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

[A24 4,331]

I think Resurrection mainly misses the sophistication of the original. The dialog is cheap, the characters are all wacky and its horror is gaudy. But Jeunet clearly has an understanding of the Metal Hurlant universe.

[filmmusic 1,826]

What is the general opinion here about Alien Ressurection vs. Alien 3?

I myself love Alien 3. (it was the first Alien i saw at the cinema, plus i love the score)

[A24 4,331]

I would have disowned too.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

I think Resurrection mainly misses the sophistication of the original. The dialog is cheap, the characters are all wacky and its horror is gaudy. But Jeunet clearly has an understanding of the Metal Hurlant universe.

I don't disagree with that. It does have a strong Veerhoven/Neumeier vibe in its caricatures and gore.

[nightscape94 965]

After Aliens, none of them are truly worth it.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I think Aliens is good in an alternate universe Yesterday's Enterprise kind of way. But I still don't consider it a true sequel to Alien because I can't connect the universes. Aliens feels more like a movie. Alien is brilliant with all it's naturalistic performances where the people don't seem to be acting, the sets that don't seem to be sets, eerie atmosphere and cinematography. Compare with all those jokey exaggerated performances in Aliens. Everyone hams it up in that flick. There's a kind of genuine quality to the original film, where it feels as though you could be seeing something real, something alien from some other time and place in the universe. The screen becomes a window to another world. I don't think Scott has ever done anything else on that level. Aliens is what I would define as a guilty pleasure. It's a corny 80s action flick.

[Jay 37,346]

I think they are both spectacular pieces of filmmaking, but in completely different ways.

I don't think Aliens is corny at all. It can be very 80s though, especially in the longer cut (dot matrix paper)

[Harmsway 6]

James Cameron is at his best when he's mimicking John Carpenter.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Which is just TERMINATOR, basically.

[Harmsway 6]

Which is just TERMINATOR, basically.

And the best bits of Aliens and Terminator 2, though both are infected by Cameron's tendency to blockbusterize every film he makes.

[Quintus 5,399]

I prefer Aliens to Alien, always have. Own the both, and only those two. Aliens is an incredibly taught and spectacular showcase of Cameron's talent for action cinema and the film remains one of the greatest war movies ever made.

[crocodile 8,000]

The Final Conflict.

Oh lord, why did I bother?

Karol

[nightscape94 965]

Which is just TERMINATOR, basically.

And the best bits of Aliens and Terminator 2, though both are infected by Cameron's tendency to blockbusterize every film he makes.

The Terminator is a nice little sci-fi horror movie. Aliens shows similar elements but the spectacle is much bigger; you could see the balance start to shift.

[Matt C 452]

The Magic Sword

Such an ineptly made fantasy film. Most of the acting ranges from overly broad to terrible (Basil Rathbone is the exception), and none of the actors bother putting on an accent. There's a kitschy charm to the whole thing, even if there is an unbelievably awful scene with a knight on horseback easily avoiding an inept ogre. Some of the foley effects are hilarious.

I'm surprised with the film being in the public domain, no one's remade this. There's a promising story and imagination amidst all the hokum.

[Incanus 5,714]

The Final Conflict.

Oh lord, why did I bother?

Karol

Go listen to the score instead!

[filmmusic 1,826]

A trully magnificent film!

a film that we call PRODUCTION!

(I was influenced in this expression by the words of a film critic here that was talking about the Bible (1966) in comparison with Noah's Ark, and said how that old film felt like a production, when Dino De laurentis gave a fortune to bring a pair of each animal species on set, while today's Noah's Ark got away with it with just CGI animals. And i was just thinking that this is another factor that I could add to the ones I had mentioned earlier in other threads, why I like older films. Because they are productions!)

I couldn't tell which were the real monkeys and which were the fake ones..

Can anyone recommend more films with such theme (wild life, relationship of man with animals, etc.)?

I guess Born Free too. (haven't seen that one)

[A24 4,331]

@filmmusic: More films about the relationship between humans and animals:

Unknown to the public at large but really worth checking out.

Like Siskel & Ebert said, two thumbs up, way up!

Alex

[Quintus 5,399]

And another:

[A24 4,331]

You don't take filmmusic seriously, Guest2!

This is what I do with your Benji!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

@filmmusic: More films about the relationship between humans and animals:

[filmmusic 1,826]

Thank you very much for your suggestions.

Alex, i've seen the 2 you suggested.

I don't remember the 2nd, but i saw Never Cry Wolf recently in the winter.

yes, it was along the lines I was looking for..

(though I admit, I like Gorillas in the Mist much better)

[A24 4,331]

(though I admit, I like Gorillas in the Mist much better)

In that case, I feel I must revoke my previous suggestions and present you with a new one:

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Christ!

[filmmusic 1,826]

(though I admit, I like Gorillas in the Mist much better)

In that case, I feel I must revoke my previous suggestions and present you with a new one:

Alex

Of course! Love it, and saw it at the cinema when it was released back then! (I was 13)

It's one of my most anticipated Blurays! Last year was a great (missed) opportunity for a 20th anniversary bluray!

(haven't seen 2 and 3, but I'm not sure I'd like to)

[nightscape94 965]

You don't take filmmusic seriously, Guest2!

This is what I do with your Benji!

Or Take it a step further!

[A24 4,331]

I watched 3 minutes of Taxi 3:

Rarrrrr!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Who is she!

[A24 4,331]

You don't recognize her?

