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

[Jay 37,372]

Just watch them all in the order they came out, no need to overthink things

[Tallguy 3,401]

20 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Thanks, Alex.

Tbh, that was probably my decision, as well.

 

I'd say the first two. (I loved X2 and was sorry that Singer was lured away to do Superman and not have to deal with Fox anymore.) And First Class was pretty good.

[HunterTech 994]

I also think release order is perfectly fine, since after a certain point, the chronology gets thrown out the window anyway.

 

I recently got to properly watch X2, and though I wasn't too impressed with certain aspects while watching it, it definitely stuck with me once it finished. Makes me rather sad we never did get a proper X3, even if I ultimately wouldn't trade it for the scores we have for The Last Stand and Superman Returns. Though it also further reinforced to me how much a lot of superhero properties really do benefit from a long running form, given how much more time I would've liked to have spent with the characters and the setting.

[Brónach 1,302]

9 minutes ago, HunterTech said:

Though it also further reinforced to me how much a lot of superhero properties really do benefit from a long running form, given how much more time I would've liked to have spent with the characters and the setting.

 

that or you resort to make like SEVEN movies like since they reinvented Fast and Furious

 

(which maybe should be more normalized than it is nowadays? now everything is shows. (of course, me mentioning F&F in an X-Men conversation is not casual, because the X-Men movies feel like they don't know how to replicate The Vibes))

 

20 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

Yes, but King Lear had Sir Ian McKellen spill water on my jacket, no Kurosawa film can do that.  (I admit that seeing any Kurosawa at all is still on my todo list though).

 

arguably Seven Samurai is the most famous and accesible and my favourite movie so

[HunterTech 994]

Yeah, that's kind of the problem, since any art form in which you'd want that for will eventually run into various issues that'll ultimately serve to diminish the whole series, making it a harder overall recommendation. It's why I find comic books so daunting in spite of being the ideal format for what I describe, given the difficult barrier for entry.

[Brónach 1,302]

the barrier for entry is a self-created problem for Marvel and DC and some others, most of the rest of the world is normal

[HunterTech 994]

Oh of course. I do not have the issue with any of the manga I've read, since volume 1 actually means volume 1 there.

[Brónach 1,302]

i should get more into manga

[Tallguy 3,401]

49 minutes ago, Brónach said:

the barrier for entry is a self-created problem for Marvel and DC and some others, most of the rest of the world is normal

 

Every once in a while I watch a sequel to a film that I was not super invested in to begin with. I can tell that they're dropping some kind of reference or callback to the previous film. Maybe even landing a set up or actually doing some narrative good, but since I don't remember the original movie that I saw once and mostly forgot about it sails mostly past me.

 

And I think "Oh. This is why normal people aren't that into Pirates of the Caribbean 3."

 

That said, it's amazing that Avengers: Endgame was as well received as it was. (As it should have been, too.)

[Brónach 1,302]

i actually don't like that one

[Tallguy 3,401]

35 minutes ago, Brónach said:

i actually don't like that one

 

Endgame or Pirates 3?

[Chen G. 3,950]

2 hours ago, Brónach said:

arguably Seven Samurai is the most famous and accesible and my favourite movie so

 

Well, Seven Samurai is basically a Western.

 

Kurosawa was big on Western subject matter. Not just Shakespeare and Westerns but also Tolstoy, McBain, Dashiell Hammett. Even when he adapts local folklore, he uses the stock and trade of Western cinema.

[Nick1Ø66 4,722]

4 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

Ok, guys, and guyesses, I'm about to start an X-Men marathon.

Which films do I watch, first?

 

I can't think of a single series of films where "release order" is not the correct answer to this question. Especially when watching the first time.

[Edmilson 7,470]

Just watch First Class, Logan and, if that's your thing, the Deadpool flicks. Ignore the rest.

[HunterTech 994]

I was pretty big on DoFP, but mostly because I was so fond of those earlier movies. Even with Logan, it's essentially my ideal finale for the franchise that unfortunately wasn't allowed to be (with Apocalypse being generic, and DP being a more desperate example of the runtime not being enough for its ideas to be fleshed out).

[filmmusic 1,839]

 

I can't pinpoint exactly what prevents this film from being great!

The technical merits (score, cinematography, costumes, sets etc.) are superb.

Is it the story? Is it the roles? Does anyone have a say in this?

 

and God, how I wish we could get an expanded release of this...

