bollemanneke 3,342 Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 POTC 3. I still like the humour and the actors, minus Orlando Bloom, and still dislike the fantasy element. Also, if your movie has a running time of two and a half hours and you insist on giving every character six different agendas, can’t you at least give them a bit of time to explain some of these agendas to the audience? I already had to use subtitles to be able to understand Sao Feng and Calypso, so I wasn’t really ecstatic about having to consult Wikipedia for a plot summary as well. I only really enjoyed the second half, but once that gets underway, it’s easier to forgive and forget the first half. Did Jack ever know Tia Dalma was Calypso, though, and why didn’t Will’s story get a better ending? Oh, why am I even wondering about such things? These movies are clearly just good business (something Beckett should never have said before dying). There’s no doubt that this is the best Pirates score. A lot of it is still in D minor, but Zimmer composed incredible themes for this entry and even uses trumpets and woodwinds. I love the ethnic instruments and the action-packed finale has to be one of the most outstanding climaxes I’ve ever heard. Hoist the colours! The Illustrious Jerry and Chen G. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,525 Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Definitely best Pirates score. What stood out to me last time I watched them is how in 2 but especially 3, the arc of every main character seems to be to devolve into unlikeable selfish immoral assholes - or just timejump to being one already. The Illustrious Jerry and bollemanneke 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chen G. 3,949 Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Fun movie. Should have been the last say on Pirates of the Caribbean. The Illustrious Jerry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweeping Strings 2,357 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 Weren't there rumours that Pirates 3 started shooting without a finished script? Would certainly explain the 'unrevealed character agendas' thing that bollemaneke mentioned, and also something that I found weird (just as it seems Sao Feng has been set up as a major character, he gets killed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 How do you shoot a movie without a script? Does the director just make up shit on the spot and tell the actors to do it? bollemanneke 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweeping Strings 2,357 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 I've read about comedies that left 'room' for the actors to improvise. You can spot those bits, they're the ones where the actors clearly had much more fun doing them than we are watching them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post publicist 4,643 Posted September 8, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 8, 2019 You can just imagine the outrage if this sophisticated ping pong of rape drama, societal satire and character study would have been made in Hollywood today. But Paul Verhoeven has always been the master of the ambiguous which is not in vogue right now and in his old adage he's probably better than ever - less flashier, but as extreme. Verhoeven didn't find an american actress for 'Elle', none of Hollywood's female stars wanted to play a middle-aged woman who is raped but not only refrains from reporting it, she actively refuses to be a victim. She checks for HIV at lunch, buys pepper spray and only a few days later tells her ex-husband and business associate between champagne and appetizer that she has been abused. Which is of course an invitation to outrage, how a movie could dare to play down the traumatic violence of a rape. In fact, at the first portrayal of the rape (it cold-starts the movie) is irritating. But the attack will be shown two more times, and each time it's filmed a bit differently, reflecting Huppert's changing reflection of reality. But this movie goes much further, not only with a tangled web of interpersonal relations but deft satire of modern bonhomie, french in this incarnation. I was intrigued how the movie would resolve this and came away chuckling. 'Elle' reveals the shallowness of the old accusations of misogyny against Verhoeven (whose weary worldview more than anything exposes weaknesses of both sexes, male more so): none of the male protagonists amount to much, they all hide behind offensively displayed masculinity - and sexuality - but in reality suffer from of self-doubt and weakness. All the more fitting that at the end of the film, it is two women that go together into the horizon, leaving the men behind (matter-of-factly and figuratively). That Verhoeven is able to 'hide' this pointed satire in a deliberately exaggerated thriller construction is 'Elle's claim to fame: only through its sharpened depiction the movie is able to expose the ill cracks of relationships in modern western society - and there are a myriad of interesting images going on, on top of it. As such, it was a refreshing change of pace to the behavioral codes attached to such things in many tv shows and dramas. As Verhoeven is 81 years now, i sincerely hope there's another one or two movies in him. Romão, Gruesome Son of a Bitch, A24 and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundlefly 2,385 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 Verhoeven's Black Book was great, maybe his best movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,281 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 1 hour ago, publicist said: As Verhoeven is 81 years now, i sincerely hope there's another one or two movies in him. Definitely at least one coming. Great post. Gruesome Son of a Bitch and publicist 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 The Hundred Foot Journey (2014) A feel good venture that employs cuisine as a medium to teach viewers that we can do wonderful things when we set differences aside and work together. Light on it's feet and generally cheery, it's not a particularly crafty movie, even though there's nothing conceptually wrong with it per se. ** out of **** Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) For all the threads El Royale's plot attempts to weave in a semi-intricate fashion, there's a lack of resolution and direction in the goings on of this layered thriller. If there's one thing I can appreciate, it's the visual parameters. It's cleanly shot and embraces a number of bright neons and glows of all sorts. In a way that feels misconstrued, El Royale has an element of spirituality, one that often references the Catholic faith, that eventually turns pseudo-religious in the sadistic finale. There's a lot of off-putting stuff, a lot that doesn't add up, at least not in a way that makes the run-time worthwhile, and a lot that begs the question, why? A vain effort to conjure up a murder-filled drama that tries to maintain interest solely by quick violent thrills and fancy plot-building. ** out of **** The Big Short (2015) Perhaps this would've been a good intro to Vice for me, at least in terms of coming to terms