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What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Older Films)


Mr. Breathmask

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From what I've read, it's even been judged that DVD's CSS encryption was so weak that it's not considered worth protecting under several laws. Whereas Blu's algorithms sadly are much stronger.

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Days Of Thunder

It's Top Gun... with race cars!  Entertaining movie, very Hollywood.  Lots of style, not much substance.  Duvall performs very well, though.  The pacing is pretty good.

3/4

 

Unforgiven

All Westerns that came after this one, from the small screen all the way up to No Country For Old Men owe a lot to this one.  It is a great one.  The The cinematography here is outstanding.  The performances, compelling.  The characters, memorable.  Some weaknesses, though.  What point does the "Duke" serve in the plot?  I kept expecting him to figure into the rest of the story somehow.  The focus should have been even more on the writer fellow.  Eastwood commands the screen, no matter which side he's on.

4/4

 

Baby Boom

I'm not sure a movie can get more late 80s than this.  At any rate, this one feels unrealistic and unsatisfying.  Poignant moments fade away when paired by odd humor.  Pacing is all off.  The main character's Vermont move, which is the point of the whole story, comes far too late and really does feel like a detour rather than a development.  Diane Keaton gives a solid performance when the movie has its stuff together, like in the sequence where she is kind of cornered into quitting her job. 

Bill Conti's score is some memorable period stuff.  One of the themes bears a strong similarity to the Twin Peaks love theme.   

2.5/4

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2 minutes ago, SteveMc said:

Some weaknesses, though.  What point does the "Duke" serve in the plot?  I kept expecting him to figure into the rest of the story somehow.  The focus should have been even more on the writer fellow.

 

Yeah, I have a similar issue.

 

The Duke really is the thematic embodiment of the romanticized Old West and old Westerns. If only he had more to do with the main plot, film would've been pitch perfect.

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34 minutes ago, SteveMc said:

Unforgiven

All Westerns that came after this one ... owe a lot to this one. 

 

Really? I've seen dozens of Westerns in the last decades that have nothing to do with Unforgiven

 

Loved the movie when it first came out but I liked it less during a second viewing years later. 

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Avengers: Endgame

 

Still an emotional powerhouse with some outstanding action and character moments, though its flaws are more evident upon rewatch. The setup for the time travel stuff feels rushed, and there’s definitely a tonal disconnect between the individual acts of the film. 

 

Nonetheless the pros far outweigh its issues and it serves as a wholly satisfying conclusion to this chapter of the MCU. 

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It doesn't matter, if someone talks about a movie just respond to their thoughts or move on. Who cares what thread you're in

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IIRC King Mark just didn’t like having to go through pages searching for thoughts on movies that had just come out. I feel like the “newer” one is mostly for the first couple weekends when the convos are still fresh.

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No Country For Old Men (2007)

What can I possibly say that hasn't already been said? A neo-western masterpiece. A superbly gripping crime thriller. As airtight as scripting gets. Masterful staging and execution, well shot, and apt awareness of sound. A great deal of nearly completely silent scenes as well, creating such tense, terse and immersive scenarios that with each break and transition the ferocity is never lost, but rather increased. A very upfront take on violence, showing everything as it is without glorification, and yet neither blandness. Javier Bardem is downright haunting, and Tommy Lee Jones nails every line, especially in the monologue bookends. Nice to see Josh Brolin, Gene Jones and Woody Harrelson too. All hail to the Coen brothers!

 

**** out of **** 

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6 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

IIRC King Mark just didn’t like having to go through pages searching for thoughts on movies that had just come out. 

 

 

It wasn't that. The real reason was that KM was tired of hurrying to the theatre only to discover that Chinatown isn't playing at all. He always thought we were talking about the latest releases simply because he never talks about old movies. That's why we have two separate threads now.

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Why do the mods comply with all his demands?

 

8 hours ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

Still having problems with the Older and Newer categorizations of these threads. Didn't Endgame come out, like, four months ago? 

 

It's not at the picture show anymore, so it's old.

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6 hours ago, Stefancos said:

I consider KM to be one of JWfan's most senior and important members!

 

A great man! A great Williams fan!

 

Like so many on JWFan, he's an eccentric curiosity I've learned to tolerate by simply finding him amusing.

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4 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Good movie! 

 

I like it as well.  I tend to like movies with a very palpable sense of place, where the setting is as important as the characters.  And boy, you really feel urban/suburban New England in that one.

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I dunno, KM's sort of become redundant here these days, afforded a bit of grace and tolerance mainly out of respect for his legacy contributions. A bit like myself, at best.

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3 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I like it as well.  I tend to like movies with a very palpable sense of place, where the setting is as important as the characters.  And boy, you really feel urban/suburban New England in that one.

 

That's not something I've considered very often and looked for, but you're absolutely right. 

