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

[crocodile 8,075]

I've not watched them since I was 7-9 or something like that. I enjoyed it back then.

Oh I've seen Spirited Away a few nights ago. I really enjoyed it, but my favourite would still be Princess Mononoke.

Karol

[Quintus 5,399]

Sorry but some of Moore's Bond are very good films.

He's still my favourite Bond. Craig just made me watch the series on Jason Bourne terms, pulling it off with surety.

[crocodile 8,075]

I think Skyfall managed to reconcile this new Bond with the old one. In some ways at least.

Karol

[Matt C 456]

Hot Shots!

I was very young when this film came out (around 4 years old), but a lot of the jokes and gags are still funny. Loved Lloyd Bridges' apeshit crazy Admiral Benson, as well as the sendup of The Fabulous Baker Boys.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Hot Shots! Part Deux is my favorite comedy alongside Wrongfully Accused.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Really?

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah, he also loves Men in Tights. Which is tied with Kill Bill 2 for the worst movie I've ever seen.

[publicist 4,643]

KILL BILL 2 is brilliant. MEN IN TIGHTS is terrible.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Yeah, he also loves Men in Tights. Which is tied with Kill Bill 2 for the worst movie I've ever seen.

really???

Men in Tights is silly but hardly the worst movie ever and Kill Bill 2 is terrific.

now worst movie ever, Fight Club, Alien 3, Benjamin Button, Cape Fear remake, and Jacob's Ladder, those are some of mine.

[Quintus 5,399]

I wanted to walk out of KB2 but couldn't because I was our group's driver.

[Faleel 5,454]

Die Another Day

The Living Daylights

Licence To Kill

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I wanted to walk out of KB2 but couldn't because I was our group's driver.

that would have been too funny.

[Quintus 5,399]

The equivalent these days would be deleting friends on Facebook. Same kind of effect I'd have thought.

[Wojo 2,453]

Alien 3 is great.

[A24 4,369]

Alien 3 is great.

... at being bad.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Alien 3 is great.

on opposite day.

[A24 4,369]

Agreed!

[Jay 37,544]

So, is this the first time when a second sequel (the third movie in a franchise) is the best one of the lot? (not that I believe the first one was unbeatable, far from it)

Alex

Hey, now there's a whole article online about it!

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/movie-threequels-that-outshone-the-originals-143328997.html

Mentions pretty much all the movies we already did.

[Uni 306]

So, is this the first time when a second sequel (the third movie in a franchise) is the best one of the lot? (not that I believe the first one was unbeatable, far from it)

I call Return of the King sir. Although I know many will disagree with me.

Gah! You beat me to it!

Alien 3 is great.

No, no. It's spelled G-A-W-D-A-W-F-U-L. (I hate it when my spell-checker does that, too.)

Went out for animated films over the weekend (made it a time for the little ones), and got two extreme ends of the spectrum. First was The Croods, which I have to say was the most entertaining animated film I've seen in a long time—and there have been some pretty good ones recently. It was hilariously clever, brought some great action bits, and had a nice, poignant undercurrent about the importance of family and broadening your horizons. Some of the best fun I had was imagining what Nicholas Cage looked like when he was performing his dialogue for the dad. Too funny.

***1/2 out of ****

The next day brought another one: Escape From Planet Earth, a film that proved to be the complete opposite of The Croods: Painfully unfunny, forced, cliched, about as unoriginal (how many alien/Earth/Area 51 animated movies have we been treated to in the last few years?) and unclever as its creators could manage to make it. I didn't crack a smile once from beginning to end, though not for lack of effort on the parts of everyone involved. How bad was it? It came as a complete surprise to learn during the end credits that William Shatner played the evil general in command at Area 51. How in the hell do you not use Shat in a way that we know exactly whose voice it is while we're watching? Opportunities for a dozen inside jokes were left on the table, replaced with the equivalent of a hundred knock-knock jokes about aliens.

I used to think that just about any animated comedy would be at least somewhat entertaining, given the effort that goes into them. Now—at the cost of an hour and a half of agonizing awkwardness—I know better.

