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OK, I finally saw *Grand Budapest Hotel*.
Pretty cute movie. They really must have called in some favors to get all those guys doing bit parts (except for Jason Schwartzman -- he kind of sucks). I was disappointed Keitel used a bald cap (looked like) rather than shaving his head. What a lightweight.
Anyway, I still think *Mr Magoo* (with Leslie Nielsen), *Josie and the Pussycats*, and *Scooby Doo* were better kids movies, but this was kind of cute.
*American Sniper* -- cute movie. Not really a "war movie," but not not a "war movie." I think that guy Chuck or whatever the main guy's name was had a wifey who looked good in a sundress.
My copy was dubbed in French, so I learned some good slang....neat.
Also, i don't have the subtitles for *Army of Shadows*, but there wasn't very much "underground 1940s" slang in there -- kind of almost a classical script. I didn't get everything, when some of the characters were mumbling a bit, in the 'shadows," I suppose.
Q: Does anyone besides me find it really annoying to watch movies with subtitles on? Me, I hate it. I'd rather just guess at what people are saying. It destroys my appreciation, for example, of Japanese movies, some of which are kind of OK, I guess, because I don't get the whole thing, attn is divided.
I saw the Kevin Smith horror movie Tusk this week. It was very strange and a terrible terrible movie. Not funny at all and just too weird for words with plot holes that a jumbo jet could fly through.
Hey, *Tusk*! That was a Fleetwood Mac album or song or something.
What's the deal with Kevin Smith, anyway? I don't get his movies at all, but apparently people like "him." I'm guessing it's a Commander Porkins-type thing.
I love his early stuff, Clerks, Mallrats, Dogma are all great (to me) but his later stuff from Jersey Girl on are very hit or miss.Quote:
Originally posted by Jizzelbin
I forgot about *Dogma* -- I remember being amused. I honestly have tried (well, half-assed "try") to enjoy *Clerks*, but it just didn't click for me.
So I don't know what it is. Too "underground"? Not in principle for me -- I watch and enjoy all kinds of weird shit. Just not my people. Plus, isn't Kevin Smith a neckbeard or something? I really do try to appreciate and understand different perspectives, but maybe movies is a good "test ground" for just how successful one can be at appreciating diverse points of view, or degrees of conformity.
Similar to how the premier scientific ontologist, Roman Ingarden, used the "literary work of art" as a fallow ground for testing his more general ideas about ideal objects. For those who don't know, the topic is not some hand-waving, navel-gazing, deep-thoughts-for-undergraduates, but is a central research topic in artificial intelligence, computer science in general, with applications in biomedical informatics, and, essentially everything else.
Neckbeard I had to look up, I would say not quite for Kevin.
I don't know. I saw some guy during my commute yesterday who seemed pretty neckbeardy, and I thought .... well, who knows what I thought, it just made me think of Kevin Smith. This guy was awesome! Orca-fat, late thirties in age, long pony tail, carrying two pizzas (the kind you buy premade to bake at home -- not frozen, but you see them at grocery stores and some pizza shops), earbuds in. I really, don't have any judgment -- just some guy doing his thing, whatever, but it was kind of like "yep, that category of person exists, and here's a good example."
*Love Actually* was a cute little movie. Very much not really a standard romCom/"chick flick."
I don't understand everything about the characters -- mainly, what was Hugh Grant's problem, anyway? Kind of weenie to be one of the most powerful men in the world.
But still a nice little movie.
I just watched High Fidelity. First time in about 12 years. Very good movie that starts slow but keeps getting better as it goes and finishes really strong.
I don't mind. I'd much rather read subtitles than suffer through bad dubbing.Quote:
Originally posted by Jizzelbin;246306...
I agree, that was kind of a cute movie. I think I've seen it twice. But, honestly, didn't you find yourself getting annoyed at that Cusack fellow getting so butthurt about some random ex-girlfriend?Quote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
I feel the same way about *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*.
