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

[Secret Executioner]

Robin Hood (1973)

Got the VHS for my 8th birthday and recently got it on DVD. This re-telling of the famous old legend of the outlaw robbing the rich to help the poor is creative with the anthropomorphic animals (for the record, they originally wanted to make Friar Tuck a pig, but went with a badger instead). I had better memories of this than of Aladdin, likely because I was older and maybe because I saw it more often than Aladdin. Still, this one has great characters (Prince John is one of those hilarious villains, Robin and Little John are enjoyable guys, the Sheriff is a damn bastard that has his moments...), a nice story (though it's a bit slow for a time when the film focuses on the children, but the tournament and the third act in the castle are really great moments) and the climax in the castle is epic. Got that marching music playing when Prince John is first seen and at the tournament stuck in my head now BTW.

Revisited this one 'recently, and I stand by my words. I think it may be one of my very favorite Disney films - not as big a favorite as The Rescuers or The AristoCats, but probably 3rd or 4th. Other Disney movies I revisited recently are:

Lady And The Tramp (1955)

Mentionned hesitating for the ranking of Robin Hood, and this one is its main opponent. Actually, I'd put this one 3rd and Robin Hood 4th just because Lady And The Tramp could be my earliest movie memory. Yup, this one is the very first movie I remember watching, when I was very little (back when I was like 3 or 4) - no wonder I loved dogs and spaghetti this much growing up.

Although the DVD got me surprised - the unpleasant way. People often mention Robot Chicken shorts or Family Guy gags raping their childhood, well here the movie itself does it on its own. I had this movie on VHS back in the very early 1990s that had a French dub and this DVD contains a horrible re-dubbed version (on a sidenote, it seems like Snow White got re-dubbed in 2001).

Nevertheless, it was nice getting to watch this one again because there's alot of creativity involved (the relation of Tramp with the Italian restaurant people, the beaver sequence, the way dogs see the human world) and the animation is - as usual with classic Disney films - top-notch.

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Another film I loved as a kid. Believe I got this one when I was like 7 or 8 on VHS, and recently bought the DVD (turned out it was the 2014 remaster, which explains why it seemed more expensive than the rest of the Disney films). But to be fair, the remaster is really worth the price of admission. The movie's artwork is very unqiue and colors and details jump at you in this beautiful version.

The movie looks indeed beautiful (even more now), but the rest is a mixed bag. I like Maleficent whom I consider one of the greatest Disney villains ever (Jafar from Aladdin is also pretty neat) and some of the bickering between the fairy godmothers is pretty funny, but the movies clearly has flaws. Like the prince, supposedly a lead character that saves the day. The guy isn't that interesting and really, he doesn't do much during the climax. Most of the time, the fairies save his butt - they might as well have taken him directly to the room where Aurora was sleeping (or how about using their magic on her after she pricked her finger ?). Aurora is rather bland, she has next to no developpment - but she is rather pretty and seems like a rather nice character, but nothing much goes beside that (guess her being asleep for a good part of the film isn't helping).

It's not really as good as I remembered it, though the artwork and the soundtrack are very good and I had a nice moment watching the film in spite of its obvious flaws - nothing too bothering actually.

Beside Disney films, I also watched a pair of (very) old silent films on youtube.

A Trip To The Moon (1902)

The classic Georges Méliès film where a bunch of scientists board a bullet-like rocket and are shot (with a cannon) to the Moon where they encounter a snow storm, giant mushrooms and an hostile primitive population that explodes when hit hard.

As a fan of science-fiction cinema, it's one of my personal favorite Méliès movies. The special effects are impressive for the time, the story is enjoyable (in spite of an obvious colonial aspect in the depiction of the Moon people) and I like the way these scientists act - they look like a bunch of crazy old guys that keep waving their arms around. A really fun film, one of my favorite science-fiction films actually.

