What is the Last Film You Watched? - Part II

[Red 75]

Is it really impossible for Ben Affleck to give a good performance? He was on top for a while, making bad movies, then took a tremendous fall with Jennifer Lopez. I admire the guy, but only now that he's trying to redeem himself with good acting roles. He even once said that "celebrity status is overrated".

[Morlock 11]

I think he was excellent in Chasing Amy and Dogma. Changing Lanes, too.

[Red 75]

His role in Dogma was probably the best that I've seen, but I haven't seen Hollywoodland.

[A24 4,338]

Sideways: Funny comedy wich displays great chemistry between the cast members. I do, however, like the first half better than the second one.

Dog Day Afternoon: Still pretty impressive, mostly because of the performances of Pacino and Cazale. It's the daddy of the Tarantino film. Also, there's no score. Bravo! It made the film more powerful.

Alex

[Morlock 11]

Sideways: Funny comedy wich displays great chemistry between the cast members. I do, however, like the first half better than the second one.

Me too. Cast is very good. Like the pleasant score, too.

Dog Day Afternoon: Still pretty impressive, mostly because of the performances of Pacino and Cazale. It's the daddy of the Tarantino film. Also, there's no score. Bravo! It made the film more powerful.

Good ol' Lumet. While the Tarantino films do have stuff in common with the films, I think they're coming from different places. Souds to me like Tarantino's main inspiration is Elmore Leonard. They're different worlds, although both seem ot come from the same place of putting people in a situation and letting them talk.

[Morlock 11]

Saw Polanski's Olver Twist. Not bad, but I don't think there was really a need for a new Oliver Twist. The child actors are believable (Oliver, Dodger and Charlie), Ben Kingsley is fine, even though there's nothing really new about his Fagin.

Film looks great and feels right.

The score is typical Portman...but there's a jarring theme in there that is identical to the Sorcerer's Stone theme, and, when played slowly, very similar to one of the Godfather themes. Still, the score is very valuable in lifting the gloom from the story.

Not an especially strong film, but certainly watchable. More than anything, it makes me want to listen to the Oliver! CD.

**1/2/****.

Oklahoma!. Fox made the most ridicules musicals. It hurt my cheeks to watch two and a half hours of people smiling. And why the hell were most of the outdoor shots shot on a stage! What's the point of using Todd-AO if you're not shooting outdoors!? If I wanted a stage, I would have seen it on Broadway (in fact- I have seen it on Broadway, and it was great).

Still, there are a few good songs in there. Only a small portion of htem, but still.

A terribly dated film of an okay musical by a pair of overrated musical writers. I am not a Rodgers & Hammerstein fan.

**/****.

Rio Bravo. Terrific western. Love the leisurely pace of it. Bare-bones plot, most of the film is just living with the characters. Wayne is Wayne (although he has a terrible run). Tiomkin's score is totally unremarkable. Best music in there is the Mariachi music source music, and it sounded better when he used it in The Alamo.

Good, solid western. ***1/2/****.

Sleepers. Good drama, but an uneasy tone change in the middle takes a lot away from it.

Good performances by the kids. Pitt gives his most boring performance to date (his character is the weakest link in the story). Jason Patrick is okay, but I'll never be able to take him seriously. Ron Eldard and Billy Crudup are the livliest of the four. Kavin Bacon is a very effective villain.

But the most watchable performances are by the two elders. Last time I saw the film, I thought DeNiro was boring. But this time around, I felt a lot more from him. He does some excellent introspective looking here.

Vittorio Gassman provides the livliest and most colorful performance of the bunch. Just good fun.

I keep on forgetting the Dustin Hoffman is in this film...his part is rather negligable.

Michael Ballhaus does a top-notch job, as usual.

I think the score is terrific in the film (and not bad on the album). The three main themes going on there (Hell's Kitchen, the elegaic Wilkensen/lost childhood theme, and the freindship/hope theme) are all good, and the big luft at the end does ge to me. A shame that 'The Football Game' is mixed so low...it's almost inaudible, and there's all kinds of effects on top of it.

