The Movie Thread
- Thread starter Screwston
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I was waiting for someone else to mention it. It kind of had an Independence-Day-meets-Starship-Troopers vibe to it. I wasn't overly impressed, but the cast was good and I liked it for the most part. (I *really* don't like lazy overuse of CGI, and sadly this did that in spades.)
It appears to be angering the woke crowd for not being woke enough, so...I guess that's good?
True, but there's a lot of garbage out there. How many movies are out there that are as good as The Wild Bunch or Apocalypse Now?
More than enough to keep you occupied, definitely. I've compiled year-by-year lists and still am completely sure I'm never going to see everything. Although I'm a rare case and am interested in EVERYTHING. I spent a lot of my youth rereading, over and over, movie reviews off of a CD-ROM program called Cinemania '95 (IMDb has since made it obsolete).
Usually following an actor or director you're interested in can keep you occupied too, and bring you in a lot of directions. Like Robert Altman...he made some fantastic films (The Player, Short Cuts) and some stinkers (Popeye, O.C. & Stiggs).
I'm happy to hear you say that, Altman was actually a bad example. (I actually just mentioned The Player and Short Cuts because I've not seen them yet and hear almost unanimous praise. McCabe and Mrs. Miller, too.) The two Altman classics I've seen are MASH and Nashville, and I didn't see what the big deal was about either of them. I actually prefer the cheesy humor of the MASH TV show!
Popeye was bad. But everyone seems to not like that one much.
Terry Gilliam is another director I've found majorly overrated.
Popeye was bad. But everyone seems to not like that one much.
Terry Gilliam is another director I've found majorly overrated.
Is Terry Gilliam that highly rated though? I always thought Monty Python and The Holy Grail was hilarious, but other than that I think the only film he directed of note is Brazil, which I have yet to see. I think Gilliam might be a niche taste, kind of like Lynch and Jim Jarmusch.
Gilliam I have a better opinion of than Altman, who has a few movies I've seen that I flat out didn't like. I haven't really seen any bad Gilliam movies other than maybe Jabberwocky and Time Bandits (which were both OK but I didn't overly dislike).
A lot of buffs really like him. Brazil, Baron Munchausen, Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas all get a lot of praise (I may in fact watch Fisher King tonight).
I liked Brazil a lot but thought it was a little overrated. 12 Monkeys was good but maybe a little overly convoluted...didn't see the big deal about Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Time Bandits gets a lot of praise and I didn't see really what was so good about it (it was creative, but kind of childish and didn't seem to be for an adult audience). Tideland has a fanbase, and the plot of that one sounds disturbing enough for me to not be in a big hurry. Gilliam seemed to be on a mission to make the most unappealing movie he possibly could with that one.
A lot of buffs really like him. Brazil, Baron Munchausen, Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas all get a lot of praise (I may in fact watch Fisher King tonight).
I liked Brazil a lot but thought it was a little overrated. 12 Monkeys was good but maybe a little overly convoluted...didn't see the big deal about Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Time Bandits gets a lot of praise and I didn't see really what was so good about it (it was creative, but kind of childish and didn't seem to be for an adult audience). Tideland has a fanbase, and the plot of that one sounds disturbing enough for me to not be in a big hurry. Gilliam seemed to be on a mission to make the most unappealing movie he possibly could with that one.
Oh yeah he did do 12 Monkeys. That was actually a pretty solid movie that looked like a younger director made. There were so many interesting movies in the 90s, it's hard to remember all of them. If that movie came out today it'd be a breathe of fresh air.
Fear And Loathing was alright, but as I recall the cinematography wasn't that great. But at least they went for it. Book was better though.
I've never heard of Time Bandits and Fisher King is overrated from what I've heard.
As far as Altman goes I'll have delve deeper into his filmography. California Split looks decent and I've heard Bret Easton Ellis rave about Mcabe and Mrs. Miller, so I'll prob watch those at some point. One thing you can say about Altman is that his stuff is certainly cinematic.
Fear And Loathing was alright, but as I recall the cinematography wasn't that great. But at least they went for it. Book was better though.
I've never heard of Time Bandits and Fisher King is overrated from what I've heard.
As far as Altman goes I'll have delve deeper into his filmography. California Split looks decent and I've heard Bret Easton Ellis rave about Mcabe and Mrs. Miller, so I'll prob watch those at some point. One thing you can say about Altman is that his stuff is certainly cinematic.
Gilliam's early stuff (Holy Grail, Jabberwocky, Time Bandits) seemed to almost be Monty Python adjacent...like, to a point where I consider his early stuff almost to be by a different director.
Altman is kind of my white whale. I don't think I've seen one movie of his that wasn't at the very least, extremely overrated. He seems to have loved shoving a few too many characters into everything he did - which is I guess interesting (he liked a lot of moving parts) but it doesn't help me care. He liked scenes where there are a few conversations going on at once, and it's up to you to listen to the one you're supposed to focus on.
Have you seen The Long Goodbye? There aren't too many characters in it. It's hailed as a masterpiece, but I found it slightly overrated, albeit overall entertaining. If you like Chandler you might not like Altman's take, not to mention the poor casting of Elliot Gould. Phillip Marlowe he isn't. The cinematography is incredible though. I was also fascinated by Marlowe's apartment, haha.
Anyways, if you get the chance you should definitely watch Play Dirty and Dark of the Sun. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, Stu.
Anyways, if you get the chance you should definitely watch Play Dirty and Dark of the Sun. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, Stu.
I saw a good film noir the other week called Detour which is apparently now a minor classic.
The film has one of the meanest femme fatales I've ever seen who takes advantage of a down-and-out piano player who runs into a lot of bad luck. A very stylistic piece that's defintely worth watching.
The film has one of the meanest femme fatales I've ever seen who takes advantage of a down-and-out piano player who runs into a lot of bad luck. A very stylistic piece that's defintely worth watching.
Warren Oates and Harry Dean Stanton are two of my favorite actors, so I'll watch anything with them in it. They appeared together in a great movie called Cockfighter. It was directed by Monte Hellman, who also did Two-Lane Blacktop. Hellman was also a mentor to Tarantino and was a producer for Reservoir Dogs. Cockfighter is based on a book by Charles Willeford, one of my favorite fiction writers. He is probably best known for the Miami Blues series, which was made into a movie starring Alec Baldwin. I like to think that the training montage from Rocky was inspired by Cockfighter!
I went to high school with a guy name Alfredo Garcia and we used to watch this movie and joke about it. If you like podcasts, Sam Peckinpah's grandson does one, and they have an episode where they talk about Alfredo Garcia. Here's a link:
The Wild Geese (1978)
Starring Richard Burton and Roger Moore
"A British banker hires a group of British mercenaries to rescue a deposed African President from the hands of a corrupt African dictator."
The Dogs of War (1980)
Based on a book by Frederick Forsyth. Starring Christopher Walken
"Mercenary James Shannon, on a reconnaissance job to the African nation of Zangaro, is tortured and deported. He returns to lead a coup."
Also make sure to watch Zulu (1964) if you haven't!
I'm looking forward to this one. The Sopranos is my favorite tv series.
TheOnceAndFutureKing
Woodpecker
The villains are aliens In Russia who wage war six days a week and rest on the seventh day. The anti christian overtone is not very subtle.
The woke outrage is probably artificial to sell the movie to people who hate wokeism.
I just started looking for a film, and began watching The Joneses, which I vaguely remembered seeing. Then I got a message on my phone, and was sent The Shepherd, a Greek film which is free on YouTube. It's based on a true story and I gather it's a Christian film.