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Posted by: Olen Apr 12 2010, 08:32 PM

We have a music discussion thread but seem to lack a film (movie if you're from that bit of the world) discussion. The idea's pretty self-evident: what films have you seen recently, what did you think of them? Fairly similar to another thread really...

To start, I watched Gomorrah (2008) for the second time last night. It's a really good bit of Italian film-making and centres arouind the problems faced by Naples throught the stories of a few people whose paths cross with the organised crime there. It certainly doesn't pull punches in terms of the gritty reality from the first scene and a fairly grim ending.
Some of the settings are brilliant too, there are scenes shot in some buildings which look seriously run down in Naples which leads to a good degree of accuracy.

Overall I'd give it 8/10.


So what's anyone else watching?


Posted by: canis216 Apr 13 2010, 12:28 AM

In the last two weeks I've watched Green Zone and The Ghost Writer in theatres. Green Zone, of course, is the big action/drama starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass. Damon, as usual, is quite good. Some critics have complained about the jumpy hand-held camera work (a Greengrass signature notably used in the 2nd and 3rd Bourne films) but it fits the subject matter perfectly--the subject being the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States. I'm not much for rating a film by the numbers, but I'll say that this one is certainly worth at least one peek on a big screen.

The Ghost Writer stars Ewan McGregor, with Pierce Brosnan and Olivia Williams playing pivotal roles. Roman Polanski directs. Brosnan is a disgraced former British Prime Minister; McGregor is ghost-writing the P.M.'s autobiography; Williams plays the P.M.'s wife. This is another film connected to the notorious "War on Terror". The acting is superb, the settings sufficiently wind-swept and menacing, the drama can sometimes seem over the top but is leavened with a sort of biting humor that makes it all work damn well. Terrific movie, though not the sort of thing I necessarily want to see over and over again.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 13 2010, 01:00 AM

I am in the middle of watching Red Cliff (Chi Bi), the International version, not the butchered American one. I finished part one yesterday and am working on part 2 today (and probably tomorrow, it is long). It is a very fun movie, set in the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. You can really see that John Woo is going for an epic feel, which he captures very well. Besides the characteristically over the top action scenes, the characters are interesting and likeable, and he takes the time to develop them. The latter makes the move move kind of slowly in places, but I think it is well worth the payoff in how it enriches the story. What really struck me today was how absolutely perfectly he started part two. The opening credits are interspersed with the pivotal scenes from part 1. This tells you the entire story of part 1 in a few minutes, without it being a boring prologue. A good example of showing vs. telling. Oh, and the eye-candy is nice. China is a beautiful country. The cgi could be better in places, but I have seen far worse.

Posted by: treydog Apr 13 2010, 06:10 PM

We have become rather addicted to Netflix- but are watching some older TV series that we missed the first time around. I will leave it up to Olen as the OP as to whether we should discuss television or just stick to movies/films.

The last movie I watched was Stardust, the adaptation of the Neil Gaiman book by the same name. The cimematic version was fairly faithful to the original story, although some material was (necessarily) dropped. Claire Danes and Michelle Pfeiffer were both outstanding. There was plenty of humor and the CGI effects were nicely done.

Mrs. Treydog watched Seraphine, a biopic about an untrained French artist (Seraphine Louis). It was her kind of film, as the artist was troubled and likely psychotic. As a painter, Mrs. Treydog prefers suffering artist movies.... Seriously, she found it quite interesting and definitely worth viewing.

Posted by: Liam Apr 16 2010, 11:56 PM

I'm currently following Stargate Universe, Stargate has always been one of my favourite shows. But Stargate Universe still has a lot to live up to if it ever wants to get better than Atlantis.

Posted by: Kiln Apr 18 2010, 02:31 PM

Watching Stargate SG1...again. My favorite season show of all time. 50 discs and I've already watched them all before but its been so long its like watching them over for the first time.

Posted by: mALX Apr 19 2010, 07:40 PM

Pride and Prejudice - not my favorite version. My favorite one involves Colin Firth with his shirt open and a damp chest after an impomptu swim.

Valmont - another Colin Firth one, this time he has long hair drawn back in a pony tail.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Apr 26 2010, 02:50 AM

It's been a while, but let's see, the last one I watched (and was quite surprised by how good it was) is When the Last Sword is Drawn, a samurai movie I found on hulu.com. Thought it sounded interesting, but the plot and story were so compelling, and the actors/actresses were outstanding, that I just sat there and drooled over the storytelling . . . If only I could write stories like that! And the cinematography was poetical, making the settings characters in their own rights. I watched it while I was working on combat scenes in my own fiction, and thought maybe I could learn a thing or two. Well, I certainly did, and not just swordfighting techniques, either! If any of you have ever watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this is as lyrical in its imagery, but I thought overall Last Sword was better quality in the story and character development.

I will admit that I cried at the end. blink.gif verysad.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 29 2010, 12:41 AM

I have put When the Last Sword is Drawn on my Netflix list. The synopsis sounds very neat.

While not movie theater movies, I have started watching the Sharpe's Rifles movies again. I fell in love with them several years ago, and now I cannot resist the urge to dust them off every year or so to see again. Sean Bean is at his finest playing Richard Sharpe, rough, uncultured, a proper honoured user, and perhaps because that more a gentleman than most of the other officers around him.

The supporting cast of the Rifles themselves strong, led by Daragh O'Malley as Sgt. Harper. The individual troopers have personality, making them feel like real people rather than simply stuffed uniforms. John Tams plays Hagman, and has one of the most incredible singing voices. He is the one singing Over the Hills and Far Away in the series (and other songs).

One of the real treasures in this series are the guest stars though. Quite a few talented British actors (and a few non Brits) made their way through this series as it was done. Brian Cox is most notable as Hogan. Too bad he only did a few of the films. Daniel Craig is in the one I am currently watching - Sharpe's Eagle. He does not look a thing like the man I know from films like Layer Cake, Archangel, and of course the Bond films. But his voice is unmistakable. James Purefoy (of Rome fame) turns up in a later film, and is simply fantastic. Elizabeth Hurley makes an appearance. Alice Krige too. Even Alexis Denisof takes a turn.

Posted by: SubRosa May 6 2010, 01:11 AM

I saw Up in the Air a little while ago. If you like George Clooney, you will like it, as it features him at his confident, suave, cool best. The story has some good character development throughout, albeit is a little predictable. My only problem was the ending, which seemed rather flat. We saw Clooney's character change though the movie, but at the end we are left to wonder what for? I do not want to spoil it so I will not go into details. Still, in spite of that it was a fun watch, if for nothing else the sheer pleasure of watching George Clooney strut his stuff in a role that was tailor made for him.

Posted by: Destri Melarg May 9 2010, 08:44 AM

I finally saw Avatar for the first time tonight.

Number 1 grossing movie of all time!

Really? rolleyes.gif

Posted by: Olen May 9 2010, 10:33 AM

Did you see it in 3d? I agree the script was distinctly so so and the plot was nothing special but they really nailed the graphics with 3d which actually worked and didn't make the background look stupid.

I went and saw Iron Man 2 yesterday, it did exactly what it said on the tin. It was about as intellectually challenging as and with depth of a pancake but nonetheless it was enjoyable enough for the two hours. Large machines smashing eachother to bits for two hours (and no appriciable reason) can only be a good thing. Robert Downey was excellent in it and fitted his character well. Overall entertaining in a light sort of way.

As a blast from the past I also saw Highlander again a few days ago, after the event I can never quite believe how bad that film is. It must be among the worse I've seen, what did they spend their $16M on?

Posted by: haute ecole rider May 9 2010, 02:12 PM

QUOTE(Olen @ May 9 2010, 04:33 AM) *
As a blast from the past I also saw Highlander again a few days ago, after the event I can never quite believe how bad that film is. It must be among the worse I've seen, what did they spend their $16M on?

Highlander is not good by any stretch, but any movie that has Queen for their sound track is still cool in my book. biggrin.gif

Another movie that is not so good but still high in the cool factor is Nomads, with Pierce Brosnan and Lesley Anne Downs. Hey, the cool factor here is Adam Ant. What's not to like?

A bad movie that revels in being bad so much that it's actually funny is The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai. Peter Weller and Ellen Barkin were in that movie, and there are so many tongue in cheek gags and puns that I'm not resenting the sorry plot at all!

Huh, can you tell I'm an 80's girl? coolgrin.gif

I haven't watched any new ones recently. However, I will plug one I saw a few years ago, and still pull the DVD out to watch occasionally. It's Memento, an indie production, with Guy Pierce in the lead. Unusual storyline, and it takes a while to figure out just what is going on. My kind of movie - it kept me guessing almost to the end (instead of figuring out at the start who the bad guy is). This is a good one, in my book.

Posted by: Destri Melarg May 9 2010, 11:14 PM

QUOTE(Olen @ May 9 2010, 02:33 AM) *

Did you see it in 3d? I agree the script was distinctly so so and the plot was nothing special but they really nailed the graphics with 3d which actually worked and didn't make the background look stupid.

I saw it in Blu-Ray. I agree that the effects were really well done, but I expect no less from Stan Winston Studios and Lightstorm. It was the script that I found lacking . . . Dancing With Smurfs, indeed.

QUOTE(haute ecole rider @ May 9 2010, 06:12 AM) *

I haven't watched any new ones recently. However, I will plug one I saw a few years ago, and still pull the DVD out to watch occasionally. It's Memento, an indie production, with Guy Pierce in the lead. Unusual storyline, and it takes a while to figure out just what is going on. My kind of movie - it kept me guessing almost to the end (instead of figuring out at the start who the bad guy is). This is a good one, in my book.

Allow me to second this recommendation, Memento is an excellent movie.

Posted by: SubRosa May 10 2010, 12:11 AM

I still have no seen Avatar, even though it is now on disc. I will get around to it eventually, when I am in the mood for a mindless action movie with a hot blue chick.

I am currently in the middle of When the Last Sword Is Drawn. As haute said, it is good. I have found the way it jumps around confusing though, making it take a long time for me to warm up to.

I liked Highlander. Yes it was a bad movie, but still thought it was fun, and it really stood out in the very sparse field of sword and sorcery movies that were around at that time (if you think it is awful, try The Beastmaster!). Granted Christoper Lambert's acting was horrific, but Clancy Brown makes up for it with his sheer coolness ("I'm Candy. "Of course you are..."). I love that suit of armor he has in the flashbacks.

I actually like a lot of bad movies. Done right, a bad movie can be loads of fun. Look at most of the Lovecraft movies, like The Unnamable I and II. Or the Return of the Living Dead movies. Tons of fun!

I liked Nomads too. It is a different kind of movie. Not an overt supernatural horror type, but rather much more low-key in its creepiness. Plus is has Pierce Brosnan, whom I have been a fan of since Remington Steele.

Memento was another I enjoyed. Very odd movie. Not one I would want to see again, but very cool the first time around.

I finally got around to seeing Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween a little while ago. On one hand it was interesting seeing so much depth given to Michael Myers for a change. But that is also the biggest problem of the movie. The main character is not Laurie as it was in Carpenter's classic, it is Michael instead. Making a movie about how cool it is to be a serial killer does not really do much for me. Although granted I do know that is what most horror fans seem to want these days, given the successes of franchises like Saw. In the end it turns out to be pretty meh, quite missable.

Posted by: canis216 May 16 2010, 03:47 AM

Watched (re-watched, actually) The Big Lebowski on a large-ish screen in a fellow's backyard in Grand Junction, Colorado, last weekend. If you haven't seen it, you ought to--it's not a "great" film, but it is a highly amusing shaggy story set in 1980's Los Angeles, centered around the adventures of The Dude (Jeff Bridges). The Dude, for the uninitiated, is a middle-aged hippie bowling aficionado who ends up entangled in a convoluted crime caper featuring a wheel-chair bound millionaire, the millionaire's ex-porn star trophy wife, the millionaire's haughty arty daughter, a smut merchant, and German nihilists. Directed by the Coen brothers, this film is absurdly funny and sublimely profane.

Posted by: mALX May 16 2010, 03:57 AM

Sense and Sensibility, The Green Mile - I don't watch TV often, just was in the mood to today.

Posted by: SubRosa May 17 2010, 11:34 PM

A few days ago I watched Three Days of the Condor, one of my all time favorite spy films. The reason being that the protagonist is not an action hero. Rather he is a guy paid to read books. The only thing he has going for him is his brain, which he uses to good effect throughout the movie. The ending is not what you would expect (at least from a modern movie), which is rather nice.

Today I finished Ride With the Devil, an outstanding U.S. Civil War movie centered on a group of Bushwackers in Missouri. Some of them survive, most do not. Those who do live are forever changed. It is a strong, character-driven story, not too predictable, and doesn't flinch to show the ugliness on both sides of guerrilla war between Kansas and Missouri. As one character says at the end: "Its not right, and its not wrong, it just is."

Posted by: haute ecole rider May 20 2010, 05:27 PM

Not exactly a movie, but not exactly a TV series, either.

Hulu.com uploaded 62 episodes of the Korean drama The Great Queen Seondeok. I've been watching it for the past couple of weeks. It's a great story, full of intrigue, plot twists, and best of all, a cast full of three- (and even four-) dimensional characters. It's a standout due to the strong characters of the two main protagonists (both female), who lock horns with each other over the royal throne. The series takes place during the Three Kingdoms period of Korea's history, in the early seventh century. The acting is outstanding, and the writing is well-done. There are no cardboard characters here. I love the villains in this pieces as much as I love the heroes.

I'm off now to watch Episode 47!

Posted by: Kiln May 26 2010, 01:24 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ May 9 2010, 11:11 PM) *


I actually like a lot of bad movies. Done right, a bad movie can be loads of fun. Look at most of the Lovecraft movies, like The Unnamable I and II. Or the Return of the Living Dead movies. Tons of fun!

You need to see the movie "Bloodrayne", its one of the worst movies I've ever seen...also go watch "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale".

Got to be my top two terrible movies. In fact I recommend everyone see them just for a good laugh.

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 19 2010, 06:52 PM

QUOTE(Kiln @ May 26 2010, 08:24 AM) *

QUOTE(SubRosa @ May 9 2010, 11:11 PM) *


I actually like a lot of bad movies. Done right, a bad movie can be loads of fun. Look at most of the Lovecraft movies, like The Unnamable I and II. Or the Return of the Living Dead movies. Tons of fun!

You need to see the movie "Bloodrayne", its one of the worst movies I've ever seen...also go watch "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale".

Got to be my top two terrible movies. In fact I recommend everyone see them just for a good laugh.


I tried to watch Dungeon Siege, but could not make it through the movie, in spite of Ron Perlman, who is one of my favorite actors (damn, that guy is cool!). Bloodrayne is one I cannot even bring myself to consider watching.

I have been watching Daria, all however-many seasons there were of it have been put onto dvd, and Netflix finally got their hands on it. Lots of fun. Daria is someone whom a bright, cynical, unpopular person like myself can so easily relate to. I love the other characters like Jane and Trent, even UpChuck (fiesty!), Kevin, and Britney. Oh, and especially Mr. D'Martino, with his stattaco style of speaking and razor-sharp sarcasm, he is an absolute riot!

Posted by: SubRosa Jul 5 2010, 07:47 PM

I saw The Road a few days ago. An excellent post-apocalypse movie that focuses on a father trying to protect his son (born after the apocalypse). It does not go into details about what kind of apocalypse it was, although nuclear is heavily implied given the night where the sky was lit up like fire. It does not really matter though, because the focus of the story is not the event, but rather the two characters.

The director makes excellent use of color to reinforce the bleakness of the new world, or perhaps I should say the corpse of the old world. Everything set in the present is dull and muted. Lots of browns and greys. Fields are filled with detritus of crops, and most of it looks like November, cold, but without the pleasant white blanket of snow. The sky is a neverending sheet of grey clouds. There are often strange rumbles in the distance, of earthquakes perhaps, and great plumes of smoke. The occasional flashbacks to pre-apocalypse stand out in stark contrast, being filled with vibrant color. Showing us that this was a time when not only the world, but the characters, were more alive.

It is a pretty grim tale, with the father trying to hold onto his humanity in world with precious little of it left. Cannibals are a constant threat, and make for some very chilling encounters. Not a super-action movie, there are no heroic battles with evildoers, just a desperate race to escape and survive. Often this happens as others fall victim. The scene in the basement still stays with me. Just plain creepy.

My only complaint is that like many movies seem to be these days, the dialogue is mixed very low, with Viggo Mortensen especially talking in raspy whispers most of the time. The rest of the sound is mixed higher, so it is very hard to hear what people say. Turning up the volume does not help because then the rest of the movie is too loud. I had to watch it with the subtitles on, otherwise I would have missed half the dialogue.


I also saw The Crazies yesterday. Another good movie starring Radha Mitchell (I love her, she always plays strong characters and does not have giant fake boobs and a zillion dollars of plastic surgery. She would make a good Teresa I think.) A remake of a Romero film, it is a fun horror movie about a government-created virus accidentally loosed upon a small town. As the local sheriff and his doctor wife try to figure out what is going on, the government moves in and throws a black bag over the entire area and everyone in it. It has shades of Half-Life there, as the infected people are not the only danger, but the soldiers quarantining the place as well.

One thing I liked about it was that while the virus made people homicidal, in its early stages there were no physical signs of it. So anyone could be infected, and you would not know it until they tried to kill you.

Posted by: Olen Jul 18 2010, 09:41 PM

I watched Children of Men again last night. It's a brilliant film and probably one of my favourites for it's dark atmosphere, brilliant settings and long scenes, and for having a hero who is genuinely a normal guy.

It's a bit outdated now (the idea is that humanity has become infertile by 2009 and is set 18 years after) but from the news bulletin fragments (in the style of BBC news) it begins with to a great many little details like the tensions between the right wing government and the extreme left it paints a picture of a country falling apart through dispair. It's not a happy film though it's well worth watching.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Jul 19 2010, 02:07 AM

Agreed, Children of Men is one of the better movies I've watched out there. Yes, it is very dark and depressing, but pretty realistic, too. To me, it has a George Orwellian feel to the story, and yet it is one of hope in the midst of despair.

I've been watching The Kingdom of the Wind, a South Korean drama from 2008. It's a historical drama set in the first decade of the Christian era, about the part of ancient Korea that is now mostly incorporated into North Korea (Goguryeo). The lead character is a prince born with a curse, and his father, the King, is unable to kill him, so instead he sends the boy out to be raised as a commoner, with no knowledge of his parentage or family. It has elements of a Greek tragedy (think Oedipus) as well as romance. It's pretty well acted, not over the top or too melodramatic, and the villains are truly, intelligent and understandable in their motives, while the heroes are flawed. Good stuff!

Posted by: Destri Melarg Jul 21 2010, 06:22 PM

I liked Children of Men as well, and The Kingdom of the Wind sounds interesting (a Korean Oedipus? I have got to see that! tongue.gif ). Last week I watched The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance. For those of you with a Netflix account I can’t recommend this four-part PBS documentary enough. It covers the history of the family over hundreds of years and several generations. It is a story filled with political intrigue, assassination, and religious fervor. Not to mention the Medici patronage of artists such as Michaelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, which the documentary explores in admirable detail. For me this goes right alongside Ken Burns’ wonderful Mark Twain and the extraordinary The Cove as the best documentaries I’ve seen this decade.

Posted by: Zalphon Jul 21 2010, 09:09 PM

Children of Men was so-so.

Posted by: Ornamental Nonsense Jul 31 2010, 05:10 AM

A movie that I would highly recommend is 'Conspiracy' starring Kenneth Branagh and Stanley Tucci. The former plays Reinhard Heydrich, and the latter plays Adolf Eichmann. The entire film takes place in one house, and mostly in one room at that, but showcases dialogue that is so riveting that it's impossible not to remain fixated. This dialogue is also incredibly disturbing in nature, as the film is a rendering of the infamous Wansee Conference of January 1942. High ranking bureaucrats, SS officers, and party members met to discuss the question of handling Jews, what to do with them, the fastest methods of extermination, and whether or not the law made provisions for such things. You can imagine how creepy that would be to begin with, but the fact that the characters go about discussing this in a very logical and methodical way is what really makes the content so troubling, and it's not a smooth discussion at all.

No, everyone has priorities, and internal conflicts between political and military groups become very apparent as the conversation progresses. For history buffs, there's a lot of unspoken subtext regarding power struggles that will delight, but even for people who know nothing about Nazi Germany, the characters are so fascinating that historical knowledge isn't necessary to appreciate this film. As Heydrich pulls the strings, threatening some, wooing others, and ultimately shaping the fate of millions of people as he makes decisions for everyone, you'll remain glued to the screen. Manipulation at its finest, and Eichmann as the pencil-pushing sidekick is equally interesting. Perhaps the greatest impact comes at the end of the film, when you discover what historically happened (or didn't happen) to all of the people involved in promoting murder.

Honestly, don't miss this jewel of a film. It's based on the only surviving transcript of the Wansee Conference, and you'll walk away from the film with a lot to think about. If anyone does check it out, please let me know what you thought of it.

Posted by: SubRosa Jul 31 2010, 05:48 AM

I saw Conspiracy a long time ago, and have rewatched it several times since. I agree with everything ON said. It is a good movie. A little disturbing in the cold, methodical way that the group is discussing the extermination of millions, and also fascinating in the way it demonstrates the in-fighting between the Nazis.

Posted by: DarkZerker Aug 4 2010, 04:30 AM

I watched Despicable Me a week or so back.

It's a great movie with comedy that's actually GOOD and a kids movie that they put EFFORT into it. It features a Villain who's the main protagonist. After meeting a new villain who's much more competent with the whole "Evil" role, the protagonist, Gru, works to no end in trying to steal the moon. After the rival(Victor)steals a shrink ray to steal it, Gru uses three orphans and the ADVENTURE BEGINS!!

I give it a...A-

It's a little slow at first but the psychological aspect of the movie is touching. My friend started crying when we were watching it. Then some bunghole in the back told her to shut up. XD

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 9 2010, 12:21 AM

I just finished watching Digging to China, a wonderful little movie about a girl who befriends a severely retarded man. Evan Rachel Wood plays the girl, who is far too smart and imaginative for her own good (she once tried digging a hole to China, but found that a mysterious electrical barrier protected the core of the earth... Zot!). Kevin Bacon turns in a spectacular performance as the retarded man. It is hard to imagine he is the same actor from movies like Footloose. The relationship that develops between the two tugs at your heartstrings, and had me in tears more than once. Definitely a chick flick, so guys beware.

On a completely different note, I have also been slowly working my way through the old Showtime series Robin of Sherwood, starring Michael Praed as Robin, The Hooded Man. This is by far my favorite incarnation of Robin Hood. The series was shot on location, which brings a real sense of realness and grittiness to each episode. ut best of all is the kind of Robin it has. He is not some spoiled Baron's son out to get his title back. Rather he is a Saxon revolutionary fighting the Norman invaders who oppress the common people. With a healthy dose of magic and paganism, Robin is Herne's Son, and carries Albion, one of the Swords of Wayland, charged with the powers of light and darkness.

The supporting cast is strong, with Nicholas Grace truly shining as the Sheriff of Nottingham. A brilliant, bitterly acerbic, and utterly amoral man contemptuous of everything and everyone around him. He is a man you really love to hate, and truly deserves the title of master villain. My favorite character is Nasir though, a Saracen assassin who was enslaved by the devil-worshipping sorcerer Baron De Balleme and freed by Robin. A man of few words, he fights with two swords, and just generally looks cool at all times. He was the first Saracen character in a Robin Hood story, and was actually supposed to die in the pilot. But the writers liked the character so much they kept him instead.

The series suffers the same drawbacks as most t.v. shows, as the heros always find some reason not to kill Sir Guy and the Sheriff when they have the opportunity, and likewise always somehow wriggle free when the tables are turned. Michael Praed leaving the series at the end of the second season gave them the opportunity to break from that mold for a truly sad episode in which the Sheriff finally has his victory. Or does he? For the third season begins with Jason Connery as a new hero who takes up Robin's mantle as Herne's Son. Not as good as the first two seasons, it is still worth giving a watch at least once.

Posted by: DarkZerker Aug 9 2010, 07:28 AM

I finished watching R-Point, it's a Korean movie about the vietnam war.

A squad of soldiers disappears during the Vietnam war and only one survivor remains. He claims that all of the other soldiers are dead but the central command keeps getting weird messages from Donkey 3, the squad that went missing. A group of soldiers were sent to rescue them, but instead suffers from paranoia and strange events. In the last moments on R-Point, the soldiers turn on each other, claiming the other ones are a part of some conspiracy. Then the delusion of a ghost comes in, a blind soldier and the commander of the squad are the only ones alive. The commander orders the blind one to fire at the ghost in front of him, only to be killed in the process. Then, the only one left is the blind one, who starts to suffer from paranoia himself and starts going insane. The movie closes on the message that it started on, only difference being the squad that's calling is the one that went to rescue the first one...

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 9 2010, 04:53 PM

I loved R-Point! It is one of my favorite movies in the new genre of War-Horror films. My favorite part was the Americans who came in on the helicopter to check their radio gear, and then the squad finds the helicopter...


Posted by: mALX Aug 20 2010, 08:05 PM

I actually watched TV this week (I hate TV) ...Top Chef. Hate to admit it, but I liked it.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Aug 25 2010, 05:45 AM

FINALLY!

