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

[paimeifist]

Yeah the soundtrack was good, had a lot of variation to it, and was humorously ironic at times. The theme song was original though right? I loved the theme, it was so damn funky. You wouldn't think comedies of all things would have great soundtracks, one of my favorite non-original soundtracks (and comedy films) is Kingpin.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I'll be honest I've never checked on the songs that are in the movie. The theme (with the bass?) is not original I don't think. After I had seen the movie... I was working at a super market and it would play on the store radio. But it may have been made for the movie, because another song that played on the store radio was the Madonna song Die Another Day:squigglemouth:

And that story that Tony tells about male privates is a classic:xd:

[paimeifist]

http://youtu.be/NxB4mcaLlfo

So funky, I dig it.

[legendarycurry]

Midnight Run (1988) Greatction comedy with Deniro and Grodin. Laugh out loud funny at times and a fast-paced and action-packed classic of the genre.

[shaolin swords]

pulp-fiction great flick just watched it last night

[DrNgor]

Maniac Cop - In memory of Robert Z'Dar, I watched one of his most iconic films. Sadly, despite the solid cast and talented people behind the camera (directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen), the film makes too many missteps with an otherwise intriguing mix of slasher and police thriller sensibilities. The character bait 'n switch doesn't work; the male hero is largely ineffectual; the female character is supposed to be tough, but screams too much when things get hairy; Richard Roundtree is wasted; the killings aren't very shocking; etc. There are two scenes that work here. The first is the massacre at the police station, which is very well played. The second is the scene where we see the news report showing how people from different walks of life view law enforcement. It felt like the 80s version of reading a Yahoo! article about some police brutality case and then reading the comments below.

[Keung]

– The Beguiled (1971)

Brilliantly cast, exceptionally shot, and highly ambitious – The Beguiled is not a film that's easily digested as it makes nearly everyone look bad before it's over. The only men seen in the picture are shown as rapists, killers, drunks, and liars – while the women are shown as jealous, vengeful, needy temptresses.

This is easily one of my favourite Eastwood performances. Fans of his more traditional work will likely be frustrated, but it's worth a watch if you're interested in seeing his acting prowess. He's a guy that's been knocked by acting snobs for only playing one type of character, but it's films like this that show he's willing to take risks despite massive popularity.

[DragonClaws]

– The Beguiled (1971)

Brilliantly cast, exceptionally shot, and highly ambitious – The Beguiled is not a film that's easily digested as it makes nearly everyone look bad before it's over. The only men seen in the picture are shown as rapists, killers, drunks, and liars – while the women are shown as jealous, vengeful, needy temptresses.

This is easily one of my favourite Eastwood performances. Fans of his more traditional work will likely be frustrated, but it's worth a watch if you're interested in seeing his acting prowess. He's a guy that's been knocked by acting snobs for only playing one type of character, but it's films like this that show he's willing to take risks despite massive popularity.

I had this on VHS, its got a very strange vibe to it buts its a well made film. The critics have knocked Clint Eastwood over the years but the guy know his stuff regarding film making.

I recommend Play Misty For Me & Tightrope Keung, if you haven't seen them. Clint again plays different characters and shows the critics theres more to him than the Dirty Harry/Man with no name persona.

[DrNgor]

My Jurassic World preparations continue with:

Raptor Island - Lorenzo Lamas leads a special ops team to raid a freighter being held hostage by Eurotrash terrorists. The subsequente boat chase takes both parties to the titular island, inhabited by an entire colony of CGI dromaeosaurs (who, like their counterparts from the Carnosaur movies, never use their switchblade claws) and an allosaurus (well, I think it was an allosaurus, consider the ridges on its face). On one hand, the fact that the heroes get to shoot some of the dinosaurs to death is rather welcome (considering that the Jurassic Park films never gave us that). But the limited scenery (Ryuhei Kitamura got a lot more mileage out of a single temperate forest), repetitive action, and stupid ending involving satchel charges and an active volcano leave this a medíocre entry at best.

