What is the Last Film You Watched? - Part II

[QMM 4]

Morlock- who's favorite character is, strangely enough, Posca.

Don't knock Posca, he's great in every scene he's in.

My favorite scene in the whole first season is when they have a conversation about the stars and Pullo asks if they're large enough for a man to fit through and if he could get there by hanging on to a giant bird.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Making my way through Rome a second time now

I just finished my first run-through. Marvelous. Sure, I've got some nitpicks, but, overall, marvelous.

Morlock- who's favorite character is, strangely enough, Posca.

I had a really hard time connecting with Rome. I watched the entire first season, and while it is an incredibly well put together series, productionwise, I found there were too many unlikeable characters in it. Academically, the show's a sight to behold, but I don't think I'm going to bother with the second season.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I had the same problem with Deadwood, looks great, well written, great acting. But it's very hard to care for any of these people.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Yeah, I had that too. I didn't even make it through the first season. Again, not that I disliked it, I just didn't find it all that engaging.

[Seth 67]

The Empire Strikes Back. I don't know how many times I have seen this film. I still enjoy it every time, and to me it is the best of the Star Wars saga. Perfect writing, delivery, everything. This is the one Star Wars film I have absolutely no gripes about- coincidentally, it is also the one I think got ruined the most in the SEs (I am referring here to the awful Vader's shuttle scene that disrupts the tension, both dramatic and musical, of the escape from Bespin). And of course the score is great as well, in spite of the tracking that occurs. I have to say, also, that I am glad the music that got trimmed got cut out-it wouldn't have served the film as well as the silence that was used instead. Still a classic.

[nightscape94 965]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Almost too watchable. It's a long film, but every scene has something enjoyable in it, whether it's a character behavior, or a setting, or the cinematography, etc. Continuously watchable flick, if I catch this movie in the middle somewhere, it's hard to turn it off, even if I have somewhere to go. Today was the first time in a while where I actually saw the whole movie from start to finish.

Tim

[Chris ChrusherComix 46]

That's the great quote? Too whimsical for my tastes.

What's great taste? Taste is relative. Facts are not. Fact is, I said it was one of my favorite movie quotes. Not the great quote. The aftertaste left in my palette towards what you said is that it looks whimsically arrogant and also condescending towards my taste. Is that a fact or an unfounded opinion?

It seems like nowadays everybody has an opinion to tyrant over someone who disagrees. Message boards don't seem to have any exception from this little observation. Can't people just politely state their mind? I could go around and bash a bunch of movies that others around here think are great, but to me, it is impolite and condescending. And also not my call since it is about individual tastes to begin with. I wish others would show the same courtesy.

[AI 0]

Gettysburg. All 4 freaking hours of it.

The score gave me chills though, in a number of places. Nicely done Randy Edelman.

[robthehand 3]

Blood Simple.

An outstanding debut for the Coen brothers. A typically twisted plot, what little dialogue there is is great, and the violence is somehow graphic and amusing at the same time. The Coens did better work (Miller's Crossing being my current favourite), but this was an excellent start to two careers that produced (mostly) excellent films. I can easily imagine watching this movie again in the near future. For now I'll give it ***1/2 (out of ****).

[Red 75]

Its very hard for me to name my favorite Coen Brothers movie. They all have great things about them.

[robthehand 3]

I think every Coen brothers film (apart from Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers) has been my favourite at some point.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Music from the Movies - Bernard Herrmann. That man was a household genius and this documentary shows it. It can get a bit tedious (the French interviewee was annoying as hell and could only state the obvious), but when they de-compose Herrmann's themes, it gets fascinating. Musical theory has never been so clear to me. In fact, one of the composer goes as far as playing Beethoven's 5th had Herrmann composed it! Great documentary. I wouldn't say it's a "must" for film music fans (mostly because that statement has been grossly overused since the invention of the internet), but it's a very nice way to spend an hour of your day.

Thanks, Peio.

[Morlock 11]

I had a really hard time connecting with Rome. I watched the entire first season, and while it is an incredibly well put together series, productionwise, I found there were too many unlikeable characters in it. Academically, the show's a sight to behold, but I don't think I'm going to bother with the second season.

I wouldn't call them unlikable characters...they're characters that I loved to hate. I like having someone to loathe...like Cicero, or Servilia. How can you not like disliking Polly Walker? There some subplots that I wasn't fond of, but, overall, I'm loving it.

