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

[masterofoneinchpunch]

 

I keep meaning to see more of Wilder's films. My friend Brian has chastised me in the past for re-watching THE STREET FIGHTER for the umpteenth time when there are still Wilder films I haven't seen. 

Last weekend my wife and I watched ZOMBEAVERS (2014)! She asked me to put something "scary" on, and I chose that as a joke, basically just to tease her as ...

 

What films of Billy Wilder have you seen?  I have now seen 19 out of 27 (with two for this first time this year, that film and The Emperor Waltz.)  Now I think it all depends on what release of The Street Fighter are you referring to (I am not just remembering how many times my brother and one of his friends have seen the 1994 version; I do miss Raul Julia though.)

 

Of course you could have scared her with Henry: The Portrait of a Serial Killer (I still never want to see that again.)  

 

Hey kid's, Zombeavers is on (somewhere in American someone has had to have said that.)

[SMK]

I was in the mood for some mindless comedy mixed with horror, so I began to watch COOTIES. I only got about 25 minutes in, then couldn't resist sleep any longer. I will finish it tonight. 

 

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

I'm waiting for the folks that put out Cooties to say something (anything) about their supposively released Hippie Werewolf movie Bad Vibes.
 

Speaking of hippies and horror, I had the urge to watch my favorite Lucio Fulci movie, A Lizard In a Woman's Skin (1971) again. Basically, socialite Florinda Bolkan dreams she not only had a lesbian affair with her low life druggie hippie neighbor, but kills her lover in a heat of passion. And then the hippie neighbor really turns up dead. Oh bugger! There goes my perfect reputation.

Well... outside of the fake eviscerated dogs, this is still a very entertaining movie about class structure, status quo and the lack thereof. Plus, creepy hippies stalking Florinda Bolkan (and a really fake swan too) all add up to a very entertaining giallo. Not scary, but beautiful to look at, listen to (great soundtrack) and you see the beginnings of the nightmare sequences Fulci would later go wonderfully crazy with. It can get pretty trippy.

 

I keep hoping some small importer will stock the recently released French limited edition, as i don't want to order from a site I don't know in a language I long forgot. Zombeavers sounds absolutely silly. YAY!

Edited October 2, 2015 by Lady Jin Szu-Yi

[Tosh]

 

 

 

Last weekend my wife and I watched ZOMBEAVERS (2014)! She asked me to put something "scary" on, and I chose that as a joke, basically just to tease her as she hates all kinds of rodents. But to my surprise, it was so daffy that she said to leave it on, and we watched it.

 

Plot: Chemical waste turns beavers into unstoppable, unkillable, carnivorous monsters that eat young people and rednecks while also spreading 'the problem'.

 

Gratuitous nudity, fun with satirizing genre conventions, mostly ridiculous looking, and occasionally impressive special makeup FX (kudos to the filmmakers for using old-school techniques for the creatures instead of CGI), gore, some purposely laughable dialogue, and a couple of great cameos. For a very silly, low budget horror-comedy it's amusing enough. 5/10

 

 

C'mon man, you got to give it more than 5 stars for the effort!Watched that with the gf and found it to be one of the more enjoyable horrors I've seen for a long time(that's sad to say), would love to see the sequel(and no not going to give it away).

 

 

[Tosh]

Hey wonder if we can merge this thread with the What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching? thread?

[DarthKato]

The last film I watched was "The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies". It was awesome!

[Secret Executioner]

Hey wonder if we can merge this thread with the What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching? thread?

Yeah, that would be a good idea.

[KUNG FU BOB]

 

What films of Billy Wilder have you seen?  I have now seen 19 out of 27 (with two for this first time this year, that film and The Emperor Waltz.)  Now I think it all depends on what release of The Street Fighter are you referring to (I am not just remembering how many times my brother and one of his friends have seen the 1994 version; I do miss Raul Julia though.)

 

Of course you could have scared her with Henry: The Portrait of a Serial Killer (I still never want to see that again.)  

 

Hey kid's, Zombeavers is on (somewhere in American someone has had to have said that.)

 

I've seen very few I'm embarrassed to say, but thoroughly enjoyed each one that I did watch... SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950), THE APARTMENT (1960), SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959), THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1970), DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), THE LOST WEEKEND (1945), THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955), STALAG 17 (1953), and maybe A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948) and LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON (1957). Of those I saw the Marilyn films and SUNSET a few times each. I went through a ' let's find out what the big deal is with these classics' faze when I was about 18-22 and watched a lot of great stuff in between tons of horror films. 

