Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)

[StevenK]

I’m only about three decades late but I watched Schindler’s List for the first time this evening.

All up to date and ready for Mohammed's List, though

 

[Lagduf]

All up to date and ready for Mohammed's List, though

Nah I’ll see Naked Gun in the theater next. It’ll be funnier that way.

 

[Teddy KGB]

Pump up the Volume (1990)

I haven’t posted in this thread in a minute, but watched Pump up the Volume for the first time last night. Yet another 80s/90s coming of age angsty teen story but with somewhat of a unique premise. A little rough around the edges (plot end-game takes a while to finally develop = a tad tedious at times, some of the casting is just meh) but overall, I think it’s one of young Christian Slater’s best performances. I dunno, maybe it was the late hour (aka, I may have been delirious) but it was kind of an inspiring & relevant watch considering the generalized state of things (gov’t, youth & otherwise) today.

 

[StevenK]

The Platform

Spanish film about a prison on hundreds of levels, where the food starts out on a platform at the top and works it's way down. At the top you're eating like a king, middle levels you're fighting over scraps, lower levels, hmm.

Once a month you move level at random.

I was expecting to like this more than I did. The set up didn't linger and it moved briskly enough, but I wanted to be more grossed out than I was. Part of that was maybe down to myself - I don't like subtitles, and I missed a couple of moments reading rather than watching.

There was of course a social critique at the core of it all, but it was either a bit twee and obvious, or I didn't get it - equally likely.

A fun 'what would I do' sort of film, better watched with a bro.

 

[nuke sc]

The Born Losers (1967)

A motorcycle gang terrorizes a town and goes on a rape rampage to recruit new mamas where they meet the towns resident badass Billy Jack, a half navajo ex green beret who also appears to be an expert in martial arts. Things escalate from the gangs efforts to prevent the rape victims from testifying and Billy Jack is forced to get involved when the police fail to act.

The movie starts out strong with an altercation between the bikers and the towns people in traffic but after awhile the trial plot just feels forced and it gets dull but it eventually picks back up. There is an amusing amount of poorly drawn swastikas and the bikers have fun names like Gangrene and Crabs. One of the bikers (who has no tongue) is named "Speechless."

Worth a watch. The Billy Jack Character Tom Laughlin plays is interesting, it just needs more action but its not terrible.

Billy Jack (1971)

A pregnant hippie girl takes shelter at an Indian school on a reservation after her police deputy father beats her and leaves her for dead. The father eventually figures out she’s hiding there and starts a harassment campaign against the school and students so Billy Jack is forced into action, but the action is far and few between but there is a funny scene where he takes his boots off to fight barefoot against half the town so you know shits about to go down. At the end there is a shootout between the police and Billy where they agree to leave the school alone for five years if Billy surrenders

Honestly this is pretty terrible. There's just way too much shit about the school and Indians. This movie just got way too high on its own supply.

Fascination (1979)

This is the first Jean Rollin movie I’ve seen. I had no idea where to start but I recall seeing the girl with the scythe from video search of miami’s old website so I just went with this.

A thief steals a small heist of gold coins from the rest of his gang by taking the girl member hostage, escaping to a chateau where two mysterious women are inside. He needs to stay until nightfall to escape the rest of the gang thats tracked him down (due to his hostage escaping.) The women are not afraid of him or his gun and one gets jealous when he fucks the other one. They keep talking about other guests arriving later that night and a secret event at midnight. Eventually there is a shootout and one of the chateau girls surrenders the bag of gold coins to the gang. When one of the goons takes her to a barn stable to rape her, she knifes him after getting boned for awhile then kills the rest of the gang with a scythe. Later other women arrive and it turns out they are a cult into blood drinking that lure unsuspecting men to the chateua to their death. After some dancing with a wind up Victrola Marc gets stabbed and they drink his blood. The end.

Something about this reminded me of the secondary stories from EC and Charlton horror comics. Somehow it just works. I was never bored. Its pretty low budget but the imagery is interesting enough that it really doesn’t matter. I get it. Definitely going to check out a few more.

 

[LoneSage]

Happy Gilmore 2 - this was a stupid, dumb, not very funny movie, but it was nice to walk down memory lane and see the characters again. Worth it for Ben Stiller's nurse character alone. The odd thing was the last part of the film focused a lot less on Happy and more on the real golfers who I couldn't care less about. I haven't even watched Space Jam 2 but I bet it's a lot like that ~ it started to feel like an advertisement for the PGA. Anyways, I loved the first movie and watched it countless times in childhood, so yeah. Whatever.

 

[fickmichcommander]

Don't ever watch Space Jam 2, sage. I wish I could unwatch it.

 

[terry.330]

The Others- Top shelf gothic horror starring Nicole Kidman. She plays the mother of two young children whose husband has gone to fight in WWII leaving them alone in a secluded country estate. The live in help mysteriously disappears and when their replacements arrive just as mysteriously things go from strange to stranger. A lowkey gorgeous movie with incredibly thick atmosphere and tension. All the performances are excellent but Kidman carries the film. It is a little predictable but it’s so well done it doesn’t really matter. It’s a masterfully crafted classic ghost story.