 

Just now, Quintus said:

I dunno, he's sort of become redundant here these days, afforded a bit of grace and tolerance mainly out of respect for his legacy contributions. A bit like myself, at best.

 

You sound like you're talking about you two being old military veterans in a retirement home that throw out racial slurs and sexually harass the  young staff!

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17 hours ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

Nice to see Josh Brolin, Gene Jones and Woody Harrelson too.

 

And Kelly Macdonald with a southern accent.

 

3 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

I like it as well.  I tend to like movies with a very palpable sense of place, where the setting is as important as the characters.  And boy, you really feel urban/suburban New England in that one.

 

And despite its subject matter, it's much more "enjoyable" than I'd expected. Lovely score, too.

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3 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

And despite its subject matter, it's much more "enjoyable" than I'd expected. Lovely score, too.

 

Like all great tragedies, it has a nice balance of humor as well.  And Lonergan's sense of humor is appealingly dry and matter-of-fact.

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A Quiet Place (2018)

Transcendent of the genre, this was my kind of horror movie, and not because it's scary per se but because it's clever and suspenseful. I was fully invested in the very welcoming 1h and 20m runtime (give or take a few minutes) right until the end, where they really outdid themselves with an annoying "tune in next time" trope, which is all the more apparent with the knowledge that a sequel is in production. I had heard about the climax, and I had created a much more grandiose execution in my mind. Nonetheless, it doesn't completely take away from the masterful silence and the terrifying scenarios that come before. Great family theme developed, and many well done scenes (i.e. the childbirth sequence). Beltrami's score was fairly clichéd sound design. 

 

*** and a half * out of ****

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 It was suspenseful, yes, but to be honest, I thought that was all it did.

 

Spoiler

Was A Quiet Place that movie where they took a little deaf girl (and therefore someone who doesn't know when she makes a sound or not) to a store? :conf:

 

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The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

 

I did see this one once, a long time ago. Historical accuracy or plausability be damned, it makes for a pretty good and impressive flick. I did feel the length of this one, mostly because it spent much more time on the (IMO weaker) commando plotline than I thought it would.

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The patriot.

 

Not badat all, though the summary revealed too much. I was surprised that I found myself hating the British so quickly, but was not convinced by the whole recruiting scene in church. Jason Isaacs is absolutely fantastic, Chris Cooper comes very close and Tchéky Karyo is amusing, but is this movie going to end with Benjamin shouting ‘FREEDOM’? Oh no, now he’s kissing Charlotte… but a little later, we’re firmly back on track with an emotional scene between Susan and Benjamin. So why does the film have to end with corny dialogue and why does the director try to make British people as vile as Nazis (that church-burning scene was amazing, though)?

It was interesting to hear John Williams starting the score keeping today’s score standards in mind and then doing his own thing. The emotional cues were particularly impressive, but the heroic theme is simplistic, uninspiring and only works occasionally. The opening cues sounded too much like Lincoln and were maybe a little too optimistic, but how could I get tired of solemn trumpet music, even though the ‘horror of the war’ theme should have received more variations sooner?

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2 hours ago, Holko said:

I did feel the length of this one, mostly because it spent much more time on the (IMO weaker) commando plotline than I thought it would.

 

Kwai is NOT meant to be watched at one sitting, though. In its theatrical run, it had an intermission, and it was edited to accomodate for it, as a story-within-a-story. Part 1 is the story of the battle of wits between Nicholson and Saito. Part 2 is, primarily, the story of the commando expedition. Each part has its own ending, middle and - most importantly - a beginning. So, after an hour, we're treated again to a new section of quiet setup. If you take an hour or so between the two parts, the pacing sits much better.

 

Lean brings his A-game to the scenic photography, of course, although I don't like cinemascope and it certainly lacks what the larger format brought to Lawrence of Arabia and Ryan's Daughter. On the other hand, the montages aren't as drawn-out as they are in those films, which was nice. The cast are great in their roles. Jack Hawkins, especially, is really wonderful in these David Lean epics.

 

Personally, while the commando plotline is the most traditional (its basically your usual heroic quest), its also the more relatable. Nicholson is such a nut from the word go, that its difficult to have a sense of investment in his triumph over Saito. Especially since his point of contention isn't really particularly noble or humane: he just wants to spare a handful of officers of labour, and let the soldiers be damned. Also, after building-up the character's manic convictions and later channeling them towards the building of the bridge, his "what have I done?" really comes at the turn of a dime.

 

A **** out of ***** for me.

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The Fugitive - very enjoyable big-screen version of the classic TV show. Ford is a model of stoic heroism as the wrongly-accused Dr Kimble, but the show is stolen somewhat by Tommy Lee Jones' Oscar-winning supporting turn as the doggedly determined Marshal Gerard on his tail. 

