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

[Wojo 2,453]

I watched Ralph Bakshi's 1983 Fire and Ice for the first time last night. Don't really know why. Maybe it's because I found William Kraft's soundtrack somewhere and wanted to see what it was about. It really felt at home in the early 80s style of animation and storytelling, albeit with more sensually drawn graphics and moaning sounds than any episode of He-Man. I can see how it could be considered a classic or cult favorite by those who grew up with it, but it really has no rewatch value. I was certain that somehow Darkwolf would turn out to be Nekkron's father, but the revelation never came, so we don't really know who he is, other than seeing his likeness in the jungle ruins and knowing that he followed Larn from the very beginning of the story.

Apparently Robert Rodriguez bought the rights to produce a live-action remake. It makes more sense than another Psycho prequel or a sequel to 300. Though I hope they address the problem with almost-naked jungle men and a curvy princess running around inside an icy glacier in their bare feet as effortlessly as if they were running through the jungle.

[Matt C 454]

the music is just fantastic.

If I was a director, those two would be my first choice to score my films.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

the music is just fantastic.

If I was a director, those two would be my first choice to score my films.

they provided a malevolence and awe to the images of the explosions which are horrific and terrifying and strangely beautiful. The hgh altitude air burst we're so beautiful, just this massive orb of energy and destruction without the mushroom clouds.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The Hunter

A little mess of a film, but Dafoe and Neill are always interesting so I found it watchable. Plot was a pile of illogical actions and consequences. Scenery was beautiful and it was decently shot, couldn't really tell on my crappy stream from Amazon Prime; and people wonder why I only watch blu-ray.

[Admiral Holdo 16]

Raiders of the Lost Ark (not in IMAX, but in a theater - and quite a nice one too)

It'll never best the breakneck pacing and batshit-craziness of Temple of Doom for me, but damn if it isn't a great piece of entertainment. Everything works.

[The Psycho Pianist 216]

The Hangover and The Hangover Part II. Both very funny films, albeit the second one does seem slightly more forced in trying to emulate the success of the first. Still, great performance by the leads and some laugh out loud moments. Think they're currently filming Part III so let's hope there's a bit of a change in structure to freshen things up.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,542]

Raiders of the Lost Ark (not in IMAX, but in a theater - and quite a nice one too)

It'll never best the breakneck pacing and batshit-craziness of Temple of Doom for me, but damn if it isn't a great piece of entertainment. Everything works.

I hope to see "ROTLA" - in IMAX - tomorrow. Can't wait!

[Matt C 454]

Hellboy

It's a fun little film, if unevenly paced, but you can tell the character is a tough sell as a film franchise. Ron Perlman is great in the role, and most of the supporting cast is good. Rupert Evans is just wasted here, and you can tell his character was written in to make the film more "mainstream."

Beltrami's score is one of his best yet, with a good dollop of Elfman-esque flair throughout. It's a shame del Toro actually went to Elfman for the sequel, as opposed to getting Beltrami back. Terrific stuff.

[Brónach 1,302]

The film is fun and the score is amazing. Elfman's take is entertaining but subpar when compared to it.

[MSM 126]

How about Barry Lyndon?

[Brónach 1,302]

Oh I thoght that was very good. I like the the themes of the story and the obssesive reconsctruction of the time.Nice music choices as well.

[MSM 126]

Oh I thoght that was very good. I like the the themes of the story and the obssesive reconsctruction of the time.Nice music choices as well.

Was it not too 'artsy'? How about the narrator and the pace of the movie? I have read it is very tedious at times.

[Brónach 1,302]

Well it's slow, I imagine it follows the style of the novel it's based on.

Somehow it worked perfectly for me, because as long as there's an interesting setting for me I find it easy to get lost in such a film, plus I love Kubrick's style so it wasn't "too anything". But it might turn out unusual or boring for others.

[Matt C 454]

Total Recall (2012)

In terms of technical aspects and most of the acting (especially the leads), this trumps the Verhoeven film hands down. But story and music -- definitely not. So in terms of quality, it's a draw.

Words can't express how woeful Gregson-Williams' score is compared to Goldsmith's.

[Wojo 2,453]

For a tie-breaker, do what I did: compare the different three-breasted women.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Total Recall (2012)

In terms of technical aspects and most of the acting (especially the leads), this trumps the Verhoeven film hands down. But story and music -- definitely not. So in terms of quality, it's a draw.

Words can't express how woeful Gregson-Williams' score is compared to Goldsmith's.

I disagree, the Aunuld version is sooooo much better in everything but the technical aspects.

