What was the last movie you saw?

[HanaBi]

All the President's Men (1976; dir. Alan J. Pakula; starring Robert Redford & Dustin Hoffman)

This keeps showing up on the pay channels so my wife and I decided to watch it again, for the first time in years.

Anyway, it holds up well. Nicely filmed, moves along well without skimping too much of the detail of the investigation by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein into the break-in of the Watergate Hotel in 1972 and their subsequent exposing of a Presidential cover-up. Hoffman is fine in most things I've seen him in; this one feels a bit like typecasting, but he works well within the focus of the movie on the story. I'm lukewarm about Redford -- I don't know how anyone can carry a movie like he's capable of and yet still be one the blandest screen presences I've ever seen. Still, his quiet earnestness and intelligence also work well here. Ultimately, I think it's interesting that a handful of character actors probably come off as more memorable -- Jack Warden, Martin Balsam and John McMartin as WP editors, and especially Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee (Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) and Hall Holbrook as Deep Throat.


Randy M.

"...President's Men" is one of my favourite political films, and have re-watched it many times over the years (the books is superior but not hugely accessible if you only have a passing interest in the Watergate Affair).

Both Hoffman and Redford were decent as "WoodStein", but I couldn't get over the fact I was looking at actors rather than characters, purely because of the popular stardom of both actors.

My favourite characters were "Deep Throat" (Hal Holbrook), and Jason Robards' Ben Bradlee, especially his enduring, damming quote to WoodStein...

"You know the results of the latest Gallup Poll? Half the country never even heard of the word Watergate. Nobody gives a s**t"

 

[Randy M.]

Both Hoffman and Redford were decent as "WoodStein", but I couldn't get over the fact I was looking at actors rather than characters, purely because of the popular stardom of both actors.

I think as time passes that becomes easier to overlook. Neither is a big a star now as then, so I found it a bit easier to push that out of my mind.

My favourite characters were "Deep Throat" (Hal Holbrook), and Jason Robards' Ben Bradlee, especially his enduring, damming quote to WoodStein...

"You know the results of the latest Gallup Poll? Half the country never even heard of the word Watergate. Nobody gives a s**t"

Great quote and at the time absolutely true.

What impressed me about Robards was how relaxed his Bradlee was, passing through the press room with authority but no angst, no weight on his shoulders. There's a shot of him from the back after giving the duo the okay to proceed even though he knows that if they can't find more support for some of what they've published he'll be out of work shortly. He walks away from Woodward's desk, loose-limbed, almost jauntily toward the elevator; as he walks, passing a desk on his left he taps it twice with his fingertips, snaps his fingers and swings that hand into the other hand in a clap and keeps going. It's just a passing shot, but it says a lot about the character, his attitude to what he's doing, his willingness to take a risk when he believes he's right, and his ability to let it go and not continue gnawing on the decision after making it.


Randy M.

 

[HanaBi]

I think as time passes that becomes easier to overlook. Neither is a big a star now as then, so I found it a bit easier to push that out of my mind.



Great quote and at the time absolutely true.

What impressed me about Robards was how relaxed his Bradlee was, passing through the press room with authority but no angst, no weight on his shoulders. There's a shot of him from the back after giving the duo the okay to proceed even though he knows that if they can't find more support for some of what they've published he'll be out of work shortly. He walks away from Woodward's desk, loose-limbed, almost jauntily toward the elevator; as he walks, passing a desk on his left he taps it twice with his fingertips, snaps his fingers and swings that hand into the other hand in a clap and keeps going. It's just a passing shot, but it says a lot about the character, his attitude to what he's doing, his willingness to take a risk when he believes he's right, and his ability to let it go and not continue gnawing on the decision after making it.


Randy M.

Great observation; one that I hadn't previously considered. But I did note in Bradlee's office a picture of John F. Kennedy on his wall, which says a lot. And I also think that initially he didn't really appreciate the gravitas of the burglary story and where it would lead too. And despite being very self-assured and a decent boss, you just knew that he had a sinister underbelly when he knew he was getting into something extremely dangerous - more so given that other newspapers were ignoring the story. I particularly liked this quote of his

"Goddammit, when is somebody going to go on the record in this story? You guys are about to write a story that says the former Attorney General - the highest-ranking law enforcement officer in this country - is a crook! Just be sure you're right!"

it's the way he said that final sentence that really shook me, and Robards nailed it perfectly.

 

[J Riff]

Cars 3 - a cam version, off-center, in Spanish with huge Arabian subtitles, very blurry, sound intermittent, seen worse, like:
Tyrannos Claw, half-watched, waiting for the giant rats scene.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Hatchet for the Honeymoon(1970)

Striking visuals are the most remarkable feature of this offbeat shocker from director Mario Bava. The main character is a remarkably handsome young man who calmly informs us, in voice over narration, that he is insane. We're not terribly surprised, since we've already seen him indulge his hobby of murdering women with a hatchet on their wedding nights. (The first murder that we see -- there have already been many others, it seems -- is committed on a train, while the bride is in the arms of her groom. No mention is made of the husband, but I assumed he had to be killed also. The police inspector on the case never mentions anything but the murdered women. Interesting.)

