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

[BloodBoal 7,538]

The film is so relentless in it's brutality that I became desenzitized to it, which certainly could not ahve been the intention. ("Oh look, another whipping! Ah, this is where the nail hios hands to a bit of wood")

Obviously a lot of dedication went into the film, and it is visually impressive, but a weirdly hollow, and very NOT uplifting experience.Which is unusual for a seligious film.

Stefan, I love you

HAHAHAHAHA!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The bad thing is that I'm actually not on my phone

I'm on medication, and it's really been screwing with me

The film is so relentless in it's brutality that I became desenzitized to it, which certainly could not ahve been the intention. ("Oh look, another whipping! Ah, this is where the nail hios hands to a bit of wood")

Obviously a lot of dedication went into the film, and it is visually impressive, but a weirdly hollow, and very NOT uplifting experience.Which is unusual for a seligious film.

Stefan, I love you

HAHAHAHAHA!

STEFAN, I LOVE YOU!

[Jay 37,371]

You made that many typos on a desktop keyboard? Oh my...

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I'm on dextromethorfan!!!

So I'm pretty much high, dude!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Jesz rhat posg szs bad

[nightscape94 965]

Troll 2

One of the most entertaining movies ever made.

7.5/10

I'm still waiting for Silent Night Deadly Night 2

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Lol. Garbage day.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Duel

This made for TV and later released in cinema's movie showcases Spielberg's strengths as a thriller and action director. Pitting an underpowered red car against a massive rusty old truck.

Dennis Weaver plays an effective lead as David Mann, the somewhat wimpy and whiny city slicker who get mixed of up a deadly cat and mouse game. Though he isnt actually interesting as a character at all.

Over the years the film has been assigned some metaphysical qualities, but in my opinion it plays best as a Tom & Jerry like road movie.

Most impressive are it's technical merits. Shot in 12 days (the TV version that is) Spielberg still manages to assemble some complex scenes and manages quite effortlessly to keep footage of a car and a truck driving along endless American roads varied and interesting. Be slowly builds suspense by at first letting the truck just be a tad annoying, then bit by bit reveal it's murderous intentions.

I would like to one day see the 74 minute version though. In the theatrical cut, the opening footage of a POV shot of the car leaving civilization lasts too long. The added scene where Mann calls his wife feels tagged, there's really no point to it then to pad the running time. It also overemphasizes the fact that Mann prefers to avoid confrontation. The school bus scene is well done technically. But it actually breaks the isolation Mann is in.

The only other character of importance is the truck, and it really does become a character. I like the way it toys with David Mann. Like a predator playing with a prey he knows can't escape.

the similarities between it and Brucey the shark are obvious.

The score by Billy Goldenberg is sparse but effective, with typical 70's edgy strings and slightly off-kilter instrumentation, and the cinematography is super for a TV film. (and it looks good is widescreen)

The film neither has the psychological depth or the sense of fun of some of Spielberg;s later films. But as a technical exercise from a young and upcoming director, it's an excellent calling card. I can see why this got him the road movie The Sugarland Express and Jaws.

[A24 4,345]

Duel

Dennis Weaver plays an effective lead as David Mann, the somewhat wimpy and whiny city slicker who get mixed of up a deadly cat and mouse game. Though he isnt actually interesting as a character at all.

I don't know why people keep saying that. To me David Mann was interesting because he was an ordinary everyman, a victim unable to take control of the situation. Very unlike the Burt Reynolds or Clint Eastwoods of that time. Is Duel a metaphor for the Holocaust?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Ah I agree. He's an early example of the Spielbergian every man. In some ways he's like the Ronny Cox character in Deliverance. Totally unable top cope (at first) when the rules of civilization no longer apply.

When I say he's uninteresting, I don't mean that as a point of criticism. But like you say, he's a dead ordinary bloke. Which is pretty much the point of the whole film.