I've been wanting to watch this movie for soooo long! Ever since it first came out and I read the reviews. Through the years people kept referencing this movie.

Then Hulu.com uploads it!

I just finished watching Kurosawa's "Ran" - the remake/interpretation of "King Lear." Phenomenal movie! I know I didn't get all the layers - this is a movie that bears watching more than once. Half the story is told in the silences, which for me is powerful stuff, especially the way Kurosawa visualized it. Every second is as good as all the reviews, etc I had read of it.

Posted by: treydog Aug 25 2010, 02:57 PM

Another Kurosawa you should see, and that is more accessible than some of his earlier work, is Kagemusha. I will not say much, beyond the fact that it is visually stunning and conveys a great deal without words.

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 25 2010, 05:27 PM

Ran never did much for me. The main reason being that I disliked all the characters, especially the old king. Granted, I did get to see most of them get killed, they all certainly had it coming.

Kagemusha is in my Netflix queue, so I will probably be seeing it in the next few weeks.

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 28 2010, 02:28 AM

I have been watching a lot of nature documentaries lately. Eye of the Leopard was an excellent one that followed a leopard for three years, starting from her birth. You really begin to feel a bond with Lagadema (the leopard), as she discovers her world, faces some very fearsome trials (such as nearly being killed by a pack of baboons), steps up to game to make an amazing kill of a baboon in the middle of their group, and even takes an infant baboon under her wing and tries to protect it. I highly recommend renting it.

Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure was another good one that followed Dolly, a Dolichorhynchops living in the late Cretaceous. It follows her life from start to finish, and is punctuated with a little bit of science from paleontologists. The main target is children, so it is not heavy on facts. Still, it is a delightful animal tale. If you look at it as a short film about an animal it is a lot of fun.

Super Croc is another. Just hearing Sam Neill's narration is worth the price of renting it. Even cooler is not only the palentology involved, but the studies of modern day crocodiles. Truly fantastic stuff. The bite force of these animals is just astounding. Seeing the final, reconstructed Super Croc is just awe-inspiring in its size.

Prehistoric Predators was so-so. It is a three part series that examines the Saber-Tooth Cat, the Dire Wolf, and the Short-Faced Bear. The Dire Wolf episode was my favorite. The facts that come out in the shows are very interesting, such as that the Short Faced Bear was built specifically for scavenging and it tremendous size was meant for intimidating other predators away from kills. The animation was a bit sub-par though, even for a nature show where you do not expect ILM quality work to begin with. Also it got repetitive at times, as scenes and information is recyled between episodes.

Now I am watching a pile of shark documentaries, starting with Shark Week 2009. The first episode in the series was just jaw dropping. It is a dramatization of the New Jersey shark attacks of 1916, and at two hours in length, it is a movie in its own right. It is shot as if a documentary of that period, with a reporter interviewing a scientist from the New York Museum of Natural History who was one of the closest things to a shark expert at that time, and breaking away from that to show the actual events. Very cool.

The rest of the first disc has been fascinating. There is one episode that details half-a-dozen shark attacks upon people. Thankfully in these all the people survived (it would not be much fun to watch if they had not), and often you wonder how they managed. You just cannot help but to feel empathy for those poor souls, who were happy campers one moment, then looked down to see a great white clamped onto their leg. In some of the cases, bystanders were truly heroic in swimming out to rescue the victims, risking death themselves, bringing them into shore before they could bleed to death.

I just finished watching one that tested a shark suit (mail armor) which is effective protection against most sharks. This test was against a great white however. The shark bit the mail right in half. In the past measurements of shark bite force were thought to be comparatively weak. Pound for pound, they were found to not be much stronger than dogs. However, the people making these studies overlooked the tremendous size of some of these sharks, which more than makes up for the relative weakness of their bites compared to their overall mass. A great white's bite force measures 4,000 pounds. So when those jaws clamp shut, it would take a crane to pull them apart.

Really astounding to watch are the great white's polaris breaches. They are the result of their style of attack. Cruising in deep water, then rocketing straight up at full speed (25mph) to hit the prey animal from underneath. They have video of sharks going completely out of the water while making these attacks. Seeing an animal that huge make those tremendous leaps is just breathtaking. http://dsc.discovery.com/sharks/great-white-sharks/great-white-shark-pics.html and http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/shark-week-leaping-great-whites.html

One thing I have noticed when watching all these great whites, is that all of them seem to be heavily scarred around their heads. My guess is that is from their favorite prey, seals. It sounds hard to believe, but they are supposed to be ferocious fighters. That explains the reason for the great white's tactics. Where other sharks tend to like to slowly close in to figure out if their prey might be a threat, the white makes one sudden attack from ambush, with the idea being to instantly immobilize the target.

Posted by: treydog Aug 29 2010, 04:26 PM

We just finished the first season of Dollhouse. It is one of those shows that you think about long after it is over. I am in no way confident that I "got" everything Joss Whedon was trying to say about society and humanity, but it was certainly worth watching. Which is not to say it was not disturbing and ambiguous.

Otherwise, we are working our way through all seven seasons of Homicide: Life of on the Streets. It was the forerunner of The Wire, with a number of the same production people involved. It is gritty, depressing, and incredibly well-written and well-acted. The interesting thing is, except for perhaps Yaphet Kotto and Richard Belzer (who was known more for his stand-up comedy), none of the actors were especially prominent when the series began. One thing that is interesting to look at is how Homicide differed from most "cop shows" from the time (or earlier). There are some incredible moments, such as when Det. Pembleton (Andre Braugher) manipulates a suspect into a confession because of pressure from above to "close the case." He does it knowing that his Lieutenant is watching- and that he will not accept the confession because he knows it is bogus. And a lot of the show has that dynamic- of one-on-one or two-on-one confrontation- often with someone else observing. This is character-driven storytelling at its best.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Aug 29 2010, 05:29 PM

I agree with trey - Homicide is one of the most underrated cop shows on TV ever. In many ways it was better than Hill Street Blues, and that was one of the first character-driven police shows I can remember. I loved Homicide because of relative unknowns, but also because each actor, from Yaphet Kotto as G and Richard Belzer (you can catch him on Law & Order: SVU - he plays the same character), to the unknowns like Andre Braugher, Stephen Baldwin, et. al. turned in incredibly powerful performances. Andre Braugher remains as one of my favorite actors because of what he did on that show.

Posted by: mALX Aug 29 2010, 05:48 PM

QUOTE(haute ecole rider @ Aug 29 2010, 12:29 PM) *

I agree with trey - Homicide is one of the most underrated cop shows on TV ever. In many ways it was better than Hill Street Blues, and that was one of the first character-driven police shows I can remember. I loved Homicide because of relative unknowns, but also because each actor, from Yaphet Kotto as G and Richard Belzer (you can catch him on Law & Order: SVU - he plays the same character), to the unknowns like Andre Braugher, Stephen Baldwin, et. al. turned in incredibly powerful performances. Andre Braugher remains as one of my favorite actors because of what he did on that show.



BOLD: ARGH !!!

Posted by: Rachel the Breton Aug 31 2010, 03:09 PM

I'm (re)watching the Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister series. It's a British show from the 80's...political satire. I'm pretty sure it would translate smoothly to most nations' politics, though. Sir Nigel Hawthorne is superb as the scheming Sir Humphrey, and easily steals the show; Paul Eddington, as the idealistic but utterly cowardly Jim Hacker, is fantastic, though, too. The show is beyond superb.

Posted by: Olen Aug 31 2010, 09:53 PM

I'll second the above, Yes Minister is excellent. I most like the private secretary Bernard Wolly (I can't remember who played him). Some of his interactions with Sir Humphery are priceless. I'd certainly recommend it, though I didn't like Yes Prime Minister nearly so much.

As far as what I'm watching... not much really. The Edinburgh Festival is on so I've been to a couple of plays (I suppose they count as watching). One was a particularly good adaption of Sunset Song by a group from Aberdeenshire so they had the accents right which was nice to hear.

Posted by: Black Hand Sep 1 2010, 09:28 AM

Just finished watching 'Flawless' on Netflix. Released in 2007, I had never actually heard of it.

It's a crime thriller starring Demi Moore and Micheal Caine set in 1960 at the London Diamond Corporation. In short Caine is this brilliant bloke who poses as a janitor at Lon Di, and enlists the help of the glass-ceiling victim Demi Moore to rob the vaults of the company. Making her think that he will only take a thermos full of uncut diamonds that would never be missed, the entire vault ends up missing two tons of diamonds.

The plot doesn't quite live up too the title, and theres a couple of quirks in the characters that I sort of snorted at that just weren't believable to me, but hey, I've done that in my own writings, so who am I too judge?

But there are twists and turns in the movie that were quite well thought out and displayed, and Caine steals the show with his superior acting as usual, Demi Moore came in at a great second, but this is hardly her Magnum Opus. Plus, who doesn't like seeing British stuffed shirts having the thumbscrews put to them for a change?

If your thinking the pairing and the setting reflects Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the awful movie 'Entrapment' (1997) you couldn't be further from the truth, there is little to no 'action' in this flick, relying on a perfect pace and overall well-written story and close-ups to convey plot points.

That was Black Hand's review and pick for movie of the week, I'll see you at the line outside the port-a-potty at the Nightwish concert featuring other Northern European metal bands.


Posted by: hazmick Sep 1 2010, 11:51 AM

I think I've seen 'Flawless' before, I'm not sure...

anyway, I recently watched 'Dog Soldiers'-a british horror film about a group of soldiers who get lost in a forest full of werewolves. they find a small farmhouse and hold of the relentless werewolf assault and gradually and gruesomely get picked off. Eventually a collie dog and a single soldier are let in the now destroyed house.

It's a low budget film with an all British cast and filmed entirely in Scotland. The plot is enjoyable and (considering that there are no special effects) the werewolves are well-done. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good horror.

Posted by: Olen Sep 1 2010, 05:10 PM

Oooh, I'll jump in again to give a vote for Dog Soldiers. That film is a guilty pleasure, it's so much more enjoyable than it has any right to be. It certainly follows the way a lot of British films go these days - no budget so they can't afford well known actors or cgi but they generally make up for it in good casting and plotting. Certainly it puts more pressure on the director to get it right if he can't hide things with fireworks *cough starwars cough*. I might be biased becuase it plays to the home audience but I rate it very highly, particularly for the interactions within the squad which are brilliantly done.


Posted by: SubRosa Oct 21 2010, 05:11 PM

I just finished re-watching Letters from Iwo Jima for about the fifth time. My first time on blu-ray though. Once more, I was just left in awe by this movie.

The cast is superb. A real treat after the stiff acting one always sees by Japanese actors in the old 70's movies like Midway and Tora! Tora! Tora!. I think the movie being in Japanese really makes a huge difference, as the cast does have to struggle to deliver lines in a foreign language. Being subtitled, I know most Americans cannot even bear to watch it. After all, you have to read. Nothing more terrible than that, except perhaps having to think as well.

Funny thing was when I was watching the extras, Eastwood was talking about making the movie, and he commented that directing was a more difficult for him than usual, because he did not know what the actors were saying! He had a translator repeating everything he said on the set, and vice-versa. It never occurred to me until then just how difficult that must have been to do!

Ken Watanabe stars, and I swear that man is awesome. I think I saw him first in Memoirs of a Geisha, and he blew me away there as well. As Eastwood says in the extras, Watanabe has a terrific face and a great presence. Looking at pictures of the real General Kuribayashi, it is amazing how similar the two men are in appearance as well.

One thing that always strikes me about this movie is the contrast it makes to Flags of our Fathers, especially concerning the cast. I always get confused watching Flags because except for the native american, I cannot tell the characters apart. I really mean that. With the same clothes, same haircut, same young, clean-shaven faces, they all literally look the same to me. I know Eastwood went with unknown actors because he wanted people to see the characters, rather than the people playing them (which inevitably happens with well-known stars), but I think it back-fired. The only characters in Flags I could tell apart were the minor characters, who were played by seasoned actors that I knew.

But I do not have that problem with Letters at all, even though Ken Watanabe was the only actor I knew. Each Japanese character is unique in appearance. Partly it was the different uniforms between officers and enlisted men. I think the facial hair that many had helps too. For example Baron Nishi has a very distinctive thin goatee (haute would like the Baron, he was an Olympic gold medalist in horse-jumping before the war, and a well-known ladies man wink.gif ). Kashiwara has this really straggly look. Saigo really stands out as clean-shaven, baby-faced and looking every inch of the sloppy civilian he really is, while Shimizu is always all prim and proper, etc...

The other thing I liked about Letters over Flags was that where Flags bounced around constantly, Letters was pretty solidly done in chronological order. Letters does have flashbacks which reveal more about the characters, but the way those are done it is very clear that it is a flashback, what character it is about, it offers real character development, and finally, they are brief, keeping us in the moment.

What is astounding is that this movie was basically made on a whim. Eastwood was preparing to shoot Flags when he came across a book of Kuribayashi's letters. They so inspired him that he wanted to do a companion film told from the Japanese side. He ran it by Spielberg (who produced along with Eastwood), who said "Yeah, sounds great!" and so they did it at the same time as Flags. Just like that, a fantastic movie was made.

All in all it is one of the best war movies I have ever seen. It is all about sacrifice. The last stand where there is no chance of victory, let alone survival, but they keep on fighting anyway. Of the 22,000 Japanese on the island, only two dozen were taken alive during the battle. Another 1,800 surrendered months, and even years, later. Some hiding out until 1951. The other 20,000 men all died.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Oct 21 2010, 06:40 PM

I saw about two thirds of Letters (the latter part) and loved it. It was compelling, gritty, and very much my taste - asking questions about honor, loyalty and comradeship in the face of war (which tends to break down notions of civility).

I've not had a chance to locate it on DVD and watch the full movie. When I do, though, it probably will go next to The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape as one of my favorites.

Posted by: Olen Nov 1 2010, 10:19 PM

I went and saw Burke and Hare last night. Generally I was impressed. There were some fairly glaring and odd issues with it, mainly historical inaccuricies which seemed completely unnessessary - ones which were required for the plot or humour I'm fine with but, without spoilers, there were some big ones which affected neither.

Still it was bizarrely funny in a dark sort of way and the casting was bang on, Simon Pegg does black comedy well and delivered some fantastic lines. Ronnie Corbit was in it too and it appears he's still quite able to act. I was also surprised how little accent butchering went on (there were mistakes but the writer did well to give the illusion of accent using occasional words while keeping it largely in English). They also caught some aspects of Edinburgh well in terms of the feel of bits of the city, and many scenes in places which were recognisable, even the occasional in joke.

The final scene... well it's true (and that's not all).

I'd recommend it.

Posted by: DarkZerker Nov 3 2010, 03:23 AM

"First you shall pull the holy pin. Then you shall count to THREE. THREE is the number you shall be counting. Two is not allowed and neither is four after you had counted to THREE. Five is WAY OUT!"

"One, two, five!"

"Three sir!"

"Three!"

Can you guess what I saw?

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 7 2010, 03:16 AM

I bought the Man With No Name trilogy on blu-ray last week and watched the three films over that weekend. I learned some interesting things in the extras. Fist Full of Dollars was the first movie where Sergio Leone began using his trademark extreme closeups. The reason was that it was shot in the what at that time was the brand new process of technoscope, which allowed for it. So basically Leone was making the most of a brand new technology.

I have always liked the way he used those closeups of character's faces. All other directors before and since only use the closeup to show a character's reaction to dialogue or events. Leone uses them to build tension to a nearly unbearable level before an explosion of action. At the same time he also humanizes all the characters, as we look deeply into their eyes, study every line and crease on their faces, every droplet of sweat beading their skin. They cease to be cardboard villains just waiting for the hero to gun them down. Instead they become people, and when they die, there is a sense of weight in the event that is lost in modern action films.

Some other interesting things I learned. The reason Eastwood did the three films was that he was doing Rawhide at the time, and his contract forbid him from filming movies in the U.S. during the hiatus' between seasons. But he was free to film overseas, which of course the Leone movies were. Still, he brought his guns from Rawhide, plus a few other props. He keeps the guns throughout all three films in fact.

Another neat thing I learned was why the films seem to dubbed, and not dubbed, at the same time. The cast was made up of actors from all over Europe. Each actor spoke their own language when filming. Then afterward the sound was dubbed over for each each country it was released in, except the parts that were originally spoken in that language. That is why Eastwood's lines are all his, in English, and the other actor's are all dubbed into English. In the Spanish version all his lines were dubbed over, and all the Spanish-speaking actors left as they were, etc...

Also interesting is that Eastwood's character was never meant to be the same person in all three films. In fact, in the second film he even has a name: Manco. By the end of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly they sort of gave up on that however, and Eastwood picks up the characteristic poncho from a dead soldier before the final climax.

Another neat thing when you watch them in a row is you see that many actors make recurring appearances. Besides Eastwood of course, the other obvious one is Lee Van Cleef being in For A Few Dollars More and
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. But there are a lot of others too. The guy who played Ramon in Fist Full also plays El Indio in For A Few Dollars More. He even uses the same rifle in a few scenes. There is a big Spanish guy with a beard who shows up in all three as a henchman. The undertaker in the first is also in the second, etc...

All in all a fun time watching. I love the soundtracks, especially in the first and third movies. GBU did drag on for too long at 3 hours though, my only real gripe about the films.

Currently, I just started going through the Lord of the Rings special editions again. I wish they would release them on blu ray. The end credits for Fellowship are playing as I type this. I picked up Band of Brothers on blu-ray tonight, so that will be next in the pipeline.

Has anyone seen The Pacific? It is out in stores now, but I do not want to put down $70 for it until I have a better idea how good it is. I have it in my Netflix queue, but they do not have it available until the end of the month.

Posted by: mALX Nov 7 2010, 03:50 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Nov 6 2010, 10:16 PM) *


before the final climax.



Huh? It was multi Clint-gasmic?


JUST KIDDING! I love the history you gave on these films! This was my absolute first date, and first time at a drive-in theatre. Once a year they had 5 Clint Eastwood movies, one right after the other without even the Roadrunner in between. I was too young to stay out late enough to see all 5, but I got to see the first three (and still got grounded for two weeks for coming home late).

Great research you did on this !!

Posted by: treydog Nov 7 2010, 01:03 PM

An interesting thing to do is track back through the "man in the middle" theme.

Although it may go even further back, Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest inspired Fist Full of Dollars. And then there is Kurosawa's Yojimbo. There's argument as to whether it was based on Red Harvest or The Glass Key, but the theme is the same in either case.

Some of my favorite moments- in Fist Full of Dollars, when "Joe" asks the outlaws to apologize to his mule.

In For a Few Dollars More, when the hunchback Wild (played by Klaus Kinski!) confronts Lee Van Cleef for the second time. Van Cleef notes, "It's a small world." To which Wild replies, "And very, very bad."

One other fun note- Lee Van Cleef lost that finger tip while working on his house, rather than as an accident while filming. (A number of Western stunt actors have lost fingers to blanks from the firearms.)

Posted by: bingobatrix Nov 7 2010, 10:10 PM

I really like some of the things people here have said they were watching. I'm watching Le Samouraï from 1967 right now. Though there aren't any samurai in it. But it's great.

Posted by: Destri Melarg Nov 8 2010, 12:23 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Nov 6 2010, 07:16 PM) *

Currently, I just started going through the Lord of the Rings special editions again. I wish they would release them on blu ray. The end credits for Fellowship are playing as I type this. I picked up Band of Brothers on blu-ray tonight, so that will be next in the pipeline.

Has anyone seen The Pacific? It is out in stores now, but I do not want to put down $70 for it until I have a better idea how good it is. I have it in my Netflix queue, but they do not have it available until the end of the month.

Actually LOTR was released on blu ray during the summer. I bought my copy the day it was released and I have not been disappointed. The only problem I have is that they are not the extended versions of all three movies (I just love the added Gondor scenes in The Two Towers). But still, the Nas ghul are simply AWESOME on blu ray!

And I have seen The Pacific. While not quite as good as Band of Brothers, it remains well-worth the $70. James Badge Dale delivers a star-making performance as Leckie. My opinion of it might not match yours, however. If you only have to wait 'til the end of the month for it to be available on Netflix, then that's what you should do.

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 8 2010, 01:39 AM

QUOTE(Destri Melarg @ Nov 7 2010, 06:23 PM) *

Actually LOTR was released on blu ray during the summer. I bought my copy the day it was released and I have not been disappointed. The only problem I have is that they are not the extended versions of all three movies (I just love the added Gondor scenes in The Two Towers). But still, the Nas ghul are simply AWESOME on blu ray!


Yes, I saw the theatrical version were out. But I do not want to waste money on them when the special editions will be out sometime (I am hoping they will release them for the Christmas rush). Besides, after seeing the special editions, I don't want to go back to the shorter versions where so much is left out.

QUOTE(Destri Melarg @ Nov 7 2010, 06:23 PM) *

And I have seen The Pacific. While not quite as good as Band of Brothers, it remains well-worth the $70. James Badge Dale delivers a star-making performance as Leckie. My opinion of it might not match yours, however. If you only have to wait 'til the end of the month for it to be available on Netflix, then that's what you should do.


That sounds good enough for me. I think once I am done watching BoB, I will go out and buy Pacific.

Posted by: Olen Nov 9 2010, 03:08 PM

Well for a change I'll report on a rather poor film. I go to second hand shops and buy a fair few bad films, some good-bad (Big Trouble in Little China) some bad-bad (The Terror Within springs to mind as potentially the worst film ever made).

Anyway I saw Supernova last night and it wasn't so much bad as profoundly mediocre. It's not new but it had it's share of half decent sets and effects which were acceptable for 2004, but had I designed the sets I'd have been annoyed by how awful the script, directing and acting were. To call the character's cardboard would be an insult to boxes everywhere, they were dire. The plot was the rather derivative nonsense I'd expected (and wanted, to be honest mindless sci fi is fine by me on a Monday night) but the baddy (there is no other word) was just that. Bad, no redeeming features and obviously so from the start. Within ten minutes I knew exactly what was going to happen, and was right. There were no twists, and too much action killed any tension it might have developed.

Frankly one to avoid.

Posted by: treydog Nov 12 2010, 02:25 AM

I was thinking some more about Sergio Leone last night, and realized that one of my favorites from him is
Once Upon a Time in the West. No Clint Eastwood, but quite a cast all the same- Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, and Henry Fonda in a remarkable role. Not to mention the incredible Claudia Cardinale.

Do try to see the full version, even though it does run long. The opening sequence alone- with Jack Elam, Woody Strode, and a third actor whose name escapes me- is worth the price of admission.

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 12 2010, 03:37 AM

QUOTE(treydog @ Nov 11 2010, 08:25 PM) *

I was thinking some more about Sergio Leone last night, and realized that one of my favorites from him is
Once Upon a Time in the West. No Clint Eastwood, but quite a cast all the same- Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, and Henry Fonda in a remarkable role. Not to mention the incredible Claudia Cardinale.

Do try to see the full version, even though it does run long. The opening sequence alone- with Jack Elam, Woody Strode, and a third actor whose name escapes me- is worth the price of admission.


I saw that one last summer. Quite right, another excellent western. That first scene was at the train station as i recall. I loved the harmonica, and how you hear it before you see Bronson. Leone really used it well to build tension. The scene in the tavern near the beginning was excellent as well.

Posted by: Destri Melarg Nov 12 2010, 10:33 AM

QUOTE(treydog @ Nov 11 2010, 05:25 PM) *

Do try to see the full version, even though it does run long. The opening sequence alone- with Jack Elam, Woody Strode, and a third actor whose name escapes me- is worth the price of admission.

Ah, you guys have drifted into my wheelhouse here. I love Once Upon a Time in the West! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW-jSa9_k3M is the opening scene for those who have not seen it. The third actor in the opening scene is named Al Mulock. He made a brief appearance in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly as the one-armed bounty hunter wounded by Eli Wallach in the early part of the film (when Wallach says the immortal line: “When you have to shoot, shoot! Don’t talk.”).

*In a macabre postscript, Mulock committed suicide during the making of Once Upon a Time by jumping from a hotel window while still in costume!*

Posted by: Kiln Nov 13 2010, 08:10 PM

Cinderella Man:

1. Awesome movie during about a boxer during the American Great Depression.

2. Very emotional movie.

3. Has nothing to do with Cinderella...thankfully.

4. Russel Crowe and other actors are really good in this film.

Go watch it now.

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 18 2010, 04:03 AM

After spending last week watching Band of Brothers, I spent this week watching The Pacific. Of the two, I liked The Pacific better. The main reason is that it tightly focuses on 3 main characters. BoB had so many characters that I often had trouble telling one from another, especially if I did not see them for an episode or two and they turned up again. I had that problem to only a smaller extent with the ancillary characters in The Pacific, but since they are the supporting cast, it is really not a deal-breaker.

Thanks to that tighter focus, The Pacific is a much more character-driven story than BoB was, precisely because of the greater emphasis it is able to place on each individual. It really gets further into what each man was experiencing, and how those things effected him over the long term. For example we see Leckie slowly unravel at Cape Gloucester, and follow him through his battle fatigue and brief sojurn in the psychiatric ward of a base hospital. Or at Okinawa we see Sledge steadily lose his humanity, going deeper and deeper into an ugly abyss, only to regain it in the strangest and most tragic of manners.

