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

[Quintus 5,399]

Allen and Ford lack chemistry and their first scene together really falls flat - Ford is just wooden.

Never heard that said about the legendary bar scene before. Anyway, I disagree.

Judas!

?

[Matt C 452]

The Conjuring

James Wan's crowning achievement and the best horror film in a decade. He really crafts a convincing 1970s time period and just crafts a very spooky and eerie atmosphere, with well-placed jump scares. It's refreshing that it earned an R-rating solely because of that, rather than sex or gore. But Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are the glue that holds this together, and they are good. Big minus is only Joseph Bishara's score, should've been more melodic other than the "Family Theme" cue Mark Isham composed.

I'm glad this is getting a sequel, but unless a miracle happens, it's not going to be as good as the first.

[Quintus 5,399]

I thought it was pretty good until MTV took over in the second half.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Never heard of Joseph Bishara so I googled him and got this.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I have his autographed CD from LLL!

I'm ambivalent towards The Conjuring. It starts off promisingly, but then becomes another run-of-the-mill exorcism rip-off. I like Wan's Insidious movies more. They're more consistent and unafraid to just be fun, spooky and schlocky.

[A24 4,326]

with well-placed jump scares.

I'll never forget the opening scene with the doll.

[Matt C 452]

That sequence with Vera Farmiga in the basement with the music box is still very jolting, and one of the scariest scenes in the film (next to the one with Lili Taylor in the dark basement). Not saying Wan delivered a strikingly original film, but I think he really brings an atmospheric and ominous tone throughout the film. (Insidious is more out there than I'd like.)

I just love how old-school he was with the first portion of the film, so good. I hope he comes back for the follow-up.

[KK 3,307]

I loved the first half, but was disappointed with the well-trodden road it took with the second half.

And I think the music was effective.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I'm looking forward to the Annabelle spin-off. She already featured prominently in the promotional material for The Conjuring!

[DreamTheater 131]

It's been a long time I have been so affected by a horror score as the one Bishara wrote for the first Insidious. From the moment those screeching violins make their entrance with the opening titles I knew I was in for something quite special, a much more ominous and twisted tale than what we normally get in this genre. In a sense the score creates the most effective ambience possible for such a film. And watching Insidious with a good multi-channel sound setup is hair-raising to say the least.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I think Chris Young's Sinister is even more unsettling. It's probably the most frightening score I've ever heard.

[A24 4,326]

The only time I was frightened by music was when I was 4 and Peter And The Wolf was on the radio. I hid under the table until my mother was back home.

Alex

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

For me it'd be The Rite of Spring in FANTASIA (the sudden cut to the volcanoes with the 'Augurs of Spring' polychords chugging away) and Leonard Rosenman's score to FANTASTIC VOYAGE.

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Scary music, eh? Having gotten into Kubrick at the age of 7, the answers should be obvious.

[Incanus 5,713]

The Maltese Falcon: Doesn't quite have the same level of witty tough detective banter as The Big Sleep but it is still a great old fashioned detective story/film noir with archetypical cast of curious characters. Bogart is slightly more steely as Sam Spade than as Philip Marlowe but pulls off this kind of stoic toughness tempered with wit and moxy very well. The plot is a bit convoluted to be so simple but it is fun to see how Spade sifts through the web of lies in the mystery of the falcon statuette, the stuff that dreams are made of. There is a good dose of humour also to spice the atmosphere which brings just right balance of suspense and fun to the whole thing. It is such a classic that you can spot countless lines, iconography and plot points that are all used in later works or in popular culture.

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

The Raid - enjoyed the hell out of this ... man alive, the fight choreography was CRAZY. And kudos to it for clocking in at a lean 95 minutes, I see that the sequel runs for 2 hours 20. Hmmm ...

[crocodile 7,984]

The Raid - enjoyed the hell out of this ... man alive, the fight choreography was CRAZY. And kudos to it for clocking in at a lean 95 minutes, I see that the sequel runs for 2 hours 20. Hmmm ...

Sequel is actually even better. The story is a distant shade of Michael Mann films meets The Godfather, but, man, the action is just astonishing. But yeah, it might be too long.

Karol

[Marian Schedenig 8,174]

It is such a classic that you can spot countless lines, iconography and plot points that are all used in later works or in popular culture.

