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

[A24 4,331]

The loss of Hayley Atwell and her fantastic body cool my interest in Captain America sequels.

Maybe Marvel doesn't deem her fit enough anymore ...

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I'm still slightly annoyed at how crass Captain America's setup for The Avengers is. It literally ends with an Avengers trailer, for crying out loud!

Other than that, it's quite fun.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It kida doesnt know what to do with itself after the origin story is finished.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Exactly.

[chuck 154]

Just like Cap after he's defrosted.

[Quintus 5,399]

The loss of Hayley Atwell and her fantastic body cool my interest in Captain America sequels.

Maybe Marvel doesn't deem her fit enough anymore ...

Sigh, I'm pretty much certain Alex is the most chauvinistic person on this board.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I'm sure he's single too.

[A24 4,331]

Sigh, I'm sure Quint is the most tendentious person on this board. Unless, of course, he can prove there's a clear pattern of me being a male chauvinist.

[Quintus 5,399]

Just the air you give off Alex. Honestly. I wouldn't just make shit up to make you feel bad or something.

[Jay 37,346]

I don't get what's so hard to understand. The Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, and Brosnan Bond movies were all in the same continuity. Brosnan even mentions his dead wife in one of them. Then, they rebooted everything with the Craig Bonds. They redid his origin and began his whole character over. You won't ever seen them reference and old plot point as something that happened in their past in any future film, because it didn't, they rebooted it. I dunno why anyone would think otherwise.

Captain America would have been better if it ended with him still in the 1940's, and they could do a few more movies in that timeframe before eventually catching up to when he gets frozen and thawed out in the 2010s. And yes, Hayley Atwell is redonkulously gorgeous, and Marvel seems to realize it - they just give her her own one-shot that will be on the Iron Man 3 blu ray

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTakP7yj9Vg

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I don't get what's so hard to understand. The Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, and Brosnan Bond movies were all in the same continuity. Brosnan even mentions his dead wife in one of them. Then, they rebooted everything with the Craig Bonds. They redid his origin and began his whole character over. You won't ever seen them reference and old plot point as something that happened in their past in any future film, because it didn't, they rebooted it. I dunno why anyone would think otherwise.

Captain America would have been better if it ended with him still in the 1940's, and they could do a few more movies in that timeframe before eventually catching up to when he gets frozen and thawed out in the 2010s. And yes, Hayley Atwell is redonkulously gorgeous, and Marvel seems to realize it - they just give her her own one-shot that will be on the Iron Man 3 blu ray

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTakP7yj9Vg

but they did reference the old Bond in Skyfall.

[gkgyver 1,645]

As someone who is only a casual Bond fan, it never even crossed my mind to think of Casino Royale as a reboot. At this point, with all of its previous incarnations, I think most people go into a Bond film with the preconception that a new Bond is just that. A new Bond. Nothing more. Even if his past, motivations, love interests, are slightly modified, it's still just "the next Bond film". When you change actors I think the writers/director have a bit of wiggle room when it comes to adjustments because the audience can accept them to a certain extent.

While CR was most definitely not just another Bond film, I stand by my opinion, which solidified with Skyfall, that by now, the Broccolis take their films more serious than is good for them. The in-your-face campaign of "look, Bond is totally SERIOUS now!" is getting on my nerves.

[Brónach 1,302]

I found the tone of Skyfall to be quite enjoyable.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The Prestige

This was one of the first blus that I ever bought, and I was surprised by what stuck with me as I had not watched it more than once since I initially made the purchase. I really like this film, and for a number of varying reasons, one of which is that this is 100% Nolan. As much as I love Memento, this might just be his definitive (there's that word again) film. There's a little bit of his early stuff and a little bit of his latter stuff here, or rather what one would would later see in his work. It's like a weird blend of Inception and Memento that takes place in the late 1800s. I remember lamenting that he "stole" a plot device I once came up with while planning out a script. One that I had already previously used in an uber short film I wrote in high school. Opening narration is exactly the same as the ending narration and the context makes them mean completely different things. Regardless of that little bit of jealousy I used to hold, Nolan does it so much better than I could ever do. The bits of narration throughout as Jackman and Bale read the journals echoes Memento, Bale hugging his daughter at the end and nodding at Caine is reused almost exactly in Inception. What is very identifiable to me as part of Nolan's style is his characterization. He's probably a better writer than director, but he's easily one of my favorites that's working today. Julyan's score also wonderfully supports the film and its mysterious air. Love Bowie and Serkis here too.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