1/2 out of ****

- Uni

[crocodile 8,075]

Alien 3 is great.

It's a much better film than most people say, that's for sure.

Karol

[Jay 37,544]

Life Of Pi

Wow, what a magical film! I was mesmerized already by the opening credits (combination of visuals, music, and everything), and then after a little bit of setup, when the meat of the movie begins - Pi being stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean with a tiger - it just becomes pure magic! This film is SO COLORFUL and looks FANTASTIC - it MUST be seen in HD, and MAN do I wish I had seen it in the theater! Some of the shots in this film are instant classics. I can see why Ang Lee won Best Director for this film, he did fantastic, fantastic work.

Apart from all that, I did enjoy the story, I was engaged the entire time. Heartily recommended.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Alien 3 is great.

It's a much better film than most people say, that's for sure.

Karol

again on opposite day. or since you're from England, it's great 28 Days later...

OMG what if it were the only film to survive a Zombie or Rage apacolypse

[A24 4,369]

Alien 3 is great.

It's a much better film than most people say, that's for sure.

Karol

It's worse and that's a fact.

Alex

[crocodile 8,075]

Remind me again: why is it bad?

Karol

[Quintus 5,399]

I find it watchable mediocrity. I'm not disgusted by it or anything like that. Prometheus was worse.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Prometheus was flawed, but still in the hands of a better director, and it looks great, something Alien 3 does not, nor does Prometheus suffer from bad technical work.

[crocodile 8,075]

What technical work? The effects look kind of shit, but otherwise the film looks fine to me.

Karol

[Jay 37,544]

I thought the technical aspects of Prometheus were brilliant. It was the script that sucked.

[A24 4,369]

Remind me again: why is it bad?

Karol

To make sure that I didn't miss anything, I watched it 3 times over a period of 20 years with enough time in between every viewing to allow myself to grow as a film viewer. However, in those 3 viewings, I couldn't find a single thing that was good about it. That's why is bad! Of course, you'll say, you don't like it because David Fincher is not your style. Wrong! I'm not Joey. He's biased, just like the Fincher apostles are biased. I'm Switzerland. I'm not an apostle. I'm not a hater. When Fincher is good, he's good. Se7en, Fight Club and The Social Network are standing proudly on my Blu-ray shelf. That means, of all the posters here at JWfan, I'm the most honest judge.

Judge Alex - I am the law

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Like Alex Fincher is hit or miss for me. But i do love the hits!

[Faleel 5,454]

Fincher is hot.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

That is a distortion!

[crocodile 8,075]

Remind me again: why is it bad?

Karol

To make sure that I didn't miss anything, I watched it 3 times over a period of 20 years with enough time in between every viewing to allow myself to grow as a film viewer. However, in those 3 viewings, I couldn't find a single thing that was good about it. That's why is bad! Of course, you'll say, you don't like it because David Fincher is not your style. Wrong! I'm not Joey. He's biased, just like the Fincher apostles are biased. I'm Switzerland. I'm not an apostle. I'm not a hater. When Fincher is good, he's good. Se7en, Fight Club and The Social Network are standing proudly on my Blu-ray shelf. That means, of all the posters here at JWfan, I'm the most honest judge.

Didn't like The Social Network and I truly despise Fight Club. Not sure what an adult can find in the latter, to be honest.

Alien 3, with all its shortcomings, is better than them both. There, I said it.

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Fight Club is moronic nonsense pretending to be deep!

The Social Network is really good!

[Jay 37,544]

Fincher films for me

Seven: Loved it when I saw it, haven't seen it since I was in college

The Game: Loved it the first time I saw it, which was a VHS rental sometime after I saw Fight Club. Saw it again recently on Criterion Blu and enjoyed the performances but wasn't as drawn into it all as I was the first time. Still, I'd watch it again.

Fight Club: One of my favorite films of all time!

Panic Room: Enjoyed it immensely when I saw it in theaters, which was opening night. Haven't seen it since.

Zodiac: Loved it in the theater. Want to see the Director's Cut

Benjamin Button: Big meh, didn't like the story or the main character's thought process, and it was too slow. His biggest misfire.

