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

[Marian Schedenig 8,211]

1 hour ago, Tallguy said:

You'd think that, wouldn't you? Lithgow lost a tiny bit of magic in my eyes because of this movie.

 

No doubt he's more grounded in Blow Out. Probably De Palma's mainstream opus magnum.

[Tallguy 3,401]

36 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

No doubt he's more grounded in Blow Out. Probably De Palma's mainstream opus magnum.

 

He's more grounded in Bucakaroo Banzai!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

Big booty, Big booty 

 

[Tallguy 3,401]

Big Boo-TAY!

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

7 hours ago, Tallguy said:

Mission to Mars is terrible. Snake Eyes was ok. What was the John Lithgow thing? That was god awful. 

Mission to Mars is largely terrible and Ennio's music is either transcendent or terrible depending on who you ask, but outside the film, it is pretty much the former, absolutely brilliant and best appreciated on its own.

[Marian Schedenig 8,211]

50 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Mission to Mars is largely terrible and Ennio's music is either transcendent or terrible depending on who you ask, but outside the film, it is pretty much the former, absolutely brilliant and best appreciated on its own.

 

It fits the film, and the much-maligned organ cue is a brilliant piece of suspense scoring (and filming).

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

58 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

It fits the film, and the much-maligned organ cue is a brilliant piece of suspense scoring (and filming).

Agreed. I thought it worked well but it’s quite prominent so anyone expecting something bland was in for quite a shock when they heard Ennio’s take on it. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

Well, there we are.

I've just seen MARY SHELLY'S FRANKENSTEIN. Now I'm tired, and I'm going to bed.

Nighty night.

[filmmusic 1,843]

 

I appreciate that it had practical effects, but I didn't care for it. I found it very disjointed.

[Andy 4,141]

I’ve never done a 31 Day Halloween challenge until this year. My wife and I started a little early in late September. 

[JTN 2,047]

 

 

80s Zimmer is the best. I liked the cinematography, the chemistry between Douglas and the Japanese cop, Kate Capshaw, and not much else. But it’s still better than 99% of action films made nowadays.

[Tallguy 3,401]

8 hours ago, Andy said:

I’ve never done a 31 Day Halloween challenge until this year. My wife and I started a little early in late September. 

 

I am simultaneously reminded of old video stores / one of my high school friend's bedroom walls / why I don't watch a lot of horror.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

9 hours ago, filmmusic said:

 

I appreciate that it had practical effects, but I didn't care for it. I found it very disjointed.

 

What on Earth are you talking about?!

It's a brilliant movie.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, JTW said:

 

 

... it’s still better than 99% of action films made nowadays.

 

Tru, dat.

[Tallguy 3,401]

16 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Well, there we are.

I've just seen MARY SHELLY'S FRANKENSTEIN. Now I'm tired, and I'm going to bed.

Nighty night.

 

I've been looking for screengrabs of the end of that movie. I want to say that the last shot of that movie has stuck with me for almost 30 years. But then I wonder if I'm actually remembering the last shot of that movie.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

The last shot of the movie is the funeral pyre on the ice floe going out, and a fade to black. Very reminiscent of the final shot, in EXCALIBUR.

Branagh missed a trick. The last shot should have been De Nero standing on the ice floe, engulfed in flames.

[JTN 2,047]

MY COUSIN VINNY

 

Funny, witty, light. Joe Pesci is a very good (comedic) actor. And Marisa Tomei… I’m in love with her. And she’s also good. Apparently her role was worth an Oscar. Well she deserved it, for her legs alone. 😛

[A24 4,346]

It's a fun movie but two viewings is enough for me. 

[Groovygoth666 672]

Brazil (1985)

 

Watched this for the first time on Disney plus (uk). Never seen it before but of course heard of all the behind the scenes drama. In spite of that this was such a fun film! The production design of this sort of bleak retro future was fantastic as were the dream sequences. I loved that the whole story is kicked off with just a fly and the escalation from that small event. Jonathan Pryce is great as this unassuming bureaucrat just looking to go through life without any real adventure. Not until he meets the literal woman of his dreams and heads into places that are very much out of his depth. Also turning in some great performances were Ian Holm and Michael Palin. While I loved this overall the thing is, I'm not sure how to feel about the ending, not giving anything away but it does feel appropriate but at the same time kind of underwhelming. Apparently there are two other endings but they don't sound like they would work any better than what Terry Gilliam intend. 

 

Speaking of Terry Gilliam, while watching this I was struck by how much it was a Terry Gilliam film. In that visually it was without a doubt his work and it got me thinking, are there many modern directors that have such a unique style? 

