film showcases pavillions while a narration explains about the event.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

...The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014): Been a fan of Wes Anderson's work the last few years and this was a great murder mystery that is actually quite funny. Newcomer Tony Revolori nearly steals the film from all but Ralph Fiennes as Zero, the lobby boy. If you haven't seen this yet, and you like Wes Anderson's work, I highly recommend it.

One of my favorite films of last year. I've seen all of Anderson's full length films so I guess I'm a fan at this point. Anderson's quirky style and influence from a variety of directors (including Luis Bunuel) always seems to interest me. This film was no exception where performances such as Ralph Fiennes kept me enthralled with this movie. I liked Moonrise Kingdom a lot (and most of his others0 so it is good seeing him get nominated for AA for this picture.

[Secret Executioner]

More old-school Disney stuff.

The Rescuers (1977)

Discussed it earlier. I'll just say it's a very nice film, really enjoyable and that I'd put it among my very favorite Disney films.

The Sword In The Stone (1963)

Bought it on DVD recently, as I remembered enjoying this coming-of-age story dealing with Arthur (called Wart here) before he became King of England. The songs (the one Merlin sings while packing is the best IMO, but the others are pretty fun and catchy too), the creative situations (when Wart is turned into animals or when Merlin shows models of trains and airplanes), several of the characters, the animation - this movie has a lot going on for it.

The one element (or should I say character) I enjoyed the most as a kid was Merlin's talking pet owl Archimedes. I love this character, I remember watching the movie just for him). I also like Sir Ector's friend, Pellinore - the guy was kind of funny and I love that he sounds like Alfred Pennyworth - to be fair, in the English dub, he's voiced by Alan Napier, the man who played Alfred in the 1960s Batman TV show. It works in French too as Pellinore's French voice is the same than Alfred in Batman TAS (I can't tell if it's the same voice actor than in the 1960s series as I've only watched this show in English) - still, I used to believe as a kid that Pellinore and Alfred were kinda related (would be funny to try and find links between Disney characters and comic book characters).

Not a top 5 Disney films for me (though there are so many great Disney films I hardly know what my 5 favorites would be), but I would probably put it in my top 10.

[Takuma]

American Sniper (USA, 2014) [DCP] - 3.5/5

It's interesting how one movie can divide opinions so much. Some of the audiences, especially in USA, seem to consider American Sniper a patriotic tribute to its protagonist while many European critics see it as a critical portrait of a delusional killing machine. I would certainly lean towards the latter opinion and see American Sniper as an anti-war movie, despite the closing scene which can be interpreted as either Eastwood's approval of Kyle's actions or simply his respect for a man who was a victim of war and who believed he was doing the right thing. The closing aside, the Eastwood gives an objective and cinematically somewhat stripped view of war. That is both the film's strength and weakness.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 (USA, 2003) [Japanese Cut] [DVD] - 5/5

Kill Bill Vol. 2 (USA, 2004) [uS Cut] [bD] - 5/5

I first saw Vol. 1 back in 2003 when it was in theatres. I couldn't wait for it to hit the local screens, so I took a trip with two friends to a bigger city, and for all of us being slightly underage we were growing beards for two weeks just to make sure we'd look older and get in. I dunno if it worked, but in we got. After the film arrived my hometown three weeks later I saw it four more times. Then, in spring 2004 I got the Japanese DVD on mail the same day when we are about the head to Rome for a school trip, so I called these guys that my DVD just arrived but I've got a bus to catch to the airport at 10 pm, but if we get together around 6 pm we'll have time to watch it! Of course we did!

Now, 11 years and 500 samurai, spaghetti western, kung fu and blaxploitation flicks later I was absolutely thrilled to revisit the film(s) with my girlfriend, who barely knows anything about cinema. So I went to rent both volumes and tell her that we're gonna go to love hotel, there's a 50 inch TV there, and we're gonna have ourselves a Kill Bill double feature, both volumes back to back.

