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


Mr. Breathmask

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As I've said many times before, it's a film that's harmed by people on both sides.  Cringey twenty-something armchair-film critics, those who overpraise it for profound philosophical significance, which it does not particularly have and wasn't at all the director's goal, and those who feel compelled to tear it down at every opportunity and miss all the good stuff because of their blind need to be contrarians.  The story does hold together under close scrutiny, but it's a headache to examine and isn't really something that's required to enjoy the film.  I just rest assured that I have in the past tried to puzzle it all out and that it seemed to make sense, and enjoy the ride.  

 

Regardless, I long for the day when one can simply either like or dislike a Nolan film without diatribes to justify themselves.  

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If I recall correctly it was you who most viciously attacked those here who had anything critical to saw about Interstellar. Even me and KK, who really liked it.

 

Just because you are a blind devotee of the man doesn't mean we have to follow. 

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37 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

If I recall correctly it was you who most viciously attacked those here who had anything critical to saw about Interstellar. Even me and KK, who really liked it.

 

Just because you are a blind devotee of the man doesn't mean we have to follow. 

 

Oh please, you know damn well that's not true, but a nice attempt to start a riot nonetheless.  There were no vicious attacks regarding what anyone thought, as you well remember I only got pissed off when people continuously complained about things that could be objectively debunked as "complaints," and some seemingly only to spite me.  Don't know where you're getting the blind devotee stuff from, of course, it's just another attempt to rile....

 

And lest you forget, when you rewatched Skyfall you apologized to me for criticizing how I handled the reams of baseless critiques!

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1 hour ago, KK. said:

 

The Prestige remains Nolan's best.

 

Probably, yes. The theme of obsession is fascinating and well-explored. At least it doesn't annoy me as Inception with its boring characters and non-atmosphere. I never make it to the finish with that film.

 

Have you ever seen The Duellists, KK.?

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19 minutes ago, TheGreyPilgrim said:

And lest you forget, when you rewatched Skyfall you apologized to me for criticizing how I handled the reams of baseless critiques!

 

Did I?

 

MS can be murder on the memory I guess.....

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10 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

Have you ever seen The Duellists, KK.?

 

I have not, though I've been meaning to for some time now.

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The thematic similarity between the two movies is striking but it's less pronounced in Scott's debut film. It took me several viewings (over decades of time) before I clicked with it. The Prestige might even have something to do with my appreciation. 

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12 hours ago, Brónach said:

I got tired of The Prestige the second time I saw it.

 

The first time I watched it, I felt cheated by the ending. I was perfectly happy with it after my second and later viewings.

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The thematic significance of the ending only became apparent to me after the second viewing. It's a movie that has grealy improved with further viewings. My favorite from Nolan

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The Rocketeer

Such a charming film. It has a few pacing problems and not all the characters are introduced or resolved as effeciently as they could, but it's such a fun film. And that score. Hornery goodness! I can't believe this movie isn't even available on home video in the Netherlands (apart from a nearly fifteen year old non-anamorphic DVD release which is now probably quite rare). Get the lead out, Disney!

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3 hours ago, nightscape94 said:

I never got the feeling that Inception was claiming some high concept or being condescending to its audience.  It's just a neat idea executed with clarity in the direction.

 

Precisely.  Anyone who claims it as otherwise is one form or another of shitwitted windbag.

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The Princess Bride - It's charming, and Robin Wright and Cary Elwes play well off each other. But it's lightweight and for a film with a devoted cult following, it's underwhelming. It's hard not to like it though.

 

I prefer Vaughn's Stardust over this.

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I like both!

I think with Princess Bride, if you didn't grow up watching it as a kid in the 80s, you probably don't "get" it.  Similar to The Goonies and stuff.

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I knew a person who refused to see The Princess Bride because she'd read the book, and felt that film adaptations don't hold up and didn't want to give it a shot. The movie is fantastic. The book is pretentious, vapid, and should be avoided at all costs. 