[Jay 37,346]

Can anyone recommend more films with such theme (wild life, relationship of man with animals, etc.)?

Life of Pi.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You don't recognize her?

Bring her to me!

[mrbellamy 6,278]

@filmmusic: More films about the relationship between humans and animals:

Unknown to the public at large but really worth checking out.

Like Siskel & Ebert said, two thumbs up, way up!

Alex

I'll add The Black Stallion and Duma to these. All four are by Carroll Ballard, who is kind of the be-all-end-all director of that subject.

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

Is Duma any good? I have it pending to watch but from what I've seen it seems a lot safer than Never Cry Wolf, which is a little masterpiece on its own.

Double post: What about Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Bear (1988)? Haven't seen it in centuries but I remembered disliking it as a kid... Then again, I really didn't like All Dogs Go to Heaven back then and now I adore it, probably my favorite Bluth film.

[Herosix 1]

You don't recognize her?

Bring her to me!

Marion Cotillard, yeah

[filmmusic 1,826]

Can anyone recommend more films with such theme (wild life, relationship of man with animals, etc.)?

Life of Pi.

I've seen it but I was talking about real animals. Not CGI.

@mrbellamy

Yes, the Black Stallion is in my to watch list.

I don't know the other. I'll look it up..

[mrbellamy 6,278]

Is Duma any good? I have it pending to watch but from what I've seen it seems a lot safer than Never Cry Wolf, which is a little masterpiece on its own.

I think it's worth watching if you like Ballard, though I can't compare it to Never Cry Wolf since I haven't seen it yet. The story isn't something that really stuck with me in the long-term, but that's sort of beside the point, anyway. It has a sincerity and quiet elegance like his other films, and above all it's just a nice, gorgeously photographed little love letter to African landscapes and wildlife.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Full Metal Jacket

Probably Kubrick's most popular film, at least among the younger generations. It has that Fight Club vibe to it, the kinda stuff college kids eat up because of the content but don't understand the purpose of it. Regardless, it's still a brilliant work, and its pseudo-documentary style makes it feel a lot different than any other war film. Completely forgot Adam Baldwin was in here.

[KK 3,307]

Took me a while to appreciate that film. Largely because I wasn't a big fan of the three-act structure when I first saw it.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I see it as being divided into two parts. How would you break it down into three?

[KK 3,307]

Woops, I was misremembering it (I was thinking of A.I. for some reason).

I think my initial problem with it was the disconnect between the two acts. The first act being brilliant, the second act, not so much. But I really warmed up to it with later views and could appreciate it, as if watching 2 short films.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Brónach 1,302]

When I saw it I actually preferred the second act. It's all really good.

[KK 3,307]

How can you mix up A.I. with Full Metal Jacket?

No clue. I think the disconnect between the two acts of FMJ somehow reminded me of the disconnect between the 3 musical acts of John Williams score!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Sir Hilary Bray 235]

Watched The World Is Not Enough whilst thinking now that only Zhukovsky and the boat chase provide any real attraction and then Rush.

[KK 3,307]

How can you mix up A.I. with Full Metal Jacket?

No clue. I think the disconnect between the two acts of FMJ somehow reminded me of the disconnect between the 3 musical acts of John Williams score!

I believe you're thinking of War Horse, now!

Good one. And while the 3-act structure is far more obvious there, it works for it and I have no problem with it.

It took me a while to come to terms with the stylistic disconnect in A.I. though.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

When I saw it I actually preferred the second act. It's all really good.

Indeed. They are two sides of the same coin.

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

After all the animal-movie talk a couple of hours ago, I remembered The Bear (1988) and how much it scared me as a kid. I only watched it once back then but it gave me a really unpleseant feeling, don't think I even saw it complete.

But now, oh man, that was one of the most sincere and spontaneous films I've seen in a long time, and still it's so masterfully done, the shots so beautifully crafted and the bears acting (!) feeling so natural, so sincere... Despite some minor dubbing for the bear sound effects obviously done by the humans, the film is still -or almost- a masterpiece. It's got a similar feeling of innocence as Bambi, but there's a lot of jokes more oriented towards adults that as a kid flew right over my head. There's a certain scene that creeped me out back then when the little cub bear eats some mushrooms, and then.... Well, you can imagine what happens.... I mean, even as a kid I understood that Uncle Waldo in Aristocats was drunk off his ass, but this I had no idea what the hell it was, and the creepy imagery was still vaguely in my memory.

But man, this movie... It's so simple and yet so powerful... It's a very quiet picture, with very little music -but when it's there, it's used very effectively. I like quiet films, especially in these days when movies can't stop talking and talking. And somehow this film manages to say more with pure imagery than probably the best dialogue any writer could come up with. It's pure emotion, but never feels manipulative. As I said before, it feels so sincere, so relatable. This is the kind of films I want to achieve making some day.

9/10

[A24 4,331]

I see it as being divided into two parts. How would you break it down into three?

?

Why would you think it's 2 acts? Location?

Full Metal Jacket

Probably Kubrick's most popular film, at least among the younger generations. It has that Fight Club vibe to it, the kinda stuff college kids eat up because of the content but don't understand the purpose of it.

?

A Clockwork Orange fits that description much better. The two are being constantly compared.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Kubricks most popular film?

[A24 4,331]

That's difficult to determine. According to IMDb's Top 250, it must be Dr. Strangelove, closely followed by The Shining (which was my guess - horror is a popular genre). Of course, Koray said "among the younger generation" so there's no way of finding out for sure.

Alex