What is the Last Film You Watched? - Part II

[tpigeon 3]

You can kick and scream about it all you like Alex, doesnt change my opinion. And no, I'm not 12, but I'm inclined to think you might be, defending these films in the manner you are.

They are only films, after all. Just films. They Possess as much profundity as you give them. 2001 means little to me.

Your certainty of the correctness of your opinion displays how much you really know, AI. You can spout out these opinions all you want, but you haven't done much to support them. Why not form an argument? But hey, why would you need to explain your great views to all us simpletons? You're going to make your own presumptions about what you think we're saying anyway (or what certain films are about), talking about perception while thinking yours is absolute and transcendant. You are certainly full of wisdom.

Ted

[A24 4,371]

You can kick and scream about it all you like Alex, doesnt change my opinion.

I didn't try to change your opinion. I simply asked if you could do better than simple stating "rubbish and tripe". After all, we're talking about widely acknowledged cinematic masterpieces here, whether you like it or not.

And no, I'm not 12, but I'm inclined to think you might be, defending these films in the manner you are.

You mean, I don't use your colorful vocabulary or possess your wise insights about Citizen Kane or 2001? I'm sure that most kids would use the same "arguments" when I show them Citizen Kane or 2001.

Alex

[Romão 2,276]

I think those films are so good, you can enjoy them wether you are a cinephile or not, albeit on different levels.

[AI 0]

shutup Merkel, who asked for your two-cents? just kidding

Ted and Alex, grow up boys. Or if you want to take it outside, lets arrange that.

[Trent B 337]

I picked up X-Men: The Last Stand on DVD this morning and just got done watching it. This is one show I really enjoy. The 3 alternate endings were pretty cool and so were most of the deleted scenes. Some of the deleted scenes they should have kept in the film though.

I bought the Collector's Edition which comes in a pretty cool case and you get a full comic from the X-Men series called "Xavier, Magneto and Stan".

[tpigeon 3]

There were individual aspects of X-3 that were entertaining, such as some action scenes, but I thought it was a huge mess of a movie altogether. It had no sense of its characters and was all over the place.

Ted

[Trent B 337]

Your opinion of course.

[robthehand 3]

In my opinion X-Men 3 is the worst type of film. Not the worst film, by any means, but the type of film where it isn't exactly bad, so there's nothing to laugh at, but it just refuses to be good. It just seemed to me like a string of mind-numbingly boring set-pieces, and with character development so shockingly non-existent that I began to wonder whether they'd bothered with a script at all.

About as different from the (excellent) first two as it's possible to be, IMO.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,267]

Brett Ratner is no Singer I guess though I'll definatly rent the DVD soon, if only for Stewart and McKellen.

[tpigeon 3]

It's world below the first two, but I wouldn't call them anything great by any stretch. They were more like actual films, but the first lacked excitement and the second lacked a good third act. I'll re-state that they were both much better than the third film though.

Ted

[robthehand 3]

I'll definatly rent the DVD soon, if only for Stewart and McKellen.

They are what encouraged me to see it... but judging by their performances, they shared my opinion of the film.

[tpigeon 3]

LOL

Ted

[Ollie 1,069]

The first 2 were bland so I can't imagine 3 being any duller.

[QMM 4]

The one thing I hated about X-Men 3 was that it did so well at the box office and how now the studios think that the production hell it went through, being rushed to beat Superman, is now an ok thing to do with movies now.

[Hitch 58]

Good Night, and Good Luck - I'm seeing excellent movies of late. Unusual for me.

And with that, I'll say "Good Night, and Good Luck".

[Romão 2,276]

Incredible performance by David Sta...whatever.

2005 was a fantastic year for male leads. Al the 5 oscar nominees delivered powerhouse performances.

[Hitch 58]

David Strathairn

[QMM 4]

Nice The Departed roundtable interview with Damon, Leo, Marty, and Nicholson at TIME.com

Max-who's pissed that he wont be attending the advance screening tonight

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Your opinion of course.  

and a valid one,

the film lacked emotion,

it lacked cohesion.

It looked good, but tasted awful.

[Dr.ZacharySmith 0]

I agree with Hitch...I also just finished watching Goodnight, and Good Luck. Brilliant film. I wish modern day telejournalists had the balls these guys did.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I enjoyed X-Men: The Last Stand a lot more than Superman Returns, which took itself way too seriously. Heck, I even liked Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest better. X3 isn't as good as the other two, though, and the action sequences set the tone far too much.

Incidentally, to those of you planning to buy the DVD, I recommend you wait for the souped-up Special Edition that Brett Ratner has already stated will be released at some point. Read about it here.

