dask
dark and stormy knight
The new bio-pic from and about Steven Spielberg. No way to tell fact from Hollywood fact but as with all movies of this sort it hardly matters if it’s well made and well told which this one definitely is.
What was the last movie you saw?
- Thread starter Tabitha
- Start date
The new bio-pic from and about Steven Spielberg. No way to tell fact from Hollywood fact but as with all movies of this sort it hardly matters if it’s well made and well told which this one definitely is.
AE35Unit
]==[]===O °
Spectral (2016)
Marines against an invisible enemy, which shows up as a ghostly image in UV light. Interesting
Marines against an invisible enemy, which shows up as a ghostly image in UV light. Interesting
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And Monte Carlo or Bust.
Jeffbert
Well-Known Member
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AKA those magnificent men in their jaunty jalopies!
Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe, better known as Goldfinger, was the comic-relief in both of those. In fact, much of the cast from those magnificent men in Their Flying Machines was also in MCoB, also.
FREEBIE AND THE BEAN (1974) This film also has intense chase scenes; though it was excluded from TCM's chase theme. A dark comedy depicts plain clothes cops in many activities, even one of which would (I hope) have them suspended.
Sergeant Tim Walker (James Caan) aka 'Freebie' as the most extreme, while Sergeant Dan Delgado aka 'Bean' (Alan Arkin) usually shows restraint. They are out to get 'Red' Meyers (Jack Kruschen) who has been the boss of a number racket for 40 years. Comical things occur throughout the film, and the final event, which I will not spoil, seems much too extreme.
A very enjoyable film!
Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe, better known as Goldfinger, was the comic-relief in both of those. In fact, much of the cast from those magnificent men in Their Flying Machines was also in MCoB, also.
FREEBIE AND THE BEAN (1974) This film also has intense chase scenes; though it was excluded from TCM's chase theme. A dark comedy depicts plain clothes cops in many activities, even one of which would (I hope) have them suspended.
Sergeant Tim Walker (James Caan) aka 'Freebie' as the most extreme, while Sergeant Dan Delgado aka 'Bean' (Alan Arkin) usually shows restraint. They are out to get 'Red' Meyers (Jack Kruschen) who has been the boss of a number racket for 40 years. Comical things occur throughout the film, and the final event, which I will not spoil, seems much too extreme.
A very enjoyable film!
AE35Unit
]==[]===O °
Brilliant film, not seen it in years!
JunkMonkey
Lord High Vizier of Nowt
Escape From Earth (original title Future Justice 2014) - In some ill-defined future a prisoner who glories in the name of 'Python Diamond' (I kid you not) is shipped from a holding facility around Saturn (where for some inexplicable reason he has been held in cryo-sleep for five years before being shipped to Earth for execution). When the ship arrives home the crew finds a nuclear war has taken place in their absence - without them noticing, or being informed, or anything. How? It's not as if these people had gone anywhere where some form of two way communication with Earth was impossible - especially for a military vehicle. No one listened to the news? No one at Ill-Defined Military High Command sent them any kind of updates? Orders? Warnings? Anything? Another film that assumes the audience is as stupid as it is. Anyhow - blah blah blah hand wavey stuff- the whole of civilisation gone to pot so our crew go down to investigate. No one at the script stage thought to think there might be any offworld bases or any other infrastructure. No manned orbital facilities? no Lunar bases? anything? No. Just a prison on a moon of Saturn and Earth. That's it. Anyhow the five members of the crew and their prisoner shout at each other a lot and get all testosterony at each other and the director gets so excited by his actors shouting at each other that he sometimes forgets to point them at each other so they seem to have conversations with the backs of each other's heads. They arrive to find a group of survivors in a warehouse who stand about and fill them in on all the back story that we should have got earlier in the show. Blah Blah... nuclear bombs... blah blah... waves of refugees... blah blah... everyone sterile... blah blah... more bombs... end of the human race... blah blah... but suddenly! the Mad Max Appreciation Society from the next block turn up and everyone gets to play Assault on Precinct 13 for the rest of the stupidly long 80 minutes.
Starring a whole bunch of actors you have never heard of before (and hope you will never see again) playing 'characters' you don't give a sh!t about spouting dialogue that sounds like it was written by a 17 year old Warhammer player. I'm not not sure what kind of deal the actors had but everyone of them in mentioned in the opening titles and not ONE is mentioned anywhere on the DVD case in front of me here. Front or back. The Production Assistants get on case credits - all three of them, and the both the costume designer's assistants but none of the cast.
