RA Movie Thread (Read 5918 times)

BeeRunB


     

    My least favorite. Haven't we had this argument before? Oh wait, no, that's Facebook. NM.

    Smile Facebook, New Mexico? Haven't been there. Couldn't have been me.

     

    If you don't like that visit to San Francisco, there's always the Next Generation episode called "Time's Arrow", a two-parter episode with time-travel, Mark Twain, Jack London, an early Guinan, and a testament to quality android-head making (Noonian Soong was THE master).

    bhearn


      Now that, I like. ST IV was an OK movie, just not very Star Trek. IMO.

      BeeRunB


        Check out "The City On The Edge Of Forever" in the original Star Trek. One of the better time travel ones. Still holds up. Good guest turn by Joan Collins.


        Revenge of the Nerd

          Check out "The City On The Edge Of Forever" in the original Star Trek. One of the better time travel ones. Still holds up. Good guest turn by Joan Collins.

           

          "Jim, Edith Keeler must die."

          One of these days is none of these days.

          ~ H.G. Bohn

          Mysecondnewname


             

            I admit I enjoyed it too, but then again, I'm not a real trekkie.  I'm sure I watched Wrath of Khan a million years ago, but I can't remember it. I tend to believe that they must have been trying to appeal to more then just the normal Star Trek audience.  Although they alluded to the past, a viewer did not need to know the back story or the characters to watch this film.  Also, action and humor were given more weight then perhaps the Sci-Fi aspect of it.  For me, it was my kind of movie, but I can see how true fans of the series could be disappointed.

             

            Count me amongst that number.

             

            ******SPOILERS AHEAD*********

             

             

             

             

             

             

             

            Wrath of Khan was one of my favorite movies of all time, so I will admit trepidation when rumors abounded that JJ Abrams was going to remake it for the 2009 STVerse.   Therefore, I was pleased when it came to light the villain was "John Harrison".

             

            I thought the first part of the film was interesting with a nice (albeit predictable) action sequence, and some good scenes with Kirk/Pike where Kirk gets his comeuppance for his maverick ways (something that never seemed to happen in the original series).  This was interesting, and even thought provoking, as it addressed issues of leadership and being fit for duty.   The subsequent "Who's the real terrorist" themes and the mystery surrounding them were also intriguing, and Harrison indeed looked like a force to reckon with.

             

            However, as soon as the big Ho-hum reveal came in the second reel, it was all downhill from there for me, as everything just devolved into an ultimately silly shoot 'em up with ridiculous plot holes.  Worst of all was the reenactment of one of the most iconic moments of the entire series.  Stealing whole lines just reminded me how awful this was, and when Spock shrieked you know who's name, it made me sick for all the wrong reasons.

             

            Instead of paying homage, it was like ruining a fond memory of a thoughtful, epic film with self-referential bon mots, dumb plots, and gratuitous lens flare.

             

            I realize that none of this matters to non-Trekkers, but IMHO it was disappointing and lame.  Now, that Abrams has his mitts on Star Wars as well, it's like SciFi Armageddon awaits.

            Mysecondnewname


              Check out "The City On The Edge Of Forever" in the original Star Trek. One of the better time travel ones. Still holds up. Good guest turn by Joan Collins.

               

              1+ Big grin

               

              Also, the original "Space Seed" would be fun to watch after this latest Star Trek.

              bhearn


                Sigh. Have we really reached the generation where anybody on the planet needs to be *told* any of that about Star Trek?

                mab411


                Proboscis Colossus

                  Finally watched Argo tonight.  Didn't blow my mind like I expected it to - I just didn't find myself as emotionally invested in the characters as they wanted me to be - but it was a quality flick, worthy of the attention it got.  Ben Affleck's acting wasn't that great, but he sure has come a long way.

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

                  RunJasonRun


                    I enjoyed revisiting a couple of well-loved flicks over the weekend...

                     

                    Easy Rider

                    As much as I love this legendary 1969 movie, I admit that I had a difficult time watching the first half of the film with a straight face.  The hippie culture exemplified by Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda has been parodied so many times that people in my generation usually watch this film through a corrupted lens.  Since I'm a 1980s kid, I always find myself thinking about the commercial tagline, "Hey man, is that Freedom Rock?  Well...turn it up, maaaaan!" , when I hear certain soundtrack songs during these scenes.

                    The movie always packs a solid punch during the final half, though, mostly thanks to the presence of Jack Nicholson, who stands in almost as a representative of the audience viewpoint.  A tragic event late in the movie always makes me wonder if the voice of reason that represents a middle ground point of view is endangered in America.  Despite the way that things play out, though, there's still a lot of hope and idealism in this movie.  It's one of the ultimate road trip films.

                     

                    Five Easy Pieces

                     

                    This is one of my favorite Jack Nicholson movies.  His character in this one reminds me of myself in a way, and I'm not so sure that this is a good thing.  I've always loved the movie dearly, though.   The two female hitchhikers always crack me up so much.

                    Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

                      Finally watched Argo tonight.  Didn't blow my mind like I expected it to - I just didn't find myself as emotionally invested in the characters as they wanted me to be - but it was a quality flick, worthy of the attention it got.  Ben Affleck's acting wasn't that great, but he sure has come a long way.

                       

                      If you haven't already, read up on the real story; Wikipedia will do fine. (You will learn why Canadians hate the movie so much.) They took quite a bit of creative license. Doesn't bother me too much when a "based on a true story" movie strays from the facts, as long as it is entertaining, which this one most definitely was. 