[tpigeon 3]

I watched the early scenes of Manhattan (1979) last night, which I had seen several times before. What a brilliant movie. It is gorgeously shot also blended Allen's comedic side with his more dramatic one. The characters are fascinating, the performances excellent, and there is a wealth of beautiful moments, from the park bench scene in front of the Brooklyn Bridge to the opening montage, which is one of the greatest montages in the history of cinema. I don't know where I'd rank this among Allen's other great film works like Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Hannah and Her Sisters, and the Purple Rose of Cairo, but it is certainly a great movie, one that showcases Allen's many talents and one of the best shot films I've ever seen. There is a real pain about this film and its characters, and its all so subtly stated. I recommend it to cinema lovers everywhere.

Ted

[Dr.ZacharySmith 0]

I bought "A Man Called Horse" on DVD yesterday for $8AU ($5.95US) and took it home to have a look. Still not a bad film, all these years later. Interesting soundtrack by Leornard Rosenman...all Indian chants, etc...

[Morlock 11]

Good Night, and Good Luck - I'm seeing excellent movies of late.  Unusual for me.

And with that, I'll say "Good Night, and Good Luck".

Excellent film indeed. Superb performances, most notably by Strathairn, who's just as rock solid an actor as it gets. I've loved him ever since A League of Their Own.

I enjoyed X-Men: The Last Stand a lot more than Superman Returns, which took itself way too seriously. Heck, I even liked Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest better. X3 isn't as good as the other two, though, and the action sequences set the tone far too much.

I also enjoyed it, but thought it was a missed opportunity. Some fantastic elements in there. McKellen is in top form, and the score is very enjoyable.

I watched the early scenes of Manhattan (1979) last night, which I had seen several times before. What a brilliant movie. It is gorgeously shot also blended Allen's comedic side with his more dramatic one. The characters are fascinating, the performances excellent, and there is a wealth of beautiful moments, from the park bench scene in front of the Brooklyn Bridge to the opening montage, which is one of the greatest montages in the history of cinema. I don't know where I'd rank this among Allen's other great film works like Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Hannah and Her Sisters, and the Purple Rose of Cairo, but it is certainly a great movie, one that showcases Allen's many talents and one of the best shot films I've ever seen. There is a real pain about this film and its characters, and its all so subtly stated. I recommend it to cinema lovers everywhere.

One of my favorite Allen films (I'd put Bullets over Broadway instead of Crimes and Misdemeanors in my favorite list). Beautiful cinematography by Gordon Willis, and fantastic Gershwin soundtrack.

[Morlock 11]

Just saw The Black Dahlia. Let's put it this way. When the End Credits started rolling, I yelled out "What the *&%$?!?!?!?!?". I did not like the movie, and I am generally a De-Palma fan. He was the wrong director. I don't know who the right director would be (aside from Curtis Hanson, of course), but he was wrong for it. The movie looked good. Hell, the production design and lighting looked great. I had a problem with a lot of the shots, I felt the film had far too many close-ups and thought that the cinematography had a modern flow to it, instead of a period feel.

Vilmos Zsigmond is no longer infallible in my eyes.

But back to De-Palma. Someone forgot to tell him that he wasn't shooting one of his macabre horror-comedies. A great deal of the film is played straight....but then there are all these weird scenes involving Hillary Swank and her family that were just messed up, and not in any good way. Totaly f***ed up. Wrong tone. I don't know what the hell he was going for in the final scene involving her family.

I did like Hartnett, Eckhart and the blonde, but they were in the different movie than De-Palma was making. I was expecting style over substance....but this was just plain ridicules. I didn't give a damn about the story, -not that there was one story until the end tied it all together- all the baaaaaad Hillary Swank material made me care less and less about the main love triangle. Characters undeveloped, under-developed or weirdly developed. Hillary Swank was extremely unimpressive. I have yet to be convinced of her acting skills. And she doesn't look anywhere near as beautiful as the Dahlia, who's face is the only thing I remember positively.

Bad movie. Baaaaad. De-Palma needs desparately to look for some good material, this is probably the worst film I've seen by him.

Oh, I did like the score. Trying too hard at times to invest the film with some real emotion anda real noir feel, but there were many moments throughout the film that I told myself 'I have to buy this score, if only for this cue'.

**/****. May be a bit generous concidering my review, but this is the star rating that I feel is right.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

aaaahhhhhhh. Brain Dead is on with Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman, can the earth survive the duality of the bills.

[AI 0]

Hey Joe.