Another waste of... well I didn't actually pay for this one; it was free in a 'help yourself bin'... and I still feel ripped off.
Starring a whole bunch of actors you have never heard of before (and hope you will never see again) playing 'characters' you don't give a sh!t about spouting dialogue that sounds like it was written by a 17 year old Warhammer player. I'm not not sure what kind of deal the actors had but everyone of them in mentioned in the opening titles and not ONE is mentioned anywhere on the DVD case in front of me here. Front or back. The Production Assistants get on case credits - all three of them, and the both the costume designer's assistants but none of the cast.
Another waste of... well I didn't actually pay for this one; it was free in a 'help yourself bin'... and I still feel ripped off.
Elysium. I really enjoyed it. Surprised at the comparatively sniffy reviews. Bit of a sudden ending maybe, but looks incredible. Matt Damon very good. I liked the grit and dirt and muck. Recommended!
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Don't Look Now
There's something about late 60s/70s horror movies that sets them apart from other eras. From Rosemary's Baby to The Exorcist to The Wicker Man to this movie. It oozes tension from start to finish, and the movie is undoubtedly layered in its use of colour, music and references. Most of which I found difficult to pinpoint, but I was aware that they were there.
This movie builds the tension up gradually until you have no idea how it is going to end. How it does end I honestly can't decide if its good or not. I can think of a few better ways that they could have done it, but perhaps I'm missing something.
In some ways it's stunningly brilliant, and it's definitely up there with the very best of horror movies. And Donald Sutherland is spectacularly eerie as the bereaved father. With his shock of hair and strange, staring eyes it's a wonder that he didn't feature in more supernatural movies than he did.
There's something about late 60s/70s horror movies that sets them apart from other eras. From Rosemary's Baby to The Exorcist to The Wicker Man to this movie. It oozes tension from start to finish, and the movie is undoubtedly layered in its use of colour, music and references. Most of which I found difficult to pinpoint, but I was aware that they were there.
This movie builds the tension up gradually until you have no idea how it is going to end. How it does end I honestly can't decide if its good or not. I can think of a few better ways that they could have done it, but perhaps I'm missing something.
In some ways it's stunningly brilliant, and it's definitely up there with the very best of horror movies. And Donald Sutherland is spectacularly eerie as the bereaved father. With his shock of hair and strange, staring eyes it's a wonder that he didn't feature in more supernatural movies than he did.
The 1976 tv-movie is rather creepy.
SANDOKAN STRIKES BACK -- 1964 There were a series of movies about this character--I suppose a 19th century Sinbad (or Sindibad if you get technical about it). This as part of a Guy Madison action pack but he is a peripheral chain-smoking character in this. There is a sequel Sandokan vs the Leopard Men which also has Madison in the same role--I am curious to know if he is also a walking taking tobacco advertisement in that one.
alexvss
Me doesn't knows no grammar.
Old (2021). A family on vacation travels to a private beach where things age super fast.
I watched this in preparation for M. Night Shyamalan’s newest movie, Knock at the Cabin, because I realized I had missed it when it was in theaters. Overall, it was a good experience. The plot twist, Shyamalan’s trademark, is good, and the suspense had my attention all along. But the acting isn’t great, and the scenes were kinda weird. It was as if they were rehearsing; it just didn’t feel natural. The suspense, and the curiosity to know the answers, carry the movie.
Like Knock at the Cabin, it’s not an original concept by Shyamalan; it’s based on a graphic novel titled Sandcastle.
I watched this in preparation for M. Night Shyamalan’s newest movie, Knock at the Cabin, because I realized I had missed it when it was in theaters. Overall, it was a good experience. The plot twist, Shyamalan’s trademark, is good, and the suspense had my attention all along. But the acting isn’t great, and the scenes were kinda weird. It was as if they were rehearsing; it just didn’t feel natural. The suspense, and the curiosity to know the answers, carry the movie.
Like Knock at the Cabin, it’s not an original concept by Shyamalan; it’s based on a graphic novel titled Sandcastle.