Colin Farrell is a hit and miss actor, Kate B. is beautiful to look at but is a generally weak actress. Jessica Beal is the lone standout.

The original will remain a B scifi movie classic while the new version will remain in the shadows.

[A24 4,338]

Verhoeven's Total Recall is not a B movie.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It looks a bit like one because of its 80's look. But when it was released Total Recall was huge.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Verhoeven's Total Recall is not a B movie.

it's a B movie, it's certainly not a A movie

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It is!

[crocodile 8,017]

Nah, he is making V movies.

Karol

[Wojo 2,453]

Wikipedia says...

By 1990, the cost of the average U.S. film had passed $25 million.^[153] Of the nine films released that year to gross more than $100 million at the U.S. box office, two would have been strictly B movie material before the late 1970s: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dick Tracy. Three more—the science-fiction thriller Total Recall, the action-filled detective thriller Die Hard 2, and the year's biggest hit, the slapstick kiddie comedy Home Alone—were also far closer to the traditional arena of the Bs than to classic A-list subject matter.^[154] The growing popularity of home video and access to unedited movies on cable and satellite television along with real estate pressures were making survival more difficult for the sort of small or non-chain theaters that were the primary home of independently produced genre films.^[155] Drive-in screens were rapidly disappearing from the American landscape.^[156]

[alicebrallice 134]

Avengers

wtf!??!?! what a disappointment. sure, it had its moments but I quickly lost interest. surprisingly uninteresting plot, slow, ridiculously predictable, no interesting dialogue and just... thin. what's the damn hype about? I think I enjoyed Thor more than this one, and that's saying a lot.

6/10

[Matt C 454]

For a tie-breaker, do what I did: compare the different three-breasted women.

In that case, the original TR trumps the remake. But I still prefer Colin Farrell over Ah-nuld.

Avengers

wtf!??!?! what a disappointment. sure, it had its moments but I quickly lost interest. surprisingly uninteresting plot, slow, ridiculously predictable, no interesting dialogue and just... thin. what's the damn hype about? I think I enjoyed Thor more than this one, and that's saying a lot.

6/10

It's the action sequences... I mean, if those aren't impressive then I don't know what is. But I know a few folks like you who don't like The Avengers... so you're fine. Not everyone can like everything.

[KK 3,307]

Avengers

wtf!??!?! what a disappointment. sure, it had its moments but I quickly lost interest. surprisingly uninteresting plot, slow, ridiculously predictable, no interesting dialogue and just... thin. what's the damn hype about? I think I enjoyed Thor more than this one, and that's saying a lot.

6/10

I never had much expectations for the film to begin with, so not so much of a disappointment. a 7/10 at best.

[Matt C 454]

The Master

Aside from Hoffmann and Phoenix's Oscar-worthy performances (especially the latter) and PT Anderson's confident direction, I don't think it's the masterpiece people are touting it as. Amy Adams gets third billing, and yet the film wastes her talents. All her character does is make some stern monologues and hangs on to every word her husband says -- but nothing terribly impressive. There's a difference between underusing a character or limiting a presence for maximum impact, and clearly the former happened here.

And the decision to shoot the entire film in 65mm just feels like money down the drain. There are some gorgeously rendered scenes that take advantage of this, but the rest of it could've been shot in 35mm and I wouldn't have known the difference.

[A24 4,338]

Avengers

wtf!??!?! what a disappointment. sure, it had its moments but I quickly lost interest. surprisingly uninteresting plot, slow, ridiculously predictable, no interesting dialogue and just... thin. what's the damn hype about? I think I enjoyed Thor more than this one, and that's saying a lot.

6/10

It's the action sequences... I mean, if those aren't impressive then I don't know what is. But I know a few folks like you who don't like The Avengers... so you're fine. Not everyone can like everything.

I somewhat disagree. The best thing about The Avengers is Whedon's touch or vibe, the humor and wit of the dialogue, the interaction of the characters, the portrayal of David Banner. Personally, I thought the big action scene at the end was clumbsy directed. It's then when I lost interest.

Verhoeven's Total Recall is not a B movie.

it's a B movie, it's certainly not a A movie

Then you don't know what a B movie is. Totall Recall was a major film studio project with high production values and a huge budget. Much closer to a B-movie was The Terminator.

Nah, he is making V movies.

Yep, Robocop, Totall Recall and Starship Troopers all have unmistakable Verhoeven trademarks (violence, sex, satire)

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What a train wreck of a movie. What an absolute mood killer. I wish I could just pretend it doesn't exist, but then there it is rearing its ugly face into my memory. I can't say enough bad things about it. Why they even bothered making it, I don't know.

