What is the last film you watched?

[Red 75]

I was planning on avoiding the National Treasure movie altogether. But then David Bordwell says they're good. When someone like that says that something like that is good, I'm intent to listen.

It's decent; what you would call dumb fun.

[A24 4,331]

Running Scared (2006): Cartoonish, Tarantino-esque crime ride. Lots of over-the-top violence and situations, sure, but no memorable characters. I did not expect such a film from Wayne Kramer, the director of The Cooler, which was a very good debute film.

Alex

[Morlock 11]

I HATED that film. The only things I liked about were Vera Farminga's curious hottness and the excessively Tarantino-esque element of the guy who wanted John Wayne not to die in The Cowboys. The film had many flaws, but, mor than any- the guy just didn't know what tone he was going for. The scene with the murderous couple was disgusting in content, and repulsive in that the filmmakers thought that that scene belonged in the movie.

[A24 4,331]

The scene with the murderous couple was disgusting in content, and repulsive in that the filmmakers thought that that scene belonged in the movie.

I must say, that part in the apartment of the couple was the most visually appealing to me.

[Morlock 11]

I recall being totally creeped out by the sterility of the apartment. But maybe I misremember. I tried not to dwell on the film.

[crocodile 8,000]

Zodiac is a very good movie; one of the finest in recent years.

Ted

Indeed it is. If not his best.

Karol

[Bryant Burnette 654]

David Fincher is a horrible director, and Alien 3 is a horrible film, just ask James Cameron, 4 is an improvement. Se7en had to have been an accident as nothing else he's director outside of Madonna's videos are worth watching.

Watched Young Frankenstein, still funny, still well shot still a minor classic.

I can't for the life of me think why anyone would like Face Off, its terrible on every level, even taken strictly as a camp film, course I can't decide who has less talent or is a worse director, Fincher or Woo.

Fight Club was one of the best movies of the nineties, easily. The Game is a great Hitchcockian thriller, Panic Room is an excellent suspense film, and Zodiac is pretty darn great, too.

As for Alien 3, I think it primarily suffers from a severe case of not being Aliens. As a depressingly grim take on mortality, it's pretty good, in my opinion. But in no way was it a good direction for the franchise to take. The producers who made those decisions -- or allowed them to be made -- didn't have their heads on straight.

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

I still wonder how the original concept worked out. I haven't watched the movies in a long time; after getting to know them through a few viewings, I actually placed #3 above #2, because it was "special" in a way (if only stylistically), whereas #2 basically is "just" a (very good) action horror flick. And with all the chaos going on during production of ³, even being just watchable would have been quite a feat.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I saw Next and National Treasure 2 over the weekend. I enjoyed both especially Next.

Next is the worst piece of garbage ever! Seriously, how could someone like you enjoy that?!

Crappy CGI, crappy Nicholas Cage "Da Vinci Code" haircut, crappy acting, crappy story, uber crappy dialogue.

One of the worst films I've ever seen. Seriously, the most cliché ending that is so cliché that it probably has never been done!

Lee Tamahori is the worst piece of garbage director ever.

Allow me to just quote the last lines of the movie. For those of you who haven't seen it, just imagine Nicholas Cage narrating (as always) in his normal calm voice:

"Here's the thing about the future, everytime you look at it, it changes, because you looked at it, and that changes everything else."

Followed by some "cool" generic Mark Isham crap and a stupid flashforward of the credits which begin to roll backwards (ala Se7en).

[JoeinAR 1,949]

David Fincher is a horrible director, and Alien 3 is a horrible film, just ask James Cameron, 4 is an improvement. Se7en had to have been an accident as nothing else he's director outside of Madonna's videos are worth watching.

Watched Young Frankenstein, still funny, still well shot still a minor classic.

I can't for the life of me think why anyone would like Face Off, its terrible on every level, even taken strictly as a camp film, course I can't decide who has less talent or is a worse director, Fincher or Woo.

