films we just saw

streetrw · Post by **streetrw** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:48 pm

Gleefully sadistic, outrageously violent, and utterly, utterly, batsh*t mental. Shoot 'Em Up is terrific corpse-strewn blood-drenched entertainment which starts with Clive Owen slaughtering about 50 bad guys (one of them with a carrot) in the first five minutes and proceeds upwards from there. With major league hamming from chief bad guy Paul Giamatti. Sadly it doesn't look to have been much of a success - my two nearest locals are taking it off after only a week. (Well, there's a new Adam Sandler movie out and something's got to give.) It's a shame - this is the most fun I've had in a cinema this year (Frightfest excepted, of course. Nothing trumps da Fest.).

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 8:20 am

Managed to get to see Superbad last night. I liked it. I'm a massive Arrested Development fan and so seeing Michael Cera in a major movie was great.

ghouldrool · Post by **ghouldrool** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 8:21 am

nice to see Shoot Em Up getting some good notices here.

Sixteen Candles one of the few Hughes te'en movies i hadnt seen and overall i was less than thrilled

. There is literally no story. its s.exual politics are highly suspect (talk about s.exual harrasment and date r.ape), Long Duck D'ong (insert symbol clash) is a redundant addition as is Joan Cusacks neck brace wearing random geek chick. usually these kind of characters end up serving a purpose but as theres no story theres no pay off. no wonder Pretty in Pink is more celebrated

Running Scared
i really really wasnt expecting much from this and during the first few mins i was afraid i was going to be right. however at some point it moves from the usual trashy gangster flick into demented Freeway/24 territory with events escalating to often ridiculous heights. the pedo couple being a stand out scene with its very strong sense of dread and sickness. The finale is confused to say the least but its the getting there thats the fun. the twist also ends up making sense of the actions taken that lead to the story happening in the first place.
some good old "dont effing do that" moments which are almost kim baueresque. Karel Roden doesnt get enough screen time but its unusal to see a film where an abusive scum bag ends up doing better by a kid than the kids mother! Paul Walker is good but then its mostly shouting and cursing.

Bearded Avenger · Post by **Bearded Avenger** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:07 pm

Knocked Up Failed attempt to repeat the 40 Year Old Virgin formula. Just not funny jokes that hit the marks and for me it ended up dragging on a bit.

Super Bad Purile + infantile = two big thumbs up.

Bearded Avenger · Post by **Bearded Avenger** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:08 pm

Grindhouse wrote:
Bearded Avenger wrote:
Grindhouse wrote:I finally finished watching the rubbish that is 2019 after the fall of new york
Have to defend it. I enjoyed it, even if it is a blatent rip-off if Escape From New York - certainly better than Bronx Warriors I and II.
funny thing is it makes me want to go and seek out Bronx warriors 1 & 2 and The New Barbarians even more,they seemed rip offs of the warriors,mad max and any other sci- fi film around,with Vic Morrow in the 1st and Henry Silva in the 2nd i remember.
guess i shall be hitting the DVD gutters tomorrow in Skegness for my 80s sci fi fix.

I picked up the Bronx Warriors double pack for about £7 on Amazon.

Muffy St. John · Post by **Muffy St. John** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 10:12 pm

Just saw Death Proof and loved it!! What a fun, exciting 2 hours of cinema! Still can't wait to see Grindhouse as it was intended, but Death Proof is certainly worth seeing on it's own merit.

lupogirl · Post by **lupogirl** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 10:33 pm

Muffy St. John wrote:Just saw Death Proof and loved it!! What a fun, exciting 2 hours of cinema! Still can't wait to see Grindhouse as it was intended, but Death Proof is certainly worth seeing on it's own merit.

Certainly agree there!!!!!

Won't say too much to spoil it for anyone. Great soundtrack. So much so added one of the songs on myspace profile. Certain action sequences were just stunning!!!

VictorCrowley · Post by **VictorCrowley** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:51 am

Seen quite a few films since posting here.

Did watch For Your Consideration as planned. Did not like it. Was it trying to be a parody? It fails. It's just... not funny. Or even fun. And not scathing enough to be bitchily entertaining. It's just blah.

Also kinda blah yet somehow mesmerising at the same time was Scenes of a Sexual Nature. Glimpses of several (six or seven, maybe - possibly too many) different relationships all in one location (Hampstead Heath). I suppose you could say it was a triumphe of the writing that I was left wanting to know what happens to these characters. But in the same breath, it's also a failing. We never know enough about any of the couples; their 'stories' never go anywhere. For a more satisfying film, I would have liked to have seen half as many couples (at least) and more interaction with between them (and possibly each other). Hamstead Heath looks glorious too.

X3 - The Last Stand was frustrating. New characters appeared that we didn't even get to know or care about ( I suppose we got to know Juggernaut a little, but Vinnies performance was pretty painful), Cyclops offed in the first ten minutes in a pathetic way considering his importance in the previous two installments, too many different story thread spread too thinly. I dunno, it just felt like style over substance. And a real let down.