Not a good major picture, but a fine minor one. Levinson just shows that he is rarely an interesting director.

***/****.

[Ollie 1,059]

Not exactly movies but Tex Avery's Droopy cartoons were released on DVD, including the 7 Cinemascope toons. Nice transfers, same quality as the Looney Tunes DVDs.

Hopefully this means the rest of the MGM Tex Avery cartoons aren't far behind.

[A24 4,338]

La Tourneuse De Pages: French Thriller . It all looks nice (especially Deborah François) but the theme of revenge is told way too predictable.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

World Trade Center.

Some very powerful moments here and there, but it felt like a bloody TV movie! Did they shoot this on overcast days and CG some blue skies in? The film has this sterile look about it that's just odd, and it's so tunnel-visioned that I didn't even get a sense or a grasp of the scope and city-wide and even worldwide chaos that went on that day, even with the montage of reactions across the world. Despite some competent performances, the direction is just mediocre, and ends up being a feel-good disaster movie.

What a waste for a film that had so much potential.

[Morlock 11]

Let me guess....the young one doesn't like the old one.

[A24 4,338]

Let me guess....the young one doesn't like the old one.

You got it!

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Time to catch up!

Week 19:

78. Alien: Resurrection (1997)

A piss-poor movie. It feels like a two-hour TV episode, and seems to have hardly any relation with the other Alien movies. Sure, it features the same aliens, but the feel all wrong (even though it's not the first time the design has been adapted), and Ellen Ripley is completely absent in the film. Sure, it has Sigourney Weaver, but she's not playing Ellen Ripley. Skip this one.

79. Alien - Director's Cut (1979/2003)

Whether the name "director's cut" is entirely justified here is something I'm not sure about. In the introduction to this version of the film, Scott mentions he's always been rather proud of the film that came out in 1979, but still wanted to make some tweaks that bothered him after watching the same thing for 25 years.

Either way, this version of the film is inferior to the original one.

The thing about alternate versions of movies is that the changes will always stick out to me. Apparently, someone thought it was worth the time and effort to make the change, feeling that it must be an improvement. But there's several things that bothered me. There's an almost full shot of the alien too soon (we may not really recognize it at that point, but it's definitely there, swinging over Brett's head just before he dies), the original cut from Brett screaming bloody murder to the ECU of Yaphet Kotto was absolutely perfect and is now ruined by a short bit where Ripley and Parker see Brett being pulled away (also creating a possibly debatable continuity error - blood falls down on Parker's shirt, but it's missing in the next scene), and finally, the scene towards the end where Ripley finds Dallas cocooned is a complete deviation from where the film is going at that point and breaks the great suspense the original cut of that sequence had. That's the scene I had the biggest problem with. It doesn't add anything to the film, and instead mostly breaks the tension.

Despite these added scenes, though, the director's cut is actually a minute shorter than the original version. Many scenes have been trimmed slightly, and the scene where Dallas asked Mother what his chances were was missing entirely (I didn't miss it when watching the film, but only regretted it wasn't in there after the fact).

No, if you're going to watch either version of Alien, watch the theatrical release.

80. Aliens - Special Edition (1986/1991)

Contrary to the first one, this would perhaps be more aptly named a director's cut. Cameron clearly states this version of the film is the ride intended, and this is also a superior one in my eyes. We didn't even know Ripley had a daughter in the original cut, and now that we do it adds a whole new level to her relationship with Newt, which now makes a lot more sense. There's also a lot more tension in this version. There's still the same amount of footage of aliens (a few shots more, actually), but they're spread thinner across the film. It becomes less of a non-stop action ride, but a bit more serious film. The look is still a bit dated, but now the balance of story and pacing is stronger and that makes the film's look less of a problem (if hardly any).

You haven't really seen James Cameron's Aliens until you've seen this version.

