The Fog is one of my favorites. There are few horror films that capture the atmosphere of that one.
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"Her eyes in certain light were violet, and all her teeth were even. That's a rare, fair feature: even teeth. She smiled to excess, but she chewed with real distinction." - Eleanor of Aquitaine
I saw Red Tails last night, and quite liked it. It was an interesting story, and for the most part, well-told and well-acted.
Except for the part that it was so clichéd!
It's a war movie, so I'm surely not going to give anything away by saying that some people die. Five minutes after each character was introduced, I was thinking: "Okay, he lives; that guy's dead meat," etc.
Honestly, they should have had every character wear a sign saying either "Invincible" or "Dead Man Walking"; it would have been only slightly less obvious.
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“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
It's a war movie, so I'm surely not going to give anything away by saying that some people die. Five minutes after each character was introduced, I was thinking: "Okay, he lives; that guy's dead meat," etc.
How many of them showed off photos of their girlfriend/wife/children?
It's a war movie, so I'm surely not going to give anything away by saying that some people die. Five minutes after each character was introduced, I was thinking: "Okay, he lives; that guy's dead meat," etc.
How many of them showed off photos of their girlfriend/wife/children?
Yep. That was one of the criteria.
"Uh oh. He's got a picture of his girlfriend in his cockpit. He's wistfully telling the picture about how much he looks forward to seeing his girlfriend for real, right after this mission. Probability of survival, 0.002%."
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“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
Hugo or The Artist will win best picture this year. The Tree of Life is the darkhorse, though. My favorite of the year was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
__________________ "Knowledge is indivisible. When people grow wise in one direction, they are sure to make it easier for themselves to grow wise in other directions as well. On the other hand, when they split up knowledge, concentrate on their own field, and scorn and ignore other fields, they grow less wise — even in their own field." - Isaac Asimov
"Uh oh. He's got a picture of his girlfriend in his cockpit. He's wistfully telling the picture about how much he looks forward to seeing his girlfriend for real, right after this mission. Probability of survival, 0.002%."
Saw The Artist yesterday. It's about as good as everyone is saying.
My mom felt he didn't show the effects of several years of rampant alcoholism enough on his face. She had a point, but that's Hollywood glamour for you. Also, anyone who saw Inglorious Basterds, or knows the properties of old movie stock, will be annoyed at how slowly the fire spreads when he decides to burn all his old movies.
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"freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order."
- Justice Robert Jackson, West Virginia State Board of Ed. v. Barnette
I saw Red Tails last night, and quite liked it. It was an interesting story, and for the most part, well-told and well-acted.
Except for the part that it was so clichéd!
It's a war movie, so I'm surely not going to give anything away by saying that some people die. Five minutes after each character was introduced, I was thinking: "Okay, he lives; that guy's dead meat," etc.
Honestly, they should have had every character wear a sign saying either "Invincible" or "Dead Man Walking"; it would have been only slightly less obvious.
Aren't these qualities generally true of most (not all) of the movies that fat, slobby, richy-rich geezer makes on his "ranch"?!?
__________________ "Knowledge is indivisible. When people grow wise in one direction, they are sure to make it easier for themselves to grow wise in other directions as well. On the other hand, when they split up knowledge, concentrate on their own field, and scorn and ignore other fields, they grow less wise — even in their own field." - Isaac Asimov
It's certainly true that Lucas has generally demonstrated exactly zero understanding of subtlety, and that pretty-much every movie he makes doesn't so much feature characters as it features walking, talking clichés.
So I was a bit wary of Red Tails, knowing that Lucas was involved. Still, I had hoped for more, given that he neither wrote nor directed the film.
I hasten to add that it's not a bad film, but it's extremely predictable. The action scenes are well-done in that they feature superb special effects, but what else would you expect from a movie made by Lucasfilm? But when it comes to the plot and characterization, the overwhelming feeling I got when watching the movie could be summed up as: "Like I haven't seen that a thousand times before."
For example:
One eager, charming and very photogenic young pilot fresh out of training was desperate to get up into the sky and "prove himself." Okay, fine. His eagerness and lack of experience means that he winds up getting his plane all shot up during his first taste of real combat, and he's pretty badly injured. Been there, seen that.
So his anxious commander must guide him back to the base. Will the young pilot lose it, crash, and get himself killed? Yeah, like there's even one person in the theater who thinks that's going to happen.
He's rushed to the hospital and it turns out that he has suffered partial loss of vision in one eye. The flight surgeon says that he'll never again be allowed to fly. He begs his commander to reinstate his flight privileges, saying that he'd rather die than be grounded. Against all common sense, the commander overrides the flight surgeon and reinstates the young man's flight privileges. [Nope, can't see why that would be a bad idea.]
Naturally, as a direct result of his impaired vision, the young pilot gets shot down on the next mission. He manages to bail out and is captured by the Nazis. His commander spends a good 30 seconds agonizing over the incredibly stupid decision to reinstate the guy's flight privileges.