100 Million B.C. - The Asylum's cash-in on 10,000 B.C. is actually a sort of adaptation of Arthur C. Clark's "Time Arrow" mixed with the clímax to The Lost World: Jurassic Park. A bunch of scientists from the 40s/50s get stuck in the late Cretaceous era, and a Navy SEAL team from the present led by scientist Michael Gross go on a mission to rescue them. They do, although they bring a large (and extremely durable) theropod (possibly a Giganotosaurus, considering that they were in what is now Argentina) back with them. This one is closer to the Mega Shark films than the Sharknado movies in terms of quality. There's a bait n' switch with the main heroes, and the endless parade of crappy CGI without any creative editing or direction keep it from feeling like a real movie. The therpod, with its very short tail and extremely long legs is also very odd looking (some viewers call it a chickensaurus).

Raptor Ranch - This is probably the best non-Jurassic Park dinosaur film we've gotten since the 1990s and is really the movie that the original Carnosaur should have been. A diverse group of people converge upon a small Texas Hamlet, where one of the inhabitants is a mad scientist who has successful bred some dinosaurs. After the doctor has a heart attack, a series of events leads to the dinosaurs getting set loose, and now have the town being overrun by a T-Rex, a pair of deinonychi (despite the title), and a pair of megalosauri.

The characters include a trio of college boys on their way to Colorado for a weekend of skiing and women; a flamboyantly gay R&B/soul singer named Willie and his two White back-up singers (a slutty blonde and a Goth chick whom Willie calls "Cracker Zombie"); a pair of FBI agents investigating a brutal killing in the area (one of whom is Lorenzo Lamas, in a glorified cameo); and our heroine, a beautiful Native American girl who just wants to get out of town (the movie felt like a combination of Carnosaur and Lone Star State of Mind). The movie could've done with a little less vulgarity and bickering/whining, but it actually felt like a real movie, with a clearly-defined beginning, middle and end. The fact that the dinosaur of the clímax is a megalosaurus wins the films points, and the special FX crew eschew the usual Rule of 2 (that makes the dinosaurs about twice their actual size) in favor of more realistically proportioned creatures (this is especially noticeable in the deinonychi, which are long, but not very tal). The pro's are more than enough to make up for some weird editing and occasionally annoying characters.

[Secret Executioner]

Asterix Versus Caesar (1985)

After Roman soldiers kidnap Panacea and Tragicomix (two recurring characters in the Asterix universe), Asterix and Obelix go on a rescue mission that will see them join the Roman army and be sent to Africa, before later becoming gladiators in Rome.

A very enjoyable animated film* with lots of funny moments (the Roman army subplot is hilarious, especially the drill), nice nods to the comics (in the character design notably) and a theme song by Plastic Bertrand (the guy who sang the hit song "Ça plane pour moi" in 1977) mixing storylines from two volumes of the comic book series:

- the storyline with Asterix and Obelix going on a rescue mission all the way to Rome and becoming gladiators (encountering the same lanista) to free kidnapped villagers (bard Cacofonix in the comic, Panacea and Tragicomix in the film) from the Circus in Rome comes from Asterix The Gladiator (4th volume of the series)

- the storyline with Asterix and Obelix joining the Roman army (along with a colorful bunch of people from various areas) to free a Gaul (Tragicomix in both cases, though Panacea is taken along in the film while she's safe and sound in the village in the comic) forced to join and sent to Africa comes from Asterix The Legionary (10th volume of the series)

Footnotes:

* Asterix Versus Caesar is the 4th film in the Asterix series following Asterix The Gaul (1967) and Asterix And Cleopatra (1968) that were adaptations of the storylines of the same names from the comics (volumes #1 and #6 respectively) and The Twelve Tasks Of Asterix (1976), a completely independant movie with a new storyline). For the record, Asterix And Cleopatra and The Twelve Tasks Of Asterix are my two favorite animated films of the series.

[SMK]

Last movie I saw, was in the theaters. Another film my son wanted to see, and it was actually very enjoyable.