Alice In Wonderland (1903)

There have been countless takes on the Lewis Carroll novel, but this was the very first. Like A Trip To The Moon, it's only 10 minutes long. The print however is in a much worse condition sadly. But from what I could see, the adaptation is well made with several of the trademark characters appearing - Mad Hatter, March Hare (who look like a bunch of psychos trying to drawn the Dormouse when they put his head in the teapot), the Cheshire Cat (who's throwning instead of smiling) or the Queen of Hearts. Alice is clearly agrown woman instead of a little girl, but this still works rather well (somehow better than in Tim Burton's 2010 movie). And some of the effects are nicely done, like the growing and shrinking scenes or simply the looks of some of the characters.

[Secret Executioner]

Since I was mentionning Disney's Robin Hood earlier... Also watched a couple other Disney films recently, figured I'd bring them up.

Lady And The Tramp (1955)

Mentionned hesitating for the ranking of Robin Hood, and this one is its main opponent. Actually, I'd put this one 3rd and Robin Hood 4th just because Lady And The Tramp could be my earliest movie memory. Yup, this one is the very first movie I remember watching, when I was very little (back when I was like 3 or 4) - no wonder I loved dogs and spaghetti this much growing up.

Although the DVD got me surprised - the unpleasant way. People often mention Robot Chicken shorts or Family Guy gags raping their childhood, well here the movie itself does it on its own. I had this movie on VHS back in the very early 1990s that had a French dub and this DVD contains a horrible re-dubbed version (on a sidenote, it seems like Snow White got re-dubbed in 2001).

Nevertheless, it was nice getting to watch this one again because there's alot of creativity involved (the relation of Tramp with the Italian restaurant people, the beaver sequence, the way dogs see the human world) and the animation is - as usual with classic Disney films - top-notch.

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Another film I loved as a kid. Believe I got this one when I was like 7 or 8 on VHS, and recently bought the DVD (turned out it was the 2014 remaster, which explains why it seemed more expensive than the rest of the Disney films). But to be fair, the remaster is really worth the price of admission. The movie's artwork is very unqiue and colors and details jump at you in this beautiful version.

The movie looks indeed beautiful (even more now), but the rest is a mixed bag. I like Maleficent whom I consider one of the greatest Disney villains ever (Jafar from Aladdin is also pretty neat) and some of the bickering between the fairy godmothers is pretty funny, but the movies clearly has flaws. Like the prince, supposedly a lead character that saves the day. The guy isn't that interesting and really, he doesn't do much during the climax. Most of the time, the fairies save his butt - they might as well have taken him directly to the room where Aurora was sleeping (or how about using their magic on her after she pricked her finger ?). Aurora is rather bland, she has next to no developpment - but she is rather pretty and seems like a rather nice character, but nothing much goes beside that (guess her being asleep for a good part of the film isn't helping).

It's not really as good as I remembered it, though the artwork and the soundtrack are very good and I had a nice moment watching the film in spite of its obvious flaws - nothing too bothering actually.

Watched a pair of (very) old silent films on youtube last night.

A Trip To The Moon (1902)

The classic Georges Méliès film where a bunch of scientists board a bullet-like rocket and are shot (with a cannon) to the Moon where they encounter a snow storm, giant mushrooms and an hostile primitive population that explodes when hit hard.

As a fan of science-fiction cinema, it's one of my personal favorite Méliès movies. The special effects are impressive for the time, the story is enjoyable (in spite of an obvious colonial aspect in the depiction of the Moon people) and I like the way these scientists act - they look like a bunch of crazy old guys that keep waving their arms around. A really fun film, one of my favorite science-fiction films actually.

Alice In Wonderland (1903)

There have been countless takes on the Lewis Carroll novel, but this was the very first. Like A Trip To The Moon, it's only 10 minutes long. The print however is in a much worse condition sadly. But from what I could see, the adaptation is well made with several of the trademark characters appearing - Mad Hatter, March Hare (who look like a bunch of psychos trying to drawn the Dormouse when they put his head in the teapot), the Cheshire Cat (who's throwning instead of smiling) or the Queen of Hearts. Alice is clearly agrown woman instead of a little girl, but this still works rather well (somehow better than in Tim Burton's 2010 movie). And some of the effects are nicely done, like the growing and shrinking scenes or simply the looks of some of the characters.

