Movies I've seen lately

frogus · Post by **frogus** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 2:39 pm

LOL @ Kameleon. I guess you're right...

I didn't think the 6th Sense was up to much. The twist at the end physically had me laughing...and the scares were lukewarm

(wow, I feel like a real pro Fil Crit.

) Tha acting was appaling all round...
I liked the blood though...

Kameleon · Post by **Kameleon** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 2:55 pm

I didn't rate the Sixth Sense or Unbreakable twists very highly - I preffered Unbreakable, but possibly only because some £$$%^"&"£" told me about the Sixth Sense outside the cinema

The best twists I've seen so far in a movie (and I haven't seen The Usual Suspects, though I really want to) were in Seven (or Se7en or whatever) and a Kevin Costner thriller called No Way Out. The movie is a great laugh, and you never see it coming - by the end I'd forgotten there was one

and was totally blown over anyway. I'm sure there was another film with a really good twist but I can't remember it right now.

On films in general, has anyone seen a film called Ordinary Decent Criminal? It starrs an excellent Kevin Spacey as an Irish gangster/criminal/generally really cool bloke (and he does manage to pull off the Irish accent) and based around Irish black humour as it is, the film is hilarious, wickedly clever and very, very good. I'd recommend it to anyone, particularly if you have a fondness for strange Irish people or really cunning plans

8½/10

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 3:47 pm

Originally posted by frogus
I liked the blood though...

LOL

Yeah, I didn't really think it was scary either... but I don't think much is scary

I didn't think much of Sixth Sense the first time I saw it, but since I was standing next to a film projector and couldn't hear the dialogue very well for the last 5-10 minutes, that's not much of a surprise...

@Kammy Please tell me you're not thinking of Fight Club.

That twist was just rubbish. *waits for inevitable flaming by the rest of the world*

Morlock · Post by **Morlock** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 5:45 pm

Originally posted by Kameleon
(and I haven't seen The Usual Suspects, though I really want to) were in Seven (or Se7en or whatever)

What was the big twist in Se7en? The only thing that I found out of the ordinary is the absolute grossness of the movie. It was really effective in it's lighting and designing, I found myself closing my nose when the movie gets to a one of a few scenes with a corpse. Other than that, I didn't find the movie very good.
What's the twist? it ends one of a number of ways it could have. I thought the ending was very anti-climactic. I was hoping for John Doe's alleged grand vision that he talked about in the car to come to life.
It had some of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen- especialy the leather thing and the drug dealer in the bed. And, as I said, the design and lighting for Spacey's apartment was very effective.
The movie illustrated the point I brought up in my sound track thread- Howard Shore is a great composer for very dark films, this being just about as dark as you can get.

I actualy had the pleasure of watching the Usual suspects again yesterday, with my best friend, who has never seen it before. It really is exciting to me to know that someone else will be introduced into the genius that is 'The Usual Supects'.
My respect and loving of that film just grows in time. I've seen it at least a douzen times in the past two years, 3 of those being in the past month, and I still love it, and my heart still beats every time I get to the ending.
BTW my friend also thought it was the best ending he'd ever seen.

Originally posted by Kameleon
On films in general, has anyone seen a film called Ordinary Decent Criminal? It starrs an excellent Kevin Spacey as an Irish gangster/criminal/generally really cool bloke (and he does manage to pull off the Irish accent) and based around Irish black humour as it is, the film is hilarious, wickedly clever and very, very good. I'd recommend it to anyone, particularly if you have a fondness for strange Irish people or really cunning plans

Wow, three Spacey movies in the same post!

I also liked the movie a lot.
I saw it because I really like Spacey, and I also thought he did the accent very well.
It is wierd, since it is a reamake of a movie from the previous year named 'The General' and starring Brenden Gleeson. I liked Gleeson, but still ODC was better.
The film was hillarious, especialy the robberies themselves- just taking the pictures from the wall, or sleeping near the entrance. I wouldn't classify him as 'strange', but the cunning part of it was great.
It is the only movie in which I've seen Colin Farell as an Irish guy, and I must say, he's much better as an American.

I actualy still havn't seen fight club, so I can't comment about the twist. I am not any more interested in seeing it after seeing Fitchner's Se7en, which did not seem to be directed all that well.

Morlock · Post by **Morlock** » Wed Jun 12, 2002 11:12 pm

I've just realized, that if I see all the movies I'm planning to this week, I will have seen:

1 Ridley Scott (Black Hawk Down)
2 Steven Spielberg's (Jaws, E.T.)
1 Alfred Hitchc0ck (Vertigo)
1 John Ford (The Searchers)
1 Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot)
2 Frank Capra's (It's a wonderful life, It happend one night)

I checked it out a bit, and also found these numbers:

All of them but Black Hawk Down are in the national film registry.

They have been nominated for a total of 35 oscars.

They have won 15 of the oscars.