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Since the book is better than the film 99% of the time, I have found its better to watch the film first, then read the book after.


That way, you like the film, then like the book even more.

 

If you do it the other way around, you like the book, then are disappointed by the film.

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Sure.  As I said, not all books are better than their films (and some adaptations are wildly different from the original material, or only adapt a portion of it), etc.

 

For me the only film I unequivocally like more than the book is Fight Club (which is also a great book).

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1 hour ago, Jay said:

Since the book is better than the film 99% of the time, I have found its better to watch the film first, then read the book after.

 

That's the reason why I often prefer to read the book first. It's usually better, meaning I only get the full experience by reading the book without knowing the film.

 

I only saw The Princess Bride until several years ago, and I couldn't understand why it's so beloved. On the other hand, Stardust has become one of my favourites. And the book is still on my todo list.

1 hour ago, Jay said:

For me the only film I unequivocally like more than the book is Fight Club (which is also a great book).

 

Fight Club was the first Palahniuk I've read, after having seen the movie countless of times. The book was very good, no doubt. It just wasn't anything I didn't already know from the film, except for two (I believe) brief cut scenes (one of which was scripted but never filmed) and the changed ending. The rest was exactly the same - the film simply adapts everything exactly as Palahniuk wrote it (also thanks to the narrator). As a result, I was a bit underwhelmed by the book, though it's not the book's fault.

 

(I've since read many more of his books, and have been sufficiently impressed by several of them)

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The Man With The Golden Gun & The Spy Who Loved Me

 

I haven't seen these in a long time.  Forgot how wonderfully trashy they are.  Four stars, best viewed when pleasantly drunk.

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Most people loathe Man With The Golden Gun, but I have a lot of warm and sentimental feelings for it. It was the first Bond film I managed to tape, and therefore watched it over an over.

Moore nails his performance as 007 after not quite getting it in Live And Let Die. Christopher Lee's Scaramanga remains one of the most developed bond villains in the series history, and the woman are very pleasing to look at.

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1 hour ago, Stefancos said:

Most people loathe Man With The Golden Gun, but I have a lot of warm and sentimental feelings for it. It was the first Bond film I managed to tape, and therefore watched it over an over.

Moore nails his performance as 007 after not quite getting it in Live And Let Die. Christopher Lee's Scaramanga remains one of the most developed bond villains in the series history, and the woman are very pleasing to look at.

 

It was also the first one I owned on VHS and I have similar sentimental associations with it.  I don't remember what age I was but I remember watching it often on summer nights.  TSWLM wasn't far behind. 

 

Barry's score is one of the relative few from the composer that I really connect with.  Lovely and mysterious atmosphere.

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5 hours ago, Jay said:

Sure.  As I said, not all books are better than their films (and some adaptations are wildly different from the original material, or only adapt a portion of it), etc.

 

For me the only film I unequivocally like more than the book is Fight Club (which is also a great book).

I tend to prefer whichever one I was exposed to first. Shutter Island almost edged out the film for me, but then the one line that was added to end of the film completely changed it and made it much better, in my opinion.

 

I've wanted an adaptation of The Giver for a long time, but refuse to watch the film based on principle.

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5 hours ago, Jay said:

Sure.  As I said, not all books are better than their films (and some adaptations are wildly different from the original material, or only adapt a portion of it), etc.

 

For me the only film I unequivocally like more than the book is Fight Club (which is also a great book).

 

So I'm going to assume you never read Jaws or Forrest Gump or The Godfather. The movies are superior. 

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45 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

I've wanted an adaptation of The Giver for a long time, but refuse to watch the film based on principle.

 

The movie looks like a fucking disgrace. What a shame, considering the enormous potential The Giver would have had in the hands of a real auteur.

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Indeed. I understand film is a business and there's a market for these young adult dystopian stories, but The Giver was always much more than that, and doesn't really work when you switch the ages from 12 to 20.

 

I also wish Frank Darabont got to make his Fahrenheit 451 adaptation.

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