[Bespin 8,484]

[filmmusic 1,839]

18 minutes ago, Bespin said:

My favorite Indiana Jones film!

[Tallguy 3,401]

1 hour ago, Bespin said:

 

Are you implying it's a cat's ass trophy?

[Faleel 5,359]

2 hours ago, Tallguy said:

 

Are you implying it's a cat's ass trophy?

That's not a cat, that's Beapin!

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

16 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

JS, RAN is superb!

 

 

Ok, guys, and guyesses, I'm about to start an X-Men marathon.

Which films do I watch, first?

Do I watch the original films, or the reboot stuff?

Bear in mind that I do not own DARK PHOENIX, and I absolutely refuse to watch LAST STAND. That still gives me five films to play around with.

So...choices are:

A) original stuff 

B) reboot stuff

C) they're all gobshite, anyway.

 

 What say you, good JWfaner?

 

First 2 are very good, as are First Class and Logan (which was finally the 'solo' movie Wolverine deserved, after the poor origins movie and the lacklustre second movie).    

[filmmusic 1,839]

 

Ok, I'm 1 hour into the film and I'm completely bored, that's why I took a break and writing here...

Hope it gets better later because it seems a chore to sit through this one...

[bollemanneke 3,349]

The jungle book, 1967.

 

It has pacing issues. Or rather, the contents of the first half fly by while the second half is a drag. Bruce Reitherman is just passable, but he has one extremely weird line: ‘They’re carrying me away!’ Uh, yeah, like we don’t know. Why couldn’t they just show us that? George Sanders is good fun and Sterling Holloway sounds EXACTLY like Jim Cummings. The resemblance is almost creepy.

The score is too brassy and not stringy enough, but I was surprised at how threatening and Eastern some of it sounded. Half of the sound effects seem to be missing, but perhaps they were going for the bare necessities. Wait, he’s leaving with he girl? After all they did to save him? Heartless brat. Hope she knows he can’t speak English.

[Bespin 8,484]

[Naïve Old Fart 9,552]

6 hours ago, filmmusic said:

 

Ok, I'm 1 hour into the film and I'm completely bored, that's why I took a break and writing here...

Hope it gets better later because it seems a chore to sit through this one...

 

It is marginally better than PATRIOT GAMES, which isn't saying much.

Even THE SUM OF ALL REARS is better than this.

I'd stick with THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.

[Edmilson 7,470]

I remember watching Clear and Present Danger on Netflix a few years ago, mostly to hear James Horner's score in context, but the film didn't leave a huge impression on me. Can't remember much of it except for the major gunfight scene.

 

The Fugitive is a much better Harrison Ford 90s action thriller.

[A24 4,345]

2 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

I'd stick with THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.

 

Exactly. Never liked Ford as Jack Ryan. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,552]

Agreed. He's not as vulnerable, as "human", as Baldwin.

 

 

4 hours ago, Edmilson said:

I remember watching Clear and Present Danger on Netflix a few years ago, mostly to hear James Horner's score in context...

 

Lots of patriotic snares, clanging percussion, and slowly rising string pieces, indicating some kind of heroism.

In short: typical 90s Horner fare.

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

8 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

It is marginally better than PATRIOT GAMES, which isn't saying much.

Even THE SUM OF ALL REARS is better than this.

I'd stick with THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.

The Sum Of All Rears? I didn't know that there were Ryan porn parodies, lol. 

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

6 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

The Sum Of All Rears? I didn't know that there were Ryan porn parodies, lol. 

It's better than The Fear of All Sums, the film about people with a maths phobia.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,552]

After a lot of toing froing, about X-MEN, I finally watched...THE INCREDIBLE HULK.

Yeah, I know, but it was going for £1 at my local general store, and I hadn't seen it in a while, and it's MCU, and...

It's terrible, isn't it. Not even the formidable talents of Norton, and Hurt, could save this, which is a shame, as it had great potential.

Flat, uninvolving cinematography, a cipher of a performance by Tyler, Roth looking flatly embarrassed, unconvincing CGIs, and a messy, amorphous, wallpaper score, by Armstrong, all add up to a very underwhelming film. The tacked-on ending, with Tony Stark, was about as forced as one of my smiles whenever I see my boss.

Oh, yeah, did they just retcon HULK in the main title? What a stupid move. Pitiable.

 

Rotten Tofartoes rating:

35%

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

Just now, Naïve Old Fart said:

After a lot of toing froing, about X-MEN, I finally watched...THE INCREDIBLE HULK.

