Movies I've seen lately
Gone with the wind: I've put this one off for ever, but finaly saw this 3 1/2 hour, classic movie.
It was much better than I thought it would be. I sort of expected the disapointment I had when seeing 'Citizen Kane'- which I tought was a pretty dull movie.
Both Lee and Gable are terrific, Although Gable's charisma makes him the best remembered character.
Its hard to believe that at the time of its release, the classic line 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn'- was considered very extrieme by a lot of people. I read on imdb that The Producer, David O. Selznick, had to pay a 5,000 dollar fine for that line, and that audiences walked out because of that line.
Times sure have chainged.
Rhett Buttler just became one of my favorite characters- his honesty, gutsiness, and pretenciousness (Not sure thats a word ) so resemble myself, and my other favorite characters- Hannibal Lecter, J.R. Ewing....
I think Scarlet O'hara is too mean/bleak/sad a character to carry a 3 1/2 hour movie, but Rhett keeps it going.
Reservoir Dogs: A great movie. Its one of the few movies in which I lost all sence of time. I was watching it for what I tought was about half an hour- I see its an hour and twenty two minutes into it.
The timing as great, but this is after 'Memento', which, in timing, is impossible to top.
I thought Tim Roth's accent was very fake sounding.
A few of movies I'm gonna see in the coming days:
'Gods and Monsters' (Ian McKellen and Branden Frasier)
'Winslow Boy' (Nigel Hawthorne and Jeremy Northam)
'Ocean's eleven'- the remake- already seen it (George Cloony and Brad Pitt)
'Mulholand Drive'
'Ali' - hated it the first time- giving it a second chance (Will Smith and Jon Voight)
'Interview with a vampire' (Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt)
It was much better than I thought it would be. I sort of expected the disapointment I had when seeing 'Citizen Kane'- which I tought was a pretty dull movie.
Both Lee and Gable are terrific, Although Gable's charisma makes him the best remembered character.
Its hard to believe that at the time of its release, the classic line 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn'- was considered very extrieme by a lot of people. I read on imdb that The Producer, David O. Selznick, had to pay a 5,000 dollar fine for that line, and that audiences walked out because of that line.
Times sure have chainged.
Rhett Buttler just became one of my favorite characters- his honesty, gutsiness, and pretenciousness (Not sure thats a word
) so resemble myself, and my other favorite characters- Hannibal Lecter, J.R. Ewing.... I think Scarlet O'hara is too mean/bleak/sad a character to carry a 3 1/2 hour movie, but Rhett keeps it going.
Reservoir Dogs: A great movie. Its one of the few movies in which I lost all sence of time. I was watching it for what I tought was about half an hour- I see its an hour and twenty two minutes into it.
The timing as great, but this is after 'Memento', which, in timing, is impossible to top.
I thought Tim Roth's accent was very fake sounding.
A few of movies I'm gonna see in the coming days:
'Gods and Monsters' (Ian McKellen and Branden Frasier)
'Winslow Boy' (Nigel Hawthorne and Jeremy Northam)
'Ocean's eleven'- the remake- already seen it (George Cloony and Brad Pitt)
'Mulholand Drive'
'Ali' - hated it the first time- giving it a second chance (Will Smith and Jon Voight)
'Interview with a vampire' (Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt)
"Veni,Vidi,vici!"
(I came,I saw,I conquered!) Julius Ceasar
(I came,I saw,I conquered!) Julius Ceasar
Sorry for all the double posts, but I have nothing better to do
Well, I've nocked of the top three from my list.
Gods and Monsters- An OK movie, but McKellen is great in it. He definetly should have gotten the oscar instead of Benini.
I was surprised at how bluntly they used the homosexual references.
Thats all I have to say- just see it because of McKellen's work.
7/10
The Winslow Boy: A very good movie, from director/writer David Mamet- who was responsible for the grat screenplay of 'Wag the Dog'.
The movie is about a family, the Winslows, who are out to clear the sons name, after he was charged with stealing 5 shillings from a school mate.
It stars Nigel Hawthorne as the father of the family, who, because of one question to his son "Did you take the Money?" he started a campaign to prove his sons innocence.
Jeremy Northam plays the lawyer who is hired to defend the son.
One very good thing about the movie, is that they steered clear of making it a dramatic courtroom drama, all drama was left off screen.
A very good movie with a great script.
8/10
Gosford Park: A great movie, possibly the best of last year, and IMO it is Altamn's best, with the exeption of M.A.S.H.
I think out of the given choices, it should have won the best picture oscar this year. I'm glad that at least the best part of the movie- the script (by Julian Fellows) won the oscar.
The second time around its much easier to follow the names of people.
Its surprising how many famous actors are in it- my favorites being Maggie Smith, Derek Jacobi and Micheal Gambon.
Its a great show of British snobism, and also a great show of how fake British chivalry and aristocracy are.