[tpigeon 3]

I watched Lost in Translation again last night and still stand by my incredibly positive views on it which I have posted earlier in this thread. It's one of the very best movies I've ever seen. I don't think I can recall ever seeing a movie that is so life-affirming and so defeatist at the same time, so funny and so heartbreaking. I can watch it over and over, and never get sick of it. It gets me every time.

Ted

[Morlock 11]

I must watch it again one of these days.

I was in the hospital for a few days, caught a part of a whole bunch of films. Only one I saw more than a few minutes of was First Knight. Never seen it before. I could understand a lot of the criticisms of the film, but, still, I thought it did get some things right. Well, any film that casts Julia Ormond got something right, but beyond that. Some great chivalrous moments, the kind you never see done well, the villain (IMO) was quite good. The opening of the final fight is really sensational, and it is just breathtaking with that glorious Jerry music booming in. I doubt most people would've scored that with voices, so I've gotta salute the editor who, in a rather uninspired move, put Carmina Burana in the temp score, and I've gotta give the highest possible salute to Jerry, for taking that bit of advice and crafting one of the most thrilling cues ever. I'll refrain from stars, as I did not see the whole thing, but if you think you'd like this kind of movie, you probably won't come out completely dissapointed.

And I just saw When Do We Eat?, which I liked a lot. I don't know if it will speak to other denominations, but I liked it.

[Dr.ZacharySmith 0]

"Jarhead" I still don't know quite how to take the film.

[Morlock 11]

A Prairie Home Companion. I'm sorry, not for me. Amiable enough as it moves along, but I didn't see a point. **/****.

Meet Joe Black. I found it to be rather pointless. Great cinematography by Emanual Lubezki, nice sets, great performance by Anthony Hopkins, fine one by Brad Pitt, one of Tom Newman's best scores...but for what? It's still Death we're talking about here! What kind of screwed up universe has a film about Death's love problems?!

Again, I really loved Hopkins, and the score -which was the only reason I rented the film- is stunning, with a beautiful, beatuiful finale, but I just didn't see the point. I didn't even think it was much too long, I just didn't see the point. **/****.

[Kendal_Ozzel 36]

Just watched Hitchcock's Suspicion. I though it was a great film until the very end, which I though was rather lame and anticlimactic. Then I went online and read what the original ending was supposed to be.

[tpigeon 3]

Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, 2002). Brilliant film. I haven't seen it since its theatrical release four years ago. I loved it then, but I don't recall it resonating on the level that it did after just having seen it again. It is a powerful experience; I just don't understand why many Scorsese "fans" throw it under the bus when talking about The Departed, as if it's the only good movie he's made in the last fifteen years. He's made many good films, and several great ones. And Gangs is one of them. I recommend it to all who haven't seen it yet.

Ted

[Romão 2,276]

Gangs of New York also contains the single most impressive performance by an actor in the last 10 years of American mainstream movies, IMHO.

[Red 75]

You must speak of Daniel Day-Lewis' potrayel of Bill The Butcher. Fantastic performance and a fantastic character.

Rabbit--who also thinks that Gangs is underrated

[AI 0]

"Jarhead"  I still don't know quite how to take the film.

In what way? If you could elaborate furthur.

I really liked Jarhead, found it to be very honest.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

I watched Alfred Hitchcock's 39 Steps and, finally, John Ford's masterpiece Stagecoach.

My new roommates are really into movies.

[QMM 4]

John Ford's masterpiece Stagecoach.

Watched this last week in my film class, I liked it too.

Yesterday we saw His Girl Friday (the original with Cary Grant), which I loved immensley

[Morlock 11]

Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, 2002). Brilliant film. I haven't seen it since its theatrical release four years ago. I loved it then, but I don't recall it resonating on the level that it did after just having seen it again. It is a powerful experience; I just don't understand why many Scorsese "fans" throw it under the bus when talking about The Departed, as if it's the only good movie he's made in the last fifteen years. He's made many good films, and several great ones. And Gangs is one of them. I recommend it to all who haven't seen it yet.

I loved the flawed film ever since I saw it in the theaters, and loved it more and more every time I've seen it (quite a few times). Bill The Butcher is one of my all-time favorite characters and performances, the cinematography is great, the production design is brilliant (I mean- they built old NYC near Rome), the movie is very quotable, and it has wonderful supporting characters (Jim Broadbent and especially Brendan Gleeson are a pure joy, the only characters who can match up to Bill's colorfulness). It is not missing it's flaws, namely the Henry Thomas character, the weakness of Amsterdam compared to Bill, and the Cameron Diaz character. But the good so out-weighs the bad, as to still make it a **** movie in my eyes.