And yeah, it's still fucking blast! Sonny Chiba giving Uma a Hattori Hanzo steel! David Carradine telling Uma the story about Pai Mei and the destruction of Shaolin Temple! Gordon Liu in his white beard speaking Cantonese! Bill's final steps! This is what cinema is all about! I think Vol. 2 might be even a tiny bit better than Vol. 1 but it's difficult to decide. The only regret is that Uma could really have worked on her Japanese a bit more, but then again, butchering the language somehow fits the exploitation context. Lucy Liu did a little bit better.

Oh yeah, and the next morning I really enjoyed bursting into film geek / Tarantino mode like a little boy explain everything about how Gordon Liu fought Pai Mei twice before in his career and now he's playing the character himself (but only cause Lo Lieh is dead) and how in Pulp Fiction (which we saw during Christmas) Sam L. Jackson says he's gonna walk the earth like Caine in Kung Fu (my answer to the question "who is David Carradine"), and explaining from which film every piece of music is from and where the flute and eye patch and all come from.

...I think she still loves me, though

[Secret Executioner]

Recently revisited a couple of Disney films I used to watch a lot as a kid:

The Rescuers (1977)

The Sword In The Stone (1963)

Two classic with enjoyable songs (TSITS has more up-beat number, most of the songs in The Rescuers are rather sad), great characters (Archimedes and Pellinore - whose voice is that of Batman's Alfred Pennyworth - in TSITS, the various colorful animals that help or go against Bernard and Bianca in The Rescuers) and memorable moments.

I find the animation in TSITS very impressive too, mixing medieval artwork style for some sets with more detailed and three-dimensional art for other stuff (like the rainstorm or the magical effects).

Between the two, I'd say The Rescuers is my favorite (it's actually one of my fav' Disney movies), but TSITS is close behind - it would probably be in my top 10 Disney films.

[Tosh]

Prometheus - really as mind fucked dumb as everyone said it was, for a movie about a bunch of scientists, they do some of the most inept unscientific things, their actions made me want to punch my tv.

Snowpiercer - eh, so they go through all that and the kids get off and they see a polar bear! Only one of the most dangerous animals in the world that most likely went down and ate them.

Wake in Fright - Being someone who watched the Crocodile Dundee movies in the 80's I realized where it all came from after watching this (and I'm guessing Walkabout which I haven't seen yet). A sad, very human story of a man stuck in a place he doesn't want to be, being someone that grew up in a shithole steel mill town I could relate. It oddly makes me want to go to Australia even more.

Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia - Peckinpah's middle finger to Hollywood and the great American dream.

[Karlos]

Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia - Peckinpah's middle finger to Hollywood and the great American dream.

Right on.

Peckinpah's true masterpiece.

[DragonClaws]

Right on.

Peckinpah's true masterpiece.

Warren Oates puts in a great performance. The film has a very sombre and heavy atmosphere throughout.

[AlbertV]

The Black Cobra Trilogy (1987-1990): Fred "The Hammer" Williamson channels his Blaxploitation action hero in a series of Italian-made B-movies in which the first film rips off Stallone's film Cobra but then sends him to the Philippines for the next two films. I'm writing full reviews for my other film blog on this trilogy of films.

I'm not even going to talk about Black Cobra 4: Detective Malone, because that was a cheap attempt made by splicing footage from the first two Black Cobra films because Williamson did not want to do anymore after Part 3.

UPDATE: The reviews of the Black Cobra films are on my other film blog - http://albertvfilm.blogspot.com/

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Right on.

Peckinpah's true masterpiece.

I feel Peckinpah has a few masterpieces: Ride the High Country, The Wild Bunch and this. I'm also a big fan of The Getaway and Junior Bonner but I recognize that not everyone likes them as much as I do (being a Steve McQueen fan helps though.)

[DragonClaws]

I feel Peckinpah has a few masterpieces: Ride the High Country, The Wild Bunch and this. I'm also a big fan of The Getaway and Junior Bonner but I recognize that not everyone likes them as much as I do (being a Steve McQueen fan helps though.)