Later, a soldier who escaped from the German POW camp brings the young pilot's dogtags to our hero, lamenting about what a great soldier the kid had been, and how terrible it is that he had been killed while trying to escape the POW camp.
At which point everyone in the audience who has ever seen a war movie is thinking: "Why is everyone so upset? You know he's going to show up alive and well around the end of the movie."
And, of course, he does.
Like I said, the movie is so predictable that you know every character's fate almost from the moment he first appears on screen.
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“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
I finally got to see young Bill Murray portray Hunter S. Thompson in Where The Buffalo Roam. I have known about it and wanted to see it for years, but never able to find it. Thanks to the power of Netflix streaming that has been corrected.
Murray was exceptional. He did a really awesome job becoming Thompson. Peter Boyle was also an excellent Oscar Zeta Acosta. The film is funny, cartoonish, and earnest. Don't go in expecting Gilliamesque arthouse aesthetics or deep thoughts. This is more of a portrayal of Thompson from the outside looking in, rather than a slice of his perception. It was an eighties comedy, more in the Caddyshack school than Brazil. It is also more focused on satirizing the politics of the time more than the counterculture, so those interested in the hallucinations more than the politics might be bored.
Gleeson is seriously brilliant in this and it's worth watching just for his performance in my opinion. But the movie is also very funny and even poignant at times. It has a bit of a Guy Richie - Lock-Stock/Snatch feeling to it as well and if you liked those movies I think you'll like this one too.
I saw it in the Cinema. Me and the missus were wondering if it would be enjoyable to someone outside of Ireland as it is full of Irishisms.
I agree that Gleeson really carries that movie, legend that he is. Pat Shortt as a cowboy-hat wearing IRA man is awesome as well. He is better known over here for low-brow comedy, but this is the second movie I have seen him in where I really enjoyed his performance.
Try "The Garage" too if you liked this one. A bit melodramatic at times, but another cool little Irish movie.
The Descendants - If you have recently had a loved one in a coma and were there when the life support was turned off, don't go see it. It's been almost four years since my mom died, but I cried at what the characters in the movie were going through, their anguish touched me that much. George Clooney put in his best performance here, it was almost like you could read his mind just by the look on his face. Also, the makeup people should win an Oscar for making the dying person look like they were dying, they got it exactly right.
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Sleep - the most beautiful experience in life - except drink.--W.C. Fields
Gleeson is seriously brilliant in this and it's worth watching just for his performance in my opinion. But the movie is also very funny and even poignant at times. It has a bit of a Guy Richie - Lock-Stock/Snatch feeling to it as well and if you liked those movies I think you'll like this one too.
Are you serious?
I hated that, it was so not funny it's not even funny...
Gleeson is seriously brilliant in this and it's worth watching just for his performance in my opinion. But the movie is also very funny and even poignant at times. It has a bit of a Guy Richie - Lock-Stock/Snatch feeling to it as well and if you liked those movies I think you'll like this one too.
Are you serious?
I hated that, it was so not funny it's not even funny...
I can't even believe I watched the whole thing.
I'm totally serious I thought it was highly entertaining and well worth watching and recommending.
I assume viv and his wife also enjoyed it... perhaps, as he suggested, you didn't find it funny because of the Irishisms.
Haywire is a by the numbers action punch-em-out. It won't try to flash you with fancy moves. It won't try to trick you with a clever plot twist that you would never see coming. For those reasons it's a perfect vehicle for newcomer Gina Corano. If you're not sure that an MMA star can hold her own in a starring role, this is a great testing ground for her abilities that don't include punching people in the face. She's not asked to do much more, but I will say she delivers all the way around. Luckily, she's also surrounded by some hefty stars in supporting roles. It's already left theaters where I am but maybe somebody could catch a matinee where they are. It's worth that, and definitely a rental when it's time for that to happen.
Underworld: Kate in Leather Again wasn't quite up to par. Maybe slightly better than the ill advised prequel but not close to even the second movie. My biggest disappointment was the reliance on CGI as opposed to the mostly practical effects of the first one.
Finally, this last one is especial for Demi. You other guys can read if you want but know that I'm not talking to you. OMG You're so rude! Eavesdropping on a private conversation! SHUT UP!
Anyway. Demi. You have to see The Woman in Black! If I know you like I think I do then you will hate yourself if you miss it. I'm not even going to tell you about it because OMG spoilers! I will, however, say that it was a very moody piece - OH OH and it's partially produced by HAMMER studios. (I don't know if that really means anything anymore, but I thought it worth mentioning. Also, I'll suggest bringing Mr. P Posto with you in case you get scaredy. And if you don't like it then I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE ANYMORE!
I PUT THIS ALL IN THE WRONG THRAD BUT SHUT UP BECAUSE I HAD WORDS THAT NEEDED SAID.
An Also Also for the lisapea. In Woman in Black there's a beautiful cameo by a lady Buddy dog (I don't remember the name or even if they said it, but I called her Buddette) and she is totally great and doesn't afraid!
Re: Seen Any Good Movies...?
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I thought it was highly entertaining and well worth watching and recommending.
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