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16 hours ago, Chen G. said:

 

Kwai is NOT meant to be watched at one sitting, though. In its theatrical run, it had an intermission,

 

I might be wrong, but that is still called "one sitting", I believe. 

 

 

In Belgium, intermission is normal, for every movie. It's how multiplexes want to sell more candy, snacks and drinks.

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But in Kwai, the film is edited around the need for an intermission.

 

By contrast, a film like Braveheart - which is longer - isn’t edited to accommodate for an intermission. You can slap an intermission somewhere in there, sure, but it’s not the same as Kwai, or all the 50s epics, for that matter.

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Paths of Glory (1957)

 

Another great one. Well acted, recogniseably Kubrickesquely shot. That ending!

 

One gripe, not even specifically with this film I guess: I'm really tired of the court/trial cliche of the evil accuser and judge questioning the poor accused with yes/no questions only, treating it as an open and shut case from just that, not giving a single shit about motives, context and all that.

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6 hours ago, Chen G. said:

But in Kwai, the film is edited around the need for an intermission.

 

By contrast, a film like Braveheart - which is longer - isn’t edited to accommodate for an intermission. You can slap an intermission somewhere in there, sure, but it’s not the same as Kwai, or all the 50s epics, for that matter.

Agreed. There's a definite "Part 1", and "Part 2" with LAWRENCE OF ARABIA.

Of course, one can always be cheeky. Look where the intermission for THE TOWERING INFERNO was. Hee, hee.

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38 minutes ago, Richard said:

Agreed. There's a definite "Part 1", and "Part 2" with LAWRENCE OF ARABIA.

 

Yeah, almost as an inversion of Kwai, where Part 1 is, by and large, the run-by-the-mill Hero's Journey, whereas part 2 tries to not only bring the character back down, but also to unravel our understanding of part 1 alltogether. They also have a different pace and visual style: For instance, the drawn-out travel montage (not to mention the big string swells) are nowhere to be found in the second part.

 

The same applies for virtually all the epics of the era. Cleopatra has two discrete parts: One deals with Cleopatra and Ceaser, the other - her and Anthony. The Ten Commandments' first part is about Moses discovering his identity and finding God, whereas part 2 (which starts with a sort-of recap via narration) is his quest to free the Israelities and lead them out of Egypt. The romance in Doctor Zhivago only really materializes in part two of that film, etcetra.

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13 hours ago, Chen G. said:

By contrast, a film like Braveheart - which is longer - isn’t edited to accommodate for an intermission. You can slap an intermission somewhere in there, sure, but it’s not the same as Kwai, or all the 50s epics, for that matter.

 

IMO, it wouldn't require much work to accommodate for an intermission in Braveheart. It already has two quite distinct parts. 

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7 hours ago, Chen G. said:

 

Yeah, almost as an inversion of Kwai, where Part 1 is, by and large, the run-by-the-mill Hero's Journey, whereas part 2 tries to not only bring the character back down, but also to unravel our understanding of part 1 alltogether. They also have a different pace and visual style: For instance, the drawn-out travel montage (not to mention the big string swells) are nowhere to be found in the second part.

 

The same applies for virtually all the epics of the era. Cleopatra has two discrete parts: One deals with Cleopatra and Ceaser, the other - her and Anthony. The Ten Commandments' first part is about Moses discovering his identity and finding God, whereas part 2 (which starts with a sort-of recap via narration) is his quest to free the Israelities and lead them out of Egypt. The romance in Doctor Zhivago only really materializes in part two of that film, etcetra.

Yes, Chen. You're spot on, about LOA. Apparently, Coates and Lean had a hard time editing Pt.2, and finding its "centre".

 

7 hours ago, Stefancos said:

2001 should not have an Intermission!

Maybe not, Steef, but it's a great "Oh, shit!" moment, with which to break. 

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3 hours ago, Richard said:

Yes, Chen. You're spot on, about LOA. Apparently, Coates and Lean had a hard time editing Pt.2, and finding its "centre".

 

And indeed, it was the part that was edited-down the most when the film was made shorter after its release (first by Lean as compelled by Spiegel; and later, by Spiegel with approval from Lean under false pretenses), and again - by Lean himself, on his own accord - after the restoration. The minutes Lean had eventually cut out of the film (even after going through the effort of redubbing the scene) were mostly of the scene in which Allenby convinces Lawrence to return to the Arab revolt.

 

Personally, I think that footage belongs there. Without it, Lawrence changes his mind much, much too quickly. On the page, it seems the scene would have worked better unabridged, although who knows how they pulled  it off. In general, while I absolutely adore what part 2 is attempting to do, I don’t find it as good as part 1, with the exception of its more palatable pacing. Too many on-a-dime character decisions and ludicrous actions.

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