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

[publicist 4,640]

I vastly prefer it over the 2011 TTSP, but not over the  miniseries with Guinness, I have to say.

[pixie_twinkle 48]

Body Snatchers (1993.) 

 

This is the third adaptation of Jack Finney's novel "The Body Snatchers," and the first to drop the "Invasion of..." from the title. It's been about 25 years since I last saw this film, and I was surprised how much worse it is than I remembered. The first two adaptations (1956 and 1978 - I watched them last week) are really chilling, and have a lovely slow-burn to the suspense and ultimately horror. This version skips over little details like having any likeable or quirky characters, and any sense of normalcy at the beginning. The decision to set this one in a military base was probably not the best. For a story that's supposed to make you paranoid that your usually unremarkable friends and neighbors are starting to act strangely, it would have been better to set it in a location most of us can identify as home. The first movie was set in a sleepy small town, and the second in a big city. The military base full of robotic "Sir Yes Sir"s doesn't really give us a sense of normality from the start. 

The visual effects for the most part are very entertaining and creepy. Especially any of the pod-based transformation scenes. However, the big moment involving the little boy right at the end (surely intended as the film's climactic horror moment) is so poorly composited and realized it's laughably bad. I'm amazed they even kept the shot in, considering how poor it looked. Overall, a massive step down from the earlier two masterpieces. I'll probably watch the most recent version this week (The Invasion - 2007). I haven't seen that film yet, and it has pretty poor reviews. Not holding my breath, but I'm hoping it's better than Body Snatchers. 

5/10

[Tallguy 2,568]

9 hours ago, publicist said:

In honor of John Le Carré. It's not the best movie based on his books by a long shot, but the association with another recently deceased icon makes up for that. Plus the elegiac imagery of a post-communist Russia, dominated by one of Le Carrés core themes, the inevitability of guilt - which in this (rare) case leads to something good instead of the other way around. It's a good movie and Goldsmith's score makes it loud and clear that music can shape a movie in the best possible way.

 

Also Le Carre: I finally got back to The Night Watchman.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,158]

The thing with Tom Holland?

[Jurassic Shark 11,177]

Isn't that The Night Manager?

[Naïve Old Fart 9,158]

Probably is, but, hey, we all make mistakes, now and then.

[Jurassic Shark 11,177]

I haven't watched that yet, but got it recently on blu for a good price. It seems to have gotten good reviews.

[bruce marshall 1,286]

Quite good.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,158]

jackass the movie

 

Crude, rude, insensitive, inane, childish, crass, disrespectful, irreverent, and very, very funny.

[Bespin 8,002]

Well, it's an old movie from 2017, I just saw that it was available on the canadian version of HBO, so I watched it.

 

I love these two women, WHAT A LIFE they had.

 

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2017)

[Unlucky Bastard 7,776]

Batman

Batman Returns

[Sweeping Strings 2,133]

Thor : Ragnarok - Taika Waititi's intention with this Marvel flick was apparently to make a comedy that just happens to star superheroes ... that certainly comes across. A fun couple of hours.

[Chen G. 3,544]

8 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

Taika Waititi's intention with this Marvel flick was apparently to make a comedy that just happens to star superheroes ...

 

Umm, most of the MCU is a comedy with Superheroes. Guardians of the Galaxy is a comedy. Ant-man is a comedy.

 

Arguably, The Avengers is Ghostbusters with superheroes.

[crocodile 7,733]

I watched Come and See today. Now that was one of the most harrowing and soul-destroying film-viewing experiences in my life. Absolutely terrifying...but also gorgeous. Now this is one dark and grim war film. And yet almost completely devoid of on-screen violence. Powerful cinema.

 

 

Karol

[KK 3,292]

Added to the list!

[crocodile 7,733]

You will and won't regret this!

 

Karol

[bruce marshall 1,286]

2 hours ago, crocodile said:

I watched Come and See today. Now that was one of the most harrowing and soul-destroying film-viewing experiences in my life. Absolutely terrifying...but also gorgeous. Now this is one dark and grim war film. And yet almost completely devoid of on-screen violence. Powerful cinema.

 

 

Karol

Which war?

[Jay 35,467]

Here you go

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_See

[Romão 2,244]

Come and See is absolutely unforgettable. I cannot imagine anyone being indifferent to it

[Marian Schedenig 7,559]

4 hours ago, crocodile said:

 

 

This looks a bit like I imagine you'll look after too much essential work if the pandemic isn't under at least some control by next summer.

[KK 3,292]

4 hours ago, crocodile said:

You will and won't regret this!

 

Karol

 

Sounds like exactly my cup of tea!

[bruce marshall 1,286]

Ordered from my great public liberry!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,483]

Attack of the Clones 

[crocodile 7,733]

5 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

This looks a bit like I imagine you'll look after too much essential work if the pandemic isn't under at least some control by next summer.

Trust me, I'm already there. 😆

 

Karol

[A24 4,183]

11 hours ago, Chen G. said:

Guardians of the Galaxy is a comedy. 

 

There's humor but the stakes are real.

 

Steven Spielberg: "The superhero film that impressed me most is one that does not take itself too seriously: Guardians of the Galaxy. When his projection was over, I left with the feeling of having seen something new in movies, without any cynicism or fear of being dark when needed."

[Chen G. 3,544]

1 hour ago, AC1 said:

There's humor but the stakes are real.

Comedies can have stakes.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,776]

The airbag, it's almost full!

[Sweeping Strings 2,133]

The comedy is more overt in Ragnarok, IMO. 

On the other debate, I saw both Inception and Tenet in the same week at the end of August. For me, Inception is the vastly preferable movie.   