81. Zwartboek (Black Book) (2006)

It's a huge production for Dutch standards, and one I think we can be proud of. It shows that you can pull it off. There are people determined enough to make these, there are craftspeople good enough to pull them off, and the audience is willing to go see them.

Nevertheless, it's not a perfect film. It does indeed seem a bit episodic, lacking a proper overall arc that's clear throughout the entire picture. There's some very interesting themes in it that I really liked (the whole good German and evil resistance folk felt fresh and interesting in a Dutch film), but there's too many episodic events. One thing happens, then there's a scene where everyone talks about what happens and what has to be done, then they do it, then there's another scene where they talk about what they did and what to do next, etc. It makes the film seem longer than it is. It's really the biggest problem of the film, but one that I can still overcome. Perhaps it's some form of Dutchie pride, but I really hope the succes of this film - unique as it was - can be an example for other productions in our small country.

82. Alien³ - Special Edition (1992/2003)

This is a very interesting version to watch, although I'm not sure you can really call it a finished movie. Several new scenes feature on-set dialogue which has been rendered nearly inaudible because of the use of smoke machines and fans and other equipment. These lines weren't dubbed, so the film is stuck with a few sound issues.

The story is pulled much more to the foreground, though. Much of it seems to have been chopped in favor of alien action in the theatrical release, and this makes the film a bit stronger. It still has, however, a whole bunch of problems that the theatrical cut had. There's still large logic gaps, the sets - great as they are - seem detached from the previous movies, and there's still a deep lull in pacing towards the end of the second act. I also didn't care for all the prayers this version has; most of them were cut from the theatrical version, and we got the point without them anyway. It's still a gorgeous looking film throughout, but that alone is not enough to make up for the many problems it has.

This version, despite its added length and weightiness might have been superior, if only it had been a finished product, without the sound issues.

83. Alien: Resurrection - Special Edition (1997/2003)

I'm not going to say too much about this one. It was a pointless film to begin with, and now it's seven pointless minutes longer. If you really feel it's necessary to sit through either version of this thing, just watch the theatrical release. It'll be over quicker.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Rubbish!

Alien Ressurection is not that bad!

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

It's not a horrible film like Batman & Robin, and at least Ron Perlman is enjoyable.

But I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone, even as casual viewing.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Wrong again.

Alien Ressurection is perfect for casual viewing. It's a dark, but very lightweight and easy to understand film.

Just turn of your brain and enjoy the well crafted action set pieces and the gore.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

But... I like my brain.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Star Trek V: The Final Straw

Oh man, what the hell happened here? The Enterprise on the search for God? Who's bright idea was that?

Actually it was the brainchild of Captain Kirk himself, given the opportunity by Paramount to follow in the footsteps of Leonard Nimoy and direct his very own Trek film.

This film is often, and deservedly named as the low point of the Classic Trek films, it is rife with flaws, here are only a handfull:

The films subject, looking for God, and then (supposedly) finding God is totally wrong for Star Trek, since we know they really are not gonna find God, there's no real wonderment or marvel, you just wait for the moment when God turns out to be a phony.

(Star Trek has handled the subject of God or Gods in far better ways, particulary in DS9)

The subplot of the 3 Ambassadors, there a lot of dialogue devoted to this in the first part of the film, but it's just dropped after a while, and a gifted actor like David Warner is left standing arouns doing nothing.

The special effects.

What the hell happened here? Apart from re-used footage from Trek 4, and a nice shot of The Enterprise lit by the moon, it's all rubbish.

Both the models for The Enterprise and the Klingon Bird Of Prey lack any kind of depth, the movement is static and unrealistic and the dimensions seem wrong at times. (the shuttle craft seems far to big for instance, as does a photon torpedo fired at the Enterprise.

The Great Barrier looks suspiciously like the just shot a bunch of pouring liquids with a blue filter. (it looks really bad compared to the Mutara Nebula or the Cloud from TMP).

At times the starfield don't even seem to match....