The Prestige

This was one of the first blus that I ever bought, and I was surprised by what stuck with me as I had not watched it more than once since I initially made the purchase. I really like this film, and for a number of varying reasons, one of which is that this is 100% Nolan. As much as I love Memento, this might just be his definitive (there's that word again) film. There's a little bit of his early stuff and a little bit of his latter stuff here, or rather what one would would later see in his work. It's like a weird blend of Inception and Memento that takes place in the late 1800s. I remember lamenting that he "stole" a plot device I once came up with while planning out a script. One that I had already previously used in an uber short film I wrote in high school. Opening narration is exactly the same as the ending narration and the context makes them mean completely different things. Regardless of that little bit of jealousy I used to hold, Nolan does it so much better than I could ever do. The bits of narration throughout as Jackman and Bale read the journals echoes Memento, Bale hugging his daughter at the end and nodding at Caine is reused almost exactly in Inception. What is very identifiable to me as part of Nolan's style is his characterization. He's probably a better writer than director, but he's easily one of my favorites that's working today. Julyan's score also wonderfully supports the film and its mysterious air. Love Bowie and Serkis here too.

I feel like most people would probably rank Inception as the best "100% Nolan" film, but, at least today, I agree with you. The Prestige is a real gem. I'm hoping Interstellar becomes definitive Nolan, though.

[Brónach 1,302]

My informations on Interstellar are a bit disappointing.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

I'm shamefully over-informed on it - but nothing I know is anything but tantalizing. What in particular do you find disappointing?

[Jay 37,346]

The trope of opening and ending narration being the same, but meaning something different has been done since long before you were born Koray...

[Brónach 1,302]

I'm shamefully over-informed on it - but nothing I know is anything but tantalizing. What in particular do you find disappointing?

Then you probably know much more than me, because I only know the one thing I read.

Is the "can't grow crops" thing true? Because it sounds stupid!

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

I'm shamefully over-informed on it - but nothing I know is anything but tantalizing. What in particular do you find disappointing?

Then you probably know much more than me, because I only know the one thing I read.

Is the "can't grow crops" thing true? Because it sounds stupid!

It's true, but definitely not stupid in context.

What people were saying based on that, that it's a movie about

climate change and corn

is like saying Lost was a show about the dangers of air travel.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The trope of opening and ending narration being the same, but meaning something different has been done since long before you were born Koray...

I'm aware but it was a more specific case very similar to how Nolan utilized it. At any rate, it's not done often.

[Red 75]

The Prestige is a fantastic piece of work. My favorite Nolan film thus far and rather underrated compared to much of his other stuff.

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

Dances with Wolves: 20th Anniversary Extended Cut

What an extraordinary movie. It bothers me that I've never seen this work of art before, but now that I've seen it, the fact that this film what compared to Avatar baffles me. Some plot connections aside, this movie is pure beauty. It pleasently surprised me how contemplative it could become for a mainstream Hollywood movie. There were lots of moments when the characters are just watching the gorgeous scenery, and in this movie in particular it works wonderfully. It's like the ambient itself gives the tone of the scene without any words necessary, and that's is something I've not seen since Bambi perhaps, which was also a beautiful, quiet movie.

Costner can direct, there's no doubt about that. His direction is simple, but still, quite complex. Kinda like Dersu Uzala, the first half of the movie flows like a river. One or two "Hollywood-moments" aside, it's pure perfection. The buffalo scene in particular left me breathless, since the very first moment Costner seems them by himself to when they're all riding together, hunting them down. It's exhilariting. The alone scenes with Costner on the fort are also brilliant, bonding with his horse and the wolf -seriously, someone should have given that wolf an Oscar, he so deserved it. And the bonding scenes with the Indian tribe were fantastic too, I felt a sensation of preocupation when Costner first started bonding with them, and you felt the same sensation of sucess as Costner when he started connecting with them and becoming accepted into the tribe. The natives had each one a very distinct personality, and you really viewed them as human beings. You laugh with them, you cry with them... It was fantastic, this interchange between two very different cultures that could connect nevertheless.