[AlbertV]

Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

http://albertvfilm.blogspot.com/2015/05/birdman-or-unexpected-virtue-of.html

[AlbertV]

Revenge of the Green Dragons

http://albertvfilm.blogspot.com/2015/05/revenge-of-green-dragons-2014.html

[Secret Executioner]

Mad Max and Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior as part of double feature at a local theater.

The trailer for Fury Road played before each of them (the trailers were for upcoming movies, but Fury Road is the only one that played twice), and it was actually strange seeing that after seeing the first film cause... Well, the first Mad Max feels more like Robocop than like a film with car chases in a desert. It's set in an apparently near future, where gangs prevail and the police use radical methods against criminals and hooligans. I found this film very dark and even brutal (the hints at the injuries of Goose and of Max's wife after the bikers run her over).

I enjoyed the second one much more, though I can't help but feel it's really loose as a sequel (kinda like Master Of The Flying Guillotine to One-armed Boxer) - a connexion would be Max and his car, but the whole prologue explaining about the downfall of civilization due to a lack of oil and incorporating the backstory of Max using stock-footage from the first film seems a bit like MOTFG telling us the monks from OAB were working for the bald monk...

I found the opening sequence in both was similar with Max raming another car and causing it to get in a big crash (the opening scene with the big chase might be my fav' part of the first film).

But the rest is quite different (I found): we go from a near future and still civilized environment (with hints of urban territories) to something set in a distant future where oil seems hard to find (though everyone rides a motorcycle or driving some kind of muscle car) and in the middle of a desert with bad guys that seem to come out of a BDSM gay porn flick - the leader especially killed me with his fetish outfit and his hockey mask, I couldn't help but wonder whether he was related to Jason Voorhes (the bikers from the first one were a bit exhuberant, but nothing to OTT). The most ridiculous the baddies get is when the leader is holding one of his henchmen (I think he's called Wez, a really fun but completely nuts character) on leash during most of the climatic chase - I went "okay, now they aren't even trying to conceal it and beg for gay fetish jokes".

Anyway, this second film reminded me heavily of those Italian post-apocalyptic B-movies - though I assume MM2 must have been the influence - and it was some really fun flick, a big contrast to the more grounded and quite dark first flick.

Mel Gibson looks pretty badass in those movies, was surprised by his appearance in the first one cause he seems so young. The trailer for Fury Road seemed a bit tame and not so enjoyable compared to this retro kitsch (too much CGI and the OTT costumes don't work as well as in these two, but maybe it will look campy in 30 years).

[thekfc]

Revenge of the Green Dragons

http://albertvfilm.blogspot.com/2015/05/revenge-of-green-dragons-2014.html

This is one movie I wanted to see on the big screen but it came and went in a flash.

I have it on Blu-ray but have yet to watch it - hopefully I will give it a watch by summertime.

[DragonClaws]

Mad Max and Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior as part of double feature at a local theater.

The trailer for Fury Road played before each of them (the trailers were for upcoming movies, but Fury Road is the only one that played twice), and it was actually strange seeing that after seeing the first film cause... Well, the first Mad Max feels more like Robocop than like a film with car chases in a desert. It's set in an apparently near future, where gangs prevail and the police use radical methods against criminals and hooligans. I found this film very dark and even brutal (the hints at the injuries of Goose and of Max's wife after the bikers run her over).

I enjoyed the second one much more, though I can't help but feel it's really loose as a sequel (kinda like Master Of The Flying Guillotine to One-armed Boxer) - a connexion would be Max and his car, but the whole prologue explaining about the downfall of civilization due to a lack of oil and incorporating the backstory of Max using stock-footage from the first film seems a bit like MOTFG telling us the monks from OAB were working for the bald monk...

I found the opening sequence in both was similar with Max raming another car and causing it to get in a big crash (the opening scene with the big chase might be my fav' part of the first film).

But the rest is quite different (I found): we go from a near future and still civilized environment (with hints of urban territories) to something set in a distant future where oil seems hard to find (though everyone rides a motorcycle or driving some kind of muscle car) and in the middle of a desert with bad guys that seem to come out of a BDSM gay porn flick - the leader especially killed me with his fetish outfit and his hockey mask, I couldn't help but wonder whether he was related to Jason Voorhes (the bikers from the first one were a bit exhuberant, but nothing to OTT). The most ridiculous the baddies get is when the leader is holding one of his henchmen (I think he's called Wez, a really fun but completely nuts character) on leash during most of the climatic chase - I went "okay, now they aren't even trying to conceal it and beg for gay fetish jokes".