The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967) dir. Harald Reinl; starring Lex Barker, Christopher Lee, Karin Dor
Hammer-esque or maybe Corman-esque (it taps into Poe, after all) period horror movie -- good location shooting, nicely detailed sets (for instance, walls of skulls) -- with some more over-the-top bits than Hammer, like the array of young women strapped in torture devices (or possibly 1960's gym equipment, hard to differentiate). Thirty-five years ago Count Regula (Lee) was found guilty of killing 12 virgins and drawn and quartered. Now the descendants of those who accused him and found him guilty are about to suffer his vengeance. Barker and Dor are the descendants (Dor was also the director's wife at the time). A priest inserts himself into the action, the opening recalls the opening of Mario Bava's Black Sunday, the village the descendants come to is picturesque, Dor is aDorable -- okay, not really, but I couldn't help myself -- and Barker is his usual virile stoic self; Lee is threatening but not called on to do much else. The priest steals every scene he's in. On the whole, not a bad '60s horror movie, though certainly not on par with Corman's, Hammer's or Bava's best.
No one in the movie named Dr. Sadism.
Hammer-esque or maybe Corman-esque (it taps into Poe, after all) period horror movie -- good location shooting, nicely detailed sets (for instance, walls of skulls) -- with some more over-the-top bits than Hammer, like the array of young women strapped in torture devices (or possibly 1960's gym equipment, hard to differentiate). Thirty-five years ago Count Regula (Lee) was found guilty of killing 12 virgins and drawn and quartered. Now the descendants of those who accused him and found him guilty are about to suffer his vengeance. Barker and Dor are the descendants (Dor was also the director's wife at the time). A priest inserts himself into the action, the opening recalls the opening of Mario Bava's Black Sunday, the village the descendants come to is picturesque, Dor is aDorable -- okay, not really, but I couldn't help myself -- and Barker is his usual virile stoic self; Lee is threatening but not called on to do much else. The priest steals every scene he's in. On the whole, not a bad '60s horror movie, though certainly not on par with Corman's, Hammer's or Bava's best.
No one in the movie named Dr. Sadism.
I give Dr Sadism credit for one thing--they do the pit and the pendulum scene but Barker gets himself out of it without any help!
Rewatched THE KREMLIN LETTER 1970.
Patrick O'Neil: "So we head home with our tails between our legs."
Richard Boone: "Nephew, there are worse things to have between your legs."
Rewatched THE KREMLIN LETTER 1970.
Patrick O'Neil: "So we head home with our tails between our legs."
Richard Boone: "Nephew, there are worse things to have between your legs."
Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
Ypotron - Final Countdown (Agente Logan - missione Ypotron, 1966)
Italian/Spanish/French Eurospy flick starts with our hero, wearing a tuxedo and weird glasses that have small dark lenses over large clear lenses, entering a room and studying a weird symbol on the wall, apparently trying to open it by placing his arms and hands on various parts of it. Then somebody sticks a gun through a slot and shoots him a bunch of times. Don't worry, this was just a way to test his bulletproof vest.
The real plot involves the kidnapping of a scientist who saved the hero's life when they were both in a concentration camp twenty years ago. This is an oddly serious back story to add to a lightweight Bond knockoff, and it's actually relevant to the plot. The scientist's daughter agrees to give the bad guys a locked suitcase (she has no idea what's in it) to get him back. Hero follows the daughter, and a mysterious blonde woman follows the hero. It all leads up to a final confrontation at the secret base of the main bad guy, and a plot twist you may see coming. Ypotron is a space weapon, by the way.
Memorable scenes , besides the bizarre opening, include the hero trapped in a wind tunnel; a striptease act in a darkened night club, the lack of light serving as a plot point; and a dying, nearly completely paralyzed agent communicating a final message in Morse code by blinking her eyes. Otherwise, pretty typical for the genre.
Italian/Spanish/French Eurospy flick starts with our hero, wearing a tuxedo and weird glasses that have small dark lenses over large clear lenses, entering a room and studying a weird symbol on the wall, apparently trying to open it by placing his arms and hands on various parts of it. Then somebody sticks a gun through a slot and shoots him a bunch of times. Don't worry, this was just a way to test his bulletproof vest.
The real plot involves the kidnapping of a scientist who saved the hero's life when they were both in a concentration camp twenty years ago. This is an oddly serious back story to add to a lightweight Bond knockoff, and it's actually relevant to the plot. The scientist's daughter agrees to give the bad guys a locked suitcase (she has no idea what's in it) to get him back. Hero follows the daughter, and a mysterious blonde woman follows the hero. It all leads up to a final confrontation at the secret base of the main bad guy, and a plot twist you may see coming. Ypotron is a space weapon, by the way.