                      Dave


                      SheCan

                        "The Last Stand"  with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Forest Whitaker.  This movie was just B A D.  There was so much wrong, it'd take me too long to type it all.  Makes me wonder if anybody ever just proofreads these movie scrips.  And do they ever think, "Well this is not how any reasonably intelligent person would go about this"?  And Johnny Knoxville,  I get that he was supposed to be comedic relief, but would anybody really want someone that acts this stupid on their team, holding a gun?  Just sayin....

                         

                         

                        "Winter's Bone"-- I'd heard good things about this movie, but also heard it was just really almost too depressing to watch.  I'm from the area in which this movie was filmed so I wanted to see it and finally did!   I thought it was a pretty good movie, and captured the area well.  I'd also heard that the people in the movie were scary.  The ones who killed and threatened people were scary, same as they are any place else, but the rest of them weren't.  *Not a spoiler* but in the party scene where they're playing music and the old lady is singing, I wish they'd portrayed them as more lighthearted.  My biggest criticism of the movie is that it left you with the impression that everyone around there is bleak, lost and hopeless.

                         

                        "Americans on Everest"  1965 documentary narrated by Orson Welles and  First National Geography special.  This was a really interesting vintage film of the first successful American expedition to the top of Mount Everest.  Sometimes the narration was very dramatic and over the top, but I found that added to the vintage feel and captured the feeling of the time.  Totally recommend it.

                        Cherie

                        "We do not become the people who this world needs simply by turning our backs on anyone we don’t like, trust, or deem healthy enough to be in our presence. "  ---- Shasta Nelson

                        mab411


                        Proboscis Colossus


                           

                          "Americans on Everest"  1965 documentary narrated by Orson Welles and  First National Geography special.  This was a really interesting vintage film of the first successful American expedition to the top of Mount Everest.  Sometimes the narration was very dramatic and over the top, but I found that added to the vintage feel and captured the feeling of the time.  Totally recommend it.

                           

                          Orson Welles?  Dramatic and over the top?  Surely not. Wink

                           

                          Just realized, I never responded to Dave P MI's post...I was familiar with the story of Argo going in, though I admit it's from listening to various podcasts on the subject.  Haven't read the Wikipedia article.  I'll try to, later, as I guess I'm not clear as to why Canadians hate the movie, unless it has to do with the implication at the end of the film that the Canadians were only allowed to take credit for the op because we needed to keep it classified.  If the depiction of the Canadian ambassador and his wife are close to on-target in the movie, I for one am impressed with their heroism, especially with the events at the US Embassy fresh in their minds.

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

                             

                             

                            Just realized, I never responded to Dave P MI's post...I was familiar with the story of Argo going in, though I admit it's from listening to various podcasts on the subject.  Haven't read the Wikipedia article.  I'll try to, later, as I guess I'm not clear as to why Canadians hate the movie, unless it has to do with the implication at the end of the film that the Canadians were only allowed to take credit for the op because we needed to keep it classified.  If the depiction of the Canadian ambassador and his wife are close to on-target in the movie, I for one am impressed with their heroism, especially with the events at the US Embassy fresh in their minds.

                             

                            Well I can't say whether the Wikipedia article is the seminal piece on the subject, that just happens to be my source material for everything. Basically the movie depicts the Americans masterminding the operation while the Canadians just play host & try not to get in the way; in reality it was almost completely the opposite. Also the movie makes the Brits & Kiwis look bad, stating both turned away the group. When in fact they actually stayed in the British Ambassador's house for a time, and the Kiwis drove them to the airport.

                            Dave

                            mab411


                            Proboscis Colossus

                              Ah, I see.  Well, I am interested in checking out the book, though it's buried under five or six other books I want to read right now, and since it's written by Mendez, it might be similarly skewed.

                               

                              Watched Dark Shadows, the recent Tim Burton version, tonight.  Based on what I'd heard, and my sense that Burton has been kind of phoning it in lately, I was worried.  When I noticed the screenplay was by Seth Grahame-Smith, the guy who completely botched the adaptation of his own novel, I was very worried.

                               

                              But then, pleasantly surprised!  I get the criticism that the tone of the film seems a little bipolar (goofy, fish-out-of-water comedy one minute, violent horror the next), but it actually served to keep my interest throughout.  It was refreshing to see Burton set the mood like he did in the old days, with point-of-view, texture, and Danny Elfman, instead of relying wholly on Johnny Depp, who, IMO, managed to play an 18th-century vampire thrust into 1972 without going completely over the top.  The third act dragged on a bit, and Depp certainly had fun with his finger prosthetics, but overall, I'd recommend it for anyone who jumped off the Tim Burton train at Planet of the Apes.

                              Worth noting, though: I've never watched a single episode of the original Dark Shadows series, so I have no context to offer a critique for those fans.

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

                                i've recently flown through the first nine episodes of Vikings (via Lovefilm) and it's brill.  it follows the Boardwalk Empire trend in that no matter how central the character, they can be slotted at any any given time - keeps one wondering.  keep an eye out for Loki, he makes "Howling Mad" Murdock look like the Dalai Lama.  bring on the second season (4.4/5)

                                 

                                Finally watched Argo tonight. 

                                 

                                Arkin's initial "Argo fuck yourself" was the highlight of that movie.

                                My leg won't stop mooing.

                                 

                                i think i've got a calf injury.