The directors have all together been nominated for 47 oscars.

They have won 15 of them.

All the directors except for Scott (whose time will come) have been awarded life achievment awards by both the American Film Institute (AFI) and the Directors guild of America (DGA).

The Oscars break down as follows:

Ridly Scott: 3 nominations, 0 wins
Black Hawk Down: 4 nominations, 2 wins (sound and editing)

Steven Spielberg: 9 nominations, 3 wins, Thalberg honorary oscar
Jaws: 4 nominations, 3 wins (Editing, sound and music

)
E.T: 9 nominations, 4 wins (sound, sound editing, visual effects, and, again, music!

)

Frank Capra: 11 nominations, 4 wins
It Happened One Night: 5 nominations, 5 wins (Pictue, Director, Actor, Actress and writer)
It's a wonderful life: 5 nominations, 0 wins

Billy Wilder: 21 nominations, 6 wins, Thalberg honorary oscar
Some Like It Hot: 6 nominations, 1 win (Costume design)

Alfred Hitch****: 6 nominations, 0 wins, Thalberg honorary oscar
Vertigo: 2 nominations, 0 wins

John Ford: 7 nominations, 2 wins
The Searchers: 0 nominations, 0 wins

I have a lot of time on my hands, and wanted to show off both to myself and to you how high classed the movies I see are.

Ode to a Grasshopper · Thu Jun 13, 2002 12:45 am

Originally posted by frogus
Couldn't think of anywhere else to put this, so:

Has anyone else got the Blues Brothers sound track? I found it in a honkey record store in town the other day...man, that stuff is genious...although quite a lot are just old 'Soul Classics' (Think, Soul Man etc) there are a couple of quality tracks on there as well (the Ironside theme tune ) as well as Rubber Biscuit, possibly the wierdest thing I've ever heard John Lee Hooker singing (heard it Beldin?)...

Also, I heard that they made a serious album...anyone heard it?

Ooh, lucky! I lent mine to a friend and never got it back, and now I've forgotten which friend it was anyway.

@Georgi-Fight Club's twist was pretty lame. No-one else seems to think so, but it was.

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 1:10 am

I saw About a boy yesterday and I must say it was over all expectations. I sincerely recommend it to you all. The movie is based on the book by Nick Hornby, who also wrote High Fidelity.

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 5:55 am

Originally posted by Ode to a Grasshopper
@Georgi-Fight Club's twist was pretty lame. No-one else seems to think so, but it was.

You just went up in my estimation

@Astafas I thought About A Boy was great

I would say... don't be put off by the fact that Hugh Grant is in it, because he's not the usual floppy-haired fop, it's probably the performance of his career so far.

Edit: good soundtrack too

Ode to a Grasshopper · Thu Jun 13, 2002 6:09 am

Originally posted by Georgi

You just went up in my estimation

Like there was anywhere else for me to go.

Beldin · Post by **Beldin** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 6:11 am

Originally posted by frogus
Couldn't think of anywhere else to put this, so:

Has anyone else got the Blues Brothers sound track? I found it in a honkey record store in town the other day...man, that stuff is genious...although quite a lot are just old 'Soul Classics' (Think, Soul Man etc) there are a couple of quality tracks on there as well (the Ironside theme tune ) as well as Rubber Biscuit, possibly the wierdest thing I've ever heard John Lee Hooker singing (heard it Beldin?)...

Also, I heard that they made a serious album...anyone heard it?

Blues Brothers Albums?

I got'em all.....

I even had the incredible luck to see Cab Calloway ("Minnie the Moocher" ) live several years ago...

....but IIRC "Rubber Biscuit" wasnt sung by J.L.H. ....but I'll check that one...

No worries,

Beldin

Kameleon · Post by **Kameleon** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 6:25 am

At the risk of never having Georgi ever speak to me again, I'm going to lay my chips down on the table and say that yes, Fight Club was exactly the film I was thinking of (thanks, Georgi

). I thought that it was an absolutely brilliant film, probably one of my all-time favourites, and I thought that the twist was great. In talking about the ending of Se7en I am now going to spoil both movies for you if you haven't seen them yet. So please don't read on if that is so, OK?
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Right. I thought that the Fight Club twist was very cool - it never once occured to me while I was watching it that Tyler Durden was a figment of Edward Norton's imagination, until near the end when you're probably meant to realise it. I thought that the end synopsis was well done too, where the director basically shows you all the clever things he did so you didn't realise what was going on.

As for Seven, isn't it obvious what the twist is? When they go out into the desert you think they are going to either be shown the two dead bodies or so that John Doe can somehow escape. The fact that one of the dead bodies is the dear wife of a cop, and the sin of envy is not hers but instead John Doe's, and the fact that the last murder has not happened yet, but that John Doe expects Brad Pitt to kill him in wrath, is the twist. I for one had no idea that was going to happen, however I did suspect something was going to happen with poor Gwyneth. I do agree with you that maybe the movie is a bit too grisly - I really felt physically sick in the scene approaching the end the second time, as I knew what was going to happen and really didn't think I could take it. And I thought I was desensitised to everything Hollywood could throw at me...the previous deaths really didn't bother me all that much.