The Social Network: It was enjoyable enough, but not Best Movie Of The Year material.

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: AWESOME. Saw it in the theater, watched it again at home already since. Probably my second favorite Fincher film.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

What technical work? The effects look kind of shit, but otherwise the film looks fine to me.

Karol

you just stated what I was talking about. In the time the film was made there was no reason for such poor effects. None.

The reason I think Alien 3 failed is not because I'm Switzerland, I'm not, and it has nothing to do with my dislike of Fincher(my dislike is a result of this film), it's because of the piss poor story, the breaking of the xenobyte's rules. Yes Weaver is very good, but what film isn't she good in.

I saw Alien 3 when it came out. I only knew Fincher as Madonna's video director and I liked his style. He failed me.

I really didn't like Fight Club, think it's awful on so many levels, Se7en is decent, but it's a poor man's Silence of the Lambs. I thought Pitt was awful in FC and 7, Benjamin Button was a nightmare of unending smaltz. A no chemistry, no joy film. How can you make a film about a man who ages backward uninteresting, ask Fincher. I did like his Tattoo film, found it superior in everyway to the Swedish version.

[A24 4,369]

Fincher films for me

Seven: Loved it when I saw it, haven't seen it since I was in college

The Game: Loved it the first time I saw it, which was a VHS rental sometime after I saw Fight Club. Saw it again recently on Criterion Blu and enjoyed the performances but wasn't as drawn into it all as I was the first time. Still, I'd watch it again.

Fight Club: One of my favorite films of all time!

Panic Room: Enjoyed it immensely when I saw it in theaters, which was opening night. Haven't seen it since.

Zodiac: Loved it in the theater. Want to see the Director's Cut

Benjamin Button: Big meh, didn't like the story or the main character's thought process, and it was too slow. His biggest misfire.

The Social Network: It was enjoyable enough, but not Best Movie Of The Year material.

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: AWESOME. Saw it in the theater, watched it again at home already since. Probably my second favorite Fincher film.

Is there a movie, a TV serie, a person, an animal, a planet that you don't love?

Then again, how can anyone hate a planet?!

Fight Club is considered Fincher's masterpiece, his piece de resistance, a game changer. But IMO, his bad to mediocre to okay ones are Alien 3 (his very worst - Fincher unworthy), The Game, Benjamin Button, Panic Room, Zodiac, Girl with Dragon tattoo. His highlights, classics, best work, and so on: Se7en, Fight Club and probably The Social Network but I only seen it once.

[Jay 37,544]

Oh my god I hate movies I see all the time!

[A24 4,369]

I still have to see proof of that. From the 80+ post you do daily, most contain words "love", "awesome" and "brilliant". Even Ebert was more critical.

[Jay 37,544]

OK, how about this one?

This Is Spinal Tap

OK, the great moments of that film are indeed great. "Ours go to eleven", getting lost getting to the stage, tiny stonehenge, "none more black", and getting trapped in the pod are classic moments. But in between is a LOT of filler. There is about 1 funny bit every 10 minutes in this film, which luckily only runs 80 minutes. Had this been cut down to a 40 minute short film, it would be brilliant. but instead, it can be tough to get through.

[crocodile 8,075]

Bzzzzt wrong answer, there is "brilliant" in there.

Karol

[Uni 306]

I like a lot of what Fincher does. I'm one of the few around here (and I know it) who thinks The Game was his best film. I think Se7en is a story of a perfect crime perfectly executed (no pun intended), though it's hard to watch something that disturbing and think of it as entertainment. I remember liking Fight Club when I saw it, but I have to confess I remember very little about it (which may be saying something in itself). Same goes for Panic Room, which is the movie that made me begin to think Fincher could only work with dark, heavy material. Benjamin Button was long, yes, but a decent character piece. I didn't love it, but certainly don't hate it.

I haven't seen The Social Club or Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so I can't comment.