Now to watch the originals.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I somewhat disagree. The best thing about The Avengers is Whedon's touch or vibe, the humor and wit of the dialogue, the interaction of the characters, the portrayal of David Banner. Personally, I thought the big action scene at the end was clumbsy directed. It's then when I lost interest.

I agree. The plot was not particulary interesting or well explained. But the film really works when the characters are feeding of each other. You can really see that Whedon is used to working with ensemble casts for TV here.

Also, the characters are all pretty one-dimensional, which shows when they have their own films devoted to them, but is far less of an issue when you cram them into one picture.

And I did love Ruffalo as BRUCE Banner (David Banner is from the old TV show Alex ) He easily holds his own and is a huge improvement over the boring Norton.

[Brónach 1,302]

I loved both the Whedon vibe and the action sequences.

I can't wait for the space opera background to explode in The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy and the next Avengers.

I'm going to see Akira (Katsushiro Otomo, 1988) now.

[A24 4,338]

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What a train wreck of a movie. What an absolute mood killer. I wish I could just pretend it doesn't exist, but then there it is rearing its ugly face into my memory. I can't say enough bad things about it. Why they even bothered making it, I don't know.

Now to watch the originals.

Perhaps the originals are only better because you saw them in a different stage of your life. Perhaps if The Crystal Skull was released right after The Last Crusade, people wouldn't treat it any differently.

Alex

[alicebrallice 134]

Avengers

wtf!??!?! what a disappointment. sure, it had its moments but I quickly lost interest. surprisingly uninteresting plot, slow, ridiculously predictable, no interesting dialogue and just... thin. what's the damn hype about? I think I enjoyed Thor more than this one, and that's saying a lot.

6/10

It's the action sequences... I mean, if those aren't impressive then I don't know what is. But I know a few folks like you who don't like The Avengers... so you're fine. Not everyone can like everything.

I somewhat disagree. The best thing about The Avengers is Whedon's touch or vibe, the humor and wit of the dialogue, the interaction of the characters, the portrayal of David Banner. Personally, I thought the big action scene at the end was clumbsy directed. It's then when I lost interest.

the humor and wit of the dialogue was one of the best things? I must've missed something.

things I did like:

thor vs iron man

natasha and banner in india

thor's badassery on top of the chrysler building

silvestri's main theme

oh, and downey jr's sexiness. I almost forgot.

[A24 4,338]

Two movies that I almost forgot I saw:

Away We Go: Started okay but after a while i could no longer care where they would go, who they would meet. The last scene turned it from a 5/10 movie into a 4/10 movie. Sam Mendes has made better movies than this. 4/10

The Cabin In The Woods: Bogus movie but fairly entertaining. 5/10

Alex

[crocodile 8,017]

Yes.

Karol

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What a train wreck of a movie. What an absolute mood killer. I wish I could just pretend it doesn't exist, but then there it is rearing its ugly face into my memory. I can't say enough bad things about it. Why they even bothered making it, I don't know.

Now to watch the originals.

Perhaps the originals are only better because you saw them in a different stage of your life. Perhaps if The Crystal Skull was released right after The Last Crusade, people wouldn't treat it any differently.

Alex

Perhaps if it was released right after Last Crusade, it wouldn't open looking like a Pixar movie with a CGI gopher, Harrison Ford's performance wouldn't be so awkward, there wouldn't be a script with lines like "drop dead" and "somewhere your grandpa is laughing" for Indiana Jones to say, Indy would actually kill people, there might be some returning characters we give a shit about and villains that didn't suck, John Williams score wouldn't be so bland and oddly Home Alone-esque at many points and the tone would not be dramatically shifted to that of a Disney family movie. Perhaps it also wouldn't have been Spielberg's worst movie by far and the worst thing George Lucas has ever been involved with. Also, it may not have ended with the Raiders March playing over a scene of a church.

It also may not have ripped off the Mummy movies.

[Brónach 1,302]

Perhaps the characters would have had better motivations. Perharps it wouldn't feel like being shot in a studio entirely. Perhaps it would be fun. Perheps it wouldn't introduce juicy ideas to abandon them entirely. Perhaps it would not rip off Mesoamerican stuff for an imaginary South American civilization. Perhaps it would be more creative. Perhaps i wouldn't have Russians keeping an alien in the middle of the jungle for no reason. Perhaps it would make a difference between the goal of the heroes and the goal of the bad guys. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

What Alex says is j ust what some KOTCS wannabe fans said when it came out to make themselves feel better. It's bullshit. It's been more than ten years since The Phantom Menace came out and that one still sucks. It's the same situation. KOTCS still sucks. The good thing is that we're not getting two more after that.