[filmmusic 1,838]

The Entity (1982)

based on a true story

Scorseze's 4th scariest film of all time!

I'm still a bit scared.. It was totally worth the viewing!

[Jay 37,371]

What are the first 3?

[filmmusic 1,838]

What are the first 3?

Here you are:

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/12/martin-scorsese-scariest-films-the-haunting-shining

I've seen all but 2. Tomorrow I'll be seeing one of those, so that will leave me with one.

[Quintus 5,399]

Ah I agree. He's an early example of the Spielbergian every man. In some ways he's like the Ronny Cox character in Deliverance. Totally unable top cope (at first) when the rules of civilization no longer apply.

When I say he's uninteresting, I don't mean that as a point of criticism. But like you say, he's a dead ordinary bloke. Which is pretty much the point of the whole film.

Hang on - I think Weaver's character is what carries the whole movie. He's a VERY fascinating study of seething with (mundane) stress but impotent anger - Weaver embodies the very epitome of driver's aggression and the very real egotistical belief that a man's car is his fortress. For all the aggression we perceive from the the driver of the truck; it is Weaver himself who demonstrates quite literally his anger behind the wheel... and terror when met with an assailant who dares to challenge him.

Weaver's character is a supremely effective mirror reflection of all our bad behaviors on the road. Which is of course a juicy metaphor, if you want it to be.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

David Mann is the helpless bullied man, trying to run and hide from the bigger, stronger bully.

It's interesting that at one point David gets out of his car and runs to the truck to confront the driver, and thats one of the few times the truck actually retreats from him.

[Quintus 5,399]

It's interesting that at one point David gets out of his car and runs to the truck to confront the driver, and thats one of the few times the truck actually retreats from him.

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

I'm surprised to have found about the fact that youth was already so lost in its purpose in the late 60's, and this is a film that reflects that extremly well. Hell, I'd even say it has the same value today as it must have had back then. Even more, perhaps. The story is about an upper-class dropout played by Nicholson who is a very talented musician but who's completely lost in life, doing odd-jobs here and there, and being generally cold to everyone that loves him. From that description you may think he goes back to his talent and succeeds in life, but it's the complete opposite. It's how things would actually go.

Despite being such a cold film, it really moved me. I was quite impressed by Jack's performance here. I think for the most part he was actually playing the character, not just another version of himself, as we're more used to in his later films. There's a particular scene where he shines like nobody's bussiness, and apparently it was done in one single take.

The ending particularly left me speechless. I kinda saw it coming, but it was still so silent, so raw... In its own way, it was beautiful.

Probably one of my favorite "new" movies.

9/10

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

That poster really sells it for me. I love that style.

[A24 4,345]

It comes from a time when movies were made for grown-ups. Why has that era disappeared?! Damn you, Star Wars! Damn you!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I'd like that Criterion box it comes in. Maybe Madman Entertainment will buy the rights and release it in Australia lile they did the Jaques Tati box.

[filmmusic 1,838]

I'd like that Criterion box it comes in. Maybe Madman Entertainment will buy the rights and release it in Australia lile they did the Jaques Tati box.

I hope it is released individually because I love the film too (saw it recently) and I don't want to buy the whole box just for this.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

No love for Easy Rider? The box is only like $40 during one of the sales.

[Quintus 5,399]

Nah, don't like it.

[filmmusic 1,838]

I'm about to watch Special edition of Close Encounters. (with a slight fever)

I don't believe I have seen ever the original theatrical one.

I've seen once the S.E in my childhood/teens, and then years later the Director's cut twice.

Which version do you prefer?

I love the last scene in SE, and I disagree with Spielberg that says he shouldn't have included it.

I still think there is a mystery with the aliens etc. even with this scene included (i imagine he didnt' want it because he wanted a more open/mysterious ending?)

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You are wrong!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

No love for Easy Rider? The box is only like $40 during one of the sales.