 

 

At this rate I'll never see all 27 before I'm gone! You're well on your way to seeing his full filmography though.

 

I just revisited HENRY last year after decades, and it is still a chilling, extremely disturbing film. My son saw the DVD case and was intrigued by the title, so he asked to borrow it. When he returned it I asked him what he thought and he shivered dramatically.

 

I was in the mood for some mindless comedy mixed with horror, so I began to watch COOTIES. I only got about 25 minutes in, then couldn't resist sleep any longer. I will finish it tonight. 

 

 

I read about this! Any good? It sounded like fun. Plus, as it takes place in a school, I thought my wife (she's an elementary school teacher) might get a kick out of it.

I'm waiting for the folks that put out Cooties to say something (anything) about their supposively released Hippie Werewolf movie Bad Vibes.
 

Speaking of hippies and horror, I had the urge to watch my favorite Lucio Fulci movie, A Lizard In a Woman's Skin (1971) again. Basically, socialite Florinda Bolkan dreams she not only had a lesbian affair with her low life druggie hippie neighbor, but kills her lover in a heat of passion. And then the hippie neighbor really turns up dead. Oh bugger! There goes my perfect reputation.

Well... outside of the fake eviscerated dogs, this is still a very entertaining movie about class structure, status quo and the lack thereof. Plus, creepy hippies stalking Florinda Bolkan (and a really fake swan too) all add up to a very entertaining giallo. Not scary, but beautiful to look at, listen to (great soundtrack) and you see the beginnings of the nightmare sequences Fulci would later go wonderfully crazy with. It can get pretty trippy.

 

I keep hoping some small importer will stock the recently released French limited edition, as i don't want to order from a site I don't know in a language I long forgot. Zombeavers sounds absolutely silly. YAY!

 

Supposedly released? What do you mean? I must know more! 

 

 

Need to finally watch LIZARD. I always put it off, or wind up watching THE BEYOND or ZOMBIE instead.

 

C'mon man, you got to give it more than 5 stars for the effort!Watched that with the gf and found it to be one of the more enjoyable horrors I've seen for a long time(that's sad to say), would love to see the sequel(and no not going to give it away).

 

 

 

I almost gave it a 6, but... I think that they over-played their hand at trying to purposely make the creatures move and act silly. A lot of movies that are trying to capture that 'camp element' of low budget '70s films make this mistake. They forget that those guys weren't trying to make their stuff look campy, those results were just the best they could conjure on limited shooting schedules and FX budgets.

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

 

Supposedly released? What do you mean? I must know more! 

Need to finally watch LIZARD. I always put it off, or wind up watching THE BEYOND or ZOMBIE instead.

 

Well, I've  various snippets about Bad Vibes (another site mentioned it was still in pre-production. But the link in my original post gave 2014 as a year... so I am very confused as to whether or not it still in pre-production, in production or released.  I have no idea what's up with Bad Vibes.  i should have looked around a bit more,  was running on fumes last night. 

When given a choice of what kind of Fulci to infest ones' mind...The Beyond really takes you beyond. 

 

 

[AlbertV]

Bullhead - the 2011 Academy Award nominated film from Belgium starring Matthias Schoenarts as a cattle rancher whose dependency on steroids and hormones as well as his past coming back to him leads to a very dangerous path for him. It was a very good film with Schoenarts giving perhaps one of his best performances yet. The flashbacks reveal why he chooses the road to taking hormones and steroids and it is quite shocking at times, but really helps you understand his character. 

 

See No Evil and See No Evil 2 - WWE Superstar Glenn Jacobs, known as Kane, played Jacob Goodnight, a menacing figure who in the first film (directed by Gregory Dark) finds victims in juvenile delinquents in an abandoned hotel that is to be cleaned up. The original is dark, brutal, and gives a sense of religious fanaticism and then it leads us to part 2, which was made 8 years later but is set just after the first film. A morgue worker celebrates her birthday with her friends at work and arriving to the morgue is Jacob Goodnight, who has awaken and well, you know how this story goes. The Soska Sisters really showed their love of horror with the second film but didn't go over the top as much as the original film and that's okay. I kind of enjoyed both films. 

