RA Movie Thread (Read 5918 times)

    Just watched Warm Bodies.

     

    Saw that awhile back on On Demand. Pretty much agree with your assessment; can't quite say disappointing as I didn't expect too much from it. One of those movies where you have already seen all the good lines in the trailer. But watched it with my teenage daughter, so it was a good bonding opportunity. And she appreciated the Romeo & Juliet connection, since she had read it in school.

     

    Saw All is Lost on the plane. Seemed to get a lot of critical acclaim, but I didn't see what the big fuss was about. (I think the industry is pretty enamored of Robert Redford in general.) As a survival story with only one main character, I guess you could compare it to Gravity and Cast Away. Much more extreme in that there was literally only one character in the entire movie, and virtually no dialogue. I guess it is a challenge to make a movie that way, but didn't do much for me. I did not think it was nearly as good as Gravity, which was not nearly as good as Cast Away. Probably worth seeing for free on a plane.

    Dave

    RunJasonRun


      It's been a while since I posted, but here a couple of flicks that I've revisited over the past few weeks...

       

      Picnic at Hanging Rock

       

      This 1975 Australian film from Peter Weir (Witness, Dead Poet's Society, The Mosquito Coast, etc.) tells the story of three schoolgirls and a teacher who go missing without a trace during a trip to the Hanging Rock.  This is a haunting film in so many ways, and, although the unsolved mystery may frustrate some viewers, I love the ethereal dreamlike images and I love how the film juxtaposes the wealthy elite of the colonist society with the harsh unforgiving terrain of the Australian wilderness.

       

      The Mechanic

       

      This original 1972 version of The Mechanic, starring Charles Bronson and Jan-MIchael Vincent, blows the recent Jason Statham remake out of the sky in every way, thanks to a more low-key approach and to some incredible action scenes before the days of computer effects.

      Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

      FSocks


      KillJoyFuckStick

        Just watched Warm Bodies.

         

        I enjoyed the comedic take on the zombie genre in My Boyfriend's Back and Idle Hands (really dating myself here), so I've been intrigued by this one since I saw the trailers.

         

        Disappointed, for the most part.  Despite the presence of Rob Freakin' Cordry - who did have some good lines, granted - the comedy I anticipated from the budding romance between a living girl and a boy zombie was largely relegated to jokes that could have been made about any such situation between two young people from different backgrounds.

         

        In fact...that brings up kind of a redeeming quality, as I see it: but for a big departure in the third act, the movie is Romeo & Juliet, a good introduction to Shakespeare for the teenagers it's obviously made for.  There's even a balcony scene toward the end of the 2nd act in which the boy zombie, whose name is "R" (he can't remember the rest of it) calls up to the girl, "Julie."

         

        Anyway, like I say, I was looking for a goofy comedy and got a movie too preoccupied with terrible CGI, banal teenage banter and cute leads.  And which stubbornly refused to let John Malkovich get as much screentime as I wanted.  And which gave us a resolution that is wildly beyond all plausibility...and that's coming from a guy who expected to see a movie about a reanimated dead man romancing an attractive blonde 18-year-old.

         

        MTA: one other good thing about the movie I almost forgot: it has a terrific soundtrack, which sadly doesn't seem to be available for purchase.  The Black Keys tune in the trailer was noticeably absent, but we got Feist, G'n'R, Springsteen, Bob Dylan...some classic Roy Orbison, Scorpions...pretty solid soundtrack for the teenage fluff it backed up!

        Interesting perspective.

         

        My take on Warm Bodies was it was a quirky comedy that seemed to work for whatever reason.  Not to suggest that it should win any awards or anything but kind of fun to watch when I"m in that sort of mood.

         

        I DVRd Cat People (82 version with Nastassja Kinski, et. al.) and I watched it last night with DW.  It had been 30ish years since I've seen this movie and DW had never seen it.  My intent of rewatching it was to see if there was anything else to this movie other than gratuitous NK nudity, which is what I remembered (and why I saw it as a teen).  The answer, yes, there is more to the movie but I'm still convinced NK must have been paid "by the boob" because we see a lot of them in 2nd half of the movie.  There is some interesting symbolism used by the director to animalistic behaviors and "caging the beast."  Overall the movie holds up well.

