Something about this documentary just failed to come together. Its a compelling story, but by the end of it I didn't feel connected to what I was being told of. Also, it was overridingly depressing, which doesn't really work when you can't feel for the people you're hearing about.
I'm glad I watched it, but it wasn't what it should have been.

Finally saw dogtooth. It was a bit disappointing. Fucking movie went nowhere

i wanna go see avengers. should i see 3D or not? 3D generally gives me a fucking headache and i'd rather avoid. also, 3D = blurry action. but scarlett in a tight leather outfit might be worth the headache. yea? nay? what say you, SYG?

Rebel Without A Cause

Well it is converted 3D, so inherently, I say no. I'll only pay the extra money if that's how the movie was conceived and made. Because yes, the scenes they didn't convert look like crap in those fucking glasses

thanks! that'll make it cheaper. i'll wait for 3D tits some other time ha ha.

Chelsea Girls

Watched it last week in NY at Jonas Mekas' Anthology Film Archive. One of my life's ambitions finally fulfilled. Life is sweet. Needless to say, the movie itself is one of my faves.

oh you lucky dog. that's something i can't get on netflix.

i hope you're having fun in nueva york (sounds like you are)

Thanks. Just got back yesterday. Had a fantastic time. I also saw the new Avengers movie. Really good but, as has been mentioned already, the 3D ultimately gets in the way. Plus there's not enough Iron Man. The final half hour is nuts. (In a good way.)

I was never a huge fan of the Iron Man comics but Robert Downey Jnr has to be the best thing to have ever happened to the Marvel movie franchise. The guy's just perfect in that role.

[quote=Genteel Death]Jaws 2


9/10[quote]

Good call. The first one is among my all-time faves but the sequel is sooooo underrated. The Breakfast Club on a boat.

I've finally caught up with the Batman films and I like some of them a lot but of the rest of the comic adaptations, I probably like the Iron Man ones the most, although I do think a massive part of their appeal is down to Robert Downey Jnr. I imagine he's making an absolute fortune out of agreeing to do Iron Man 3. I can't imagine anyone being accepted in that role after him.

It's a strong argument although I'd say a stronger one might be that it's Robert DeNiro's best moment. I'll still stick with Mean Streets when it comes to Scorsese but for DeNiro, Raging Bull might well be his crowning achievement. Although he's obviously spectacularly good in Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter, too.

Jelous!

That's a great point re DeNiro's La Motta and Zampano. I'd never thought of it before. I'm sure Scorsese is a big Fellini fan so even if it isn't directly inspired, I'm sure it's in there somewhere.

I've seen all the batman movies now, I think. I watched them all in quite quick succession so they've sort of blurred into one but my faves were the first two (with Michael Keaton) and the last two (with Christian Bale). I know everyone raves about Bale's Batman and he is great but I just loved Michael Keaton in the first two. But then I'm increasingly becoming a big Michael Keaton fan in general.

I wasn't that into Val Kilmer's one, or George Clooney's but I did quite like Jim Carey's Riddler in Batman Forever and Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy in Batman and Robin. Although, overall, I'd say that was the movie I liked the least.

Fave Batman: Keaton
Fave Villain: Danny DeVito's Penguin (gives the film a quite dark, almost Dickensian, Christmas feel where the others tend to be played primarily just for laughs)
Worst Batman: Val Kilmer (Clooney's film is worse but on paper he might not have been a bad choice. Val Kilmer just doesn't work at all for me, either as an idea or in the film itself)
Worst Villain: Arnie's Mr Freeze.

The one thing I'll say about all the movies, though, is that I never liked any of their Alfreds. They all seem to up the 'father figure' thing a bit too much. I much preferred the more straightforwardly arch Alfred played by Alan Napier in the 60s TV show.



Oh, and yes, I believe Michael Chapman did cinematography for Jaws, although I suppose the real camera heroes in that film were Ron and Valerie Taylor who did all the underwater stuff.

