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

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,109]

Dunno how anyone can dislike the 76 version.

[Jamie Dutton 7,656]

Hard to believe, isn't it

[Tallguy 4,738]

1 hour ago, The Train Station said:

Dunno how anyone can dislike the 76 version.

 

It's not that hard. It has some very high highs (most of the cast) but there are big parts that are terrible.

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,109]

I like how moody it is, and the towers.

[Jamie Dutton 7,656]

 

Actually, the 1976 King Kong is the best one. I love it.

 

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,109]

Best King Kong score, too

[Tallguy 4,738]

Just now, The Train Station said:

Best King Kong score, too

 

That's fair. But Newton Howard's is pretty damn good too.

[Jamie Dutton 7,656]

Jacko's KK puts me to sleep but I do like the Skull Island ride at Universal Studios. Better as a 3 minute theme park ride.

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,109]

7 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

 

That's fair. But Newton Howard's is pretty damn good too.

 

I don't mind the JNH one, it's got some great highlights. I even like the Max Steiner score, plus his second one. But the John Barry one just hits the sweet spot.

[Jamie Dutton 7,656]

[filmmusic 2,349]

11 hours ago, John Dutton said:

Aren't you distracted by the tree when you watch the movie?

Which reminds me, I really should watch soon the Christmas masterpiece that it's called: Batman Returns! 

[Jurassic Shark 13,719]

11 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Aren't you distracted by the tree when you watch the movie?

Which reminds me, I really should watch soon the Christmas masterpiece that it's called: Die Hard! 

 

Fixed.

[Naïve Old Fart 10,790]

BATMAN RETURNS; DIE HARD.

They are both great Christmas films.

[crocodile 8,738]

Godzilla Minus One

Incendies

The City of Lost Children

 

Karol

 

[Tallguy 4,738]

18 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Which reminds me, I really should watch soon the Christmas masterpiece that it's called: Batman Returns! 

That's a compelling statement.

 

I'm not sure why I think it's obvious that Die Hard is a Christmas movie (we just watched it the other night), I can certainly see where Batman Returns is a Christmas movie, but I totally balk at Gremlins being a Christmas movie. Weird, huh? Probably because I have very specific memories of Gremlins being a summer film. I mean, sure I have the same memories of Batman Returns being in the summer and I saw it many more times in the theater than I did Gremlins. (And summer in Phoenix is SUMMER.) And I remember seeing Die Hard (and unfortunately Die Hard 2 - ecccchhh!) in the summer as well! Arrrrgh! I make no sense!

[Edmilson 9,427]

I like the Danny Elfman score

 

 

[filmmusic 2,349]

10 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

and unfortunately Die Hard 2 - ecccchhh!

Why the expression?

I love Die Hard 2! Maybe more than the first one.

[Naïve Old Fart 10,790]

DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE is, imo, much better than DIE HARD 2.

[Jurassic Shark 13,719]

I find it the weakest of the three, but it has the benefit of not being so similar to the first. 

[Tallguy 4,738]

25 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Why the expression?

I love Die Hard 2! Maybe more than the first one.

 

Because I HATE that movie.

 

I got to watch it once with not only a room full of fellow flight students but a couple of Air Traffic Control interns. The people who were just there for the party practically had PTSD from watching us totally savage the film. Good times. (No that's not a reference to John Amos.)

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,109]

I like Die Hard 2. It still has that 20th Century Fox action movie feel to it. The third one feels more like a Le Studio Canal or Carolco movie, which just feels off to me. It doesn't help that Fox didn't initially release it on DVD in Australia, instead it was through Village Roadshow, which irrationally annoyed me and I refused to count it as a Die Hard movie.

[Edmilson 9,427]

I think Die Hard 2 is the only one of the franchise I haven't seen. The first one is obviously a classic, 3 is decent and 5 is one of the worst movies of the last decade.

 

The fourth is the one that means the most to me personally. Saw the trailer in theaters when we went to watch The Simpsons Movie back when I was 14. I thought the trailer was awesome so despite not having seen the previous three at that point I was so hyped for 4.0 (yep, that's how it's called here, a much better title than "Live Free or Die Hard").

 

Eventually watched it on DVD while eating chocolate cake in a Sunday evening 

 

This was one of the coolest and most oft-seen images of Hollywood cinema in 2007:

 

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,109]

Raylan Givens was a cool baddie.