[JTN 2,047]

Not that old, but not exactly new, either. I love LA DÉLICATESSE by David Foenkinos. And JALOUSE didn't disappoint, either. There's a certain je ne sais quoi about French films that I adore. As a European, the French lifestyle is much more closer to me than e.g. the American. I love how the French live, love, make love, raise their children, cook, enjoy life as a whole. French films are amazing. And this film is no exception. It has a great script and a sensational performance by Karin Viard. 

 

[Tallguy 3,401]

6 hours ago, Groovygoth666 said:

are there many modern directors that have such a unique style? 

 

Anderson.

[Edmilson 7,473]

51 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

 

Anderson.

Paul W. S.? 

[Tallguy 3,401]

39 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Paul W. S.? 

 

Damn fool, I KNEW you were gonna do that.

[Jay 37,374]

9 hours ago, Groovygoth666 said:

are there many modern directors that have such a unique style? 

 

Quentin Tarantino. Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, Jordan Peele, Michael Bay...

[Tallguy 3,401]

Tim Burton (for better or worse).

[JTN 2,047]

Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

[Chewy 2,396]

6 hours ago, JTW said:

I love how the French live, love, make love, raise their children, cook, enjoy life as a whole.

Merci 

[Tallguy 3,401]

Local Hero turned out to be on YouTube with ads. I haven't seen it in 30 years and a movie is very different when you're 22 vs. much older than 22.

 

The "quirky town in the UK" movie has been done quite a lot since this film. But this movie isn't THAT quirky.

 

Lancaster is pretty much worth every penny they paid him. He just brings something to the film that arguably would have been missing without him. My favorite scene is when he shows up on the beach and keeps talking to Capaldi thinking he's Reigert. It tells you everything about all three characters at that point.

 

I love the relationship that develops between Dennis Lawson and Reigert. As with almost everything in this movie it's just never too much. It's barely enough.

 

I'm still reeling from the ending. Maybe it doesn't land the same way the first time you see it. Or when you're 22. But after the rather predictable progression of The Big City Guy Falling in Love with the Small Town you have the moment when Lancaster turns to him and tells him to go home. He's done. It's over.

 

It's nearly overwhelming!

 

You wonder what happens next but you also know that it's none of your business, it's not part of the film. (I saw an interview with Reigert where he points out that Mac is never seen picking up a phone at the end. It's all up to the audience.)

 

I was also shocked at how understated the score is. Having lived with the album for much longer than the film the only real standouts in the scoring are when Lancaster's helicopter arrives (which Dire Straits used to open at least one of their tours) and of course the glorious Going Home. Even some of the scenes that are more intentionally scored, such as when he's watching the skies, the music is so low in the mix. Which is fine. I suppose it makes a better album than a score.

[JTN 2,047]

 

I love period films. The costumes, the sets, a period of history that's no more, and we get a glimpse into how people lived back then. It's like a time travel every time.

I enjoyed the film more on the second viewing than I did on the first. Scarlett Johansson has a kind of innocence to her as if she wasn't aware of how sensual she is and that makes her even more desirable. To me Natalie Portman has never been a real woman. She's like a little girl in a woman's body. She acts like a woman, talks like a woman, but feels like a teenager pretending to be an adult. I can't help but every time see her as Mathilda from León: The Professional. But she's a decent actress (she was a perfect choice for The Black Swan, she was born to play that role) and does a good job, nothing special. 

The story was intriguing, and tragic. Now onto Elizabeth, which is a far superior film with a tour-de-force performance by Cate Blanchett. 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

ELIZABETH is fantastic, ELIZABETH THE GOLDEN AGE... is not.

[Sweeping Strings 2,364]

Doesn't look like I'll be out this weekend, and I see that Sky Sci-Fi is showing Species (which I have seen before, on its VHS release) on Thursday night and Talking Pictures TV is showing De Palma's Sisters on Friday night (which I haven't). 

With a bit of Tivo-setting, I feel a Saturday night double-bill coming on ...   

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

Not watched, but planning to watch ALIEN, tonight... but which version?

Ah! Decisions, decisions 

Thoughts, anyone?

[Jay 37,374]

Theatrical Cut.

[Edmilson 7,473]

1 minute ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Not watched, but planning to watch ALIEN, tonight... but which version?

 

Covenant.

[Faleel 5,360]

s

[A24 4,346]

I never even bothered to watch the DC. Ridley Scott said that the TC is in fact the true DC. 

 

It looks great on Blu-ray. I would watch that version. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

I'll go with the TC, as it's the version that made me shit myself, all those years ago, in London.

I don't mind the DC, but the cocoon sequence still seems out of place. I do appreciate the extra few seconds of the alien looking at Jones, before tossing the cage aside, but the blood dripping on Ripley and Parker - not to mention the tension between Ripley and Lambert - I can certainly live without.

I don't have a Blu Ray player, Alex, so I'll have to slum it, with the Quadrilogy DVD 

Geez Louise, the Quadrilogy is 19 years old!!!