[A24 4,183]

The humor in Vol.1 is realistic. It's the kind of humor that occurs when you put a bunch of guys in a spaceship or an office. If you don't like that kind of spontaneous character interaction then the stiff Star Wars Prequels are your movies.  However, with Vol.2, things tend to get overboard. Some of it felt forced, the balance was lost. 

 

I wasn't a big fan of Thor Ragnarok. Maybe it was the kind of humor, or maybe it was too much, don't remember.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,776]

A lot of that shit in the mid-to-later Marvelle movies doesn't even feel like it's in the same universe as the relatively more grounded Iron Man 1.

[A24 4,183]

Which was a Robert Downey Jr. one-man show. The only thing I remember is him making suits while trying to be witty. It must be said that Spielberg likes this one too but Guardians Vol.1 is his favorite. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,158]

5 hours ago, AC1 said:

 

There's humor but the 

Steven Spielberg: "The superhero film that impressed me most is one that does not take itself too seriously...without any cynicism or fear of being dark when needed."

Er...has Mr. Spielberg not watched SUPERMAN? 

[A24 4,183]

1 hour ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Er...has Mr. Spielberg not watched SUPERMAN? 

 

Yes, and he loves it. He also loves TDK. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,158]

Haven't they gone out of business?

[Edmilson 6,273]

I'm not a fan of Ragnarok as well. I mean, it's a good movie, very entertaining for the first two acts, but the final battle at Asgard is one of the most boring Marvel climaxes ever made.

[bollemanneke 3,172]

The greatest showman.

 

I didn’t like the pacing of the first half all that much, unless they were trying to pass it off as a fairy tale. The second half is definitely much better and who am I to contradict the central message of the movie regardless of its many feel-good moments?

 

Songs are nice, although Michelle Williams sounds terrible when she sings and it would have been really nice had everyone sung in the style appropriate to the movie’s setting. Keala Settle is great, though, and Loren Allred’s song had a truly magical opening, but then it degenerated into theatrical cries of ‘never, never, never!’ I still dislike people breaking into song at the most idiotic moments too. The score is short, but some of the cues are really nice.

!

 

 

[bollemanneke 3,172]

The bfg.

 

Finally managed to watch this. It’s got some pacing issues, but the actors are great, although Ruby Barnhill is too theatrical at times. Surprised at the good jokes too in spite of all the childishness. The scenes involving the queen are unbearable. So giants have no parents, how does that work? Also, why am I suddenly moved by the messages in kids’ movies? Is this really all because of lockdown?

 

The score has some outstanding themes and their usage is absolutely wonderful. I do think too much of the music sounds like Danny Elfman’s ‘Look at how strange all this is!’ cues. The giant theme is a bit vague as well and the overall recording sounds rather dry and is too quiet, but there are also some singular moments of beauty only John Williams can deliver.

 

[Bespin 8,002]

The BFG.

 

'B' for effort.

[Nick1Ø66 4,084]

34 minutes ago, Bespin said:

The BFG.

 

'B' for effort.

 

'F' for failure.

 

BFG and Tintin are both really good examples of how they dodged a bullet when Spielberg "declined" (i.e. Warners didn't want him) to direct Harry Potter.

[Jurassic Shark 11,177]

What's wrong with Tintin?

[Bespin 8,002]

2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

What's wrong with Tintin?

 

Your pronunciation?
 

 

[Jurassic Shark 11,177]

That's how it's written, wise guy.

[Nick1Ø66 4,084]

16 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

What's wrong with Tintin?

 

Nothing especially, except he did with Tintin what he wanted to do with Harry Potter...butchered a couple books and cobbled elements of both into one movie, and made it animated.  I just think Spielberg, who once upon a time was a genius at such things, lost his touch with making whimsical children's tales long before Tintin (franchise dead), BFG (lost millions) or the one that got away, Harry Potter (wildly successful).

[Jurassic Shark 11,177]

Tintin is a wonderful movie, but if you think a movie should follow the book slavishly, I guess it's not for you.

[Nick1Ø66 4,084]

6 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Tintin is a wonderful movie, but if you think a movie should follow the book slavishly, I guess it's not for you.

 

While I'm not enamored with it (admittedly I've only watched it once) I don't think it's a bad film. I just think Spielberg's approach to the material shows he wouldn't have been a good choice for Harry Potter.

[Marian Schedenig 7,559]

37 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

What's wrong with Tintin?

 

There isn't a second one.

 

27 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

Nothing especially, except he did with Tintin what he wanted to do with Harry Potter should have done with Indy 4.

 

Fixed.

[bollemanneke 3,172]

I never even finished that one, got sick of Tintin talking to the dog.

[bruce marshall 1,286]

I found it unwatchable junk.

I think I watched most of it whilst texting. Can't remember anything about that wretched experience!

49 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Tintin is a wonderful movie, .....

You diseased maniac#

[Chen G. 3,544]

Nothing particularly wrong with Tintin, but given the talent in front of and behind the camera (look at that writer's room!) it should have been a lot better.

 

Truth be told, I haven't terribly enjoyed Spielberg's recent forays into lighter fare for a while now. I think many people don't.

[Bespin 8,002]

57 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

I never even finished that one, got sick of Tintin talking to the dog.

 

MILOU!!!

I LOVE MILOU, that's the only interesting character in the Tintin Universe!

 

In the comic, he had reflexions wrote in his own "balloons" or "bubbles" (well, the space dedicated to the writing). A bit like Snoopy, but before Snoopy. Charlie Brown began in 1949-1950, Tintin, in 1929.

 

Tintin: "And now that we have money, Snowy, let's go... to Russia! We still have more to say about it!"

Snowy: "To Russia???"