Anyway, this second film reminded me heavily of those Italian post-apocalyptic B-movies - though I assume MM2 must have been the influence - and it was some really fun flick, a big contrast to the more grounded and quite dark first flick.

Mel Gibson looks pretty badass in those movies, was surprised by his appearance in the first one cause he seems so young. The trailer for Fury Road seemed a bit tame and not so enjoyable compared to this retro kitsch (too much CGI and the OTT costumes don't work as well as in these two, but maybe it will look campy in 30 years).

Mad Max 1 & 2 had a big influence on popular culture at the time. Anyone remember The Road Warriors tag team in the 80's? later known as Legion Of Doom. They did inspire a lot of those low budget post apocalyptic Italian B-movies. Part 3 is worth watching and has some standout moments but overall its the weakest of three in my opinion. The finale is still pretty spectacular though even more so in today's CGI soaked films.

Wez is played by Vernon Wells GHW better known as Benedict from Commando. He appears in Weird Science at the end of the film in a scene that spoofs Mad Max 2.

[DragonClaws]

BLINDMAN

I could not believe may eyes, Ringo Star as a bad ass Mexican bandit names candy.

This movie was so much fun folks.

Implausible and at times very silly but well worth the ride.

An excellente' spaghetti western.

Who here has seen this?

GD Y-Y

Ive never seen this one GD-YY, a title that's going on my list of films to watch.

[ShaOW!linDude]

Man, I haven't posted here in I don't know when. Recently I watched They Came Together, starring Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler, and directed by David Wain.

Do you want a romantic comedy that makes fun of all the tropes and cliches of romantic comedies? This movie is for you. I guarantee you will smile like an idiot through the whole thing and belly laugh out loud in others. Some bits are done to the point of absurdity, which oddly enough is what makes them so funny.

Is it a great film? No. Will it make you laugh? Oh, yeah! I think so. (It's on Netflix, and I already know I'm going to have to watch it again.)

[AlbertV]

The Damned United - I liked this film, about Leeds United coach Brian Clough's 44-day tenure as the team's coach. It combined with flashbacks, which reveal why Clough had such hatred towards his predecessor Don Revie. Michael Sheen brought Clough's brash and smartalecky style quite well and despite not enough soccer action in the film during the present day (1974) scenes, it still holds as a pretty decent film IMO.

[Secret Executioner]

A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence (Sweden/Germany/Norway/France, 2014)

The title of the 2014 Golden Lion winner at the Mostra in Venezia is strange, but it's actually probably the least weird element of this movie. It's essentially a bunch of little scenes (39 of them, according to IMDb) with no real narrative, though there are recurring characters, a pair of salesmen (a bit similar to Laurel & Hardy) trying to sell their comedy articles or displaying them to people they meet - a recurring element which somehow made laugh every time it happened. The scenes go from really dark humor (the first three scenes notably, which are called "meeting with Death #1, 2 and 3") to downright disturbing imagery (the lab monkey scene - called "Homo sapiens" - and the giant cylinder dream sequence notably) to muscial scenes (a flashback from 1943 sees a barmaid and soldiers singing) to Monty Python-esque absurdity (the two salesmen are in a bar, then King Karl XII and his army show up right out of nowhere and the king gets a drink on his way to a battle against Russia). There are also strange scenes like a scene with an apparently mentally challenged girl supposedly reciting a poem (she tells what it's about to an adult who's supervising the kid show or something and she's made to leave when her explanation is over), scenes where nothing happens (or that are just very puzzling), and there are A LOT of scenes with people on the phone saying they're glad to hear the person on the other end is doing fine.