[Marian Schedenig 8,211]

1 hour ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Not watched, but planning to watch ALIEN, tonight... but which version?

Ah! Decisions, decisions 

Thoughts, anyone?

 

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Theatrical Cut.

 

I'm generally a fan of extended versions and usually default to watching those. But for Alien - theatrical cut all the way. From what I remember, the DC adds nothing of significance, except potentially for the cocoon scene. But it does disturb the pacing, and the "kill me please" trope has seen so many uses in the sequels that it feels both unnecessary and at this point a bit goofy in the first film.

[A24 4,346]

Do people still watch Alien to relive their very first time with this movie? For a few scares and to see who will survive? Really?! Tip: Watch Alien like you watch 2001: A Space Odyssey. Let yourself be transported to its world. Let the ambience, the mise-en-scene and aesthetics wash over you. You'll be in for a whole new experience. Like what Kubrick did with 2001, here too the direction is perfect. It's art. Leave the popcorn in the closet.

[Faleel 5,360]

6 minutes ago, A24 said:

Watch Alien like you watch 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I will: not at all.

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

16 minutes ago, A24 said:

Do people still watch Alien to relive their very first time with this movie? For a few scares and to see who will survive? Really?! Tip: Watch Alien like you watch 2001: A Space Odyssey. Let yourself be transported to its world. Let the ambience, the mise-en-scene and aesthetics wash over you. You'll be in for a whole new experience. Like what Kubrick did with 2001, here too the direction is perfect. It's art. Leave the popcorn in the closet.

 

Obviously, ALIEN can't scare me like it did, in 1979, but there's something about watching a film that you know and love. It's like being reunited with an old friend. Your suggestion of how to watch is the way to go.

Any chance to enter the Alien Universe is a welcome one.

[Tallguy 3,401]

You want Alien to scare you again? Go play Alien: Isolation.

[A24 4,346]

18 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

Obviously, ALIEN can't scare me like it did, in 1979, but there's something about watching a film that you know and love. It's like being reunited with an old friend. Your suggestion of how to watch is the way to go.

Any chance to enter the Alien Universe is a welcome one.

 

It's founded. Ridley Scott's biggest influences were Kubrick, 2001: ASO and the Metal Hurlant magazine (Heavy Metal). You can clearly see where he got the inspiration from. Alien almost plays like the dark side of 2001.

[JTN 2,047]

4 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

ELIZABETH is fantastic, ELIZABETH THE GOLDEN AGE... is not.

I like both films. But the first one is obviously better. 

2 hours ago, A24 said:

Do people still watch Alien to relive their very first time with this movie? 

I never watch ALIEN for the scares. It's an amazing sci-fi film with flawless execution, score, acting, cinematography, visual effects, editing and directing. It's a masterclass in filmmaking. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

Well, I've just seen ALIEN, and I'm safely (?) tucked up, in bed.

Superlatives fail me. @JTW is right, but, like all truly great films, it's much more than that.

It drew me in. It affected me. It gripped my attention, my emotions, my thoughts, and my imagination, and it didn't let go until the end credits had rolled. I was with the hapless crew of the Nostromo, every step of the way, as they tried, bravely, to blow the alien the fuck out into space.

It also did something that surprised me: it revolted and disgusted me, but, you understand, in a very good, and very effective way.

44 1/2 years on, and if a film can do all of that, then it deserves to stand among the titans of the cinematic medium.

 

[Sweeping Strings 2,364]

Outland - 'High Noon in space', or maybe that should be 'shpace' as Marshal Connery investigates skulduggery at a titanium mining colony on one of Jupiter's moons. Needless to say, there are consequences.

I rather enjoyed this ... 40+ years on the SFX/backdrops etc hold up well, the sense of a claustrophobic working environment is convincingly evoked and the supporting cast includes Peter Boyle, James B. Sikking, Steven Berkoff and Frances Sternhagen in an excellent turn as a no-nonsense medic.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

Jerry's score is one that improved 100% with the expansion. "Hot Water" is still a classic chase cue.

There is talk of ALIEN and OUTLAND (and, by extension, CAPRICORN ONE) existing in the same universe. I'm not so sure, but it's an intriguing proposition.

 

 

[Sweeping Strings 2,364]

Alien and Outland you could certainly make a case for (parts of Outland very much reminded me of Alien),but not so sure about Capricorn One even if it was also directed by Hyams ... the enjoyably loopy conspiracy-thriller elements distance it from those two, IMO.    

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

CAPRICORN ONE because both Hyams' films feature Con-Amalgamated (Con-Am).

[Sweeping Strings 2,364]

Ah, I see. That passed me by (only saw Capricorn One for the first time a few months ago, and that was my first watch of Outland last night).  

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

First viewing ever?! Oh, wow.