In fear of sounding like an even bigger geek than usual, an interesting fact about Murder on the Orient Express is that the script wasn't in reality written by Lumet at all but by an uncredited Anthony Schaeffer, who's more famous for writing the original The Wicker Man and Sleuth but who also did most of the big 70s Agatha Christie adaptations, like Death on the Nile, usually without credit. He's also sometimes credited with writing Equus but that was his twin brother, Peter, making the Schaeffers a pretty talented family, I'm sure you'd agree. Nothing against Lumet but in my opinion, as outright screenwriters, the Schaeffers really were in a league of their own. It's interesting watching something like The Wicker Man or Sleuth now, knowing what else Schaeffer did; you get a far greater sense of his obsession with playing games with audience's heads. It's therefore no surprise that on returning to England to make Frenzy, Hitchcock's screenwriter of choice was Anthony Schaeffer.

I don't like his music but I have more respect for him as a person after seeing this movie, really great!

Haha, I've not seen the movie Hoffman did with Lumet but I always thought it was a comedy. Now I'm intrigued. Lumet is definitely a big favourite of mine, especially Dog Day Afternoon. I've not read much about him but I really should. Anyway, I don't think there was any skullduggery going on with Shaffer's uncredited script. Probably just studio politics. Either way, hoped you liked Murder on the Orient Express. It's a bit of fluff, really, but I have a soft spot for those multi-star Agatha Christie adaptations. I went through a phase a couple of years ago of watching them one after the other. If you liked Orient Express, definitely give Death on the Nile a go, or Evil Under the Sun. Again, nothing amazing, just really enjoyable and well done and, for me, the best of the bunch. And definitely try and see anything scripted by Anthony Shaffer, whatever it is.

Is the new "Total Recall" with Colin "Fookin' " Farrell going to be in 3-D? 3-D Triple nipple

I would argue there is a reason why that scene where Loki is taken down works, (and I'll be vague so as not to totally ruin it) is to show that ALL villains are physically no match for their own over-inflated ego.

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.

Coming a year before Godzilla, this had to have been an influence. Especially the second half. Excellent effects by Ray Harryhausen and a great climax, when the monster attacks Coney Island amusement park. Not my favourite 50s monster movie but definitely one of them.

I mention Godzilla as a warning because I picked up an enormous boxset and plan to slowly work my way through the whole lot. So any haters of all things Godzilla, now would be a good time to put me on ignore.

The thing that put me off The Joker in Burton's first film was Jack Nicholson. He was perfectly cast but I just find him so irritating. But I agree about Burton's films being quite otherworldy. Like you, I'm not generally a fan of his but I love how he gave a kind of fairy tale feel to the first two films.

Anyway, prior to starting my Godzilla marathon, just caught this on TV:



Con-Air

There's really nothing good about this movie but I found myself enjoying it nonetheless.

A surprisingly dull film that proves that just because you have an excellent cast, doesn't mean you're automatically going to have memorable characters if the script, nor director are up to par. Smash Cut is chock full of nods to the 70's schlock of yore but fails to stand up on its own two feet and present itself as something worthwhile.

Watch only if you're a die-hard fan of David Hess, Sasha Grey or H.G. Lewis. Be warned though, even then you'll probably be disappointed.

You honestly prefer Kill Bill to Pulp Fiction?



It! The Terror From Beyond Space.

This is probably most famous for being a major influence on Alien but isn't up to much and certainly not as good as Alien.



Godzilla (1954)

This really is a masterpiece. Compared with where the Hollywood B-Movie was at the same time, Godzilla was light years ahead: relatively complex plot and some innovative camerawork; it's about as close to the Arthouse as any monster movie has got.

I've not seen it but your review confirmed what I'd assumed. It all seems like it's trying a bit too hard.

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Sequel to the original that's more action packed but nowhere near as interesting or exciting.