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 6:33 am

@Kammy as I figured... don't worry, I am used to being disagreed with about that

The thing is, I actually thought it was a good film up to that point, and there is a specific point, the scene in the hotal room, where you find out that they are the same person, but I just found the twist made the entire movie ridiculous. Not big or clever. But that's just MO *shrug*

VoodooDali · Post by **VoodooDali** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 8:54 am

I usually only see movies in theaters that have a lot of special effects that would not come across on the TV screen.

Recently saw Spiderman. A total disappointment. Not enough action, too much romance. Toby MacGuire has no personality and Kirsten Dunst annoys me. I was bored throughout most of the movie.

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 9:04 am

Originally posted by VoodooDali
I was bored throughout most of the movie.

I thought it was pretty good and not half as bad as some of the comics-to-movie adaptations I've seen, like The Punisher. I was praying for rain throughout the entire movie.

Kameleon · Post by **Kameleon** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 9:04 am

Originally posted by Georgi
@Kammy as I figured... don't worry, I am used to being disagreed with about that The thing is, I actually thought it was a good film up to that point, and there is a specific point, the scene in the hotal room, where you find out that they are the same person, but I just found the twist made the entire movie ridiculous. Not big or clever. But that's just MO *shrug*

Ridiculous how? Surely the whole point of the whole film is that they are the same person, and so all the great things that he admires about Tyler Durden are inside him, rather than in some other person. Therefore without the twist you would be left with a different movie, one in which he was killed and betrayed by someone who pretended to be his friend, rather than killed by himself in an attempt to save the world from his dark side. Oh, and I thought that Helena Bonham Carter gave a very impressive performance in the movie.

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 9:10 am

Originally posted by Kameleon
Ridiculous how? Surely the whole point of the whole film is that they are the same person, and so all the great things that he admires about Tyler Durden are inside him, rather than in some other person. Therefore without the twist you would be left with a different movie, one in which he was killed and betrayed by someone who pretended to be his friend, rather than killed by himself in an attempt to save the world from his dark side. Oh, and I thought that Helena Bonham Carter gave a very impressive performance in the movie.

Well I didn't like any of the second half of the movie.

It means that nothing actually happened as we had seen it... I know that worked in Usual Suspects, I just don't think it worked here. I mean, were all these men following a guy who went around having arguments with himself, or was that all inside his head, and he seemed sane from outside? I don't know, it just didn't click. I find Helena Bonham Carter irritating.

Edit: I enjoyed the Spiderman movie, but to each her own

Tamerlane · Post by **Tamerlane** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 9:16 am

Well I liked Spiderman, it actually revolved around normal people in real life. Unlike that now horrible franchise Batman, why wont they stop

As for fight club, I hate excessive violence and especially when shown in such grotesque levels as in Fight Club. Needless to say I hate it.

Kameleon · Post by **Kameleon** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 9:20 am

Originally posted by Georgi
Well I didn't like any of the second half of the movie. It means that nothing actually happened as we had seen it... I know that worked in Usual Suspects, I just don't think it worked here. I mean, were all these men following a guy who went around having arguments with himself, or was that all inside his head, and he seemed sane from outside? I don't know, it just didn't click. I find Helena Bonham Carter irritating.

Aren't we Little Miss Grumpy today...

Don't use The Usual Suspects in examples, btw, as I still haven't seen it

The way I see it, all these people were following a man with a vision of the Fight Club - the only time he outwardly fought with himself was at the very beginning in the car park, and that was partly because he was drunk. Everything else that happens between them is in his head - to everyone else he seems sane enough, though obviously prone to mood swings as he changes from the persona of the narrator to that of Tyler Durden. What people follow him for is the Tyler Durden personality, not because he goes around beating himself up. Could you explain more what didn't click?

Kameleon · Post by **Kameleon** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 9:25 am

Tammy, I could say that Fight Club isn't about excessive violence, it's a look into a schizophrenic and tortured man's soul, and should be appreciated as such, but if you've seen it, you know how you view it and I respect that

. I do know what you're talking about, the violence is repetitive and quite nasty, if at times innovative

, and it's not a film I would choose to show my parents for example, even if I wanted them to see the film just because it is good.

Tamerlane · Post by **Tamerlane** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 9:31 am

I've seen it a few times now, like most people I went wow when I first saw it, but now. *sigh* Its mainly when the blonde kid gets beaten up badly and the other incident with the store owner. They weren't necessary and IMO cheapens the whole foundation that the movie led to until that moment.

Aaah, just call me spoilt. I've seen too many high-quality movies lately.