God, if you are gonna put a God in a film, you must at least try to make him look interesting. This cross bred of The Wizard Of Oz and Santa does cut it, I'm sorry.

And who is God anyway, why was he imprisoned, and how, and was he responsible for Sybok's visions, and if so, how?

It would take Picard's Enterprise D some 8 years to reach the center of the Galaxy, but Kirk's ship does it in a day or so....hmmm...

The Klingons. OK TNG was still new so they could have have incorporated much of the nuances of Klingon culture that that show invented, but these Klingons are just stupid and silly. Couldn't Shatner have hired a real actor instead of a body builder?

Uhura's dance with the palm leaves...

Were did she get those palm leaves? Why do I hear instruments playing, did they bring instruments with them? and one more question?

Why....dear God why?

Scotty banging his head.

This is just silly and insulting. If they wanted to get Scotty out of the story for a while, they could have found a more dignified way to do it.

The turbolift scene. Many problems here, not only doesn't there seem to be a turbolift in the elevator shaft, the numbering of decks is in reverse order (With a ship, the bridge is deck one...).

Whwen Kirk/Spock/McCoy use rocket boots to fly through the shaft the numbering of decks occurs in totally random order. You can see the shadow of the rod attached to Nimoy's back and finally according to this scene the Enterprise has 78 decks. (Even Picard's much bigger Enterprise D had only 42 decks)

The very dark tone of the story, and the dark look of the film doesn't always combine well with the silly humor.

So there you have it, plenty of reasons why this film didn't do so well in 1989 and why you should best avoid it now...

There are...however a few other points woth mentioning....

The special effects may be poor, but the film is very well show by Andrew Laszlo.

Like the previous film there is a good deal of location shooting here that really opens the film up as opposed to the completely studio shot first 3 films.

The prologue, the Yosemite and the God Planet vista's look great.

The film may decline in quality, but it has a very good opening. The arrival of Sybok is very well done and I like the concept of the laughing Vulcan, even if many Trekkies didn't.

The Trio. The film is at it's best when it's focusing on the realtionship between Kirk/Spock/McCoy. The campfire scene is wonderfull. The natural chemistry between these 3 actors is great to watch.

William Shatner. He's certainly in large responsible for many of this movie's flaws, but he also did some good things. His direction showed promise, the film is well acted, well paced most of the time and well shot. If he would have worked from a good script, and perhaps been a little less ambitious, this might have worked. His performance as James T. Kirk in this film got him a Razzie for both worst actor. I think that is very undeserved. One can see that this time Shatner was directing himself, so his acting is a lot less restrained then in for instance the 2 films directed by Nicholas Meyer, who had to do countless takes with Shatner to get him to act more natural.

The Music. Jerry Goldsmith returns to Star Trek with a rousing and adventurous score.

Laurence Luckinbill as Sybok. A very charismatic performance that really helps sell the movie's premise for a long time.

All in all plenty of reasons to consider this a must see movie for any Star Trek enthusiast...

**1/2 out of ****

[robthehand 3]

79. Alien - Director's Cut (1979/2003)

Whether the name "director's cut" is entirely justified here is something I'm not sure about. In the introduction to this version of the film, Scott mentions he's always been rather proud of the film that came out in 1979, but still wanted to make some tweaks that bothered him after watching the same thing for 25 years.

He's also said that the re-cut was done entirely for marketing reasons, and that the true "director's cut" is what was released in 1979. Like Friedkin and The Exorcist.

[A24 4,338]

Wrong again.

Alien Ressurection is perfect for casual viewing.

Alien Resurrection is perfect in insulting the casual moviegoer. Everyone agrees on that. When will you? That said, I don't think Alien3 is any better. The "nice" sets and "nice" photography feel like I'm watching a stylistic advertisement. Fincher doesn't or didn't understand what he was doing.

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Surely you can't be serious?

Alien3 is a flawed masterpiece of inconcieveble depth and meaning. I suppose you prefer the shoot-em-up puppydog enthusiasm of Cameron's film.