Fight Club was one of the best movies of the nineties, easily. The Game is a great Hitchcockian thriller, Panic Room is an excellent suspense film, and Zodiac is pretty darn great, too.

As for Alien 3, I think it primarily suffers from a severe case of not being Aliens. As a depressingly grim take on mortality, it's pretty good, in my opinion. But in no way was it a good direction for the franchise to take. The producers who made those decisions -- or allowed them to be made -- didn't have their heads on straight.

See I consider Fight Club to be one of my most disliked films ever, one of the biggest cheats to ever hit cinema. The whole movie was a lie. Panic Room just bored me, and I really wanted to like it. Alien 3 suffers from not being Aliens is a good way to put it. The fact that it undid everything done in Aliens ruins the film, and for some bizarre reason, Europeans like it while American's don't. Go figure.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

See I consider Fight Club to be one of my most disliked films ever, one of the biggest cheats to ever hit cinema. The whole movie was a lie. Panic Room just bored me, and I really wanted to like it. Alien 3 suffers from not being Aliens is a good way to put it. The fact that it undid everything done in Aliens ruins the film, and for some bizarre reason, Europeans like it while American's don't. Go figure.

Alien 3 is one of the weird movies that I both love and hate at the same time; I love the movie that it is, and I hate the movie that it isn't. I totally understand why that movie was (and is) reviled. However, I still think that it's beautifully shot, and that the performances are generally terrific, and whereas I wish there had been a different storyline in which Newt and -- can't remember his name; Reese? -- Michael Biehn had survived, I also can accept the storyline they went with, because I think it works on its own terms. And yet, it's a terrible way to have advanced the franchise. I know I sound schizophrenic on that subject, but that's how it is.

How is Fight Club a cheat, or a lie? The entire movie makes sense; it's about a guy with a split personality, and if you watch the movie a second time, you notice that the characters are reacting to Edward Norton as if he's a crazy person; it all fits together very well. That's a beautiful movie, through and through. And any movie that ends with "Where Is My Mind?" is a winner in my book.

I can't remember Panic Room well enough to defend it; I just remember enjoying it the one time I saw it.

[A24 4,331]

How is Fight Club a cheat, or a lie? The entire movie makes sense; it's about a guy with a split personality, and if you watch the movie a second time, you notice that the characters are reacting to Edward Norton as if he's a crazy person; it all fits together very well. That's a beautiful movie, through and through. And any movie that ends with "Where Is My Mind?" is a winner in my book.

I can't remember Panic Room well enough to defend it; I just remember enjoying it the one time I saw it.

At first I thought The Fight Club was a little bit overrated but I loved it the second time I watched it. I needed two viewings to get a better grip on the movie, you know, to understand its inner workings. Who knows, maybe Joe got the film somewhat wrong, and being the stubborn fellow he is, he now forever holds on to what he first thought of the movie. It's the only Fincher that actually gets better with multiple viewing.

I liked The Panic Room too at first but now I regret that I purchased the DVD. I don't always like Fincher's style. I sometimes find his direction (especially in Alien3) off-putting.

Alex

[Maglorfin 196]

Executive Decision. It's a great action (accompanied by a superb score (for my taste) by Goldsmith ), especially for being Baird's directorial debut. Very impressive. First-rate performances by Suchet, Leguizamo (no, this guy will voice Sid in Ice Age?! ) and Russell. And it's probably the only American movie which in its first minute or so shows almost all of my homeland (I remember this caused many gasps of delight and amusement in cinema back in 1996).

[Morlock 11]

Fight Club is invigorating to watch. But I don't think it is nearly as deep or thought provoking as it's made out to be. The ending strikes me as a cop-out.

