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I had similar thoughts about this movie. Watched it a few months ago because it was suggested as being one of Robert Altman's best. Not a bad movie but overall I felt it was dull and Elliot Gould was miscast - I read Chandler a long time ago and I had the impression of Marlowe being more tormented. Elliot Gould delivered too much of the character's sardonic nature and not enough of the torment. Sterling Hayden was very good, Nina Van Pallandt wasn't.Quote:
Originally Posted by broncofan
Michael Kohlhaas, a french-language movie directed by Arnaud des Pallieres and starring Mads Mikkelsen. Story takes place in 16th century France (although the original story written in the 18th century was based on a figure from German, specifically Saxon, history) and is about a morally upright horse dealer and follower of Martin Luther who - when wronged by the local Baron - decides to take matters into his own hands to get justice. However, don't expect another Braveheart! Instead the director chose to focus on the moral and political aspects of the story and from an existentialist's point of view so dialogue is sparse, cinematography is devoid of enhancements, and one gets the idea that every action is purposeful. Nothing is wasted. Mads Mikkelsen is outstanding - I've watched 4 of his movies so far and yet to be disappointed - and the rest of the cast play their parts well. Interesting scene between Koohlhaas and Martin Luther in which the latter tries to dissuade the former fro rebellion while clearly Koohlhaas was following his morals according to Luther's teachings. The real star though is the script.
Mads Mikkelsen as Michael Kohlhaas - with English Subtitles - YouTube
I saw the Lego movie. Very enjoyable.
"Super Eight" - a DVD I've had lying around for ages and never bothered to watch. I should have stuck to that decision. Dumb adventure film about aliens. Thee was a brilliantly staged train crash though. A waste of time.
The Book Thief. Don't bother, a saccharin-flavoured overblown confection of a film which even the usually reliable Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson can't rescue. Mind you, I forecast a big future for the young Canadian actress Sophie Nelisse who plays the lead role of Liesl.
It's a shame, because the book on which it's based, although flawed in its delivery, was a bold experiment. Oh well.
Next week, a treat - Wes Anderson's latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
I've seen it - there are some very good German films these days. Felt it tackled the dog end of the war in an interesting way that challenged most preconceptions and took a brave stance on the parents' Nazi backgrounds. Good performances all round, and, as you say, beautifully filmed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prospero
I will be watching Barbara on BBC4 tomorrow night as I'm a big fan of its star, Nina Hoss.
And I will be seeing The Grand Budapest Hotel next week.
Ted...Again.
Even fukkin better!
Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I remember seeing it when i was like 5 and it scared the crap out of me with some of the imagery. Now it's hilarious.
POMPEII
basically your average roman gladiator type movie -nothing special that you
don't normally see on cable TV or roku streaming - i also saw it in 3-D.
and 3-D effects wasnt anything special either. It was action filled and i guess
somewhat of a tear jearker because a few ladies in theater were sniffing tears
at the sad ending.
Cowboys and Aliens, on cable. Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde. Pretty entertaining but, never iconic!!
"Side Effects" a film released about a year ago and, according to its director, Steven Soderbergh, his cinematic swansong. (Though he did sneak out the HBO screened "Behind The Candelabra" about Liberace just after its release.). A highly improbably plotline, neo-Hitchcockian in its approach about ... well I am not entirely sure what it was about. It swivels mid-plot in such an improbable manner that the denouement is ludicrous.
At 51 It is hard to believe Soderbergh is done with cinema but when he returns he'd better improve upon this.
KILL YOUR DARLINGS - lots of good acting all around but they never made the story that interesting. The guy who they cast as Jack Kerouac was possibly the worst and thoroughly inappropriate personification of him I have ever seen. More Kramden than Kerouac. Only worth seeing if you have a passionate interest in the subject.
The Wolf Of Wall Street, Damn that Leo can act. Love the scene where he thought he got his Lamborghini home without a scratch, then later sees what really happened the night before, and the car is trashed. Great movie, and exactly the way it was in the 80's
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014).