A great movie with a great script.
9.5/10
Well, I've nocked of the top three from my list.
Gods and Monsters- An OK movie, but McKellen is great in it. He definetly should have gotten the oscar instead of Benini.
I was surprised at how bluntly they used the homosexual references.
Thats all I have to say- just see it because of McKellen's work.
7/10
The Winslow Boy: A very good movie, from director/writer David Mamet- who was responsible for the grat screenplay of 'Wag the Dog'.
The movie is about a family, the Winslows, who are out to clear the sons name, after he was charged with stealing 5 shillings from a school mate.
It stars Nigel Hawthorne as the father of the family, who, because of one question to his son "Did you take the Money?" he started a campaign to prove his sons innocence.
Jeremy Northam plays the lawyer who is hired to defend the son.
One very good thing about the movie, is that they steered clear of making it a dramatic courtroom drama, all drama was left off screen.
A very good movie with a great script.
8/10
Gosford Park: A great movie, possibly the best of last year, and IMO it is Altamn's best, with the exeption of M.A.S.H.
I think out of the given choices, it should have won the best picture oscar this year. I'm glad that at least the best part of the movie- the script (by Julian Fellows) won the oscar.
The second time around its much easier to follow the names of people.
Its surprising how many famous actors are in it- my favorites being Maggie Smith, Derek Jacobi and Micheal Gambon.
Its a great show of British snobism, and also a great show of how fake British chivalry and aristocracy are.
A great movie with a great script.
9.5/10
"Veni,Vidi,vici!"
(I came,I saw,I conquered!) Julius Ceasar
(I came,I saw,I conquered!) Julius Ceasar
Man Bites Dog
Do i need to do an introduction? For anyone who doesn't know "Man Bites Dog" is one of the most controversial movies to ever have been produced, every compilation regarding censorship in films i have read since it's release features some mention of it.
To be honest from the outset one can see why, the violence itself is not as surprisingas the man who purpotrates the violence. For he is a jovial, outgoing, vibrant man who has all the gags and all the charisma. However interspersed wihtin this wit is a malevelont murderous hunger that explodes at freak intervals, it is not uncommon for a scene to suddenly cut to a previous murder, we witness time and time again all manner of ghastly images portrayed in a Video Music style.
He is not however just a spree killer, he set's up many of his killings in a sick methodical way, there is a scene with an old lady when he scares her and causes her to go into cardiac arresst, he then goes onto explain - while the old lady convuleses - that he knew she had heart problems because of the pills on her desk.
To say the least this film leaves a bad taste in one's mouth, it is yet another movie that left me thinking "Why have i sat down and watched this".
A few plus points however can be found, they are not so much moral plus points as script and directing plus points. There is a scene (which i will not describe it's hideousness) where the camera crew become embroiled in his act's of savegry, it is interesting to see how his infectious violence passes to the camera crew, they all become involved and as the movie progresses one can see their descent into his world.
I wouldn't reccommed this movie to anyone except perhaps someone who wishes to write an essay about movie violence. There are so many interesting facets to this film that are moored to the same point as the horrible scenes, however if one was to take out the violence it wouldn't work. They are inexorably linked and would not work without each other.....but the question becomes when does art go to far...personally with this film the question has been answered.
I won't give it a score since i see the artistic merit which it should be judged on, but it was pushed too far in my opinion.
I apologise if i seem a little too reactionary but this isn't the first time i have seen a film of this standard, this beats Henry Portrait of a serial killer hands down if one requires a grading of violence.
Do i need to do an introduction? For anyone who doesn't know "Man Bites Dog" is one of the most controversial movies to ever have been produced, every compilation regarding censorship in films i have read since it's release features some mention of it.
To be honest from the outset one can see why, the violence itself is not as surprisingas the man who purpotrates the violence. For he is a jovial, outgoing, vibrant man who has all the gags and all the charisma. However interspersed wihtin this wit is a malevelont murderous hunger that explodes at freak intervals, it is not uncommon for a scene to suddenly cut to a previous murder, we witness time and time again all manner of ghastly images portrayed in a Video Music style.
He is not however just a spree killer, he set's up many of his killings in a sick methodical way, there is a scene with an old lady when he scares her and causes her to go into cardiac arresst, he then goes onto explain - while the old lady convuleses - that he knew she had heart problems because of the pills on her desk.
To say the least this film leaves a bad taste in one's mouth, it is yet another movie that left me thinking "Why have i sat down and watched this".
A few plus points however can be found, they are not so much moral plus points as script and directing plus points. There is a scene (which i will not describe it's hideousness) where the camera crew become embroiled in his act's of savegry, it is interesting to see how his infectious violence passes to the camera crew, they all become involved and as the movie progresses one can see their descent into his world.