Not really a knock on those kinds of movies, especially, just an item that kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
Fair enough. Different strokes, I guess. I'm kind of offended by having to look at the screen, though, much less having to use bifocal over-under vision (no, I don't wear bifocals, you you know what I mean).Quote:
Originally posted by Elendil's Heir
I take it ur not a big fun of chopsockey Kung Fu movies! The dubbing is what makes those movies cool -- you can watch the awesome fights!
Interesting, I was comparing the main character Rob Gordon to Bernard Black of the Britcom Black Books and he seemed far less annoying. Also Rob grew as the movie went on to some degree. I loved it when he realized the one girlfriend that was completely out of his league was also extremely shallow and boring and he couldn't figure how he had missed that before. I came close to shouting at him, "You missed it because she looked like Catherine Zeta-Jones." But at least he matured enough to realize that he needed to actually commit to a relationship.Quote:
Originally posted by JizzelbinI agree, that was kind of a cute movie. I think I've seen it twice. But, honestly, didn't you find yourself getting annoyed at that Cusack fellow getting so butthurt about some random ex-girlfriend?Quote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
I feel the same way about *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*.
Not really a knock on those kinds of movies, especially, just an item that kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
Well, sure, and if the dubbing (or subtitles) are inadvertently hilarious, that can be part of the fun.Quote:
Originally posted by Jizzelbin
That may be so. I went through a years-long "phase" (I guess most people would call it) of trading Hong Kong (mostly) movies on VHS with the boyfriend of another friend, and I'm not sure I think the dubbing in those is intentionally bad. To paraphrase Mark Twain, it's more funny than it actually is.Quote:
Originally posted by Elendil's HeirWell, sure, and if the dubbing (or subtitles) are inadvertently hilarious, that can be part of the fun.Quote:
Originally posted by Jizzelbin
I will still defend efforts among our contemporaries to dub "serious" movies. Hey, I know French dubs of big Hollywood movies are perfectly fine. I just wish I could have the same option for European movies, in the United States.
In other news, what is it exactly people like about the movie *Casino*? James Woods, a cartoon character of someone even an otherwise nice guy would spit on or kick in the balls on a dare, gets a LOT of screen time. Whatserface -- sharon Stone -- is an un-nuanced really shitty character.
Rothstein aka Bob De Niro is just a milktoast.
Joe Pesci had the only character you could root for -- he wasn't that bad, just some cowboy.
And too much razzle-dazzle with the explodings and stuff.
And Alan King sucks and so does Kevin Pollak in large doses.
Casino is a good but not great movie. It is not generally considered a classic or even a movie that sucks you into watching it like Goodfellas, Godfather Parts I & II or Pulp Fiction.
You summed up the acting pretty well in Casino.
To be fair, it is Scarface that I think is oddly over-rated. Pacino chews so much scenery that Shatner, Katherine Hepburn, Connery and Brando are all left in awe of the complete over the top hamming up in the movie. To me Casino is remembered well but Scarface is put up their with the four great movies I mentioned above and it doesn't measure up at all.
Naw, you're thinking the nineties retro kids. It's *Carlito's Way* that gets all the attention for "hard-core, man, let's play an X-Box." The PacinoScarface was more like "I'ma get some! Compton, yo."
I never heard anyone who wasn't a kid defend *Scarface*, though....but it's kind of a cute little movie if you get wasted and are bored, unlike *Casino*, which is just painful.
Avengers Age of Ultron was a fun movie. I won't go into details but Josh Whedon did a good job setting up certain things and then not delivering according to the tropes. It had a good mix of humor and adventure.
Actually that's a good rec. Not joking -- I like to hear what people are watching. FWIW I have been hearing "around the watercooler" a lot about Whedon lately -- from people who didn't see *Buffy* and *Angel* and stuff. So, I should probably see the latest, just to keep up.
