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

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

I never joke. I take this forum very seriously. 

1 minute ago, Alexcremers said:

 

Unless the are underdeveloped.

When they're underdeveloped, that just means they haven't hit puberty yet.

[Holko 9,529]

Arriving to that certain "pissing"...

 

Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (seen before)

 

So, a sequel to a movie which defines "classic", retconning the ending to make the monster survive, kind of reversing Henry's development, taking a more comedic tone, misidentifying the monster as Frankenstein right in the title... How can it be anything better than a mildly entertaining mess at best and a colossal trainwreck at worst?

Well, exactly like this. I'm not sure I'd say it's that much better than the original, more like it's different and around the same level of greatness.

 

I refuse to believe this was ever intended as anything but a comedy. The scariest event by far is the appearance of the director's name. The presence of Una O'Connor (thankfully quite tolerable now that screeching is not her only job), everryone rrolling theirr harrd 'r's, the homunculi (incredibly realised by the way), the score (idyllic harp and flute as the monster stumbles through the forest, dramatic timpani heartbeats at the end), how the monster learns to talk, enjoy music and smoke fine product placements  cigars with a heartwarmingly sweet hermit, the crypt scene, the overdramatic montage with the tilted back-and-forth shots, the bride with her 2 minutes of screentime... It's all quite amusing.

 

Henry is not as interesting or enjoyable here. Karloff is great as always - here, he can be gruff, charming, relatable, and hilarious with impeccable timing. But the real star is Dr. Pretorius, who should have gotten a life sentence for stealing the entire franchise.

 

I didn't think there was any use for the "Last week on Frankenstein" segment with Byron and the Shelleys other than casting the Bride as Mary Shelley.

 

The ending with the iconic tower, location of much science, horror and pointless electric arc demonstrators destroyed by the monster who came to terms with not belonging in this world is quite a poignant ending, this time closing the opportunity of resurrecting (ha!) he series again... Right?

 

TO BE CONTINUED

[bollemanneke 3,349]

Chain Reaction.

 

Meh. Morgan Freeman and Rachel Weisz kept me interested until the end, though the final act was totally ridiculous. The characters are shallow, the 'romance' between Weisz and Reeves is forced and the story is stupid.

Some cues of the score were nice, but I found the guitar extremely out-of-place. Main theme is nice.

[crocodile 8,017]

Just finished watching Goldfinger and Thunderball.

 

Karol

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Like 'em?

[A24 4,345]

Both movies probably changed his view on film altogether. Crocs was once blind, but now he can see.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Both are superb Bons films. From Russia With Love is an excellent 60's spy thriller. Very Hitchcock at times.

[publicist 4,643]

Even J. Lee Thompson made great movies in this time of brit movies.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes!

[crocodile 8,017]

8 hours ago, Norma's Corpse said:

Like 'em?

I did. However, I think Thunderball appealed to me more. I loved the underwater stuff. The score was very good too.

 

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

'Thunderball' is boring as fuck. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

It has its moments but those underwater bits just drift on forever.

[Holko 9,529]

From Russia With Love is great, but the movies started getting "Bond" with Goldfinger.

You Only Live Twice was my favourite early Bond when I watched them. Can't beat Little Nellie, space rockets, Blofeld looking like a cracked egg, thevolcano base and Connery's "Japanese" makeup.

[publicist 4,643]

FRwL, Goldfinger and OHMSS are the only ones from the 60's i dig. The first one is negligible, the later ones too bloated. Diamonds are Forever is a little trashy, but great fun.

[crocodile 8,017]

21 minutes ago, Norma's Corpse said:

It has its moments but those underwater bits just drift on forever.

No they don't. I wanted more of it.

 

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

Adolfo Celi has a great villain face.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

21 minutes ago, crocodile said:

No they don't. I wanted more of it.

 

Karol

 

I suppose they have an ASMR quality to them.

[A24 4,345]

1 hour ago, Norma's Corpse said:

It has its moments but those underwater bits just drift on forever.

 

I agree. Were they attempting to make Bond: An Underwater Odyssey?!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Underwater photography was still in it's comparative infancy back then, and wasnt used much for long narratives and action films.

[A24 4,345]

 

If this was directed by Denis Villeneuve, it would have been his second best movie. Tense and absorbing. 7/10

[crocodile 8,017]

27 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Underwater photography was still in it's comparative infancy back then, and wasnt used much for long narratives and action films.

I thought the sequences in Thunderball looked great and they give the film a very distinctive feel. I've never seen anything quite like the underwater battle anywhere else. But yeah, a few trims would make it flow better. The film definitely feels more expensive than previous three.

 

Pity about all those sharks dying while filming though...

