What film did you watch last night?

[Richard A Thackeray]

I'm recording that Marvel anime, on the Sci-Fi channel at the moment

'Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & The Punisher'

Watched most of it this morning, whilst waiting for a parcel
An interesting premise siding the loner, Frank Castle, with Natasha Romanoff
It was almost like watching an animated version of the Thomas Jane version, but 'physically' bigger


I persuaded the wife to watch 'The Punisher' (Thomas Jane/John Travolta version) a few weeks ago, she liked it, she's always been a bit reticent about it before

I'm not sure about asking her to watch the 'Dirty Laundry' short-film??
(Ron 'Hell-Boy' Perlman, as the crippled shopkeeper)

I'm sure you can find it, if you want to

 

[YahudaMoon]

Been watching all Ben Wheatley's films over the last few weeks

Last night is was 'Down Terrace' 9.7/10

Absolutely fantastic, starts off as a usual Ben film, dark and serious then into black comedy, Apparently this film was made on a credit card?

I think Ive seen everything now of Bens except Doctor Who

Other films in Bens CV well worth a watch are

Sightseers 7/10

Kill List 8/10

High Rise 7/10

 

[benb]

Other films in Bens CV well worth a watch are

Kill List 8/10

Kill List is good, but tough to watch. It's one of the few films to have left me genuinely unsettled.

 

[John the Monkey]

I'll have to check out the first one as I quite enjoyed this romp. I recognised Chris Hemworth who played Kirks father in Star trek (2009).

I like the first better - it's enjoyably silly, with everyone just going with the premise wholeheartedly. Hemsworth's daft, arrogant Thor, and his interaction with the "real" word (in the first section of the film) is a particular highlight.

Been watching all Ben Wheatley's films over the last few weeks
Kill List 8/10

Kill List is good, but tough to watch. It's one of the few films to have left me genuinely unsettled.

I think it's better on a re-watch - it may be my favourite of his.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I like the first better - it's enjoyably silly, with everyone just going with the premise wholeheartedly. Hemsworth's daft, arrogant Thor, and his interaction with the "real" word (in the first section of the film) is a particular highlight.

In a way, it almost spoilt the relationship to the comics - yes, I know it's 'based on'
It's nice that Anthony Hopkins sets the scene, with the story about the Asgardians being worshipped by mortal men

When Asgard is first seen, & the camera swings to the right way up, & there's all the towers, the rivers, the Grand Halls...... Wow!!!

RE; the 'based on' , with Jane being an Astrophysisist, rather than a Nurse, & the spare clothes (Donald Blake, being an ex-boyfriend)
Thor is arrogant, but also charming

And, of course, Agent Coulson................
(have you seen the shortie?, 'A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thors Hammer)

Now, we need a full-length Agent Carter film

 

[jefmcg]

Alrighty, here goes...

First of all, they are supposed to be disgusting. They are horror films. That they've disgusted you without even seeing them means they've achieved what "video nasties" like Cannibal Holocaust did years ago - upset folk just by existing.

As a trilogy, it's a clever idea. The first film is camp, ridiculous and surreal - a send up of shock-horror/exploitation films from back in the day. The second is the grim reality of someone taking the imaginary and using it as an escape from his own awful reality. And it's rounded off by someone who has heard the story of the first two and decides to create the ultimate deterrent as a safeguard.

Unfortunately, Tom Six is an awful director who has realised his ideas very, very poorly which I think is a shame. Of your list I'd only consider Takashii Miike (and I assume you were joking about the rest of them as none of the others have any sort of reputation for directing horror). Dario Argento, Clive Barker, David Cronenberg, James Wan or Eli Roth would have made a much better job of it, with Rob Kurtzman doing the special effects.

Thanks for the detailed response.

I think we should call these movies "torture porn"**. "Saw"** was the first, I think, or at least the originator of the current wave of these movies. It's also the only one I have seen. I liked it, or at least admired it, but there was nothing about the film that would draw me to sequels or derivative products.

Unfortunately I have given you a fools errand. If movies sound like a bad idea to me, and the only example of them is badly executed, then no amount of description is going to make me see it. Well, maybe an essay, but you don't want to write one, and I don't want to read it. I had a similar experience with The Matrix sequels. I was convinced they would be awful (loved the original, but couldn't see any need for more). A friend told me "wait and see. they will be brilliant" They were worse than I imagined, and my friend couldn't share his vision with me at that point, so I still can't imagine good sequels to the matrix. But thanks for trying.

The list of directors was just a sarcastic list; it was a stream of consciousness of directors names that popped into my head. It was an accident that a horror director popped up on the list. Fun fact, that list contains the names of the directors of the only two films I have ever walked on in a cinema, but for exactly opposite reasons. Want to guess which two? No, not Wachowskis***.

Igmar Bergman, David Lynch, John Ford, Tom Ford, the Coen Brothers, the Wachowski siblings sisters, Takashii Miike (yeah, maybe), John Woo, Quentin Tarantino, Zhang Yimou, Chris Columbus, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg?

* well, I'm not the only person that calls them torture porn, of course.
** I had to put "Saw" in quotes, otherwise the sentence was completely unintelligible "I saw Saw the other day"
*** I didn't realise they were both transgender. I need to watch Bound again.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

When Asgard is first seen, & the camera swings to the right way up, & there's all the towers, the rivers, the Grand Halls...... Wow!!!

As I wrote, Wow!
Wrong music though.........

 

[Grant Fondo]

That shot of the three gunmen facing off against Bronson just before the gunfight at the start of the film is a classic.

agree its a genius bit of directing. Saw 'Duel' for the 50th time the other day, gets better with every watch!