No single film is worth 40 bucks

Certainly not this film. On blu it must look as bad as it did at the movies, cheap.

[filmmusic 1,838]

You are wrong!

Oh, ok..

There is an objective opinion about it then?

I thought it was a matter of personal preference!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

No love for Easy Rider? The box is only like $40 during one of the sales.

No single film is worth 40 bucks

Certainly not this film. On blu it must look as bad as it did at the movies, cheap.

No, but if people want Five Easy Pieces and also like Easy Rider, the box set ends up costing you $20 per film. That is what I was trying to get at.

[A24 4,345]

Netflix time... so naturally I ended up with another old classic:

In this scene, Rosemary doesn't have her baby yet. 6/10

Alex

[DreamTheater 131]

I'm about to watch Special edition of Close Encounters. (with a slight fever)

I don't believe I have seen ever the original theatrical one.

I've seen once the S.E in my childhood/teens, and then years later the Director's cut twice.

Which version do you prefer?

I love the last scene in SE, and I disagree with Spielberg that says he shouldn't have included it.

I still think there is a mystery with the aliens etc. even with this scene included (i imagine he didnt' want it because he wanted a more open/mysterious ending?)

That's also the cut that I prefer... but I like all three.

However when I watch the other two, I always miss the inside of the ship scene.

It's a mystery to me too that he should never have gone, gone there (as he put it) but in all honesty it does not hurt the film in any way. The ending is even more wondrous with that sequence, but that's just me.

[crocodile 8,017]

Netflix time... so naturally I ended up with another old classic:

In this scene, Rosemary doesn't have her baby yet. 6/10

Alex

Why just 6/10?

Karol

[filmmusic 1,838]

I'm about to watch Special edition of Close Encounters. (with a slight fever)

I don't believe I have seen ever the original theatrical one.

I've seen once the S.E in my childhood/teens, and then years later the Director's cut twice.

Which version do you prefer?

I love the last scene in SE, and I disagree with Spielberg that says he shouldn't have included it.

I still think there is a mystery with the aliens etc. even with this scene included (i imagine he didnt' want it because he wanted a more open/mysterious ending?)

That's also the cut that I prefer... but I like all three.

However when I watch the other two, I always miss the inside of the ship scene.

It's a mystery to me too that he should never have gone, gone there (as he put it) but in all honesty it does not hurt the film in any way. The ending is even more wondrous with that sequence, but that's just me.

Just finished it!

Magnificent!

Even knowing the film, I got goosebumps and I was moved.

Tell me know, do you (plural) see any film nowadays with such strong connection of film and music?

[publicist 4,643]

LADYHAWKE - 1985

I really like that movie but boy, it's done in by this fucking horrendous score. It sounds like Starship but that ain't the problem - its wedded to the movie like that fat women wearing skin tight leggings and sweatpants, meaning it's no match AT ALL, the same monotonous beat crushes and destroys all mysticism or subtext with a vengeance. Apparently Donner was urged by his editor Stuart Baird and author Tom Mankiewicz to secure Jerry Goldsmith's services after they saw the preview but Donner remained stubborn and laid himself an addled egg. Pity...

[filmmusic 1,838]

LADYHAWKE - 1985

I really like that movie but boy, it's done in by this fucking horrendous score. It sounds like Starship but that ain't the problem - its wedded to the movie like that fat women wearing skin tight leggings and sweatpants, meaning it's no match AT ALL, the same monotonous beat crushes and destroys all mysticism or subtext with a vengeance. Apparently Donner was urged by his editor Stuart Baird and author Tom Mankiewicz to secure Jerry Goldsmith's services after they saw the preview but Donner remained stubborn and laid himself an addled egg. Pity...

I want to see that movie too but I'm put off by the electronic score. (i had seen a scene, and it had the most unfitting score I had ever heard - together with Tangerine Dream's score for Legend)

But, from what I know, doesn't it contain classic traditional score too?