I just saw Avengers: Age of Ultron tonight and also liked it very much. Good mix of action, jokes and quiet character moments; a worthy addition to the fast-growing onscreen Marvel Universe. I'd give it a solid A.
Also recently seen:
The 39 Steps
Hitchcock's last British movie before going to Hollywood. A great pre-WWII B&W thriller about an innocent man on the run, going from the crowded streets of London to the moors of Scotland and back again.
Kingsman
Fun, clever, action-packed spy spoof. Not perfect, but worth a look.
Safe House
Denzel Washington is a turncoat CIA agent and Ryan Reynolds is the scared young agent who has to bring him in, even as a mysterious crew of assassins is trying to kill them both. I saw the twist coming a mile away, but enjoyed it just the same.
Last night watched Jaws and then later The Great Escape.
Jaws is still pretty awesome no matter how many times I've seen it. It was a very good movie with some great acting especially by Robert Shaw playing the crazed Captain Ahab Quint.
I was surprised, my kids who rarely enjoy war movies actually seem to like The Great Escape. It is long, it can be confusing but it has a decent amount of humor mixed in and I think it helped that I mentioned it was half the inspiration for Hogan's Heroes which they use to enjoy. A good story if far from the true in too many places but a very well acted movie across the board.
I can never get sick of watching *Jaws* -- Robert Shaw is a force of nature in there.
I give *Avengers Ultron* a solid B-. It probably didn't help that it was dubbed in Russian, which I don't speak. I didn't care for the movie, though. Too much Hulk, and ScarJo was wasted, it seemed to me.
OTOH, *Fast and Furious 7* was....well, it wasn't a good movie. But, hey, it was good at being a ridiculous movie. Yeah, I know, all that Diesel was wasted on me. It was better than *Superfast*, though.
I know what it is about *Avengers* -- it seems like I've seen everybody before, doing the same superhero stuff. Oversaturated presence. And it's true -- how many of those Hulk/Thor/Captain/Iron? A lot, that's how much. Just like Elliot Gould in the 1970s. Too much.
ETA what's the deal with the new *Ghostbusters*?
Ah Elliot Gould, a top actor, but not a great actor.Quote:
Originally posted by Jizzelbin
I'm not looking forward to the new Ghostbusters. I don't like the cast, they can't improve on the original anyway and yet it is not a sequel but a remake from what I've heard so far. I hope that is not true.
Not bad points. Not trying to badmouth Elliot Gould but he *was* in about everything in the 1970s. He and Donald Sutherland. And Parnell Jones.Quote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
Yeah, I don't know anything about the "remake." Apparently it is going to be a "more real, grittier Ghostbusters." Meh. Without 8/10 of the original cast, it's something I'd not be inclined to watch. Maybe good for taking the kids out on a hot summer day. I'll just watch the regular.
Just saw *Big Trouble In Little China* again. Forgot about the animatronic beastman and the floating head. Classic lines -- I wish I could remember them all.
Son of a bitch must pay!
I like that goofy movie. Fun stuff and never treats itself seriously.Quote:
Originally posted by Jizzelbin
Exactly. What other movie has the main character ineptly impersonating Duke Wayne every other line?Quote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
Also saw *Charley Varrick* (sp?) again yesterday or today. I forgot how pretty tragic Matthau's character was -- it was a pretty dire situation, especially to get John Vernon involved. Gnarly movie.
Saw about half of *Ghost World* again -- still, a sweet movie. I still like it.
Who's seen *Dazed and Confused* recently?
Me! That's who. I forgot about all those young actors in it -- pretty astonishing, but I guess that was twenty-odd years ago.
Still an entertaining movie -- and I didn't really grow up in the 1970s, so the nostalgia people talk about is lost on me. However, the 1990s were mostly a retread of the 1970s, so it was a popular movie among people I knew in high school.
Also, who knew that John Milius was a director as well as a screenwriter?