[Morlock 11]

Last movie I saw was Find Me Guilty again. Entertaining, yet, like the first time I saw it, I find it to be a bit ambiguous as to where it stands. I would have prefered a more serious representation of the prosecution...it seems to side with Diesel's character, when I'm not sure what he stands for, and how it has to do with the justice system. But the movies is still entertaining, and features strong work from Diesel, Ron Silver, Peter Dinklage, Linus Roach, as well as Annabella Sciora, in her one terrific scene (probably the best scene in the movie). I prefer it to Before The Devil Knows You're Dead.

[Richard Penna 3,684]

My two most recent cinema outings were Indy last Friday, and 21 on Tuesday. The latter was fun and engrossing, if sometimes a bit cliched, but with some nice performances, and what I thought was a decent story. I also thought that for a gambling movie it judged well when to explain things to the audience, and when to let us recognise little plot points ourselves. It's got some pretty scathing reviews from critics, but sod them.

Plus, any movie set in Vegas gets immediate brownie points

[QMM 4]

Sleuth (remake)

Already knew beforehand some of the negative reactions to the film but I bought it because I was still curious about it, and it had commentaries by Caine, Branagh, and Law on it. It was fine to me, although I haven't seen the original. As I watched, I got the distinct impression that this was a play that just happened to be filmed, owing mostly to the dialogue and the pacing. Finding out that Pinter also wrote the screenplay proved my feelings. In the end, is it a bad thing? Not necessarily, it certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment. There's some really nice play between Caine and Law, especially during a scene that would be a spoiler, but in the end it didn't leave me with a lasting impression.

I was surprised to hear such a catchy score from Doyle on there. Commentaries were also good to listen to.

[Morlock 11]

Like the original film (which I saw after seeing this one), I liked the play between actors. But unlike the original, i found it to be very cold, not very likable. I did not like the design of the house. See the original, it is immensely enjoyable. As for the score, I liked it, but it was a bit mono-thematic for my taste, and the theme sounded a bit too close to a theme Doyle wrote for Needful Things.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I always wanted to see Sleuth, but it got such bad reviews and my friend and I decided we didn't want to spend money on it. I might do a blind buy when the price goes down.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

How is Fight Club a cheat, or a lie? The entire movie makes sense; it's about a guy with a split personality, and if you watch the movie a second time, you notice that the characters are reacting to Edward Norton as if he's a crazy person; it all fits together very well. That's a beautiful movie, through and through. And any movie that ends with "Where Is My Mind?" is a winner in my book.

I can't remember Panic Room well enough to defend it; I just remember enjoying it the one time I saw it.

At first I thought The Fight Club was a little bit overrated but I loved it the second time I watched it. I needed two viewings to get a better grip on the movie, you know, to understand its inner workings. Who knows, maybe Joe got the film somewhat wrong, and being the stubborn fellow he is, he now forever holds on to what he first thought of the movie. It's the only Fincher that actually gets better with multiple viewing.

I liked The Panic Room too at first but now I regret that I purchased the DVD. I don't always like Fincher's style. I sometimes find his direction (especially in Alien3) off-putting.

Alex

no you're just European, you all collectively seem to like Finchers work.

But there you go again with your intellectual snobbery Alex, of course you are the superior.

Even Morlock got it right this time the ending is a cop out. At least the book doesn't hand you a red herring at the end.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

My Fair Lady.

I could have daaaaaaaaanced all niiiigghht! I could have daaaaaaaaanced all niiiigghht!

[A24 4,331]

My Fair Lady.

I could have daaaaaaaaanced all niiiigghht! I could have daaaaaaaaanced all niiiigghht!

Are you gay?

Cloverfield: The effects are the best thing about it.

PS: Joe, there's no such thing as Europeans liking Fincher more than Americans or vice versa.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

My Fair Lady.

I could have daaaaaaaaanced all niiiigghht! I could have daaaaaaaaanced all niiiigghht!

Are you gay?

I consider myself a happy person.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

At least the book doesn't hand you a red herring at the end.

The author said he liked Fincher's ending better to his own.