Edited October 5, 2015 by AlbertV

[Takuma]

Kinjite (USA, 1989) [DVD] - 3/5
An oddly disjointed Bronson film takes about 45 minutes to turn the plot gear on. Bronson is a cop in bad terms with a local pimp selling underage girls. Same time in Tokyo a pervert businessman is learning the art of groping women in public transport. The stories finally intertwine when the Japanese man moves to L.A., gropes Bronson's daughter, and a bit later has his own daughter kidnapped by the pimp and Bronson is assigned on the case. Though openly and amusingly racist, and not only against the Japanese, the films portrayal of certain aspects of Japanese society is actually far more accurate than most people think. Indeed, foreign audiences are more likely to find those scenes racist than Japanese audiences who witness similar behaviour in everyday life. It's an entertaining, semi-sleazy film that earns no points for intelligence, but one really feels more effort should've been put into the screenplay.

 

The funny thing is, as I was watching the subway and hostess club scenes I was thinking no one in Japan would find this racist! Well, maybe they would, because this is an American film and people are sensitive how foreigners portray them, but everyone in Japan knows this stuff happens in real life all the time. And the same stuff is being portrayed in much sleazier way in Japanese movies all the time. Even Oscar winner Yojiro Takita got his start helming the hugely popular Groper Train comedies...

Groping in trains is a huge problem in Japan even today. I don't know a single girl here who hasn't been groped at least once (not that I've asked everyone, but...). And no, they don't usually do anything radical to try to stop the molester because that would cause a scene in which they would lose their own face. In Tokyo there are some train routes that high schools officially recommend their female students to avoid because of the groping problem. And there are women-only cars on all major lines in the morning trains for the same reason.

Groping hostesses is indeed more or less a part of Japanese business culture. Company employees usually go out drinking after work at least once a week, in some companies several times a week. It's an offer from superiors you can't refuse (collectivism). Drinking with business partners is common as well because in Japan business is based on personal relations and trust. You can't do business with someone you haven't spent a lot of time with and learned to know as a human (collectivism again). While deals are signed in a conference room, you could say in reality they are made in restaurants, golf courses and clubs.

Sapporo, where I live, is actually famous for hostesses that allow you to touch their boobs pretty much as much as you want. I know this because many of my best friends go to those places (I don't, but I get invited all the time). Women are generally quite understanding of the situation and think it's part of the business culture. Of course they're not imagining their husbands groping someone else's boobs, but they don't expect them to be able to avoid going to those places. I've actually put quite some effort trying to change some girls' mindset about that being ok...

And as for the Japanese guy reading porn manga (I think it was suggested it was child porn), that used to be very common. Even today you can walk to any comic book store in Akihabara in Tokyo and you'd see stuff that would be illegal in any Western country. You don't even need to enter, half of the time you can see it from the streets. The Japanese government is trying to clean it up a bit now, but in the 80s it would have been everywhere.

Of course, that's not to say Kinjite gets away clean. It does give an incredibly dumb portrayal of Japanese people overall, and I don't even know what to think of some of the things Bronson says in the film. And of course the other bad guys in the film are... a Latino and a black guy!   But the Japan set scenes, although probably written with racist intentions, and of course not addressing the majority, are actually more realistic than most foreigners probably think.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2015 by Takuma

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

Not a movie but I just signed up for Amazon prime and been watching this show called bosch which is pretty amazing.

[Keung]

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

Like Jeff Goldblum's character, I also want to know about the watermelon. 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

 

I've seen very few I'm embarrassed to say, but thoroughly enjoyed each one that I did watch... SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950), THE APARTMENT (1960), SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959), THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1970), DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), THE LOST WEEKEND (1945), THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955), STALAG 17 (1953), and maybe A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948) and LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON (1957). Of those I saw the Marilyn films and SUNSET a few times each. I went through a ' let's find out what the big deal is with these classics' faze when I was about 18-22 and watched a lot of great stuff in between tons of horror films. 

At this rate I'll never see all 27 before I'm gone! You're well on your way to seeing his full filmography though.

I just revisited HENRY last year after decades, and it is still a chilling, extremely disturbing film. My son saw the DVD case and was intrigued by the title, so he asked to borrow it. When he returned it I asked him what he thought and he shivered dramatically.