A movie this weird naturally doesn't create enthusiasm among common folks - there must have been less than 5 persons in the theater at the screening I went to and one of the theater employees told me that they had had rather bad feedback on this movie, and many people would leave before it's over. I can understand why, this movie is weirder than stuff like Ken Russell's Tommy - a movie that also has a scene where you're not sure if it's real or a dream -, Frank Zappa's 200 Motels or Robert Wiene's The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, and those get really weird at times. But personally, I simply LOVED that film - the soundtrack, the characters, the aestethic (characters look very pale, the film itself has a lot of pale colors - it seems a bit lifeless), the cinematography (the camera is still and never moves, the actors speak in monotonous tones - which makes the occupation of the two leads even funnier cause they say they want to entertain people in a very lifeless manner -, the soundtrack is okay - I like the songs alot and I especially like that recurring tune you can hear in the trailer)... I found next to no flaw, except that it drags a bit towards the middle.

Here's the trailer:

0DpdDYwBTEg

The Artifical Eye channel has a few sequences like the Karl XII sequence, the poem part or the 1943 flashback/musical.

[Secret Executioner]

A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence (Sweden/Germany/Norway/France, 2014)

The title of the 2014 Golden Lion winner at the Mostra in Venezia is strange, but it's actually probably the least weird element of this movie. It's essentially a bunch of little scenes (39 of them, according to IMDb) with no real narrative, though there are recurring characters, a pair of salesmen (a bit similar to Laurel & Hardy) trying to sell their comedy articles or displaying them to people they meet - a recurring element which somehow made laugh every time it happened. The scenes go from really dark humor (the first three scenes notably, which are called "encounter with Death #1, 2 and 3") to downright disturbing imagery (the lab monkey scene - called "Homo sapiens" - and the giant cylinder dream sequence notably) to muscial scenes (a flashback from 1943 sees a barmaid and soldiers singing) to Monty Python-esque absurdity (the two salesmen are in a bar, then King Karl XII and his army show up right out of nowhere and the king gets a drink on his way to a battle against Russia). There are also strange scenes like a scene with an apparently mentally challenged girl supposedly reciting a poem (she tells what it's about to an adult who's supervising the kid show or something and she's made to leave when her explanation is over), scenes where nothing happens (or that are just very puzzling), and there are A LOT of scenes with people on the phone saying they're glad to hear the person on the other end is doing fine.

A movie this weird naturally doesn't create enthusiasm among common folks - there must have been less than 5 persons in the theater at the screening I went to and one of the theater employees told me that they had had rather bad feedback on this movie, and many people would leave before it's over. I can understand why, this movie is weirder than stuff like Ken Russell's Tommy - a movie that also has a scene where you're not sure if it's real or a dream -, Frank Zappa's 200 Motels or Robert Wiene's The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, and those get really weird at times. But personally, I simply LOVED that film - the soundtrack, the characters, the aestethic (characters look very pale, the film itself has a lot of pale colors - it seems a bit lifeless), the cinematography (the camera is still and never moves, the actors speak in monotonous tones - which makes the occupation of the two leads even funnier cause they say they want to entertain people in a very lifeless manner -, the soundtrack is okay - I like the songs alot and I especially like that recurring tune you can hear in the trailer)... I found next to no flaw, except that it drags a bit towards the middle.

Here's the trailer:

The Artifical Eye channel has a few sequences like the Karl XII sequence, the poem part or the 1943 flashback/musical.

[Secret Executioner]

Monty Python And The Holy Grail (UK, 1975)

Possibly the funniest movie ever produced (IMO it must be either this one or the Laurel & Hardy full-length feature Block Heads) - gets me every time I watch it, and I've watched it a lot. So many scenes stand out here: I love the witch debate (how do you prove someone's a witch ?), the Tale of Sir Robin (and that three-headed knight), the Tale of Sir Lancelot (the backstory of Swamp Castle is hilarious), the Knights who say "Ni", the scenes with the French knight insulting Arthur and his knights... And need I forget those really nice animated sequences (too bad the animator didn't live to see how the film was received ).