[Naïve Old Fart 10,790]

DIE HARD 2 has a lot going for it (Franco Nero; William Sadler; Bonnie Bedelia; decent visual effects by ILM) but it just seems to be a rehash of 1. Even McClane says "How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?". It's Die Hard's "This never happened to the other fella". You almost expect him to wink at the camera as he says it.

It's all a bit knowing and meta.

The biggest gripe I have about 2 is the editing, especially since I know who the editor was. It doesn't have his usual sharpness about it. Shots stay on screen for a few frames too long. It's not his (it's not anyone's) best work.

As Paul Simon says, DIE HARD 2 is "alright in a sort of limited way, for an off night", but it really can't hold a candle to the immaculately constructed original.

[Edmilson 9,427]

2007 was a cool year to be a nerdy teenage boy. The conclusion of the Spider-Maguire and Pirates of the Caribbean sagas, last Harry Potter book, 300 and Die Hard 4.0 kicking ass, The Simpsons Movie... and the first Transformers, which even as a kid I didn't care for (unpopular opinion: I prefer Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer).

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,109]

The Die Hard 2 OST is the best way to hear Die Hard music.

[Davis 3,331]

38 minutes ago, The Train Station said:

The Die Hard 2 OST is the best part of Die Hard 2.

Fixed.

[A24 4,658]

Die Hard? Again?! You guys have a more diverse taste in soundtracks than you have in movies. 

[Tallguy 4,738]

Just now, A24 said:

Die Hard? Again?! You guys have a more diverse taste in soundtracks than you have in movies. 

 

I mean what's next? White Christmas? It's a Wonderful Life?

[Davis 3,331]

HOME ALONE - 1138th time's the charm.

[Meredith McKay 7,067]

27 minutes ago, Davis said:

HOME ALONE - 1138th time's the charm.

I see what you did there

[filmmusic 2,349]

51 minutes ago, A24 said:

Die Hard? Again?! You guys have a more diverse taste in soundtracks than you have in movies. 

I prefer to see great movies that I have seen over and over again, than trying new movies that prove to be bad...

Anyway, this is Christmas period for me so I watch as many of my Christmas*  blu-rays/UHDs as I can.

 

*movies that are about Christmas or contain one or more Christmas scenes/settings.

 

On to watching Batman Returns now, and I will come back with my post about it.

(also, I was wondering: First Blood which I love too, has a couple of Christmas decorations here and there. Should I watch it in this period? Problems.. )

[Naïve Old Fart 10,790]

 

@filmmusic, it doesn't matter when you watch FIRST BLOOD, because it's a brilliant film, all year round.

I've never considered it to be a Christmas film.

[Jamie Dutton 7,656]

Titanic is also a Christmas film, because it came out around Christmas

[Naïve Old Fart 10,790]

[Edmilson 9,427]

Iron Man 3 is also a Christmas movie. It was written by Shane Black and set around Christmas even though it was released in May.

[Tallguy 4,738]

31 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

I can never not see that he's doing a Lou Costello impression.

[filmmusic 2,349]

 

I don't know if it's nostalgia talking (I saw this film at the theater at the age of 12), but this film is a masterpiece (among my 10 favorite films ever).

The characters (I identify with some aspects of both villains' characters, although I didn't turn into a villain ), the effects, miniature work (all these would be CGI today), the film score (among my 10 non-Williams favorite scores ever), the Christmas setting (the reason I love Christmas is because it creates an irony - the time when most people are supposed to be happy, the magic, etc. come in complete contrast to the real world where everything sucks!)...

Pfeiffer and DeVito are brilliant!

I cannot find a fault at this film..

[Jamie Dutton 7,656]

It's a trashy perversion of Batman, unlike the Nolan Trilogy, the real masterpiece.

[filmmusic 2,349]

8 minutes ago, John Dutton said:

unlike the Nolan Trilogy, the real masterpiece.

I like the 2nd movie due only to Ledger, but the other 2 movies (especially the 3rd).... (looking at imdb...71 in top 250 imdb films for the 3rd movie?? really!? It was one of the worst I have ever seen)

 

[Jamie Dutton 7,656]

The Penguin is a deformed monster who eats cats, spits bile and wants to kill children and sexually assault women, Catwoman is a 90 pound secretary who is pushed out of a high rise window by her boss and suddenly becomes an athletic dominatrix fighter who is capable of taking on Batman. Batman himself sadistically kills people without remorse. It's just a mean-spirited misanthropic weird Tim Burton movie that has nothing to do with Batman.