Barry's score was so perfectly married with the picture. It could sound gigantic, but also so very tender. It was great.

Similar to Dersu Uzala, the second half of the movie -when Costner gets married- feels like a little of a let down compared to what has come before. And similar to Kurosawa's film, it has a bittersweet ending. I won't give anything away but the first half is pure joy, a masterpiece in filmmaking. If the second half would have been able to keep up with it, it would have been perfect. But it's still a work of art nevertheless. I think it could already become one of my top favorite movies, but only more views will tell. Which I will delighted to do so in the near future.

9/10

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

20th Anniversary Extended Cut? Is that different from the Director's Cut released in the mid-nineties?

[Jay 37,346]

No.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Thought so.

[Quintus 5,399]

What happened to Kevin Costner the director anyway? <br /><br />I liked the way his movies took their time.

[Brónach 1,302]

The Matrix

[Jay 37,346]

The Pink Panther (1964)

Believe it or not, I had never seen any of the 11 (!!) Pink Panther / Inspector Clouseau films! At the Tanglewood concert the other week, when David Newman conducted the main Pink Panther theme set to a montage from the Peter Sellers films, and not only was it all hilarious, but Marcy indicated she loved those films and was flabbergasted I had never seen them. So we are going to watch them all!

This first entry is really interesting! Inspector Clouseau is essentially not the main character at all - he's kind of the villain; The main plot concerns David Niven as Sir Charles Lytton, a british playboy on vacation at a northern Italian ski resort where another guest - Princess Dala, played by the stunning Claudia Cardinale - is also staying, and happens to in possession of the largest diamond in the world (nicknamed The Pink Panther because it is pink and, if you stare deep into it, the image of a leaping panther can be seen). As Lytton and Dala get closer during their stay, Dala also grows increasingly worried because a notorious thief known only as The Phantom has been stealing valuable objects for years without being caught, and she fears her diamond is next. It soon becomes clear to the audience that Charles Lytton is in fact The Phantom - but will he go through with his plan to steal the diamond, or is he falling for Dala for real?

Two other guests at the resort worth mentioning are George Lytton - Charles's nephew on vacation from school in America, who plans to steal the diamond himself and blame it on The Phantom (not realizing his uncle is the Phantom) and Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau - a French detective who has been chasing The Phantom for years. He too suspects The Phantom will turn up attempting to steal the Pink Panther diamond, and much of the comedy in the film centers around him bumbling his way around the case while continuously attempting to have sex with his wife of 10 years, Simone (played by the also stunning Capucine), who unknown to Clouseau but known to the audience is actually Charles Lytton's paramour and working to prevent Clouseau from solving the case and help George still the diamond.

I enjoyed the entire film, from the bumbling antics of Clouseau to all the Lytton / Dala scenes to the kinda goofy way some of the scenes are shot, the general fun of the wild 60s present, and of course the terrific score by Henry Mancini! The only really odd sequence is a music number in the middle of the film - the entire film comes to a grinding halt while this girl sings a song that has nothing to do with anything, then the movie picks up again. It's really nice sometimes to see these old films with no cgi, no special effects, just knowing every shot is a camera pointed at a real place and everything is really happening. I have a hard time getting into the slower pace (compared to today's movies) of a lot of older films, but this one was no problem.

I look forward to watching the series continue, with a focus on Closeau. In fact, I was VERY surprised by how this movie ended!!!

Closeau gets framed for the thefts and goes to jail, while the Lyttons and Simone get away scott free! Of course, it was only surprising because I was thinking of the film as having Closeau as the main character since I know the series eventually focuses on him - it was only after thinking that in this film Lytton is the "hero" and Closeau is the "bad guy" did it all make more sense. But still, kind of a weird ending! I look forward to seeing how he gets out of jail in the next film,

A Shot In The Dark.

[Quintus 5,399]

Just skip to A Shot in the Dark. It's the only necessary installment.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I found The Pink Panther incredibly boring, apart from the Closeau parts.