[publicist 4,643]

If you use that word very loosely, there are trace elements of the Philharmonia Orchestra of London to be found. But rest assured that it even then proudly wears the badge of premium incompetence as if someone tried to demonstrate how a bad score can hurt a perfectly good picture. The Storaro photography is stunning, though.

[filmmusic 1,838]

I can't believe it was Donner's decision. He has usually good taste in music..

Superman.. Goonies.. Omen..

There are times though, that although I'd still prefer a classic score, I like or I'm OK with the synth score used for a fairytail.

Labyrinth being one of them.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Good film, ill-fitting score!

[A24 4,345]

Netflix time... so naturally I ended up with another old classic:

In this scene, Rosemary doesn't have her baby yet. 6/10

Alex

Why just 6/10?

Karol

The film didn't engage me all that much. I only sorta mildly enjoyed it. What was missing? Atmosphere, I think. The focus is all about the characters (it all feels very much like a stage play) and even then it's all very superfluous. Result: Film leaves no impression with me at all. I even forgot that I saw it.

BTW, isn't this the apartment complex where John Lennon used to live? I liked the opening shot (where we can see the complex from above) and the music at that point.

Alex

[crocodile 8,017]

As far as I remember, Polanski wanted it to feel like a television soap opera. This mundane and "stage play-like" feel is exactly what he was going for. I think it's quite subtly unsetlling, actually. The only thing I didn't like about Rosemary's Baby is its hokey final scene.

Karol

[A24 4,345]

That reminds me of Duncan Jones' Moon. I thought it was filmed in a boring way, and, apparently, Duncan did this on purpose so it would create a sense of boredom and dullness that is a part of the daily life on a moon base. Be that as it may, in my opinion, the visual storytelling was hurt tremendously by it. It doesn't make me enjoy it more knowing they went for something I don't like in the first place (TV soaps - dull cinematography).

For viewers like me, the best part of Rosemary's Baby is the clip that I posted.

Alex

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Dances with Wolves - Director's Cut

Fifty minutes longer than the already lengthy theatrical cut, the director's edition of Dances with Wolves runs nearly four hours. Somebody commented recently how this movie is perfect for a Sunday afternoon. I wholeheartedly agree. There's a leisurely pace to the storytelling and it's one of those movies that really feels like a big novel or miniseries playing out all at once. It's a long movie, but it never gets boring. It also never becomes exceptional, but what's there is still really good. I quite like it.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

A fun family film that's a nice attempt at adapting Jeff Kinney's first Wimpy Kid book. It gets some things right, while some aspects fall flat (the animation, while fun, was a little too rubbery for my taste and Chloë Grace Moretz's character - created for the film - was completely useless). I think this story works far better in its original form, but it's nice to see a decent attempt at a movie adaptation. I wonder if the second and third movie get it right.

Spy Kids

Released in the summer of 2001, Spy Kids hailds back to a time when movies were still splashes of colurful fun. The movie makes no excuses for its silliness. Rather, it relishes it. Rodriguez' directing is solid and the kids give excellent performances. It's great family fare and almost more impressive when you realize this movie was helmed by the same guy as From Dusk Till Dawn and Sin City.

Alien³

Now this is boring. Covered in drab dullness, the movie takes itself waaaaaay too seriously. There's not a glimmer of a smile to be found in the picture, the characters are all unsympathetic and the action - while resulting in considerably more bloodiness than in the previous two pictures - takes place mostly off-screen. Man, what a dud.