This superbly photographed film resembles one of the pastries baked in Mendls by the love interest in the film: extravagant, ornate, unctuous and liable to disappear. Other than that, the film is as empty of meaning and purpose as the fiction of Stefan Zweig on which it is based, like Wes Anderson, another stylist with nothing to say. I might be wrong, but I think Edward Norton gives almost exactly the same performance in this film as he did in the previous offering by Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom. Nevertheless, an enjoyable if wasted hour or so.
I watched the Hobbit, late last night. It was not that good.
The Great Budapest Hotel Yes, it had no message or meaning, but it was
terrific fun. This is a truly delightful concoction, less sweet than Moonrise Kingdom but with a wonderful cast and a phantasmagorical swirl of invention. A wonderful sense of style and terrific casting. It grabs and holds your attention and, frankly, who cares if it isn't deep or full of meaning. I loved it.
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL - Official International Trailer HD - YouTube
I'll be seeing TGBH on Sunday and your reviews so far don't discourage me in the slightest; at one level Anderson's films have always been imaginative confections where style matters every bit as much as substance.
Now, has anyone seen, or is anyone planning to see, Jonathan Glazer's latest, Under The Skin, in which Scarlett Johansson in a bad wig plays a shapeshifting alien who eats men in Glasgow? Reviews tend to be at extreme ends of the spectrum.
I love ms johansson ... Her voice featured in "Her" as the operating system's female persona was wonderfully sexy ... The little crack to it so lovely... But as a shape shifting vampire....Probably not.
Local curiosity will probably entice me - both for the locations and just to see if I recognise anyone. Apparently Scarlett drove a van around Glasgow which was full of hidden cameras, supposedly seeking out possible "prey". When they decided to use the footage they got the person to sign an immediate waiver so that it could be included. Certainly a novel approach to film-making.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prospero
Does make it sound interesting RL....
And speaking as a Glaswegian of long experience I'm quite surprised that the crew didn't take a beating or two! :hide-1:Quote:
Originally Posted by Prospero
Super. It's a very dark comedy...
Super Trailer - YouTube
From the Super soundtrack...
Two perfect moments with lyrics (Super Soundtrack) - YouTube
The Grand Budapest Hotel. In addition to the comments already posted, I'll simply add that it's a ravishing feast for the eyes and I enjoyed it more than any of Wes Anderson's movies since Rushmore. And who knew that Ralph Fiennes could do comedy? I certainly laughed more than I have at many supposedly hilarious comedy films. A thoroughly satisfying early Sunday evening treat.
'Non-Stop' with Liam Neeson. not necessarily a bad film, but as an action film fan, the pickins are usually pretty slim this time of year.
btw this is my first post on the board. glad to be here!
Not a movie - TV Series Dexter
Is Debra Morgan a tranny?
Under The Skin . A few days ago I said I wasn't interested in this film. I'm glad I changed my mind. This is a very impressive eerie and disquieting piece of film making, hugely atmospheric but opaque of explanation or clear meaning. If you are expecting a standard horror or sci fi film forget it. Jonathan Glazer instead offers a darkly poetic meditation on alienation. Set in and around Glasgow in Scotland, the wonderful Scarlett Johansson is brilliant as an alien life form which has taken human guise and drives around in a transit van, using her erotic power to lure men to their deaths. So far, so ordinary. But her performance is remarkable in capturing a strange inhuman vacancy. The facial expressions that are just not quite normal and even her gait. And through her eyes our human world begins to look alien and unsettling. A touch of Craig Raine's Martian view. As the film progresses it is humanity as much as the visiting stranger which seems odd.