He's generally a director that I like or love.  His style of directing is interesting too.  He hated deviating from the script (as opposed to say Woody Allen who loves improve in his films.) I grew up watching Stalag 17 and Some Like It Hot, so I have seen them multiple times (Stalag 17 I've seen at least 30+ times).  I have not seen A Foreign Affair of the ones above. It can be fun working on a director you like and eventually finish their oeuvre.  I used to be more focused on one director (or actor) at a time, but found I like too much stuff and plus now it is fun jumping from one genre to another (even in the MA genres, say animal, drunken, modern day ...).  Which is why I'll probably not get through the rest of his works anytime soon.   I do envy those who have seen all the available (extant) Chang Cheh or John Ford films.  The most notable directors I have finished all of their directed films are Charlie Chaplin 69/70 (one not extant), Buster Keaton 46/46 and Akira Kurosawa 30/31 (one not extant)  Though at some point I would love to finish Scorsese, Sammo Hung, Spielberg, or Alfred Hitchcock's works.

 

It is funny the response you had on Henry; I tend to get that response when ever I lend Ichi The Killer.  Do you ever notice that no matter any warnings you give, people fail to heed them (though I might feel a little guilty lending Henry, there is something so painful about that movie).  I love the response you get back after they have seen something like that, especially after saying something like nothing will shock them, that they have seen it all, etc... Hee hee.

 

[Tosh]

Kinjite (USA, 1989) [DVD] - 3/5
An oddly disjointed Bronson film takes about 45 minutes to turn the plot gear on. Bronson is a cop in bad terms with a local pimp selling underage girls. Same time in Tokyo a pervert businessman is learning the art of groping women in public transport. The stories finally intertwine when the Japanese man moves to L.A., gropes Bronson's daughter, and a bit later has his own daughter kidnapped by the pimp and Bronson is assigned on the case. Though openly and amusingly racist, and not only against the Japanese, the films portrayal of certain aspects of Japanese society is actually far more accurate than most people think. Indeed, foreign audiences are more likely to find those scenes racist than Japanese audiences who witness similar behaviour in everyday life. It's an entertaining, semi-sleazy film that earns no points for intelligence, but one really feels more effort should've been put into the screenplay.

 

The funny thing is, as I was watching the subway and hostess club scenes I was thinking no one in Japan would find this racist! Well, maybe they would, because this is an American film and people are sensitive how foreigners portray them, but everyone in Japan knows this stuff happens in real life all the time. And the same stuff is being portrayed in much sleazier way in Japanese movies all the time. Even Oscar winner Yojiro Takita got his start helming the hugely popular Groper Train comedies...

Groping in trains is a huge problem in Japan even today. I don't know a single girl here who hasn't been groped at least once (not that I've asked everyone, but...). And no, they don't usually do anything radical to try to stop the molester because that would cause a scene in which they would lose their own face. In Tokyo there are some train routes that high schools officially recommend their female students to avoid because of the groping problem. And there are women-only cars on all major lines in the morning trains for the same reason.

Groping hostesses is indeed more or less a part of Japanese business culture. Company employees usually go out drinking after work at least once a week, in some companies several times a week. It's an offer from superiors you can't refuse (collectivism). Drinking with business partners is common as well because in Japan business is based on personal relations and trust. You can't do business with someone you haven't spent a lot of time with and learned to know as a human (collectivism again). While deals are signed in a conference room, you could say in reality they are made in restaurants, golf courses and clubs.

Sapporo, where I live, is actually famous for hostesses that allow you to touch their boobs pretty much as much as you want. I know this because many of my best friends go to those places (I don't, but I get invited all the time). Women are generally quite understanding of the situation and think it's part of the business culture. Of course they're not imagining their husbands groping someone else's boobs, but they don't expect them to be able to avoid going to those places. I've actually put quite some effort trying to change some girls' mindset about that being ok...

And as for the Japanese guy reading porn manga (I think it was suggested it was child porn), that used to be very common. Even today you can walk to any comic book store in Akihabara in Tokyo and you'd see stuff that would be illegal in any Western country. You don't even need to enter, half of the time you can see it from the streets. The Japanese government is trying to clean it up a bit now, but in the 80s it would have been everywhere.

Of course, that's not to say Kinjite gets away clean. It does give an incredibly dumb portrayal of Japanese people overall, and I don't even know what to think of some of the things Bronson says in the film. And of course the other bad guys in the film are... a Latino and a black guy!   But the Japan set scenes, although probably written with racist intentions, and of course not addressing the majority, are actually more realistic than most foreigners probably think.

 

 

Like this? Even though I don't read the language when I saw this in Tokyo I had a feeling that's what it was about(later confirmed).