Stardust

Featuring a surprisingly star-studded cast (Michelle Pfeiffer! Robert DeNiro! Peter O'Toole!), this movie seems to have gone by largely under the radar. And yet it's fun, lovingly made and well crafted. The film's biggest weakness is perhaps its two main characters. The male hero is a dull character and Claire Danes tries her best but fails to give Yvaine the spark she managed to bring to Juliet in Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet, leaving us with a mundane couple to follow around the film. Luckily, villains Pfeiffer and Mark Strong, as well as Robert DeNiro and Ricky Gervais in supporting roles ham it up and make it an enjoyable ride. The award for greatest scene chewerey has to go to Mark Williams (you might know him better as Arthur Weasley) for hilariously and without any dialogue portraying a goat transformed into a man. Fun stuff.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Charlie Cox gave a fine performance, but Tristan is just a little too dull and naive to be an interesting character, despite Cox's best efforts. So nothing wrong with the actor.

Great porn name, though.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Alien³

Now this is boring. Covered in drab dullness, the movie takes itself waaaaaay too seriously. There's not a glimmer of a smile to be found in the picture, the characters are all unsympathetic and the action - while resulting in considerably more bloodiness than in the previous two pictures - takes place mostly off-screen. Man, what a dud.

Bah humbug!

Alien³ is a broken masterpiece which uses the 5 stages of grief (denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) as a leitmotif for Riplesy's tragic journey as a women who's fate has been entirely dictated by either the Beast, or the soulless company that wants the Beast.

Weaver is supported by a brilliant cast of character actors, in a film set in the hellish atmosphere of sci-fi Gothic architecture and decayed steam-punk.

Fincher wisely eschews the one-dimensional gung-ho action of Cameron's film, which would have taken away from the story, which is essentially an almost Shakespearean tragedy.

Sadly because the film was taken away from Fincher it doesnt live up to it's full potential. But even in it's marred form(s), it is gripping, thoughtful and daring stuff.

[A24 4,345]

Are you saying that, if Breathy didn't overlook the "five stages of grief", he would have deemed it a broken masterpiece as well? I gotten a Crash or a Passion Of The Christ feeling from it. After a while, I wanted to shout "Stop trying to be so overly 'heavy'!" Life consists out of balance. Alien3 provides no counterweight that put things in perspective and therefore it resulted in an overload of dramatic mood. To some viewers this translated into something deep and meaningful but it had an opposite effect on me. It's never a good thing to forcefully try and shove buckets of drama through the viewer's throat. It's a beginner's mistake.

[filmmusic 1,838]

Stardust

Featuring a surprisingly star-studded cast (Michelle Pfeiffer! Robert DeNiro! Peter O'Toole!), this movie seems to have gone by largely under the radar. And yet it's fun, lovingly made and well crafted. The film's biggest weakness is perhaps its two main characters. The male hero is a dull character and Claire Danes tries her best but fails to give Yvaine the spark she managed to bring to Juliet in Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet, leaving us with a mundane couple to follow around the film. Luckily, villains Pfeiffer and Mark Strong, as well as Robert DeNiro and Ricky Gervais in supporting roles ham it up and make it an enjoyable ride. The award for greatest scene chewerey has to go to Mark Williams (you might know him better as Arthur Weasley) for hilariously and without any dialogue portraying a goat transformed into a man. Fun stuff.

This is one of 3-4 movies in my entire life that i stopped watching in the middle..

(or more specifically in the 1st half hour in this one)

And I don't like doing this. At all..

[crocodile 8,017]

Hmm, that's a surprisingly thoughtful post, Stefan.

Karol

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Are you saying that, if Breathy didn't overlook the "five stages of grief", he would have deemed it a broken masterpiece as well? I gotten a Crash or a Passion Of The Christ feeling from it. After a while, I wanted to shout "Stop trying to be so overly 'heavy'!" Life consists out of balance. Alien3 provides no counterweight that put things in perspective and therefore it resulted in an overload of dramatic mood. To some viewers this translated into something deep and meaningful but it had an opposite effect on me. It's never a good thing to forcefully try and shove buckets of drama through the viewer's throat. It's a beginner's mistake.

Plenty of laughs in Alien 3. I always giggle at the pommy accents and all the swearing. All it needed was Benny Hill music for when the prisoners are running from the alien.