The Pacific also shows us a much uglier war than what the boys from the 101st endured in Europe. Wounded Japanese will literally blow up corpsmen coming to help them, and it just gets worse and worse as the Marines get closer to the home islands of Japan.

Sometimes even worse than the Japanese themselves is the environment. The jungle itself is shown as the enemy it was, especially at Cape Gloucester, where it was the worst in the entire war. So bad that it was impossible for even the Japanese to march across New Britain from Rabaul to where the Marines landed at Cape Gloucester. Then there is the coral at Pelileu, impossible to dig in, so they had no latrines, no foxholes, nowhere to hide. Or the mud at Okinawa, (the attack coincided with monsoon season) which was bad enough that even amtracs would get stuck in it.

All in all a strong series, and well worth watching. The $80 I spent buying it on blu-ray was well worth it.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Nov 18 2010, 04:54 AM

I've not seen The Pacific yet. But I did read Flags of Our Fathers. Powerful stuff.

I know that each island the Marines took was different, with their own different challenges. The jungles were common in the southern islands, but as they moved further north, there was less and less plant cover. Iwo Jima was called Sulfur Island for a reason - it is all volcanic rock and black sand. The beaches themselves were hard to slog through because the sand kept shifting. Add to that the fact that the entire island was honeycombed with tunnels and underground rooms and you begin to get an idea of the hell that Iwo Jima was. Tarawa was hell to take, too. If I remember my history correctly, there was a miscalculation in the invasion plans and they went ashore at the lowest tide of the year (neap tide), so the amphibious vehicles couldn't even get past the coral reef. Marines were being shot while wading ashore.

And yes, the Japanese High Command had very little regard for life. That is a relatively recent development in Japanese history, as I understand it. People were basically considered cannon fodder for the High Command.

When you learn the gritty details, it makes you respect what those 19 and 20 year old American boys went through. No wonder Tom Brokaw considers them the Greatest Generation. They certainly learned the hard way what is really important in life.

The war in Europe was won by the Allied Army, the Air Force, and to some extent, the Navy. But I believe the US Marines own the Pacific War.

Posted by: Linara Nov 20 2010, 03:20 AM

Well after a huge Merlin binge (the newest series), the Bourne movies. Gotta love a good plot!

Posted by: Olen Nov 20 2010, 05:16 PM

I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned (though I suppose it's hardly new so maybe no surprise). Anyway I finally got round to watching Taegukgi Hwinallimyo (in the Korean original) or Brotherhood:Taegukgi (UK) /Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (US). As the name sort of suggests it's a Korean film about the Korean war.

For those who haven't seen it, you should. It doesn't mess around about showing a more accurate portrayal of war than is common in films. It also doesn't show either side as being much better than the other, as far as summary executions and conscription went. The characters and characterisation are excellent as it follows a pair of brothers during the conflict as one loses most of his humanity and the other watches unable to do much.

I would add that it isn't a happy film.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Nov 20 2010, 06:25 PM

Unless it's a romantic comedy, most Korean dramas/films usually aren't happy at all.

Olen, I looked up Tae Guk Gi on Wikipedia. It sounds like the one I just finished watching; a similar K-drama that left me impressed with its handling of the human costs of the Korean conflict. Road No. One is about two men who love the same woman (the typical Korean love triangle) who are forced to learn to cooperate each other as they first retreat south, then back north along Road No. One, which is the main road that runs/ran from Seoul to Pyongyang (now the capital of North Korea).

It is tough, gritty, realistic (I found myself looking for Dale Dye, it was that good) with moments of humanity. The supporting characters are well drawn, especially Sergeant Oh. Unlike most Korean love triangles, where the loser doesn't develop much throughout the story arc, all three participants in this complicated relationship progress through their own journeys. It was one of the best character-driven war movies I've ever seen.

I'll also have to say that Road No. One is the best K-drama I've seen so far, and I've seen some good ones over this past year. How good you ask? It's so good I couldn't think of writing a better version of it!

If I get the chance to watch Tae Guk Gi, I will definitely do so!

Posted by: treydog Nov 21 2010, 02:18 AM

We just finished watching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fall_(2006_film) by Tarsem Singh. It was rather on a whim- since we have Netflix and a Roku player.

Turns out to have been a fortunate whim. The visuals are quite incredible- the movie was filmed in over 20 countries. If someone is interested, I would recommend getting the DVD version to enable captioning- plus some good extras. Although it is in English, the young actress is difficult to understand at times. But that should not put you off.

I don't want to say much about the plot, beyond the fact that it revolves around stories and how our own experiences inform our reactions to them. If you are a fan of cinematography, this should definitely be on your list.

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 30 2010, 05:06 AM

I just finished watching Road Games, a little Australian gem from the early 80s. It is an homage to Rear Window, only with the main character as a truck driver (there is even a direct nod to Hitchcock by way of a magazine that the truck driver has with him on the cover). It is heavy on suspense, and keeps you very firmly rooted in the pov of the truck driver, seeing what he sees, imagining what he imagines. Nothing fantastic, but fun nonetheless.

Posted by: Linara Nov 30 2010, 05:32 AM

I just finished 'In Good Company' (again). Pretty much the only movie I like where the romance doesn't continue, but I think that's because its obvious that the main character had grown up. With winter (and cold season) approaching, I'll probably be dredging up 'While you were sleeping' and 'You've Got Mail' for another watch. Gotta love the chick flicks...and of course Pride and Prejudice is just begging to be put in the Xbox smile.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 30 2010, 06:44 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hasKmDr1yrA

Posted by: Linara Dec 1 2010, 03:56 AM

Was there ever any other smile.gif

Posted by: Destri Melarg Dec 1 2010, 09:45 AM

I watched Centurion the other night. It is a film directed by Neil Marshall that stars Michael Fassbender as Quintas Dias, the soul survivor of a Pictish attack on a Roman fort in 2nd Century Britain. Seeking revenge, Dias manages to hook up with the Ninth Legion, led by General Virilus (Dominic West) who are on their way to avenge Dias' fallen comrades. The film also features the stunning Olga Kurylenko as the Pict warrior, Etain.

I was ended up being pleasantly surprised by this film. The narrative is evenly paced with some interesting twists in the plot. The performances are exactly what we have come to expect from pros like Fassbender and Dominic West. I wasn't that big a fan of Marshall's film, Dog Soldiers, but I liked this one. Granted, there are a few developments in the film that strain credulity, but overall this is one that I would recommend.

Posted by: mALX Dec 20 2010, 04:03 AM

Got to see one of the old Dr. Phibes movies tonight - Vincent Price at his best - hilarious !!!

Posted by: treydog Dec 20 2010, 05:10 AM

Just watched the season finale for Leverage. Otherwise, continuing with Homicide (near the end of Season 4, now); Monk; Eureka; and a gem we just found, William and Mary. What can I say? Netflix has taken over our schedule. But, since Mrs. Treydog will likely have knee replacement surgery sometime next year- that is probably a good thing.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Dec 20 2010, 05:43 AM

QUOTE(Destri Melarg @ Dec 1 2010, 01:45 AM) *

I watched Centurion the other night. It is a film directed by Neil Marshall that stars Michael Fassbender as Quintas Dias, the soul survivor of a Pictish attack on a Roman fort in 2nd Century Britain. Seeking revenge, Dias manages to hook up with the Ninth Legion, led by General Virilus (Dominic West) who are on their way to avenge Dias' fallen comrades. The film also features the stunning Olga Kurylenko as the Pict warrior, Etain.

I was ended up being pleasantly surprised by this film. The narrative is evenly paced with some interesting twists in the plot. The performances are exactly what we have come to expect from pros like Fassbender and Dominic West. I wasn't that big a fan of Marshall's film, Dog Soldiers, but I liked this one. Granted, there are a few developments in the film that strain credulity, but overall this is one that I would recommend.


I recently watched that, too, and heartily enjoyed it. It had some nice battle scenes (viewers caution, there is a LOT of blood in this film) and it was a great adventure through what is today Scotland, and it never hurts to have a looker of a female villan, either.

But as you said, there were problems. For one thing, Etain's tracking abilities are never explained and this makes her seem clairvoyant, which does a number on her character. And speaking of character, there really wasn't much in here, this was mostly a "stuff without substance" summer action blockbuster, only with swords and spears instead of guns and cars. It even met the requisite bad-censored-ery by having one of the Roman soldiers kill a Pict warrior by skewering him on a spear... that he was still run through on (See? Pretty graphic). That there made my go blink.gif as well as huh.gif.

Oh, and the ending was bleh, IMHO, a bit cliche.

But overall, I enjoyed it, and Fassbender did a really good job holding this movie up despite its faults.

Posted by: mALX Dec 20 2010, 10:14 PM

QUOTE(treydog @ Dec 19 2010, 11:10 PM) *

Just watched the season finale for Leverage. Otherwise, continuing with Homicide (near the end of Season 4, now); Monk; Eureka; and a gem we just found, William and Mary. What can I say? Netflix has taken over our schedule. But, since Mrs. Treydog will likely have knee replacement surgery sometime next year- that is probably a good thing.



Bless her heart! I'm sorry to hear that, Treydog!

Posted by: The Vyper Dec 22 2010, 11:43 PM

I've been watching the Highlander series for the last couple of weeks. I'm almost finished with season 5, which is my favorite one. And the blooper reel included in this set is one of the best blooper reels I've ever seen.

Posted by: mALX Dec 22 2010, 11:55 PM

QUOTE(The Vyper @ Dec 22 2010, 05:43 PM) *

I've been watching the Highlander series for the last couple of weeks. I'm almost finished with season 5, which is my favorite one. And the blooper reel included in this set is one of the best blooper reels I've ever seen.



I love when they show the Bloopers! I think all movies should do that, there are some I would pay extra to have them included!

Posted by: SubRosa Dec 23 2010, 01:05 AM

QUOTE(The Vyper @ Dec 22 2010, 05:43 PM) *

I've been watching the Highlander series for the last couple of weeks. I'm almost finished with season 5, which is my favorite one. And the blooper reel included in this set is one of the best blooper reels I've ever seen.


I have been thinking of going back to watch that again. The fist season is painful, but has a few good episodes. Once the second season starts, and we meet Joe, the show really begins to come into its own. It is amazing how much better it is than the original movie. Season Five had some of the best, with the Horsemen arc, and loved the one with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley.

I think my favorite of that season was Little Tin God however. I love that part where Joe, Duncan, and Ritchie are sitting together over some beers and Joe says that the rule about fighting on holy ground had been broken, once. At Pompeii, 79 AD. It was such a throwaway couple of lines, but added so much to the Highlander lore.

Posted by: The Vyper Dec 23 2010, 05:52 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Dec 22 2010, 06:05 PM) *

I have been thinking of going back to watch that again. The fist season is painful, but has a few good episodes. Once the second season starts, and we meet Joe, the show really begins to come into its own. It is amazing how much better it is than the original movie. Season Five had some of the best, with the Horsemen arc, and loved the one with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley.

I really enjoyed the Horsemen two-parter. There were a few surprises about Methos in those. The double Quickening at the end was great. I also thought the idea of a Quickening being the inspiration behind Frankenstein was pretty neat. I think one of the things that made the series better than the original film is that Adrian Paul actually knows how to use a sword, whereas Christopher Lambert didn't at the time of the film. Connor MacLeod's sword fights were terrible. How did he survive for 450+ years? unsure.gif

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Dec 22 2010, 06:05 PM) *

I think my favorite of that season was Little Tin God however. I love that part where Joe, Duncan, and Ritchie are sitting together over some beers and Joe says that the rule about fighting on holy ground had been broken, once. At Pompeii, 79 AD. It was such a throwaway couple of lines, but added so much to the Highlander lore.

Little Tin God is one of my top ten favorite episodes. The bit about Pompeii was my favorite part as well. I was disappointed when nothing spectacular happened after the multiple beheading on holy ground in Highlander: Endgame.

Posted by: hazmick Dec 24 2010, 12:42 AM

As I type this I am watching '300' and then I shall watch 'Gladiator' and then maybe...just maybe, I might watch 'Troy'. biggrin.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Dec 24 2010, 12:49 AM

QUOTE(hazmick @ Dec 23 2010, 06:42 PM) *

As I type this I am watching '300' and then I shall watch 'Gladiator' and then maybe...just maybe, I might watch 'Troy'. biggrin.gif


If you have access to it, I found the Director's Cut to Troy was much better than the Theatrical Version. It adds another half hour to the movie, in little bits here and there. Like the Special Editions did for LOTOR, it really helps explain what is going on much better, and adds more depth to the characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNqiSkd1M6k wink.gif

Posted by: hazmick Dec 24 2010, 12:30 PM

Thanks 'Rosa! I've ordered them and they should arrive within the next couple of weeks. biggrin.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Dec 24 2010, 07:15 PM

Thanks to Grits' Home For The Holidays, I have been watching Jane Austen movies in between episodes of Kung Fu. I watched the 2007 version of Persuasion last week, Becoming Jane earlier in the week, and the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice a few nights ago. I am still hankering for more, but am not sure what to watch next. I kind of want to do the "real" version of P&P (the 1995 epic), but it is a really big commitment in time. Or I am thinking of watching Lost in Austen again, or perhaps Miss Austen Regrets.

Or maybe something else. Has anyone ever seen the 1999 or 2007 versions of Mansfield Park? I tried the 1983 version last summer, and just could not get into it. What about the 2007 version of Northranger Park?

I am just not in the mood for Emma, or Sense and Sensibility right now, as I watched both back in the summer as well.

Posted by: mALX Dec 24 2010, 11:31 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Dec 24 2010, 01:15 PM) *

the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice a few nights ago.



Er...was that the one with Colin Firth in it as Mr. Darcy?

Posted by: SubRosa Dec 25 2010, 12:04 AM

QUOTE(mALX @ Dec 24 2010, 05:31 PM) *

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Dec 24 2010, 01:15 PM) *

the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice a few nights ago.



Er...was that the one with Colin Firth in it as Mr. Darcy?


No, Colin Firth was in the 1995 version. The 2005 had Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett, and Donald Sutherland as her dad. I have no idea who played Darcy. Which is kind of strange, since they got star power for many other parts. You would have thought they would have got a well-established actor for him too. At only 2 hours, it rushes everything along too quickly. You cannot tell that story in so short a time. It even completely cut the Darcy in the lake scene. I guess because they knew they could not hope to compete with Colin Firth there. I tried watching it once before, but never finished. The 1995 is by far superior.

Here's a thought, who would be an interesting modern or past actor to play Mr. Darcy? Some ideas:
Clint Eastwood, when he was in his prime. (Of course in this version Wickham would die).
Gregory Peck, again in his prime. With is quiet, but powerful charisma he would have really rocked in his role.
Christian Bale He strikes me as probably the best modern-day actor to fill Darcy's shoes. He's tall, put together, and has a reasonable amount of charisma.
Gerard Butler Just to hear him scream "THIS IS PEMBERLY!" in Elizabeth's face! biggrin.gif

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Dec 25 2010, 12:25 AM

Angel season 5.

All of my favorite characters have finally come together. David Borenaz as Angel, James Marsters as Spike (my personal favorite Buffy character of all time), Andy Hallet as Lorne...

I gotta say, seeing Gunn become the worlds best lawyer was hysterical. laugh.gif laugh.gif laugh.gif

Posted by: mALX Dec 25 2010, 01:25 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Dec 24 2010, 06:04 PM) *

QUOTE(mALX @ Dec 24 2010, 05:31 PM) *

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Dec 24 2010, 01:15 PM) *

the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice a few nights ago.



Er...was that the one with Colin Firth in it as Mr. Darcy?


No, Colin Firth was in the 1995 version. The 2005 had Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett, and Donald Sutherland as her dad. I have no idea who played Darcy. Which is kind of strange, since they got star power for many other parts. You would have thought they would have got a well-established actor for him too. At only 2 hours, it rushes everything along too quickly. You cannot tell that story in so short a time. It even completely cut the Darcy in the lake scene. I guess because they knew they could not hope to compete with Colin Firth there. I tried watching it once before, but never finished. The 1995 is by far superior.

Here's a thought, who would be an interesting modern or past actor to play Mr. Darcy? Some ideas:
Clint Eastwood, when he was in his prime. (Of course in this version Wickham would die).
Gregory Peck, again in his prime. With is quiet, but powerful charisma he would have really rocked in his role.
Christian Bale He strikes me as probably the best modern-day actor to fill Darcy's shoes. He's tall, put together, and has a reasonable amount of charisma.
Gerard Butler Just to hear him scream "THIS IS PEMBERLY!" in Elizabeth's face! biggrin.gif



I forced myself (out of desperation) to watch the version you are talking about - I came in halfway through and only got as far as the scene by the lake that never happened - I don't think any of the actors performed to the standards set (for me) by the version with Colin Firth. And it is not JUST because Colin Firth is in it, either. I thought Jennifer Ehle was Awesome in her role - the rest of the cast were well above standard in their roles.

The 'Sense and Sensibility' that is out right now with Alan Rickman (another favorite of mine) playing Col. Brandon is my favorite making of that book. Emma Thompson has maintained the position as my favorite female actress for quite some time now.

'Emma' is my least favorite of the movies made from the books. The version with Gwyneth Paltrow is good, but can't match the appeal or immersion of the others. Paltrow did a wonderful job, but just can't match the caliber of Thompson, Ehle, Winslet (IMHO).

Posted by: SubRosa Dec 25 2010, 01:48 AM

QUOTE(mALX @ Dec 24 2010, 07:25 PM) *

I forced myself (out of desperation) to watch the version you are talking about - I came in halfway through and only got as far as the scene by the lake that never happened - I don't think any of the actors performed to the standards set (for me) by the version with Colin Firth. And it is not JUST because Colin Firth is in it, either. I thought Jennifer Ehle was Awesome in her role - the rest of the cast were well above standard in their roles.

The 'Sense and Sensibility' that is out right now with Alan Rickman (another favorite of mine) playing Col. Brandon is my favorite making of that book. Emma Thompson has maintained the position as my favorite female actress for quite some time now.

'Emma' is my least favorite of the movies made from the books. The version with Gwyneth Paltrow is good, but can't match the appeal or immersion of the others. Paltrow did a wonderful job, but just can't match the caliber of Thompson, Ehle, Winslet (IMHO).


I had to make myself watch the new P&P as well. You hit it all on the head. It just pales in comparison all around to the 1995 version. And quite right about Jennifer Ehle, she really brings the role of Eliza to life.

The Alan Rickman,Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet version of Sense and Sensibility is my favorite as well. Alan Rickman is just so damn cool in that film.

I have not seen the Paltrow version of Emma. I did see the Kate Beckinsale version though (goddess is she young in it too!). My favorite version of the story is Clueless however. It is such a wonderful translation into the modern world, with a character I found much more likeable than that of the normal story.

I started watching the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice again tonight. Just finished the first part now. As good a film as it is, it is even better the second time around. Now I notice little things I never noticed before. Colin Firth speaks volumes with every little look, you can see him being so entranced by Elizabeth that her low social standing and rather boorish family members cannot quash it completely. While he certainly has the overabundance of pride and conceit of high society, at the same time he has very good reason to look down upon the behaviour of most of the Bennetts. Which really do not live up to the standards of the time.

It also makes me imagine how P&P might be redone in a modern setting, as Clueless did to Emma. I suppose balls could be replaced by rave parties. Not sure about the rest though. It is hard to bring Austen stories to the 21st century, as the constraints of society today are not nearly as rigid as they were in Regency England.

Posted by: mALX Dec 25 2010, 02:31 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Dec 24 2010, 07:48 PM) *

QUOTE(mALX @ Dec 24 2010, 07:25 PM) *

I forced myself (out of desperation) to watch the version you are talking about - I came in halfway through and only got as far as the scene by the lake that never happened - I don't think any of the actors performed to the standards set (for me) by the version with Colin Firth. And it is not JUST because Colin Firth is in it, either. I thought Jennifer Ehle was Awesome in her role - the rest of the cast were well above standard in their roles.

The 'Sense and Sensibility' that is out right now with Alan Rickman (another favorite of mine) playing Col. Brandon is my favorite making of that book. Emma Thompson has maintained the position as my favorite female actress for quite some time now.

'Emma' is my least favorite of the movies made from the books. The version with Gwyneth Paltrow is good, but can't match the appeal or immersion of the others. Paltrow did a wonderful job, but just can't match the caliber of Thompson, Ehle, Winslet (IMHO).


I had to make myself watch the new P&P as well. You hit it all on the head. It just pales in comparison all around to the 1995 version. And quite right about Jennifer Ehle, she really brings the role of Eliza to life.

The Alan Rickman,Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet version of Sense and Sensibility is my favorite as well. Alan Rickman is just so damn cool in that film.

I have not seen the Paltrow version of Emma. I did see the Kate Beckinsale version though (goddess is she young in it too!). My favorite version of the story is Clueless however. It is such a wonderful translation into the modern world, with a character I found much more likeable than that of the normal story.

I started watching the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice again tonight. Just finished the first part now. As good a film as it is, it is even better the second time around. Now I notice little things I never noticed before. Colin Firth speaks volumes with every little look, you can see him being so entranced by Elizabeth that her low social standing and rather boorish family members cannot quash it completely. While he certainly has the overabundance of pride and conceit of high society, at the same time he has very good reason to look down upon the behaviour of most of the Bennetts. Which really do not live up to the standards of the time.

It also makes me imagine how P&P might be redone in a modern setting, as Clueless did to Emma. I suppose balls could be replaced by rave parties. Not sure about the rest though. It is hard to bring Austen stories to the 21st century, as the constraints of society today are not nearly as rigid as they were in Regency England.



I agree. It takes away from the ambience to change centuries with these. Part of what I love about them is the world they bring you into for those few hours.

You spoke truth regarding Colin Firth. His eyes can simmer with anger or passion, shame or love - his expressions are easily discerned without facial expressions, just through his eyes. Valmont was a huge example of his ability to set the mood of the whole set with his eyes.

Emma Thompson (to me) is a prime example of that in females, Kate Winslet has a remarkably readable face as well.

American actresses in a lot of ways rely on make-up, action, sex appeal - to bring a scene to life. Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet could do the same thing with no make-up or action, no sexual innuendo - wearing a burlap sack for a dress - they make the scene on their ability alone - that is huge to me if I am going to sit down and watch a movie. I want to believe what I am seeing is happening, not actors playing a role.

In that vein, Donald Sutherland (good though he may be) - leaves me with the feeling that I am watching an actor in a role. In the 1995 version - I never felt anyone was acting, but felt like a soul that had slipped into their realm unbeknownst to witness a moment in their lives. To me, that is the way I want to feel when I watch anything. It isn't met as often as I would like, either.

Posted by: The Vyper Dec 31 2010, 04:04 PM

Well, I'll be watching some classic Doctor Who for a while. I got about 15 Doctor Who DVDs from my awesome family for Christmas. cool.gif

Posted by: treydog Dec 31 2010, 04:10 PM

I have mentioned before that we are working through the entire series of Homicide: Life on the Street.

For Christmas, Mrs. Treydog and I pooled our gift certificates and got the entire series plus the Law & Order crossover episodes plus the movie (not available from Netflix).

I did remark that it was a bit worrisome that our gift to each other was a box of murder....

But, of course, the series is so much more than that. In fact- the homicide(s) simply serve as a source of stress to show people at their worst (and best). What it is really about is how a group of people can do the job without losing themselves- or what happens if they do. And the acting and writing and cinematography are all just incredible.

Posted by: mALX Dec 31 2010, 04:19 PM

QUOTE(treydog @ Dec 31 2010, 10:10 AM) *

I have mentioned before that we are working through the entire series of Homicide: Life on the Street.

For Christmas, Mrs. Treydog and I pooled our gift certificates and got the entire series plus the Law & Order crossover episodes plus the movie (not available from Netflix).

I did remark that it was a bit worrisome that our gift to each other was a box of murder....



ROFL !!! I have been watching the Deadly Women series, lol. (real cases from the time the body is found through the jury hands over their verdict, then they interview the jury to see how they came to the decision - but the murderers are all women, and usually their husbands are the victims).

Hope you two (and pets) are enjoying the Holidays, and that your New Year (2011) ROCKS !!!

Posted by: RagingMudcrab Jan 2 2011, 05:20 AM

My Christmas Eve/Day movie-marathon playlist consisted of Die Hard 1 & 2, Gremlins, Lethal Weapon, Scrooged, Bad Santa and A Muppet's Christmas Carol. Hardcore.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Jan 2 2011, 05:37 AM

Today I paid a visit to the theater for a viewing of Black Swan.

That was an experience... and a trip... maybe even both! It is the story of a schizophrenic ballerina who, under the pressure of the lead role in a major upcoming performance of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, slowly loses control of her condition. By the third act the lines between her two personalities have blurred so much that neither she nor the audience can tell what is real or simply a hallucination, and it gets pretty crazy at times.

Posted by: RagingMudcrab Jan 2 2011, 07:28 AM

QUOTE(Thomas Kaira @ Jan 1 2011, 08:37 PM) *

Today I paid a visit to the theater for a viewing of Black Swan.

I am envious my man. I've been excited for this since I found out it was an Aronofsky film. I'll see anything of his and that fact that it's Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis makes it still more alluring. I really can't miss this; I've gotta see it soon.

