Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Signs is a good one?

Where aliens allergic to water invade our planet?

That one?

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Dunno. I’ll still take Roth.

No, you have to agree with me and only feel the way I do. I'm sorry but it is the law.

To be fair to Signs it was very good up until the incredibly stupid twist, which just sort of goes back to preferring "reaching for greatness but failing" over "broadly competent" when it comes to art. The nice part is that we don't actually have to choose and can actually freely go back and forth between them.

Road House

The good one. Not the dodgy remake.

Swayze sizzles, as is appropriate.

The evil doer, who is an old man streak of piss takes not one, not two, not three, but four shotgun blasts to stay down.

And not your namby pamby modern shotgun blasts. Oh no. 80’s shotgun blasts. The most powerful shotgun blasts known to man and beast. And he doesn’t even go flying until the last one!

Shameless self promotion!

Mate and I discuss our opinions on Frozen Empire, from the comfort of my front room.




We’re still learning, so any feedback welcome.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Signs is a good one?

Where aliens allergic to water invade our planet?

That one?

Heck yes is Signs a good one! I'll watch Signs over any of the Unbreakable/Legion(?)/Glass films for instance. Signs has a great cast, good atmosphere, and I'm a-okay with aliens not liking water. They symbolize our fears, man, and water is the life-giver! And you use it to christen people and stuff. Dunno. The stuff in the cornfield was intense, the stuff in the cellar is intense, that thing with Gibson's wife stuck between the car and the tree is nasty, all of that. I like Signs. Haven't seen it in MANY years though, I have to admit.


Road House rocks. No matter what anybody says. I heard a critizism that you see that Swayze is more of a dancer and not a Proper Fighter Like and whatever. I never noticed that when watching the film. It's got the Swayze, it's got the cowboy man with his glorious hair, the monster truck, it's got the one-liners. I'll take a monster truck, Terry Funk, that 80s car in the beginning and a dancer as a lead over Connor McGregor, any MMA references or Gyllenhaal's abs any day.



Last night I watched a bit of Once Upon a Time in the West. Somehow I never really liked that film that much (not sure I've ever seen it in full though). So I went into it with that feeling as well. But what they do with camera shots, facials (even of minor characters) and editing in that film is pretty darned cool. Also: that one dude in the beginning, with the wonky eye, who is being pestered by the fly... him sitting there, trying to get rid of the fly ... I'm almost willing to bet money that Miyazaki took a lot of his facial acting and used it for Totoro. Also, I learned that Dario Argento co-wrote the script! Didn't know that either.


edit: I watched your video. Haven't seen the film, so I can't comment much on that, but it looks perfectly alright and I like the clarification early on that it's just not really made with us old people in mind. the thing is, that they still always include old people / old people stuff into these franchise films for some reason and then proceed to make films which just can't reach the (unreachable) expectations old people would have of such a film. I just wish they moved on and get go of the old stuff.

I liked Signs, but I also liked Glass, so I’d choose Shyamalan over Roth. His films are at least going to be weird.

I'll just never pay for a Shyamalan film ever again. Granted I don't think I've paid for a Roth one either

Watched Thanksgiving over the weekend. And the fact that there HAVE to be 2 killers never being addressed makes me crazy.

Alien

It’s a classic.

The characters are well realized. The production design is fantastic. The writing and pacing build up tension the whole film. Unfortunately, it’s not really scary. Tense, yes, but no more horrifying than the first Halloween or Friday the 13th films. Ash was more unnerving than the alien.

It’s still an A+ picture. It just felt awkward that we’d put off this movie so long because we were worried it might give our son nightmares when it turns out to be less frightening than a Blumhouse trailer.

Alien is best watched late at night with every light turned off.

I’m a parent and old. I can’t start a movie after seven if I want to enjoy tomorrow.

I watched Apocalypse Now for the first time last night (well, not the first 40 minutes or so, but all the rest ). Pretty amazing.

Inferno

The sequel to Suspiria.

It’s almost Suspiria. The soundtrack is almost as weird and hypnotic as Suspiria’s. The sets are almost as textured and decorous as Suspiria’s. The use of color and light is almost as striking as Suspiria’s. The spacey, detached acting is almost as dreamlike as Suspiria’s.