I've always thought that if Kill Bill were released as it was originally intended, with both parts 1 & 2 as a single film - that it'd probably be QT's masterpiece.

A 6/10 does seem kinda low for Pulp Fiction, however. But what do I know, my favorite QT associated movies are Natural Born Killers, and From Dusk Till Dawn. Out of the flicks he directed - I think I'd have to go with Jackie Brown as my fav. Ooooh, or Four Rooms if that counts!

Has anyone seen this??



I passed it up on VHS once, and now sincerely regret it.

Also, anyone still on the fence over the Avengers: go see it. NOW. IN 3-D!! It's outstanding.

haaa haaa haaa.


lol cmon, sasha grey had nice tits and ass but she could not even fake a proper orgasm, now we can't expect her to actually act with those dead eyes she has.



im going to a matinee in the middle of the week to save money and avoid crowds.

I honestly thought Sasha did an excellent job in Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience. I'd love to see her in more genuine acting roles. She'd make a great scream queen.

that's the magic of casting. she basically played her own jaded self. :(

From Dusk Till Dawn and Natural Born Killers were both written by Tarantino, but directed by others. FDTD was helmed by Rodriguez, and NBK is an Oliver Stone film. Tarantino actually notoriously hates what Stone did with his script - but honestly, I like NBK a hell of a lot more than anything Tarantino ever directed himself. Trippy visuals, and NIN on the soundtrack - yes plz!

The anime scene from Kill Bill vol. 1 is by Katsuhito Ishii. He's one of my favorite directors ever. His attention to detail is absurd, either that or he just has an immaculate wardrobe department. They're so lively and vibrant too! You can really tell he's an animator by the way he directs. His films Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl, Funky Forest, and The Taste of Tea are definitely ones you should check out. They're right up your alley, man.

The second KB film has more of a modern western feel compared to the samurai-vibe given by the first. I just think they would've bled very interestingly into one another. Sorta like FDTD.

His new flick is about slaves or something and stars DeCaprio. I'm not too excited, but we'll see... I guess.

Saw Chronicle the other day. Really OK movie actually.

The story was pretty much stolen from Akira, the only anime i like. Can't wait for the remake by the way.

My favourite Tarantino is Jackie Brown. That was the one where I felt like he'd finally grown out of his earlier obsessions, so I really thought Kill Bill was a step backward.

The problem I have with his dialogue is everyone ends up talking with the same 'voice', which reached its most annoying point with Death Proof. The only one that I think really avoided it was Jackie Brown, maybe because most of the dialogue was written by Elmore Leonard.

Yes. This. Except for the part about KB being a step backward. I actually don't think Jackie Brown is much less Tarantino than his other films. I mean, he did re-write half the cast of the book as black and chose Pam Grier to play the lead. But yes, that's my fav. official Tarantino film too, and I agree wholeheartedly about Death Proof.

Yeah, agree about the recasting but the dialogue does vary according to character. And to a large degree they're quite three dimensional. Look at Robert Forster's Max Cherry. On one level he's the antithesis of a Tarantino character, except that he evokes another (for me) more interesting aspect of his cultural universe: those underplayed made for tv-style detectives/pis, like say Jim Rockford. The only real cookie-cutter 'Tarantino-esque' characters in Jackie Brown are those connected with Samuel Jackson (ie the least interesting ones).

Yeah, Harry Dean Stanton fascinates me. For a while he was in everything, usually as some variation on the alcoholic dad, whether it be in some art movie or Pretty in Pink. And always good in it.

I'm not a huge Sasha Grey fan but I too wish more adult stars would get 'legit' mainstream roles. James Deen's done it and is meant to be excellent. I'd love to see Ron Jeremy do something like that, too - although I've a feeling he already has, I just can't remember what it is. And I'd love to see Lexi Belle in a mainstream action movie.

Man on the Moon: 5/10 Rather "eh" but I can say I've seen it now