I think every Coen brothers film (apart from Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers) has been my favourite at some point.

For me, Big Lebowski and Miller's Crossing reign supreme. But I think every single one of them is good, save for The Ladykillers, and even that had Roger Deakins tremendous cinematography. I really should see The Man Who Wasn't There again. It's been too long.

I saw two movies over the weekend-

Hollywoodland. Meh. It was interesting as it was going on, but it had an unsophisticated air about it. You could tell the director is a TV director (an excellent one at that). I don't think that the story should have been about the Adrian Brody character. He was simply not interesting enough. That being said- performances were good. Brody was solid and believable and Affleck was very good. Shame that Bob Hoskins didn't have more to do, but he's always fun to watch. **/****.

And Hal Ashby's Being There. The 1979 movie starring Peter Sellers, as a mentally retarded gardener, who is forced to leave the house he lived and worked in his entire life, after the owner dies. Through a twist of fate, he ends up in an extremely wealthy industrialist's mansion (Melvyn Douglas), where his handicap is mistaken for directness and brilliance.

It is one of the most brilliant performances ever, in which Sellers has the almost impossible task of holding the entire film with a monotone, unchangning character, who does not understand his perdicament.

The movie is very funny, and I was in awe of how interesting and fascinating it could be, seeing as it is really a one joke film. But it holds up the entire time. I'll have to think on what the message of the film is, as it is not crystalized, and the film's last shot is extremely debatable. But it is a great movie. That's for sure. ****/****.

[Chris ChrusherComix 46]

Almost forgot that I watched The Polar Express for the 1st time in my life shortly before Christmas. At first I was thinking, "If I was a little kid, those freaky CG characters would probably scare the poop into my pampers!" An uncomfortable middle ground between real-life and unnatural movements, one of my typical complaints about most CG characters. But then I wound up liking the score. My wife wants it (couldn't find it in the stores).

Oh, I also saw Rocky Balboa when it was released. A better finale for the series than Rocky 5, IMO. My favorites are still 1, 3 and 4 though.

Watched Talledega Nights... not bad... the little kids were funny at least. The rest was so-so.

Memiors of a Geisha, One Night with the King, Superman Returns, and Superman 2: Donner Cut were the last few good movies I've watched in the last month.

-Chris

PS - The only thing that I didn't like about the Donner cut of S2 was the ending... if he turned the world back, then how did they remember him at the truck stop? I'd shudder to think if Lucas made a re-edit like that. We'd never hear the end of it!

[nightscape94 965]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit. One of my all-time favorites. It's just fantastic to watch, not only for the story, characters, and acting, but also on a sheer technical standpoint. Great cinematic achievment.

Tim

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

It's an amazing film. It's filled to the brim with complex visual effects, but you never ever think about it while you're watching it. Not once. Quite the achievement.

Personally, I had a bit of a slow week.

Week 5:

33. Grizzly Man (2005)

Portrait of Timothy Treadwell, the man who spent 13 summers of his life between the wild bears of Alaska, before tragically being killed and eaten by one of the bears, along with his girlfriend. Treadwell brought a camera on his last four expeditions, working on a nature documentary. Director Werner Herzog uses both Treadwell's footage (selected out of over 100 hours of material) and newly shot material where Herzog speaks to friends and co-workers of Treadwell, to try and paint a portrait of this man.

Although Treadwell is quite the character, Herzog never shows him as just some cooky dude. And while Herzog mentions he does not always see the same beauty in nature Treadwell constantly did, he still respects him, and leaves it to the audience to make a final judgment (although he never actually goes as far as to suggest any judgment should be made).

Excellent documentary.

34. Thank You for Smoking (2006)

Funny film, with a great cast. For a film about the tabacco industry, it's quite something that it never tries to jam either opinion about cigarettes down your throat - although of course this is part of the film's message: make up your own mind about things in life.

Pretty funny at times, the trip to Hollywood being one of the highlights. Unfortunately, most of the best bits were already featured in the trailer.

[Morlock 11]

Thank You For Smoking was one of my favorite films last year. And I have Grizzly Man, just haven't seen it yet.

I'm on my annual Band of Brothers marathon. Every few months I watch the whole series over again. It is one of those rare things- it is really an experience, watching it. It is more than TV or cinema. It is really, for me at least, a one of a kind phenomenon. No miniseries or TV show has ever left a deeper impression on me.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

It is great, isn't it? Every episode is like a 1-hour film. Only better than most.