         

        6/10 Socks

        You people have issues 

        RunJasonRun


          I DVRd Cat People (82 version with Nastassja Kinski, et. al.) and I watched it last night with DW.  It had been 30ish years since I've seen this movie and DW had never seen it.  My intent of rewatching it was to see if there was anything else to this movie other than gratuitous NK nudity, which is what I remembered (and why I saw it as a teen).  The answer, yes, there is more to the movie but I'm still convinced NK must have been paid "by the boob" because we see a lot of them in 2nd half of the movie.  There is some interesting symbolism used by the director to animalistic behaviors and "caging the beast."  Overall the movie holds up well.

           

           

          The Nastassja Kinski scenes in the 1982 version of Cat People are still my favorite nude scenes of all time.  I revisited this movie not too long ago, and had the same opinion that it holds up well, thanks in part to the outstanding soundtrack from Giorgio Moroder and David Bowie.  Oh...and Nastassja Kinski.

           

          I've got a real soft spot for these "second tier" 1980s horror movies from my youth, though.  I also revisited the 1985 movie, Lifeforce, recently, and found that, while it does not hold up quite as well as Cat People, it's still a rocking cool movie with some outstanding nude scenes courtesy of Mathilda May.

           

          Now, the 1942 original version of Cat People, which was directed by horror/film noir extraordinaire Jacques Tourneur, and produced by Val Lewton, blows the 1982 remake out of the sky in terms of overall movie greatness.  It's an old black-and-white flick, but it's still as creepy as hell.

          Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

          mab411


          Proboscis Colossus

            Cat People...that one rings a bell with me for some reason.  Not sure I ever watched it all the way through, but...is there something in there about NK's character having sex with her son, or some other close relative?  Besides the nudity, seems like I associate incest with that movie.

            "God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people

            bhearn


              Now, the 1942 original version of Cat People, which was directed by horror/film noir extraordinaire Jacques Tourneur, and produced by Val Lewton, blows the 1982 remake out of the sky in terms of overall movie greatness.  It's an old black-and-white flick, but it's still as creepy as hell.

               

              +1

              RunJasonRun


                Cat People...that one rings a bell with me for some reason.  Not sure I ever watched it all the way through, but...is there something in there about NK's character having sex with her son, or some other close relative?  Besides the nudity, seems like I associate incest with that movie.

                 

                Nastassja Kinski's character and her brother, played with awesome menace by Malcolm McDowell, have some interesting interactions in Cat People that go back to their family history.  They turn into cats and go out to kill after they sleep with ordinary humans, so the only way for them to keep from transforming is to stay with each other.  Kinski's character is not quite as enthused about this idea as her brother is, so chaos ensues.

                Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

                mab411


                Proboscis Colossus

                   

                  Nastassja Kinski's character and her brother, played with awesome menace by Malcolm McDowell, have some interesting interactions in Cat People that go back to their family history.  They turn into cats and go out to kill after they sleep with ordinary humans, so the only way for them to keep from transforming is to stay with each other.  Kinski's character is not quite as enthused about this idea as her brother is, so chaos ensues.

                   

                  Yeah...yeah, I think I do remember that one.  Didn't remember it was Malcolm McDowell playing the brother, though.

                  "God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people

                  bhearn


                    He's pretty hard to forget.

                      He's pretty hard to forget.

                      Totes magotes.

                       

                      Dave

                      mab411


                      Proboscis Colossus

                        Totes magotes.

                         

                         

                        Poor guy...no matter how many things I see him in, and no matter how awesome he is in them, he'll always be Alex to me.

                        "God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people

                        RunJasonRun


                           

                          Poor guy...no matter how many things I see him in, and no matter how awesome he is in them, he'll always be Alex to me.

                           

                          I saw A Clockwork Orange one time when I was younger, and it disturbed me so much that I have not bothered to revisit it since.  I mean, I think that it was a great flick, but it was pretty unsettling.  I'm thinking that I ought to check it out again to watch it from an adult mindset to see if I warm up to it.

                           

                          I alway associate Malcolm McDowell with the 1980s fare that I grew up watching.  In addition to his awesomely icky role in Cat People, he also played a great villain in Blue Thunder.

                          Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

                          bhearn


                            He also made the perfect Caligula.

                            RunJasonRun


                              He also made the perfect Caligula.

                               

                              I've still not seen that movie.  So many flicks, so little time.

                              Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

                                 

                                I saw A Clockwork Orange one time when I was younger, and it disturbed me so much that I have not bothered to revisit it since.  I mean, I think that it was a great flick, but it was pretty unsettling.  I'm thinking that I ought to check it out again to watch it from an adult mindset to see if I warm up to it.

                                 

                                 

                                If you do warm up to it & no longer find it disturbing or unsettling, I would be very, very worried.

                                Dave