 

Those old Bronson and Eastwood vigilante movies could give fuck to do with pc.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Tosh

[Tosh]

Amelie - This French art-house romantic comedy was really fun, and weird, and cool. I can't decide if Audrey Tautou is cute as a button or the gorgeous girl of my dreams, I love movies that can step outside of the box and make it work.

 

Bones Brigade - An Autobiography - a look at Stacy Peralta's all-star skate team from the 80's, Tony Hawk being the most famous, shows the transition from swimming pools to vert and the beginning of street skating, great companion piece with Dogtown and Z-Boys.

 

All This Mayhem - The skating rise and fall of Australian brothers Ben and Tas Pappas, in a totally opposite doc than Bones Brigade, it shows the commercialism of skateboarding with the x-games and showcases the battles the brothers had with Tony Hawk on and off the ramp(Hawk being portrayed as a dick), but with the brother's partying lifestyles and brashness, they end up being their own worse enemy.

 

Splinters - 30 years ago an Australian pilot spots some waves off the coast of Papua New Guinea, he makes his way to a remote village, catches some waves and leaves his surf board with the locals, 30 years and many donated boards later the surrounding villages are having a surf competition with the winners getting a trip to Australia, but old tribal rivalries don't die easy. This doc had one line that really stood out to me, when a half Brit/Papuan who is organizing the event is talking to a group of surfers he tells them - "then you can be civilized, like me".  

Edited October 5, 2015 by Tosh

[KUNG FU BOB]

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

Like Jeff Goldblum's character, I also want to know about the watermelon. 

 

This movie never gets old. I saw it in the theater with a girlfriend and her psychotic brother. There were only about three other people in the theater. For years after I would talk about the film and get greeted with nothing but blank stares. Glad it finally found an audience when it played on cable and came out on video.

 

 

I'm sure the watermelon was being tested for residue left over from the evil black Lectroids from the 8th dimension. Or... it was being tested for seed content before being fed to a bunch of 'monkey boys' at the local asylum.

 

 

 

He's generally a director that I like or love.  His style of directing is interesting too.  He hated deviating from the script (as opposed to say Woody Allen who loves improve in his films.) I grew up watching Stalag 17 and Some Like It Hot, so I have seen them multiple times (Stalag 17 I've seen at least 30+ times).  I have not seen A Foreign Affair of the ones above. It can be fun working on a director you like and eventually finish their oeuvre.  I used to be more focused on one director (or actor) at a time, but found I like too much stuff and plus now it is fun jumping from one genre to another (even in the MA genres, say animal, drunken, modern day ...).  Which is why I'll probably not get through the rest of his works anytime soon.   I do envy those who have seen all the available (extant) Chang Cheh or John Ford films.  The most notable directors I have finished all of their directed films are Charlie Chaplin 69/70 (one not extant), Buster Keaton 46/46 and Akira Kurosawa 30/31 (one not extant)  Though at some point I would love to finish Scorsese, Sammo Hung, Spielberg, or Alfred Hitchcock's works.

 

It is funny the response you had on Henry; I tend to get that response when ever I lend Ichi The Killer.  Do you ever notice that no matter any warnings you give, people fail to heed them (though I might feel a little guilty lending Henry, there is something so painful about that movie).  I love the response you get back after they have seen something like that, especially after saying something like nothing will shock them, that they have seen it all, etc... Hee hee.

 

 

Yes, it is fun to check out a filmmaker's entire body of work, and see where they've come from and where they wound up (or are going). For a long time I was all caught up with Scorsese, but now there are a bunch of his documentaries that I have to catch up on. I believe I've seen everything that Clint Eastwood has ever done...

 

 

Oh yeah, ICHI is a crazy film to loan out! I got to see this in a theater, double-billed with FUDOH: THE NEW GENERATION (which is one of my favorite Miike films. Watching the reactions of the theater-goers, my friends included, was a trip. Lots of walk-outs! I think his film VISITOR Q trumps them both in its 'disturbing factor' though. Perhaps because its less fantastical, with its basis in a realistic environment, and a deeply dysfunctional family, it makes my skin crawl in a stomach-turning manner. Have you seen it Masterofoneinchpunch?