I also enjoyed Cross Of Iron which often gets overlooked. The Osterman Weekend & Convoy are two of my least favorite Peckinpah films.

[Karlos]

The Killer Elite should've been way better than it was (I think ol' Sam had utter contempt for it) but it's a fun enough time waster with a great genre cast.

As for The Wild Bunch - holy shit, that film is beyond criticism: astonishing flick.

[Secret Executioner]

Today at the theater:

Big Eyes (USA, 2014)

The last live-action movies before this could be summed up in a recipe: have Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter look weird and do crazy shit, set this in a dark world and have an epic OTT Danny Elfman score.

Drop all this, put Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams as regular people in late 1950s/early 1960s California and make the score quieter and even kinda forgettable and you get a really nice movie. Charlie was nice (though the other kids were pretty annoying, but it was probably the points), Alice was decent and Dark Shadows was utter crap that made me question Burton's relevance nowadays (didn't bother to check out Frankenweenie), but Big Eyes is very impressive in how different it is than the rest of Burton's repertoire. Amy Adams shines as Margaret Keane, the painter of a series of paintings representing little children with over-sized eyes - her character is passionate, she's a genuiely kind and gifted person who sadly can't seem to get what she deserves. Christoph Waltz seems to have tons of fun playing a manipulative, egomaniacal and hot-blooded Walter Keane - his performance is impressive of versatility, from the kind loving husband to the manipulative business to the tantrum-throwing diva.

Don't go in expecting anything remotely similar to a Burton movie you've seen previously (especially the "Johnny Depp doing whacky shit" fest from those past 10 years), but rather expect seeing a movie about art and even some kind of self irony when Margaret Keane gets nuts after doing so many of those paintings and suddenly comes up with a new style (Burton these last 10 years in a nutshell).

And since there was a special event and the seats were cheap, I went in for a second movie later (paid for the two tickets what I usually pay for one, so won't complain).

White Nights On The Pier (France, 2015)

The latest opus by French director Paul Vecchiali (who's been doing movies for over 40 years now) is an adaptation of the 1848 Fyodor Dostoyevsky short story "White Nights", which has been adapted several times already.

This adaptation is actually very close to the original - except it's set in Sainte-Maxime, France in current times and not in Saint Petersburg, the nameless narrator of the short story becomes a school teacher on vacation who was named after Dostoyevsky (nice meta-reference there) and the woman is named Natasha and must be in her 30s.

The movie is focusing essentially on these two talking and they talk in a kinda strange way. The beginning is kinda funny in how unnatural their language and attitude are - they talk in a very elaborate manner and they act kinda weird, these scenes seem very theatrical. But you get used to it and you get to really sympathize with them - I feared it would be a bit too sentimental or get boring (90 minutes of two people talking doesn't sound like a lot fun), but the movie has some weird unexpected stuff happening here and there that keeps your attention.

The movie is kinda puzzling though and one may wonder if the main male character isn't kinda dreaming all this story or where they are going, since scenes don't really make sense or contradict each others. The likeability of the leads and the way the story is put together (I kept wanting to see and hear more of these characters) however make the movie interesting and overall enjoyable.

I guess though that with the movie being shot and taking place in a town 100 km away from where I live (and a place I've been to a few times - I even recall walking on the very pier these people stay on -, unlike places I usually see in movies) and me being similar to the male lead (shy, insecure and very sentimental) made me relate a lot, which is not that common in contemporary cinema (or in movies I watch overall).

[DragonClaws]

The Killer Elite should've been way better than it was (I think ol' Sam had utter contempt for it) but it's a fun enough time waster with a great genre cast.

As for The Wild Bunch - holy shit, that film is beyond criticism: astonishing flick.

Id forgotten about Killer Elite, its not the best example of his work. Clearly influenced by the Martial Arts craze of the 70's.

He directed some of The Cincinnati Kid but got fired and replaced by another Director. I'm not sure how much of Peckinpah's footage ended up in the final cut?.