with McKay's style. The thing here though is that it's so much more appropriate in the case of The Big Short. It's not a political drama- it revolves around stock and trade, and despite the efforts to explain a number of financial terms, the viewer is ultimately kept interested by the flair of the quick cuts and the big stars. Some scenes are shot like they're out of The Office or something, with constant zooms and that handheld edge. Considering how detrimental the financial crisis of 2008 was, this a genuinely fun and likable take. I really didn't care about the lengths to which McKay went on the side of humour and drama, because this was a story where I was willing to let anything go (yes, even the scene where Margot Robbie explained subprime mortgages from the comfort of her bathtub). Thanks @Disco Stu for bringing this up, as I probably would've forgotten that I had yet to see this. **** out of **** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt C 452 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Lake Placid It's a generic B-movie, still miles away better from the SyFy DTV sequels. For some reason, the freaking creator of "Ally McBeal" and "The Practice" wrote this (did he have a mortgage payment on a house he owed?). It's as predictable as they come, albeit blessed with a convincing animatronic crocodile via Stan Winston Studios and a decent cast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Great film! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 5 hours ago, Koray Savas said: Great film! Of course it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,331 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Thanks to the internet, every movie is great now. SteveMc and Kasey Kockroach 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 It's a funny flick. Kasey Kockroach 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 I never saw it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweeping Strings 2,357 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 The Shadow - fun, pacy action-adventure based on the 30s pulp hero, whose influence on the likes of Batman is apparent. Alec Baldwin is suitably dark 'n' dashing in the title role and as alter-ego Lamont Cranston, John Lone grandstands as Genghis Khan's last living ancestor with an eeeevil plot, Penelope Anne Miller makes for a suitably easy-on-the-eye love interest, Ian McKellen adds class as her father and Tim Curry hams it up as a comic villain. Stirring Jerry Goldsmith score, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 I can't believe I actually saw Lake Placcid at the theatre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 11, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 11, 2019 Empire of the Sun (1987) Brilliant WWII drama displaying such powerful themes and clever devices, ushering in the first waves of Spielberg's "mature" films, from a directorial standpoint. The loss of innocence motif is hit so very finely, aided by a young Christian Bale, whose performance is admirably good for his age at the time. There are oodles of little Spielbergisms that I simply can't get enough of, many of which revel in deep symbolism and striking imagery. I was particualrily fond of a scene when Jamie returns to his home after being separated from his parents in the crowd. When he goes into his parents bedroom and finds the powder all over the floor, hand and foot prints tell a story of their own. Jamie opens the window and the wind blows away the memory manifest in the prints in the powder, as if to suggest some sort of escape from nightmarish circumstances, a breath of air to one who is suffocating, so to speak. Williams' score is something of a dark horse- it is probably one of the most underrated in his filmography. Simply put, a darn fine film on so many, many levels! **** out of **** A24, Holko and SteveMc 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,352 Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 It's a good one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters Upon closer scrutiny, this has one hell of a hokey script, but it's efficient enough to get the action going. And I feel that this was a highly divisive film because it knew its audience, which happens to be a very small one unfortunately - consequently everyone else either hated it or simply didn't get it. But I admire its defiance of all things so-called "four quadrant" and served us kaiju devotees everything we ever wanted in a Hollywood blockbuster update of a Godzilla flick. For whatever it lacks in quotability of the 1998 flick, it makes up for by being a worthy film adaptation of the 1990s Trendmasters action figure line and the 1988 NES game - this was definitely not what Gareth Edwards envisioned in his indie-flick-with-monsters snore! It's like the real fans finally got their shit together and took ownership. That's how you do it! Chen G. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,342 Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 A shot in the dark. Not bad. I liked George Sanders, but the watch troubles should have been cut. Parts of the score were interesting, especially the opening sequence and the romantic cues, but the more creepy music didn’t work for me at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,352 Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Funny film! Great score! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Sellers was truly one-of-a-kind. Strikes Again is one of my favorite comedies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oomoog the Ecstatic 314 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Any good movies where some people are lying to the main character, some people are telling the truth, and you can't tell which is which. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Match Point. It took me longer than it should have to realise the film is a total piss take of the insulated English upper class and the perception of their absolute inability to see or understand 'real' people in their midst, and how the snobs can be taken advantage of, to, by the end of the story, an absurd degree. It was alright, but nothing special (outside of it feeling like no other Allen movie); the lead character was camp AF and I kept thinking he was going to end up being bummed by the brother-in-law or something, it made quite intense dialogue scenes quite funny at times, but I don't think it was intentional. I enjoyed the movie overall, but it was very silly. Scarlett was the highlight. Jesus Christ those lips of hers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Parker 3,040 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 On 9/12/2019 at 1:29 PM, bollemanneke said: A shot in the dark. Not bad. I liked George Sanders, but the watch troubles should have been cut. Parts of the score were interesting, especially the opening sequence and the romantic cues, but the more creepy music didn’t work for me at all. On 9/12/2019 at 11:43 PM, Koray Savas said: Sellers was truly one-of-a-kind. Strikes Again is one of my favorite comedies. The scene where the assassin tries to take out Clouseau during his date watching the flamenco dancers is both really masterfully done in suspense, and later when botched sets up amazing comedic moments, with that "creepy music" transforming from a sign for fear into a comedic signal. It's masterful. Shot in the Dark is my favorite, a nice halfway point between the witty repartee of the original Pink Panther and the hella whack goofiness of the later ones like Pink Panther Strikes Again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 The first one was incredibly boring (save for a few of the Sellers scenes). 