Posted by: Olen Jan 2 2011, 01:56 PM

Well my first of January viewing consisted of:

The Thick of It - for those that don't know it it's a British political satire (once described as the perfect opposite of the West Wing), everyone in it is obnoxious and incompetant which makes good hangover watching. The main character, Malcolm Tucker, is the real icong on the cake though, it's fairly obvious who he was based on. Certainly one to watch though I should probably mention that the language in it probably isn't very PG-13.

Starship Troopers - which has no right to be nearly as enjoyable as it is. The mindlessness was great though some of the gore was a bit much for my delicate state.

And finally Event Horizon - now there is an evil film, certain to cause as good nights sleep... blink.gif blink.gif

QUOTE
My Christmas Eve/Day movie-marathon playlist consisted of Die Hard 1 & 2, Gremlins, Lethal Weapon, Scrooged, Bad Santa and A Muppet's Christmas Carol.

Gooooood choices.

Posted by: Petra Arkanian Jan 3 2011, 06:34 PM

OOOOOOOOH! I was watching Inception, Planet of the Apes, I am Legend, Sherlock Holmes, and Matrix!

All my favorite movies! HAHAHA! When we were watching Planet of the Apes and I am Legend, my 14 yr. old sister had to run into the other room. LOL. ANd to protect her reputation, I won't mention her name on this forum, because her storie is good... LOL. Shame on you, (using common codename not assioated w/ forum or real world) Nelly!

Posted by: mALX Jan 4 2011, 04:31 AM

"Elizabeth" - a new "redo" on the life of Queen Elizabeth, and the best I have ever seen done - Awesome film !!! Epic !!!

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 4 2011, 04:54 AM

Is that the Cate Blanchett one? I loved that. There was a sequel, Elizabeth - The Golden Age, which was decent, although not quite as good.

Posted by: mALX Jan 4 2011, 05:15 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jan 3 2011, 10:54 PM) *

Is that the Cate Blanchett one? I loved that. There was a sequel, Elizabeth - The Golden Age, which was decent, although not quite as good.



Yes! I just saw it for the first time, it was epic - the battle at sea, and the way they had her standing on the shore when the storm came that night - the musical score - everything was so well done !!!

One of the things I loved is that she seemed almost to float slowly across the room when she was feeling intense (and with the severely white make-up on - I could imagine being the one she was "floating" toward feeling the power of her as overwhelming !!!)

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 5 2011, 04:54 AM

I just watched Rogue for the second time, and once again loved it. Once you get past the fact that it's a giant crocodile movie, it is an excellent horror movie. Turns out there was a IRL croc named Sweetheart that actually did attack over a dozen boats in the 70s. But didn't kill anyone.

In any case, the cgi is decent, and the croc does attack like a real one, rushing up from ambush to take people at the water's edge and vanishing underwater with his prey in a moment. In fact the first death was like that. You never even saw it. One moment a character is standing in the water and the camera moves to the others. Then there is a splash, the camera moves back, and there is just some ripples in the water where the man was standing.

The real strength of the movie are the characters, and their interactions. Once the pressure is on they act like real people would. Which is to say they panic and do stupid things in the heat of the moment. They also come up with some rather creative ideas to save their skins.

Radha Mitchell stars, and as always does an excellent job. She has been one of my favorite actresses ever since I first saw her in Pitch Black, and has always been one of the front-runners in my imagination for casting as Teresa. Sam Worthington has a small part. This was before he got famous. He plays an boatmaster hick, and does a good job. Probably because it does not require any actual acting on his part.

The other real strength of the film is the Outback itself. It was filmed in some of the remotest parts of the Northern Territories, and the landscape is just breath-taking.

All in all, one of my favorite films.

Posted by: Grits Jan 6 2011, 02:48 PM

The thing I liked about the 2005 Pride & Prejudice was how dirty and real everything looked. I’m afraid that whenever I see Donald Sutherland I have a “Look, there’s Donald Sutherland“ moment, so it really takes me out of the scene. For me Colin Firth is Darcy, so good luck everyone else in the world with that role! tongue.gif I will always recommend the 1995 version as a good use of time.

I preferred the 1999 Mansfield Park with Frances O'Connor, but I always like to watch multiple versions. I know I watched the one with Billie Piper, but I don’t remember it as well. I think the characters were portrayed as more youthful in that version, if that makes sense.

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 7 2011, 11:52 PM

You are right about the newer P&P. It does make it much more clear that the Bennets are definitely lower upper class. Especially the one scene where the father is helping herd the pig around in the mud. That underscores the importance of the daughters all finding well-off husbands. It was not just a matter of greed, but survival.

I am the same way with Donald Sutherland. OTOH, since I like him, I do not mind that I see the actor rather than the part he is supposed to play. He has a great voice, and always looks like a psychopath, even when he is playing a nice guy like my Mr. Bennet.


Last night I finished watching the Scarlet Pimpernel episodes/movies from 1999, starring Richard E Grant. Tons of fun. Richard Grant was perfect for the role, and is just a joy to watch strutting his stuff (and shooting off his mouth). The series is filled with co-stars, including Elizabeth McGovern as Mrs. Pimpernel, who makes an excellent opposite to R.E. Grant. Also very pleasantly surprising was seeing Jamie Bamber in the first episode, and Gaius Baltar (I forget the actors name) in the third. Not to mention Julie Cox, whom I have had a crush on since she played Princes Irulan in the Sci-Fi Channel Dune/Children of Dune movies.

Posted by: Olen Jan 8 2011, 01:32 PM

I got round to watching Pan's Labyrinth yesterday, now there is a very good film, I'd say among the best I've seen. It's a eerie mixture of fantasy and reality half set in facist 1944 Spain and half in this strange fantasy world. How much is real and how much is imagination is never really made clear. It also has a fantastic dark atmosphere which bridges the real and unreal and adds to the contrasting brutalities of each.

Given how much I enjoyed it it's hardly surprising that it's rather grim. Certianly one to watch though.


Posted by: hazmick Jan 9 2011, 01:52 AM

QUOTE(Olen @ Jan 8 2011, 12:32 PM) *

I got round to watching Pan's Labyrinth yesterday...


Heck of a good film, it brings a whole new meaning to 'Hand-eye co-ordination' biggrin.gif biggrin.gif


Posted by: ureniashtram Jan 9 2011, 03:22 PM

I just watched something that made me shat my pants (metaphorically, of course). And that's saying something because normally, I ain't afraid of horror movies.

The movie is of Thailand origin (I guess) and, although I don't know the original name, was titled Ningen Ramen (人間 ラーメン) in Japan. WHICH BASICALLY MEANS HUMAN NOODLES.

The intro was sick as hamster. It involves a butcher chopping down intestines (guess where they came from) and still alive human that was HOOKED, HOOKED I TELL YOU, from his stomach and dangling over a large pot that was full of (seemingly) hot water. You can guess the rest.

And BAM, the scene cuts back from the present, and guess what. A bloodied male is lay sprawled against the floor, and theres a deranged woman innocently HAMMERING AWAY AT NAILS THAT WAS IMPALED ON HIS FINGERTIPS AND THE FINAL TOUCH INVOLVES DISMEMBERING HIS LEG WITH A GOD-FORSAKEN CLEAVER. He dies of course, and a delightful scene was laid before my eyes. His bloody intestines were used as noodles (turns out the deranged female was an owner of a restaurant) and selled to the unsuspecting customers of that particular joint.



The moral of the story, kids, is that you SHOULD NEVER allow your ever-so-innocent friends choose your movies for you. Sorry, but it just wouldn't work for your mind nor your ability to resist puking. Really. Ever.

So yes, that was the movie I was watching. The acting was so-so, the plot I couldn't really grasp, it had me screaming like a little girl whose voice could shatter glasses, teached me the real meaning of Dementia but I would list it as one of the scariest (OK, not scariest but the most appalling and shocking) movies I've ever seen.

So yes. That was the movie I've seen today.

EDIT: Anybody seen the movie 20th Century Boys, yet? If you could somehow understand Japanese, it well worth the watch.

Posted by: mALX Jan 9 2011, 03:30 PM

QUOTE(ureniashtram @ Jan 9 2011, 09:22 AM) *

I just watched something that made me shat my pants (metaphorically, of course). And that's saying something because normally, I ain't afraid of horror movies.

The movie is of Thailand origin (I guess) and, although I don't know the original name, was titled Ningen Ramen (人間 ラーメン) in Japan. WHICH BASICALLY MEANS HUMAN NOODLES.

The intro was sick as hamster. It involves a butcher chopping down intestines (guess where they came from) and still alive human that was HOOKED, HOOKED I TELL YOU, from his stomach and dangling over a large pot that was full of (seemingly) hot water. You can guess the rest.

And BAM, the scene cuts back from the present, and guess what. A bloodied male is lay sprawled against the floor, and theres a deranged woman innocently HAMMERING AWAY AT NAILS THAT WAS IMPALED ON HIS FINGERTIPS AND THE FINAL TOUCH INVOLVES DISMEMBERING HIS LEG WITH A GOD-FORSAKEN CLEAVER. He dies of course, and a delightful scene was laid before my eyes. His bloody intestines were used as noodles (turns out the deranged female was an owner of a restaurant) and selled to the unsuspecting customers of that particular joint.

The moral of the story, kids, is that you SHOULD NEVER allow your ever-so-innocent friends choose your movies for you. Sorry, but it just wouldn't work for your mind nor your ability to resist puking. Really. Ever.

So yes, that was the movie I was watching. The acting was so-so, the plot I couldn't really grasp, it had me screaming like a little girl whose voice could shatter glasses, teached me the real meaning of Dementia but I would list it as one of the scariest (OK, not scariest but the most appalling and shocking) movies I've ever seen.

So yes. That was the movie I've seen today.

EDIT: Anybody seen the movie 20th Century Boys, yet? If you could somehow understand Japanese, it well worth the watch.




GAAAAAAH!!!! There goes my breakfast !!

Posted by: Petra Arkanian Jan 9 2011, 06:22 PM

*Petra is puking*

Oh, god, that's DISGUSTING! Not in the 'eww' way, either. Like, really and truely horifying. And that was just a summary!

*puking* panic.gif panic.gif panic.gif panic.gif panic.gif panic.gif

Posted by: Wrothken Champion Of Madness Jan 11 2011, 05:18 AM

Im watching Monty Pythons Life Of Brian I love John Cleese hes my favorite especially in Life Of Brian biggrin.gif

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Jan 11 2011, 05:31 AM

Speaking of Monty Python...

If anyone is interested, look up The Meaning of Life's Mr. Creosote (from The Autumn Years segment).

I am not to be held responsible for damages if you fail to provide a bucket. You have been warned. wacko.gif indifferent.gif

Senior Pirates Inc. FTW!

Posted by: Wrothken Champion Of Madness Jan 11 2011, 05:38 AM

QUOTE(Thomas Kaira @ Jan 10 2011, 08:31 PM) *

Speaking of Monty Python...

If anyone is interested, look up The Meaning of Life's Mr. Creosote (from The Autumn Years segment).

I am not to be held responsible for damages if you fail to provide a bucket. You have been warned. wacko.gif indifferent.gif

Senior Pirates Inc. FTW!

I hope misure wasn't over doing it last night?

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Jan 11 2011, 05:44 AM

Shut up! biggrin.gif

(It appears you have seen it, but seeing as you're a Monty Python fan, I'm not surprised).

Ze 'are is vere 'igh and ze sauce is vere rrrrich! With Truffles, Arche Vin, Gran' Marnier, Bacon, and Creme.

You know, that actually sounds pretty good!

Posted by: Wrothken Champion Of Madness Jan 11 2011, 05:47 AM

QUOTE(Thomas Kaira @ Jan 10 2011, 08:44 PM) *

Shut up! biggrin.gif

(It appears you have seen it, but seeing as you're a Monty Python fan, I'm not surprised).

Ze 'are is vere 'igh and ze sauce is vere rrrrich! With Truffles, Arche Vin, Gran' Marnier, Bacon, and Creme.

You know, that actually sounds pretty good!

Yeah and I would have the lot ^^

Posted by: Jacki Dice Jan 12 2011, 09:41 PM

Punisher: Warzone :3 I love it. Its hilarious!!

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 13 2011, 01:12 AM

I just finished watching an outstanding little movie called http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBmc1ZdpkEM. It is a tiny independent movie, with about 5 actors total. A good example of how the quality of a movie is not based upon the money thrown at. It was made by the same guy who did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjp0I_okX0w

It is a sci-fi movie, filled with more than one excellent twist and turn. Nothing is at first appears, and even when you do figure things out, there is still a rather intricate plan in motion. The main characters think, and in fact the plot is built upon a game of wits between them. Through much of the film I kept wondering why one character did not kill the other even when given opportunities. Then at the end it all became clear, and all made sense. All in all, the plot is just fantastic. A very fun ride.

Perhaps neatest, the voice of the computer is Erin Grey. So a huge fan-girl squee out of me for that! smile.gif

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Jan 17 2011, 05:03 AM

If anyone hasn't watched the http://www.redlettermedia.com/ movie reviews, I highly recommend it. That guy is both hilarious AND insightful. smile.gif laugh.gif

Oh, and he just released his review of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. It's long enough to qualify as a feature film on its own, and it will tell you up front and to-the-point everything that made you wonder what had happened to make you stop enjoying the Star Wars films.

WARNING: Do not plan on drinking anything during that time, I take no responsibility for any destroyed keyboards.

Posted by: TheOtherRick Jan 25 2011, 05:06 PM

For Christmas, I found a "Band of Brothers" box set under our tree, and a collector's edition of "Avatar". I finally had some time (work is slow right now... sad.gif ... ) to watch them. It was my first viewing of Avatar. Amazing! And I could watch BoB over and over again. The best TV mini-series I have ever seen.

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 29 2011, 02:12 AM

I just saw The American. It was an excellent film. Not an action movie, but rather a very understated - and because of that very intense - drama. The action scenes are few, short, and lethal, just like in real life gunfights. Something that is rather refreshing to see given the plethora of super-action movies in which people dodge bullets by doing cart-wheels or other gymnastics, etc... There is a lot of conflict simmering just under the surface however, something reinforced by the fact that in this movie guns really do kill people. There are many times where you are wondering if someone is going to get killed in the next few seconds. Sometimes they do not, a few times they do. That uncertainty really makes it all so much more powerful.

Clooney is a little odd here, as he plays a laconic assassin, rather than his usual smooth-talking, charismatic Face. But he delivers as a professional killer who has been in the business for too long. He tells you more through what he does not say, rather than what he does.

Posted by: RagingMudcrab Jan 29 2011, 07:48 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jan 28 2011, 05:12 PM) *

I just saw The American.

Yeah, really good film. I dig Clooney in action roles. This showed him in his bada** light. I like that. We usually just see him being cocky. Which is nice, I mean, I like that version of him and all (Love Ocean's), but it's cool to see him doing something different.

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 30 2011, 04:08 AM

Tonight I saw Yesterday is a Lie. A very cool movie, it blends film noir with metaphysics and old-fashioned heartbreak. On the surface it seems to be your basic detective noir movie, except the protagonist is female (which would be enough for me right there). But then it starts digging into some mind-bending science, jungian psychology, and metaphysics as it the main character seems to be losing her grip on reality. But as the story goes on, we begin to see that she is actually seeing past what are mind's have convinced ourselves is reality.

The basic premise here being that the universe does not all fit together into nice neat pieces. We only pretend that it does. That time is not linear, and we experience that in the movie. That people themselves are not distinct, but rather one moving back and forward through the frames of existence, where every decision makes a new parallel universe, or destroys it. It goes on, but I do not want to spoil it all.

It reminded me very much of Pi. Not in the least because it was filmed in black and white. One of the neat touches is that the protagonist is colorbind. This was also a subtle clue that she also sees the world figuratively as well. Thinking that everything is logical, that all the pieces of reality have to fit together nice and neatly.

All in all, a very cool, trippy movie.

Posted by: mALX Jan 30 2011, 04:28 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jan 28 2011, 08:12 PM) *

Clooney is a little odd here, as he plays a laconic assassin, rather than his usual smooth-talking, charismatic Face. But he delivers as a professional killer who has been in the business for too long. He tells you more through what he does not say, rather than what he does.



I have a lot of trouble watching anything with Clooney in it ... and do not find his face charismatic whatsoever. I think he relies on people thinking it is though, and substitutes that for acting. Eh, what do I know?

To me, I have yet to see him believable in a role since his initial introduction in ... what was it, St. Elsewhere?

Posted by: RagingMudcrab Jan 30 2011, 05:16 AM

QUOTE(mALX @ Jan 29 2011, 07:28 PM) *
To me, I have yet to see him believable in a role since his initial introduction in ... what was it, St. Elsewhere?

Did you see Up In the Air?

Posted by: mALX Jan 31 2011, 05:37 AM

A Bronx Tale


@ RagingMudcrab - no, did not see that.

Posted by: RagingMudcrab Jan 31 2011, 09:13 AM

Definitely see that one then. A very different, vulnerable Clooney. Loved it.

I finally saw The Green Hornet. I dug it. It was stupid, but fun. Just what I expected. No complaints really. My standards are low with this sort of thing generally.

Posted by: Zalphon Jan 31 2011, 03:21 PM

Anyone in need of a good laugh should see "Death at a Funeral", while it looks dull and B-Movie at best, I almost laughed so hard that I cried.

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 31 2011, 05:31 PM

QUOTE(mALX @ Jan 29 2011, 10:28 PM) *

I have a lot of trouble watching anything with Clooney in it ... and do not find his face charismatic whatsoever. I think he relies on people thinking it is though, and substitutes that for acting. Eh, what do I know?


I just noticed your emphasis. I did not mean face as in the part of his head, I meant Face as a smooth-talking individual. A term that started with Dirk Benedict from the A-Team.

Posted by: mALX Feb 1 2011, 12:13 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jan 31 2011, 11:31 AM) *

QUOTE(mALX @ Jan 29 2011, 10:28 PM) *

I have a lot of trouble watching anything with Clooney in it ... and do not find his face charismatic whatsoever. I think he relies on people thinking it is though, and substitutes that for acting. Eh, what do I know?


I just noticed your emphasis. I did not mean face as in the part of his head, I meant Face as a smooth-talking individual. A term that started with Dirk Benedict from the A-Team.



AHA !!! I see ... er ... the thing is, to me Clooney comes across as glib. He didn't when he first started out, but suddenly he took off in popularity and it was like it went to his head - (imho). I saw a few things he was in AFTER he became popular, and was totally turned off. After that I kind of lost interest in watching a movie if he was in it. I have a short list of actors/actresses that I just drop the movie off my "interested" list if they are in it, Clooney is among the few.

Along those same lines, there are some actors/actresses that I think so highly of that I will watch a movie I may otherwise not have if they are in it. (EXAMPLE: Colin Firth).

Posted by: hazmick Feb 1 2011, 12:49 AM

did someone say "the new predators" film?!?! Well I must mention it because after watching it yesterday I have decided to rewatch all of the alien, predators and alien vs predators film series. It has it all- a serieal killer, a mercenary...a crazy scavenger and none of those pesky xenomorphs to steal the show from everyones favourite spacemen---the predators!!!

Posted by: SubRosa Feb 1 2011, 02:22 AM

QUOTE(hazmick @ Jan 31 2011, 06:49 PM) *

did someone say "the new predators" film?!?! Well I must mention it because after watching it yesterday I have decided to rewatch all of the alien, predators and alien vs predators film series. It has it all- a serieal killer, a mercenary...a crazy scavenger and none of those pesky xenomorphs to steal the show from everyones favourite spacemen---the predators!!!


Yes, it was a fun ride. One little thing I noticed however. The characters talk about it being really hot, and even after hours of hiking through the jungle, no one ever gets thirsty.

Posted by: mALX Feb 10 2011, 05:56 PM

GAAAAAH !!! Fabio was eliminated from "Top Chef All Stars!"

Posted by: TheOtherRick Feb 10 2011, 06:19 PM

QUOTE(mALX @ Feb 10 2011, 10:56 AM) *

GAAAAAH !!! Fabio was eliminated from "Top Chef All Stars!"

I guess he'll just have to stick to Toyota commercials. I haven't seen that show, but I will admit that the future Mrs. OtherRick has gotten me hooked on Hell's Kitchen, Chopped, and The Next Iron Chef...probably just another sign of my testosterone levels dropping with age...LOL tongue.gif

Posted by: mALX Feb 10 2011, 06:29 PM

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Feb 10 2011, 12:19 PM) *

QUOTE(mALX @ Feb 10 2011, 10:56 AM) *

GAAAAAH !!! Fabio was eliminated from "Top Chef All Stars!"

I guess he'll just have to stick to Toyota commercials. I haven't seen that show, but I will admit that the future Mrs. OtherRick has gotten me hooked on Hell's Kitchen, Chopped, and The Next Iron Chef...probably just another sign of my testosterone levels dropping with age...LOL tongue.gif



Wrong Fabio, lol. This is the Fabio I am referring to:


http://www.bravotv.com/media/images/persons/Fabio_full.png

Posted by: TheOtherRick Feb 10 2011, 07:52 PM

QUOTE(mALX @ Feb 10 2011, 11:29 AM) *

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Feb 10 2011, 12:19 PM) *

QUOTE(mALX @ Feb 10 2011, 10:56 AM) *

GAAAAAH !!! Fabio was eliminated from "Top Chef All Stars!"

I guess he'll just have to stick to Toyota commercials. I haven't seen that show, but I will admit that the future Mrs. OtherRick has gotten me hooked on Hell's Kitchen, Chopped, and The Next Iron Chef...probably just another sign of my testosterone levels dropping with age...LOL tongue.gif



Wrong Fabio, lol. This is the Fabio I am referring to:


http://www.bravotv.com/media/images/persons/Fabio_full.png

Oh....my bad! embarrased.gif Good thing though...I was trying to picture the Fabio that I referred to with a hair net! rollinglaugh.gif

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Feb 10 2011, 09:24 PM

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Feb 10 2011, 10:19 AM) *

QUOTE(mALX @ Feb 10 2011, 10:56 AM) *

GAAAAAH !!! Fabio was eliminated from "Top Chef All Stars!"

I guess he'll just have to stick to Toyota commercials. I haven't seen that show, but I will admit that the future Mrs. OtherRick has gotten me hooked on Hell's Kitchen, Chopped, and The Next Iron Chef...probably just another sign of my testosterone levels dropping with age...LOL tongue.gif


Oh, god... another one bites the dust. wacko.gif

Why is it people find it so entertaining to watch some British Celeb. Chef (who is actually not that big an (censored) in the real world) scream at people for 45 minutes and pretend to be the world's biggest (censored)bag? I jumped ship at season 4 because nothing new ever happened, and because the novelty of the show wore off for me at that point.

If you want true-to-life Gordon Ramsay, go watch Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (NOT the American version, that one is utter crud).

EDIT: Auto-Censor gave me British Boat. huh.gif

Posted by: TheOtherRick Feb 10 2011, 11:09 PM

QUOTE(Thomas Kaira @ Feb 10 2011, 02:24 PM) *

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Feb 10 2011, 10:19 AM) *

QUOTE(mALX @ Feb 10 2011, 10:56 AM) *

GAAAAAH !!! Fabio was eliminated from "Top Chef All Stars!"

I guess he'll just have to stick to Toyota commercials. I haven't seen that show, but I will admit that the future Mrs. OtherRick has gotten me hooked on Hell's Kitchen, Chopped, and The Next Iron Chef...probably just another sign of my testosterone levels dropping with age...LOL tongue.gif


Oh, god... another one bites the dust. wacko.gif

Why is it people find it so entertaining to watch some British Celeb. Chef (who is actually not that big an (censored) in the real world) scream at people for 45 minutes and pretend to be the world's biggest (censored)bag? I jumped ship at season 4 because nothing new ever happened, and because the novelty of the show wore off for me at that point.

If you want true-to-life Gordon Ramsay, go watch Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (NOT the American version, that one is utter crud).

EDIT: Auto-Censor gave me British Boat. huh.gif

I ahve actually watched that on BBC America....good show

Posted by: mALX Feb 15 2011, 06:02 AM

A funny old vampire movie - Eddie Murphy's "A Vampire in Brooklyn" Best line:

"There's a new vampire in town, and his name is Julius Jones...ha ha ha."

Posted by: TheOtherRick Feb 15 2011, 02:57 PM

We recently dropped all of our premium cable channels in a move to cut expenses. Work has been slow sad.gif To replace them, we signed up for Netflix. It turns out that by connecting our Wii to the internet, we can download movies and TV shows directly to our television.

Since doing this, the fee-on-say and I have started watching a Showtime production called "Dexter". What a bizzare, interesting, and well written/acted show! We are hooked and have been having two episode dinners at the coffee table.

By the way, I definitely recommend Netflix goodjob.gif

Posted by: Olen Feb 15 2011, 04:39 PM

Heh, we go a step further than that and just don't have a TV to avoid the licence (for those across the pond most European countries require you to licence a TV and it ain't cheap). Frankly I don't see the point, there's so little on TV I want to watch except films and it's cheaper to buy second-hand DVDs and get what I want to see and watch it on a big computer monitor.

A good Scottish film I saw recently was Neds, about someone growing up on a Glasgow scheme in the 70s (not that things have changed much). Quite dark but fairly accurite in it's portreyal.

Posted by: SubRosa Feb 15 2011, 06:03 PM

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Feb 15 2011, 08:57 AM) *

We recently dropped all of our premium cable channels in a move to cut expenses. Work has been slow sad.gif To replace them, we signed up for Netflix. It turns out that by connecting our Wii to the internet, we can download movies and TV shows directly to our television.