I wouldn't reccommed this movie to anyone except perhaps someone who wishes to write an essay about movie violence. There are so many interesting facets to this film that are moored to the same point as the horrible scenes, however if one was to take out the violence it wouldn't work. They are inexorably linked and would not work without each other.....but the question becomes when does art go to far...personally with this film the question has been answered.
I won't give it a score since i see the artistic merit which it should be judged on, but it was pushed too far in my opinion.
I apologise if i seem a little too reactionary but this isn't the first time i have seen a film of this standard, this beats Henry Portrait of a serial killer hands down if one requires a grading of violence.
I'd have to get drunk every night and talk about virility...And those Pink elephants I'd see.
ah, you saw it too then.
i agree that the concept was very clever and artistic and all that, but it was not comfortable viewing at all. damn good essay subject, but not very nice.
i agree that the concept was very clever and artistic and all that, but it was not comfortable viewing at all. damn good essay subject, but not very nice.
Here where the flattering and mendacious swarm
Of lying epitaths their secrets keep,
At last incapable of further harm
The lewd forefathers of the village sleep.
Of lying epitaths their secrets keep,
At last incapable of further harm
The lewd forefathers of the village sleep.
Damn you managed to sum up my feelings in a nice neat paragraphOriginally posted by Robnark
ah, you saw it too then.
i agree that the concept was very clever and artistic and all that, but it was not comfortable viewing at all. damn good essay subject, but not very nice.
Why did i ramble on like that? I am not surprised others have seen it, what surprises me is that the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) passed the movie without any cut's. They assumed that no one would want to see a black and white arthouse movie from Belgium
I'd have to get drunk every night and talk about virility...And those Pink elephants I'd see.
I am also a great fan, the best bit in my opinion is the (highlight for spoiler info) part where the black man gets shined and then comes to save the day and gets axed, we see him as the hero and then suddenly it is shot down, there is something very interesting in that scene, Kubrik sets a lot of the film up so we think he will be the hero and then he gets killed very surprisingly, it still shocks me. and the final shot with the picture....creepy.Originally posted by Morlock
The Shining
Lolita is excellent and well worth a watch, it is quite slow paced but the acting is excellent and well worth watching as a character portraitLolita
It is probably best to avoid EWS. Kubrik's cinematography is amazing and the whole film has a certain gloss to it, but the story is lacklustre, the acting isn't good by Tom or Nicole.Eyes wide shut
@Rob, that is the intersting thing, usually if there is a great uproar about a movie it gets seen more, but Man Bites Dog was seen by all who wanted to regardless of the uproar or lack there of.
I'd have to get drunk every night and talk about virility...And those Pink elephants I'd see.
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VoodooDali
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I just watched The Gathering Storm on HBO, with Albert Finney as Winston Churchill. It was about the period before Churchill became Prime Minister when he was trying to convince his government and the population that Germany was making war preparations. Interesting stuff.
“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.” - Edgar Allen Poe
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Stilgar
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I usually revieuw the movies i've seen at imdb I have given my a grade for over 125 movies there, end a revieuw on 25.
It's also a great site for a little more information about the movies/actors
It's also a great site for a little more information about the movies/actors
I do not have the touch, nor do I have the power.
Marathon Man: A really great movie. Starring Lawrense Olivier, Dustin Hoffman and Roy Sheider.
The movie is about a Jewish college student (Hoffman) whose father was indicted during the McArthy hearing- and commited suicide out of shame. His Brother who was a spy, was murdered by a former Nazi named Szell (Olivier, playing a character based on Josef Mengele) who found out that the brother stole his diamonds. Then Hoffman is captured by Szell- who asks him 'Is it safe?'. Hoffman, oblivious of Szell's intentions- says he doesn't know... I'm going into too much detail- anyway the plot procedes from there.
This was the first movie I've seen Olivier in, and He was fantastic in it (Best supporting actor Oscar nominee).
The best scene in the movie IMO was when Szell was trying to get a price range on the diamonds at these a number of jewish diamond merchants. He is recognised there by an old women who yells for people to stop him, but she is hit by a car.
There is a behind the scenes movie in which Hoffman describes a (famous) interaction with Olivier:
Hoffman said that he wanted to get into character, and his character was up for three days and three nights, so he stayed uo for three days and three nights. When he came into work, and told Olivier that, Olivier replied:"Why don't you try acting?".
I always loved that.
anyway, great movie.
8.5/10
The movie is about a Jewish college student (Hoffman) whose father was indicted during the McArthy hearing- and commited suicide out of shame. His Brother who was a spy, was murdered by a former Nazi named Szell (Olivier, playing a character based on Josef Mengele) who found out that the brother stole his diamonds. Then Hoffman is captured by Szell- who asks him 'Is it safe?'. Hoffman, oblivious of Szell's intentions- says he doesn't know... I'm going into too much detail- anyway the plot procedes from there.