A Shot In The Dark is hilarious.

[Jay 37,346]

Just skip to A Shot in the Dark. It's the only necessary installment.

Well that wouldn't be skipping, as A Shot In The Dark is the next one....

[Matt C 452]

The Pink Panther series annoys me. I don't think Sellers' Closseau is that funny, nor is Steve Martin's Sellers impression in the remake.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The Pink Panther films are hilarious. Some seriously underrated comedy. Blake Edwards was a great filmmaker.

[Matt C 452]

I enjoyed Edwards' S.O.B.. Does that count?

I'd rather take Julie Andrews'... um, assets over Peter Sellers.

[publicist 4,643]

I found The Pink Panther incredibly boring, apart from the Closeau parts.

A Shot In The Dark is hilarious.

I saw all these in childhood and whenever THE PINK PANTHER ran (which is often on lazy sunday afternoons) i kept waiting for Elke Sommer and the nudie resort...all the funny parts i remembered were in fact from A SHOT IN THE DARK, which is never shown. The new Mancini title tune is as good as the first one.

[A24 4,331]

Some seriously underrated comedy.

Another baffling comment. Peter Sellers and Pink Panther were far from underrated. It's like saying Alien is a seriously underrated movie. The sequels, the reboots ... Inspector Clouseau is part of pop culture. If anything, it's overrated!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Koray experiences reality differently then the rest of us Alex.

Just because these are older movies and not discussed often among his friend he considers them underrated.

[Quintus 5,399]

Hey, every Saturday I have to endure conversations with a 17yr old lad who says stuff like, "the new trilogy is MILES better than the old ones", "Han Solo was fuckin' boring", "the light sabre fights in the old movies are shit compared to the new ones", "Indiana Jones is fucking shit", "there's loads of Jedis (sic) all fighting at once so it's automatically better", "the cgi in the old Star Wars movies is shit", "the action in Transformers is fuckin' awesome because it's so crazy you can't even tell what's going on" and "Troy is well the best history movie ever made".

There's more and I'll post 'em when I remember them and whenever he announces a new one. He literally astounds me (even more than Koray Savas) on a weekly basis.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I hate him already!

Reminds me of a conversation with a kid i had a while back who said he liked old sci-fi movies and gave the first Matrix film as an example.

[Quintus 5,399]

The conversations are amusing, flabbergasting and saddening all at once. It's a unique sensation.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

If there isnt the possibility of getting a shag out of it then I don't have the patience for it.

[Quintus 5,399]

Well, I educate him. For all his immaturity he does actually listen to me and he enjoys talking about movies. But it IS a battle for me sometimes! And now he knows who did the music...

When he said "Steven Spielberg is easily the best director ever" I concluded that I at least had something to work with. His name is Lucas btw

[publicist 4,643]

Whenever i see a new series like BORGIAS or DA VINCI'S DEMONS, i get the sudden urge to pop in BECKET or I, CLAUDIUS or A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (i full well understand why they have to cast these new things with H&M models, but somehow the actors never register with me on any 'impressed' scale). But when i conducted this experiment with a friend 15 years my junior, he begged me to turn it off because "it's so fucking boring".

[Quintus 5,399]

Indeed. The older snooty smartarses and armchair aloofs typing on the internet really have no idea what kind of pressures and expectations modern directors are dealing with in this age of X-Factor.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Well, I educate him. For all his immaturity he does actually listen to me and he enjoys talking about movies. But it IS a battle for me sometimes! And now he knows who did the music...

[Quintus 5,399]

Lol yeah right! I thought that was you who hangs onto Alex's every word

[Bilbo 3,709]

Elysium

It was ok. The time flew by in the cinema. Couldn't believe the two hours were up. There was just something hollow about it. There were some great ideas but I don't know if they were fully developed. Visually stunning. Usual amount of overacting from Jodie Foster and the score was very forgettable. Mat Damon was pretty good.

3/5

[Brónach 1,302]

By what everyone says, sounds like a torrent movie. Pity.

[Jay 37,346]

I enjoyed Elysium in the cinema, but it's already almost completely left my memory. Nothing really that memorable in that one.