And Peter Lorre is brilliant as always.

[Incanus 5,713]

It is such a classic that you can spot countless lines, iconography and plot points that are all used in later works or in popular culture.

And Peter Lorre is brilliant as always.

Brilliantly acted and well written off-kilter part.

[A24 4,326]

The Raid - enjoyed the hell out of this ... man alive, the fight choreography was CRAZY. And kudos to it for clocking in at a lean 95 minutes, I see that the sequel runs for 2 hours 20. Hmmm ...

Yes, definitely watch the sequel too. But not right away, give yourself some time to recover.

[nightscape94 965]

Dead Man Walking

Extremely powerful and emotional film.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

That slimy little bugger got what was coming to him. They should have used the firing squad instead!

[crocodile 7,984]

I remember you mentioning how you liked the location/set used for final confrontation (that gigantic room). It feels almost as something from Overlook Hotel, doesn't it?

Karol

[Matt C 452]

The Raid - enjoyed the hell out of this ... man alive, the fight choreography was CRAZY. And kudos to it for clocking in at a lean 95 minutes, I see that the sequel runs for 2 hours 20. Hmmm ...

Sequel is actually even better. The story is a distant shade of Michael Mann films meets The Godfather, but, man, the action is just astonishing. But yeah, it might be too long.

Karol

I've only seen the sequel, and the action wore me out. Nothing against the brutality and realism of it, but I was exhausted well before it was over.

Twister - This film still holds up. CGI still holds up remarkably well, still reasonably well-paced, and Cary Elwes' character is fucking useless and drags the film. Had Crichton and his wife had written out the rival storm chaser out, the movie would be even better. On second thought, Jami Gertz is also annoying as Bill Paxton's fiancee. And Mark Mancina's score is still really beautiful, with the harmonious main theme being put through various guises.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Find this road. It's like Bob's Road.

[Matt C 452]

"Red meat, we crave sustenance."

"Guys, we are not invading my aunt."

"Food! Food!! FOOODD!"

"Guys, we are absolutely NOT going."

"Oh my God, who are these people?"

"I don't think so!"

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

God, Meg, you got a lotta beef. Where'd you get all this beef?

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

The Black Hole

Somewhat fun, but mostly meh. The most interesting thing is tracing what influenced it/what it influenced. Barry's score has some high points but is a bit same-y for most of the duration. Shame about that clumsy and goofy "heroic" theme, too.

Of course the film looks cool. Schell is great but underused. There's a nice sort of atmosphere when folks are sneaking around and exploring the Cygnus. But it all still feels pretty empty and silly and meh. Hasn't aged well.

[nightscape94 965]

Escape from New York

A flick that is not entirely successful but still relatively entertaining. Doesn't quite live up to the promise of the first 30 minutes though.

[A24 4,326]

The Black Hole

... it all still feels pretty empty and silly and meh. Hasn't aged well.

The Black Hole was already 'silly' when it came out in the theaters.

Escape from New York

A flick that is not entirely successful but still relatively entertaining. Doesn't quite live up to the promise of the first 30 minutes though.

It's cheap, it has no taste, it's not a B but a C movie ... the 'C' of Carpenter!

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Percy Jackson and the Olympian Thief- A watchable if forgettable adaptation of the novel. The score by Christopher Beck gets the job done but I yearn to hear what John Williams' take on it would have been. I wonder if it was a situation like Oliver Stone's World Trade Center where he was asked to score but turned the assignment down.

6/10

[filmmusic 1,823]

Some early Williams scored films I hadn't watched till now:

Daddy-O (1959)

I passed for White (1960)

The Secret Ways (1961)

Penelope (1966)

Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969)

I don't think I would watch them again except the last one.

It was a pleasant surprise.

I didn't know it was a kind of Hitchcockian thriller.

And the score was quite good too. I would welcome a release!

[A24 4,326]

Battleship: All the bad things you've heard about it, all the way down to the performance and presence of Rihanna, are not exaggerated. I can't think of anything positive to say. Name me anything and I will tell you it was bad. Liam Neeson, you say? He was bad. Even the sound design felt so very post-production. The Michael Bay/Tony Scott feel and look of the movie tells me Koray might like it. But even he must admit the score is one of the most dull and repetitive ever created. A flop in The States but sadly the rest of the world made sure Battleship ended up with a nice profit. Life is not fair! 2/10

Alex

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Unlike you, I don't watch shit films

[DreamTheater 131]

Escape from New York

A flick that is not entirely successful but still relatively entertaining. Doesn't quite live up to the promise of the first 30 minutes though.