Little Children. When this ended I was left with a real sense of sadness that didn't lift for a while, but now I think I feel angry at Brad. He was so weak and just needed to grow the hell up.

The Machinist. Ok, can't write a first sentence without first commenting on Bale's appearance. Just... woah. I picked up very early on that Ivan was Reznik, or some part of him yet never quite grasped the reason why this part of him has splintered off until the pay off. Nicely woven, some lovely cinematography (I loved the washed out, almost ethereal look that often accompanied Reznik. Was a nice visual aid to to remind you that as he'd not slept in so long everything has taken a surreal turn.

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*beware, new film. Maybe slightly spoilerish*
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Finally, The Brave One on Wednesday was great. Revenge/vigilante flick with Jodie Foster toting the gun! Although I never lost sympathy and to a degree carried on empathising with Foster's character despite each kill stepping further across a blurry line (the first was definitely self defense, the 2nd(two people) is questionable as she didn't need to stay on the train and effectively 'put herself in the situation' and even then may have only had to produce the gun to escape the situation yet instantly fires. The 3rd she literally causes to happen, and the 4th is virtually a favour! Before she even moves into 'revenge' territory), she herself DOES. She talks about how it's making her feel throughout the film and it's not a positive experience for her - more something she is compelled to do. The final couple of lines sum up how it leaves her. And she is pretty much destroyed by it. Thank f*uck for that. That we see someone meteing out revenge, punishment, justice (which we all love to see - even if secretly) yet still AFFECTED by it. She's human.

Gonna go and see Death Proof this afternoon. Well, you have to, don't you?

streetrw · Post by **streetrw** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 7:39 pm

VictorCrowley wrote:Gonna go and see Death Proof this afternoon. Well, you have to, don't you?

I'm resisting. I want the proper experience, not the shiny "remastered" popcorn version for chavvy peasant imbeciles. Release it properly and show some respect for artistic intention, you money-hogging bastards.

Speaking of artistic intention, I watched The Killer Shrews on DVD this afternoon and it wasn't pretty. Starring James Best (who played the sherriff in the Dukes Of Hazzard) and no-one else you've ever heard of, it concerns some scientists in a shack on an island beseiged by genetically modified shrews (actually they're dogs with false teeth). It's in Public Domain, which isn't really surprising.

Since I was waiting in all day on the offchance that BT's courier monkeys might deliver my broadband modem, I followed The Killer Shrews with The Brain That Wouldn't Die, which occasionally comes perilously close to tolerable. This is the old yarn about the mad surgeon whose girlfriend gets decapitated in a car accident, so he keeps the head in a bowl of blood on a table in his secret laboratory and heads off to find a cute hottie he can kill and stick his girlfriend's head on the body. Meanwhile the severed head communicates with the botched-experiment monster in the closet, which rips off the one functioning arm of the mad surgeon's crippled assistant. It's not very good.

Grindhouse · Post by **Grindhouse** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 1:39 am

[q
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*beware, new film. Maybe slightly spoilerish*
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Finally, The Brave One on Wednesday was great. Revenge/vigilante flick with Jodie Foster toting the gun! Although I never lost sympathy and to a degree carried on empathising with Foster's character despite each kill stepping further across a blurry line (the first was definitely self defense, the 2nd(two people) is questionable as she didn't need to stay on the train and effectively 'put herself in the situation' and even then may have only had to produce the gun to escape the situation yet instantly fires. The 3rd she literally causes to happen, and the 4th is virtually a favour! Before she even moves into 'revenge' territory), she herself DOES. She talks about how it's making her feel throughout the film and it's not a positive experience for her - more something she is compelled to do. The final couple of lines sum up how it leaves her. And she is pretty much destroyed by it. Thank f*uck for that. That we see someone meteing out revenge, punishment, justice (which we all love to see - even if secretly) yet still AFFECTED by it. She's human.

spoilerish yeah thats one way of saying it!.

i Saw the brave one this evening, i loved it Jodie Foster just gets better with age.and the superb Terence Howard that man can do no wrong and hes so damn fit, great film that hits all the right notes and delivers, with a twist.
and before the brave one i saw The Bourne Ultimatum no need to go on about this,it was a thrill ride from the start,shaky cam didn't bother me at all,but what really pissed me off was they remixed Mobys Extreme Ways closing song from the previous 2 films it lost its edge and became more softer,numptys(if it aint broke dont fix it),other than that an all round great day at the cinema.

Grindhouse · Post by **Grindhouse** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:26 am

Tai Fun aka Typhoon,from Kwak Kyung-Taek this big budget korean thriller left me a little dissapointed,though theres plenty of big screen thrills and action but its pace is a little slow,and compared to my fave thriller from korea
Shiri,both of these films have a theme of the country separated and the gap that leaves in the people of the south and the fear of the north koreans.
still great fun and well worth watching,for this big budget box office smash from korea.

