Yeah, it really takes a dark twist towards the end, doesn't it? Though to be honest? I think narratively, it needed to explore that dark side.[DOUBLEPOST=1367730918][/DOUBLEPOST]
Pretty much feel the same way. Personally, I thought it was really great looking movie with a really so-so story, tremendously stupid characters (especially given their scientific calibre), some fun ideas, but overall a mixed bag.
I haven't seen Man with the Iron Fists. I've heard it's kinda bad, but is it worth it for someone that likes wuxia movies and is willing to overlook bad plot for dumb fun?
Also, I just watched Paranorman. Yet another film I should have seen in theaters, I had a stupid grin on my face throughout the entire movie. Everything about it just oozed charm. I'd love for Laika to become a stop-motion Pixar. Pity their art takes so long to create, limiting their output.
How awesome would a Psychonauts movie be, stop-animated by Laika?
I haven't seen Man with the Iron Fists. I've heard it's kinda bad, but is it worth it for someone that likes wuxia movies and is willing to overlook bad plot for dumb fun?
It is by far not the first time I've seen this movie, and it ranks in my top 40. But it has been a while. This movie is great in so many ways. The story is interesting on its own merits, but then it's chock full o' symbolism. Even the title is great, because they set these three characters up with these labels, and then immediately fuck with them. Clint Eastwood has plenty of "bad" moments, and Tuco (the Ugly) is extremely sympathetic at times. The "Bad" (Angel Eyes) is usually played straight. Tuco is by far the most interesting character--something Eastwood recognized when he read the script, and demanded changes to bring the Man with No Name back to the forefront. I love the way Tuco lives on the border between good and even and the end has him
teetering on a gravestone with a noose around his neck, where the wrong move will send him off the edge to his destruction. And then he's literally and symbolically saved by Eastwood.
It's full of sad moments, like the musicians playing during the torture scene, and the dying soldier at the end. All around a really good movie, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has not seen it.
It is by far not the first time I've seen this movie, and it ranks in my top 40. But it has been a while. This movie is great in so many ways. The story is interesting on its own merits, but then it's chock full o' symbolism. Even the title is great, because they set these three characters up with these labels, and then immediately fuck with them. Clint Eastwood has plenty of "bad" moments, and Tuco (the Ugly) is extremely sympathetic at times. The "Bad" (Angel Eyes) is usually played straight. Tuco is by far the most interesting character--something Eastwood recognized when he read the script, and demanded changes to bring the Man with No Name back to the forefront. I love the way Tuco lives on the border between good and even and the end has him
teetering on a gravestone with a noose around his neck, where the wrong move will send him off the edge to his destruction. And then he's literally and symbolically saved by Eastwood.
It's full of sad moments, like the musicians playing during the torture scene, and the dying soldier at the end. All around a really good movie, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has not seen it.
On that ending, the first time I watched this, I kept guessing at what might happen next and I was almost always wrong. By the time it gets to that point, I just gave up guessing--I had no clue what was going to happen. It's such a fantastic movie with great character moments. One of my favorites is when they're leaving the church of Tuco's brother ...
When the brothers have their big fight, which Blondie secretly sees. When he and Tuco are back on the wagon, Tuco tells this big love about how much his brother wanted him to stay and how much they love each other, and Blondie just lets him have his lie and shares his cigar.
I love that movie so much. And it's been too long since I've watched it. Need to remedy that.
I watched "The Cabin in the Woods" Friday night and again Saturday night. I knew it was a Joss Whedon thing so I should have known it would be good but man was I blown away. Talk about going against the common tropes!
I watched "The Cabin in the Woods" Friday night and again Saturday night. I knew it was a Joss Whedon thing so I should have known it would be good but man was I blown away. Talk about going against the common tropes!
I watched "The Cabin in the Woods" Friday night and again Saturday night. I knew it was a Joss Whedon thing so I should have known it would be good but man was I blown away. Talk about going against the common tropes!
I stand by he's a not great feature film director. He didn't direct Cabin in the Woods. I actually loved Firefly. Just Serenity and The Avengers I was pretty cold on.
I watched "The Cabin in the Woods" Friday night and again Saturday night. I knew it was a Joss Whedon thing so I should have known it would be good but man was I blown away. Talk about going against the common tropes!
I stand by he's a not great feature film director. He didn't direct Cabin in the Woods. I actually loved Firefly. Just Serenity and The Avengers I was pretty cold on.
Avengers I liked, but I do agree that Serenity lost a good bit of the magic that made the show interesting. Even simple things like switching from western inspired score to symphonic made a big difference in the feel. Still--it was entertaining. Not enough Book, though.