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

agree its a genius bit of directing. Saw 'Duel' for the 50th time the other day, gets better with every watch!

Quite probably as many times as I've watch 'Smokey & The Bandit'; over the years
I saw it at the cinema when it came out (1977 - I was 14)

Embarrassingly, even now after all these years, I can still almost repeat 'line for line' the entire film & songs - the original version, not the amended Sunday afternoon ITV4 censored versions
I've got the soundtrack LPs (vinyl) & some Jerry Reed LPs too

I've probably seen 'Convoy' almost as many times' too

 

[Grant Fondo]

Quite probably as many times as I've watch 'Smokey & The Bandit'; over the years
I saw it at the cinema when it came out (1977 - I was 14)

Embarrassingly, even now after all these years, I can still almost repeat 'line for line' the entire film & songs - the original version, not the amended Sunday afternoon ITV4 censored versions
I've got the soundtrack LPs (vinyl) & some Jerry Reed LPs too

I've probably seen 'Convoy' almost as many times' too

they must have passed me by I'm afraid....suspect I was watching Kurasawa or Tarkovsky at the time in my black turtle neck...horses for courses and all that...

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Brief hi-jack, sorry

The opening song tells the 'back-story' of the Bandit



That W900, & fridge trailer still looks gorgeous today, & there's a few replicas in the States that display around the country at various event
http://thebanditrunphotos.com/snowmans-truck


James Best was, apparently, offered the Cletus Snow ('Snowman') role by Reynolds - they were good friends, & had worked together on 'Hooper' - but Best had just signed up to a new TV show, to play a crooked lawman, by the name of Sheriff Roscoe P Coltrane......................
(Reynolds had worked with Reed before too, on 'Gator' & 'WW & The Dixie Dancehall Kings')

Mike Henry (Junior) had previously been a film Tarzan, & Margaret 'Hotlips' Houlihans husband in the M*A*S*H TV series

Other 'Dukes of Hazzard' links;
- Ben Jones (Cooter in the TV series) is seen telling Big & Little Enos Burdettes, where to find Bandit
- Sonny Shroyer (Deputy Enos) is the motorbike cop, who stops Snowman
- John Schneider (Bo Duke - the blonde cousin) is meant to be in it, but I've never seen him


The 'correct' (ie; film) version of the song - the 7" single released in this country is totally at odds with the film
I think it's a cinematically superb sequence, only really spoilt by the reflection of the camera/lighting rig (the XKE), as it passes RDs truck
Oh!, & the sound of the down-changes, just before the Mack crests the summit at the '50 second' mark, makes it for me (not edited out)
SWMBO once had a 'thing' about Kris Kristofferson, how he looked here. Doubt she'd look at him twice now

 

[AndyRM]

Thanks for the detailed response.

I think we should call these movies "torture porn"**. "Saw"** was the first, I think, or at least the originator of the current wave of these movies. It's also the only one I have seen. I liked it, or at least admired it, but there was nothing about the film that would draw me to sequels or derivative products.

Unfortunately I have given you a fools errand. If movies sound like a bad idea to me, and the only example of them is badly executed, then no amount of description is going to make me see it. Well, maybe an essay, but you don't want to write one, and I don't want to read it. I had a similar experience with The Matrix sequels. I was convinced they would be awful (loved the original, but couldn't see any need for more). A friend told me "wait and see. they will be brilliant" They were worse than I imagined, and my friend couldn't share his vision with me at that point, so I still can't imagine good sequels to the matrix. But thanks for trying.

The list of directors was just a sarcastic list; it was a stream of consciousness of directors names that popped into my head. It was an accident that a horror director popped up on the list. Fun fact, that list contains the names of the directors of the only two films I have ever walked on in a cinema, but for exactly opposite reasons. Want to guess which two? No, not Wachowskis***.



* well, I'm not the only person that calls them torture porn, of course.
** I had to put "Saw" in quotes, otherwise the sentence was completely unintelligible "I saw Saw the other day"
*** I didn't realise they were both transgender. I need to watch Bound again.

I agree with some of this, not all, but I've a deadline to meet this afternoon so will have to postpone another detailed response.

Though I do have time to say that Bound is brilliant - it lives in my Sky box on a permanent basis.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I might rewatch 'American Grafitti' tonight

George Lucas had a cast of 'the stars of tomorrow'
Harrison Ford; his first (biggish budget/leading role) film - looks very young as Bob Falfa, in the black '55
Richard Dreyfuss; pre mashed-potato mountains & overgrown sharks
Charles Martin Smith; pre untouchable
Ron Howard; pre Fonz

 

[swee'pea99]

Kelly's Heroes, for the severalth time. Never tire of that movie. Donald Sutherland, just brilliant, with his negative waves and his woof-woof-woof!

 

[jefmcg]

Easy Rider (1969)...Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson a film of its time but still has some relevance today, still an enjoyable film but the graveyard bit does drag on a bit.....been such a long time since i last watch it i couldn't really remember most of it...still a cool film 7/10

It's a long time since I saw first it, and it was already pretty old then. To me, it didn't stand the test of time. The casual misogyny (shocked to see Karen Black treated so dismissedly), the unearned tragedy of the ending, the way Jack Nicholson acted the rest of the cast off the screen. The film is famous for the studios not understanding why it was a hit, and thus underwriting some terrible films by Dennis Hopper et al. As generation Xer, seeing it for the first time in the oughties, I also don't know why it was a hit.