VictorCrowley · Post by **VictorCrowley** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:10 pm

I'm resisting. I want the proper experience, not the shiny "remastered" popcorn version for chavvy peasant imbeciles. Release it properly and show some respect for artistic intention, you money-hogging bastards.

I hear what you're saying, but you've got to question QT's artistic intentions when he turned in a film 6mins shy of two hours.

All I can say is I loved Death Proof. I can't even quite put my finger on why, but just so often I was grinning whilst watching it and damned if the smile it I left the cinema with doesn't keep playing on my lips two whole days later. Abby's (Rosario Dawson's) final kick elicted a small cheer from me. Does that make me a bad person? :P

jonbly · Post by **jonbly** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:59 am

VictorCrowley wrote:Gonna go and see Death Proof this afternoon. Well, you have to, don't you?

Nope!

streetrw · Post by **streetrw** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:55 pm

I'm wavering on Death Proof now, since Planet Terror's part of the ICA all-nighter programme. If I do go it'll be this week because next week has The Brave One, Halloween and War (and Michael Clayton, which I'll see more for the music than anything else).

Now for Irreversible which Lovefilm sent me randomly off my list. I've mentioned several times on this forum that scenes of sxeual violence and rpae make me very uncomfortable, but Irreversible made me uncomfortable pretty much from the start. Partly it's the slurred droning on the soundtrack, partly it's the deliberately nausea-inducing camerawork (which oddly enough reminds me of me the first few times I picked up a shiny new camcorder). And partly it's the realisation that the film's practically unwatchable: a lot of improvised yelling in near darkness, particularly in the early scenes; a very basic story (two blokes go off for revenge when a friend - the partner of one and the ex of the other - is brutally rpaed in an underpass) gimmicked up by telling the story backwards, starting with the revenge. You get the nasty, apparently gratuitous, violence and only later do you find out why. Okay, but it's still damned hard to watch. I shouldn't really have put it on the list in the first place.

A Man Called Blade is a late '70s spaghetti western with Maurizio Merli (better known for Italian cop-on-the-edge action thrillers) in the Clint role. It's not anywhere in the same league as Leone, it has the most annoying theme song in history, and it's pretty violent in places, but it's worth a look.

streetrw · Post by **streetrw** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:22 pm

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR DEATH PROOF. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Okay, I gave in. As noted above it seems a bit silly to boycott one half of Grindhouse when the other half's included in the all-nighter. That said, I hope Planet Terror's a lot better because Death Proof is ultimately a disappointment.

It's odd that DP is one half of the Grindhouse film when it's actually a film of two halves as a standalone presentation. Both halves are actually pretty much the same - a group of girls in a car talking, talking, talking, talking, talking, before eventually encountering Kurt Russell. The trouble isn't just that the talk is uninteresting prattle about their love lives, it's that it takes so damned long to wade through before we get to anything resembling action - the film runs a whopping 114 minutes which is a full half-hour more than the originals of the genre would have been. There isn't that much action in the first half anyway, although the finale of the second half does consist of an extensive car chase smash-em-up that's pretty good fun.

Apart from the reams of girlie potty-talk, the other major annoyance is working out the time period. It has the grainy look of a 70s movie, most of the music is 60s or 70s pop tunes (as usual with Tarantino, there's no original score), and for that Total Grindhouse Experience it's an artificially scratched-up print with jumps round the reel changes, an "Our Feature Presentation" intro, and an obvious "retitling" to Death Proof (the "original" title is on screen for maybe one frame) and the MPAA logo included in the opening titles as it always was in the good old days. Hell, it has actual opening titles which are a rarity in 2007. No-one mentions condoms, MySpace or Big Brother, and the bars all have jukeboxes playing obscure 45s. But one of the girls in the first half uses a mobile phone and one in the second has an iPod. So if it's set now why does it look like a 70s picture, and why does everyone behave like they're in a 70s picture? It's this inconsistency that spoiled it for me: DP is ultimately a period piece but with some deliberate anachronisms thrown in for no real reason.

There are also a lot of typically Tarantinian movie-geek references - the mobile ring-tone is the whistled Twisted Nerve theme as heard in Kill Bill; the bar is plastered with movie posters for what are (presumably) some of QT's favourite movies, the car in the second half is the one out of Vanishing Point, another car is yellow with a black stripe like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill (itself a reference back to Bruce Lee's outfit in Game Of Death), music tracked in from The Bird With The Crystal Plumage and Blow Out (and boy, is that last one a jarring piece of needledrop) and so on. All very well, but I'm guessing that enjoyment of DP might suffer if you don't know any of the references (how many 18-25s have seen or even heard of Two Lane Blacktop or Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry?) There are undoubtedly dozens that I missed and at times it can feel a bit like watching a stand-up comedian in a foreign language - you can tell it's a joke, you can tell it's supposed to be funny but you've no real idea why.

So it's a disappointment overall, though I did enjoy it when it got going, but it's far too long, too movie-geeky and the vast tracts of dull dialogue work against it. Maybe the "short" version in Grindhouse itself would play better. It'd be ironic if it does.