Yeah, I know, but it was going for £1 at my local general store, and I hadn't seen it in a while, and it's MCU, and...

It's terrible, isn't it. Not even the formidable talents of Norton, and Hurt, could save this, which is a shame, as it had great potential.

Flat, uninvolving cinematography, a cipher of a performance by Tyler, Roth looking flatly embarrassed, unconvincing CGIs, and a messy, amorphous, wallpaper score, by Armstrong, all add up to a very underwhelming film. The tacked-on ending, with Tony Stark, was about as forced as one of my smiles whenever I see my boss.

Oh, yeah, did they just retcon HULK in the main title? What a stupid move. Pitiable.

Makes you miss the Ang Lee version... even if that wasn't entirely successful, it did at least have a sense of style and a pretty terrific (I'd say underrated) Danny Elfman score.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,552]

Agreed, Tom. Imo, Elfman's score is one of his very best.

HULK was criticized for being, as one critic said: "Too wordy for kids, and too juvenile for adults", but at least it tried to present a comic book story in an original way.

Over the years, I've come to like it, and I regard it as the true first film in the MCU.

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

3 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Agreed, Tom. Imo, Elfman's score is one of his very best.

HULK was criticized for being, as one critic said: "Too wordy for kids, and too juvenile for adults", but at least it tried to present a comic book story in an original way.

Over the years, I've come to like it, and I regard it as the true first film in the MCU.

Exactly, all the split screen stuff to make it look like a comic was a great conceit. I guess it did make it seem more pulpy, but then a lot of comics are/were meant to be so kinda works. I haven't seen it in years but do remember enjoying it. Definitely going to have to give DE's score another spin.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,552]

20 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

...it did make it seem more pulpy, but then a lot of comics are/were meant to be...

 

Indeed. 1978, I remember watching a film where the lead character wore bright red Speedos over an electric blue Spandex body suit.

You don't get more pulpy than that 

 

[filmmusic 1,839]

I adore this unique film from my childhood.

I love the songs and the whole atmosphere. 

[Edmilson 7,470]

My father is a huge Bowie fan, and he watched this movie in theaters with my mom in the mid 80s. They took my mom's female cousin with them, who was a child at the time. I think I vaguely remember they saying that my mom's cousin was a little freaked out by the movie 

[Romão 2,274]

6 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Agreed, Tom. Imo, Elfman's score is one of his very best.

HULK was criticized for being, as one critic said: "Too wordy for kids, and too juvenile for adults", but at least it tried to present a comic book story in an original way.

Over the years, I've come to like it, and I regard it as the true first film in the MCU.

 

It's one of the very few Marvel movies and scores that I really enjoy. It's flawed, surely, but at least it had a concept behind it, it aimed at something, it wasn't generic

[Faleel 5,359]

6 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

After a lot of toing froing, about X-MEN, I finally watched...THE INCREDIBLE HULK.

Yeah, I know, but it was going for £1 at my local general store, and I hadn't seen it in a while, and it's MCU, and...

It's terrible, isn't it. Not even the formidable talents of Norton, and Hurt, could save this, which is a shame, as it had great potential.

Flat, uninvolving cinematography, a cipher of a performance by Tyler, Roth looking flatly embarrassed, unconvincing CGIs, and a messy, amorphous, wallpaper score, by Armstrong, all add up to a very underwhelming film. The tacked-on ending, with Tony Stark, was about as forced as one of my smiles whenever I see my boss.

Oh, yeah, did they just retcon HULK in the main title? What a stupid move. Pitiable.

 

Rotten Tofartoes rating:

35%

It does have this though...

 

[Edmilson 7,470]

The Incredible Hulk is not a good movie, but it received some attention here due to filming on Rio de Janeiro. A decade ago a few Hollywood productions were filmed at least partially there: Hulk, Stallone's The Expendables, Fast Five and Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,552]

@A Farewell to Kings, that character was so memorable, that don't even remember her 

[Jurassic Shark 12,084]

The Insult

 

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7048622/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_2_nm_0_q_forn%C3%A6rmelsen

 

One word: interesting. 

[filmmusic 1,839]

 

Quite good crime/mystery film told in flashbacks mainly, a remake of a superior - if I remember correctly - film.

The John Williams score, is nothing to write home about, but I wish we had it on cd (where are you FSM label?), apart from the isolated score + effects tracks that is on the Criterion DVD.