 

 

Kinjite (USA, 1989) [DVD] - 3/5
An oddly disjointed Bronson film takes about 45 minutes to turn the plot gear on. Bronson is a cop in bad terms with a local pimp selling underage girls. Same time in Tokyo a pervert businessman is learning the art of groping women in public transport. The stories finally intertwine when the Japanese man moves to L.A., gropes Bronson's daughter, and a bit later has his own daughter kidnapped by the pimp and Bronson is assigned on the case. Though openly and amusingly racist, and not only against the Japanese, the films portrayal of certain aspects of Japanese society is actually far more accurate than most people think. Indeed, foreign audiences are more likely to find those scenes racist than Japanese audiences who witness similar behaviour in everyday life. It's an entertaining, semi-sleazy film that earns no points for intelligence, but one really feels more effort should've been put into the screenplay.

 

The funny thing is, as I was watching the subway and hostess club scenes I was thinking no one in Japan would find this racist! Well, maybe they would, because this is an American film and people are sensitive how foreigners portray them, but everyone in Japan knows this stuff happens in real life all the time. And the same stuff is being portrayed in much sleazier way in Japanese movies all the time. Even Oscar winner Yojiro Takita got his start helming the hugely popular Groper Train comedies...

Groping in trains is a huge problem in Japan even today. I don't know a single girl here who hasn't been groped at least once (not that I've asked everyone, but...). And no, they don't usually do anything radical to try to stop the molester because that would cause a scene in which they would lose their own face. In Tokyo there are some train routes that high schools officially recommend their female students to avoid because of the groping problem. And there are women-only cars on all major lines in the morning trains for the same reason.

Groping hostesses is indeed more or less a part of Japanese business culture. Company employees usually go out drinking after work at least once a week, in some companies several times a week. It's an offer from superiors you can't refuse (collectivism). Drinking with business partners is common as well because in Japan business is based on personal relations and trust. You can't do business with someone you haven't spent a lot of time with and learned to know as a human (collectivism again). While deals are signed in a conference room, you could say in reality they are made in restaurants, golf courses and clubs.

Sapporo, where I live, is actually famous for hostesses that allow you to touch their boobs pretty much as much as you want. I know this because many of my best friends go to those places (I don't, but I get invited all the time). Women are generally quite understanding of the situation and think it's part of the business culture. Of course they're not imagining their husbands groping someone else's boobs, but they don't expect them to be able to avoid going to those places. I've actually put quite some effort trying to change some girls' mindset about that being ok...

And as for the Japanese guy reading porn manga (I think it was suggested it was child porn), that used to be very common. Even today you can walk to any comic book store in Akihabara in Tokyo and you'd see stuff that would be illegal in any Western country. You don't even need to enter, half of the time you can see it from the streets. The Japanese government is trying to clean it up a bit now, but in the 80s it would have been everywhere.

Of course, that's not to say Kinjite gets away clean. It does give an incredibly dumb portrayal of Japanese people overall, and I don't even know what to think of some of the things Bronson says in the film. And of course the other bad guys in the film are... a Latino and a black guy!   But the Japan set scenes, although probably written with racist intentions, and of course not addressing the majority, are actually more realistic than most foreigners probably think.

 

 

 

 

Fascinating stuff about Japanese society and the horrific indignities the women there are facing. 

 

Edited October 6, 2015 by KUNG FU BOB

[KUNG FU BOB]

Amelie - This French art-house romantic comedy was really fun, and weird, and cool. I can't decide if Audrey Tautou is cute as a button or the gorgeous girl of my dreams, I love movies that can step outside of the box and make it work.

 

Bones Brigade - An Autobiography - a look at Stacy Peralta's all-star skate team from the 80's, Tony Hawk being the most famous, shows the transition from swimming pools to vert and the beginning of street skating, great companion piece with Dogtown and Z-Boys.

 

All This Mayhem - The skating rise and fall of Australian brothers Ben and Tas Pappas, in a totally opposite doc than Bones Brigade, it shows the commercialism of skateboarding with the x-games and showcases the battles the brothers had with Tony Hawk on and off the ramp(Hawk being portrayed as a dick), but with the brother's partying lifestyles and brashness, they end up being their own worse enemy.

 

Splinters - 30 years ago an Australian pilot spots some waves off the coast of Papua New Guinea, he makes his way to a remote village, catches some waves and leaves his surf board with the locals, 30 years and many donated boards later the surrounding villages are having a surf competition with the winners getting a trip to Australia, but old tribal rivalries don't die easy. This doc had one line that really stood out to me, when a half Brit/Papuan who is organizing the event is talking to a group of surfers he tells them - "then you can be civilized, like me".  

 

Haven't seen AMELIE since it first came out, and was thinking of revisiting it. 

