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

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Ah, good because I don't think anyone said Rodriguez is aping Tarantino.

They aren't, but they both seem to be fishing from the same pond a lot of the time.

[A24 4,330]

It was implied that Rodriguez's take on exploitation lacks sophistication (of Tarantino); which is precisely the point - Rodriguez wasn't aiming for it to begin with.

I know, that's why they are so different and why I feel he is less interesting than Tarantino, in spite their shared love for Grindhouse cinema.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I agree Alex that a Tarentino movie does feel a bit special. They are born from Z grade genres, but he does manage to rise about the origins of his material.

Rodriquez seems perfectly fine in making Z grade stuff, just with a bigger budget.

Machete is basically The Expendables 2 without the cheesy wit.

[Quintus 5,399]

It was implied that Rodriguez's take on exploitation lacks sophistication (of Tarantino); which is precisely the point - Rodriguez wasn't aiming for it to begin with.

I know, that's why they are so different and why I feel he is less interesting than Tarantino, in spite their shared love for Grindhouse cinema.

Tarantino movies are in general a million times more interesting than Roderguez's. Tarantino is in a whole different league, for starters. You didn't think we were debating that, did you?

[A24 4,330]

No, but reading your posts you seem to think that somebody said they are one and the same while it's precisely their different approach that makes me personally find the one more interesting than the other. With Tarantino, it rises above its origins. With Rodriguez, crap remains crap.

[Quintus 5,399]

No, I was simply pointing out that movies like Machete and Planet Terror are still appealing in special circumstances where nothing particularly challenging is wanted from the viewer, like on a Friday night after the pub. A "lack of sophistication" isn't without it's own merits where certain movies are concerned and therefore Rodriguez's own approach to the exploitation/grindhouse genre is still just as valid as anyone else's.

Like with AvP and Death Race 2000, crap movies can still be good for a laugh. But I'd rather not go down the road of comparing trash with trash, other than to say both Machete and Planet Terror are far, far smarter flicks than anything P W.S. Anderson has ever knocked out, who I know you're a bit of a fan of.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Tarantino makes films that homage his favorites, while Rodriguez kinda just does his own thing in an old school B-movie vein. Both are auteurs.

[Quintus 5,399]

How so? Just because Rodriguez likes to put his own music in and write doesn't make him that. And Tarantino isn't adverse to collaboration, either. In fact as far as Rodriguez is concerned I can't even say he has a particularly distinctive style, other than the sense that his movies feel rather slapdash and loose. Only Sin City is a tight, driven experience. And then we're back to Spy Kids again...

[A24 4,330]

The first science fiction film by Ridley Scott since Blade Runner (1982). Many cinephiles and critics believe that Scott has never been better than when he made Alien and Blade Runner, which is something I can only agree with. What sets apart these films (his debut film The Duellists included) from his later output is that the emphasis is almost entirely on design, atmosphere and composition. And somehow these aspects knew how to draw in the viewer, either by making him a participant or either by simply being completely visually immersive. I said it before, they are art films disguised as mainstream movies. In fact, in the late seventies and early eighties, Scott's films were inexorably labeled as 'style over content'. Critics said they lacked content, character development, a meaningful story and so on. They simply didn't know what to do with the obsessed attention Scott devoted to visual details. That was very unusual at the time. The actual story and the characters that inhabit the story are almost secondary to the visual statements that Scott wanted to make. In one way or another, history slowly has set this straight and today his first two science fiction films are regarded as part of the best the genre has ever produced. Blade Runner and Alien (in that order) are even included to the Library Of Congress as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant, which entails that these films find themselves in a very select group.

In the mid-80s (and after a few flops), Scott takes on a new attitude which led to a more workable approach. It was like Scott finally gave up and said: "Maybe I've gone too far". His style became a lot more conventional and, in the eyes of this fan, he changed from being a film god to a mere mortal. Films as Black Rain, Someone To Watch Over Me, White Squall and GI Jane striked me as ordinary. Watching them felt like I had bet on the wrong horse. As if my views on good cinema merely were based on 'luck'. Ridley Scott was not the new master filmmaker or the new messiah. With a few exceptions, his films just weren't as good anymore. Throughout the decades, I noticed that I was not alone with my feelings. There were others who felt that Scott has made his 'masterpieces' at the beginning of his career but that he since then has lost his 'touch'. However, I noticed many kept making the same remark. They said: Yes, he's not as good, but then again, he hasn't made another sci-fi movie either. Maybe that is the reason. Maybe he only excells when he's able to create future worlds. Personally, I always had my doubts but it was an argument I couldn't completely ignore.

Enter Prometheus!