I actually am more excited by Scorsese's current output than I am by anyother era of his, even the 70's. Gangs of New York is great, The Aviator is fantastic, my favorite film from 2004 and possibly the best 'conventional' biopic I've seen, and, judging by the excellent press The Daparted has been getting, he's still on a roll of terrific pics. Bring on the Teddy Roosevelt pic!

I really liked Jarhead, found it to be very honest.

It failed to connect with me. Although Roger Deakins haunting, awe-inspiring shots of the oil fields have really stuck with me. Sam Mendes sure knows how to pick his DP- going from Conrad Hall to Roger Deakins, he so far has made his films only with the best DPs working.

I watched Alfred Hitchcock's 39 Steps

I was just given a DVD with 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes. I wasn't planning on gettign to them any time soon- would you recommend the former?

My new roommates are really into movies.

Movies-movies, or Steven Seagal/American Pie 17 type movies? (I've met too many supposed movie lovers who think Steven Seagal is a great actor, and that The Butterfly Effect is the greatest film ever :roll: )

I saw a couple of films this weekend.

The DaVinci Code- absolutely ridicules, stupid, over the top in every way, but, concidering the stupid source novel, I think the film is a rather good adaptation. I still had fun watching it, it's so stupid that it becomes quite enjoyable, actually. Plus, I love the score. **1/2 out of ****.

How can you not like a movie that has a line like "I Need to get to a Museum- Fast!"?

And Titanic. Screw all you nay-sayers, this is a great movie. The 'conventional' epic I've ever seen, I've never felt as transported by a film about a historical event as this one, and, as someone who has been fascinated by the Titanic since he was about 5, it is still a rather powerful experience. The film suffers from the often annoying presence of Kate Winslet, but DiCaprio is excellent in the film, and Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Victor Garber, Billy Zane and David Warner, among others, make for a very good supporting cast. I noticed this time also the superb work all the actors playing the officers of the ship do (Ewan Stewart, Ioan Gruffudd and Ioan Gruffudd). I admire James Cameron for making the film.

The film marks the ultimate James Horner 'emotionalist' score. The score is quite simple, the themes are quite simple, but it supports and enhances the film beautifully. ****/****.

[robthehand 3]

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). I actually really enjoy this film. Of course, it's historical accuracy is questionable (and most likely very wrong) - but I don't ever remember it claiming to be a documentary? It's a western based on a true story, not an exact re-creation - and it works so much better for it IMO. Burt Lancaster is pretty good as Wyatt Earp, and DeForest Kelley is likeable - as always - in his role, but Kirk Douglas (as Doc Holliday) steals every scene in which he appears. And he has some strong competition from Jo van Fleet as his mistress. Dimitri Tiomkin's score is amazing, and really deserves a CD release beyond re-recorded suites, and the title song sung by Frankie Laine works very well. It's probably a bit overlong, and a few of the pre-gun fight scenes probably could have been cut, or at least shortened. I'll give it a ***/****.

Sunset Blvd. (1950). One of my favourite films! Gloria Swanson is genuinely brilliant as Norma Desmond, and she has incredible screen presence (not bad for someone under 5ft!!). Erich von Stroheim is very good, better than I remembered. The star cameos are well-done. Franz Waxman's score is absolutely superb, it perfectly captures the feel of the film. Thinking about it now, it's pretty amazing that this film was allowed to be made. Truly ahead of its time, unbelievably brilliant, I really can't praise this film enough. ****/****.

Rear Window (1954). I think this is my favourite film of all time (although I'm starting to re-think that after watching Sunset Blvd.). Incredibly suspenseful in places, and Grace Kelly is absurdly beautiful. Thelma Ritter is wonderful as the nurse, and she has all the best lines ("nothing's done the human race more harm than intelligence", "I bet she's scattered all over town"). I've read that Hitchcock was disappointed with Franz Waxman's music, which is surprising to me, because I feel it works very well. I think the ending is nicely done, I don't know why so many people call it anticlimactic. ****/****

The Wicker Man (1973). What the hell!? I remembered this was weird, but I forgot just how weird. Great cast, great story, memorable scenes, and one of Christopher Lee's greatest (and creepiest) performances. Very well-done score, nicely shot - it makes great use of the locations - and a very memorable ending. I'm not sure whether to give this ***1/2 or **** - I think I'll have to watch it again.

[Morlock 11]

Sunset Blvd.  ****/****.

Rear Window (1954).****/****

Naturally.