When I saw KOTCS I was barely 16 years old, and my enthsiasm for the previous ones fully renwed after rewatching them. The failure of KOTCS was glaringly obvious to me from the start. Even when at first I couldn't really assimilate it, I could tell there was something really off. It turned out it wasn't just something. It was everything that was off.

I'm not sure if Alex wants to make it appear as if KOTCS is as good as the others (it isn't), or as if the other aren't really that good (bullshit). In any case he's wrong.

[A24 4,338]

When you watch the originals, you see it through the eyes of nostalgia. When you watch The Crystall Skull, you see it through the eyes of your new self.

I am merely suggesting an idea. Personally, I'm not a fan of the movies but ... not everyone hates The Crystall Skull. Why is that?

Are they somehow able to see it without being overly protective of the originals?

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You used to be a fan of Raiders Alex.

[A24 4,338]

True ... but that was a long time ago ... before the dark times ... before the empire.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Even you would admit that from a story POV, and a technical POV Raiders is a far better made film then KOCS.

It's young and eager Spielberg making the sort of movie he loves to make versus Older and arrived Spielberg making a movie because the fans want him too.

[Brónach 1,302]

I am merely suggesting an idea. Personally, I'm not a fan of the movies but ... not everyone hates The Crystall Skull. Why is that?

I knew a guy who had perfeclty understandable filmic tastes. With one exception: he thought the Schumacher Batman films were the best Batman films. He said "I know people don't usually agree with me on this..." No shit.

When you watch the originals, you see it through the eyes of nostalgia. When you watch The Crystall Skull, you see it through the eyes of your new self.

I am merely suggesting an idea. Personally, I'm not a fan of the movies but ... not everyone hates The Crystall Skull. Why is that?

I saw all of those without nostalgia and through the same eyes. And I'm telling you, there was a difference.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

The Master

It's only been a day since I saw it, and I have not much in terms of interpretation, but I am slowly becoming convinced this is a masterpiece of a film. I will watch it again, and maybe I won't have much else to say, but every shot, every line, every performance of this film just seems to ooze with measured greatness. It would be easy for me to say I didn't like it because I wasn't able to get much in terms of interpretation, but that's my fault, not the film's. I sensed traces of what Anderson was getting at, and the burden is upon me to delve deeper into it. Like very dense, but masterful literature. I also really liked Greenwood's score, and I do not enjoy his weird style, so that's somewhat of an accomplishment. The song choice was great as well.

As of seeing it once, *****/*****

When you watch the originals, you see it through the eyes of nostalgia. When you watch The Crystall Skull, you see it through the eyes of your new self.

^This^ Especially considering KotCS was viewed through the post-Prequel lens of "George Lucas ruins everything."

[A24 4,338]

Even you would admit that from a story POV, and a technical POV Raiders is a far better made film then KOCS.

Of course (Raiders Of The Lost Ark is still the best Indiana Jones film, IMO), but can the same be said about Temple Of Doom? That's the movie I was thinking of. I sympathize with the disappointment people have about The Crystal Skull, for in a way, The Temple Of Doom was my Crystal Skull.

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

What i love about TOD is that neither Lucas not Spielberg played it safe. Which is something I can't say for KOCS.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Perharps it wouldn't feel like being shot in a studio entirely.

I agree with you entirely. The entire movie looks so phoney. None of the earlier films had this problem. Really. Last Crusade has some slightly iffy moments, but all three have a genuine, classic filmic appearance. None of it appears to be sets. You get that believable lived-in look we all enjoyed with Star Wars and Alien. Crystal Skull looks awful. I mean, seriously. Clearly, millions were spent on these sets. Yet, it's meaningless when Kaminski films it and it ends up looking like movie sets and TV movie-ish at many points. I won't even address the visual effects.

I actually just watched Temple of Doom and coincidentally, it is my favorite of the Indys. I have occasionally flip-flopped between Raiders and Temple, but I generally prefer Temple. Not that there's a reason to choose when you have all three. I just have the most fun with that one.

I concluded last night in conversation that Crystal Skull is in fact the most disappointing movie of all time for me. Of course I was asked: "Worse than the prequels?" To which I had to point out that Star Wars had long been trending toward the kind of films the prequels turned out to be. Basically, in retrospect, you could see it coming following the Ewok movies, a Disney ride starring Pee-Wee Herman (both of which I enjoyed) and the Special Editions with neutered Greedo murder and all this silly CGI shit all over the fucking place.