Alien3 sucked because it departed from everything that made the Alien franchise work so well to that point. There were no interesting characters to speak of—save Ripley, of course, and even she had a hard time being compelling on the planet of Dark'n'drab 4. They replaced the Colonial Marines, who were distinct, admirable, and engaging, with a buncha prisoners you couldn't tell apart because they were all bald and dirty. They were alien fodder, just like the Marines, but you didn't care that they were alien fodder. Aside from a few shots (and granted, the original chestburster scene was one of them), the first two films in the franchise were remarkably blood-and-gore free. They were intense thrillers that didn't need graphic deaths to scare their audiences. A3 took it back to standard blood 'n' guts horror fare, cheap and cliched.

There are other reasons, but that covers some of the big ones. Thing is, I've always understood that Fincher was brought in late and was trying to save a doomed production. So I don't really blame him or his directorial style for this one. Sounds like it was a mess from the get-go.

- Uni

[crocodile 8,075]

They replaced the Colonial Marines, who were distinct, admirable, and engaging, with a buncha prisoners you couldn't tell apart because they were all bald and dirty. They were alien fodder, just like the Marines, but you didn't care that they were alien fodder. Aside from a few shots (and granted, the original chestburster scene was one of them), the first two films in the franchise were remarkably blood-and-gore free. They were intense thrillers that didn't need graphic deaths to scare their audiences. A3 took it back to standard blood 'n' guts horror fare, cheap and cliched.

So the Marines from Aliens are not cliched?

Karol

[Uni 306]

OK, how about this one?

This Is Spinal Tap

OK, the great moments of that film are indeed great. "Ours go to eleven", getting lost getting to the stage, tiny stonehenge, "none more black", and getting trapped in the pod are classic moments. But in between is a LOT of filler. There is about 1 funny bit every 10 minutes in this film, which luckily only runs 80 minutes. Had this been cut down to a 40 minute short film, it would be brilliant. but instead, it can be tough to get through.

Nice summation. This was Christopher Guest's first full-length mockumentary, following the shorts he did for Saturday Night Live. I've always thought that he was still in "short mode" when he went to this. He did much better with the projects that followed—Waiting for Guffman (his best work), Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind. I'd recommend each of those in the order listed.

So the Marines from Aliens are not cliched?

Karol

I don't know about "cliched." The point is, they're the good guys, and the members of the core group (Hicks, Hudson, Vasquez, Gorman, Drake, the Sarge) each had distinctive traits. You could tell them apart, and that made a difference in dramatic impact. That was far from the case in Alien3.

- Uni

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Fincher is one of my favorite filmmakers, but y'all know that already.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

They replaced the Colonial Marines, who were distinct, admirable, and engaging, with a buncha prisoners you couldn't tell apart because they were all bald and dirty. They were alien fodder, just like the Marines, but you didn't care that they were alien fodder. Aside from a few shots (and granted, the original chestburster scene was one of them), the first two films in the franchise were remarkably blood-and-gore free. They were intense thrillers that didn't need graphic deaths to scare their audiences. A3 took it back to standard blood 'n' guts horror fare, cheap and cliched.

So the Marines from Aliens are not cliched?

Karol

not so much in 1986.

[Uni 306]

Good point. The reason they'd be cliched now is because of Aliens.

- Uni

[A24 4,369]

Sounds like it was a mess from the get-go.

- Uni

Also, didn't the producers call the shots during the shooting and the post-production? I mean, it's not really a David Fincher movie or an auteur film. It's a producers' film. Perhaps that's why he distanced himself from the film and why I was never fond of Alien3. When I saw Se7en, not too long after the third Alien movie, I couldn't believe it was made by the same director! But it was not until Fight Club that Fincher was given the freedom to excel and soar. Unique and daring as it is, Fight Club became his signature movie. Fincher at his most Fincher-esque.

Alex

[Jay 37,544]

I think Fincher was experimenting with different styles in every film he did until he found his modern style. Zodiac, Social Network, Dragon Tattoo, and House of Cards all have the same glossy look and editing style.

[A24 4,369]

Not sure, it depends somewhat on the movie and the cinematographer, I think. The look of some of his latest flicks reminded me very much of Se7en. I think he already developed his typical Fincher style very early on in his career. In that regard, Spielberg's style is much more diverse or changing.

Alex