[Secret Executioner]

Cheap theater tickets lately, so I get twice the amount of movies for the same amount of money.

Big Eyes (USA, 2014)

The latest Tim Burton movie was really nice, very different than his usual stuff, but still very well done with talented actors, great cinematography and a very interesting story.

White Nights On The Pier (France, 2015)

An adaptation (set in modern days France) of a Dostoyevsky short story from 1848 called "White Nights" by a French director named Paul Vecchiali who's been doing movies for 40 years but isn't that widely known. Surprisingly, this very nicely done movie that could have been a guy and a woman talking for 90 minutes really did something for me. Not sure if it's because I've already been to the very town it's set in (Sainte-Maxime, roughly 100 km away from where I live - movies I see usually feature places I've never seen in real life or been to, not to mention imaginary worlds, but here, I even know the set of the movie cause one can walk along the pier where most of the movie takes place) or if I recognized myself in the male lead (or both, or something else), but that film really had an impact on me and I found myself being more mesmerized by this little film with two people talking to each other for like 80 minutes than with any movie I've seen in ages. Maybe Michael Hanneke's Amour (2012) had as much if not more impact than this, not sure.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Id forgotten about Killer Elite, its not the best example of his work. Clearly influenced by the Martial Arts craze of the 70's.

He directed some of The Cincinnati Kid but got fired and replaced by another Director. I'm not sure how much of Peckinpah's footage ended up in the final cut?.

I'm not sure any of it did. Peckinpah did about four days of shooting and did it in black and white (now Peckinpah's influence including many of the actors is still seen in the film.) I actually like what Norman Jewison did with the film though I know Jewison wasn't happy with the ending (he states this on the commentary which as I remember was a worthy listen.) Jewison has a worthy filmography too including In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair (Steve McQueen again), Fiddler on the Roof etc... Reminds me I still need to see Agnes of God and The Hurricane.

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?isPreview=&id=78379%7C31503&name=The-Cincinnati-Kid (nice article on the film)

[DragonClaws]

I'm not sure any of it did. Peckinpah did about four days of shooting and did it in black and white (now Peckinpah's influence including many of the actors is still seen in the film.) I actually like what Norman Jewison did with the film though I now Jewison wasn't happy with the ending (he states this on the commentary which as I remember was a worthy listen.) Jewison has a worthy filmography too including In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair (Steve McQueen again), Fiddler on the Roof etc... Reminds me I still need to see Agnes of God and The Hurricane.

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?isPreview=&id=78379%7C31503&name=The-Cincinnati-Kid (nice article on the film)

Thanks for the link:smile:, I didn't know about him shooting the film in black and white.

Ill give that article a read asap.

[DrNgor]

Carnosaur - It's been some 20 years since I've seen this. It's worse than I thought it was back then. The dinosaurs are hokey, but that's not the real problem. The problem is that the whole exercise is just plain unpleasant. The ending, the apocalyptic tone, the extreme gore, scenes of women giving fatal labor, etc. all contribute to an uncomfortable viewing experience. Buechler, the special FX artist, said that his dinosaurs may have not have been as realistic as Jurassic Park's, but they were bloodier and nastier. Unfortunately, he forgot to make them fun as well.

Carnosaur 2 - Basically an amalgamation of story elements from the first to Alien films, with velociraptors standing in for the Xenomorphs and a T-Rex standing in for the queen. A team of civilian electrical engineering/systems analyst troubleshooters get trapped in a uranium mine/nuclear waste deposit with the dinosaurs and have to stay alive until an evac team arrives. Of course, the dinosaurs eventually mess around with the stored nuclear weapons, which gives us a ticking clock for the heroes to race against. This was a lot more fun than the first one and gave us more likable characters. The major flaw is that most of the deaths aren't that violent, EXCEPT for those of a minority character and of a female character, which are so gory as to be kind of mean-spirited.

