More Shaws, Different Day. Watched one of my most favorite SBs, Judgement of An Assassin (1977) over my commutes (last night and this a.m.). Such a great movie, one of my all time favorite legal stories too.
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Spoilers What Movie Are You Watching?
- Thread starter Huntn
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Highlander. A bit dated now but a great film in its day.
Possibly the best sound track ever!
There can be only one!
Possibly the best sound track ever!
There can be only one!
I am not watching any movie, but I did watch some videos (thank you, YouTube) of the funeral rites of Empress Zita of Austria in 1989, and of Otto von Habsburg in 2011. Extraordinary.
Not really.
I was listening to the music of Bedřich Smetana earlier tonight (Má Vlast), and thinking about the Habsburgs, and stuff such as history, and the passage of time.
They had possibly the most magnificently elaborate - and surprisingly impressive - Baroque funeral traditions to be found anywhere in Europe. Magnificent, sombre, dignified, with echoes - or shades - of the sort of ceremony invoked by Black Rod.
Anyway, after the elaborate funeral procession of the Emperor Franz Joseph in 1916, it blew my mind to realise that the next Habsburg funeral to formally take place in Vienna (post war conditions had led to the exile and dispossession of Habsburgs from Austria as the state feared that they would attempt to regain, or reclaim, the throne) in the sombre setting of the Capuchin Church was that of the Empress Zita, who died in 1989, having married the Archduke Karl in 1911, who himself had become Emperor - the last to hold that title - when he succeeded Franz Josef to the throne in December 1916.
Karl died in exile in Madeira in 1922 (of pneumonia), and his widow lived a long life in exile, until her death in 1989, when the Austrian state allowed her funeral to take place on its soil.
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Sleepy Hollow (1999)- My favorite Johnny Depp film because it's a great Halloween Movie, and Depp plays a fairly normal likeable character compared to just about all of his roles. Filmed in the U.K. on a set village constructed on a private estate in the Thames Valley. Why not upstate New York? Several reasons, lack of studio facilities in New York, reliable gloomy weather, and accessibility of particular English actors. NYTimes:FILM; 'Sleepy Hollow,' on the Thames.
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Great film! Though as I recall, it was referred to "The Headless Horseman" by some including PPV back when they had a few channels you paid into and didn't have to pay for each movie. This was before digital cable. I don't remember the exact name of the channel, but it was pink and it would promo films for 15-20 minutes before playing them. I believe Behind Enemy Lines was one of the last films I remember seeing on a PPV channel before ISPs/Cable Providers ditched the old service format for digital.Sleepy Hollow (1999)- My favorite Johnny Depp film because it's a great Halloween Movie, and Depp plays a fairly normal likeable character compared to just about all of his roles. Filmed in the U.K.
That channel and I believe HBO and Cinemax went "offline" for a week or two after 9/11 out of respect.
I saw Baby Driver a few nights ago - its a fun movie but the characters are too underdeveloped to be great. I really didn't like Jamie Foxx in this at all, though it may be the editing that made his character seem flat. Kevin Spacey was pretty solid though, but again... the story was lacking something that gave the story impact. Ansel E. as baby... the character could have been played by almost any young actor.
Just finished watching Kubo and the two strings, what a fabulous piece of storytelling with stunning visuals and soundtrack too. If you haven't seen it as yet, do yourself the favour!
My favorite movie from last year! Laika is my favorite animation studio these days.
One of my favorite movies and the scene at the end when he taking pops from the hospital and then the realization of the characters at the funeral. God it gets me every single time!
Love this movie.
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Both me and the wife really dug this one also!!! Great little flick that didn't get much attention at the box office.
We just finished John Wick 2, yup action packed and oh my! Can't wait for Chapter 3!!!!
I also enjoyed John Wick 2, now I'm watching old school, Casablanca.
Alien (1979)- The original haunted house origin of the series. The crew members of the mining vessel Sulaco with 20,000,000 tons of ore headed for Earth is awakened from hyper sleep half way home to investigate a mysterious beacon. If they had only kept the door of the cafeteria closed, this story might of had a happier ending. 
Unrelated to plot comment
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Unrelated to plot comment
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Alien: Covenant
Finally got through all the Alien films and ultimately Alien: Covenant; Not too bad at all. I can see to some extents where Ridley Scott is looking come full circle back to his 1979 masterpiece Alien which in all honesty I feel is still best taken as a standalone film. The mystery and unknowing of the Alien is exactly what drives the suspense, tension, fear and ultimately the horror & dread in the audience.
Alien: Covenant still enjoyed it, not quite as graphically impressive as Prometheus. Definitely a typical Ridley Scott film with tremendous attention to detail. Took a little to get into the characters, needs some open mindedness on the behalf of the audience. Covers a lot of ground at brisk pace. More in tune with the earlier Alien films, so less esoteric than Prometheus. Didn't find it to be a particularity frightening film, equally it does have it's moments, mostly the gore factor, however not over the top and done very well. For me Alien (1979) & Alien 3 (1992) remain still the standouts of the franchise, albeit Alien 3 marred by corporate interference.
Aliens (1986) being a very different animal, being an action focused film, very much lessoning the tension & fear as a direct result, still remains an excellent SciFi watch. Alien 3 we get back to the roots; isolation & fear, now set in the more dystopian setting of Fiorina Fury 161. Similar to the first film, really presents the feeling of dread. Thankfully the reconstructed version is so much better than the original theatrical cut. Fox should simply have left David Fincher to do what he does best. Alien: Resurrection, starting to spiral here, very different flavour nor living up to it's forerunners being rather average.