[Secret Executioner]

Below Zero (1930)

A Laurel & Hardy short off one of the DVDs I bought today. In this one, the duo play musicians performing in the street during a very cold winter. Business is no good as people give them more trouble than money, but luckily they find a lost wallet (full of money) on the sidewalk and get saved from a thief who was after their wallet by a police officer they invite for lunch in a restaurant (man these big steaks they get... They look delicious).

It's not bad, but maybe a bit dark for my liking. I know humor can be based on misery, but the characters might be too sympathetic and so what they go through is not really funny.

[Secret Executioner]

Below Zero (1930)

Recently bought a bunch of Laurel & Hardy DVDs that each include a full-length movie and a bunch of shorts as bonus features. This is a short I got on one of these DVDs.

The duo play musicians performing in the street during a very cold winter. Business is no good as people give them more trouble than money, but luckily they find a lost wallet (full of money) on the sidewalk and get saved from a thief who was after their wallet by a police officer they invite for lunch in a restaurant (man these big steaks they get... They look delicious).

It's not bad, but maybe a bit dark for my liking. I know humor can be based on misery, but the characters might be too sympathetic and so what they go through is not really funny.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Below Zero (1930)

A Laurel & Hardy short off one of the DVDs I bought today. In this one, the duo play musicians performing in the street during a very cold winter. Business is no good as people give them more trouble than money, but luckily they find a lost wallet (full of money) on the sidewalk and get saved from a thief who was after their wallet by a police officer they invite for lunch in a restaurant (man these big steaks they get... They look delicious).

I have the R1 Laurel & Hardy - The Essential Collection (1929-1940) which I absolutely love (well except for the packaging.) This short is on it of course. I was hoping the silent from them would be released in a package (the old Image releases here are OOP.) Yeah love the steaks in silent film (heck westerns too .)

Which DVD of L&H did you get today?

[Secret Executioner]

I have the R1 Laurel & Hardy - The Essential Collection (1929-1940) which I absolutely love (well except for the packaging.) This short is on it of course. I was hoping the silent from them would be released in a package (the old Image releases here are OOP.) Yeah love the steaks in silent film (heck westerns too .)

Which DVD of L&H did you get today?

Mentionned it in the "latest DVD/BD purchases" thread - I got 3 DVDs containing each one full-length film and a bunch of shorts as bonus features (including one silent short each time):

The Bohemian Girl + three shorts: Below Zero (which I just watched), Scram! and Flying Elephants

the hilarious Block-Heads + five shorts: Helpmates, Beau Hunks, Unaccustomed As We Are, Come Clean and Do Detectives Think?

A Chump At Oxford + five shorts: Busy Bodies, Dirty Work, Hog Wild (saw excerpts from this one, very impressive stuff there), Perfect Day and Big Business.

[DrNgor]

Giant monster triple feature this weekend:

Godzilla (2014) - Still an entertaining ride on the third time around. Yeah, I wish Godzilla had gotten to do more in the film, but it's still a lot of fun and the pacing was excellent. I harbor no ill will toward Aaron Taylor-Johnson or his character, and Elizabeth Olsen did a great job with the little she was (unfortunately) given. Complaint: I would have liked to have seen the effect of his breath on a building. Looking at the MUTOs again, they're like what you might get if you took the Xenomorph, the Predator, the Cloverfield monster, Orga, and a Palmetto bug and put them all into a Brundefly machine.

Godzilla (1998) - I don't hate it now as much as I used to. It actually goes great guns for the first 40 or 50 minutes. I've since come to terms with the radical redesign of the monster, although his lack of fire breath, evasion approach to military attacks, etc. are less forgivable. That said, I found Emmerich's battle sequences to be more fun than the bridge sequence in Gareth's people-centric approach (I get what he wanted to do, though). The movie does wear out its welcome during the prolonged car chase at the end, especially following the 25-minute-long set piece in Madison Square Garden.

One more thing, as P-Shiddy's song started playing over the end credits, I started wondering if Hollywood films still have "soundtracks" featuring music that a) has nothing to do with the film and aren't even played in the film (the credits don't count). That was fairly common in the 1990s as I remember it.