[Schilkeman 964]

On 17/05/2023 at 5:38 PM, HunterTech said:

I was pretty big on DoFP, but mostly because I was so fond of those earlier movies. Even with Logan, it's essentially my ideal finale for the franchise

It's also where I stopped. It was a great ending, and none of the sequels were good enough to justify continuing on. 

 

But just watch them in release order. And The Last Stand is good, Ak-tually. I will die on that hill. The Wolverine is the worst of the bunch, but pays off nicely in DoFP.

 

On 20/05/2023 at 1:12 AM, AC1 said:

Exactly. Never liked Ford as Jack Ryan.

I think if those scripts or the filmmaking were half as good, he would be fine. Red October is such a damn entertaining movie. Sean Connery plays a Russian with a Scottish accent, and we buy it immediately. Also, submarines are cool. You know what's not cool? Drug wars and the IRA.

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

Tolkien - decent and ultimately quite moving biopic of the LOTR creator's formative years, with Nicholas Hoult and Colm Meaney.  

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

Secret of NIMH - pretty sure I've seen it before, but thought it would be good watch again following recent discussions on Jerry's marvellous score. Given that it had a pretty restrictive budget, it's impressive they could afford him, but we should all be grateful - according to the IMDB, he worked extra weeks writing it to get it just right, which clearly paid off. For a fairly modest scale movie, the music is quite big at times, but somehow manages not to overwhelm what's on screen. While Ravel and a dash of early Stravinsky are perhaps the biggest influences, I particularly enjoyed the Prokofiev-esque woodwind writing, perhaps the passages that most clearly presage James Horner's work for Don Bluth. Shocked to discover that the cue "The House Raising" basically scores a breeze block being magically lifted out of some mud. Not joking. I still can't really get on with the song which is a gorgeous melody, but the twee factor is amped in both the in-movie and end credits versions. James Horner's songs for Bluth suffered a bit from this (as well as silliness) but, dammit, that man could write a great power ballad.

 

As for the film itself, the rats of NIMH (and its secret) are almost a sub-plot in their own movie. There's quite a lot of setup with Mrs Brisby and her family who need to move to avoid become mouse puree but can't because of her sick son or something. It's kinda sweet but a bit twee and you can't help but think there's a more interesting movie to be made focussing on the rats and how their society developed after escaping NIMH, which is dealt with during a flashback sequence. Mrs Brisby and family aren't the most thrilling of protagonists. The animation is beautiful, however, using lots of special animated effects - the sparkle of water or part of magical lighting effects, light haze and glow, shadows etc. - that would have been far more difficult to accomplish in the 80s than now where you could just overlay these effects by computer. The character gestures tend to be a little over the top at times, a little more subtly in movement would have conveyed the drama/comedy/whatever just as effectively.

 

Final word on the picture quality which could clearly do with some cleaning up. The actual animated characters mostly look fine with the dirt and grain more obvious in the backgrounds. Apparently it was cleaned up for DVD release but I guess Blu-Ray is just less forgiving.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Tv quality independent film. Makes a decent social statement. Wrecks a lot of police cars almost as many as the blues brothers

[Chen G. 3,950]

5 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

Tolkien - decent and ultimately quite moving biopic of the LOTR creator's formative years, with Nicholas Hoult and Colm Meaney.  

 

I gave this another look recently. Forgot how pretty everything looks: a very lovely-looking period film. Otherwise, its very conventional and at times a little staid, but its ultimately quite nice.

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

2 hours ago, Chen G. said:

 

I gave this another look recently. Forgot how pretty everything looks: a very lovely-looking period film. Otherwise, its very conventional and at times a little staid, but its ultimately quite nice.

'Quite nice' is a good description (although the horrors of the Somme are quite vividly evoked). It was frankly a pleasure to watch something like this untouched by any 'it's been made relevant for a modern audience' nonsense. 

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

9 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

As for the film itself, the rats of NIMH (and its secret) are almost a sub-plot in their own movie. There's quite a lot of setup with Mrs Brisby and her family who need to move to avoid become mouse puree but can't because of her sick son or something. It's kinda sweet but a bit twee and you can't help but think there's a more interesting movie to be made focussing on the rats and how their society developed after escaping NIMH, which is dealt with during a flashback sequence.

 

Well, the book (which I haven't read) is called Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, so the film title maybe gives them more weight than they were intended to have.