Crystal Skull, on the other hand, was a complete shocker. Each Indy flick changed the rules up a bit, so to speak. Yet, even taking into consideration how wildly over the top Temple of Doom got, the lighter, sort of family friendly tone of Last Crusade and even the Young Indy series, I don't think any of us could have seen such an absolute stinker coming.

[MSM 126]

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What a train wreck of a movie. What an absolute mood killer. I wish I could just pretend it doesn't exist, but then there it is rearing its ugly face into my memory. I can't say enough bad things about it. Why they even bothered making it, I don't know.

Now to watch the originals.

Perhaps the originals are only better because you saw them in a different stage of your life. Perhaps if The Crystal Skull was released right after The Last Crusade, people wouldn't treat it any differently.

Alex

Perhaps if it was released right after Last Crusade, it wouldn't open looking like a Pixar movie with a CGI gopher, Harrison Ford's performance wouldn't be so awkward, there wouldn't be a script with lines like "drop dead" and "somewhere your grandpa is laughing" for Indiana Jones to say, Indy would actually kill people, there might be some returning characters we give a shit about and villains that didn't suck, John Williams score wouldn't be so bland and oddly Home Alone-esque at many points and the tone would not be dramatically shifted to that of a Disney family movie. Perhaps it also wouldn't have been Spielberg's worst movie by far and the worst thing George Lucas has ever been involved with. Also, it may not have ended with the Raiders March playing over a scene of a church.

It also may not have ripped off the Mummy movies.

How did you like the nuking the fridge sequence

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's not exactly the fridge. It's the bizarre moments before and after where you see old Indy bumbling into a stereotypical 1950s American household with Howdy Doody time from Back to the Future III playing in the background yelling "Hello?! Can I use your phone??" and sharing a moment with a CGI Pixar gopher. It's so, so wrong.

And what a boring flick.

[crocodile 8,017]

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What a train wreck of a movie. What an absolute mood killer. I wish I could just pretend it doesn't exist, but then there it is rearing its ugly face into my memory. I can't say enough bad things about it. Why they even bothered making it, I don't know.

Now to watch the originals.

Perhaps the originals are only better because you saw them in a different stage of your life. Perhaps if The Crystal Skull was released right after The Last Crusade, people wouldn't treat it any differently.

Alex

Perhaps if it was released right after Last Crusade, it wouldn't open looking like a Pixar movie with a CGI gopher, Harrison Ford's performance wouldn't be so awkward, there wouldn't be a script with lines like "drop dead" and "somewhere your grandpa is laughing" for Indiana Jones to say, Indy would actually kill people, there might be some returning characters we give a shit about and villains that didn't suck, John Williams score wouldn't be so bland and oddly Home Alone-esque at many points and the tone would not be dramatically shifted to that of a Disney family movie. Perhaps it also wouldn't have been Spielberg's worst movie by far and the worst thing George Lucas has ever been involved with. Also, it may not have ended with the Raiders March playing over a scene of a church.

It also may not have ripped off the Mummy movies.

How did you like the nuking the fridge sequence

Infamous or not, but it ended up being the single most memorable thing in this film.

Karol

[Brónach 1,302]

And what a boring flick.

I think this is the biggest problem. It isn't thrilling and adventurous and fun. It could be if they gave the elements in that script to someone like Moffat or Whedon or something. On top of that like you say the film fails at transporting me anywhere.

[publicist 4,643]

It could be if they gave the elements in that script to someone like Moffat or Whedon or something. On top of that like you say the film fails at transporting me anywhere.

It would be quite sufficient to lock Lucas into his SFX-Company till the whole thing is finished and to have 2 or 3 competent writers figure out a compelling adventure movie. It worked for INDY AND THE FATE OF ATLANTIS.

MOONRISE KINGDOM

I'm still not overly convinced of Wes Anderson's talents. This one isn't so nauseatingly smug and self-obsessed as his older movies, but somehow the movie's desperate attempt to turn every man, location and animal into a maelstrom of cute weirdo (lovingly underlined by camera angles and color arrangements) and still milk some emotional involvement just doesn't really work for me - although the scenery and the final storm sequence were fine. Neither Willis nor Murray were good fits for their respective roles. Desplat is cued for a repeat of his quirky style from MR. FOX and share the musical honors with Britten. All in all, it's no loss but not a winner, either.