Memorable scenes , besides the bizarre opening, include the hero trapped in a wind tunnel; a striptease act in a darkened night club, the lack of light serving as a plot point; and a dying, nearly completely paralyzed agent communicating a final message in Morse code by blinking her eyes. Otherwise, pretty typical for the genre.
Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
The Cheap Detective (1978)
Peter Falk does his Humphrey Bogart impression in this spoof of both The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca written by Neil Simon. Tons of famous names in the other roles as well. Forget the nonsensical plot, which results from trying to combine two very different film parodies. (You have to assume this is a version of San Francisco in 1939 where there are Nazi officers everywhere as well as French freedom fighters.) The sets and costumes are gorgeous, worthy of any any serious movie set during the time period. The problem is that it just isn't very funny. Simon is clearly trying to go for a broad Mad magazine kind of comedy, giving the characters silly names and similar forms of absurdity. But the tone is generally sedate, not matching the goofiness of the script at all. It may just be me, because I didn't like Murder By Death either.
Peter Falk does his Humphrey Bogart impression in this spoof of both The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca written by Neil Simon. Tons of famous names in the other roles as well. Forget the nonsensical plot, which results from trying to combine two very different film parodies. (You have to assume this is a version of San Francisco in 1939 where there are Nazi officers everywhere as well as French freedom fighters.) The sets and costumes are gorgeous, worthy of any any serious movie set during the time period. The problem is that it just isn't very funny. Simon is clearly trying to go for a broad Mad magazine kind of comedy, giving the characters silly names and similar forms of absurdity. But the tone is generally sedate, not matching the goofiness of the script at all. It may just be me, because I didn't like Murder By Death either.
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From Dusk Til Dawn
A movie that never grows old. Has there ever been a movie (since The Wizard of Oz) that turns on it's head so spectacularly part way through? Crime drama turns into a frenzy of vampiric horror, with plenty of dashes of humour. One of those films were you switch your brain off, sit back and enjoy the ride.
A movie that never grows old. Has there ever been a movie (since The Wizard of Oz) that turns on it's head so spectacularly part way through? Crime drama turns into a frenzy of vampiric horror, with plenty of dashes of humour. One of those films were you switch your brain off, sit back and enjoy the ride.
AE35Unit
]==[]===O °
Poltergeist
Caught it halfway through, seen it loads of times but it never gets old. The definition of a classic
Caught it halfway through, seen it loads of times but it never gets old. The definition of a classic
althea
If I won't be myself,who will be?
Babylon - yesterday.
This film is designed to shock. It tells of the depravity and lifestyles of the very early film makers. It must have cost a fortune to make and is 3hours and 9 minutes long. I walked out after 2 hours. There is only so much sordid depravity a girl can take.
I waited that long, desperately hoping it would improve and a plot would appear, but sadly no.
The only good thing about this film ,was Margot Robbie, who was mesmerisingly wonderful in the role of wild child/ troubled actress.
So many clichés and poor dialogue made this an endurance test of hope over experience.
I am not prudish in any way, but my friend was seriously shocked and only hung on for the 2 hours because I wanted to give the film a chance to improve. It didn't.
This film is designed to shock. It tells of the depravity and lifestyles of the very early film makers. It must have cost a fortune to make and is 3hours and 9 minutes long. I walked out after 2 hours. There is only so much sordid depravity a girl can take.
I waited that long, desperately hoping it would improve and a plot would appear, but sadly no.
The only good thing about this film ,was Margot Robbie, who was mesmerisingly wonderful in the role of wild child/ troubled actress.
So many clichés and poor dialogue made this an endurance test of hope over experience.
I am not prudish in any way, but my friend was seriously shocked and only hung on for the 2 hours because I wanted to give the film a chance to improve. It didn't.
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Great film, and genuinely scary. I've always thought there's something a bit - unnerving - when you see a tv with static on the screen. This movie proved it.
Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
Adaptations of Lawrence Block Series Characters Into Less Than Satisfactory Movies of the Late 1980's That Did Not Please the Author Double Feature:
Burglar (1987)
Loose adaptation of Block's 1978 novel The Burglar in the Closet, featuring series character Bernie Rhodenbarr, a bookstore owner/burglar. The series consists of lightly comic mysteries. In the biggest change, they turn the character into Whoopie Goldburg. The bones of the basic plot are there. A dentist hires Bernie to steal jewelry from an ex-spouse. Bernie hides in a closet (hence the title) when somebody comes in with the ex-spouse and murder is committed with a dental implement. (I have avoided gendered pronouns, because it's male-dentist-and-wife in the book, female-dentist-and-husband in the movie, just as the sex of the protagonist was changed.) Bernie (the character retains the name; it's short for Bernice in the film) has to figure out who-dun-it to avoid getting blamed for the murder.