Anyway, the madman runs a fashion house that specializes in bridal gowns and such. He inherited it from his mother, but the money to operate comes from his wife. Their marriage is an unhappy one, but she refuses to give him a divorce. Whenever he kills a newly married woman (or, in one case we see, an engaged woman wearing one of the wedding gowns he sells) he remembers a little more about the trauma he suffered as a child. (The full nature of which probably won't surprise you.)

The film's major plot twist requires a SPOILER.

Spoiler

He kills his wife, and she comes back as a ghost that only other people can see,
so they think she's alive. That was a fascinating variation on the theme of a haunting.

Beautiful, darkly poetic, and not explicitly violent. Recommended

 

[HanaBi]

"Gladiator" (2000) - Oliver Reed, Russell Crowe

Absolutely loved this old "sword & sandals" action drama during its release at the beginning of the new millennium. A visual feast to nourish the eyes and switch off the mind: very much lots of style over very little content. But that didn't matter because we all wanted to see Russell Crowe get his revenge on the nasty "Emperor" Commodus.

However, that was then, and here in the now, I decided to watch it again (the Blu Ray version this time), and I have to say how totally underwhelming it has become! Yes, the action is good, but there's very little else to redeem the film from just the ordinary now. Crowe still looks his brooding best, but falls a long way short compared to say his marvellous role in "L.A. Confidential" three years prior to Gladiator. The support cast come across as stooges/props if you will. And I can only guess Derek Jacobi was short of cash to want to agree to appear in this "I Claudius Lite" trifle.

This film is very much a no-brainer, in all senses of the word. But even then it hasn't really stood the test of time all that well- not for me at least. Director Ridley Scott, did an okay job I guess, but it doesn't rank amongst his more solid paragons of delight - Alien, BladeRunner, Thelma & Louise.

Am I entertained? No, not any more

2/5

 

[nixie]

Daylight's End, a plague has turned humans into monsters that come out at dusk. Good enough to pass a couple of hours.

 

[Cli-Fi]

Power Rangers (2017)- This is another example of a movie I go into with no expectations and am generally surprised by it. It reminded me a lot of the 2009 JJ Abrams Star Trek. With a good mixture of Transformers and Chronicle. This movie has everything everybody says is wrong with Hollywood: inclusive cast, less CGI etc... Yet it bombed at the box office. I'm not sure what people were expecting, as a Power Rangers lover it took me back to my childhood and I could relate to each and every character. Even if I find it hard to believe that a bunch of High School teenagers could learn military optics in 11 days, it's power rangers!!! 8/10

Logan (2017)- Simply the best X-Men movie ever! 10/10

 

[HanaBi]

"Reservoir Dogs" (1992) - Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buschemi, Tim Roth

My favourite Tarantino film to date, and his best so far imho.

Despite not being a big box office hit on its release in 1992/3, it quickly became something of a cult film for its legions of fans who can probably recite at least 50 lines of dialogue and own at least one of those cool RD film posters (me included!)

Tarantino brought a little glamour and style to the classic gangster film genre in the 90s, which critics felt made it "okay" to go out and shoot people so long as they donned black suits & ties and wore a pair of Ra-bans. But for me Tarantino turns that argument on its head and shows us that criminals don't win in the end, but die a bloody, violent death!

I also liked his choice of "B" star actors in Keitel, Penn, & the disturbingly manic Michael Madsen (although I wish James Woods had known about the movie because he would have made an excellent Mr Orange, rather than the lack lustre Tim Roth.)

Of course this film is probably more well known for the infamous "Ear" scene. But what exactly do we "see"? Nothing, is the answer! And that's the magic of Tarantino: he sets up the scene with the torture of the policeman and Mr Blonde produces a cut throat razor. He approaches the cop and takes hold of his head and then the camera moves away and we don't see anything except what our imaginations want us to see.

The only debatable point is the fact it's a cop that is being tortured, but the important thing is that there is nothing to see -no blood, no guts, nothing. So what's the big deal!?

Anyway, Let's go to work!

4/5

 

[Overread]

Tarantino is clearly quirky/odd and has a love in his films of a lot of blood and well more blood. However its clear when you watch his films that he's studied cinema. That and he builds a very solid team around him that work well on films which compliment that.
He's clearly inspired by a lot of the old-master film makers and that carries through to his films in many of his choices of how to pose and shoot scenes.

I'm always reminded of a scene in Django where he pans through a small hut inhabited by a handful of characters. They are goons in the film; little more than that; their purpose is to be evil and nasty for a few moments only. Then you get this scene where you pan through their home and within under a minute he builds several into curious and interesting potential characters. Builds mystery and starts to actually get the audience to empathise a little with some of them - all before they are blown away in 5 seconds. To me that's something many film makers can't do - heck some can't even make characters within a whole film.

