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 !!

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.)

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.

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.

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.



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

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.

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.

Ah, you guys have drifted into my wheelhouse here. I love Once Upon a Time in the West! Here 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!*

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

We just finished watching The Fall 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.

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.

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

If by P&P I hope you mean the 1995 magnum opus starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth!

Was there ever any other

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.

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

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.

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 as well as .

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.

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

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!

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.

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?


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.

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

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.

The same with the "Special Edition" of 300

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 !!!

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.

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.

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.

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...


Gooooood choices.

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!

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

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 !!!)