 

Karol

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The Thing '82

 

Yuck this movie is filled with so much goo and oo. Can't believe I was eating my dinner while watching. Creepy flick though. Kurt Russell looks like Jesus. Great leather jacket too!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,551]

It's Carpenter's best film. Its Russell's best film. Its Cundey's best film. It's Morricone's best score. It's Bottin's finest hour. It's a brilliant study in cold-war (and personal) paranoia.

Cheatin' bitch.

Nuff said.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It's alright.

[Chen G. 3,950]

43 minutes ago, Richard said:

It's Carpenter's best film.

 

That isn't necessarily the highest of bars. He's not the most consistent director; indeed most "horror directors" aren't.

 

Its telling that some of the best pieces in the horror genre are from directors that don't confine themselves to it: Scott, Spielberg, Kubrick, Demme, Fincher, etc...

 

43 minutes ago, Richard said:

It's Morricone's best score.

 

which was nominated for a Razzie at the time.

 

 

[A24 4,345]

Well, the film counts two good scenes:

 

1) The dog running in the snow chased by helicopter scene 

2) The blood test scene

 

 

19 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

 

which was nominated for a Razzie at the time.

 

 

Maybe that because he was going after that Carpenter sound.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

My cat told me he "loved da thene when all da canineth got killedth". He's such a rascal!

[A24 4,345]

What are you smoking?

[Chen G. 3,950]

8 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

Well, the film counts two good scenes:

 

No convincing needed here. I like the movie.

 

But I'm not too enamored with Carpenter. From memory, I really only like this and Halloween.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

19 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

What are you smoking?

 

My cat talks to me a lot but he has a lisp. All cats have that distinctive speech impediment.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

2 hours ago, Chen G. said:

 

That isn't necessarily the highest of bars. He's not the most consistent director; indeed most "horror directors" aren't.

 

Its telling that some of the best pieces in the horror genre are from directors that don't confine themselves to it: Scott, Spielberg, Kubrick, Demme, Fincher, etc...

 

 

which was nominated for a Razzie at the time.

 

 

What horror film did Spielberg direct? Are you referring to Poltergeist?

[SteveMc 2,674]

Jaws is often put into the "horror" category.  

[Nick Parker 3,040]

30 minutes ago, Norma's Corpse said:

My cat talks to me a lot but he has a lisp. All cats have that distinctive speech impediment.

 

And here I thought your cat lapped up soy latte.

 

On the subject of The Thing: I'm a very squeamish person. I'm one of those people who covers their eyes when things get gruesome in movies, and as such, I don't like watching a lot of what's called horror.

 

Yet The Thing is one of my absolute favorite films, and of the best "novel"(la) adaptations in cinema history, one that heightens the (already very good) source material. As mentioned, the elements of paranoia, isolation, and the interplay of the men in this confining arctic prison is deeply engaging. 

 

Beyond these elements, it's also a very effective and well-crafted mystery that keeps you in the same spot as the characters, all of whom have a distinctive look and personality, excellently portrayed by the cast.  Critics at the time derided the movie, especially in comparison to the 50's film, as being a gross-out fest that lacks any imagination in its excessive details of the creature--see the always fickle cultural guardian Roger Ebert--but the effects, besides being a frenzied phantasm of bizarre imagery, also is a very clever smokescreen: for all you supposedly see of the creature, it doesn't take much for you to realize that you never truly see the creature at all. The most you get are some common traits that show up with each incarnation.

 

The climax is a little weak, but the ending? Hell yeah.

 

  With the score, Morricone, like Goldsmith and Alien, crafted a tone poem that reflects the beauty and danger of the unknown.  One of my favorite works of his. Carpenter was wise to omit most of the music.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The Thing is a masterpiece.

 

It’s also a film that storytellers have tried to expound on multiple times, but could never quite succeed.

 

There’s the oddly named prequel, The Thing, and also a sequel game... called The Thing.

 

The latter actually nails down the atmosphere and aesthetic quite well. 

[crocodile 8,017]

It should have been The Thing: Covenant, The Thing and Things.

 

Karol

[Nick Parker 3,040]

9 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

also a sequel game... called The Thing.

 

The latter actually nails down the atmosphere and aesthetic quite well. 

 

I've been wanting to play that for years. How is it as an actual game? Damn, man, can you imagine a Thing game made with today's technology?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

[Koray Savas 2,251]

34 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

I've been wanting to play that for years. How is it as an actual game? Damn, man, can you imagine a Thing game made with today's technology?

I remember being really frustrated with it. I think there were very limited save states or checkpoints, so there would be times that I would progress really far for hours and something would happen that would cause me to restart. Can't recall if it was down to just difficulty or poor game design. However, it did feature what I still think is a really cool mechanic: you had to manage your party's paranoia. You had extremely limited supplies, such as health and ammo, and had to choose how to divvy it up amongst your squad. If you neglected one guy for too long, he would mentally break and turn on you and the rest of the team. You also couldn't stay outside for too long or you would freeze to death, so you had to really plan your routes on where to explore. I think it was ahead of its time, and would love to see a developer take another stab at it. The core gameplay was you and your team exploring the research facility after the events of the film to find out what happened. It was cool because they had free license with the IP. You could find tape recordings of MacReady, and eventually his corpse, etc. 