By the way, I definitely recommend Netflix goodjob.gif


I have had Netflix for years, and love it. It is really amazing what movies they have. Like your Wii, my blu-ray player has internet access, so I can stream movies to it. But the quality is very iffy. Sometimes it is in perfect HD, other times it is grainy, and might just stop for half a minute while it thinks about whether or not it wants to show any more. Still, I often use the Instant Viewing as a way to preview movies to see if they are any good, then get them on dvd or blu-ray to watch the entire thing.

As far as cable tv goes, I only have the bare minimum basic broadcast channels, and I never even watch those. The only reason I bother with it is that it costs me $15, but if I don't have the tv service, my internet costs me $20 more (I get my tv and internet from the same company). If I like a tv show, I just wait for each season to come out on dvd and get the entire thing from Netflix. Then I can watch the entire season in a few days, and not have to wait a week between episodes or deal with commercials.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Feb 15 2011, 06:30 PM

I'm a lot like SubRosa, except I don't have Netflix. They don't have closed captioning. I also don't use iTunes for shows or movies either for the same reason. If it doesn't have CC, I pretty much can't watch it and enjoy it.

I use Hulu.com because of all the streaming services, they're the best for CC. Still, they're less than perfect. There's quite a few shows on that don't have CC.

I could live without cable TV/broadcast TV, but I can't live without cable internet (the fastest broadband option in my area). We only have cable TV because my mom is tech-phobic and only wants to watch shows on TV like she always did (and tape to VCR, but with the recent digital conversion and the loss of the VCR remote, she's helpless!).

If there's a show I like, I often wait for the season to come out on DVD, like SubRosa, and buy it (if I can afford it). Most of them do have CC, and it's rare to find one without it.

Posted by: mALX Feb 15 2011, 08:38 PM

I rarely turn on the TV for anything but video games - unless I am having trouble sleeping. The only exception is when my son is in a war zone, I spend an inordinate amount of time watching the news (and cursing the idiot newscasters - like Geraldo, who embeds himself with a platoon leading the charge into Bagdad and when told THREE times he is not allowed to give out any information as to their position - tries to draw a map in the sand with a stick to show it).

Posted by: TheOtherRick Feb 15 2011, 09:27 PM

I cannot state with truth that I don't watch program television. There are several shows that I enjoy. The Closer, Law & Order, House M.D., and my latest fav...The Walking Dead on AMC. My better half got me hooked on the aforementioned cooking shows...and...yes...she even has me watching American Idol. Any Sci-Fi/Fantasy show will get a view from me as well. I have always been a huge Star Trek fan, and always will be. The revamped Battlestar Galactica from SyFy was great, and now that I have Netflix, I plan on watching the entire series again.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Feb 15 2011, 10:24 PM

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Feb 15 2011, 01:27 PM) *

I cannot state with truth that I don't watch program television. There are several shows that I enjoy. The Closer, Law & Order, House M.D., and my latest fav...The Walking Dead on AMC. My better half got me hooked on the aforementioned cooking shows...and...yes...she even has me watching American Idol. Any Sci-Fi/Fantasy show will get a view from me as well. I have always been a huge Star Trek fan, and always will be. The revamped Battlestar Galactica from SyFy was great, and now that I have Netflix, I plan on watching the entire series again.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE

Posted by: TheOtherRick Feb 16 2011, 12:25 AM

QUOTE(Thomas Kaira @ Feb 15 2011, 03:24 PM) *

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Feb 15 2011, 01:27 PM) *

I cannot state with truth that I don't watch program television. There are several shows that I enjoy. The Closer, Law & Order, House M.D., and my latest fav...The Walking Dead on AMC. My better half got me hooked on the aforementioned cooking shows...and...yes...she even has me watching American Idol. Any Sci-Fi/Fantasy show will get a view from me as well. I have always been a huge Star Trek fan, and always will be. The revamped Battlestar Galactica from SyFy was great, and now that I have Netflix, I plan on watching the entire series again.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE

rollinglaugh.gif rollinglaugh.gif rollinglaugh.gif rollinglaugh.gif rollinglaugh.gif I spewed my Mt Dew...nice call back to the earlier post...

Posted by: mALX Feb 18 2011, 05:59 AM

QUOTE(Thomas Kaira @ Feb 15 2011, 04:24 PM) *

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Feb 15 2011, 01:27 PM) *

I cannot state with truth that I don't watch program television. There are several shows that I enjoy. The Closer, Law & Order, House M.D., and my latest fav...The Walking Dead on AMC. My better half got me hooked on the aforementioned cooking shows...and...yes...she even has me watching American Idol. Any Sci-Fi/Fantasy show will get a view from me as well. I have always been a huge Star Trek fan, and always will be. The revamped Battlestar Galactica from SyFy was great, and now that I have Netflix, I plan on watching the entire series again.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE



FREDDY !!! sad.gif

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Feb 18 2011, 06:38 AM

QUOTE(mALX @ Feb 17 2011, 09:59 PM) *

FREDDY !!! sad.gif


One of the best lead singers in the history of rock. Let us hope he is entertaining the angels with his phenomenal voice in Heaven now.

Posted by: mALX Feb 18 2011, 07:57 AM

QUOTE(Thomas Kaira @ Feb 18 2011, 12:38 AM) *

QUOTE(mALX @ Feb 17 2011, 09:59 PM) *

FREDDY !!! sad.gif


One of the best lead singers in the history of rock. Let us hope he is entertaining the angels with his phenomenal voice in Heaven now.



Yes, and may I do whatever it takes to get where-ever he ends up so I can hear him once more !!!

Posted by: Olen Feb 21 2011, 12:08 AM

Dinocroc vs Supergator, is a unique experience. It did *exactly* what it said on the tin and made two hours of a sunday evening disappear in a haze of bad effects and plodding plot. Still it was one of those films which is so bad it's good, and begging to have a drinking game made of it.

Posted by: SubRosa Feb 21 2011, 12:18 AM

QUOTE(Olen @ Feb 20 2011, 06:08 PM) *

Dinocroc vs Supergator, is a unique experience. It did *exactly* what it said on the tin and made two hours of a sunday evening disappear in a haze of bad effects and plodding plot. Still it was one of those films which is so bad it's good, and begging to have a drinking game made of it.


Netflix has Dinocroc, which I take is the first installment in the franchise? But no Dinocroc vs. Supergator. Needless to say I saved Dinocroc to my queue. Too bad it is not available yet.

Posted by: RagingMudcrab Feb 21 2011, 05:16 AM

I saw I Am Number Four last night. T'was decent. I found it comparable to Jumper, which I liked. So yeah, it was alright. Easy entertainment. Of course, Timothy Olyphant makes any movie good though. Such intense stares. Murderously angry.

Posted by: Jacki Dice Mar 7 2011, 08:29 AM

I saw a couple interesting ones lately.

1. Shutter Island. That was amazing. Everything kept me guessing until close to the end. Some of the scenes were pretty sad, though -sniff-

2. Cinderella. Its a Korean horror movie. It was really good, though very gory ohmy.gif And like Shutter Island, it has lots of twists and turns.

3. A Haunting in Connecticut. Wasn't scary, really. And to me it was a lot like other haunting stories. -shrug-

I keep trying to watch Teeth, but I'm outnumbered by three revolted males who are too freaked out to even think of such a scenario

Posted by: TheOtherRick Mar 7 2011, 02:30 PM

The future MrsOtherRick and I are now halfway through Season 2 of Dexter on Netflix, and we are so hooked. I watched Doomsday yesterday. It was sort of like Mad Max meets Resident Evil meets Underworld. I wasn't overly impressed. I got sucked in because I like the "end-of-the-world" genre of sci-fi movies. And then of course, NASCAR was on yesterday, which chewed up 3 hours of my day. cool.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 7 2011, 06:22 PM

QUOTE(Jacki Dice @ Mar 7 2011, 02:29 AM) *

I keep trying to watch Teeth, but I'm outnumbered by three revolted males who are too freaked out to even think of such a scenario

I keep thinking of Teeth as well. It sounds like a great idea to me! biggrin.gif

I have been doing a John Wayne Western marathon with Netflix for the last week. I started with Rio Bravo, which was simply magnificent. The characterization really stands out in this movie, along with the dialogue. The actors all really deliver here. Angie Dickinson especially blew me away, and her scenes with the Duke were just magnificent. The plot was decent too, but I really could have cared less what the characters were doing, it was great fun just to watch them all on the screen! IMHO, this is probably the best Western John Wayne ever did.

El Dorado was pretty much a copy of Rio Bravo. Literally, it has most of the same basic characters, replacing Dean Martin with Robert Mitchum, and a very young James Caan in place of Ricky Nelson. The plot is basically the same, with a few things moved around is all. Not a bad movie, but when you watch it a few days after Rio Bravo, you really notice the similarities.

The rest have been kind of so-so. Rio Lobo was decent, although the broken English of the male co-star did not help things. The Train Robbers was again alright. The ending was fantastic though! I nearly laughed myself out of my chair, it was so brilliant. It was fun to see the Duke/Kirk Douglas team-up in The War Wagon. Chisum was good. But it kept making me think of Young Guns, which I had to say did the entire story better, especially the characterization of Billy the Kid. Whenever I think of William Bonney now, it is as Emilo Estevez: "Reap the whirlwind Sheriff Brady!"

Next up, Rooster Cogburn and True Grit. Neither of which I have seen for a very long time, but both are ones I have fond memories of. Especially Kate Hepburn's turn in Rooster.

Posted by: TheOtherRick Mar 7 2011, 06:34 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Mar 7 2011, 11:22 AM) *

<snip>
Next up, Rooster Cogburn and True Grit. Neither of which I have seen for a very long time, but both are ones I have fond memories of. Especially Kate Hepburn's turn in Rooster.

CLASSICS! Definitely my favorite Duke flicks goodjob.gif

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Mar 9 2011, 06:39 AM

Slightly off the beaten path here, but I've been heartily enjoying http://www.youtube.com/user/CruelestChris#p/a/u/2/A_sd2vLeWJg LP of a rather horrible game known as Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (which is yet another generic UE 3 FPS). His commentary will have you rolling. rollinglaugh.gif

Also, despite his pseudonym (Evil Tim), his humor is actually quite tasteful.

Posted by: mALX Mar 10 2011, 03:07 PM

An OLD Kathleen Turner/Nicholas Cage film (you know it was well done with those two in it) - set in the 50's with a lot of the songs of that era - Peggy Sue Got Married ... or will she? - I loved it, it fit right in with the type of movies I like best = love stories that transcend time/death/species/etc.

Examples:

Cat People - man falls in love with girl that turns into leopard after mating - the Kinski one only

AI - child robot falls in love with human mother, goes through all kinds of hell to get her back

Swamp thing - woman's husband turns into swamp monster, she still loves him

The Fly - same exact scenario as above, substitute giant fly for swamp monster

Chances Are - Husband dies, soul jumps into baby being born - finds her when he is 20 years old - remembers their life together when he sees her.

Peggy Sue Got Married - Woman time travels back to just before her 18th birthday and has the chance to redo her future, and reshape others.

Ghost - man dies, his ghost comes back to save woman he loves

Yeah, yeah, I know. I have juvenile taste in movies, lol. But it is what I like.

Posted by: TheOtherRick Mar 10 2011, 03:52 PM

QUOTE(mALX @ Mar 10 2011, 08:07 AM) *

An OLD Kathleen Turner/Nicholas Cage film (you know it was well done with those two in it) - set in the 50's with a lot of the songs of that era - Peggy Sue Got Married ... or will she? - I loved it, it fit right in with the type of movies I like best = love stories that transcend time/death/species/etc.

Examples:

Cat People - man falls in love with girl that turns into leopard after mating - the Kinski one only

AI - child robot falls in love with human mother, goes through all kinds of hell to get her back

Swamp thing - woman's husband turns into swamp monster, she still loves him

The Fly - same exact scenario as above, substitute giant fly for swamp monster

Chances Are - Husband dies, soul jumps into baby being born - finds her when he is 20 years old - remembers their life together when he sees her.

Peggy Sue Got Married - Woman time travels back to just before her 18th birthday and has the chance to redo her future, and reshape others.

Ghost - man dies, his ghost comes back to save woman he loves

Yeah, yeah, I know. I have juvenile taste in movies, lol. But it is what I like.

Sensing a pattern here. What would Dr. Freud or Dr. Phil say about this...hmmmmm. laugh.gif

Posted by: Acadian Mar 10 2011, 04:04 PM

QUOTE(mALX @ Mar 10 2011, 06:07 AM) *

An OLD Kathleen Turner/Nicholas Cage film (you know it was well done with those two in it) - set in the 50's with a lot of the songs of that era - Peggy Sue Got Married ... or will she? - I loved it, it fit right in with the type of movies I like best = love stories that transcend time/death/species/etc.

Examples: ... snip ...

Yeah, yeah, I know. I have juvenile taste in movies, lol. But it is what I like.

Oh, me too! happy.gif A couple more that I like:
Somewhere in time
Beauty and the Beast

Posted by: mALX Mar 10 2011, 04:34 PM

QUOTE(Acadian @ Mar 10 2011, 10:04 AM) *

QUOTE(mALX @ Mar 10 2011, 06:07 AM) *

The type of movies I like best = love stories that transcend time/death/species/etc.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I have juvenile taste in movies, lol. But it is what I like.

Oh, me too! happy.gif A couple more that I like:
Somewhere in time
Beauty and the Beast




GAAAAH !!! I like both of them too! I was afraid to mention Beauty and the Beast, afraid someone would tie a bib on me.


QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Mar 10 2011, 09:52 AM) *

Sensing a pattern here. What would Dr. Freud or Dr. Phil say about this...hmmmmm. laugh.gif



Dr. Freud: "I see she is fixated on a father figure..."
Dr. Phil: "Gooolly! Uh-huh! Uh-yuk! What do you think, Oprah?"


*

Posted by: TheOtherRick Mar 10 2011, 04:41 PM

QUOTE(mALX @ Mar 10 2011, 09:34 AM) *

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Mar 10 2011, 09:52 AM) *

Sensing a pattern here. What would Dr. Freud or Dr. Phil say about this...hmmmmm. laugh.gif



Dr. Freud: "I see she is fixated on a father figure..."
Dr. Phil: "Gooolly! Uh-huh! Uh-yuk! What do you think, Oprah?"


*

rollinglaugh.gif rollinglaugh.gif rollinglaugh.gif To use a mALX-ism...SPEW! (coffee finds keyboard) You slay me sometimes Ms. mALXie.

Posted by: mALX Mar 10 2011, 04:43 PM

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Mar 10 2011, 10:41 AM) *

QUOTE(mALX @ Mar 10 2011, 09:34 AM) *

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Mar 10 2011, 09:52 AM) *

Sensing a pattern here. What would Dr. Freud or Dr. Phil say about this...hmmmmm. laugh.gif



Dr. Freud: "I see she is fixated on a father figure..."
Dr. Phil: "Gooolly! Uh-huh! Uh-yuk! What do you think, Oprah?"


*

rollinglaugh.gif rollinglaugh.gif rollinglaugh.gif To use a mALX-ism...SPEW! (coffee finds keyboard) You slay me sometimes Ms. mALXie.



ROFL !!! If I had gotten my cup of coffee yet, your comment would have made me spew it, so we are even, lol.

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 13 2011, 01:21 AM

I have been keeping up my John Wayne Western festival. After a spate of rather blah movies - The Comancheros, The Undefeated, Cahill U.S. Marshall - I saw a true gem today: The Searchers.

This is a very powerful movie. As one of the commentors said, it was not about the violence of the West, but rather what the violence did to people. Racism and hatred are the themes that flow through the entire film, how violence feeds and waters them, and how they burn people up. I have to give props to John Ford for making this film, and not shying from showing the ugliness and brutality on both sides of the West. In 1956, that was a real statement. Such as showing the aftermath of a US Cavalry massacre of Comanche. Or even more powerful, the aftermath of the raid on the settlers. Which is even more powerful because he never shows you the bodies. You just see the reactions of the characters.

Wayne's character Ethan is as much a villain as he is a hero (really an anti-hero, one of the few times Wayne ever played such a dark role). The main villain Scar is his mirror image in fact. Here is a man who shoots out the eyes of a dead Comanche, so that his ghost can never find the Spirit World, and will be doomed to wander the land for eternity as a lost soul. While he starts out wanting to rescue his two kidnapped nieces, half-way through the search we see that change. When he realizes that his surviving niece Debbie has been with the Comanches so long, she is probably more one of them than a White woman anymore. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FKQnLIUzAs/TIcnU3bwAwI/AAAAAAAABBU/IIoULTCjZFU/s1600/John+Wayne+The+Searchers.jpg illustrates that realization so powerfully. The way his eyes are shrouded in darkness as he stares with loathing at the White women taken from a Comanche camp.

I saw it on blu-ray, and I have to say wow. Even for a movie not originally done in the format, it is just eye-popping. The sky is bluer than blue, and the characters seem to practically jump out of the screen. A lot of that is just John Ford's cinematography. He went to great lengths to really make the landscape a character in the film, rather than just a backdrop.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Mar 13 2011, 01:25 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Mar 12 2011, 05:21 PM) *

I have been keeping up my John Wayne Western festival. After a spate of rather blah movies - The Comancheros, The Undefeated, Cahill U.S. Marshall - I saw a true gem today: The Searchers.

This is a very powerful movie. As one of the commentors said, it was not about the violence of the West, but rather what the violence did to people. Racism and hatred are the themes that flow through the entire film, how violence feeds and waters them, and how they burn people up. I have to give props to John Ford for making this film, and not shying from showing the ugliness and brutality on both sides of the West. In 1956, that was a real statement. Such as showing the aftermath of a US Cavalry massacre of Comanche. Or even more powerful, the aftermath of the raid on the settlers. Which is even more powerful because he never shows you the bodies. You just see the reactions of the characters.

Wayne's character Ethan is as much a villain as he is a hero (really an anti-hero, one of the few times Wayne every played such a dark role). The main villain Scar is his mirror image in fact. Here is a man who shoots out the eyes of a dead Comanche, so that his ghost can never find the Spirit World, and will doomed to wander the land for eternity as a lost soul. While he starts out wanting to rescue his two kidnapped nieces, half-way through the search we see that change. When he realizes that his surviving niece Debbie has been with the Comanches so long, she is probably more one of them than a White woman anymore. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FKQnLIUzAs/TIcnU3bwAwI/AAAAAAAABBU/IIoULTCjZFU/s1600/John+Wayne+The+Searchers.jpg illustrates that realization so powerfully. The way his eyes are shrouded in darkness as he stares with loathing at the White women taken from a Comanche camp.

I saw it on blu-ray, and I have to say wow. Even for a movie not originally done in the format, it is just eye-popping. The sky is bluer than blue, and the characters seem to practically jump out of the screen. A lot of that is just John Ford's cinematography. He went to great lengths to really make the landscape a character in the film, rather than just a backdrop.


Great film, that. Don't forget the iconic line:

"That'll be the day."

Posted by: Linara Mar 13 2011, 05:28 AM

I just saw the Adjustment Bureau, which was good, as I expected. Really, when you have a Philip K. thermos story, the director of the Bourne movies, and Matt Damon, then end result is usually awesome. In this case, I was a little surprised on how the romantic side of the story was a very large part of the movie, as the reviews hadn't really painted it that way, but it was still an enjoyable movie. Terence Stamp as Thompson was a highlight.

Posted by: Olen Mar 15 2011, 11:13 PM

I've been watching more European cinema recently and came across a real treasure which I shouuld have watched earlier. The lives of others is about a writer under observation under the Stazi in the GDR. The main character is a Stazi officer which gives it an unusual edge but it really captures suspicion and mistrust throughout. The characters a subtly put together but really shine and the mood is equally rich.

I'd really say this is one to watch, it's also remarkable how recently it's set...

Posted by: mALX Mar 22 2011, 04:25 PM

I don't watch TV much, rarely a movie will come on I want to see. I caught this one last night - another chick-flick (as usual) - "Love Comes Softly" - about a rich city woman who travels west with her husband in a horse-drawn wagon. He gets killed their first day there, she is pregnant, and it is winter. (no stage coaches till spring). She is stuck there, and must marry a widower with a young daughter to have a roof over her head till she can get a stage coach home. Although nothing happens quickly or easily, she eventually ends up falling in love with both the widower and the little daughter by the time spring comes.

Yes, it was a tad predictable, but fun to watch. The little daughter steals the show with her amazing performance.

Anyway, it brought to mind another chick-flick I saw and loved - Stolen Women, Captured Hearts:

A young (red haired) woman's parents die and she travels west to live with her brother. On the way, the stage coach is attacked by a marauding tribe of native americans. They kill almost everyone but let her and another woman go. One really great looking man amongst them stares at her really hard - she somehow feels a connection to him.

When she arrives at her brothers, he promptly sells her to the farmer next door for a wife so the two properties will be tied together.

After mating on the wedding night with her new husband she is laying in bed (unhappy with her new husbands performance of his duties) and thinking about that one man that had stared at her during the attack. The next day she and the other girl that was on the stage with her are inside her new house when it is attacked by the same tribe - the man that stared at her is amongst them. In the attack they hurt no one, do no harm to the farm or others, but they kidnap the redheaded woman (WOO HOO!) and that other girl.

She has to live in the tent with the great looking guy and keeps trying to escape but he keeps catching her and bringing her back. So he tells her the reason he keeps bringing her back is that he heard her calling to him that night after she slept with her new husband. So they end up mating (HOT scene, but not hot enough to be rated) and she falls in love with him.

Then Custer (another great acting job on his part) comes and takes her back to that man her brother made her marry - and then IT IS ON because the great guy wants her back.

If I'm going to watch a western, this is what I want to see - it's about as chick as you can get - I loved it, lol.


Here is a clip of scenes from it:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xs-8ussipQ&p=75E2915F5E23669C


*

Posted by: King Coin Mar 22 2011, 05:25 PM

I got the Borne movies in a box set for my birthday. I guess I'll be watching those.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Mar 22 2011, 06:19 PM

The Bourne movies are the exception to the rule that the movie is never as good as the book.

At first when I heard Matt Damon was selected to play Bourne, I was like "Matt Damon?? Are you kidding me??" I thought he was just too nice and too 'boy-next-door' to play such a complex character as Jason Bourne.

Then my brother rented the first movie on one of his increasingly rare visits to my house. I watched it with him, and had to pick my jaw up off the floor at several points throughout the movie. Matt Damon played the character with an intensity that exceeded that of the book.

Matt Damon owns Jason Bourne. There can be no other. I don't think you'll regret it.

Posted by: TheOtherRick Mar 22 2011, 07:22 PM

QUOTE(King Coin @ Mar 22 2011, 11:25 AM) *

I got the Borne movies in a box set for my birthday. I guess I'll be watching those.

Very enjoyable movies. If you like well done action/suspense, you'll like these.

Dr. Rider is correct...Matt Damon OWNS Jason Bourne!

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 22 2011, 09:32 PM

Matt Damon is perfect as Jason Bourne, precisely because he has that ordinary, regular guy look to him. He is the perfect spy, because he is the kind of guy you look at once and then forget about as soon as you look away.

Plus the Bourne movies have Brian Cox, whom I have adored since his turn as Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter.

I have been continuing my John Wayne fest for the past few weeks. I have had several good ones: The Alamo (which was more about the myth than the reality, but no surprise really. I have never seen an Alamo movie that showed the Tejanos who fought to defend it.), where he really shines. The Cowboys was just bland, as I found Sons of Katie Elder to be. Fort Apache was a lot of fun, although Wayne is just a supporting character there. The Horse Soldiers, while inspired by Grierson's Raid IRL, just did not do much for me. Same with She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, which is the red-headed stepchild of Fort Apache.

However, I got a truly brilliant one in there. Stagecoach. When I was young people used to always rave about it, but I never got to seeing it. So unlike the others, this was my first time seeing it. Wow. It just blew me away.

First off, it is a character-driven piece, about a group of extremely diverse people all thrown together on a stagecoach journey. The ride, and the ever-present threat of Indians on the warpath, turns up the pressure on all of them, allowing us to see who they really are under the veneer of civilization (which some wear more heavily than others).

Wayne himself is simply magnificent. Any other description would be a disservice to him. He is the quintessential Western hero in this film. Larger than life, a man of simple ways, resolute determination, and a heart of pure gold. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UX7GApCbB4c/RlXLFgO-DGI/AAAAAAAAAMw/8jWSfAszQPw/s400/WayneStagecoach01.jpg, you want to cheer. He makes a wonderful juxtaposition with John Carradine, who is actually young in this film! Carradine plays the Gentleman/Gambler, who is always at the service of the Upstanding Lady, yet practically curls his lip at the Fallen Woman. Where on the other hand Wayne is always the true gentleman, and treats both women with equal grace. Yet of course is drawn into a sweet romance with the Fallen Woman.

Add in the action scenes. While rare, they had a big impact on me. The reason being that this was shot in 1939. Before CGI, before wires. This was all done for real. We see a man leaping from a horse onto the fist of three pairs of horses pulling the stagecoach, while all are going at a full gallop. Then he is shot and "dies", falls to the ground between the horses, and the other horses and coach pass over him. One miscalculation and that stuntman - Yakima Canutt - would have been dead. Then Wayne (or his stuntman I am sure), makes a similar leap from the coach to the first set of horses pulling it, and then continues jumping to the leading pair. Goddess, those men have balls of pure brass!