This was the first movie I've seen Olivier in, and He was fantastic in it (Best supporting actor Oscar nominee).
The best scene in the movie IMO was when Szell was trying to get a price range on the diamonds at these a number of jewish diamond merchants. He is recognised there by an old women who yells for people to stop him, but she is hit by a car.
There is a behind the scenes movie in which Hoffman describes a (famous) interaction with Olivier:
Hoffman said that he wanted to get into character, and his character was up for three days and three nights, so he stayed uo for three days and three nights. When he came into work, and told Olivier that, Olivier replied:"Why don't you try acting?".
I always loved that.
anyway, great movie.
8.5/10
"Veni,Vidi,vici!"
(I came,I saw,I conquered!) Julius Ceasar
(I came,I saw,I conquered!) Julius Ceasar
Panic Room:
Out of boredom last night i went to watch the latest picture from the Director of Fight Club, David Fincher. It is interesting to note his time spent on that film since there are many points in the film where is style is concentric with Fight Club.
He used many of those stylings to great effect to create one of the better thrillers of the last few years. I went into the film with exceptionally low expectations and was pleasently surprised. The script for this film on paper must have been short indeed.
There are points in this film that follow many of the established clichés that have become standard in every caper/thriller film that i have seen. Like Raul the quiet guy who just tags along and is "Okay he has experience" and what do you know he turns out to be a psychopath
Jodie Foster is actually pleasently good, she is detached enough from her previous roles to still be interesting. Forrest Whittaker is as per usual good the other actors are average and the little kid at some points goes down the Jake Lloyd route but usually remains passably interesting
There are quite a few twists and turns and Fincher does a good job of adding tension. There are also some major technical problems like (highlight for spoiler) a man getting hit smack in the face by a sledge hammer getting back up and being able to climb some stairs
Personally i was quite entertained but it isn't exactly the most arthouse film i have been witness to.
Out of boredom last night i went to watch the latest picture from the Director of Fight Club, David Fincher. It is interesting to note his time spent on that film since there are many points in the film where is style is concentric with Fight Club.
He used many of those stylings to great effect to create one of the better thrillers of the last few years. I went into the film with exceptionally low expectations and was pleasently surprised. The script for this film on paper must have been short indeed.
There are points in this film that follow many of the established clichés that have become standard in every caper/thriller film that i have seen. Like Raul the quiet guy who just tags along and is "Okay he has experience" and what do you know he turns out to be a psychopath
Jodie Foster is actually pleasently good, she is detached enough from her previous roles to still be interesting. Forrest Whittaker is as per usual good the other actors are average and the little kid at some points goes down the Jake Lloyd route but usually remains passably interesting
There are quite a few twists and turns and Fincher does a good job of adding tension. There are also some major technical problems like (highlight for spoiler) a man getting hit smack in the face by a sledge hammer getting back up and being able to climb some stairs
Personally i was quite entertained but it isn't exactly the most arthouse film i have been witness to.
I'd have to get drunk every night and talk about virility...And those Pink elephants I'd see.
Panic Room doesn't seem like my kind of movie.
Mainly because, I don't like Jodie Foster (although I thought she was cute in Maverick) and I find Whittaker annoying.
@Georgi: How do I get to the hidden feature in Memento (chronological Order)?
I've just seen Ali again, and it is just as bad as I remembered it. I thought that everyone, except for Malcolm X, was either over acting, or just not acting well.
John Voight is ridicules as Cossel, especialy since you don't see any of his real face.
Smith was giving the lines with too much excitment.
The boxing was both uninteresting, and fake looking.
The story progressed too quickely.
I would recommend that you stay away from this 2 1/2 hour waste of time.
4/10
Mainly because, I don't like Jodie Foster (although I thought she was cute in Maverick) and I find Whittaker annoying.
@Georgi: How do I get to the hidden feature in Memento (chronological Order)?
I've just seen Ali again, and it is just as bad as I remembered it. I thought that everyone, except for Malcolm X, was either over acting, or just not acting well.
John Voight is ridicules as Cossel, especialy since you don't see any of his real face.
Smith was giving the lines with too much excitment.
The boxing was both uninteresting, and fake looking.
The story progressed too quickely.
I would recommend that you stay away from this 2 1/2 hour waste of time.
4/10
"Veni,Vidi,vici!"
(I came,I saw,I conquered!) Julius Ceasar
(I came,I saw,I conquered!) Julius Ceasar
Like i say it is very standard and not really worth £4:50Originally posted by Morlock
Panic Room doesn't seem like my kind of movie
The best Ali film i saw was a not well known one that they were showing on Sky Premier about mid-day on saturday, it really went into depth of the Muslim issue, it was very interestingI've just seen Ali again
I'd have to get drunk every night and talk about virility...And those Pink elephants I'd see.