Movie Review

[Virtual_Burlesque]

I saw Flash Gorden and loved it. It was in twelve, fifteen minute episodes on two tapes, made sometime in the 30's, and starred Buster Crabbe (who I believe also starred in the 30's version of Tarzan).

http://www.serialexperience.com/image_gallery/Flash_Gordon.jpg

It was great fun, and I wound up with a better understanding of what Flesh Gordon was spoofing.

I usually like Richard Gere's films, but have so far not taken in Shall We Dance. For some reason, I cannot believe it could live up to the magic of the Japanese original of a few years earlier.

So much was dependant upon cultural mores, and I cannot believe in a western path around those impediments.

Anybody who saw the original care to make a comment?

 

[CrazyyAngel]

I am just back from watching The Incredibles and what should I say ... it was incredible . That movie was really cool ... and I am so waiting for the movies Pixar will do when they are not doing anything for Disney anymore. But what was maybe even better than the main movie was the short movie Boundin ... That was one of the greatest short animated movies I've ever seen.

As for other movies this year ... Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was great. All those cliches from those old movies, just awesome.

Also good this year were The Ladykillers. Tom Hanks played great ... you could really see that he had fun playing that guy.

Collateral ... Tom Cruise at his best. There he was way better than in Last Samurai. And he seemed to have alot of fun playing the bad guy. What I liked most on that movie was the beginning. When Jamie Foxx' character was introduced. The cleaning of the cab, all the little rituals when beginning work. And than those runs through LA just with cool music in the background. Awesome.

There were more ... but I don't seem to remember them all.

CA

P.S: Oh ... I've seen Shall we dance and I actually kind of liked it (although I was forced to see the dubbed version).

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

...P.S: Oh ... I've seen Shall we dance and I actually kind of liked it (although I was forced to see the dubbed version).

I saw the Japanese film from the 90's with subtitles --- there was a dubbed version?
Or do you mean the new English version with Richard Gere, in some not-English dubbed version.

If there is a good dubbed version of the Japanese film I would be interested. Ordinarily, I do not like multitasking while watching a movie.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Originally posted by CrazyyAngel
I am just back from watching The Incredibles and what should I say ... it was incredible . That movie was really cool ... and I am so waiting for the movies Pixar will do when they are not doing anything for Disney anymore. But what was maybe even better than the main movie was the short movie Boundin ... That was one of the greatest short animated movies I've ever seen.

As for other movies this year ... Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was great. All those cliches from those old movies, just awesome.

Also good this year were The Ladykillers. Tom Hanks played great ... you could really see that he had fun playing that guy.

Collateral ... Tom Cruise at his best. There he was way better than in Last Samurai. And he seemed to have alot of fun playing the bad guy. What I liked most on that movie was the beginning. When Jamie Foxx' character was introduced. The cleaning of the cab, all the little rituals when beginning work. And than those runs through LA just with cool music in the background. Awesome.

There were more ... but I don't seem to remember them all.

CA

P.S: Oh ... I've seen Shall we dance and I actually kind of liked it (although I was forced to see the dubbed version).

This will sound a little too formal for fun movie interpretation, but Collateral was absolutely amazingly done. One of the very best examples of character development ever.

Its not just "normal guy gets into the action-packed and comes out better for it and gets the girl" Jerry Bruckheimer stuff... Vincent is a great character, especially well done by Cruise. The perfect model of a total sociopath.

Charismatic, driven, ordered, manipulative. But, entirely human. So compartmentalized that his firing pattern stays EXACTLY the same throughout the whole movie. I can't think of any other film where the gun fire is a psychological predicate to a character.

Two in the head, one in the chest. When he shoots the asian gang-lord after clipping others and only hits him once in the chest before running out of ammo... it was a giant character development to show the reload and the finishing of the compulsion.

Very subtle. Very, very powerful stuff.

 

[English Lady]

collateral is on my "to view" list. I love Tom Cruise anyway but i've heard nothing but good things about this film.

 

[alyxen]

Too lazy to read if this has already been reviewed, but saw the new Blade movie recently. Good movie, but had a lot more humor than the previous ones.

One of the guys form 'Two guys, a girl and a pizza place' (old, short lived sitcom) is in it and his character is probably my favorite.

Will be seeing it again before too long probably.

 

[CrazyyAngel]

I saw the Japanese film from the 90's with subtitles --- there was a dubbed version?
Or do you mean the new English version with Richard Gere, in some not-English dubbed version.

If there is a good dubbed version of the Japanese film I would be interested. Ordinarily, I do not like multitasking while watching a movie.

Until you mentioned it earlier in the thread I never even knew there was a japanese original to this movie.

I've seen the movie with Richard Gere recently in a German dubbed version. I prefer to see the undubbed versions, but here the person I watched the movie with wanted the german version.

CA

 

[steve w]

I agree with Charley about Citizen Kane. Hugely overrated in my view.

I loved Collateral. Joe is right about the pathology of the central character. I did spot a ludicrous anomaly at the end, (two in fact) but that would just mark me out as nerdy. The film also showed Tom is going to look great even when he's gone grey. The bastard.

An old movie worthy of resurrection is "Sweet Smell Of Success". A 1950s noir starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. I've ranted about how great this movie is before, but truly, it's wonderful. Especially for writers as, despite great acting and supreme lighting, the real star is the script. You actually want to see it two or three times just to make sure you took in every word that was written - pretty rare in a film.