Carnosaur 3 - Better than the first, but probably not as good as the second one. It mainly has a team of Army rangers (led by a guy who's trying to imitate Stallone's facial expressions) and some marines hunting a pair of velociraptors (and a T-Rex) who have developed Wolverine's healing fator in a warehouse, and then on a boat. The surprising thing about this is that it apparently has a scene-for-scene remake called Scorpius Gigantus.

[Secret Executioner]

Revisited another favorite from my childhood:

The AristoCats (1970)

This one was among my very films back when I was little, and I gotta admit it still holds up very well some 15 years afterwards (second time I've seen it since I bought the DVD back a couple of months ago and before that, I hadn't seen it since the VHS I had when I was a little kid). Sure there's some stuff that bugs me (such as plotholes), but this film has a lot going for it:

- the two chase scenes with the dogs provide some great comedic action

- the music is great (can't stop listening to "Everybody wants to be a cat" now... One of my favorite Disney songs)

- obvious for a hand-drawn Disney film, but the animation and the sets look top-notch with detailed animation, great colors... Basically, I find the film pleasant to look at.

- enjoyable characters (the cat family are okay, the jazz band are very fun, the butler makes for a nice comedic villain, Roquefort the mouse is epic and some secondary characters like the British geese, the dogs or the lawyer provide some nice comedy)

It doesn't seem to be one of the most beloved Disney films, but I'd still consider it one of my very favorite.

[Secret Executioner]

Disney's The AristoCats (1970)

Man, I think I've been a bit harsh when I discussed it - I really enjoyed watching it again.

Only problem: how do I get that freaking "Everybody wants to be a cat" song out of my head ? It's so catchy and memorable I think I'm going to hum that all week.

[paimeifist]

Snatch

Really fun movie. It is a movie that makes you think a lot - but you really don't have to, and I feel that is kind of the point. If anything requires some thinking, that's it "where did all this shit come together?!". The multiple plots are tied in by pure chance, and many major plot points are driven by the same thing. It's very frantic and fast paced, and with the two major plots intertwining is hard to grasp for the first half an hour or so. The story is very interesting when you get a grip of it though, and you have no idea what's going to happen next. There is a great cast, who play a bunch of distinct and cool characters. Jason Statham, Alan Ford, and Brad Pitt probably give the best performances. Brad Pitt seems over the top at first, but I believe that is the point! With that said, my favorite character is Vinnie Jones as "Bullet-Tooth Tony", you guessed it, he's a badass! Even though Alan Ford as "Brick Top" was a terrible person (he's basically a greedy, ruthless "big boss"), I couldn't help but like his take no shit attitude... Especially given that he look's so damn goofy, lol.

Spoiler, but a good example of the awesome direction here:

**My favorite scene is one that shows best that everything is pulled together by chance.. 3 groups of characters are riding in separate vehicles (actually, I don't think any of the characters have encountered each other yet)... One group tosses a milk jug out of their window, landing on the next groups windshield causing them to crash. A character gets out of that vehicle, and is hit by the third groups vehicle.**

I'd like to check out more of Guy Ritchie's work now, especially Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.. I am also looking forward to watching Snatch again, as I can tell it will be ever better going in with more understanding of what's going on!

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Tough to decide my favorite character because there's like 10 great characters. but I go with Bullet Tooth Tony also. Such a scary and funny guy. "Bonjour"

I'm glad you liked it.

[paimeifist]

Tough to decide my favorite character because there's like 10 great characters. but I go with Bullet Tooth Tony also. Such a scary and funny guy. "Bonjour"

I'm glad you liked it.

I love the scene in the pub, when he tells Vinny, Sol and Tyrone they're like male privates, than he compare's guns with them. To anyone who hasn't seen the movie, this isn't gay like it sounds,

An aspect a didn't comment on, is this movie is hilarious. Although the situation are serious, there is some hilarious stuff going on!

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Yeah I have it in my comedy section of movies. It's one of the funniest movies. One thing I have to comment on is the music. It's my 2nd favorite non original soundtrack. I don't follow music, and one thing that I like about the music in Snatch is that I had never heard any of it before.