I've seen *Big Wednesday* a few times, including recently, but it wasn't until watching the credits that I clocked his name and was like "What? He's the guy who did *Apocalypse Now*, right?" Apparently, same guy. Also, it seems he was a huge deal in the 1970s, and major friends with people like Lucas, Coppola, Spielberg.
That is a pretty shitty movie, but good, honest, unpretentious entertainment.
What's the deal with Gary Busey, anyway? Did he get wasted a few times too many and get in a fight? And, whatever happened to Jan Michael Vincent? He was in so many OK movies -- one would think he would have been the next Rambo or Arnold or something like that.
Figured it out. Busey had some car accident and got all fucked up in the head.
Jan-Michael Vincent -- holy shit. Apparently he was a raging alcoholic and just sort of petered out. Weird.
Check it out: George Jones movie might be coming out soon-ish.
Exactly right. They can give Johnny Cash a hero's welcome, even though he wasn't anything, but to accompany the crappy IMHO Ray Charles movie, it really needs a bookend in the form of a movie about Ray's peer, George Jones. Ray was a great musician, but he and George were absolutely peers in vocals.
It's official. *The Island of Dr. Moreau* is the most ridiculous movie ever made.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/omnibus I'll just leave this here.
Would you just stop, already, Trojan Dipshit! Answer the fucking questions.
That "dictionary" is wrong as rain. Who wrote that piece of shit? Ablative or dative plural.Quote:
Originally posted by Trojan Man
That is all.
And, to actually say someSTRUCTIVE!
Seriously, *Casablanca* iis equallly as great with the rifftrax. Sort of amusing.
You taught us to ignore pain. --"Yes, John, is it working?" Not so good, sorry, Colonel.
*Donnie Brasco* is kind of a fun retread movie. Good 1970s clothes, cool story (apparently mostly true -- it is pretty harrowing), and a rare chance to see Al Pacino doing a more subdued impersonation of himself.
Plus, like holy shit, this movie's got everybody and his mother in it.
Recently seen:
The Guard
Buddy comedy with Brendan Gleeson (is he even capable of not being wonderful in a movie?) as a jaded, offbeat, whore-loving rural Irish beat cop working with a buttoned-down, by-the-book FBI special agent played by Don Cheadle. Dark humor, f-bombs galore, very violent, but a lot of fun.
The Second Death
An 11-minute-long Irish short film of a man trying to drink away his guilty memories. No fewer than three future Game of Thrones stars appear in it. Concise and haunting.
The Thing
Having seen bits and pieces of this 1982 John Carpenter horror/sf flick over the years, I finally sat down and watched the whole thing from start to finish. The sfx are a little dated now, but the mood of isolation, paranoia and futility is still compelling.
The Birth of a Nation
Saw a remastered print of this groundbreaking melodrama. It is quaint, sometimes laughable, to modern eyes, but certainly innovative for its day - and its awful political and social impact cannot be denied. Moviemaking genius applied to the worst possible ends. Here's an interesting article on its centennial this year: http://www.vulture.com/2015/02/why-w...of-movies.html
Pulp Fiction is still made of awesome.
Wow. Two posts back-to-to-back pretty awesome.
See, spitzer? Learn from your elders!
Of course *PF* and *RD* are pretty cool.
*The Thing* is really a bizarre movie -- I assume everyone knows the Howard Hawks "original." For a long time I was butthurt that people seemed to have forgot this was a remake. Not sure why I cared at all, but like all movie nuts I went through a Hawks "phase," which never ended for me.
I learn from Google, as I've been told to. By an elder.
nm
Butthurt, much, spitzer?
Geez.
At least the next person should share an amusing quote from a JCarpenter flick.
Ferchrissakes.
And I'm not your elder, you motherfuck. Well, pretty sure not.
The rest of the board, OTOH -- these guys are old as shit.
So listen up, sonny.
I believe you're my elder by a year or two, if you want to grasp desperately at that. You silly old coot.
I thought so, you little scrub. So tell me funny joke about movie!