Posted by: King Coin Mar 26 2011, 12:17 AM

Finished the Borne movies. I thought Identity was a little meh, but Supremacy and Ultimatum were fantastic!

Borne will have 2 armed guys against him and in a blink of an eye he'll have them knocked out with their guns in his hands.

Posted by: ureniashtram Mar 28 2011, 09:06 PM


Goin old school here. City Lights by Charlie the Chap. It was suprisingly AMAZING for such an old 'movie'. Made me cry at the end.

This film shows that even without words, one can express his thoughts with actions. Bravo is all I can say.

Posted by: TheOtherRick Mar 29 2011, 03:42 AM

I am so digging Netflix. Last night, my better half and I finished watching Season 2 of Dexter. It originally aired on Showtime. What a great show! Twisted, but really cool.

Tonight we started a new series on Netflix that was also on Showtime originally. Jeremiah. The setting is 15 years after a virus has caused every human that had past puberty to die. The end of the world meets Lord of the Flies. Awesome show so far.

Posted by: mALX Mar 29 2011, 03:43 PM

Not big on watching network TV - but have found myself watching two of these quasi reality shows:

The "Top Chef All-Stars" - Missed the end of the episode, but caught a preview of the finale, looks like the cousins Mike and Antonia are going to be "batter-ing" it out.

Celebrity Apprentice - Dionne Warwick got the axe - and pretty well deserved, (IMHO). Am I the only one that thought she was closet tippling through the show? Dionne looked smashed, appeared to be holding herself upright in the chair by dint of stiffening herself into a board, either that or 'The Donald' now knows where that missing broom went.

We'll probably be seeing her in "Celebrity Rehab" next, from the lines on her face that alcohol has been pickling in her for a long time.

She quit, then tried to take it back - said she "changed her mind." (Let's hope the new one works). 'The Donald' cannot tolerate a quitter, it never went into deliberation after that.

Let's face it - he himself never gives up. He has fought tooth and nail to keep those three hairs covering that bald spot for how many years? It isn't like he couldn't go to "The Men's Club" and get implants, he certainly has the funds. But he doggedly continues in the 'comb-over'.

I always wondered if "The Adoring Fan's" hairdo was inspired by him.


Her charity earned nothing during her stint in the show - pretty unimpressive for the Diva of the 60's.

"The moment I wake up..
Before I put on my make-up,
I take a little sip of you." ... Dionne Warwick

Posted by: King Coin Mar 29 2011, 06:38 PM

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Mar 28 2011, 09:42 PM) *

I am so digging Netflix. Last night, my better half and I finished watching Season 2 of Dexter. It originally aired on Showtime. What a great show! Twisted, but really cool.


I liked that show, but I really did not like how they ended season 2. He was my favorite character. I have not watched any of season 3.

Posted by: TheOtherRick Mar 29 2011, 11:35 PM

QUOTE(King Coin @ Mar 29 2011, 12:38 PM) *

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Mar 28 2011, 09:42 PM) *

I am so digging Netflix. Last night, my better half and I finished watching Season 2 of Dexter. It originally aired on Showtime. What a great show! Twisted, but really cool.


I liked that show, but I really did not like how they ended season 2. He was my favorite character. I have not watched any of season 3.

I know....Dokes was cool. We haven't seen Season 3 yet either.

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 30 2011, 02:12 AM

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Mar 28 2011, 10:42 PM) *

Tonight we started a new series on Netflix that was also on Showtime originally. Jeremiah. The setting is 15 years after a virus has caused every human that had past puberty to die. The end of the world meets Lord of the Flies. Awesome show so far.


I saw that last year. It was fantastic! If you liked Babylon 5, you will like Jeremiah. It was made by the same man: J. Michael Straczynski.

Tonight I watched My Soul To Take. A solid Wes Craven teen horror film. Lots of WTF is going on moments, plus a good amount of misdirection on the part of the director. It all adds up to a fun film.

Posted by: treydog Mar 30 2011, 03:28 AM

Still going through all the seasons of Monk (yay Netflix!). Also watching To Serve Them All My Days- it is one of those BBC series. Set at a boarding school following WWI- the main character is a shell-shocked Welshman who becomes a history teacher.

It is a bit- slow... And the episodes can be uneven.

Posted by: TheOtherRick Mar 30 2011, 03:46 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Mar 29 2011, 08:12 PM) *

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Mar 28 2011, 10:42 PM) *

Tonight we started a new series on Netflix that was also on Showtime originally. Jeremiah. The setting is 15 years after a virus has caused every human that had past puberty to die. The end of the world meets Lord of the Flies. Awesome show so far.


I saw that last year. It was fantastic! If you liked Babylon 5, you will like Jeremiah. It was made by the same man: J. Michael Straczynski.

Tonight I watched My Soul To Take. A solid Wes Craven teen horror film. Lots of WTF is going on moments, plus a good amount of misdirection on the part of the director. It all adds up to a fun film.

Ooooo....Babylon 5....Now I need to see if Netflix has that too! ohmy.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 30 2011, 04:00 AM

QUOTE(TheOtherRick @ Mar 29 2011, 10:46 PM) *

Ooooo....Babylon 5....Now I need to see if Netflix has that too! ohmy.gif


They do have it. There were five seasons. It is one of the best Sci-Fi shows ever made. Unlike most t.v. shows of its time, the episodes were not standalones, but rather followed a larger story though to its conclusion. You will see smaller arcs within it, but each builds upon the latter. Just like Jeremiah was.

The first season is a bit rough, mainly because of the poor acting of the lead. They get rid of him and replace him with Bruce Boxleitner at the beginning of the second season, and it really takes off then. I have to say the ending of the first season really rocks though. "Nothing's the same anymore." You will see what I mean by that. Straczynski really knows how to tell a story, how to make it epic in scale. You will see parallels to LOTOR, which was definitely an influence. But mainly Straczynski understands the power of myth and the hero-cycle, and uses that to the utmost.

There were several made for tv movies after the series. One was In The Beginning, which is actually a prequel to the series, basically setting things up, and creating links between characters that even they do not realize are there. You might start with that. Or wait until after watching the series. It is not critical either way. When I periodically go back to re-watch it, I always start with it though, just to keep it all chronological.

Posted by: Jacki Dice Mar 31 2011, 02:49 AM

Netflix is a wonderful thing. smile.gif

Wrothken and I have been watching Scrubs for awhile. I can't believe I missed so many episodes! And I saw other ones so many times I thought some characters were in the show way, way longer than they actually were. Its a cute show, though I get sad whenever someone dies. sad.gif

And I finally got to finish watching Teeth. It is officially my new favorite movie, just behind Hard Candy. I feel so bad for the poor girl when she first discovers her... um... gift. And some parts make me cringe for her.... but the "punishment" is generally deserved. Doctors make some funny comments while they attempt to fix what she does to the men. And the last mutilation was done in such a hilarious manner. Of course, Wrothken refused to watch it with me.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Mar 31 2011, 11:03 PM

Today in the theatre: Sucker Punch.

This film is very aptly named, let me tell you. It invites you in with the promise of fetish and hot women killing monsters in increasingly unbelievable ways, takes all that preconception, and wallops you in the gut with it.

This was an extremely intense movie; a far cry from a summer blockbuster. The overarching theme of the film is escapism, and what some people do to cope with the world when it all turns bad.



Great ending, by the way; very unexpected twist.

This is NOT A movie about pandering to fetishism, this is a movie that takes everything you know about them and physically assaults with them. If you want a clear message of girl power presented in a crisp, burlesque package, I heartily recommend this one.


Posted by: SubRosa Apr 1 2011, 11:31 PM

I saw Driven the other day. It was better than I expected it to be. Plus, the end was set in Detroit biggrin.gif I really enjoyed the very tangled web of relationships between the characters. It did not really have cut-and-dried villains except perhaps for Burt Reynolds, who turns in a solid performance as the ruthless boss. They characters were competitors, but many of them managed to either remain or become friends through it all. Basically, they were just people with their own agendas. Stallone was good, and perhaps more importantly he had a good character. A man who had it all and lost it, and has been humbled by the experience. On the downside, the movie seemed unsure of what character to focus on: Stallone's, or the new kid he's been brought back to mentor. Because of that it often seems to wander.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 4 2011, 12:23 AM

I finished watching Claymore today. This is probably my fourth time watching the series. Again, I just loved it. It is packed with gore and ultra-violence, which I know draws in the young male crowd. But that is not what it is really about, which is why they get all flustered with the ending, which I loved.

It is set in a fantasy world where monsters called Yoma roam the land, eating people's innards. Making it worse, they can take human form to hide amongst people, and pretty well above and beyond anything a human can fight in an even battle. In come the Claymores, who are women infused with Yoma energy, making them powerful enough to fight the Yoma and win. They are tough chicks with big swords (hence the name).

However, the more Yoma energy (or yoki), they expend, the more like monsters the Claymores become. If they expend too much, they literally become monsters, and cannot go back to being human. The series revolves around this fight within each Claymore to retain their humanity in an incredibly violent and horrific world. The goriness and violence of the series is meant to underscore this. It is a nasty world these Claymores live in. Going from one battle to another, most have nothing else to live for but killing Yoma. They have no families, no friends, even the people they are sworn to protect fear and hate them because they are half-monsters. Their lives are simply one battle after another, and can only end one of two ways. They either get killed in a fight, or they Awaken and become a monster.

Enter http://images.wikia.com/claymore/images/3/3d/Clare47.jpg, who like many of them became a Claymore to get revenge on the Awakened Being that killed someone she loved- http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W9P7q0qPA8U/TDEaCi6MrLI/AAAAAAAAAow/dFS7VRTmqW4/s1600/teresaofthefaintsmilejs8.jpg. Teresa had been the greatest fighter of her era, and took Clare in. In the process Teresa learned to live again. At least until she died (which I will not go into). Clare herself meets someone who changes her life - Raki - and the show revolves around the two polar opposite forces in her life. One hand there is her lust for vengeance that can only end in self-destruction - even if she achieves it. Then you have her love for Raki, which gives her a reason to live for the first time since Teresa. Seeing how it all plays out is just marvelous.

Now that is over though, I have that familiar post-series letdown. Whenever I watch a good series, I get so used to it, that when it is over it is a bit depressing. Now I have to decide what to watch next. I am thinking of maybe going back to my Horatio Hornblowers. Or maybe staying with anime and doing Twelve Kingdoms again, or Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars I & II. Maybe even Gunslinger Girl, in spite of how depressing it gets at the end.

Posted by: mALX Apr 4 2011, 02:05 AM

"The Importance of Being Earnest" - with Colin Firth - WOO HOO !!!! A very well done Oscar Wilde.

Posted by: Captain Hammer Apr 15 2011, 05:54 AM

Just saw The Lincoln Lawyer.

Read the book, liked it, saw the film was doing well enough on Rotten Tomatoes to justify seeing it, was actually impressed by some of the performances.

Especially Matthew McConaughey, who managed to act just a little differently this time around, but was still himself enough to pull off the Mickey Haller role.

The other actors turn in solid performances, and as a legal thriller it avoids the cliches by "solving the case" halfway in, while the rest of the film focuses on the legal jousting without trying to make it into a metaphor for something its not. It's the good parts of Law & Order with enough time to develop the characters and tell a story.


Posted by: mALX Apr 18 2011, 02:43 AM

The Crucible - the actors did an awesome job with this, there was no point that I lost immersion because of bad timing or acting whatsoever, the story was powerful and riveting, it was extremely well directed - worth the time to watch this one !!

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 25 2011, 07:01 PM

I am watching Crest of the Stars, Banner of the Stars, and Banner of the Stars 2. All three are 12 episode anime series' starring the same two characters. Each is a separate story, at a different time in their lives. Like Claymore, the traditional gender roles are reversed, with the girl being the strong, silent, warrior type, and the boy being the more supportive type.

The shows are space operas, being set in a future where the galaxy is divided among 5 main factions. 4 of them are formed together in a treaty against the final one: The Abh Empire. The Abh are basically elves in space. But not magical fantasy elves. They are the result of genetic engineering, having been created to serve as slaves to work in space in the distant past. They rebelled and destroyed their creators. But they still continue the practice of genetic engineering, with all births being artificially done. The Abh's home is space, and they really have no interest in the planets they conquer as part of their empire. They really only want to control the space around them. So they tend to be very hands off in their rulership of regular humans (or "Landers") living on the worlds. Still, they are hated and feared by Landers, because they look different, and of course because it makes good propaganda for the other 4 nations.

I liked how the tackled the obligatory issue of FTL travel. It is done by using gateways called Sords that allow access into and out of Plane Space. Plane Space is another dimension laying beneath our own. As the name implies, it is only two dimensional, lacking the dimension of depth. To survive there, ships need to have a special engine that can create a Space-Time bubble around them in three dimensions. If a ship's space time engine goes out, it will be immediately crushed down into two dimensions, and everyone on board instantly killed. Combat in Plane Space is interesting, because it can only take place between ships whose Space-Time bubbles have merged. So it is by necessity at relatively close range. Because ships cannot jump into or out of Plane Space on their own, all movement through it is controlled by the Sords. So unlike in Star Wars, you cannot just hit your hyperdrive and be on the other side of the galaxy a minute later. You have to go from one Sord to another. So controlling the Sords means total control of space travel. So in peacetime this means regular trade routes through the Sords, and in war it means attacks can only come through those same routes.

One thing I like about the shows is that each is quite different in its plotting and feel. The first is your standard boy meets girl and they have space adventure kind of story. With the backdrop being the beginning of an all-out war between the Landers and Abh. The second series is your basic war story, with our boy and girl now years older and serving on a ship in the Abh fleet. The third is more about diplomacy, with our pair now acting as ambassadors to a planet conquered by the Abh, and trying to sort out is a very chaotic and violent revolution going on on the surface.

In addition to the two main characters, we also see a lot of the various Abh admirals and their staff chiefs during the shows, which keeps us up to breast on what is happening overall in the war. They do a good job of making all them unique and interesting, and very distinctly elfin/Abh in outlook. Some of them are just hilarious, like the Bebaus twins, one who is the admiral, the other the chief of staff of the same fleet. Both come from a family known for "Spectacular Insanity". Admiral Bebaus does not disappoint on this score either...

All in all, they are good anime shows, well worth the watch. All of them are based on a series of novels, and I hope that they make the final two into animes.

Posted by: Lady Syl Apr 25 2011, 07:23 PM

My husband and I just bought Roots, and we've been watching it one episode at a time. I read the book in high school and couldn't put it down. So far, I love it. biggrin.gif

Posted by: Captain Hammer Apr 25 2011, 07:39 PM

I'm watching The Confession on Hulu. Starts off with "A hitman walks into a confessional to talk to a priest." From there, it gets...good.

I can't explain it. What I can say is that you should definitely watch it. Kiefer Sutherland and John Hurt are at top notch levels with this. For all the shots of two guys sitting in a congessional booth, the amount of struggle is truly impressive.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira May 3 2011, 09:04 PM

Currently viewing Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster on MST3K.

QUOTE
Actor 1: Oh, God! My girlfriend is missing!

Actor 2: wanna go get a coffee?

Actor 1: Hmm... okay.


Incredible dialogue like this can only be dreamed up by the best, eh?

Posted by: Lady Syl May 3 2011, 09:10 PM

Sweeny Todd, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter, anyone?


Posted by: SubRosa May 3 2011, 09:45 PM

QUOTE(Thomas Kaira @ May 3 2011, 04:04 PM) *

Currently viewing Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster on MST3K.

QUOTE
Actor 1: Oh, God! My girlfriend is missing!

Actor 2: wanna go get a coffee?

Actor 1: Hmm... okay.


Incredible dialogue like this can only be dreamed up by the best, eh?


I have that in my Netflix queue. I just have not gotten to watching it yet!

I am currently watching Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and outstanding anime from the 80s (Miyazaki, 'nuff said). Set a thousand years after an apocalypse, only scattered groups of humanity remain. If that were not bad enough a toxic jungle (the spores of whose plants will kill humans in minutes) is slowly covering the world, and is guarded by hordes of giant insects.

Nausicaä is the princess of a little farming community out in the middle of nowhere. She reminds me a lot of Teresa, as she has a way of charming the insects of the toxic jungle, and all other animals for that matter. She also has this really neat powered glider flying wing thing that she flies around on. She really is a very adorable character. Her world is turned upside down however, when a giant aircraft from a distant land crashes in the Valley of the Wind. Soon after come more planes, from a rival nation, after the cargo of the first.

It is a Giant Warrior, one of the weapons that destroyed the world a thousand years before. Most turned to stone after the apocalypse, and their shells can still be seen littering the landscape. This one was still in an egg though. Naturally, the other nations wanted to to control it, and the Valley of the Wind is caught in between them, and the insects of the toxic jungle.

Unlike most anime, when this one was slated fora U.S. release, they did not go cheap on the voice acting (most of the English dubbing in anime is so atrocious that I would sooner gargle razor blades than listen to it). Instead they brought in a pile of major actors. Patrick Stewart, Edward James Olmos, Chris Sarandon, Uma Thurman, and Mark Hamiil are the biggest names.

Posted by: Lady Syl May 3 2011, 10:54 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ May 3 2011, 03:45 PM) *


Unlike most anime, when this one was slated fora U.S. release, they did not go cheap on the voice acting (most of the English dubbing in anime is so atrocious that I would sooner gargle razor blades than listen to it). Instead they brought in a pile of major actors. Patrick Stewart, Edward James Olmos, Chris Sarandon, Uma Thurman, and Mark Hamiil are the biggest names.


OMG, those are some big names! Many of those actors you listen are among my favorites! happy.gif

Posted by: Captain Hammer May 4 2011, 06:51 AM

That's on my queue as well. I'd like to point out something about the voice actors they've got.

They managed to get Captain Jean-Luc Picard/Professor X/EMPEROR URIEL SEPTIM VII of TAMRIEL!! (Patrick Stewart), Luke Skywalker/Batman TAS's The JOKER!!!/Fire Lord Ozai (Mark Hamill), and Rear Admiral Adama/Jaime Escalante/Lt. Castillo (Edward James Olmos) in one series.

That the universe is still here, after enduring such a concentration of Awesome, speaks to the existence of God, who probably has also put this on His Netflix queue.

Posted by: Lady Syl May 4 2011, 03:09 PM

QUOTE(Captain Hammer @ May 4 2011, 12:51 AM) *

That's on my queue as well. I'd like to point out something about the voice actors they've got.

They managed to get Captain Jean-Luc Picard/Professor X/EMPEROR URIEL SEPTIM VII of TAMRIEL!! (Patrick Stewart), Luke Skywalker/Batman TAS's The JOKER!!!/Fire Lord Ozai (Mark Hamill), and Rear Admiral Adama/Jaime Escalante/Lt. Castillo (Edward James Olmos) in one series.

That the universe is still here, after enduring such a concentration of Awesome, speaks to the existence of God, who probably has also put this on His Netflix queue.


OMG, you're right! And I'm going to have to check this one out myself! (Also, don't forget Black Mamba/Emma Peel/Poison Ivy/G-Girl (Uma Thurman)!!) wink.gif

I think it's time I get back into anime--I haven't watched a lot of it since high school, and I've been missing out... With kids, most of what I see on my tv anymore is Disney cartoons and Curious George (which is fine, but...).

Posted by: SubRosa May 4 2011, 04:58 PM

QUOTE(Lady Syl @ May 4 2011, 10:09 AM) *

I think it's time I get back into anime--I haven't watched a lot of it since high school, and I've been missing out... With kids, most of what I see on my tv anymore is Disney cartoons and Curious George (which is fine, but...).


Be careful, as a lot of anime is definitely not for children. If you want something kid-friendly, try Card Captor Sakura. It is very sweet and cute and even the antagonists are not really bad, just misunderstood. Even though it is definitely a kid show, it is still one of my all-time favorites. Plus, Sakura is just http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/artwork/ccs_11_1024.jpg

For grown-up anime, it depends on what you are most interested in. I mentioned Claymore a while back, which has a lot of violence, but a very strong theme of humanity underneath it all. Crest of the Stars, Banner of the Stars, Banner of the Stars 2 are also very good. Look back to see my post on them too.

Twelve Kindgoms has a goodly amount of action, especially at the start, but is seriously into character development. In fact, the three main characters are not too particularly likeable at first. But the more you see them grow as the story goes on, the more you cheer for them, precisely because they are becoming better people. It is basically an otherworld fantasy story, with sword fighting and magical creatures.

In spite of its silly name, Gunslinger Girl is excellent. Set in modern Europe, it is basically a spy thriller with sci-fi cyberware. Again it is primarily a character piece, and is rather dark and depressing, when you learn what has been done to the main characters. They are all girls, who have been brainwashed and cybered up to become assassins.

Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex was decent, although the plot gets a bit fuzzy at times. It is a futuristic sci-fi show, with robots, cloaking devices, cyberbrains, and lots of hacking. It is mostly action, but does make as stab at what the meaning of existence and individuality really is. Why the Major is walking around in lingere all the time is beyond me though. Oh wait, teenage fanboys , that's why... rolleyes.gif

The Good Witch of the West was a neat little series. It is a fantasy story, swords, knights, princesses, and creepy magicians. Mainly a political intrigue/mystery story with a bit of character development. It is the only time I have seen actual slash fiction about anime characters in the anime itself (which was quite hilarious!)

Witchhunter Robin was a good one. Set in the modern world, it is about people with psychic powers, not witches. A bit predictable, but with good characters, action, and intrigue.

Scrapped Princess was also decent. It is a mix of action/characterization. While it starts out strong, it kind of loses steam later in the show when you figure out what is really going on. They mixed genres a bit too much I think. Going from what seemed a straight fantasy story to a science fiction one.

Vision of Escaflowne was also good. Pretty much your basic girl travels from earth to a sci-fi world with mecha, meets a boy, and they have a grand adventure story. Lots of action, some romance and character work. The very ending was just blah though. Still, it is worth the ride to get there.

Fate/Stay Night is a magical story, but set in the modern world. The premise is that every decade there is a magical tournament, and the winner gets a wish. The losers die. Each magician can summon a servant, who are heroes from past ages, such as Hercules, King Arthur, Alexander the Great, etc... Has some neat turns to it, and is a fun ride.

All of these above feature female characters in either the lead role, or at least in strong roles. So if you like seeing girls drive the story and be more than just the protagonist's girlfriend, any of these will work for you. I believe Netflix has them all as well.

Posted by: Lady Syl May 4 2011, 08:14 PM

I do indeed prefer to see females as more than just the playtoys of men! tongue.gif

I think all of them sound interesting, and I'm the kind of person who will usually give anything a chance--I never make assumptions about movies without seeing them myself first, no matter what the critics say, that sort of thing.

My husband and I have watched some more kid-friendly anime like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sailor Moon, Hello Kitty, and Ponyo--definitely kid-calibur stuff. We've barely even scratched the surface of anime as a whole, and would like to see more. I'll likely give all your recommendations a try, and I'll let you know what we thought, if you'd like! biggrin.gif

Posted by: SubRosa May 4 2011, 09:29 PM

I would love to hear what you think of the anime's you watch. I recommend watching them with Japanese audio and English subtitles, as the English voice actors almost all of them use are just atrocious.

There are two more I can throw in as well.

Serial Experiments Lain is a mind-bendingly freaky series about a girl who just might be a god, or something else. But she is certainly not human. It goes very deeply into the philosophy of what makes people people, and what is reality and not.

Blood+ is an excellent anime about vampires, without it seeming like they are vampires at all because they are so non-traditional. It's about a girl who finds out that she isn't at all normal, and cannot really recall what happened to her before the preceding year. She finds her family beset by monsters, that only she can kill because her blood is poison to them. Then there is the creepy guy following her around, who won't tell her who he is, but seems to be her servant. A very cool series with action and character development.


Posted by: grif11 May 4 2011, 10:11 PM

Theres barely any anime available over here, so ive been searching the internets to find some, unsucessfully. The closest thing I got was final fantasy VII: Advent children.

Still a great movie, and square enix always amaze me with their unbelievable graphics and detail. Brilliant story as well, but you wont understand at all if you've never played the game.

Posted by: SubRosa May 4 2011, 10:47 PM

QUOTE(grif11 @ May 4 2011, 05:11 PM) *

Theres barely any anime available over here, so ive been searching the internets to find some, unsucessfully. The closest thing I got was final fantasy VII: Advent children.

Still a great movie, and square enix always amaze me with their unbelievable graphics and detail. Brilliant story as well, but you wont understand at all if you've never played the game.


FF: Advent Children is probably the most incredible anime action movie I have ever seen. It has a rich cast of interesting characters, and the stunts (if you can call it that for anime) are just jaw-dropping. My favorite scene was in the tunnel near the end, when Loz throws his motorcycle with his legs.

Advent Children Complete adds about 30 more minutes to the movie, and explains everything much better. I never played the games, but I was able to follow along thanks to it. I was a bit lost at times with the original though.

