Since I just cut ties with DirecTV Now (AT&T) and don't have TCM anymore, I signed up for Turners Film Struck + Criterion Collection service.
So I still have access to the classics where some of my most favorite films reside.
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Spoilers What Movie Are You Watching?
- Thread starter Huntn
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So I still have access to the classics where some of my most favorite films reside.
@SandboxGeneral Wow, right on that services front page: Taxi Driver, 5 Easy Pieces and M , yeah, that's a pretty amazing selection.
I have a few Criterion edition laserdiscs ... yes, LD, I didn't want to pitch them, they're not worth much, figured at some point I'd stumble onto a collector who'd want them (even have a high end, working Panasonic LD player)
I have a few Criterion edition laserdiscs ... yes, LD, I didn't want to pitch them, they're not worth much, figured at some point I'd stumble onto a collector who'd want them (even have a high end, working Panasonic LD player)
Indeed, they are quite serious about their collection of classics. The fans of the genres of the golden age of film are also quite serious about it too. I'm very happy there is a great community of film goers who still support them and are enthusiastic about it.
I wouldn't get rid of those LD's. That's pretty cool you still have some.
The Layover. Never heard of Kate Upton or the guy. Unfortunate direction by William H Macy. This was just a really bad movie. Too predictable, but lots of eye candy.
Yeah, in fact, I have a handy list that I used to try to sell them, then later, just to try to give them away:
Silence Of The Lambs
Backdraft
Hidden Fortress (Boxed Criterion)
Aliens (Boxed Special Ed)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Return Of The Jedi
Looney Tunes Curtain Calls
Dracula
The Wall
Full Metal Jacket
Raider Of The Lost Arc
Star Trek 2, Wrath of Khan
Fistfull Of Dollars
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Seven Samurai (Criterion)
Ran
Terminator 2
Toy Story
Princess Bride
Pulp Fiction
The Crow
The Unforgiven
These are all anime, so I lumped them together, in case the titles aren't familiar
Vampire Princess Miyu (Volume 1)
Robot Carnival
Ad Police (Volume 1, 2 And 3, single disc)
Area 88 Act 1
Area 88 Act 2
Area 88 Act 3
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1970) - Sergio Martino's first giallo and almost his best. Julie Wardh (Edwige Fenech) has man trouble: her passive-aggressive husband Neil (Alberto de Mendoza), the dangerously flirty George (George Hilton), and her sadistic ex-boyfriend Jean (Ivan Rassimov) all keep buzzing around Julie reminding her of the past and present. When an unrelated murderer starts killing women in the city where the Wardhs live, the trio of men uses this to their advantage to pull one over on Julie. A very smart, complicated plot with an almost perfect payoff, Strange Vice... is sadly almost run off the rails because Martino insisted on killing the wrong man too early (Rassimov.
Sergio would do that with every single giallo he made with Ivan, which was a shame since Ivan runs acting circles around Hilton, and the usually fine de Mendoza here).
Despite that quibble, there are some amazing visuals (and the S&M sex scenes still feel very, very taboo and kinky almost 50 years later). The scorn between Julie and Jean is fantastic. As Jean, Ivan Rassimov is just so scuzzy in a matter-of-fact kind of way, he's brilliant. Edwige deftly bounces off his pitch-perfect performance. He always brought out the best in her acting. They worked wonderfully together -which frustrates me- because he was always killed off way too soon. The more I watch Ivan's performances, the more I love his work. He was an excellent actor often cast in grade Z movies (his giallo roles were the best things he appeared in), but I observed him quite carefully this time. The subtle way Jean basks in making Julie uncomfortable was just terrific. The soundtrack is so great that Tarantino nicked it for Kill Bill (did not work for me, but then Kill Bill did not work for me). This is how you do a violent, sexually explicit thriller and pull the rug out from everyone's feet. It's character-driven, clever, beautiful and ugly.
At the time, only Lucio Fulci gave women very complicated roles in giallos, so to see Sergio Martino do this as well was pretty great. Unfortunately, Edwige would revert to being a damsel in distress in All The Colours of the Dark, but that movie is just as great as this one is (save for, yes, Ivan dying too soon), so I am okay with that.
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is an excellent giallo that gets better with every watch. I need this on region 1 blu ray (I hope someone tops the blu ray that Shameless U.K. released last year, I'd like to retire that region 2 blu. Ditto for All The Colours of the Dark.) It's been 13 years since my first viewing, and I still love this film. I hope I can catch this and All the Colours of the Dark on the big screen someday.
*An aside, I had a good laugh today when I realized the Getty Images behind-the-scenes photo from this film taken during one of Edwige and Ivan's sex scenes labelled her a porno actress. Yes, she was naked a lot, but none of her movies were porno films.
Last night I was looking through iTunes for something to watch, and came upon Game Night (2018), starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, among others.
I really liked it. Granted, my state of mind was perfect for a film such as this one, so I guess that helped. I really don't likes spoilers or spoiling films, so I'm not going to go into specifics about what happens, other than that the film has a good mixture of a comedic and "serious" tone, and the characters are well written, for the most part. Jesse Plemons deserves a special mention as the hilariously unsettling neighbor of the lead couple played by Bateman and McAdams.