The big difference is Inferno gives a but more lore at the cost of the fever dream potency. It also takes longer to get going, and the story structure is more noticeably clumsy.

Overall, watch Suspiria instead.

If you’ve seen Suspiria and want more, Inferno is good enough.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Sigur wrote:
I watched Apocalypse Now for the first time last night (well, not the first 40 minutes or so, but all the rest ). Pretty amazing.

This is a movie I know I’ve seen at least twice, but can only remember about 15 minutes worth of key scenes from. And three of those minutes are probably Full Metal Jacket.

The documentary about the making of AN, Hearts of Darkness, is a really interesting watch. A lot of wild stuff went on during the making of the film.

Yea, one of the main boons of having watched the film is that I can finally watch Hearts of Darkness. It's on youtube too, so I watched most of it the other day. Seems alright, doesn't it. We'll never get documentaries about that sort of filmmaking again.

"Yeah, so, like, we're at like the set of Army of the Dead: Traindead now. Netflix gave us that big LED background thing so we don't have to go anywhere which is awesome. The Rock is awesome and omg Ryan Reynolds is so funny but also nice. This is a really empowering experience and our film will be in the Top10 in [your country] for sure."

Oh well.


Anyway, I watched films last night! Nice evening of watching TV(!) with people.

Life on the Line (2015)

Directed by an ex-lineman. It's the Top Gun/Armageddon/Backdraft/etc.of lineman. What is a lineman? They actually do important jobs, in that they put up/fix/etc. high voltage power lines. The film is about them. But also a storm (which is why the film is called "Der Sturm" in German). The film gives us a count-down to when Der Sturm finally shows up when ever it thinks we get a bit bored with the everyday drama of the Texan linemen in their Texan town.

This is the cast: John Travolta with glorious hair, but also a beard and possibly elongated face, hard to tell. He's a grizzled old vet, he's a grizzled old vet lineman, haunted by his brother's death ON THE LINE. Sharon Stone drops in occasionally as the young hero's drunk mother. Billy from Ally McBeal (or Dr.Doom from Fantastic Four, if you're into that sort of stuff. ), he's also a grizzled old vet and Travolta's pal. A blonde lady named Bailey is Travolta's niece and the young hero's love interest. She was in some things, I was told. The lady from Punisher:Warzone played one of my favourite characters, the red-headed wife to Iraq veteran man. They live opposite of Bailey's. Then there's also an evil stalker guy who is after Bailey (she's the tapid centre of the stories in that film). Young hero, Iraq veteran man and evil stalker guy are REALLY hard to tell apart. Maybe that's just me.

So the cast is a weird mix of lovely canadian tv actors, US tv actors and John Travolta (with the occasional appearance of Sharon Stone). Travolta is fun when he's in a shot, even though he doesn't do much. He either is tired and a bit haunted (which often is funny) or angry at a pencil-necked geek at company headquarters.

The plot meanders around, but somehow the promise of a storm coming holds the interest. And the stories are somewhat engaging due to Travolta, Billy and the red-haired lady who's married to Iraq veteran man. Also, sometimes evil stalker guy shows up to spice things up (he's just a big jerk though really).

Eventually the storm does come and then the linemen have to help make things right again. They add a rather construed scenario on top, which gives the whole thing extra drama.

Pass. It's a pretty lame film. I mean it's okay to watch and it's funny when ever they say lineman, because they say it a LOT, and when ever they're at their linemen bar and when the red-headed lady is drunk and a bit saucy. But still, it's not a good film. I find people working to keep vital infrastructure running super important. They should be paid lots (more so than bs jobs) and in general, infrastructure should be funded quite well because it's quite important, isn't it. Just thought it'd state that, because in the end the fil gets a bit real, telling us how many linemen die each year and showing the URL Of a website which honours them and such.