 

 

These docs all sound good. Did you skate as well as surf Tosh?

 

[KUNG FU BOB]

Currently delving into this. Just listened to the audio commentary the other night on the theatrical print in glorious 2.35:1 (finally, the original aspect ratio!)

 

The first (and only) time I watched the Redux version, I wasn't overly impressed. Seemed the extra footage took away from Coppola's original vision by making Sheen's character more likable (or human). I will explore it again but first I want to check out the HOD docu. I had it on VHS but don't think the disc is remastered.

 

This set is fantastic! 

 

Back around 2001, when the Redux came out, I was in a chat over at Zoetrope and the guy told me that Vittorio Storaro's true vision was 2.01:1 and that a 2.35:1 would never be released. It was very vexing as the trailer on the disc I had at the time was 2.35 but the movie was only 2.01. I believe the 2010 BR release was the first time the 2.35 print was used. Here's more on that from Zoetrope site regarding the Redux release:

 

Question:

Why is the aspect ratio of the Apocalypse Now Redux DVD not the 2.35:1 ratio of the cinematic release?

 

Answer:

(by Kim Aubry, Producer of Apocalypse Now Redux)

 

In fact, the transfer of Apocalypse Now Redux (from film elements to High Definition digital videotape) was made with an aspect ratio of 2.0:1. This is consistent with the 1998 transfer of the original film Apocalypse Now done for DVD.

 

The aspect ratio 2.0:1 was chosen by the cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro, who supervised every aspect of this film transfer. Storaro believes that for the purpose of TV transfer, it is better to crop (slightly) the extreme left/right edges of the originally photographed frame and allow for a taller picture on both conventional and 16:9 TV monitors, because the video presentation will have more vertical resolution and detail and will be more impactful.

 

An orthodox 2.35:1 or 2.4:1 transfer would in some ways be a more accurate reflection of the framing seen in most cinemas, but the picture would be using only approximately 50% of the available scanning lines of the NTSC and PAL systems and hence have very limited vertical resolution. Storaro believes that since he himself composed these shots when the film was made and since he carefully made fine adjustments to the framing as needed in the transfer, the 2.0:1 transfer is the best possible compromise in adapting the very wide film picture to the very "square" TV.

 

Mr Coppola and I agree with Storaro's views and accepted his decision.

 

You are right to wonder about the discrepancy between the theatrical trailer and the feature itself. But the feature is not 1.85:1, it is 2.0:1. The transfer of the trailer was not supervised by Storaro, and was done using the conventional theatrical aspect of 2.35:1. It doesn't bother us, as this is considered a DVD "extra."

 

I always found that cropping to be intrusive, and it definitely screwed up the framing of his compositions. I understand he was trying to come to an acceptable compromise, but for me it was the wrong decision.

 

 

HEART OF DARKNESS is a fantastic documentary that I enjoyed almost as much as APOCALYPSE NOW. Did you dig it?

 

I just finished watching Attack Of The Killer Shrews with James Best (Roscoe P Coltrane in the original Dukes Of Hazzard) because it was on Halloween Harvey's Festival of Fear on Retro TV. I had never seen Halloween Harvey before (although I have seen AotKS several times) and am always excited to find a new "creature feature" hosted show in my area. We did not have a show with a horror movie host in St. Louis when I was a kid, so I am always excited to see the options that keep appearing thanks to the digital substations. I have become a big Svengoolie fan the last year or two...

 

ATTACK OF THE KILLER SHREWS is such a wild little movie. To this day, if my wife hears a strange noise and asks "What was that?" I'll still sometimes say "Shhhh. The shrews are in the house." in response.

 

We had Dr. Shock (and his daughter 'Bubbles' would sometimes cameo) on 'Horror Theater' here when I was growing up. I really loved him, and was in utter disbelief when my parents told me they were taking me to meet him (at a guest appearance at a mall). He was very cool, and Bubbles was there too. Got his autograph that day, and it always felt special after that when I'd see him on television.

Hey wonder if we can merge this thread with the What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching? thread?

 

DONE. Thanks for pointing that out Tosh. 

The last film I watched was "The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies". It was awesome!

 

I missed it in the theater, but I've somehow been able to hold out (thus far) for the release of the Extended Cut that's coming out November 17th.

[teako170]

HOD is deep.  Made me read the book. 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

...I'm sure the watermelon was being tested for residue left over from the evil black Lectroids from the 8th dimension. Or... it was being tested for seed content before being fed to a bunch of 'monkey boys' at the local asylum.