[Edmilson 9,427]

I do love Batman Begins. Watched it when I was 12 and I was impressed with how cool it was. Dark and gritty and yet still somewhat kid-friendly (Nolan said he made the movie with 11 year old boys in mind).

 

TDK might be theoretically better but it's less "enjoyable" than Begins. It's kinda like the equivalent of Skyfall for the Batman franchise: the moment it stopped being fun action blockbusters and became something the artsy-fartsy "mature" crowds unironically enjoys.

 

Still, I suppose Christian Bale is the Batman of my generation, despite my hatred for TDKR (Nolan's worst film ever). And because of that Gen Zrs who overpopulate Twitter are screaming on social media how uncool Bale is compared to Pattinson.

[Tallguy 4,738]

Pattinson is the first Batman that I just have no time for. Not the first Batman MOVIE I have no time for. But Kilmer and Clooney should have been in far better movies.

 

I think The Dark Knight is woefully overrated and The Dark Knight Rises is underrated. I like Begins a lot.

[Meredith McKay 7,067]

54 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

I do love Batman Begins. Watched it when I was 12 and I was impressed with how cool it was. Dark and gritty and yet still somewhat kid-friendly (Nolan said he made the movie with 11 year old boys in mind).

 

TDK might be theoretically better but it's less "enjoyable" than Begins. It's kinda like the equivalent of Skyfall for the Batman franchise: the moment it stopped being fun action blockbusters and became something the artsy-fartsy "mature" crowds unironically enjoys.

 

Still, I suppose Christian Bale is the Batman of my generation, despite my hatred for TDKR (Nolan's worst film ever). And because of that Gen Zrs who overpopulate Twitter are screaming on social media how uncool Bale is compared to Pattinson.

To be fair, Bale does look like a dork at times..

[Jamie Dutton 7,656]

55 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

I do love Batman Begins. Watched it when I was 12 and I was impressed with how cool it was. Dark and gritty and yet still somewhat kid-friendly (Nolan said he made the movie with 11 year old boys in mind).

 

TDK might be theoretically better but it's less "enjoyable" than Begins. It's kinda like the equivalent of Skyfall for the Batman franchise: the moment it stopped being fun action blockbusters and became something the artsy-fartsy "mature" crowds unironically enjoys.

 

Still, I suppose Christian Bale is the Batman of my generation, despite my hatred for TDKR (Nolan's worst film ever). And because of that Gen Zrs who overpopulate Twitter are screaming on social media how uncool Bale is compared to Pattinson.

 

Actually, I think your generation worships Ben Affleck and Zack Snyder.

 

Bale is like the Millennial/Gen X-accessible version, but we've had several.

[Edmilson 9,427]

I think TDKR is the only Bat-movie that can be considered truly bad. These days I'm more forgiving of the Schumacher films (at the very least they're hilarious and have astounding Goldenthal scores) and Batman v Superman (which has the best Bat-fight scene in a Bat-movie). 

 

But TDKR is just annoyingly bad. I can forgive a movie where it's bad but at least it put me in a good mood (like B&R) but I can't forgive a bad movie that disguises itself as a good and "serious" one despite the atrocious script.

[Meredith McKay 7,067]

43 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

But TDKR is just annoyingly bad. I can forgive a movie where it's bad but at least it put me in a good mood (like B&R) but I can't forgive a bad movie that disguises itself as a good and "serious" one despite the atrocious script.

It's extremely painful..

 

 

 

 

 

...for you.

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,109]

Of courrrsh!

[Sweeping Strings 2,698]

OHMSS - annual festive season rewatch, a welcome chance to wallow in its magnificence yet again. Lazenby accepting the multi-picture deal that was apparently on the table rather than bailing is one of the great Bond 'what ifs'.

[Tallguy 4,738]

27 minutes ago, Sweeping Strings said:

OHMSS - annual festive season rewatch, a welcome chance to wallow in its magnificence yet again. Lazenby accepting the multi-picture deal that was apparently on the table rather than bailing is one of the great Bond 'what ifs'.

 

So, DO you know how Christmas trees are grown?