SPOILER ALERT. For me one of the most chilling sequences is a drama on a stormy beach as a couple drown. A young man who tried to help escapes exhausted and the alien, oblivious to the emotional content of the scene finishes him off with a rock. Meanwhile a baby is left to die, crying on the storm lashed beach. Johansson does not even register its presence. READ ON Film reviewers have evoked Nic Roeg or David Lynch in describing this film. There are echoes of both The Man Who Fell To earth and Lynch's Eraserhead (the use of strange almost industrial rumblings and gurglings in the score) but without Lynch's occasional lapses into weirdness for its own sake. This is a much more controlled and very dark tone poem of a film... Likely to haunt you with the subtle power of a dream. Much is left unexplained. Who is the strange biker. What prompts Johansson unusual behaviour to one of her victims (a man reminiscent of The a Elephant Man as portrayed in David Lynch's eponymous film) It is only at the end that it briefly falters, but by then it has woven its disturbing spell. Strongly recommended.
Under the Skin - Official Trailer (2014) [HD] Scarlett Johansson - YouTube
A spoiler warning might have been useful. :(
Oh I've not given anything away you'd not find out about reading any of the press reviews RLQuote:
Originally Posted by robertlouis
I edited RL's post because he reproduced my review - to which i've now added a spoiler warning and changed one section so as not to give away another element of the plot.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014...traterrestrial
Killing Them Softly
I only thought Cogan's Trade, the book on which this movie was based, was average. This movie is worse than average, with its distracting and irritating political undertones that have nothing to do with the story. It made a poor addition to a gangster movie, even if thematically coherent, it is so dissonant and preachy that it ruins the movie. I don't need an extended analogy to Wall Street or spliced over speeches of George Bush and Barack Obama to understand how crooks and killers operate. I'm going to try like hell never to watch another movie directed by Andrew Dominik.
Urban Justice....steven seagel....what the fuck..:hide-1:
Did you stop by the liquor store first? More better with booze. Fun critiquing how his hairline shifts and his weight varies. I think he invented Cajun Ebonics too. He was born to do the re-boot of Samurai Cop.Quote:
Originally Posted by ImpulZ
The Wolf of Wall Street. What a kick ass movie. Jordan Belfort (played by Leo) was an absolute train wreck of a human being.
Need for Speed (Arron Paul aka Jessie Pinkmon from Breaking Bad series))
High adrenaline car race movie- the race/chase choregraphy scenes from
Need for Speed don't add up near to the impressive level of the Fast & Furious
series. Decent/above average film but not great. Solid enough for a popcorn flick. But Not a memorable classic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pantybulge69
just saw this myself. for me, the sounds of those cars alone were worth the ticket price! that said though, there's definitely nothing to write home about here. probably best to save this one for Redbox.
I watched the Red Dawn remake (with Thor) on netflix earlier today.
I don't know why I continued to watch it after the first 15 min. From the training montage on, the movie was just awful. plus the attempt at catharsis that Thor's baby brother is supposed to experience is terrible. the invading koreans have the ability to stage such an attack but have no ability to monitor a group of kids? people are seen eating at a subway while tanks are rolling through a city?
Overall, please avoid this movie. There are several reasons, MGM's fiscal health notwithstanding, that this movie was shelved and only released to capitalize on Hemsworth's fame.
I though Red Dawn was pretty suspenseful, especially The first 15 minutes - watching Korean's parachuting In the neighborhood and planes crashing, very suspenseful! Part I hated the most was the big brother getting killed.
Place Beyond the Pines
This is a good movie, but runs at a slow pace. The pacing picks up about half way through, but you have to be patient to enjoy this one. If there's one theme I can identify, it's the significance of having a father and being a father for better or for worse. There are some poignant moments, one implausible coincidence, and some space in between. But it was worth watching.
The Badlands
A highly rated, but slightly overrated movie that was apparently inspired by the Starkweather killing spree. It involves sporadic action interspersed with peculiar narration from the naive 15 year old girl who accompanied the main character on his killing spree. The problem with the movie is that during those times when there isn't action, there's nothing to draw you to the characters or story. The narration serves only to let you know how confused (and psychologically manipulated) the young girl is, but besides edifying you about that, it fails to provide any other insight.