Posted by: Lady Syl May 6 2011, 02:33 AM

Grey's Anatomy--the episode tonight is so bittersweet. Callie and Arizona are getting married, so that's the happy part. But Callie's situation with her parents is so heart-breaking! Her mother just said some very hurtful things to her, because she won't accept her daughter's marriage to another woman... I mean, I can see the mother's point of view, and even though I don't agree with her I can understand where she's coming from. But poor Callie--she wants so badly to please her parents and to marry the woman she loves, but her mother's coldness to her and her lack of enthusiasm just makes me want to cry! How any parent can turn on their child because of something like that--to me that is the abomination. No parent should ever treat their child in such a way, whether they agree with something or not. It just breaks my heart that real people do that to their children in this world every day... sad.gif

But kudos to Grey's Anatomy for taking on such a controversial but important subject in the show! Though I am, myself, heterosexual, gay rights is something that I consider highly important. They are people just like all the rest of us, and should have just as much right to marry whomever they love, regardless of gender. Each human being should have that right, and no one should have the right to force their own personal beliefs onto others. But that's my opinion, so if anyone here disagrees, I would rather not get into a debate. I will respect your opinions, and I ask that you do the same for me, so we can agree to disagree.

OMG! And thank you, Dr. Bailey!!! What she said when she talked Callie up, she said it beautifully!!! Woot! biggrin.gif

Tears! Omg! Callie's dad turned the car around to go back and dance with her at her wedding! Yay! :')

I love this show. It's one of my favorites! smile.gif

Posted by: Captain Hammer May 6 2011, 06:45 PM

Well, I'd like to point out what day it is. No, not that dumb Rebecca Black song.

Today is Freya's Day!


Which means that Yesterday was Thursday. Sorry, meant to say


THOR'S DAY!


So I went to go see THOR!


In IMAX THOR-D! viking.gif


Seriously, though, just saw Thor, and I must admit how much I was surprised by it. There's a certain amount of humor, yes, and some tropes you can identify rather easily when they're used. But the tone of the film is easily capable of dragging you in.

Oh, and stay through the credits. You'll be happy that you did. Especially if you're one to appreciate July movie tie-ins. biggrin.gif

Posted by: Lady Syl May 6 2011, 07:07 PM

LOL. Love what you did with that, Captain Hammer. I'll have to go see it. I'll probably wait until it comes out to rent, though, because I'm not fond of movie theatres anymore... And I'll be sure to watch it on a Thor's day! tongue.gif

Posted by: Captain Hammer May 6 2011, 07:26 PM

Hey, he's my patron! Most other gods and goddesses are fond of swords, axes, spears, or archery equipment. But you want a god with a hammer, there's only one way to go...

Posted by: Lady Syl May 9 2011, 04:05 PM

Cardcaptor Sakura, as suggested by our dear friend SubRosa! I watched the movie this morning with my daughter. Probably should have watched the series before watching the movie, but I loved it. I watched it with the original Japanese (English subtitles), and I'm very glad I did (I usually watch foreign films in the original language, because I love languages). I've always loved the sound of the Japanese language, especially--it's beautiful, and some day I hope to learn it. The costumes the characters in the movie wore were beautiful and cute. And Sakura and her pet/friend are both very cute!! happy.gif

Shaoran's mother was very pretty, too. At first, I wasn't sure if I trusted her, which is probably what the writers/creators wanted. And that sorceress from Sakura's dreams was very interesting. I felt great pity for her...and I am glad at how it all turned out, except that I was hoping she would get to keep that exquisite headpiece!

I won't say too much, in case anyone here hasn't seen it and wants to, but it was very enjoyable, and my little girlie seemed to enjoy it as well. And it appears she didn't mind the Japanese--I don't know if she really even noticed. Three-year-olds are still not as bothered by language barriers as many adults.

I'm going to start watching the series next, and I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it just as much. Thank you, SubRosa, for your suggestions! bigsmile.gif

QUOTE(Captain Hammer @ May 6 2011, 01:26 PM) *

Hey, he's my patron! Most other gods and goddesses are fond of swords, axes, spears, or archery equipment. But you want a god with a hammer, there's only one way to go...


Hey, that's awesome! I'm not quite as knowledgeable about Scandinavian mythology as I am about all the others, so I didn't know Thor had a hammer... Isn't he also the god of thunder, though--sort of the Scandinavian equivalent of Zeus/Jupiter? My mom used to have a German Shepherd named Thor. He was a good dog...

Posted by: Captain Hammer May 10 2011, 01:20 AM

Odin's the closer equivalent of Zeus/Jupiter. Old man, with big flowing beard, king of the gods, fits the archetype of "Skyfather" (male weather deity associated with destructive forces as tool of justice/retribution), one of three brothers descended from a world-shaper, protector of guest-right, etc.

Thunderstorms are a far more dangerous thing in Greece than in Scandinavia, where it's blizzards that are culturally the most feared meteorological phenomena. This, and a few others, mark the difference between the two, but the differences are largely circumstance-based, and the cross-cultural similarities between the two indicate descent from the same proto-concept in pre-historic societies.

Posted by: Lady Syl May 10 2011, 01:35 AM

QUOTE(Captain Hammer @ May 9 2011, 07:20 PM) *

Odin's the closer equivalent of Zeus/Jupiter. Old man, with big flowing beard, king of the gods, fits the archetype of "Skyfather" (male weather deity associated with destructive forces as tool of justice/retribution), one of three brothers descended from a world-shaper, protector of guest-right, etc.

Thunderstorms are a far more dangerous thing in Greece than in Scandinavia, where it's blizzards that are culturally the most feared meteorological phenomena. This, and a few others, mark the difference between the two, but the differences are largely circumstance-based, and the cross-cultural similarities between the two indicate descent from the same proto-concept in pre-historic societies.


Oh, and here I was thinking Thor was the top god in Scandinavian mythology... And so you can plainly see, I'm not very knowlegeable there--it's the one area of mythology which evades me.... tongue.gif

Posted by: SubRosa May 10 2011, 01:55 AM

It will not be out for another year, but I am looking forward to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611224/. I wonder if he will use Lincoln's Repeater, loaded with holy water bullets? Not just good for killing Super Mutants I see!

Posted by: Lady Syl May 10 2011, 02:35 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ May 9 2011, 07:55 PM) *

It will not be out for another year, but I am looking forward to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611224/. I wonder if he will use Lincoln's Repeater, loaded with holy water bullets? Not just good for killing Super Mutants I see!


Hmm, interesting. Never heard of it, but I recognize at least a couple of the actors in it. And Abraham Lincoln was an exceptional man--seeing him slay vampires would make him that much more incredible! bigsmile.gif

Posted by: Captain Hammer May 10 2011, 03:23 AM

I loved that book (and wonder what would happen if somebody were to write an Abraham Lincoln vs. Twilight piece) and I eagerly await the movie. The same guy who wrote this also wrote Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, and I think that would make a great movie as well.

Looks to be quite promising, though. It's a great premise and the original writer is coming back for screenplay duties.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira May 10 2011, 08:49 PM

Girl in Gold Boots on MST3K.

So far, it's got everything I look for in an MST3K movie: terrible acting, cheap washed-out picture, cliched....

But I've just come across one of the most hilarious jump-cuts I've ever seen. You really have to see it to believe it, it's incredible. rollinglaugh.gif

Posted by: grif11 May 10 2011, 10:13 PM

Im hoping to see priest when it comes out.

I should start going to church if thats what sermons are like laugh.gif

Posted by: mALX May 11 2011, 02:43 AM

Field of Dreams for the billianth time, still bawling like a calf every time.

Posted by: haute ecole rider May 11 2011, 03:25 AM

QUOTE(mALX @ May 10 2011, 08:43 PM) *

Field of Dreams for the billianth time, still bawling like a calf every time.


Better stay away from 'Old Yeller.'

I still can't bring myself to watch that one. I'm even less inclined since I saw the clip where the boy takes the rifle from Ma and says in the most manly manner "I'll do it Ma. He's my dog." Knowing what happens after that just makes me blubber uncontrollably.

Posted by: Lady Syl May 11 2011, 06:51 AM

Another excellent movie for making you cry your eyes out-- Pay it Forward. I sob almost uncontrollably every time I watch it (which isn't often, because I just can't do that to myself too much).

Posted by: mALX May 11 2011, 06:07 PM

QUOTE(Lady Syl @ May 11 2011, 01:51 AM) *

Another excellent movie for making you cry your eyes out-- Pay it Forward. I sob almost uncontrollably every time I watch it (which isn't often, because I just can't do that to myself too much).



I have only seen that movie once. When the boy died I was shocked, and when the crowd gathered with the candles - bawled.

Posted by: grif11 May 11 2011, 07:39 PM

I've only watched one tear jerker that I know of, and thats The boy in the striped pyjamas. The end had us both in tears, and thats not usual for me. sad.gif

Posted by: Lady Syl May 11 2011, 09:32 PM

QUOTE(grif11 @ May 11 2011, 01:39 PM) *

I've only watched one tear jerker that I know of, and thats The boy in the striped pyjamas. The end had us both in tears, and thats not usual for me. sad.gif


Omg, another good one that makes you sob like a baby! Yeah, I forgot all about that one. My husband and I watched it after it came out, and both of us cried.

Posted by: Captain Hammer Jun 4 2011, 04:24 AM

Second comic-book movie just seen with the fratre and the amicis.

X-Men: First Class is...not quite as first class as Thor was (let me Hammer the puns home now).

I would suggest that vegetarians avoid this one, as it is most definitely full of Bacon-y greasiness.

And by that, I mean that Kevin Bacon turns in a great performance as Sebastian Shaw.

The new imaginings of Erik Lensher (Magneto) and Charles Xavier (Professor X) are pretty well done. For those deeply familiar with X-Men and Marvel comics history, there are some deep diversions from the established lore, and the characterizations of the supporting cast takes a few amateurish turns.

That said, look for a few instances of foreshadowing from James McAvoy regarding the future of his character. And be on the lookout for a great cameo with a precision F-strike that does deserve a few laughs.

It's not worth rushing out to see at this given minute. But it is the best thing in theaters right now unless you're up for another round of Norse drinking with Thor (and with stupid Pirates hogging the IMAX-3D theaters, there's nothing new for you) and if you're gonna see a movie this weekend, I suggest this one.

You won't see anything special, but you should enjoy yourselves.

Posted by: Lady Syl Jun 10 2011, 05:31 PM

I have been on a Legend of the Seeker kick of late. It is a great show! A shame it only lasted two seasons...

Posted by: hazmick Jun 18 2011, 02:13 AM

Watched the newly released 'Kung Fu Panda 2' yesterday. Great fun, made me want to get a panda. biggrin.gif

Also watched X-men First Class, good film if you like X-men, I just love seeing new characters and discovering what cool abilities they have. Teleportation is still at the top of my list.


Posted by: Captain Hammer Jun 18 2011, 07:32 AM

Alright, so it's time for Cappy's Third Comic Book Movie Review of Summer 2011!!

Today, we have opinions on Green Lantern, DC's (via Warner Bros.) sole entry this year.

First, something that truly needs to be said about comic book movies in general. They're best when made in-house. This is why Thor did so well with the source material, keeping a general faithfulness to the comics narrative strength and using the history of visual evolution to nail-down the right effects for the big screen.

These are the two major flaws with Green Lantern. The story is barely there. I know that DC has no intention of merging Justice League properties on the screen until after the finish the run on Nolan's run with Batman and the next Superman film. But they introduce major villains immediately into the narrative, and turn some of the fundamental concepts of the comics' universe into cheap characters. Sinestro (Mark Strong) is well-acted but poorly written. Peter Sarsgaard is creepy as Hector Hammond, but with cheap lines and lots of scripted screaming, there's only so much one can do before turning a role into a self-parody, a dangerous line thankfully averted.

Honestly, given the great run Geoff Johns had with the Blackest Night sequence, I don't know why they didn't hire him for major writing credit for the film. He's written for TV and has interest in doing some film work, so the failure to pass up a strong story-teller speaks of the unwillingness for studios to try taking a few risks.

Then there's the visuals. They range from the fundamentally awesome (Tomar-Re's initial demonstration of a Green Power-ring's ability) to completely misguided (I now know more of Ryan Reynolds' pectoral muscle fibers than any man should ever know). You can see where they sunk the effort into the film, and at no point do you get the sense that they were going for cheap gimmicks seen in the Immortals trailer showing before the film (thank Shor that Skyrim comes out on the same day). Even a skin-tight suit would have been preferable to Reynolds' new skin he seems to get every time he goes ring-slinging.

All in all, a mediocre adaption of great material, with a good adaption of the visual style that seems to go a little over-board in certain respects. I don't know if it's better than Mr. Popper's Penguins, but if you've got nothing else to see this weekend, check it out. I can't way whether it's worth the extra three-to-four bucks for 3-D experience (a lot will depend on your desire to be visually wowed), but it's nowhere near the sh!t-show that was Joel Schumacher's two go-rounds with Batman. Kilmer and Clooney still give me shivers thinking about that. smile.gif

EDIT: Have now seen this film in a not-tired, not-slightly-buzzed state. Above review null and void. Overall: Rotten Tomatoes is being generous right now.

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 21 2011, 03:35 AM

I just saw Thor. I have to say, it was quite good. Much better than I expected. A look at the end credits showed many of the reasons why. Kenneth Branagh and J. Michael Straczynski behind the cameras. But even the people in front of the cameras were quite good as well. My biggest worry was Anthony Hopkins as Odin, but I think he did it excellently. Chris Hemsworth though was the real standout. He carries the lead very well. He looks like a god, has a great voice, and is just an all around cool guy. Even when he is being a complete A-Hole (like at the beginning of the movie). I wish he had been tapped to be Captain Kirk in the reboot of Star Trek, rather than Kirk's dad. He'd have done a much better job, namely by not being an annoying twit. But I digress.

All around a good movie. Even with some of the incongruities like Robin Hood, Jackie Chan, and Wilt Chamberlin, it still works. In fact, I think the African-American Heimdall was perfect (not being sarcastic, I mean it. He really feels like an outsider among the other Asgardians, standing alone at the end of the bridge.

The look was good. They even took that silly tic tac toe board the comic book Thor wears and actually make it look like real armor in the film. Likewise with those great big helmets. It all seems larger than life. As gods ought to (even though the movie is quick to point out that: "oh no, they are not gods, they would just look like that to primitives from a thousand years ago".

Every good hero is measured by his opponent. In this Tony Hiddleston as Loki is no slouch either. He was most cool, because while he is what I expected, he was not at all what I expected. A great trickster, his deceptions are merely deceptions. You have to really dig to see what is true plans are. His motivations were excellent, not to mention many-layered, and simply believable. In the end you find yourself thinking "Is he really all that bad?" He has become tied with Magneto as my favorite Marvel movie villain.

Finally, the obligatory epilogue at the end of the credits was once again most tantalizing, and I suspect is the lead in to The Avengers. I really like how the marvel movies are doing these now.

Posted by: Captain Hammer Jun 23 2011, 05:40 AM

Okay, I'm sorry. Forget my previous post.

I saw Green Lantern at the Thursday night midnight premiere, and must admit to a certain amount of impaired faculties.

I saw it again today. Went with my brother, who just got into town. He hadn't seen it yet.

We both agree with my new assessment. Don't see it. Don't watch it if you have to pay, don't view it unless you must.

The CGI is a lot worse than I had originally evaluated. Ryan Reynolds was, I am sorry to say, a poor choice. He's a good actor with leading man capabilities, but he's just not Hal Jordan. Jon Hamm would have been a much better choice. So would Matt Damon. And Tom Hardy, but Nolan already tapped him for Bane.

But the writing. Oh, the writing. I don't know whether the writer's ever really read through an entire story-line of Green Lantern. Given that DC is about to pull another reboot of their whole product line, I don't know how much it matters. But if these story-lines are about to be introduced as comic-book canon, I'll have officially lost all faith in mainstream comics.

Posted by: grif11 Jul 16 2011, 07:04 PM

Just got back from seeing harry potter!

Brilliant film, and worthy of being known as the final HP movie.

Posted by: hazmick Jul 21 2011, 11:28 AM

I second Harry Potter. I pretend not to be a fan but secretly I think it's quite cool.

I also saw Transformers 3 for the second time today, I loved it. I enjoyed the story and I always love seeing new transormers and the giant Decepticon worm/snake/thing stole the show.

Lots of great films out this year and we're only half way through (sort of).

Posted by: Captain Hammer Jul 30 2011, 01:58 AM

Now Watching:

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

And I hate to admit it, but I think I liked it a little better than Thor.

Yes, better than Thor. Not by much, but a little.

It's hard to say what went right, other than noting how little went wrong. They don't default into stereotyped casting, with the exception of the Red Skull, but Hugo Weaving's nazi super-scientist turned deformed super-human mad-man is probably the perfect antagonist, more so than Loki whose entire driving force seems to be an out-of-proportion revenge scheme. This time around, the megalomania that made the original Agent Smith is back, as Weaving's Schmidt makes you ask "Is it possible to be too Nazi for Hitler to tolerate you? What does such a person want?"

Alright, so the one fault I have with the movie is basically the fact that one part of it is mediocre in a piece that consists of concentrated magnificence. We can stop here, say "See the movie," and be done. But there's more for me to say, and I need to say it here. As it is a definitive rant, allow me to throw up the spoiler tags.



Oh, and for the after-credits stinger: Yes, it's there. But, it has already been posted on YouTube, and the significant plot element comes at the end of the film, before the credits, not after. Still, to see the small bit on the big screen: Worth It!

Posted by: SubRosa Jul 30 2011, 08:06 PM

I spent last week having a mini-lesbian film marathon, watching The Gymnast, A Marine Story, and Elena Undone. I have so fallen in love with Dreya Weber, who stars in the first two. She is an IRL aerialist, and is lots of fun to watch. In fact, I think she has just the right body to play Tadrose Helas, if there was ever a Teresa of the Faint Smile movie. The right attitude too.

Since then I have been going to the stars, watching Enterprise again. I am loving the series even more the second time around. I think all the things other people hate are the ones I adore so much. The opening theme. The lack of a prime directive. Humans not being the most advanced kids on the block, and there not even being a Federation yet. The Vulcans not being the nice, friendly, neutered puppy dogs they are in the later trek shows are a big part of it. Instead them being more than a little devious, and purposely holding humans back from space, creates a wonderful level of conflict that is missing from all the other shows. Even the original series, where Spock often faced animosity from other crewmembers.

Of the cast, I noticed that Linda Park is even more gorgeous than I remember her being the first time around. Jolene Blalock really shines as T'pol though, saying so much with so little. I just love how she sits like a bird in the captain's chair. The doctor is another favorite. I just love that half of his cures seem to use the menagerie of animals he keeps in the sick bay. Like the old days of medicine when maggots were used to prevent gangrene.

I also love the look of this Enterprise. All very basic, no carpeting, no spacious suites for every crewmember with their own shower and food replicator. It is all metal and flat-panel computer screens. Everyone eats in a common mess, and there is even a chef, and the captain has a steward. Controls are all dials and buttons, rather than the slick lcars interface from Next Gen. It looks like IMHO, a starship ought to. More like a submarine than a luxury hotel.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Sep 14 2011, 08:39 PM

I've been hit by the Anime bug, and have started watching the quintessential series InuYasha. I did watch a lot of child Anime in my youth (Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, mostly), but I have to say that the more adult oriented series have quite a lot to offer.

And now, I pose a question to Anime fans. Which do you prefer: subbed or dubbed?

Posted by: grif11 Sep 14 2011, 11:10 PM

ahh, back to anime are we?

well for me it depends on the actors. For example FF:Advent Childrens English voice actors were still fitting, especialy the dark voice of Mr. Prius (George newbern)

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 14 2011, 11:23 PM

Subtitles all the way, for any non-English film. The dubbing in Anime especially though is always done by the worst voice actors that have ever lived. Actually, I am sure they are not voice actors at all. They are probably just random people the studio found that could speak English. I literally cannot stand to listen to the dubbing in anime. I would rather not watch it at all. (Note this is not the case in anime that was made for an American audience, and so actually got real talent. For example, Naussica of the Vally of the Wind, which features Patrick Stewart, Uma Thurman, Chris Sarandon, and Edward James Olmos. Or the aforementioned Advent Children. But those are far and between.)

Watching in the original language also gives you the benefit of hearing the emotion in the character's voices (this never carries over in the dubbed voices). If someone is happy, or sad, or angry, etc... it all comes across in the original language. The other advantage is that if you watch enough anime in Japanese, you start to learn the language a little, including the slang.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Sep 15 2011, 12:03 AM

Speaking of Edward James Olmos...

A little while back I finally got around to finishing Battlestar Galactica 2001. An excellent series, but the ending was a major disappointment.

Godidit? Seriously? That was the best they had?

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 15 2011, 03:13 AM

Yes, talk about Deus Ex Machina! Lets not forget that a star-faring civilization is just going to give up cities and technology to live as hunter-gatherers with a bunch of cro-magnons. Riiiight. That series had a lot of faults, even aside from the ending. Still, for the most part it was a fun ride getting there. You just could not take it too seriously. Now that I am watching Star Trek again, it really brings home one thing I liked about Galactica. No bumpy-headed aliens.

Posted by: Kazaera Sep 15 2011, 03:01 PM

Definitely subbed for me - for one, it preserves a certain authenticity, for another, there is no longer such a thing as a neutral accent in English for me (even my own is marked!) and as a result I keep getting weirded out that the characters are speaking American/Canadian/RP/Australian/Scottish/Irish/whatever. German would be an option, but I have no idea where you'd even find anime dubbed into German, chances are the translation would be inferior and translations into German often weird me out anyway for some reason.

Although I should disclaim here that I have some hearing issues and as a result I generally want subtitles on anything I watch, no matter the language, and not being able to understand the spoken dialogue is actually a bonus.

...and now I shall resume lurking on this thread since I'm not watching anything.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Sep 15 2011, 05:06 PM

QUOTE(Kazaera @ Sep 15 2011, 09:01 AM) *
Although I should disclaim here that I have some hearing issues and as a result I generally want subtitles on anything I watch, no matter the language, and not being able to understand the spoken dialogue is actually a bonus.
That makes two of us!

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 16 2011, 07:52 PM

I often have to use the subtitles because many movies these days mix the sound so poorly, that the dialogue is drowned out by the music and sound effects. Turning the volume up does not help, because that just makes everything else painfully loud. The Road was one of the worst offenders I found in this.

I also almost always have to use subtitles when watching British movies, like Layer Cake, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, etc... I think I have an easier time understanding Japanese than British English! laugh.gif

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Sep 28 2011, 03:41 AM

I have now finished watching InuYasha, from the first episode all the way to the end of The Final Act.

That was a great series. Perfect blend of seriousness and humor, with wonderfully deep characters and some truly heart-wrenching moments here and there.

So now I need a new series to view, and I have decided in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. As I understand, this is the version that stayed true to the source material.

But some bad news: the version on Netflix seems to be the English dub. However, Hulu has the subbed version, so that is where I shall be viewing. smile.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 28 2011, 04:05 AM

I was going to suggest Gunslinger Girl, if you have not seen it yet. Netflix has the subbed version (at least on disc). Or Twelve Kingdoms.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Sep 28 2011, 06:16 PM

Checked the version on Netflix, looks like it's the dubbed version, unfortunately.

I'll see if I can pull it up subtitled on Hulu.

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 28 2011, 08:52 PM

QUOTE(Thomas Kaira @ Sep 28 2011, 01:16 PM) *

Checked the version on Netflix, looks like it's the dubbed version, unfortunately.

I'll see if I can pull it up subtitled on Hulu.


If it is instant viewing, then it probably is dubbed. The discs all have japanese audio and subs though.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Sep 28 2011, 10:58 PM

No worries, Hulu has the subtitled version. smile.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 1 2011, 05:53 PM

I have been watching Cadfael for the past few weeks now. It is a wonderful series. Thank you haute for turning me on to it. When she first explained it was a mystery show set in medieval England, I first thought of The Name of the Rose, another wonderful movie about a detective monk. Cadfael lives up to the comparison. Derek Jacobi is perfect in the leading role, and in the first season, Sean Pertwee as the sheriff opposite him. Sadly, Pertwee only sticks around for the first season, and then is replaced by lesser actors.

While it is a mystery show, and we are always led on a twisting and turning path until the truth is discovered, what I really like here is simply gritty, realistic slice of town life in 12th century England. It is very well portrayed, from the cloistered monks to the tradesmen and nobles. We don't really get to see a lot of this in film or t.v., and most we do tend to gloss over the actual setting, and just concentrate on people hacking one another up with swords.

The main character, Cadfael himself is of course the strongest part of the show. He is smart, compassionate, easy to like, and never one to underestimate. They have given him a rich background of being a former soldier in the crusades, not to mention sailor, and other things, before he finally settled down to become a holy herbalist at the abbey. All those things stand him in good stead, as he has a knowledge of the world, and its people, that other cloistered monks do not.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Oct 1 2011, 06:20 PM

I am absolutely tickled that you enjoyed the series so much. A lot of what I have learned about plant pharmacology has originated from this series and reinforced by my own research (I have the Herbal PDR - sadly it's probably outdated).

It is quite strongly character driven, and I agree, for me, Sean Pertwee will always be the one and only Hugh Beringar. And yes, my Legion rider Hugh Berennus is Pertwee's Beringar. So if you want a clear idea of how he looks, talks and acts, just watch the first season of Brother Cadfael Mysteries.And enjoy all the alchemy that is such an integral part of the show!