Cloverfield - It's still fairly entertaining, although the opening 20 minutes started to drag before the earthquake/explosion really got things going. Watching the deleted scenes, I can see why they were taken out. Two of them (recorded farewells at the party) were mainly about sex and one of them was about a wounded character, but the camera was so focused on Lili's cleavage that it undermined the scene itself.

[Secret Executioner]

One more thing, as P-Shiddy's song started playing over the end credits, I started wondering if Hollywood films still have "soundtracks" featuring music that a) has nothing to do with the film and aren't even played in the film (the credits don't count). That was fairly common in the 1990s as I remember it.

Superhero movies tend to have this. The soundtrack of Iron Man 2 is essentially an AC/DC compilation with only 2 songs actually featured in the movie (though several others were heard in the trailers and "Back In Black" was used in the first film). Not going to be too harsh though cause 1) I love AC/DC and 2) it's not a bunch of current alternative rock bands that all sound the same and (save for a few) have been forgotten a few years later like with Daredevil or the first Spider-Man... (although I have the soundtrack of the first Spidey film and it's okay - TBH, the inclusion of the 1967 cartoon theme saves it from being a bunch of depressing alternative rock songs).

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Prince of the City (1981: Sidney Lumet):

In a way this is a companion piece to the earlier Lumet film Serpico in which also dealt with New York police corruption. Though this is more ambivalent, though I tend to agree with Lumet’s ultimate conclusion on what he thinks of the character even if it is not an easy choice. Treat Williams stars and gives a brilliant performance as the titular character Daniel Ciello (who is Prince of the City and based on real life) who decides to go undercover to find corruption among lawyers, bondsman and eventually against cops and unfortunately his partners even though his mantra throughout much of the film was that he would never give up his partners. While some critics at the time complained of its length that actually works for it as Ciello is eventually ensnared and used by a system that he is trying to help. It is almost unbearable to watch as Ciello is slowly unraveling and put in positions that could destroy him and will destroy many close to him. It has called documentary like, though there is a great artifice in how it is filmed. Camera angles, colors, compositions change as the film progresses to help push the feeling of claustrophobia and impending doom. You also do not know who is really on his side and who is just using him (with a few exceptions.)

There are scenes that are absolutely heartbreaking like when a junkie he beat up and then eventually he helps goes on to beats on his girlfriend as she had wasted some junk. But as the film progresses you just wander how the character survives with his wits intact.

This has one of the great ending freeze-frames (The 400 Blows is probably the most famous.)

You can see the Kurosawa influence in several early shots where one looks quite like Seven Samurai which mixed tracking shots cut with closer shots of the characters running. Some of the massive raining shots looked quite like Rashomon or a dozen other Kurosawa films. In the book Akira Kurosawa Interviews you read about how Kurosawa got to see this film in New York and talked it over with Sidney Lumet with William Friedkin listening (The French Connection which is interesting because this film has references to several events that really happened in that film.)

I think this can be considered underrated as it does not have that many IMDB votes and is only on a few critics lists that I know of. Thank goodness for a DVD release of it. If you like gritty cop movies like Serpico I think you will like this.

[Secret Executioner]

Dirty Work (1933)

A short with Laurel and Hardy as chimney-sweeps who show up at a crazy professor's who is perfecting a rejuvenation potion.

This one (a bonus on the A Chump At Oxford DVD I bought recently) is really funny, with lots of funny slapstick as Laurel and Hardy create a HUGE mess while doing their work (or rather trying to). I find it in a spirit similar to their hilarious 1930 short Hog Wild where they are fixing a radio antenna on the roof of Hardy's house. I had seen the finale scene on a compilation of funny scenes and it clearly feels way funnier in the context of the episode than on its own.

[Secret Executioner]

Dirty Work (1933)

Another short off the Laurel & Hardy DVDs I bought recently.

Here, the pair are chimney-sweeps and they create a huge mess as they are working at a crazy professor's house - meanwhile, said professor is trying to perfect a rejuvenation potion.