'A Shot in the Dark' is the real deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Wasn't Match Point initially meant to be a yank flick, but they made it with the poms cuz it was cheaper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Yeah, it was a reg Woody Allen thing before he decided to start going exotic. Note that a lot of his following movies were located abroad (to which i count 'Blue Jasmine's San Francisco setting). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 4 hours ago, publicist said: The first one was incredibly boring (save for a few of the Sellers scenes). 'A Shot in the Dark' is the real deal. This! I had already seen a few of the others and couldnt believe how dull Pink Panther was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Parker 3,040 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 7 hours ago, publicist said: The first one was incredibly boring (save for a few of the Sellers scenes). 'A Shot in the Dark' is the real deal. 3 hours ago, Stefancos said: This! I had already seen a few of the others and couldnt believe how dull Pink Panther was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 A stunner beauty! Within compare. But a boring role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Parker 3,040 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Honestly the original's not a favorite of mine either. I remember liking the opening, feeling like a leftover Peter Gunn episode with big goons scored by muted brass, that sort of thing, but I have such little recollection of the rest of the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Tried 'It' on Netflix again. 'It''s not for me. I love the production values and scenery, but whenever there's a scare or a monster moment - for the lack of a better word - the movie turns loud and gaudy, as if the filmmakers don't trust their (mostly) great actors and the fabled King story. I'm not going to lecture seasoned filmmakers about the use of silence but it works great in other genre classics. Too bad, because once you turn the volume down, the whole thing plays much better. John and Quintus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasey Kockroach 2,344 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 On 9/9/2019 at 7:44 PM, Koray Savas said: Great film! The bear steals the show!...before the croc stole it right back, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oomoog the Ecstatic 314 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Recommended by my software, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). Quite a fair film with notable moments which continually grow on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Great score too. Oomoog the Ecstatic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 1 hour ago, publicist said: Tried 'It' on Netflix again. 'It''s not for me. I love the production values and scenery, but whenever there's a scare or a monster moment - for the lack of a better word - the movie turns loud and gaudy, as if the filmmakers don't trust their (mostly) great actors and the fabled King story. I'm not going to lecture seasoned filmmakers about the use of silence but it works great in other genre classics. Too bad, because once you turn the volume down, the whole thing plays much better. I can't even watch these shit-ya-pants jump scare horror flicks anymore because the sudden noises upset my tinnitus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 I would think so! 36 minutes ago, Borodin said: Quite a fair film with notable moments which continually grow on you. It's not just fair. Leave it to Disney to treat Jules Verne with the proper reverence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 26 minutes ago, publicist said: I would think so! It's not just fair. Leave it to Disney to treat Jules Verne with the proper reverence. Lets hope they will do a remake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,331 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 I don't think that the new generation is interested in Verne. Also, it's not a franchise. And Disney once tried to reboot it before: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweeping Strings 2,357 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Daybreakers - fairly enjoyable action-horror set in 2019 (ha!) in which vampires have taken over and are imprisoning the human race and draining them of blood to ensure a steady supply. With Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill. Hobo With A Shotgun - splattery 'grindhouse' tribute shoot-em-up in which Rutger Hauer is the titular hobo who, after arriving in a town and finding it in the grip of a criminal scumbag and his sons, teams up with a 'tart with a heart' and sets about cleaning up the place. Deliberately OTT funtimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 3 hours ago, Alexcremers said: I don't think that the new generation is interested in Verne. Also, it's not a franchise. And Disney once tried to reboot it before: Great movie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,006 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Stop that! I hear that annoying John Barry music in my head now! Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Annoying? How dare you! Unlucky Bastard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmilson 7,436 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Men in Black International I like the idea of turning this series into a Mission: Impossible-like espionage franchise (with a few Bourne elements) with aliens, and I like the actors too. But this movie is very poorly written and directed, with a pretty bad pacing and a predictable story. It's the type of movie that you put on TV at night and a few minutes later you're already taking a nice nap on the couch. Elfman's score is pretty bland too. It's a shame, it could have been so much funnier. 2/5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 I've heard nothing but bad things about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmilson 7,436 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Yeah, all the bad hype surrounding it was actually right. I thought maybe it could be at least "fun, but forgettable", but no, the movie is really very bad, aside from one or two good jokes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Men in Black was just a fun late 90s sci-fi comedy popcorn flick. Aside from the ride at Universal Studios, I haven't enjoyed anything they've done with the franchise since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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