 

[CharleyH]

I agree with Charley about Citizen Kane. Hugely overrated in my view.

Didn't say I didn't like it, it has it's merits. Certainly, it was Welles tour de farce I was merely pointing out the fact that every film professor and film student, in the history of film professors and film students, has touted this amongst the best if not The Best . . . it is rare to hear a bad word uttered.

Citizen X was a fascinating film, and much breezed over Hard to find on the shelves these days.

 

[AngeloMichael]

I saw Alexander when it came out a couple weeks ago. Worst. Movie. Ever. It sucked big time. The plot was boring and confusing at the same time Colin Farell looked ridiculous with the bleach blonde hair and thick black eyebrows and black beard stubble. Angelina Jolie had a terrible accent and her acting wasn't much better. The battle scenes were a jumble and not very interesting. I really didn't care about who Alexander fought, the movie spent no time in explaining who the foes were and how motivated they were to stop him or not, when they were defeated (which I really couldn't tell until someone in movie said so) I felt nothing.

The movie acknoledged the homosexuality/bisexuality of Alexander, which I have no problem with if done well, but this was just so dull, there was a lot of hugging, that was pretty much it. Whether he was with a man or a woman I expected the great conquerer to be just that, great, i.e. a badass, the movie turned him into a complete wimp. He was indecisive, submissive, and very unsure of himself, I don't think it is a bad idea to show different sides of a character, but this movie portrayed only those weak sides of Alexander and showed nothing of what made him "great", nothing of what made people want to follow him, nothing of how the world could have fallen under the rule of this man. Just a complete and utter waste of time.


For a good movie, check out The Terminal starring Tom Hanks. This movie was extremely funny and touching as well. It was inspired by the true story of a man who has been living in an airport in France for almost 20 years now due to a bureaucratic snafu. This movie movie moves the locale to New York City, and like I said it was only inspired by that story, they took a lot of dramatic license, but a very good movie nonetheless. Tom Hanks plays a foreigner from a fictional country on the Russian border and he is wonderful, the way he lives day to day at the airport and the characters he meets (especially the janitor) makes this movie really great.

 

[Carl East]

As this is the Christmas Season, I thought I'd pick a favorite Christmas movie of my own.

Mine is 'SCROOGE,' with Albert Finney and as you know it was a musical version of said story. Now I've seen every Scrooge variant, and without doubt this one seems to capture the essence of Dickens tale beautifully. I've always thought that the scene with Tiny Tim should provoke an emotional response, yet none of the other Scrooge's ever did, at least not like this one.

I could've picked 'It's a Wonderful Life,' as well, because it was a masterful and before its time piece of work. In fact some people, including the FBI thought it was subversive and not a little communistic (is that a word) lol. But I chose one that I have watched every year for the past twenty years, and I never seem to get bored with it.

Have you all got a favorite Christmas movie?

Carl

 

[steve w]

Gotta be It's a Wonderful Life.

I know exactly what's going to happen. Still cry my eyes out when it does.

 

[yui]

As this is the Christmas Season, I thought I'd pick a favorite Christmas movie of my own.

Mine is 'SCROOGE,' with Albert Finney and as you know it was a musical version of said story. Now I've seen every Scrooge variant, and without doubt this one seems to capture the essence of Dickens tale beautifully. I've always thought that the scene with Tiny Tim should provoke an emotional response, yet none of the other Scrooge's ever did, at least not like this one.

I could've picked 'It's a Wonderful Life,' as well, because it was a masterful and before its time piece of work. In fact some people, including the FBI thought it was subversive and not a little communistic (is that a word) lol. But I chose one that I have watched every year for the past twenty years, and I never seem to get bored with it.

Have you all got a favorite Christmas movie?

Carl

A Christmas Story (1983)

 

[Evil Alpaca]

As this is the Christmas Season, I thought I'd pick a favorite Christmas movie of my own.

Mine is 'SCROOGE,' with Albert Finney and as you know it was a musical version of said story. Now I've seen every Scrooge variant, and without doubt this one seems to capture the essence of Dickens tale beautifully. I've always thought that the scene with Tiny Tim should provoke an emotional response, yet none of the other Scrooge's ever did, at least not like this one.

Carl

I brought Scrooge up on a Christmas movie thread a while back, and I was wondering if I was the only one who had seen that version. I've watched Scrooge in the middle of July, just because I like it.

 

[Carl East]

Has anyone seen 'PHANTOM OF THE OPERA,' yet? The movie I mean. I'm thinking of going to see it, and wondered if it's as good as the show.

Carl

 

[Just-Legal]

Has anyone seen 'PHANTOM OF THE OPERA,' yet? The movie I mean. I'm thinking of going to see it, and wondered if it's as good as the show.

Carl

Yes! Me! I saw it on friday.

Its BRILLIANT. Absolutely amazing. Okay, they've had to change it a little bit but its still fantastic. Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler... gods, they should have shacked up, screw Raoul.

Brilliant, but if you're taking a female friend, TAKE TISSUES! Especially for the graveyard scene.

 

[Carl East]

Phantom of the Opera: I watched it in America and have to say it was very well done. Having heard the sound track several times on cd I think they did a wonderful job in transferring it to film. Now if only they'd do the same thing for Jeff Wayne's 'War of the Worlds.' Wouldn't that be good?

Carl