[Secret Executioner]

Hog Wild (1930)

A Laurel & Hardy short where the duo fix the Hardys' radio aerial - again, taken from one of those Laurel & Hardy DVDs I have.

I had seen it as a kid on a VHS (there was Below Zero on that one too), but this release seemed different than what I had seen - I didn't remember the opening sequence with Hardy and his wife arguing about the hat and the part where Hardy is at the top of the ladder while the car is riding through town has a different scope (noticed some damage on the right side of the screen there too, which leads me to believe the part was cropped to remove the damage portion of the film).

Forgot to mention, but those DVDs have a cool menu too: you have a list of the films included to access said films and on top, there's a little window playing a snippet from the famous dancing scene off their 1937 classic film Way Out West (complete with the song - a number called "At The Ball" - playing).

For those unfamiliar (or those who just wanna see that great moment again), here it is:

X-84jOEmCf4

On a sidenote, I think Way Out West could be my fav' Laurel & Hardy full-length feature: the western set-up, the great comedy (the "eating the hat" part notably), the musical numbers (including the dancing scene and the voice switching from Laurel later),... It's a really top-notch film.

[Secret Executioner]

Hog Wild (1930)

A Laurel & Hardy short where the duo fix the Hardys' radio aerial - again, taken from one of those Laurel & Hardy DVDs I have.

I had seen it as a kid on a VHS (there was Below Zero on that one too), but this release seemed different than what I had seen - I didn't remember the opening sequence with Hardy and his wife arguing about the hat and the part where Hardy is at the top of the ladder while the car is riding through town has a different scope (noticed some damage on the right side of the screen there too, which leads me to believe the part was cropped to remove the damaged portion of the film).

[masterofoneinchpunch]

...On a sidenote, I think Way Out West could be my fav' Laurel & Hardy full-length feature: the western set-up, the great comedy (the "eating the hat" part notably), the musical numbers (including the dancing scene and the voice switching from Laurel later),... It's a really top-notch film.

It is either my favorite of close to my favorite with Sons of the Desert as the other contender. I love this duo. Its amazing how popular they were (I'm thinking that the two most popular duo acts of all-time are them and Abbot and Costello.) But the popularity was rightfully acknowledged. What is weird is seeing their silent shorts before they got together (Kino has sets of both of them.)

I really wish their silent pictures would get reissued.

[Takuma]

Inherent Vice (USA, 2014) [DCP] - 3.5/5

I've never been on drugs, but I'd imagine its much like watching this film. There's not a single sober moment in this odd, intentionally incomprehensible private detective tale set at the end of the hippie age. The 2½ hour running time and the relative restraint in the humour department (which only makes the strangeness more pervasive) is no doubt going to be too much for many, but it has its strange charm plus wonderful performances and a great 1970s atmosphere.

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

Yes, it's a fine film and Edward Norton is so much fun as asshole character actor, but the best film of the year? I can't help but to feel it's a bit pretentious, starting from the fake single shot approach that doesn't seem to serve that much purpose, to the ending which is left open for the sake of openness rather than being a clever twist. That being said, there's nothing especially wrong with the film. Quite good, but not quite great.

[Secret Executioner]

Helpmates (1932)

In this short, Ollie finds himself in trouble as he has been partying (making his house a big mess) while his wife was away, and now it turns out she's returning early. But as though it wasn't bad enough, he enlists Stan's help to clean the house.

Much like Hog Wild and Block-Heads (ironically, this short is a "bonus" on the Block-Heads DVD I have), this film sees Hardy being married to a woman with a strong bad temper (her face on the wedding picture alone says a lot) and Laurel only makes trouble even bigger. It's a pretty funny short, with Laurel causing a lot of trouble though Hardy also creates his own misery at points. The havoc in this is huge with lots of clothes, furniture, windows and even entire rooms being badly damaged, messed or simply destroyed - on a sidenote, I think it's like the third time I've seen a kitchen explode in a Laurel & Hardy movie (after a movie I think is Saps At Sea and Block-Heads).