The comedy is played broadly, unlike the sparkling wit of the series. The mystery plot has a lot of holes in it. Worst of all, Bobcat Goldthwait is present as Bernie's best friend, and he is incredibly annoying. It's the kind of movie in which the dentist has no idea that "72 hours" is the same as "3 days."
8 Million Ways to Die (1986)
Loose adaptation of Block's 1982 novel Eight Million Ways to Die, featuring series character Matthew Scudder, an ex-cop/recovering alcoholic who works as an unofficial investigator. In the biggest change, they move the story from New York to Los Angeles, rendering the title meaningless. A prostitute hires Scudder to help her get away, claiming she's scared of the guy who runs the high-class brothel/gambling den where she works, but there's a lot more going on than that. She gets killed while running off, so Scudder conducts his own investigation with the help of another prostitute. The killer stupidly took a piece of jewelry from the dead woman and wears it openly, so there's no real mystery. (Besides, as soon as he shows up you can tell he's the sleaziest guy around.) It leads up to Scudder stealing the killer's huge pile of cocaine in order to have the cops bust him, as well as rescuing the other prostitute, whom the killer has hostage.
It's not terrible, but it could use some serious revision. (I understand there was a lot of trouble in the direction, writing, and editing.) The climactic scene, of various good, semi-good, and bad guys confronting each other with guns and screaming obscenities at the top of their lungs seems to go on forever. The killer plays it way over the top, as if he's channeling Al Pacino in Scarface.
You can read the author's own reaction to theses films here:
Film and TV
Short version: 8 Million Ways to Die was "an artistic and commercial failure" while Burglar was "a travesty."
Burglar (1987)
Loose adaptation of Block's 1978 novel The Burglar in the Closet, featuring series character Bernie Rhodenbarr, a bookstore owner/burglar. The series consists of lightly comic mysteries. In the biggest change, they turn the character into Whoopie Goldburg. The bones of the basic plot are there. A dentist hires Bernie to steal jewelry from an ex-spouse. Bernie hides in a closet (hence the title) when somebody comes in with the ex-spouse and murder is committed with a dental implement. (I have avoided gendered pronouns, because it's male-dentist-and-wife in the book, female-dentist-and-husband in the movie, just as the sex of the protagonist was changed.) Bernie (the character retains the name; it's short for Bernice in the film) has to figure out who-dun-it to avoid getting blamed for the murder.
The comedy is played broadly, unlike the sparkling wit of the series. The mystery plot has a lot of holes in it. Worst of all, Bobcat Goldthwait is present as Bernie's best friend, and he is incredibly annoying. It's the kind of movie in which the dentist has no idea that "72 hours" is the same as "3 days."
8 Million Ways to Die (1986)
Loose adaptation of Block's 1982 novel Eight Million Ways to Die, featuring series character Matthew Scudder, an ex-cop/recovering alcoholic who works as an unofficial investigator. In the biggest change, they move the story from New York to Los Angeles, rendering the title meaningless. A prostitute hires Scudder to help her get away, claiming she's scared of the guy who runs the high-class brothel/gambling den where she works, but there's a lot more going on than that. She gets killed while running off, so Scudder conducts his own investigation with the help of another prostitute. The killer stupidly took a piece of jewelry from the dead woman and wears it openly, so there's no real mystery. (Besides, as soon as he shows up you can tell he's the sleaziest guy around.) It leads up to Scudder stealing the killer's huge pile of cocaine in order to have the cops bust him, as well as rescuing the other prostitute, whom the killer has hostage.
It's not terrible, but it could use some serious revision. (I understand there was a lot of trouble in the direction, writing, and editing.) The climactic scene, of various good, semi-good, and bad guys confronting each other with guns and screaming obscenities at the top of their lungs seems to go on forever. The killer plays it way over the top, as if he's channeling Al Pacino in Scarface.
You can read the author's own reaction to theses films here:
Film and TV
Short version: 8 Million Ways to Die was "an artistic and commercial failure" while Burglar was "a travesty."
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