Still miles better than the sequel.

And Kurt has never been cooler ! Except for Stuntman Mike maybe.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I vastly prefer the sequel.

[Jay 37,287]

I can't imagine any reason why I'd ever see Battleship

[A24 4,326]

The other movies on TV were chick flicks.

Unlike you, I don't watch shit films

Try it, you've defended worse!

[Wojo 2,453]

I was bored one time last year when I got a free sample of HBO and I watched Battleship. I was bored and it was just watchable enough to keep on. Brooklyn Decker was nice to look at, but Rihanna was obnoxious.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I was bored and it was just watchable enough to keep on. Brooklyn Decker was nice to look at,

Ok...i get that!

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

Dunno if she ends up in the sea in Battleship, but it looks like she's all good for buoyancy aids ...

[nightscape94 965]

Dunno if she ends up in the sea in Battleship, but it looks like she's all good for buoyancy aids ...

Those aren't buoys...

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Whatley!

[Matt C 452]

God, Meg, you got a lotta beef. Where'd you get all this beef?

"Did you see my cows out front?"

"No."

God, this movie is endlessly quotable. Thank God Joss Whedon was the script doctor for that.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Fire in the Sky. Scares the shit out of me every time. Probably one of the most underrated films of the last 20 years. I'm not just talking about the little guys gagging the poor fuck with slime and a really long tube while he's suffocated to the table by a giant condom, either, although that is LEGENDARY sci-fi/horror. Everyone knows that part. George Lucas even thought he could rip it off for the operation scene in Revenge of the Sith without anyone noticing. But I did, you putz.

But I digress. It's also the entire buildup to the alien scene...it really comes out of nowhere after all the Earthly drama in some mountain town, most of which is pretty good. I like how it touches upon various facets of the UFO phenomenon, but mostly this is a real world setting with appropriate non-believers. They even try to make the audience skeptical. It take the subject matter fairly seriously and paints a realistic little Bill Pope-photographed picture, right to the bitter eye-stabbing end. It would never have worked without Robert Patrick, ILM and the aforementioned genius running the camera. It's mostly a small kind of picture (there's an almost TV movie vibe to it), it just happens to contain a huge sci-fi special effects scene for like 10-15 minutes.

[nightscape94 965]

Mad Max

Hadn't seen it all the way through in a long time. It's a lot more surreal than I remembered, and the overall structure is weird (not saying that's a bad thing). The revenge section is way too quick, with a very abrupt ending. Cool flick, if a bit bizarre.

[DreamTheater 131]

Mad Max

Hadn't seen it all the way through in a long time. It's a lot more surreal than I remembered, and the overall structure is weird (not saying that's a bad thing). The revenge section is way too quick, with a very abrupt ending. Cool flick, if a bit bizarre.

Saw it for the first time couple of days ago... Bizarre is the word. The first half made little sense, but the second half became more watchable and fun. Up next The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome. Also looking forward to the new one, which the trailer makes out to be quite awesome in the action department.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

The second and third films are quite different from the first one. More conventional, in a way.

And yes, the trailer for the new one looked pretty damn good. Let's hope the finished film lives up to the hype.

[Matt C 452]

National Velvet

I'm impressed. It's an earnest, entertaining, and gorgeously shot family movie. I never saw what people saw in the older Elizabeth Taylor's work, but here she is a likable, vivacious and sweet protagonist. Every penny of that $2 million budget is on screen, especially the lush Technicolor camerawork, the stunning matte paintings, and the impressive stunt work. I was almost convinced that the production took place in England, but then Mickey Rooney's Midwest accent ruins that illusion.

I don't know why WB hasn't done an Ultra-Resolution restoration of this film. It's a classic on par with The Adventures of Robin Hood, Ben Hur, Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.

[Marian Schedenig 8,174]

WB has been lacking when it comes to Blu releases of some of their classics. I'm still waiting for Captain Blood and Sea Hawk.