Cop Car (2015)

I went into this now knowing anything. Listed as "indie film" - it cost 5 millions according to wikipedia - it sure feels like a small-calibre indie film. It's starring Kevin Bacon, two boys and some other characters. I really want to give away as little as possible on the plot, because it keeps you guessing which direction it goes. Right from the start I was uneasy when the two boys appeared and seemed to be main characters. I'd seen Sleepers TWICE, and I was very worried that this would go in a similar direction. That much I can say - it doesn't.

Bascially the plot is this (not spoiling anything or as little as possible): Two 10/11-ish year old boys find an abandoned police car, find the keys in it, go for a joy ride.

This film was surprising in some ways. It balances gritty, grimy road movie thriller qualities with light-footed comedy and a handful of okay characters which are rather entertaining to watch. The two kid actors are very un-annoying too.




Watch It. It's good fun. I really enjoyed the reduced snippet of the larger world it presents to us. The ending is a bit ...sudden maybe, but it works. At points it reminded me of these road movie thrillers which used to get made a lot more (the one with Kurt Russel and his wife who disappears. I'll never be able to watch that film in full; too scary or the one with Jim Belushi with the big belt buckle.). Kevin Bacon is good fun in this, Oh, another thing this film does well is dialogue. It uses it sparingly (this film generally takes its time and lets the handful of characters act), so when they say something it's more impactfu and actually serves a purpose.


Also watched Müllers Büro, because if Müllers Büro is on TV I'll watch it, but outside of Austria and outside of people born in the early 80s this film will be of nobody's interest.

My wife found the Lord of the Rings extended cut.
Each movie is well over 3 hours, going on 4 hours.
This cut is so much better than the others. More everything and it's fantastic. I feel like these are really nice for any day you have absolutely nothing else going on.

Glass.

Biggest mystery is how M. Night Shyamalam keeps getting work, at this point I am convinced that he is the Zack Snyder of Thrillers.

Plot is lame, and as transparent as the film's name.

Dialogue is forced and unbelievable.

Camera work is very, very odd to the point that it is a big distraction.

Best avoid this one.

I was kinda alright with Glass. It's not great, and i'm sure there's big logic holes and the forced twistiness doesn't help any. But it's alright. I like stilted dialogues. Wouldn't want anybody in a comicbook film to talk like actual people. Just like I wouldn't want anybody in Star Trek or Star Wars to talk like regular people nowadays. But yeah, it certainly wasn't great.

Hausu

aka House

The Japanese horror film from 1977.


Holy gak you guys


You.

Guys.


This movie is bonkers.

This is the movie about a group of girls trapped in a witch house where the witch has so, so much fun killing them.

I’ll just say watch the trailer, and if you want to see more, the movie delivers.

You’ll almost certainly never see another film where

The Keep

Nazis fortify a keep in Romania. However, this Keep is the prison for a Demon that wants to get out. As it kills Nazis, they call in a Jewish professor to help them figure out what is going on.

This movie has Jurgen Prochnow, Ian Maclellan, Scott Glen, and Adrian Brody... so it is a stacked cast.

However, it is a bit of an odd duck of a film. There is a reason it is a Cult Classic.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

Spoiler:

Hausu

aka House

The Japanese horror film from 1977.


Holy gak you guys


You.

Guys.


This movie is bonkers.

This is the movie about a group of girls trapped in a witch house where the witch has so, so much fun killing them.

I’ll just say watch the trailer, and if you want to see more, the movie delivers.

You’ll almost certainly never see another film where the severed bottom half of a girl named Kung Fu returns from the afterlife to jump kick a painting of a cat so hard it vomits blood.

House is one of my all-time favorite movies! it's such a fun time the whole way through. Obayashi as a director is unmatched (many of his other films, like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time or Casting Blossoms to the Sky, have different tones, but are just as eccentric and well worth checking out)

Thank you for the recommendations. I can’t wait to see more of this craziness. There wasn’t one minute where I was less than entertained.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Thank you for the recommendations. I can’t wait to see more of this craziness. There wasn’t one minute where I was less than entertained.

