Last Movie You Watched

[aleazk]

I watched it the other night in IMAX. It was a letdown ... too slow, too long, I didn't care for any of the characters or what happened. I left the theater thinking nothing of it, it wasn't even that 'entertaining'. The climaxes were blah. The performances were flat, Gosling was not good at all, no charisma, very deadpan, too relaxed. Harrison should just retire, the passion is gone. And visually .. it just essentially apes everything already imagined and realized in the first Blade Runner movie (which is a greater and greater looking film done over 30 years ago), the look, the atmosphere, all those panoramic geography shots etc. The music was sub par. Overall, not the worst film, but nothing great or powerful, just way over hyped. This thing didn't look like it's supposed 150 million dollar budget at all either. I've seen films which cost a quarter of that and surpass the look of this thing by light years.

Well, considering your opinion is pretty much the complete opposite to mine, I see no point in discussing it, since that will lead nowhere. Best regards.

[Karl Henning]

Well, considering your opinion is pretty much the complete opposite to mine, I see no point in discussing it, since that will lead nowhere. Best regards.

For perspective:  he thinks Mozart is mediocre, too.

[James]

For perspective:  he thinks Mozart is mediocre, too.

But Bach who came before him is soooo much better.

[LKB]

Currently grinding my way through The Interview. I can only tolerate about twenty minutes at a time as most of it ( so far ) is dreck, imho. But as l understand, the film ends in a way which will satisfy a current emotional need, so l shall persevere.

Grimly determined,

LKB

[LKB]

Finished The Interview. Can't say l could honestly recommend it, though it improves somewhat after the halfway mark. Oh, and the dog was cute.

Now l shall reward my perseverance by viewing Dances with Wolves. 

Relieved,

LKB

[LKB]

I don't much care for toilet humor, which is where ( imho ) The Interview expends too much time and energy. Considering the people involved, l suppose that isn't surprising. I was curious more than anything, and at least now l can voice an informed opinion... But I'll be perfectly content never to watch it again. 

If you can tolerate a large portion of gratuitous puerile humor and don't have to pay anything, l suppose it does have a few minutes with some limited value. But nearly everything the film attempts to do could have been done better, in every aspect of its production. If l had to grade it, maybe a C- at best.

How wonderful it is to have truly great and memorable films at hand as an antidote! Within a few feet are bluray copies of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apocalypse Now, The Sound of Music, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Iron Giant, My Life as a Dog, Airplane...

Yeah, I'll survive The Interview. 

Whew,

LKB

[SimonNZ]

I don't much care for toilet humor

Airplane...

[Brian]

In the category of "goofy American comedies about assassinating foreign dictators," The Interview places above Zoolander, in my book. (I once watched them back-to-back.)

[Karl Henning]

The other night, I watched John Carpenter's Halloween (sic) – so I'm a word-nerd, and really like the apostrophe in Hallowe'en – and on Facebook, I commented on the scene at the time, that Jamie Lee Curtis was doing a lot of screaming, which is neither drama nor suspense, but just noise. (And I stand by that quarrel.) I also could not help responding to the begging-believability elements, like the hysterical baby-sitter succeeding in fending off a powerful and irrational assailant, with a bent coat-hanger.

Well, I wanted to report/clarify here that those quarrels notwithstanding, I am aware of watching it 40 years later, with all the semi-awareness (including the fact that it spawned sequels and imitations galore . . . looks like the "complete collection" is 10 blu discs), so from arguably something of a skeptical viewpoint.  Not a viewpoint set in stone.

So, I watched the Halloween Unmasked 2000 featurette, and learnt that it was shot in 22 days and on a budget of $300K.  I've got to acknowledge it as a work of genius.  Under those circumstances, all my quibbles with the screamplay, erm, screenplay pretty much vanish in the light of its unadorned virtues.  Jamie Lee Curtis stated (which did affirm an idea which was forming in the back of my mind) that it was pretty much her best dramatic role until True Lies (don't mistake me, I love her performance in A Fish Called Wanda, but I don't think Wanda is quite as well-etched a character as Laurie).  And Carpenter's scoring is a tour-de-force.

And, of course, it both launched a movie career for Jamie Lee Curtis, and Carpenter's directing career . . . and I cannot help feeling that The Thing, Escape From New York, and, why yes, even Big Trouble in Little China fulfilled the promise.

I'm still disappointed with Escape From L.A.  But hell, if anyone 10 years ago had told me that I should be a John Carpenter advocate . . . .

[LKB]

True, my favorite comedy does use that gag. It is used once and has a duration of a few seconds. Airplane also has plenty of material which current viewers might find offensive for various reasons. Some of it is parody, but most is simply a product of its pc-free era. ( l do think the end of the boy & girl bit goes a little too far. )

The whole shit-hit's-the-fan thing is actually a perfect example of what separates a classic like Airplane, where the gag is a three-second one-off, from the decidedly non-classic The Interview. If the latter had included such a gag, it would undoubtedly have lasted longer, filmed in slow-motion from multiple angles, with the camera pushing in on the actors getting spattered. Some might chuckle, but l expect more would roll their eyes while thinking, " Really? "

Picked the wrong day to stop drinking,

LKB

[SimonNZ]

I wasn't arguing. I love Airplane.

[LKB]

I wasn't arguing. I love Airplane.

Glad to hear it! 

< prop whine >,

LKB

[aligreto]

Bandits....





Wonderfully entertaining, engaging and quirky. A really good watch.

[Karl Henning]

I wasn't arguing. I love Airplane.

It's high time I watched that one.

And, back to The Fly

This clearly isn't a film for everybody and yet, it's also very hard not to appreciate its many virtues: It works remarkably well because the two leads manage to get you involved on what could have easily been laughable otherwise., They are able to convince the audience that these proceedings are really happening, turning us into an observing "fly in the wall" in the process (so to speak).

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[George]

It's high time I watched that one.

Meaning you've never seen it? 

[LKB]

It's high time I watched that one.

And, back to The Fly

Haven't seen The Fly in at least fifteen years, probably closer to twenty. And l have no impulse to. Nothing against the film, I've always considered it well done all around, and l do enjoy good sci-fi. But my suspension of disbelief only goes so high, l suppose.

I did watch Independence Day: Indulgence last week. Goldblum looked like he had just woken up in nearly every scene... At least Brent Spiner got a little work.

Oh, finished Dances with Wolves yesterday.

Wind-In-His-Hair,

LKB

[LKB]

Meaning you've never seen it? 

All sophisticated and intelligent musicians ( sorry for the redundancy ) have seen Airplane, or will. No need to fret over k a rl h e nn i ng. 

< puts on nun's habit and grab's a guitar >,

LKB

[Karl Henning]

Meaning you've never seen it? 

In entirety, no. I've certainly seen odd bits.

I feel like the Hawk, telling her, "I never saw E.T...."

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[LKB]

In entirety, no. I've certainly seen odd bits.

I feel like the Hawk, telling her, "I never saw E.T...."
Y
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You are missing out...

Mournfully,

LKB

[Karl Henning]

You are missing out...

Mournfully,

LKB

Well, but you see, that is why I am determined to rectify that this month.