 

[REBerg]

Life (2017)
Astronauts recover a capsule from Mars that may contain a form of life, and take it aboard the ISS for examination. What could possibly go wrong? This was okay but their attempt at being another Alien fell short. Worth a look but not great.

I enjoyed this sci-fi thriller. Although it had the same basic plot as the original Alien, the International Space Station setting added a dimension of reality.
The physics actually seemed a cut above the standard space-faring film. The zero gravity special effects here were consistently convincing.

Spoiler

I was surprised that Ryan Reynolds was the first to go.

 

[J Riff]

War Dogs - bloddy arful rubbitch. The Mechanic, Statham and pal are super hitmen, duller than nails. Riddick, a bit of okay SF action, but needless stupidity, and killing the dog was bad in my book. It was a very good ET dog, why do it in? Nevermind. City of Fear is good 50s noirish stuff, a vial of stolen military medicinal 'snow' (heroin) well oops, it's Cobalt 60.

 

[Overread]

One of the major themes in Riddick is that he often ends up in situations where those around him get killed; its part of showing how dangerous his lifestyle is but also how he's managed to be a generally good leader and team player (when pressed into it) and yet still ends up alone in the universe.

He's got all the makings of a warrior leader and yet can't keep those around him safe. The Dog was just the latest in a long string of deaths he's tried to prevent. Granted sometimes he does win, or gets close to winning, but many times he fails to.


don't get me wrong Riddick films have their faults; the Chronicles of Riddick had one scene (clearly cut content or never made but intended) where he escapes the Necromunga battleship in the very early parts of the film and is then running through the streets being chased by a single dropship. To me I never liked that scene because we never saw him escape. We never saw how he ended up just this one loan dropship when there's thousands of warriors and ships in the area and when the leader of the necromungas was very much driven to kill Riddick.




edit - also its interesting to note but you can kill people, parents, grandparents (heck most Disney films parents end up dead at some point early on), loved ones etc... But as SOON as you kill the dog there's pages of complaints. I recall reading that when they made A Fish called Wanda they got more complaints about killing the 3 dogs in the film than the old lady.

 

[HanaBi]

"Bullitt" (1968) - (D), Peter Yates. Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset

A film remembered for the amazingly choreographed car chase than for the story itself: take the car chase away and you have a very humdrum film about a detective (McQueen) attempting to protect a key witness who is about to give evidence in court at the behest of slimy politician, Robert Vaughn. Inevitably, things go wrong and every man and his dog is blaming McQueen.

The car chase through the streets in and around San Francisco, still stand up to scrutiny today; and still ranks as perhaps the best of all film chases (although personally I would go for Robert De Niro's "Ronin"). McQueen did all his own stunts, being a keen racing driver in real life (both cars and motorcycles - "The Great Escape" also shows McQueen doing his own stunts on a bike).

The producers wanted to continue the car chase across the Golden Gate bridge, but they didn't get the appropriate permission, so continued the chase further out into the sticks.

Bisset appears purely for the McQueen's love interest, and really doesn't add much more. In fact her appearance only drags/distracts, and her delivery is stilted and misplaced.

The opening credit sequence, coupled with Lalo Schifrin's brilliant score arrangement, is remarkable - especially for 1968!

3/5

 

[J Riff]

Heh... "I'm going to kill you with this bottlecap..." Yeah Overread, Diesel just announced a 4th Riddick flim, hope they don't overdo it, like usual, with too much gore mixed with wannabe-clever one-liners. No doubt he will be looking for planet Furyon and find something else.

 

[Overread]

I like to think that Diesel just makes Fast and Fury films to fund Riddick films; esp considering how Riddick is fairly more cult than it is major film franchise.

 

[Rodders]

I have only seen one Fast and Furious movie which was more than enough for me, but i really hope that they get to Fast ten, your seatbelts.

 

[The Great Snook]

Saw the latest Transformers movie. I'm not understanding the hate as I thought it was a enjoyable movie. True it isn't going to win an Oscar, but if you like Transformers you will enjoy this movie. My son and niece sure did.

 

[Dave]

Saw the latest Transformers movie.

I think I started watching that on the Film4 +1 channel. Watched almost an hour. Suddenly realised that it went on for over 3 hours, and was going nowhere fast. Looked at the Film4 channel, one hour ahead, and it hadn't gone anywhere, so I stopped watching.

I watched ARQ, which is a Netflicks original film. It was a time travel, Groundhog Day kind of thing, with a post-apocalyptic setting. There were several interesting alternate versions of the time-loop cycles, but the final great reveal was tame and predictable. While Netflicks TV series are excellent, I haven't yet watched a Netflicks original film that I thought was good enough to have had any cinematic success.

Bullitt is however excellent. I have it on DVD. I might watch it again now.

 

[logan_run]

Star Trek into Darkness.