An entertaining flick if you have a 100 minutes to spare. The trailers are a bit spoilery, so I recommend going in blind.
I really liked it. Granted, my state of mind was perfect for a film such as this one, so I guess that helped. I really don't likes spoilers or spoiling films, so I'm not going to go into specifics about what happens, other than that the film has a good mixture of a comedic and "serious" tone, and the characters are well written, for the most part. Jesse Plemons deserves a special mention as the hilariously unsettling neighbor of the lead couple played by Bateman and McAdams.
An entertaining flick if you have a 100 minutes to spare. The trailers are a bit spoilery, so I recommend going in blind.
Watched this over the weekend. For anyone that saw it, did anyone else catch the reference to the ...
I dug it. Not as good as the first, but man there are some scenes that had us laughing pretty good.
The time zone
I dug it. Not as good as the first, but man there are some scenes that had us laughing pretty good.
It was the last scene when they are on the roof top and they are getting ready to send Ant Man into the Quantum Realm, and they are warning him to stay away from the "Time Zone/Vortex... don't get caught in it" along with other warning about a creature.
Since we could be dealing with one of the A4 Infinity Stones of time, this could have an impact on who or what is used to change what happened. Just a theory but it stood out to both me and the wife.
[doublepost=1531764015][/doublepost]Also watched and enjoyed the following this weekend. Loved the beginning as it was something I didn't expect to see happening.
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i saw Ant-man and Jurassic world, they were both good, no complaints really except for minor things. like for antman, it was good but the 1st is still better. and as for jurrasic, the part when they were on the roof trying to escape it was just too much coincidence that the dinos kept crashing out the windows exactly where they were at on the roof.
Steven Spielberg? That guy never did much after this movie ...
Have I mentioned my love of The Matrix (1999)?
[doublepost=1529463881][/doublepost]The Icredibles (2004)- Wonderful James Bondish 60s spy vibe in this animated film, extremely smart and clever. I love the jungle animation.
A fantastic film, indeed. Sadly, the sequel is far inferior. Oddly enough, it's getting rave reviews. Hmmmm....
I've not seen The Incredibles sequel, just because I heard some negatives. I'll stream it eventually.
I skimmed through the list of films in the past 8 pages or so. It seems like the last of the great films was in the mid 2000's, and the well of quality films has nearly dried up in the past 5 years or so.
There have certainly been entertaining American releases over the past 5-10 years but seemingly only 1-3 standouts per year in those years.
In the past 5 years, we've largely been subject to stale reboots and sequels.
Also, after Avatar, I thought it might take 5-10 years for photo realistic CGI to finally make it's way to cinema. I'm sure it has, meaning I've probably seen it and not recognized it as CGI (such as some CGI nudity). Grand Moff Tarkin was as convincing of a CGI recreation I've ever seen (when knowing the image was in fact CGI).
Otherwise, CGI effects often retain a cartoonish quality: such as the dinosaurs in the last couple of Jurassic films. As far as I can tell, the CGI in the Jurassic films reached it's apex of photo realism in the 3rd installment released 17 years ago. I don't know what the budget was for Solo, but again, the CGI looks cartoonish, unrealistic. The train sequence in particular doesn't look especially realistic.
I thought the 2010's would usher in an era of films which would be unprecedented in their ability to create and recreate new and old worlds allowing for a degree of realism never before imaginable. Sadly, this has not yet happened.
There have certainly been entertaining American releases over the past 5-10 years but seemingly only 1-3 standouts per year in those years.
In the past 5 years, we've largely been subject to stale reboots and sequels.
Also, after Avatar, I thought it might take 5-10 years for photo realistic CGI to finally make it's way to cinema. I'm sure it has, meaning I've probably seen it and not recognized it as CGI (such as some CGI nudity). Grand Moff Tarkin was as convincing of a CGI recreation I've ever seen (when knowing the image was in fact CGI).
Otherwise, CGI effects often retain a cartoonish quality: such as the dinosaurs in the last couple of Jurassic films. As far as I can tell, the CGI in the Jurassic films reached it's apex of photo realism in the 3rd installment released 17 years ago. I don't know what the budget was for Solo, but again, the CGI looks cartoonish, unrealistic. The train sequence in particular doesn't look especially realistic.
I thought the 2010's would usher in an era of films which would be unprecedented in their ability to create and recreate new and old worlds allowing for a degree of realism never before imaginable. Sadly, this has not yet happened.
To be fair, pretty much anything out there has some negative reviews.I've not seen The Incredibles sequel, just because I heard some negatives. I'll stream it eventually.
I've not seen The Incredibles sequel, just because I heard some negatives. I'll stream it eventually.
It's fantastic, well worth a trip to the theater (we rarely go anymore), can't wait to buy it
Most of the negatives I've read are incredibly (*zing*) silly.
This is so true. I actually think folks just like crapping on things because they can. You know, typical internet stuff.
I like the TI2, not as well as the first one, but it was a fun ride.
exactly! ive told Huntn that one day but he swears by movie reviews. i dont, movie taste is subjective. dont care for "movie reviews" at all.