So, I went and saw Iron Man 3. My friend and I sit down in the theater (It's half full). Then, a little while later, 5 of the most stereotypical nerds walk in. They all park themselves a little bit behind us. All's alright. They don't really say a word to each other. The movie starts. The yacking begins. The obnoxious laughing begins. The discussing differences between the comics and the movies begins. Unsociable nerds are the worst fucking nerds. It's why I hate conventions and why I hate most other nerds. Have some fucking manners you basement dwelling mongs.
The kicker, after the movie was over, the obnoxious laughing nerd mentioned to his posse that it was just as good the second time around.
This has actually made me a little uncomfortable about seeing the movie. The trailers definitely make it feel sympathetic to the leads (but those are trailers, after all).
How does it compare to Alpha Dog (which was not a great movie, but I thought did a good job in not glorifying the actual people or events while maintaining a "fun" feel)?
I stayed up until mid-nite watching an old movie on TCM, Boomtown. It was just something that I had on while I played some CivII. Then I got bored with the game and went into the living room to watch it on the big screen. It starred Clarke Gable and Spencer Tracey while they were both at their peak. Claudette Colbert and Hedy Lamar where the female leads. PURE CHEESE but damn it was still interesting, it was pretty amusing too.
I feel ya Frank some nerds just ain't worth hangin' with.
And Pain and Gain actually happened? Sweet Satan from the commercials I thought it was a simple funny heist movie, I didn't know it was the adaptation of a true story about torturing murders! Thank you internet, I was thinking of seeing this but noooooooo. I do not want laugh for these murderers.
I feel ya Frank some nerds just ain't worth hangin' with.
And Pain and Gain actually happened? Sweet Satan from the commercials I thought it was a simple funny heist movie, I didn't know it was the adaptation of a true story about torturing murders! Thank you internet, I was thinking of seeing this but noooooooo. I do not want laugh for these murderers.
did you skip Inglorious Basterds since it made fun of Nazis?
There are valid reasons to not see Pain & Gain (not appreciating Michael Bay's ouvre), but that's not really one of them. It's not like they're making money off of it. (I can't believe I'm spoiling reality)
They're just as sentenced to death as they were before the movie came out
and as I said before, Michael Bay treats these guys with disdain. ALSO it's loose enough of an adaptation that Wahlberg / Rock / Mackie in the movie really don't match with the real people
I did like Inglorious Basterds, but the making fun of the bad guys in that was different since in that universe they were still bad guys. In Pain and Gain I assumed I wouldn't like it, since it didn't make them look villainous. BUT-if they are in fact vilified in the film I may give it a go if I get the chance.
I watched Jack Reacher the other day with my wife. Really glad we just rented it rather than buying it outright. While it's not a TERRIBLE movie, it's definitely not the one that was advertised via the trailers. The trailer's quick pacing and catchy theme convinced me that it was going to be in someway an action packed thrill ride with a snarky but awesome lead played by the always enjoyable Tom Cruise. (Say what you will about Cruise, but I do love his movies.). Course maybe that was my first mistake. Assuming that because Tom Cruise is in it that's it's going to be a fun ride like Knight & Day or the "Ridonculous" MI: Ghost Protocol.
Turns out it's actually a very slow thriller that has a few sparse scenes of action and very few decent lines for the lead. And it's long too, so it falls into that "Would have been better if it were shorter" category.
The scene that pissed me off the most though is the one that appears in the trailer. Jack is being chased by the cops when he lets his car idle forward and simply walks out of it an into the crowd. The crowd surrounds him, and one even gives him a hat to help him blend in. It's one of those scenes that makes you think "Jack Reacher is awesome. I wonder what he did to get the crowd to do that for him."
Nothing actually. Absolutely nothing. Reacher doesn't even save anyone or perform some other act of heroism during the chase to deserve that kind of help from complete strangers. They all know he's being chased by the cops and hide him from them. Could have been a cold blooded murder for all they knew. Maybe he's just got one of those faces.
Overall I was disappointed. It's not re-watchable for me.
While we're on the subject of westerns and Tarantino...
Django Unchained
Amazing. AMAZING. AH-MAY-ZING. It all the usual Tarantino-isms, which included some fantastic acting on everyone's parts. I loved every minute of it. Definitely not for the faint of heart, though. There're some very uncomfortable moments, including a very nasty (but thankfully brief) scene involving some dogs.
But yeah, just goes to show that Tarantino is pretty much impervious to a bad film.
I'm not sure which is my favourite of this year. This or Cloud Atlas. The latter came out on video this week. I bought it and intend to watch it again some point soon.
Speaking of which, the mere mention of Cloud Atlas means I get to reset my timer for when Charlie Don't Surf wrongly accuses the movie of yellow-facing again. In 5...4...3...2...
where the female leads. PURE CHEESE but damn it was still interesting, it was pretty amusing too.