Jurassic Park (****/****)

Definitely one of Spielberg's best.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (***/****)

It was a lot better than I remembered it to be, same goes for the score. JW needs to use percussion more often.

[A24 4,331]

National Treasure 2 : Book of Secrets (2007): Don't see this, it's totally uninteresting. 3/10

[Bryant Burnette 654]

National Treasure 2 : Book of Secrets (2007): Don't see this, it's totally uninteresting. 3/10

I've had people swear up and down to me that both movies are just great, that I should see them, that I'd love them. But I cannot summon even the tiniest bit of interest, and I'm not sure why.

Every now and then, I just don't give a s--t, you know?

[A24 4,331]

The first one was ok but you don't miss anything by not seeing it. BTW, there's loads of other stuff to watch.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

National Treasure 2 : Book of Secrets (2007): Don't see this, it's totally uninteresting. 3/10

I've had people swear up and down to me that both movies are just great, that I should see them, that I'd love them. But I cannot summon even the tiniest bit of interest, and I'm not sure why.

Every now and then, I just don't give a s--t, you know?

I wouldn't watch them if I were you. They are really nothing more than films designed to cash in on The Da Vinci Code craze...with a dash of Indy....but with Nic Cage...brrrrr. Even the lovely Diane Kruger can't save it.

Burga - who has only seen the first.

[A24 4,331]

What's more, I noticed a hefty Luke And Leia rip-off in the music of National Treasure 2.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Doubt it. I'm pretty sure Trevor Rabin isn't stealing from John Williams. His score to the first was wonderful though. Also, I just caught the end of Deep Blue Sea, which I haven't watched in a long time. Rabin is a pretty decent composer. For those of you that love the Shrek scores, thank Rabin for that cause Shrek is just a copy off of Deep Blue Sea.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Doubt it. I'm pretty sure Trevor Rabin isn't stealing from John Williams.

I'm sure Rabin doesn't even know who John Williams is.

[Wesker 0]

Haha, Savas is right again...though traditional score sites called it "mediocre", the score to the first National Treasure film was pretty damn good. The second, however, does have a love-theme that comes off as plagiarist, and I don't think it's beneath Rabin to take pre-existing themes, and adjust them to his liking.

Oh, and Morlock's correct as well- The original Sleuth was a masterpiece- the remake is yet another cold Branagh attempt. I'm really starting to dislike this guy...

Cloverfield is a very good film, and one of the best of the year. Anyone that diverts it's craftsmanship by calling upon special effect woes is, well, elitist, and is missing the quality of the film altogether.

[Richard Penna 3,684]

What's more, I noticed a hefty Luke And Leia rip-off in the music of National Treasure 2.

He's not the only one, Badelt's theme from Poseidon rips L&L off as well.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

What's more, I noticed a hefty Luke And Leia rip-off in the music of National Treasure 2.

He's not the only one, Badelt's theme from Poseidon rips L&L off as well.

No it doesn't. You are misunderstanding RCP. They don't steal from other composers, they steal from each other.

[Morlock 11]

Saw The Battleship Potemkin for the first time. I really wasn't in an analytical mind, in order to percieve the film's importance. I simply did not like it very much. That the propoganda was overt, I was expecting. But I wasn't expecting it to be so dumb. The 'montage' concept that Eisenstein helped introduce seemed terribly blunt, and served to stretch a 20 minutes propoganda film in a rather painful 76 minutes, of everything being stretched beyong all reason. The only sequence that had real impact for me was the famous staircase massacre sequence.

The version I saw was from 1976. After my recent viewing of Buster Keaton's The General, the transfer and music of this one were very dissapointing. The film is scored wall-to-wall by bits and pieces of Shostakovich. While they synch up to the film often enough, they are so dramatic the entire time, they became quite tiresome (especially during the ENDLESS buildup to the battle in the end).

