Reply With QuoteDidn't like The Great Escape? Man.
Originally Posted by dethtoll
How this contradicts with my disliking of The Great Escape? I mean, do you consider The Great Escape NOT an action movie?
Also, I don't consider myself an elitist, I don't think that simple fact of loving some of Kubrick's, Hitchkock's, Lynch's, or Polanski's works makes a person elitist.
Last edited by 242; 3rd Nov 2009 at 19:36.
Didn't like The Great Escape? Man.
Nah, dude, I'm pretty sure mentioning these four directors in one sentence makes you an elitist.
But, hey, elitism is the new black (or was it the other way around...)
Started watching s3 of Dexter... it's still goofy fun.
Hey, I like some of Hitchcock, Lynch, Polanski and Kubrick's work *as well as* The Great Escape. By the way, there's very little about loving Hitchcock that is elitist - the guy was a master craftsman and remains one of the top directors, but his films are definitely not arthouse.
My girlfriend and I watched Wolf Creek and Eyes Wide Shut this weekend past. 1st time for WC, and about the 3rd for EWS.
Both good, for vastly different reasons.
I saw the pilot of V last night. It's apparently a remake of an old miniseries in the 80s, but it looks damn good, and somewhat smacks of District 9, though I know it won't be going in the same direction. I thought it looked pretty promising.
I wish I lived in everyone-looks-like-a-porn-star city.
That's not all, I also love many old Soviet flicks about idiotic problems based on ideology/politics of that period (like f.e. struggle for sign of acceptance of newly not quite finished bakery from the state committee).
You guys don't know what you're missing, they are amazing
I agree, plus not all of Kubrick's or Polanski's films are arthouse.By the way, there's very little about loving Hitchcock that is elitist - the guy was a master craftsman and remains one of the top directors, but his films are definitely not arthouse.
Last edited by 242; 4th Nov 2009 at 09:46.
I like them too. I just watched Aelita recently and loved it. Basically depressed Soviet scientist builds a rocket, goes to Mars, leads worker's revolution among Martians.That's not all, I also love many old Soviet flicks about idiotic problems based on ideology/politics of that period (like f.e. struggle for sign of acceptance of newly not quite finished bakery from the state committee).
You guys don't know what you're missing, they are amazing
The production itself was posh, considering, big sets and elaborate (and funny) costuming; the lead character was charismatic. But the hilariously non-sequitor ideology they throw in has a special kind of charm. They just couldn't resist introducing the 60-plus guy without showing him sneaking off to underground cocktail parties with polished shoes montaging to peasants in the snow wearing pieces of tied up leather for shoes. Haha ... so out-of-touch with today's reality it's almost a good question which part was more fantasy, the ideology or the Mars trip.
BTW, did anyone catch the "V" premier? The original series has a warm spot in my memory (that I probably don't want to spoil watching it again), and I'm a sucker for alien invasion tropes anyway, and it played its cards about like I expected... So I was happy with it.
I was being pretty tongue-in-cheek about my elitist comment. Though for what it's worth, I think that while Polanski, Kubrick and (to a lesser extent) Finch may be superstars among film buffs, your average young movie-goer today (and they are the plurality of movie-goers) couldn't name any films by them.
The new series of V is rather good.
Speaking of Hitchcock, I watched North By Northwest again.
they just don't make em like they used to, eh
I've had it with Flash Forward.
Bullshit broad brush tropes across a shitty Channel 5 canvas.
Life is too short to keep watching this crap.
I just finished watching Generation Kill. God, what a series - it's not quite up there with The Wire season 4, but I think it's as good as season 1 and I like it better than season 5. Fantastic acting, great writing, and moving in surprising ways. Also, I think I've just become a big fan of Alexander Sarsgard.
I've just watched Pandorum.
Really good movie. I won't spoil anything, but it seems that after shitty "Terminator" or "Surrogates" there are some interesting sci-fi movies in the cinemas finally. Frist "Moon", now "Pandorum". And "Avatar" is out soon...