[QMM 4]

My favorite episode is constantly switching with that series, with the current fave being Bastogne since Rowe is such an intriguing character.

[Morlock 11]

Bastogne is the most powerful episode...but I was always very fond of Crossroads and The Breaking Point. The sequqnce at the end of The Breaking Point, with Dyke breaking down and Spears taking command is one of the most thrilling.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

PS - The only thing that I didn't like about the Donner cut of S2 was the ending... if he turned the world back, then how did they remember him at the truck stop? I'd shudder to think if Lucas made a re-edit like that. We'd never hear the end of it!

If Lucas did it, it was because he's a slime ball POS. Donner didn't do this because he was not part of the actual process, and despite what people see or believe, this isn't a complete or polished film, it was not complete, so using component of both Superman and Superman 2 to fill in the gaps with less than always satisfactory results. The one thing that can be applauded that was done that Lucas would do is they didn't film new sequences and say well this was the original intended version always. One only has to see the original Superman 2 script to know that neither Lesters version or Donners version are the script version.

[Morlock 11]

Saw The Graduate for the first time. Either I missed the point, or the film is dated. In general, I feel that the latter is true. It definately feels like one of those 'You had to be there' kind of films. Not bad at all, but the whole films seems to yell 'REBELLION!', while the only emotion that feels real to me is the last one portrayed, the notion of 'Okay, we rebelled, and we won. What now?' (a moment which I understand was totally unplanned).

The Simon & Garfunkel songs musically fit, but I don't know what the lyrics had anything to do with the film (aside from changing it to 'Mrs. Robinson'). And 'Scarborough Fair' was used too many times in quick succession. And I'll be damned if I noticed any work done by Mr. Grusin, unless he arranged any of the insturmental versions, or maybe wrote the snippets of source music.

Overall- an entertaining tale, but one that doesn't seem all that relevant. Although, it must be said, that I couldn't help but get swept up with that finale. ***/****.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

But Ben Braddock did not really seem to want to rebel.

He didn't seem to wanna do much of anything.

Rich fuck!

[Chris ChrusherComix 46]

If Lucas did it, it was because he's a slime ball POS.

Why?

Donner didn't do this because he was not part of the actual process, and despite what people see or believe, this isn't a complete or polished film, it was not complete, so using component of both Superman and Superman 2 to fill in the gaps with less than always satisfactory results.

I agree. I still liked it other than the massive gaff of making the drive-in people remember what happened. I like both versions, in fact. Lester's version is funnier, Donner's cut is more dramatic. One doesn't have to draw a line in the sand and say one version sucks and the other doesn't.

The one thing that can be applauded that was done that Lucas would do is they didn't film new sequences and say well this was the original intended version always.

I don't think they had the funds to do such a thing. Also, it isn't the type of film that would look good with new SFX.

One only has to see the original Superman 2 script to know that neither Lesters version or Donners version are the script version.

Nobody said either was the script version. I only said if Lucas did that, people would bust his balls even more now than they already did. Nobody says a thing about Donner's chronological gaff. And it creates a LARGE logical flaw in the story that was never there before. I was thrilled with the re-cut until I saw that... and it ruined the whole movie, which was otherwise very good.

[nightscape94 965]

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that has an annual Band of Brothers re-telling. It's stranged that it is being brought up now, since I literally just finished my mad dash a few weeks ago. I generally try to do it in one day.

Tim

[Morlock 11]

But Ben Braddock did not really seem to want to rebel.

He didn't seem to wanna do much of anything.

Rich fuck!

Exactly. It seems like the film thinks that it cool to not want to do anything. He is a rather annoying, selfish character.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that has an annual Band of Brothers re-telling. It's stranged that it is being brought up now, since I literally just finished my mad dash a few weeks ago. I generally try to do it in one day.

I watched 'Points' today. Took me three days, altogether. Again, it is just amazing how much the show gets to me. You really feel two years go by.

[QMM 4]

Bastogne is the most powerful episode...but I was always very fond of Crossroads and The Breaking Point. The sequqnce at the end of The Breaking Point, with Dyke breaking down and Spears taking command is one of the most thrilling.

Another one of my favorite scenes in the series, Winters getting pissed enough to pick up his gun to go after them sold the whole scene.