Second film I saw was There will Be Blood again. I wanted to wait with seeing this one again a bit longer, but the Cinemateque had a showing in their glorious theater, I couldn't pass it up. Film's just as awe inspiring as it was the firsttime, but, after having time to think things over, just about everything worked for me this time. An entirely unique film, one of the greatest in recent years, and one that I believe will become a landmark, a classic. Not a clue where P.T. Anderson found this one, it bears so little resemblance to his earlier pictures, aside from the elegance and sure-handedness of it. There is not a thing about this film that I don't like. The score, along with the great use of Arvo Part, Brahms, and a previous Greenwood piece, has a weird and marvelous effect on the film.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

Second film I saw was There will Be Blood again. I wanted to wait with seeing this one again a bit longer, but the Cinemateque had a showing in their glorious theater, I couldn't pass it up. Film's just as awe inspiring as it was the film time, but, after having time to think things over, just about everything worked for me this time. An entirely unique film, one of the greatest in recent years, and one that I believe will become a landmark, a classic. Not a clue where P.T. Anderson found this one, it bears so little resemblance to his earlier pictures, aside from the elegance and sure-handedness of it. There is not a thing about this film that I don't like. The score, along with the great use of Arvo Part, Brahms, and a previous Greenwood piece, has a weird and marvelous effect on the film.

I think Anderson's great skill is that he's able to make what's going on on-screen feel totally real, and he's also able to place the audience inside that experience in some way. I'm sure there is a better way of saying those things, but my brain isn't clicking on all cylinders, so that's about the best I can do.

Really, it's just another way of saying that he makes movies you're able to get totally involved in. (I am, at least.) I still think Boogie Nights is a classic; I love every single one of those screwed-up characters. Magnolia isn't much less great, and There Will Be Blood might not have any obvious similarities, but it shares (and exceeds) their excellence. I didn't warm quite as much to either Hard Eight or Punch-Drunk Love, but they were both good; just not quite good enough for me to see more than once.

It was really quite a gift for film-lovers to get this AND No Country For Old Men last year.

[A24 4,331]

Doubt it. I'm pretty sure Trevor Rabin isn't stealing from John Williams.

Do you know the score? It's Luke And Leia, without question. I would never have done it.

[Richard Penna 3,684]

What's more, I noticed a hefty Luke And Leia rip-off in the music of National Treasure 2.

He's not the only one, Badelt's theme from Poseidon rips L&L off as well.

No it doesn't. You are misunderstanding RCP. They don't steal from other composers, they steal from each other.

How am I misunderstanding?

I'm not saying that Badelt went and listened to L&L and thought "hey, I'll nick this" (although it's possible obviously), just that the two themes contain large similarities.

[crocodile 8,000]

Second film I saw was There will Be Blood again. I wanted to wait with seeing this one again a bit longer, but the Cinemateque had a showing in their glorious theater, I couldn't pass it up. Film's just as awe inspiring as it was the firsttime, but, after having time to think things over, just about everything worked for me this time. An entirely unique film, one of the greatest in recent years, and one that I believe will become a landmark, a classic. Not a clue where P.T. Anderson found this one, it bears so little resemblance to his earlier pictures, aside from the elegance and sure-handedness of it. There is not a thing about this film that I don't like. The score, along with the great use of Arvo Part, Brahms, and a previous Greenwood piece, has a weird and marvelous effect on the film.

I saw it twice in one week and it was great. Love the score too, even if CD is quite a depressing listen.

The Omen. I was underwhelmed. Maybe, after so many years, the satanic theme became just shallow and dull. There's nothing wrong with the picture as such, but still not much grabs me. Having said that, the whole idea of killing a son is powerful and incredibly dramatic. The score is great. I didn't realize there is so much unreleased music.

Karol

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

There's not really that much unreleased music. The Deluxe Edition has all the essentials.

[robthehand 3]

There's one really great cue missing, when Mrs. Baylock appears at the hospital. That's pretty much the only bad thing about that album IMO.

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

The Omen. I was underwhelmed. Maybe, after so many years, the satanic theme became just shallow and dull. There's nothing wrong with the picture as such, but still not much grabs me.