It quickly became clear that, with Prometheus, Scott sadly did NOT find his former self. The clean, safe and well-mannered execution indicates that the story of Lindelof is what prevails here.The visuals or the registration is meant to serve that story, not vice versa (as Ridley was so often accused for). Scott is still making films in the same way he has been doing these the last few decades. What really annoyed me from the start was that the characters kept on explaining the film through their dialog so that each child knows what is going on. The second downside was that the score emphasized too hard that what was happening on the screen. In combination with the self-explaning dialog and the obvious visuals, it made sure that nothing subtly was suggested. Nothing felt ambiguous. At no point did I feel emotionally affected, unsure or confused.There was the plot on the surface but nothing beyond that. And Prometheus' clear, straightforward presentation is responsible for a corresponding experience. An proven recipe that is hampered by a dime-a-dozen approach, a weak writer and completely uninteresting characters. So, did the film have anything good to offer? Well, outside a brief moment when Idris Elba asked Charlize Theron, "Hey, Vickers ... Are you a robot?", I didn't find much. 5/10

Alex

[BloodBoal 7,538]

5/10

You're being too kind.

[Quintus 5,399]

And yet you rate it 5/10? As I read on EG all the time: "the score doesn't match the review."

Not to be rude, but I skipped over the first two paragraphs and got straight to your disappointingly small section on the movie itself. I've heard you say that other stuff a million times before and I know you love indulging yourself at the nearest opportunity, so I knew what reading it would have entailed anyway. In my humble opinion it might have made for a far more interesting read if you'd instead weaved your favourite things about Scott and his earlier movies into the main body of the Prometheus review itself.

So, this did not live up to expectation! Is it time for your retirement and how do we feel about it?

[A24 4,330]

No, I was simply pointing out that movies like Machete and Planet Terror are still appealing in special circumstances where nothing particularly challenging is wanted from the viewer, like on a Friday night after the pub.

I know but it's because of this difference why I find Machete not interesting. No, not even for a laugh, not even with mates on a friday night after the pub. It's just bad. I still don't understand that you felt the need to explain why they (Tarantino en Rodriguez) are not the same. Nobody claimed that. The only point was that they do share a love for the same.

Like with AvP and Death Race 2000, crap can movies can still be good for a laugh. But I'd rather not go down the road of comparing trash with trash, other than to say both Machete and Planet Terror are far, far smarter flicks than anything P W.S. Anderson has ever knocked out, who I know you're a bit of a fan of.

Well, I can see some kind of potential in them. To me, some of the movies of W.S. Anderson are much more the genuine article than what Rodriguez did with Machete. I see Anderson as someone who makes true modern grindhouse cinema. Machete was pointless fake. Some people love it because they think it's suave to do so.

[Quintus 5,399]

[Alexcremers]You are wrong! http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/machete/ [/Alexcremers]

On another note, did you ever watch a movie with mates on a Friday night after last orders?

[A24 4,330]

I think you are one of those people. You love it because of the label. And yet, when you see the real thing you don't understand one bit of it. You need the label.

[Quintus 5,399]

So in that case, how do you really know what's good for last orders, mates and beer?

Labels? Must you label those different to yourself? Is it a mechanism which helps you deal with situations? What I love are solitary movie experiences and social ones. The latter of which warm the heart and tickle the funny bone. I'm a social creature, Alex. Why do you lash out defensively whenever anyone mentions such normal gathering behaviour? There's really no need at all to feel threatened, it's just people sharing experiences.

[A24 4,330]

I skipped over the first two paragraphs and got straight to your disappointingly small section on the movie itself. I've heard you say that other stuff a million times before and I know you love indulging yourself at the nearest opportunity, so I knew what reading it would have entailed anyway. In my humble opinion it might have made for a far more interesting read if you'd instead weaved your favourite things about Scott and his earlier movies into the main body of the Prometheus review itself.

I know it's short compared with the introduction but I'm not interested in going on about the performance of the characters, the CGI or possible plot holes. Since it's Scott returning to the genre that made him, Prometheus for me is a testimony to the difference between Ridley then and Ridley now. Of course I'm going to compare and to me the biggest difference is all about style and mindset. I guess somewhere I was hoping that I would spot something of the ol' magic but I didn't. If you are not interested in my findings then don't react to my post or talk about the things you that interest you more with other the posters, Quint.

About the 5/10, if this was a movie by W.S. Anderson, I would have given it an even higher score.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

How so? Just because Rodriguez likes to put his own music in and write doesn't make him that. And Tarantino isn't adverse to collaboration, either. In fact as far as Rodriguez is concerned I can't even say he has a particularly distinctive style, other than the sense that his movies feel rather slapdash and loose. Only Sin City is a tight, driven experience. And then we're back to Spy Kids again...

Make him like what? Both Tarantino and Rodriguez have complete control over their films. What I meant was that they have very different styles of filmmaking while retaining similar interests. Kinda like two sons born from the same mother going in opposite directions in life. It's very evident to me in Grindhouse. Planet Terror is B-movie horror in Rodriguez fashion. Death Proof is just another Tarantino film, and a superb one at that.

As for Rodriguez's style... church shootouts, Mexicans, tits and ass, and knives can be found in pretty much all of his non-3D films. There's an air of hilarious ridiculousness in his films.