 

[jro]

The Platform

Spanish film about a prison on hundreds of levels, where the food starts out on a platform at the top and works it's way down. At the top you're eating like a king, middle levels you're fighting over scraps, lower levels, hmm.

Once a month you move level at random.

I was expecting to like this more than I did. The set up didn't linger and it moved briskly enough, but I wanted to be more grossed out than I was. Part of that was maybe down to myself - I don't like subtitles, and I missed a couple of moments reading rather than watching.

There was of course a social critique at the core of it all, but it was either a bit twee and obvious, or I didn't get it - equally likely.

A fun 'what would I do' sort of film, better watched with a bro.

Definitely do not watch the awful sequel. I liked the original for the most part, the set piece at the end alone carries it for me pretty much and I generally like its social commentary, but man the sequel is bad. All of the socio political stuff is reduced to being hacky shit and nothing else comes close to being worth watching. Genuinely surprised me that it got financed.

Anyway,

Off-season - pretty good. Been looking for some indie horror and this was one of the better ones I've seen lately. Cult, nasty killer people, Richard Brake, what more could you want.

John Wick 3: Parabellum- the Halle Berry dog fight scene steals the show and rightfully so, but I would probably call this one my favorite in the series over 4 by a little overall. The story and the action work together really well and I like how Charon finally really comes into his own, and the end fight is as good as the series gets.

The Sadness - this one fascinates me. Three or four rewatches in on it now, and it's still got an amazing sense of dread throughout the whole movie. The Businessman in particular, yeesh that guy can really radiate brutality.

The Treasure of Foggy Mountain - if you like PDD then you'll love this, if you don't you'll hate it. Not much middle ground. If you laugh at John's dick being on fire keep with it.

Deadpool and Wolverine - I've rewatched this twice already (so yeah three watches total way high normally), and I like it more than I did originally. The story is still meh and the somewhat neutered humor is lame but I can't help but like Elektra, Blade, 23, and Gambit. The Like A Prayer scene and the ending are both just fun. Too bad Welsh Pool got transferred down.

 

[SML]

Love the funeral scene where Walken rolls up and shoots Caruso in the face.

This is unrelated but I was looking up “Kiss of Death” because no one ever talks about it, and I noticed this on Caruso’s wiki. Yeah he’s retired but is it good form to include “Final film role” as a note for an actor who isn’t dead?

Would it cause problems if I kept putting that note at the end of Timothée Chalamet’s filmography?

 

[Tarma]

WTF? You're trolling a post made 12 months ago?

And, yes. You should definitely add that to Chalamet's wiki filmography. And Daniel Day Lewis's while you're at it. He's had more retirements than I've had hot dinners.

 

[terry.330]

Any reason to talk shit about David Caruso and Timothy Chalamete is a valid reason.

 

[pixeljunkie]

Any reason to talk shit about David Caruso and Timothy Chalamete is a valid reason.

I love Session 9 though

 

[terry.330]

Duel to the Death- A criminally underrated classic from the early 80’s directed by Ching Siu Tung. China and Japan each select their best swordsman to compete in the titular duel. One of the last of the old school kung fu epics and one that helped usher in the coming era of wire work.

The plot is super basic, China vs Japan to see who has the best martial arts with a couple side plots and some treachery and double crossing for good measure. The action however is anything but basic. This shit gets wild.

The sword fighting is cool but the real star here is the ninja action. This has ninja action up there with Ninja Scroll and Revenge of the Ninja. They’re in the air, they’re in the trees, they’re in the water, they’re underground, they’re on kites, they explode, they change shape, they throw 100s of shuriken. At one point 6 ninjas form 1 giant ninja then break apart to reveal they’re hot naked chicks. There is a lot going on.

Then there’s the actual duel which is one of the craziest ending fights in any martial arts movie ever.

This is one of those movies you watch for the first time and go “oh shit that’s where that’s from”. It’s extremely influential. It’s not just action either, it’s a very stylish well made movie with some awesome locations, sets, cinematography and soundtrack.

Hopefully this gets a nice modern US release now that Shout Factory has the rights to a bunch of Fortune Star’s catalog, this definitely deserves it.

 

[Lagduf]

Duel to the Death- A criminally underrated classic from the early 80’s directed by Ching Siu Tung. China and Japan each select their best swordsman to compete in the titular duel. One of the last of the old school kung fu epics and one that helped usher in the coming era of wire work.

The plot is super basic, China vs Japan to see who has the best martial arts with a couple side plots and some treachery and double crossing for good measure. The action however is anything but basic. This shit gets wild.