Posted by: Uleni Athram Oct 1 2011, 06:23 PM



I just stumbled upon a teleseries named The Borgias. I thought it was a parody of the game Assassin's Creed but I was wrong. IT'S ACTUALLY COOL. Full of family drama, court intrigue in the 15th century and well, romance. I haven't watched it to the fullest but all I can say from my first episode is that you guys should watch it.

*drools*

Posted by: liliandra nadiar Oct 11 2011, 07:18 AM

Castle, Warehouse 13 and Eureka are the main things I watch. Though sometimes something else will catch my eye such as Australian series H2O, Just Add Water, though that's on hold with the account while I wait for finances to stabilize so I can resume Netflix/Hulu streaming.

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 11 2011, 04:20 PM

I started watching Ironclad on Netflix last night. The previews made it look like nothing but a monument to testosterone. But what I have seen so far is interesting. It seems like a remake of the Magnificent Seven, just with knights. Plus it has some actors I like, James Purefoy, who really impressed me in Rome. Brian Cox has always been a favorite of mine. I loved Vladimir Kulich as Beowulf in the 13th Warrior. Plus Derek Jacobi, Jason Flemyng, and Mackenzie Crook.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Oct 13 2011, 08:44 PM

Now watching Big Trouble in Little China.

Let's see if it lives up to all the people say it is...

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 13 2011, 10:59 PM

You are in for a ton of fun! I have seen that movie about fifty times, and I still love it.

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 18 2011, 10:06 PM

Today was a big blu-ray bonanza: cake.gif Guns of Navarone, The Crow (the original with Brandon Lee), Manhunter (was marked down cheap), and the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie (also on sale). Now the question is, what to start with?

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Oct 18 2011, 10:13 PM

I would say worst first, so Pirates of the Caribbean.

That movie is proof that Jack Sparrow was not all that made the other ones decent. He was the counter to Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly's more serious story, which was the focus of the previous three. Sparrow was the comic relief, and what made him so memorable is that he always came in at the right moments.

Now they're gone, and all we're left with is an obvious cash-in that proves we didn't go see Pirates just for Jack Sparr... *ahem* Captain Jack Sparrow's zany antics.

Posted by: Captain Hammer Oct 20 2011, 01:09 AM

Careful TK. When speaking of Pirates o.t.C., never just abbreviate it to just Pirates.

Pirates is a different film entirely, and sold in a far more restricted setting than Pirates of the Caribbean...

Posted by: McBadgere Oct 27 2011, 06:14 AM

I watched Krull last night for the first time in years...Took me back thirty years-ish to seeing it in the cinema the first time!...Wow...Yes, yes mui fromage!!...But by God it's fun...Loved it...Many things that I thought I remembered didn't happen, but I had forgotten more than I thought...Maybe I'd invented the other bits as the years went on...

Going to watch Ironclad next week as part of our film night once a week thingy...Where we all sit down together as a family and watch something...Is good ya?!...

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 27 2011, 05:33 PM

Krull! Oh goddess, I think I blocked that from my memory!

I was not impressed with Ironclad. It seemed to start out as a remake of The Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven set in medieval England (which would be rather cool to see). But it is not. Even James Purefoy and Brian Cox could not save it for me. It is mostly just a lot of gratuitous killing strung between a paper thin plot. Some of the action scenes were decent. I saw a few RL moves in there, which was a wonderful surprise. But then the other half of the fighting was pure idiocy. People sticking their sword 3 feet into someone's chest and then pulling it out as if it were in tissue paper, an armored man being chopped completely in half by a sword, etc... It also does not help that I know the reality behind the movie. Aside from the fact that King John did lay siege to Rochester Castle, and did eventually use a mine, the rest is just b.s. I suggest renting Captain America instead.

Posted by: McBadgere Oct 29 2011, 05:52 AM

We watched The Ugly Truth on tele last night...I'd been dragged to the cinema to see it and I loved it there...God it made me laugh...Refreshingly honest...Very un-PC...My kind of film really...

I hate those gross-out comedies...I don't find them all that funny...Yes, I'll laugh at parts (hur-hur), but to be honest, something like The Ugly Truth which says fairly rude things, but in a straight-forward way - much better...

Posted by: haute ecole rider Oct 30 2011, 12:52 AM

OMG! Guns of Navarone! I loved that movie! Almost as much as Great Escape and Magnificent Seven!

Don't know why I love those testosterone movies so much. I guess when they're well done I totally relate to the characters. Chick flicks? Meh. Mostly.

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 1 2011, 01:59 AM

I just saw Fast Five, and have to admit that it was not only excellent, but by far the best of the Fast n' Furious franchise. Just as the 4th movie learned from previous mistakes, and recast the original stars, this one learned from other films, and stretched a bit from a formula of pure cars. It borrows heavily from films like the new Oceans Eleven trilogy, Italian Job, etc... Instead of just a lot of racing, the good guys are making a clever theft from a crime boss, using lots of planning and prep work. Just to make things interesting, the biggest, baddest cop in the Western Hemisphere is on their tails (the Rock) at the same time.

At the same time it brings us a crew of fun and interesting characters to back up our two heroes. In fact, they brought back characters from all the other FnF movies to make up the squad, which I thought was very neat. To be honest, they made the best part of the movie for me, because there is a real sense of family between all the characters, and it is great just to see them interact with one another.

Of course there are some fantastic car chases too... wink.gif

They also took a cue from the new Marvel films, by adding in a teaser at the end of the closing credits, bringing back yet another old character. While I had been thinking this would have been the perfect movie to cap off the franchise, it is plain that they intend to continue with it. If they can keep up making films like this one, it will be well worth it.

Posted by: McBadgere Nov 2 2011, 01:52 PM

Tonight, I've been informed, we're going to watch the first few episodes of the ORIGINAL Thundercats...Th'wife got the first season boxed set for her birthday yesterday...

All together now!!...

Thunder...Thunder!!...THUNDER!!...

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 5 2011, 03:23 AM

I just finished watching Trollhunter. In spite of how campy it sounds, it was surprisingly good. I am not a big fan of the hand-held camera genre, but like Quarantine and Cloverfield, this does it well. Basically a group of college students are trying to film a story about a poacher, who turns out to be a government sponsored troll hunter. He's sick and tired of all the secrecy around his job, so he lets them tag along with him as he does his work. In true horror movie fashion, they reveal a bit at a time, slowly upping the stakes until the final showdown with the 200' tall Jotun.

The trolls themselves are a bit cartoonish in appearance. But I cannot deny that they do fit the mythology of trolls, and what we are used to seeing in artwork. One look at them and you think "that's a troll alright." Rather than just some big horrific monster that they happen to call trolls. So it works for me. There are even little touches like the trolls being able to smell the blood of a Christian.

Finally, Norway itself was a real attraction in this movie. We see her in all her dark, brooding glory. The glistening waters of fjords, with mountains jutting about them like teeth. Clouds shrouding the tops of high peaks. Deep conifer forests. The landscape itself creates this feeling of powerful forces lying shrouded just beyond one's awareness. It is a land of giants and thunder gods.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Nov 5 2011, 03:55 AM

Sounds like perfect troll country!

Posted by: Captain Hammer Nov 5 2011, 04:45 AM

Sounds like it only needs one more thing: Dragons.

And somebody to shout at them...

Note: Literally, Skyrim live action trailer playing right as I write this on the tube-box...oh, wait, next ad now up.

Posted by: McBadgere Nov 5 2011, 08:00 AM

Watched Unstoppable last night...Excellent film, really enjoyed it...

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Nov 7 2011, 09:40 PM

Ken Burns' Civil War documentary.

History the world can never forget. It was probably the most terrible war America ever fought. By the end, 2% of the population had been killed because of the war. And still the South has never really gotten over it. It took another century after the 13th Amendment was ratified for Black Americans to be truly free, after all.

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 12 2011, 12:44 AM

I am officially hooked on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I just finished the first disc of season one. Tons of fun in classic Star Wars fashion. The only thing that really throws me is Anakin. He's not a whiny twerp like he is in the movies. Nor does he back-talk the Jedi Council and Obi-Wan. He even cautions his padawan (when did that happen ohmy.gif !) against disagreeing with the Council and acting rashly. Of course he still goes and does what he wants anyway, but he at least does it quietly, without rubbing it in the faces of the people he is defying. Now if this Anakin had been in the prequels, they would have been a lot more watchable.

The other characters are lots of fun too. In fact, the way the episodes tend to focus on one character or another is rather nice. Yoda was what I expected, and more, as he showed a sense of humor in his episode that I did not see coming. But in retrospect is not surprising. After all, I think my favorite line from Revenge of the Sith is when he tells the younglings: "Lost a planet has Master Kenobi, very embarrassing...".

Master Plo was very cool, everything we except a Jedi Master to be, and more. Cool, wise, self-sacrificing. Not to mention that mask he wears looks damn cool. Anakin's padawan Ahsoka is of course my early favorite. She's the classic spunky girl with a gun, except that she has a lightsaber instead. Plus she's a Twi'lek, whom I have always thought were most yummy. They even give personality to the clones, and the episode that focuses on small group of them on their own was one of the best.

Posted by: liliandra nadiar Nov 12 2011, 01:38 AM

Season two gets better. Particularly for those of us who like (over) reading subtext between female characters.

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 12 2011, 03:39 AM

Does that mean there are more than two female characters in season two then? Seriously, George Lucas is so lost when it comes to anything that has boobs.

Hmm, I just saw on the Wookiepedia that Ahsoka is a Togrutan, not a Twi'lek.

Posted by: liliandra nadiar Nov 12 2011, 04:24 AM

Ahsoka gets a two/three episode focus with another female padawan. There are more females brought in but not quite as regularly as some (at least me) would like.

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 17 2011, 08:05 PM

Farscape, all four seasons on blu-ray. Oooh-yeah!

Posted by: McBadgere Nov 24 2011, 02:03 PM

I forgot to say I'd been to see the new Twilight film...

It wasn't rubbish...Not as good as the last one...I wanted to punch Pattinson several times, but Lautner was quite well served by the script this time...

Not rubbish...My considered review... biggrin.gif ...

Edit - Just read all that ^ about Clone Wars...Quite liked it, but it all seemed to pass me by...The kids thought it was cool though...My boy had a Rex outfit... biggrin.gif ...Bless him...

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 25 2011, 05:09 AM

I just finished watching Turtle: The Incredible Journey. Absolutely wonderful. It had me nearly in tears at the end. I highly recommend it.

Posted by: Jacki Dice Nov 25 2011, 06:14 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Nov 24 2011, 08:09 PM) *

I just finished watching Turtle: The Incredible Journey. Absolutely wonderful. It had me nearly in tears at the end. I highly recommend it.


Wrothken damn near shrieked when he saw it on the Netflix queue. I'll be sure and tell him that you recommend it smile.gif

Posted by: McBadgere Nov 26 2011, 07:36 PM

Just watched Four Christmasses...Ayyy...Not good...Really not good...

Posted by: Fuzzy Knight Dec 5 2011, 03:02 AM

I just finished watching http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0905372/ and although I wasn't planning it on, since I've both heard and read that it hasn't stayed true to the original (I'll just call it that although this new movie is a prequel, not a remake) and I could've done fine without it. The only good thing this movie did was to make me want to watch the 1982's movie since I haven't seen it.
Now, the movie itself failed in creating any tension, mystery and "horror" for me and no real paranoia between the characters in the movie - which was the key ingredient in the movie from 1982. Some scenes and sequences are good but most of it was just decent, predictable and/or just uninspired. I'd probably rate it somewhere around 4-5/10 since the movie overall is decent/average or slightly below.

Also watched http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409847/ and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986263/ recently, and both of those movies had potential. Had heard from a friend with very similar taste and view on movies that Cowboys and Aliens was decent but could've been a lot better and I agree. It's a pretty creative setting and all that, and with the cast it has, the acting ain't bad but not great and the effects are good. But overall it didn't really do it for me and seems like that for a lot other people to - as most people have either rated it average or a bit higher, and those who really had their hopes up (or not) has rated it 3/10 and such. I would settle on 6/10.

Surrogates has the same problem. It has a very cool and interesting concept and plot, but everything else is mediocre and it lands on a 5/10 from me.

Think it's time to actually view some great movies now so I'm planning on watching The Usual Suspects as I haven't seen that one yet along with The Thing from 1982. And will look at The Fall too which looks really interesting.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Dec 5 2011, 04:23 AM

The Usual Suspects is great! One of my favorites!

If the plot doesn't keep you guessing until the end, you're brighter than me! wink.gif

Posted by: McBadgere Dec 14 2011, 05:29 AM

The other day we watched Scrooge, starring Albert Finney...The musical one...One of my all time fave films of all time mate!!... cool.gif ...

Posted by: Athynae Dec 14 2011, 02:19 PM

I don't get to see a lot of movies with the time constraints of raising two preteens who resemble wild animals but I did take both of my daughters to the midnight showing of Twilight: Breaking Dawn as that has become a necessity (for them). I enjoyed the movie, I have liked them all but I have to say the added "show" of watching a 25 year old and a 12 year old certainly enhances the quality of the films exponentially. It is hilarious every time Lautner exposes his chest to hear two girls squeal....HILARIOUS!!!!!!

And watching any film with my youngest son who is 10 is an interactive experience, ALWAYS. If there is music, he dances. If there is fighting, he simulates. And the list goes on. He doesn't like movies that just have you "sitting" there, hhmm wonder why????

Posted by: mALX Dec 14 2011, 02:46 PM

QUOTE(Athynae @ Dec 14 2011, 08:19 AM) *

I don't get to see a lot of movies with the time constraints of raising two preteens who resemble wild animals but I did take both of my daughters to the midnight showing of Twilight: Breaking Dawn as that has become a necessity (for them). I enjoyed the movie, I have liked them all but I have to say the added "show" of watching a 25 year old and a 12 year old certainly enhances the quality of the films exponentially. It is hilarious every time Lautner exposes his chest to hear two girls squeal....HILARIOUS!!!!!!


Are you sure there were only two squeals, not three?


QUOTE(Athynae @ Dec 14 2011, 08:19 AM) *

And watching any film with my youngest son who is 10 is an interactive experience, ALWAYS. If there is music, he dances. If there is fighting, he simulates. And the list goes on. He doesn't like movies that just have you "sitting" there, hhmm wonder why????



He sounds like a future Rocky Horror Picture Show fan !!

Posted by: Athynae Dec 14 2011, 08:22 PM

No, not three, sorry, he's a bit young for me, now Carlisle is another story...hehe.

ROCKY HORROR OMG!!!! Now those were the days....ok, so if you know about it then that means only one thing so I ask WHO DID YOU PLAY?????? ROFL!!!!!!! I'll tell if you do.

And if Mitchell ever does that I truly hope I never know, hahahahahaha.

Posted by: mALX Dec 14 2011, 09:05 PM

QUOTE(Athynae @ Dec 14 2011, 02:22 PM) *

No, not three, sorry, he's a bit young for me, now Carlisle is another story...hehe.

ROCKY HORROR OMG!!!! Now those were the days....ok, so if you know about it then that means only one thing so I ask WHO DID YOU PLAY?????? ROFL!!!!!!! I'll tell if you do.

And if Mitchell ever does that I truly hope I never know, hahahahahaha.



Magenta, of course (no need to wear the red frizzy wig here, lol). I had to tip my head upside down and hair spray it while tossing it to get the hair right.

Posted by: Athynae Dec 14 2011, 11:07 PM

How did I know??? Well, someday we will have to get together and compare notes. I did wear a wig but only because my hair was very short and also not quite red enough.

It sure would be fun to do the TIME WARP again.....(as the song plays in my head)

Posted by: mALX Dec 15 2011, 12:07 AM

QUOTE(Athynae @ Dec 14 2011, 05:07 PM) *

How did I know??? Well, someday we will have to get together and compare notes. I did wear a wig but only because my hair was very short and also not quite red enough.

It sure would be fun to do the TIME WARP again.....(as the song plays in my head)



I almost wrote out the lyrics to it - didn't have time, the pup was acting up, lol.

Posted by: Athynae Dec 15 2011, 01:39 AM

Well all we really need is

A jump to the left
and then a step to the right
put your hands on your hips
and pull your knees in tight

but it's the pelvic thrust
that really drives you insane.....

That should get Foxy's attention.....

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: mALX Dec 15 2011, 02:07 AM

QUOTE(Athynae @ Dec 14 2011, 07:39 PM) *

Well all we really need is

A jump to the left
and then a step to the right
put your hands on your hips
and pull your knees in tight

but it's the pelvic thrust
that really drives you insane.....

That should get Foxy's attention.....

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!



Where has that man gone, anyway? I've left plenty of dherty in-you-end-oh around in comments, not a peep from him !!

Posted by: Athynae Dec 15 2011, 04:32 AM

Might have to send out the nixhounds.....smoke signals???? HEY I KNOW, we could send him a DVD of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW!!!!!!

Posted by: mALX Dec 15 2011, 05:01 AM

QUOTE(Athynae @ Dec 14 2011, 10:32 PM) *

Might have to send out the nixhounds.....smoke signals???? HEY I KNOW, we could send him a DVD of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW!!!!!!



Usually just talking dirty (or even just insinuations of talking dirty) brings him popping in.

Posted by: Athynae Dec 15 2011, 12:44 PM

(Shakes head) He must be losing his touch, poor Foxy.....or he got caught in a ....oh geez....time warp.....

Posted by: treydog Dec 15 2011, 12:58 PM

QUOTE
Think it's time to actually view some great movies now so I'm planning on watching The Usual Suspects as I haven't seen that one yet along with The Thing from 1982. And will look at The Fall too which looks really interesting.


Second haute's high recommendation of The Usual Suspects. I do not want to say ANYTHING about it- beyond the fact it is one of the best ensemble cast acting jobs I have ever seen- and yet ONE actor truly shines. You will see.

The Fall- It may seem hard to follow at the beginning, but hang on. The visuals are absolutely stunning, as is the story they tell.

Posted by: McBadgere Dec 16 2011, 05:50 AM

*Studies nails*...Probably shouldn't mention that I have a mega thing for Magenta...*Sniff*...

biggrin.gif ...

Anyone seen Clue?...It's a film based on...Well, Clue or Cluedo depending on where you are, with - Y'know - Miss Scarlett and Colonel Mustard (no, not you) and all that...And Tim Curry was the butler...Absolutely brilliant...The kids loved it when they saw it...

I think actually it'll be our next Now Watching...

Well, after Sherlock Holmes 2 tomorrow anyways... biggrin.gif ...

Posted by: liliandra nadiar Dec 16 2011, 06:16 AM

I loved Clue! biggrin.gif Esp with the ending 'twists and turns'. biggrin.gif

*Goes off to Netflix to put it on next shipping.*

Posted by: mALX Dec 16 2011, 05:37 PM

QUOTE(treydog @ Dec 15 2011, 06:58 AM) *

I'm planning on watching "The Thing" from 1982.


I prefer "The Swamp Thing" with Adrienne Barbeau and Heather Locklear.


@ McBadgere - "Miss Scarlet in the Broom Closet with...a Rope!"

Posted by: SubRosa Dec 16 2011, 10:24 PM

I have been watching Farscape on blu-ray for several weeks now. I have seen the series before, so I know how good it is. But it has been a few years. Wow, it still blows me away. Most shows take a season to really catch their stride. This one has it in the first episode. It has it all, excellent actors, strong stories, real character development, and of course plenty of sci-fi action.

I recently finished the end of Season One story arc, which was such a perfect cap for the events of that season (don't want to give away spoilers), and of course introduces Scorpius, one of my favorite villains ever. Just the other night I saw The Way We Weren't from Season Two, which was even better. Just astounding work.

One of the things I like best about Farscape is that it is not a goody two-shoes show with nice people who all get along and want to do the right thing (Yes, I am looking at you Star Trek). It is the opposite. A rag tag band of escaped prisoners, renegade commandos, and one lost astronaut. Everyone has their own agenda, their own needs, and they follow those goals, sometimes to the detriment of everyone else. People bicker, they fight, but at the same time they are all literally in the same boat, so are stuck with one another.

Through all of that, we see bonds of real friendship slowly develop between these characters, which is the real treat to see. It all happens slowly and naturally, nothing ever feels forced. As this happens, the character's themselves change, become more mature, and learn to live with one another. Like I said, real character development. The Way We Weren't is one of the most dramatic examples of this, because most of the episode is flashbacks to 3 years before, and we contrast the Aeryn Sun from that time, the one we know now, and they are two radically different people.

So to keep it short, if you like sci-fi and have not seen it, stop waiting. Netflix has it. Or better yet, buy it now. All four seasons on blu-ray only cost me $100 on Amazon.

Posted by: McBadgere Dec 17 2011, 06:50 AM

I never got round to Farscape...I used to read all the Sci-fi mags with it in, but never seemed to grab me...They were very good (Browder and Black) when they both came over to SG-1 though...Is that the one with the girl with the frizzy red hair and mini skirts?...There's one series with that...Or was that Lexx?...Never saw that either... biggrin.gif ...

And mALX, ropes are not my particular thing, but if it involves being in a broom cupboard with Lesley Ann Warren then hell yeah!!... tongue.gif laugh.gif ...

Posted by: Olen Dec 17 2011, 12:27 PM

I second SubRosa, Farscape is one of the best SF series going. Pity about them not making the final season (especially after 4 which had a bit too much build up) but they did make two 90 minute episodes to round it off.

It's the characters which make it, as with most great bits of fiction. A lot of SF series (Star Trek being the most vomit inducing example) seem to lack a drive. Everyone works together in a utopian future and good is good and evil is evil. Farscape isn't like that and some of what they do is pretty questionable, but they have characters and it works. I really reccommend getting it and watching it over Christmas if you haven't see it.

Another SF great is Firefly. Such a pity they never made more of it because it had good characters and lacked moral clarity too.

Currently however I'm watching the TV adaptions of Miss Marple and Poirot. Nothing deep but good entertainment nonetheless.

Posted by: McBadgere Dec 17 2011, 07:39 PM

Babylon 5 was always good too...

The wife is a big Firefly fan...Hence the Castle obsession too...Not that I'm complaining...Stana Katic...*Sigh*... biggrin.gif ...

Aaamywho...Went to see Sherlock Holmes 2...Most excellent film...The only fly in the Chardonnay...Steven Fry was woefully miscast as Mycroft Holmes...The only one for me is Charles Gray from the ITV series from the 80s...Most excellent that man was...

Charles Gray being the Professor from The Rocky Horror Picture show... biggrin.gif ...Aaand we're back to Magenta... tongue.gif ...

Posted by: mALX Dec 17 2011, 08:11 PM

QUOTE(McBadgere @ Dec 17 2011, 01:39 PM) *

biggrin.gif ...Aaand we're back to Magenta... tongue.gif ...



smile.gif

Posted by: McBadgere Dec 18 2011, 04:20 AM

Oh hell I'm lolling... laugh.gif ...

It's early here...Very early...Just trundling through the film channels for some wallpaper while I write...And guess what's on?...Yep Rocky Horror!!...

Oh yes...Magenta coloured wallpaper...Followed by some Rose Tinted world methinks!!...

Posted by: mALX Dec 18 2011, 04:22 AM

QUOTE(McBadgere @ Dec 17 2011, 10:20 PM) *

Oh hell I'm lolling... laugh.gif ...

It's early here...Very early...Just trundling through the film channels for some wallpaper while I write...And guess what's on?...Yep Rocky Horror!!...

Oh yes...Magenta coloured wallpaper...Followed by some Rose Tinted world methinks!!...



Lol !!

Posted by: Grits Dec 18 2011, 11:42 AM

Thanks, folks, now I have Farscape on the way for some Christmas week viewing. That was a good reason to temporarily upgrade the Netflix membership. smile.gif

Firefly is among my favorite shows ever. I've probably said it before, but my top favorite is still The Wire.

A quick glance through the bookcase reveals that the only TV shows I have on DVD are Firefly, Band of Brothers, Fawlty Towers, and Generation Kill.


Right now I'm watching Homeland, Parks and Rec, The Office, and Modern Family. The Office is losing me this season. I'll probably swap it for 30 Rock when that comes back on.



Posted by: Thomas Kaira Dec 18 2011, 12:03 PM

Latest film: Aftershock.

It's a Chinese film about a family that was torn apart by the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. A mother is forced to make a heart-shattering decision, and the rest of the film follows the separated family members as they struggle to cope with their lives after the earthquake, until another one brings them back together.

No political messages, no hidden agendas, it's simply a film directed in memory of the 240,000 people who lost their lives in Tangshan in 1976.

WARNING: Major tearjerker.

Posted by: mALX Dec 18 2011, 06:17 PM

QUOTE(Grits @ Dec 18 2011, 05:42 AM) *

Thanks, folks, now I have Farscape on the way for some Christmas week viewing. That was a good reason to temporarily upgrade the Netflix membership. smile.gif

Firefly is among my favorite shows ever. I've probably said it before, but my top favorite is still The Wire.

A quick glance through the bookcase reveals that the only TV shows I have on DVD are Firefly, Band of Brothers, Fawlty Towers, and Generation Kill.


Right now I'm watching Homeland, Parks and Rec, The Office, and Modern Family. The Office is losing me this season. I'll probably swap it for 30 Rock when that comes back on.



I love Fawlty Towers! Oh, I don't know why, but I thought Farscape was drawn cartoons that came on a daily flip calendar.

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