Obayashi is really good at keeping things from getting boring! his last four films (Casting Blossoms to the Sky, Seven Weeks, Hanagatami, and Labyrinth of Cinema) are all at least 160 minutes long— and they don't remotely feel their length, because it's constantly engaging and interesting
oh and also while i'm recommending Obayashi films, His Motorcycle, Her Island is a popular one. it's the most lowkey of his films i've seen, but it's got a great tone to it. if you like romance, that's definitely one to check out

I’m mostly looking for his fantastical or surreal films. I’ve heard good things about His Motorcycle. Her Island, too, although I might save his most low key movie for a date night if it’s a romance.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I’m mostly looking for his fantastical or surreal films. I’ve heard good things about His Motorcycle. Her Island, too, although I might save his most low key movie for a date night if it’s a romance.

a date night would be the perfect time to watch it, yeah

 Easy E wrote:
The Keep

Nazis fortify a keep in Romania. However, this Keep is the prison for a Demon that wants to get out. As it kills Nazis, they call in a Jewish professor to help them figure out what is going on.

This movie has Jurgen Prochnow, Ian Maclellan, Scott Glen, and Adrian Brody... so it is a stacked cast.

However, it is a bit of an odd duck of a film. There is a reason it is a Cult Classic.

I’m going to have to check out this film. I love Jurgen Prochnow. And I enjoyed the book, although not as much as the later books in what became the Adversary/Repairman Jack series, starting with The Tomb. It’s a shame the movie wasn’t successful enough for us to get a Repairman Jack movie.

Does the movie still have the “crosses” turn out to be ? Not sure how that curveball would play out in a movie.

Prey

While it's probably the best Predator movie since the first two, it's still only okay.
Just takes way too long to get going, spending too much time making sure the audience knows the main character will be a certified badass eventually, she just needs to do a few more axe throwing montages first.

Barbie

This was a perfectly fine movie. Script, cast, colour palette, plot and theme all perfectly adequate. I thought the pacing of the film was very good as I never found my attention drifting. The moral of the story is also okay, layed on thick in places but never being obnoxious in it's preaching. So it's a good film that I do recommend watching, but I think only managed it's success by being a cultural moment - much like Black Panther did in the MCU. Which leads me to the sole criticism of the film - that being the identity of the cultural moment is only relevant if you embrace that the identity the movie represents is culturally American. The supposed African kingdom in Black Panther was an American ideal of an African kingdom. And similarly the Barbie ideal is an empowered female perspective so long as that falls within the American view of what Barbie represents. There's nothing wrong with using movies to present these ideals but we should at least recognise the limits of this cultural representation.

Sorry if that was a bit all over the place, and I'm sure it would be easy to pick holes in my thesis, but it's something that was picking at my mind by the end of the film.

 aku-chan wrote:
Prey

While it's probably the best Predator movie since the first two, it's still only okay.
Just takes way too long to get going, spending too much time making sure the audience knows the main character will be a certified badass eventually, she just needs to do a few more axe throwing montages first.

For me, it trod a tricky road with style and panache.

For those of us familiar with Predator and its tropes? They were all in there, but weren’t lazily inserted. For those unfamiliar, or only passingly familiar? We see our heroine learn through obersvation. She knows she’s no match for it physically, so she has to get clever.

Importantly? There are some rug pulls, but done in exactly the right way. For instance, we all must’ve thought we knew how it was going to go when she falls into that bog. And…they sidestep that expectation in a sensible and interesting way, which doesn’t feel like a cop out.

The Birds

The one where Hitchcock Kubricked Tippi Hedren.

Do you remember those genre mash-up books from the 2000’s, like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters? The Birds is basically that: a fast-talking screwball comedy that merges into a creature feature. Both parts are well done, but I wouldn’t quite call the movie a masterpiece. The result certainly isn’t worth the alleged abuse behind the camera.

The build up before the attacks and the escalation after the diner scene are worth the price of admission. The seagulls go hard, harder than I expected based on the age of the film. The effects are not convincing, but memorable, sometimes in a laugh out loud kind of way.

Watch it if you want to see a rom com pecked in the face by seagulls.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As for Glass, I enjoyed it. But I went in expecting it to be weird and stilted.

Your comparison between the trash films from the late Noughties and The Birds made me chuckle.





One of the very, very few youtubers I follow. He put some of his film reviews up in English.


No films seen recently, been out this weekend.