I saw Sidney Lumet's Find Me Guilty last night. A very interesting and enjoyable film. Vin Diesel gives a terrific performance, first film I've liked him in since Saving Private Ryan. Good script, the film doesn't lag at any point. Very entertaining dialogue. Terrific supporting cast- Peter Dinklage puts his diminuative stature to great use here, Ron Silver gives the most likable performance I've ever seen him give, Alex Rocco is a joy to watch, for some reason he adds a touch of class to the film, and Annabella Sciora (or however you spell her name) is fantastic in her one scene, one of the best in the movie. That one scene between her and Diesel does a beautiful job of showing us who these characters really are.

All in all, and I haven't the faintest why this is, I was expecting a TV movie production value. I should have known Lumet better. This is a solid, entertaining film, and would certainly make for a good rental. ***/****.

[Red 75]

What? Vin Diesel has actually given a good performance outside of SPR? I guess theres a first time for everything, even for the most impossible things.

[pixie_twinkle 49]

I've been picking up a few of the older Disney movies on DVD. Most recently I watched Fantasia. It really is a superb movie. The animation is beautiful. I just have one major gripe with it. For the DVD release they dubbed over the voice of the narrator. The new narrator voice is really nasal and annoying. I have no idea why they did this. The new words don't even match up with the guy onscreen all the time either! It's really obvious it's been dubbed over. I wonder why they did it!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Them, ***1/2 stars out of ****.

It is the best of the 50's monsters of nuclear madness movies.

[Ollie 1,069]

It is a very good film with impressive large scale Ants for the time and technology.

One of my favorite monster films.

Leonard Nimoy makes a brief appearance.

[tpigeon 3]

This thread has really been lagging without posts by Alex. Where did he go? I shall resume posting regularly once I get through the wedding and back from vacation in November, at which point I will hopefully be back to watching films more regularly. It's a shame to see the discussion here slow down though.

The other night I watched Adaptation before going to bed since I seem to lately be watching many of my favorite movies from the early 2000's such as Minority Report, Lost in Translation, Gangs of New York, and In the Bedroom, four outstanding movies by the way. More to the point, Adaptation is a wonderful film. If I had more time to elaborate, I would, but there is simply too much for me to comment on that I don't have the time. Nevertheless, it's a great thinkpiece on films, storytelling, and their connection/disconnection to life as social beings, be it storytellers or film viewers. It's also a deeply honest look into the life of a person with many of the same insecurities we as humans all have. I simply don't have enough positive things to say about this movie. It's definitely one of my recent favorites. If anyone is interested in a great piece of film criticism concerning this film, read A.O. Scott's review of Adaptation. Great writing, ideas, and reflections on how the film's themes and how they resonated in his experience.

Ted

[Sixers 0]

I watched Poltergeist last Friday, great movie, great score.

[nightscape94 965]

Just saw The Black Dahlia. Let's put it this way. When the End Credits started rolling, I yelled out "What the *&%$?!?!?!?!?".

Pretty much my reaction, though I disagree that it was a director problem. To me, the screenplay was awful. During the last 20 minutes, I had my head down in my hands trying to think why they would want to, seemingly, destroy a movie so badly.

What? Vin Diesel has actually given a good performance outside of SPR? I guess theres a first time for everything, even for the most impossible things.

He was good in Boiler Room, which is a good movie all around.

Tim

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,267]

He was good in XXX too.

That's a very decent guilty pleasure.

[Hitch 58]

Rear Window (1954). I think this is my favourite film of all time (although I'm starting to re-think that after watching Sunset Blvd.). Incredibly suspenseful in places, and Grace Kelly is absurdly beautiful. Thelma Ritter is wonderful as the nurse, and she has all the best lines ("nothing's done the human race more harm than intelligence", "I bet she's scattered all over town"). I've read that Hitchcock was disappointed with Franz Waxman's music, which is surprising to me, because I feel it works very well. I think the ending is nicely done, I don't know why so many people call it anticlimactic. ****/****

"I don't want any part of it, thank you"

Just watched Hitchcock's Suspicion. I though it was a great film until the very end, which I though was rather lame and anticlimactic. Then I went online and read what the original ending was supposed to be.  

The famous masturbation scene between Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. The swines had it cut. Calling Mr Van Sant....

"Jarhead"  I still don't know quite how to take the film.

With sincere admiration, Doctor.

He was good in XXX too. That's a very decent guilty pleasure.

I totally agree with you, Sir Steef. The Vinster gets better and better with each Disney movie he's in.

I watched Poltergeist last Friday, great movie, great score.

I still think Michael Kahn should still be left out to dry for the bad editing. Can't complain about Jerry's tour-de-force.