Just a masterpiece of comedy.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Monty Python And The Holy Grail (UK, 1975)

Possibly the funniest movie ever produced (that or the Laurel & Hardy full-length feature Block Heads) - gets me every time I watch it, and I've watched it a lot. So many scenes stand out here: I love the witch debate (how do you prove someone's a witch ?), the Tale of Sir Robin (and that three-headed knight), the Tale of Sir Lancelot (the backstory of Swamp Castle is hilarious), the Knights who say "Ni", the scenes with the French knight insulting Arthur and his knights... And need I forget those really nice animated sequences (too bad the animator didn't live to see how the film was received ).

Just a masterpiece of comedy.

In my top 100 films of all-time. I've seen it countless times. One of the few films I'll hear quoted from different people (as well as myself) from comic book collectors to shrubbery salesmen. The amount of cultural relevance to this film is quite huge as well. My favorite of the Python films as well with The Meaning of Life being second.

Have you seen the series Monty Python's Flying Circus? A great tv series. I try to buy everything that has those members in. Yesterday got a John Cleese video How to Irritate People and a few days before bought Do Not Adjust Your Set which has Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin in it.

[Secret Executioner]

In my top 100 films of all-time. I've seen it countless times. One of the few films I'll hear quoted from different people (as well as myself) from comic book collectors to shrubbery salesmen. The amount of cultural relevance to this film is quite huge as well. My favorite of the Python films as well with The Meaning of Life being second.

Have you seen the series Monty Python's Flying Circus? A great tv series. I try to buy everything that has those members in. Yesterday got a John Cleese video How to Irritate People and a few days before bought Do Not Adjust Your Set which has Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin in it.

Yeah, I love how quotable it is.

Saw bits from the TV series (some sketches on youtube - there's some really hilarious stuff here, I like the relevance of some of that stuff). I also have a few albums of theirs, and they are pretty fun listens.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Yeah, I love how quotable it is.

Saw bits from the TV series (some sketches on youtube - there's some really hilarious stuff here, I like the relevance of some of that stuff). I also have a few albums of theirs, and they are pretty fun listens.

The series, like all skit shows, is hit and miss, but when it is on it is great. So many skits from the twit race, deja vu, argument clinic, spam, lumberjack, dead parrot, cheese shop, ministry of silly walks, Spanish inquisition (nobody expects) etc... I love from that series. Written all off the top of my head without looking them up. If you can find it for a decent price you will have hours and hours of fun. This and Fawlty Towers is among my favorite English series. Both a big influence on my humor.

[Secret Executioner]

Don't forget the Gumby sketches. I love this character/these characters.

[Secret Executioner]

Still Life (UK/Italy, 2013)

I decided to get myself a British cinema weekend, so I went to the theater see this one (which I had already seen actually).

The movie (written, directed and produced by Uberto Pasolini, who also produced The Full Monty) deals with a council worker named John May (played by a brilliant Eddie Marsan) whose job is to track down relatives of people who died with no apparent relatives. He also gets the people burried and does his best to make the funeral as close to what the person was like in life as possible (the color of the stone, the music that plays, he even writes the priest's speeches). However, he is deemed unefficient and too expensive and when budget cuts lead to downsizing the department, he gets fired though his @$$hole of a boss gives him extra time to work on the last case: a guy called William "Billy" Stoke who happened to live in a flat right in front of May's. The investigation to track down relatives will lead May on a life-changing journey.

This little film is a real gem. There's a lot of focus given to the main character, but he's a very likeable figure - he even gets sympathetic when you see the kind of @$$holes the people who fire him are. He may seem to have some kind of issues with how meticulous he's in everything (not just his job, even peeling an apple is something he does with extra care) and with the fact that he seems to show up to every funeral he has arranged (the cemetary employees seem to know him well). He also seems very lonely, talking to people only as part of his job. Yet his character evolves in the second half and he begins to let loose a bit and to enjoy life (noticed the changes more the second time than I initially did). The final moments are very poignant and even though I knew what was to happen and how it would go, I still cried in the end the second time around - but I guess the way the ending is done and the (beautiful) soundtrack make this ending even more moving.

IMDb (who brilliantly ruins the ending between people giving away stuff on the forum and the plotkeywords revealing a big plot point... Whatever.) has a 7.5/10 rating for this movie, but I would well give this one at least a 9/10, that's how I loved it.