[Quintus 5,399]

Hmm, those things are recurring details, but I don't really consider them as being representative of style. I'd say they're themes - violence, nudity, vague religious symbolism (but really because it just looks cool). To me, style is found in motion, stillness and tone.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I think if you're the writer, editor, director, cinematographer, visual effects supervisor, and composer, style is not bound purely by the visual aesthetic.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

today I've watched

Hatchet, a slasher film from 2007, cheap but effective and wonderfully gory slasher homage.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a small budgeted film from 1982 about an alien accidentally left behind. Surprisingly emotional film. The score is beautiful from someone named John Williams. Maybe some of you have heard it.

Octopussy, one of two Bond films from 1983, one sanctioned, one not. It's definitely the better of the two. Moore almost didn't do the film and James Brolin was seriously considered as the new bond.

Prince of Darkness, interesting film by John Carpenter. I've been revisiting his films of late, and I've come to discover this guys films are greatly underappreciated. HIs style and storytelling are always on key.

[Wojo 2,453]

I think Brolin would have made at least an interesting Bond, but then we'd have had Barbara Streisand sing the title song, and snap crackle pop go my ears.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Bond should never be played by an American actor!

[Wojo 2,453]

Why, you think the accent is hard to pull off? We had an English Batman and now we'll get an English Superman. Turnabout is fair play.

[A24 4,330]

I saw Sherlock Holmes and I would say it's not easy getting the accent right.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Christian Bale is actually Welsh, not English. And he's proven to be very good at mimicking accents.

We will have to see how well Cavill does.

Andrew Garfield did pretty well as Peter Parker though.

[Wojo 2,453]

Christian Bale is actually Welsh, not English. And he's proven to be very good at mimicking accents.

Bale was born in Wales to parents of English descent. His mother, Jenny (née James), was a circus performer, and his South African–born father, David Charles Howard Bale, was an entrepreneur, commercial pilot, and talent manager.[3][4][5] He spent his childhood in England, Portugal, and the United States.[6]

So something in the Welsh air gave him a set of Welsh windpipes? Whatever.

I had forgotten about the English Spider-Man, but I do concede the RJ Jr bit.

[A24 4,330]

An alien, even when raised in Smallville, doesn't need to speak the accent perfectly.

Alex - already defending Snyder.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Cubby had already made the creative decision that Brolin would not have had to affect an accent.

NOT to worry Wojo, Brolin married Streisand in 98, he'd have been replaced by then had he been chosen to begin with.

Surely you're not saying that her voice is bad because that isn't possible since she's the great female voice in this day and age.

[ShowUStheHOOK 8]

The last movie I saw was Seven Psychopaths. I don't know if I recommend it or not lol. Its.............. different. Most notable scenes were the ones with Christopher Walken.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

he's the reason I am interested.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Most notable scenes were the ones with Christopher Walken.

Isn't that the case with most of the movies he's in?

Such a great actor!

[crocodile 7,998]

Moonrise Kingdom, for the second time. Might be Wes Anderson's best film, actually. I wonder how he directs actors. They give such a strange natural-stilted performances. The film is very beautifully shot. And wonderful use of music too.

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It's pretty much impossible for me to rank his films. I feel like Moonrise Kingdom is the definitive example of his style though, all his previous films blended into one.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Hesher

Really liked it. One of those black comedies that actually gets the mix down, like In Bruges. Not sure how I feel about the ending though.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It was nothing really special, but Joseph Gordon Levitt was very amusing. I feel like we've all known a guy like that. Maybe not as extreme, movie after all.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It was certainly different, and yes, JGL's anecdotes were funny.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Seven Psychopaths

A really wonderful film; nothing like the trailer paints it out to be, which I expected. McDonagh brings that self-aware attitude that was slightly present in In Bruges into full force here. Superb cast and acting from them all. Loved seeing Rockwell back in form, and Walken was a delight. Waits is always a pleasure on screen, and I always seem to enjoy Farrell when he speaks in his native accent. Burwell's score was good as well. My favorite film this year since I saw Moonrise Kingdom.

[TheHouseholdCat 4]

Christian Bale is actually Welsh, not English. And he's proven to be very good at mimicking accents.

We will have to see how well Cavill does.

Andrew Garfield did pretty well as Peter Parker though.

I haven't seen the new Spiderman, but I can really imagine that he did a good job. He's one of the few younger actors who stand out these days. But it's sad to see Spiderman sell out.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Sell out?

[A24 4,330]

Brideshead Revisited: Enjoyable costume drama but the film doesn't rise above the average because the characters and their surroundings don't come to full fruition. 6/10

Best part of the movie?

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I like your thinking....

[A24 4,330]

In that case, here's another pic:

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I like were you are going with this

[Quintus 5,399]

She has a strong jaw for my tastes.

[gkgyver 1,645]

She reminds me of Maud Adams.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yeah, she does have the same striking features.

[A24 4,330]

This girl is more warm and sensual, IMO. Never liked Maud Adams. Ice-cold eyes and face.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

liked her in Captain America.

[A24 4,330]

Why isn't she Lois Lane in Man Of Steel?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yeah.....

Snyder has lost it. Casting an American actress instead.