The sword fighting is cool but the real star here is the ninja action. This has ninja action up there with Ninja Scroll and Revenge of the Ninja. They’re in the air, they’re in the trees, they’re in the water, they’re underground, they’re on kites, they explode, they change shape, they throw 100s of shuriken. At one point 6 ninjas form 1 giant ninja then break apart to reveal they’re hot naked chicks. There is a lot going on.

Then there’s the actual duel which is one of the craziest ending fights in any martial arts movie ever.

This is one of those movies you watch for the first time and go “oh shit that’s where that’s from”. It’s extremely influential. It’s not just action either, it’s a very stylish well made movie with some awesome locations, sets, cinematography and soundtrack.

Hopefully this gets a nice modern release now that Shout Factory has the rights to a bunch of Fortune Star’s catalog, this definitely deserves it.

Is this on a streaming service? Digital rental? Or do I have to track down a physical copy?

I must see this.

 

[terry.330]

Is this on a streaming service? Digital rental? Or do I have to track down a physical copy?

I must see this.

It has a US DVD release and a UK Blu-ray but there’s also a full version on YouTube, though it’s terrible quality. Seriously, don’t bother it’s a disservice to the movie.

You can get the DVD for like $6 and it looks pretty good.

This trailer gives a pretty good feel for the movie’s vibe without spoiling anything.

 

[bubba966]

Def a favorite. I just became aware of the directors cut where everything you would suspect gets extended a bit but it really doesn't add up to much, 30 seconds? maybe I've even seen the directors cut before and not even noticed. I thought for sure the toxic waste scene would be extended but I guess not.

I really don't like "extended cuts" where they add back in all the scenes that should have been cut, but knowing now how hard they fought him on it I would absolutely love to see an early or rough cut of Robocop, more than anything else probably.

As I recall the unrated/x-rated/director's cut is just 3 scenes being extended. No new scenes added in. The ED-209 boardroom scene, Murphy's execution, and a longer intro shot to OCP headquarters (no idea why this was cut down and/or added back). Those 3 scenes being slightly short it all adds up to 30-33 seconds longer or sumfin.

So yeah it doesn't drastically alter the film. But i think it's what pushes the violence over the top into the absurd level that Verhoeven was going for. Go watch the R-Rated cut right after the unrated one and the R-Rated cut feels meaner and more sinister since it doesn't get pushed into the over the top, absurd region.

 

[terry.330]

Stargate- I can’t believe this launched an entire franchise. This is Roland Emmerich’s first big movie which he also cowrote with his partner in crime Dean Devlin. It’s a far sight better than what would come from the pair later. Maybe better isn’t the right word, more serious I guess. It doesn’t have all the goofy bullshit but it’s just as stupid with terrible writing and is full of cheap dime store sci-fi nonsense. Really the only commendable things are the production design and the basic idea of the Stargate itself, which I’m sure was stolen from a book just like everything else Emmerich and Devlin did.

 

[terry.330]

The Gate- Underrated kid centric 80’s horror. While left alone over the weekend a kid and his buddy accidentally open a gate to hell in his backyard and unleash a variety of demonic shenanigans. This one’s got a lot going for it, it’s super 80’s, awesome practical and optical effects, goofy heavy metal stuff and solid performances from the young actors. It’s basically Evil Dead with kids. I watched this quite a bit as a kid and it still holds up. I also appreciate that the movie is kind from the point of view of the kids and it uses “kid logic” well in the way that a lot of other great movies at the time did. The 80’s was really good at that.

 

[LoneSage]

Stargate was part of that Egyptian pyramids mystery zeitgeist that existed pre-Internet. I think I had just turned 7 when that movie came out, and even now I can still remember my younger self being wowed by the trailer. All the effects in the trailer were like real movie magic to me. All these years later and I never did get to watch the whole thing - I only ever ended up catching it on cable and by that point the movie seemed kind of boring and lame. Watching the trailer just now, though, I can't deny the production quality of the film.

 

[Lagduf]

The entire aliens craze of the last half of the 20th century was wonderful. From ET, to Close Encounters, Stargate, X-Files, Fire in the Sky, Third Rock from the Sun, etc.

Top tier.

Did 9/11 end the national obsession with aliens and abduction?

 

[Taiso]

Roger Ebert, whatever you think of him, often criticized alien films as being far too hostile and not imaginative enough. He didn't mind the sci-fi monster movie, but it irked him that there was no room in the Hollywood machine for anything else. I'm paraphrasing the sentiment, but that was the gist of it as I recall.

 

[prof]

Too bad Roger wasn't enjoying the wacky hijinx of the lovable alien Alf on monday nights.

 

[Tarma]

Escape From New York - John Carpenter's classic sci-fi about a dystopian future where Manhattan Island has become one huge prison for all of the US's criminals.

Kurt Russell is great as the anti-hero Snake Plisken, and the movie has an awesome early-80s synth soundtrack.

Most of you should know the plot by now, and I've probably covered this before, so, nuff said.

 

[Lagduf]

Carpenter did the soundtrack with one other guy, IIRC, on that one. There is a little documentary on YouTube about it. Great shit.