Yes, it is fun to check out a filmmaker's entire body of work, and see where they've come from and where they wound up (or are going). For a long time I was all caught up with Scorsese, but now there are a bunch of his documentaries that I have to catch up on. I believe I've seen everything that Clint Eastwood has ever done...

Oh yeah, ICHI is a crazy film to loan out! I got to see this in a theater, double-billed with FUDOH: THE NEW GENERATION (which is one of my favorite Miike films. Watching the reactions of the theater-goers, my friends included, was a trip. Lots of walk-outs! I think his film VISITOR Q trumps them both in its 'disturbing factor' though. Perhaps because its less fantastical, with its basis in a realistic environment, and a deeply dysfunctional family, it makes my skin crawl in a stomach-turning manner. Have you seen it Masterofoneinchpunch?

Where ever you go there you are.

 

I still have a way's to go on Clint Eastwood (looking up right now, 21 out of 34 -- not counting a short and TV).  Two for the first time I saw this year from him were American Sniper (theater) and The Rookie (yeah really late on this one.)  Yeah Scorsese has a lot of documentaries, just looking over his filmography several I did not know about (I have Shine a Light and The Last Waltz, but dang there is a lot more.)

 

I knew somehow Visitor Q was going to be mentioned.  While I own the film I have not seen it (having read enough on it, I know much of what happens).  I got turned off of Miike so I do not see his movies as much anymore.  But I will eventually force myself through it.  I have a pile of Miike films that will eventually need to be seen.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Hangman’s Knot (1952: Roy Huggins):
 
The only directed film from the creator of The Fugitive, The Rockford Files and producer of Maverick Roy Huggins.  This is an above average western with one of my favorite western stars Randolph Scott in another pairing with Lee Marvin (one of three; check out Seven Men from Now which is easily in my top 200 films, top 25 westerns) who is so good at being creepy, malignant and thoroughly dangerous.
 
Randolph Scott is a Confederate Major who leads a group of men to liberate gold from the Yankees.  He did not know that the war was over when he took on this mission.*  That makes it a hang-able offense (as they killed a whole party to get that gold.)  When he finds out he has to high tail it out of there back to the more sympathetic South.  But he and his men get cornered by ruffians who are intent on stealing that gold for themselves.  They hole-up with a pro-North group that includes Molly Hull (Donna Reed; It’s a Wonderful Life).  I think we know who she is going to eventually fall for.  Ultimately this makes this a sub-genre the siege film like Rio Bravo (and for you John Carpenter fans Assault on Precinct 13.)
 
There are definitely some moral elements I was wondering how they were going to work out, given that this is shown during the Hays Code era, that gives it some interest and bite.  It helps by giving focus to an even more bad guy – Lee Marvin (like with John Woo there are good guys, bad guys with a code and then the truly bad guys, I think we know which one Marvin fits here.)  The direction is decent, but not spectacular.  Not many directors worked as well with Scott as Budd Boetticher (their Renown series is one of the best groupings of all westerns, up there with Anthony Mann/James Stewart and John Wayne/John Ford) so sometimes that hangs over my opinions on these “lesser” Scott films.  The writing and characterization is strong though given that Huggins talent lay as a writer.  There are not too many surprises though as the plot moves relatively straight forward.
 
* A similar plot point to this film would be in the later The Big Red One by Samuel Fuller is the after-the-war “crime” and not knowing the war was over with two instances (one would haunt him) with Lee Marvin.

[Tosh]

 

Haven't seen AMELIE since it first came out, and was thinking of revisiting it. 

 

 

These docs all sound good. Did you skate as well as surf Tosh?

 

 

Yeah, started skating back in the 70's as a kid, I skated some in the 80's but was way more into surfing till I had to go back to Cleveland, now in my older age I seem to do a lot of couch surfing/skating Even if you never been on a skateboard in your life I recommend watching Dogtown(the doc not the movie) and Bones Brigade if you grew up in the 70's and 80's.

Here's my first skateboard from the 70's and my longboard I have now -

Edited October 7, 2015 by Tosh

[Tosh]

Meant to edit and quoted myself

 

Edited October 7, 2015 by Tosh

[DragonClaws]

Currently re-watching The A-Team Season One, I've got about two episodes left to watch. Whilst the series looks dated in parts its nice to see some superb stuntmen work without the use of CGI. A classic action series that doesn't take itself too seriously.