[A24 4,345]

49 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Yet The Thing is one of my absolute favorite films, and of the best "novel"(la) adaptations in cinema history, one that heightens the (already very good) source material. As mentioned, the elements of paranoia, isolation, and the interplay of the men in this confining arctic prison is deeply engaging. 

 

 

 

Except for paranoia (which is to be expected given the plot), I never felt the movie was about isolation. Indeed, the climax (or at least the final fight) was not handled all that well. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The stop motion looked out of place.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

4 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

 

Except for paranoia (which is to be expected given the plot), I never felt the movie was about isolation. 

 

About it, perhaps not. But it's a definitely a core ingredient in the film: a bunch of dudes by themselves in one of the most remote, barren habitats on Earth for humans. And once their lives, and indeed infinite others were the creature able to escape the tundra, are threatened, it's every man for himself, with no one to trust. A stark psychological isolation--which goes hand in hand with paranoia of course.

 

Thanks, @Koray Savas. I thought I remember hearing about that betwixt and between quality of gameplay, hence why I never got around to it. Those mechanics sound really promising, though...crazy to think that was all on an early PS2 game.

 

Screw Tomb Raider, reboot this game!

[John 2,032]

The Matrix (1999)

 

Been a while since I’ve last revisited this flick. A slick, smart thriller that has held up well after nearly 20 years. It’s a lot of fun!

 

**** and 1/2 out of *****

[Holko 9,529]

Son of Frankenstein (1939) (seen before)

 

So, a sequel with the son of our previous hero, the monster showing up again with "I'm not dead!" after a self-sacrifice, retconned location design, a kid who can't act for his life... Bride soared despite of its sequel-itis, does this, too?

 

Well, yes and no. The atmosphere and production design are great, Basil Rathbone is great, the inspector is a relatable straight man, Uncle Béla has a lot of fun in terrible wigs and fake beards as Ygor, and the movie on its own is pretty good.

But is it a good Frankenstein follow-up? Something is just missing from its spirit. Henry was at heart a good man who went too far with a crazy idea to the point of obsession, but came back to live his life and fought against his own creation. Wolf slowly goes batshit insane, then back at a switch. And good lord, the monster. They took away all his complexity and relatability and turned him into a tool for Igor, a plot device instead of a character. Karloff can't do much with his lack of material except when mourning Ygor. Actually, I take the complexity back, the monster does have a friendly relationship with the kid - completely offscreen. God, that fakeout where he pretends to want to throw him into the sulfur pit is terrible.

 

It's a good  movie, but I don't think it's a particularly great followup to what came before. It does have one great thing to come out of it, though...

 

TO BE CONTINUED

[Holko 9,529]

And as the second part of tonight's double feature, rounding out the quadrilogy...

 

Young Frankenstein (1974) (seen before)

 

Absolutely fantastic. Top effort from everyone involved, especially Wilder and Boyle. 

[Nick Parker 3,040]

1 minute ago, Holko said:

Young Frankenstein (1974) (seen before)

 

Absolutely fantastic. Top effort from everyone involved, especially Wilder and Boyle. 

 

For obvious reasons, this film has been heavy on my mind for a little while. As someone who does not go Brooks' brand of humor at all, I say that Young Frankenstein is a great film. Props to John Morris, too.

[Holko 9,529]

Oh yes, as much as I wouldn't want to listen to it on its own, the overdramatic 30s pastiche works brilliantly!

[Nick Parker 3,040]

3 minutes ago, Holko said:

Oh yes, as much as I wouldn't want to listen to it on its own, the overdramatic 30s pastiche works brilliantly!

 

Actually, I just listened to a track on YouTube after making that post. It's really good! If you like the vein Williams tapped into with Dracula, you'd probably like this score.

Also, rewatching the Puttin' on the Ritz scene, I am reminded: between this and Close Encounters, I had such a crush on Teri Garr as a freshman in high school.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Out of Time

 

Fairly light cop thriller with Denzel being a bit shady, but still likeable.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

The Fisher King

 

I am speechless. I was sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. Williams' performance is so amazing. At the time there is no way for me to rate that movie objectively. But it is the best Terry Gilliams movie I've seen so far (including Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).

[Trent B 337]

Lia and I watched The Matrix Revolutions two nights ago.  She loves all three Matrix films like I do.

 

I know Reloaded and Revolutions gets a lot of flak but I don't care I still like both of them.

Also love that the Wachowski brothers kept Don Davis for the sequels.