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

GD Y-Y

[AlbertV]

Bad Asses on the Bayou (Craig Moss, 2015) - The latest installment of the trilogy reunites Danny Trejo and Danny Glover as they head to Louisiana to attend the wedding of a dear friend of theirs. When she is kidnapped, the duo finds an ally in their friend's dad, played by John Amos, as they attempt to get her back. If you liked the previous films, you will like this one with Trejo (and double) pulling off some Krav Maga like moves in the film.

John Leguizamo: Tales of a Ghetto Klown (Ben DeJesus, 2014) - A PBS documentary about the actor/comedian that takes you to the making of his last one-man show, which is a true depiction of his life in only the way John can do it. He gets help from the show's director, actor turned filmmaker Fisher Stevens, and the struggles he endures to make the show a success. The play was such a hit that he was invited to go do a version of the show in his birthland of Colombia, but John isn't fluent in Spanish, so he met a tutor and studied fluent Spanish before the show. Very good look at a Latino actor who truly "made it".

[DragonClaws]

In The Name Of The Rose - Directed by Jean Jacques Annaud the film stars Sean Connery & Christian Slater.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Don't forget the Gumby sketches. I love this character/these characters.

My favorite one:

XyFfmGf3b2Y

[Secret Executioner]

My favorite one:

XyFfmGf3b2Y

Classic. I personally prefer the one where the Gumbies discuss the Battle of Trafalgar:

T7GBwO3_czc

[Secret Executioner]

A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence (Sweden/Germany/Norway/France, 2014)

The title of the 2014 Golden Lion winner at the Mostra in Venezia is strange, but it's actually probably the least weird element of this movie. It's essentially a bunch of little scenes (39 of them, according to IMDb) with no real narrative, though there are recurring characters, a pair of salesmen (a bit similar to Laurel & Hardy) trying to sell their comedy articles or displaying them to people they meet - a recurring element which somehow made laugh every time it happened. The scenes go from really dark humor (the first three scenes notably, which are called "meeting with Death #1, 2 and 3") to downright disturbing imagery (the lab monkey scene - called "Homo sapiens" - and the giant cylinder dream sequence notably) to muscial scenes (a flashback from 1943 sees a barmaid and soldiers singing) to Monty Python-esque absurdity (the two salesmen are in a bar, then King Karl XII and his army show up right out of nowhere and the king gets a drink on his way to a battle against Russia). There are also strange scenes like a scene with an apparently mentally challenged girl supposedly reciting a poem (she tells what it's about to an adult who's supervising the kid show or something and she's made to leave when her explanation is over), scenes where nothing happens (or that are just very puzzling), and there are A LOT of scenes with people on the phone saying they're glad to hear the person on the other end is doing fine.

A movie this weird naturally doesn't create enthusiasm among common folks - there must have been less than 5 persons in the theater at the screening I went to and one of the theater employees told me that they had had rather bad feedback on this movie, and many people would leave before it's over. I can understand why, this movie is weirder than stuff like Ken Russell's Tommy - a movie that also has a scene where you're not sure if it's real or a dream -, Frank Zappa's 200 Motels or Robert Wiene's The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, and those get really weird at times. But personally, I simply LOVED that film - the soundtrack, the characters, the aestethic (characters look very pale, the film itself has a lot of pale colors - it seems a bit lifeless), the cinematography (the camera is still and never moves, the actors speak in monotonous tones - which makes the occupation of the two leads even funnier cause they say they want to entertain people in a very lifeless manner -, the soundtrack is okay - I like the songs alot and I especially like that recurring tune you can hear in the trailer)... I found next to no flaw, except that it drags a bit towards the middle.

Here's the trailer:

The Artifical Eye channel has a few sequences like the Karl XII sequence, the poem part or the 1943 flashback/musical.

Ended up seeing this film a total of 3 times on its theatrical run. Really love it.

[DiP]

Die Hard (1988) - The essential Hollywood action film of the 1980s! Always a fresh start upon each repeated viewing. 10/10

Aliens (1986) - One of the best film sequels of all time. Very different flavor compared to the first film but equally as great one. 9.5/10