Ah, Moon! Thanks for reminding me of that one bukary. Need to check that one out.
Yesterday I watched Ultraviolet, the film Kurt Wimmer did after Equilibrium. The story and characters are rather weak. No stand-out performances to speak of either. A lot of the actionscenes feel like they're just recycled ideas from Equilibrium. That's not to say they're not fun to watch though. And the film does look good. The actors are all very beautiful, I wouldn't be surprised if Milla Jovovich isn't the only one with "Model" at the top of her resumé here. Most of the special effects are nice and fit the overall style of the film well. And the stark white and brightly colored surroundings must've been a big influence for the look of DICE's Mirror's Edge. In fact, come to think of it, the whole film looks like a L'Oréal commercial. A L'Oréal commercial with lots of shootouts and swordfights. I'd give it a 5/10. Not a waste of time but not very rewarding either.
Well to be fair, the only guy who was ever makin' em like that was ol' Hitch. You might be interested to know that a 50th anniversary, DVD/Blue-ray edition has just come out too.
I watched a film called You Can Count On Me last night and it was an excellent and highly affecting, little character drama. It stars Laura Linney, for my money the best actress working today, and Mark Ruffalo as siblings, Ruffalo being the wayward brother who has returned to visit his sister and her son who still live in the town they grew up in. Not the most original premise on paper but rarely has this kind of story told as honestly and unsentimentally as this, nor does it descend into forced tragedy. Linney is, of course, excellent but Ruffalo is the real suprise; he's usually relegated to supporting roles but here he flexes some serious acting muscles. He arrives on screen like a wounded animal, and juggles all the subtleties of the character (the mood swings, the slowness of thought broken by moments of striking perception, the rootless, dissatisfaction) with ease, while still delivering a very charasmatic and sympathetic performance. The film is also quite funny, Mathew Broderick (who I usually hate) has a funny supporting role, in a warm and very human way.
9.5/10
Last edited by Angel Dust; 12th Nov 2009 at 02:34.
I'd give it 3/10 and it gets 1 point for looking nice and 2 for Milla because I love her. The rest of it was tripe imho, and even the action scenes were mostly lame.
How do you know? I thought only the 1st episode had been aired. I'm guessing you DLed it? I must get hold of it when I get back to the mothership.
Stanley Donen does a pretty good job in Charade, though; I'd say it is to North by Northwest what that film is to, say, The Man Who Knew Too Much. NbNW does stand out for me as the most genuinely *fun* Hitchcock movie.
Yeah, Charade is a good film but it's too much of an obvious homage for me to think of Donen as another guy 'makin' em like that'. North By Northwest is right up there with my favourite Hitchcock films, the others being Notorious and Vertigo. It's smart, funny, inventive, exciting, has Cary Grant and a tremendous score; what's not to love?
Which The Man Who Knew Too Much are you referring to? I assume it's the later remake? I've only seen the earlier film, with Peter Lorre, and I greatly prefer The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes for early Hitchcock. Hmm, I might get the remake out next time I'm in the DVD shop.
Nearing the end of s3 of Dexter and it's heating up nicely... took a while though.
I'm afraid I haven't seen the original, only the remake with Jimmy Stewart. Haven't watched any Hitchcock in a while, which is a shame, but I did just order North by Northwest on Blu-ray.
I just saw Tell No One. It's been a long, long time since I've seen as taut and well-written a thriller. Enthralling throughout, and none of the performances hit a single false note. What is it with the French and their uncanny ability to act so well?
Goes down as one of the best movies I've seen all year.
Finished s3 of Dexter, that was funnnnn. s4 here we go.
I recently watched an old cheesy Martial Arts film with Jackie Chan called Drunken Master. It was quite enjoyable and had a bit of comedy thrown in as per usual with JC films. The only thing that annoyed me was that my copy had this annoying habit of switching audio languages without me telling it to. So one minute they're speaking in the oirginal Chinese(not sure if it's Mandarin or Cantonese) the suddenly it changes to a really bad American English dub with horrible Chinese accents.
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