Prometheus again better suited as a standalone, equally presents a great deal of questions that some are still striving for answers of. Tying to loop the franchise back to the original 1979 epic, is likely to leave gaps or require the audience to accept levels of inconsistency. Alien from 1979 still remains the most terrifying, as on a psychological level your slowly drawn into the story and the ensuing crisis the crew must endure, nor do things happen as one would typically expect...
Mostly just ramblings as ever open to comments
Q-6
Finally got through all the Alien films and ultimately Alien: Covenant; Not too bad at all. I can see to some extents where Ridley Scott is looking come full circle back to his 1979 masterpiece Alien which in all honesty I feel is still best taken as a standalone film. The mystery and unknowing of the Alien is exactly what drives the suspense, tension, fear and ultimately the horror & dread in the audience.
Alien: Covenant still enjoyed it, not quite as graphically impressive as Prometheus. Definitely a typical Ridley Scott film with tremendous attention to detail. Took a little to get into the characters, needs some open mindedness on the behalf of the audience. Covers a lot of ground at brisk pace. More in tune with the earlier Alien films, so less esoteric than Prometheus. Didn't find it to be a particularity frightening film, equally it does have it's moments, mostly the gore factor, however not over the top and done very well. For me Alien (1979) & Alien 3 (1992) remain still the standouts of the franchise, albeit Alien 3 marred by corporate interference.
Aliens (1986) being a very different animal, being an action focused film, very much lessoning the tension & fear as a direct result, still remains an excellent SciFi watch. Alien 3 we get back to the roots; isolation & fear, now set in the more dystopian setting of Fiorina Fury 161. Similar to the first film, really presents the feeling of dread. Thankfully the reconstructed version is so much better than the original theatrical cut. Fox should simply have left David Fincher to do what he does best. Alien: Resurrection, starting to spiral here, very different flavour nor living up to it's forerunners being rather average.
Prometheus again better suited as a standalone, equally presents a great deal of questions that some are still striving for answers of. Tying to loop the franchise back to the original 1979 epic, is likely to leave gaps or require the audience to accept levels of inconsistency. Alien from 1979 still remains the most terrifying, as on a psychological level your slowly drawn into the story and the ensuing crisis the crew must endure, nor do things happen as one would typically expect...
Mostly just ramblings
as ever open to comments Q-6
The Boxer Rebellion (1976) This was one of the earliest Shaw Brothers movies I watched when I got back into watching Shaws over two years ago and I remember being super bummed that the the mystical abilities mixed with invincible armor kung fu did not make the fighters immune to bullets and other weapons. These practitioners were known as spiritual boxers by foreigners. For some reason, the British referred to kung fu / martial arts as boxing.
Anyway, I revisited again last night with a bit more of an understanding of the actual rebellion and the movie depressed me even more. There is a lot of skepticism from many of the characters (both those who already practice spiritual boxing , and too, two of three brothers who want to join the movement). The high priest and others know that their mystical workings are a sham and only made to look good by the invincible armor kung fu (invincible skin as its known here), but they know they can inspire their people to rise up against the invaders so they wrap everything in pseudo occult rites. Director Chang Cheh repeatedly shows the spiritual boxers failing (and dying), and yet, some remain patriotic even in the face of death. The kung fu on display is ridiculously good (Leung Kar Yan's disarming of a fellow sb during a display for Empress Cixi was fantastic, as was Chi Kuan-Chun's beautiful display of some Hung Gar styles), I enjoyed a couple of the key players, but ultimately I still prefer Lau Kar Leung's The Spiritual Boxer (1975) because it tackles the subject both seriously and with a failed goofy charm. There seems to be a good deal more respect in spite of the earlier film veering off into unsuccessful comedy. It's not as much a downer as Chang Cheh's epic. Even though I am still a big fan of Leung Kar Yan (a.k.a Beardy), I am not sure I'll watch more than his fighting scenes gong forward.
Oh well.
Anyway, I revisited again last night with a bit more of an understanding of the actual rebellion and the movie depressed me even more. There is a lot of skepticism from many of the characters (both those who already practice spiritual boxing , and too, two of three brothers who want to join the movement). The high priest and others know that their mystical workings are a sham and only made to look good by the invincible armor kung fu (invincible skin as its known here), but they know they can inspire their people to rise up against the invaders so they wrap everything in pseudo occult rites. Director Chang Cheh repeatedly shows the spiritual boxers failing (and dying), and yet, some remain patriotic even in the face of death. The kung fu on display is ridiculously good (Leung Kar Yan's disarming of a fellow sb during a display for Empress Cixi was fantastic, as was Chi Kuan-Chun's beautiful display of some Hung Gar styles), I enjoyed a couple of the key players, but ultimately I still prefer Lau Kar Leung's The Spiritual Boxer (1975) because it tackles the subject both seriously and with a failed goofy charm. There seems to be a good deal more respect in spite of the earlier film veering off into unsuccessful comedy. It's not as much a downer as Chang Cheh's epic. Even though I am still a big fan of Leung Kar Yan (a.k.a Beardy), I am not sure I'll watch more than his fighting scenes gong forward.
Oh well.
Yeah, the three 90s collaborations with JD were all terrific, Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands. The TB+JD 2000s were definitely more hit-or-miss, though big fans of his execution of Sweeney Todd (movie poster hanging in the main TV room) and the underappreciated Corpse Bride.
Sweeney Todd and Dark Shadows did not appeal to me at all. In it's original form Dark Shadows was not a comedy, so I did not appreciate turning Barnabus into a Jack Sparow quirky kind of character.