[Chris ChrusherComix 46]

Well, since so many are talking about TV shows and not movies, then I'll add my 2 cents. For me, I need an annual Sopranos re-telling. Best show ever!

[Morlock 11]

The entire series??? I love the show, one of my absolute favorites ever, but watching the entire thing once a year.....

I personally think that the 5th season is one of the greatest seasons in TV history.

I saw Woody Allen's Match Point. Terrific film, Allen's best since Bullets Over Broadway. John Rhys-Meyers is excellent as a person intent on pleasing everybody. Scarlett Johansen giving a good performance and looking as sexy as ever. I love the pace of the film...and I thought the dream sequence near the end was a wonderful scene. ***1/2/****.

Also saw David Mamet's The Winslow Boy. A marvelous film from 1999 about a boy accused of stealing at school, and his family's, specifically his father's, fight to clear his name. Nigel Hawthorne is spell-binding as the father, who is really the star of the film. It is about his fight, about his stubbornnes, about how he might be willing to sacrifice his wealth and name for the honor of his family. Rebecca Pidgeon is good as his daughter, Gemma Jones, excellent as his wife, and Jeremy Northam is particularly good as the hot-shot lawyer. It is in essence, the background of a courtroom drama. The trial is never shown, only it's effect on the family. A wonderful film, that sports a good cast, great script, looks great, has good music....recommended to one and all. ***1/2/****.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I'm actually watching season 5 of The Sopranos for the first time now, as it's currently airing at the rate of one episode a week on Dutch television.

It's awesome.

And I mean really awesome.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

So is this Doner Kebab I'm eating right now.....

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Well, Doner Kebab can be pretty awesome.

I wonder if it'd be as awesome as season 5 of The Sopranos, though.

That'd be some good Kebab.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

<_< boy!

[mcdaid72000 0]

Last film I watched was Empire of the Sun(VHS-Recorded-ABC) which was broadcast one or two years ago.

[Morlock 11]

Saw Princess Bride. Simply as good as it gets. Though the score gets worse and worse every time (which is a shame, as it's got a pretty love theme). ****/****.

[Romão 2,276]

The Prestige

Fantastic on all levels.

[Chris ChrusherComix 46]

As for The Sopranos, yes, I love the entire series. A few episodes (the dream episodes for example), can get a bit tedious, but there isn't a season that I didn't enjoy.

And my favorite episode is The Pine Barrens. I almost die laughing every time I see Paulie and Christopher get stranded in the woods. The comedy is just too much.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Pine Barrens is one of the episodes I unfortunately missed and have not seen to this days.

I've heard from many that this is the best and funniest episode of the entire series.

Damn.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Why not just download it?

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Yeah, I might do that. Not today, though. I'll probably have to end up downloading the entire season.

But at least there's new Lost to get today. Yay!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Get Lost!

[Morlock 11]

The Prestige

Fantastic on all levels.

What on earth is so fantastic about it? I just don't understand.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It's a kinda magic!

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Get Lost!

I am.

[Morlock 11]

It's a kinda magic!

Yes, how very witty of you.

[Chris ChrusherComix 46]

I was waiting until the whole series gets released to buy them on DVD, but I taped The Pine Barrens on DVD the last time it was on. Oh God... it is just too much. Finding those condiment packets... oh, haha!.

[Seth 67]

Back to the last film...Casablanca. I just saw it tonight. It was never a film I really wanted to see but I'm in college and got bored so I watched it. I liked it a lot. It's justifiably a classic in my eyes. The acting was uniformly good, especially Humphrey Bogart. The script was incredible; a lot of memorable dialogue and even a great deal of wit and humor, much of it increased or emphasized by the delivery. Even though I've grown up hearing a lot of the more famous lines it was nice to finally hear them in context. The score was one thing I was a bit wary of. It was a little overbearing although the melodies and string writing were gorgeous, and Steiner's integration of "As Time Goes By" into key scenes of the film was very effective, although I'm not sure I can say the same for his use of "La Marsellaise" and "Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles." Overall-I really have nothing to complain about. A classic.

[robthehand 3]

I agree about Casablanca's score - it's a bit too old-fashioned, and clashes with what is (and especially was, for its time) a sophisticated film.

Ditto for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - I find Steiner's score really damages that film.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Casablanca needed Herrmann

[robthehand 3]

That would have been interesting.

Treasure of the Sierra Madre needed Herrmann or North.

Rio Conchos (Jerry Goldsmith)