[A24 4,338]

Alien3 is a flawed masterpiece of inconcieveble depth and meaning. I suppose you prefer the shoot-em-up puppydog enthusiasm of Cameron's film.

Surely you can't be serious?

And yes, I prefer Cameron's flick without all the overwrought pompousness and forced attempts to create depth. I can't bare more than 15 minutes of that monstrosity. It's in my top 10 worst movies of all time.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

79. Alien - Director's Cut (1979/2003)

Whether the name "director's cut" is entirely justified here is something I'm not sure about. In the introduction to this version of the film, Scott mentions he's always been rather proud of the film that came out in 1979, but still wanted to make some tweaks that bothered him after watching the same thing for 25 years.

He's also said that the re-cut was done entirely for marketing reasons, and that the true "director's cut" is what was released in 1979. Like Friedkin and The Exorcist.

There ya go.

It's the same with the supposed director's cut of The Frighteners that came out on DVD last year or so. It had already been released on LaserDisc as a special edition, and Jackson quite literally states the director's cut is the version that was released in the cinemas in the bonus material.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Alex please...

With Alien3 we have one of the great what if's of film history. What if Fincher could have could have worked unobstructed, giving us the film he wanted to make without the evil studio people like hack-director Walter Hill sticking there noses into everything.

[Ollie 1,059]

It's not a horrible film like Batman & Robin, and at least Ron Perlman is enjoyable.

But I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone, even as casual viewing.

I'd rather watch Batman & Robin than sit thru another viewing of Alien 4.

[robthehand 3]

At least you could laugh at Batman & Robin.

[Ollie 1,059]

Yes.

[A24 4,338]

Alex please...

With Alien3 we have one of the great what if's of film history. What if Fincher could have could have worked unobstructed, giving us the film he wanted to make without the evil studio people like hack-director Walter Hill sticking there noses into everything.

Walter Hill is not responsible for Fincher's overwrought, pompous approach. And Fincher's original intent can be more or less seen in the SE. Guess what, the longer version did not help much. Why? Because Fincher didn't know what he was doing. He distant himself from the film and still distant himself when he was given the chance to edit his director's cut. He knew the film can't be saved. There is no longer "what if", only a severely failed attempt to further the quality of the Alien franchise.

Alex

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is among my favourite Trek films, I love it.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Now you're talking!

[Ollie 1,059]

I can't believe Shatner's excuse for the visuals on Star Trek V. ILM, regardless of who was available, would have done a much better job.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I'm sceptical about several of the excuses Shatner has given for this film.

He never saw the Rock Monster untill shooting day???...

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

It's not a horrible film like Batman & Robin, and at least Ron Perlman is enjoyable.

But I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone, even as casual viewing.

I'd rather watch Batman & Robin than sit thru another viewing of Alien 4.

Masochist!

[Ollie 1,059]

I'm sceptical about several of the excuses Shatner has given for this film.

He never saw the Rock Monster untill shooting day???...

Given how poor the film is I wonder where alot of the budget actually went.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The music's pretty spooky in that rock man test footage on the special edition DVD.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Given how poor the film is I wonder where alot of the budget actually went.

I still prefer it over any of the Star Wars prequels.

Actually back in 2002 I proved scientifically that Trek 5 is a better film then AOTC.

[A24 4,338]

Can't we talk about historically significant films for a change?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Star Trek: The Final Frontier was hugely historically significant.

The rock monster from Galaxy Quest was inspired directly by Shatner's wish to use rock monsters in Trek 5.

Also you can see that James Doohan is missing a finger in one scene...

Perhaps "timeless" is too strong a word for Orient Express, Steef. The first half hour dates it very much - it's actually a very bad half hour to start such a movie with. But, just as the train quite literally roars to life, the real fun begins (as you can read in the rather lame review I wrote about the film last summer).

I'm sorry?

It's a great film all round. It starts slowly because it takes time to set up the characters.