I never thought it was that great. It's a fun movie, but the overall plot and concept combined with Goldsmith's score can easily create something much more impressive in my mind.

[crocodile 8,000]

I thought the same. The music alone was so much more...potent.

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

This is often the case with Goldsmith scores.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Doubt it. I'm pretty sure Trevor Rabin isn't stealing from John Williams.

Do you know the score? It's Luke And Leia, without question. I would never have done it.

Yes I know the score. Everyone here can assume that I know every single RCP or RCP-related score, considering I own all of them.

What's more, I noticed a hefty Luke And Leia rip-off in the music of National Treasure 2.

He's not the only one, Badelt's theme from Poseidon rips L&L off as well.

No it doesn't. You are misunderstanding RCP. They don't steal from other composers, they steal from each other.

How am I misunderstanding?

I'm not saying that Badelt went and listened to L&L and thought "hey, I'll nick this" (although it's possible obviously), just that the two themes contain large similarities.

It's possible to find similarities between any and every score ever composed. I hear more similarities in Poseidon to The Island than I do to Star Wars.

[QMM 4]

Watched both The Rainmaker and The Firm, both very competently made. Although a bit long, I enjoyed The Firm a bit more because there was a bigger sense of danger. With The Rainmaker, Damon's character is such a straight-arrow and Voight's character is so evil that there's no real peril to be had.

Currently making my way through John from Cincinatti.

[Delorean90 42]

The Return of the King: Extended Edition

Okay, I really need to go to bed, but a few thoughts:

This is my first time seeing the Extended Edition, and I thought it was great. The added stuff really helped things--probably the most important thing being the Houses of Healing material (it's been a while, but I seem to recall that chapter being a heck of a lot longer than what's in the film, but it's better than them being all chummy at the end when they haven't even met onscreen).

I missed out on the discussion of the end in the Hobbit thread, so my $0.02: First off, we have exactly two fadeouts and a whiteout before the actual ending. The two fadeouts occur before the coronation. I'm not sure where the problem is with that regard. It's not like there's fadeouts strung throughout the whole thing. Also, anything less than what we got would not have come even close to doing the film justice. Wrapping up 9-12 hours of film (depending on which versions you're watching) in a couple of minutes? Bull.

Finally, I remain stunned by all elements of production: direction, acting, cinematography, music, writing, and everything else that slips your mind when you're extremely tired. Bravo. ****/****

[Bryant Burnette 654]

Currently making my way through John from Cincinatti.

I freakin' loved that series.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The Return of the King: Extended Edition

Okay, I really need to go to bed, but a few thoughts:

This is my first time seeing the Extended Edition, and I thought it was great. The added stuff really helped things--probably the most important thing being the Houses of Healing material (it's been a while, but I seem to recall that chapter being a heck of a lot longer than what's in the film, but it's better than them being all chummy at the end when they haven't even met onscreen).

I missed out on the discussion of the end in the Hobbit thread, so my $0.02: First off, we have exactly two fadeouts and a whiteout before the actual ending. The two fadeouts occur before the coronation. I'm not sure where the problem is with that regard. It's not like there's fadeouts strung throughout the whole thing. Also, anything less than what we got would not have come even close to doing the film justice. Wrapping up 9-12 hours of film (depending on which versions you're watching) in a couple of minutes? Bull.

Finally, I remain stunned by all elements of production: direction, acting, cinematography, music, writing, and everything else that slips your mind when you're extremely tired. Bravo. ****/****

I can't quite remember if I got the ROTK: EE for my birthday in 2006 or 2007, but I still haven't watched it yet.

[A24 4,331]

It's possible to find similarities between any and every score ever composed.

Maybe, if you try very, very hard. However, we don't have to try at all with the score to National Treasure 2. It's so blatant that it really shouldn't be trivialized. If this was Williams, we all would be in shock.

Alex