You probably would have wanted the film to start with the murder.

**** out of **** stars!

[Elmo Lewis 6]

The opening to Orient Express develops nothing more than Poirot's character. I'm not complaining about the fact that nothing happens, I'm complaining about the fact that the very opening seemed to distract from the real movie.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It develops the Poirot character, the Bianchi character played by Martin Balsam, gives us a red herring in the form of a hushed conversation by Connery and Redgrave. Plus the the nice decors and locations set the proper mood, and aid an air of luxury, especially since the rest of the film was done in a cramped set.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Yes, it does all that. In 40 minutes! I understand the first 10, but the other 30?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Actually the train starts to ride at exactly 21 minutes into the movie.

Considering the first 5 is spend on the titles and the prologue detailing the Armstrong kidnapping, I really cannot take your opinion seriously, Alex.

[A24 4,338]

Huh?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

We are talking about Murder On The Orient Express

I'm sure you've seen it.

[A24 4,338]

I know, but you typed Alex in your previous post.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

A fruedian slip of the tongue....

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Worrying.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla - one of the better and most suspenseful of the Heisei series of G-flicks, with a powerhouse score by Akira Ifukube, especially the end credits, and very moody cinematography with some poetic elements added by director Takao Okawara. I really wish this series had more like this.

Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla - this 40th anniversary film has "WTF" written all over it. Sure, I really do get a kick out of it and there are some really neat scenes peppered throughout, such as Space Godzilla's initial attack on Bass Island and the imprisoning of Little Godzilla, Miki is given a stronger role, and the space battle isn't really that bad, but Takayuki Hattori's score sounds like something for a video game or just mediocre TV movie music, some important scenes were cut in favour of pointless fluff, and that song "Echos of Love" was god-awful. The film had a different creative team behind it, which explains many of the aesthetic and content differences with the rest of the series.

Godzilla vs. Destroyah - an elegant finale to a great saga that may have benefitted from perhaps one more film between Gvs.SG and Gvs.D, but it still hits a home run. With its links to the original 1954 film, the origin story of Destroyah, Junior stealing the show, the fights, Godzilla's impending meltdown and the emotions of sadness and anger that the filmmakers finally allow him to express, and the ending itself make this an incredible kaiju film to watch. It was the first film since Gojira '84 to capture the sense of dread that the '54 film had.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Can't we talk about historically significant films for a change?

Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla -

Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla -

Godzilla vs. Destroyah

[A24 4,338]

, indeed. Damn you, Drax!

[Ollie 1,059]

Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla - one of the better and most suspenseful of the Heisei series of G-flicks, with a powerhouse score by Akira Ifukube, especially the end credits, and very moody cinematography with some poetic elements added by director Takao Okawara. I really wish this series had more like this.

Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla - this 40th anniversary film has "WTF" written all over it. Sure, I really do get a kick out of it and there are some really neat scenes peppered throughout, such as Space Godzilla's initial attack on Bass Island and the imprisoning of Little Godzilla, Miki is given a stronger role, and the space battle isn't really that bad, but Takayuki Hattori's score sounds like something for a video game or just mediocre TV movie music, some important scenes were cut in favour of pointless fluff, and that song "Echos of Love" was god-awful. The film had a different creative team behind it, which explains many of the aesthetic and content differences with the rest of the series.

Godzilla vs. Destroyah - an elegant finale to a great saga that may have benefitted from perhaps one more film between Gvs.SG and Gvs.D, but it still hits a home run. With its links to the original 1954 film, the origin story of Destroyah, Junior stealing the show, the fights, Godzilla's impending meltdown and the emotions of sadness and anger that the filmmakers finally allow him to express, and the ending itself make this an incredible kaiju film to watch. It was the first film since Gojira '84 to capture the sense of dread that the '54 film had.

Funny I was just listening to Godzilla vs Destroyah's score last night.

I agree with your reviews. I think MechaGodzilla is the best film of the Heisei series but G vs D ended the series on a positive note.