What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

johnny_ultimate

Films like Martha Marcy... and Holy Motors getting overlooked by so many while films like The Artist or Argo receive endless hyperbole is a continued source of frustration. But yeah both five easily made my top five last year: a duo of brave, electrifying masterpieces.

mewe

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Once Upon a Time in America - I bought it more than a year ago but was too afraid to watch it due to the running time. I'm glad that I finally got around to watching it. Will have to watch it again to really appreciate it, I feel.

Absolutely brilliant film. Probably in my top 5 i'd say!
I think this is Sergio Leone's masterpiece. He's done other terrific films like Once Upon A Time In The West but for me this is his best work and possibly Ennio Morricone's too!

Jimmy Iovine

mewe wrote: »

Absolutely brilliant film. Probably in my top 5 i'd say!
I think this is Sergio Leone's masterpiece. He's done other terrific films like Once Upon A Time In The West but for me this is his best work and possibly Ennio Morricone's too!

It's a great soundtrack, but I prefer the work he did for Cinema Paradiso. I don't think I've seen another film that has music as amazing as it. It is as close to faultless as you can get, in my opinion.

The final scene, in particular, is just magnificent. I'm mad for the hyperbole tonight, but it is one of the greatest endings to a film that I've ever seen and the music had a huge part to play in that. Perfect.

mewe

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

It's a great soundtrack, but I prefer the work he did for Cinema Paradiso. I don't think I've seen another film that has music as amazing as it. It is as close to faultless as you can get, in my opinion.

The final scene, in particular, is just magnificent. I'm mad for the hyperbole tonight, but it is one of the greatest endings to a film that I've ever seen and the music had a huge part to play in that. Perfect.

I only heard last night that he's coming to perform at Kilmainham Jail in July.
Would be an amazing gig to go to

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

The final scene, in particular, is just magnificent. I'm mad for the hyperbole tonight, but it is one of the greatest endings to a film that I've ever seen and the music had a huge part to play in that. Perfect.

Which final scene? Wasn't there 2 endings? Or am I making that up?

Jimmy Iovine

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Which final scene? Wasn't there 2 endings? Or am I making that up?

Salvatore views the film reel that Alfredo left for him.

I'm pretty sure that is the only ending. Maybe you're getting confused with the director's cut where

Salvatore and Elena meet up again

?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Salvatore views the film reel that Alfredo left for him.

I'm pretty sure that is the only ending. Maybe you're getting confused with the director's cut where

Salvatore and Elena meet up again

?

Maybe. I did it for the Leaving Cert many moons ago, I just remember the teacher making sure we all had the same version.

Jimmy Iovine

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Maybe. I did it for the Leaving Cert many moons ago, I just remember the teacher making sure we all had the same version.

We did it as well. It was a brave move by our teacher showing it to a class of thirty 18-year-olds lads. I think every single one of us loved it.

Absolutely amazing film. I might have to go back and watch it again. Damn you. I had work to do tonight.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

We did it as well. It was a brave move by our teacher showing it to a class of thirty 18-year-olds lads. I think every single one of us loved it.

Absolutely amazing film. I might have to go back and watch it again. Damn you. I had work to do tonight.

I thought my teacher was brave showing it to us because it was subtitled. We weren't the most high brow of students, but again everyone loved it.

Marty McFly

Gamayun wrote: »

Super (2010)

With Ellen Page and Rainn Wilson. I had heard this described as a poor man's Kick Ass but I thought it was very well done, funny and dark at times too.

If you ask me it's a much better film than Kick Ass.

christ on a bike!

Blood Diamond was on tonight so I watched it.

Have seen it a few tomes and always enjoyed it - it also sheds light on the whole subject matter, it may be somewhat simplified but one the less entertaining, as it was again this evening.

But I really hated the bloody ending tonight and it's something that I never picked up on before but it was just so Hollywood and lazy.
It finishes with Soloman selling the diamond but who does he sell it to but the bad English businessman all smug in his nice car and suit - Brits being the obvious choice for "nasty well to do".


And then finishes with the god almighty US heroes with there congressional hearing to say no more will we buy blood diamonds blah blah blaah which of course is total bs - they should have rocked down to Tiffany's

I'm not anti-US by any means but this sort of thing annoys me - US are always the good guys and cannot be in any way self critical, pretty much negated their role in the issue, which is a global issue to be fair - but just had to have that little 2 minutes at the end to show that they were going to clean up the whole mess which couldn't be further from the truth.

Have a bit of respect for your audience ffs,

mikemac1

The Sand Pebbles


Steve McQueen, the actress who went on to do Murphy Brown TV show, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna who you'd know as the Colonel from Rambo

Set in 1920's China and McQueen is an engineer on a US gunboat.
There is a lot of politics in the background and it's not very clear who is at fault, the Chinese warlords or the foreigners or maybe they are both wrong.

Follows the gunboat for different missions and of course the inevitable love story.

It's over two and a half hours long but held my interest throughout

Thumbs up

Looper007

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Films like Martha Marcy... and Holy Motors getting overlooked by so many while films like The Artist or Argo receive endless hyperbole is a continued source of frustration. But yeah both five easily made my top five last year: a duo of brave, electrifying masterpieces.

I hate when the word masterpiece is thrown around, Motor's was a great piece of cinema but I taught Martha Marcy.. was very overrated myself. good performances but nothing special. Would have made a far better short film imo.

Argo is a good old fashioned Hollywood film nothing wrong with that. Not Affleck and Co's fault for the awards. For me its a top 10 film of 2012.

Looper007

mikemac1 wrote: »

The Sand Pebbles


Steve McQueen, the actress who went on to do Murphy Brown TV show, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna who you'd know as the Colonel from Rambo

Set in 1920's China and McQueen is an engineer on a US gunboat.
There is a lot of politics in the background and it's not very clear who is at fault, the Chinese warlords or the foreigners or maybe they are both wrong.

Follows the gunboat for different missions and of course the inevitable love story.

It's over two and a half hours long but held my interest throughout

Thumbs up

The Actress you mean is Candice Bergen, who was in the brillant Carnel Knowledge with Jack Nickelson and Gadhi. Also married the sadly underrated Louis Malle, who Danny Boyle reminds me of cause he tackle every subject and Genre.

Looper007

Marty McFly wrote: »

If you ask me it's a much better film than Kick Ass.

Nah Kick ass kicked it's ass

I taught it was rather miseven myself although

Ellen Page been killed off was rather shocking and see half head was disturbing

and

The ending with his wife played by Liv Tyler not getting back with Rain Wilson was a bit of a drowner

. Great performances though. Kevin Bacon was scary.

johnny_ultimate

Compliance - a solid slice of escalating, incredible uncomfortableness. If it wasn't based on real events one would almost call it ridiculous. But the director manages to probe the motivations and psychology of events with great care, while even his penchant for lengthy tracking shots adds to the dread and discomfort. Good performances further help.

Sat down with my unsuspecting brother to watch it. Was worth it just to see him squirm and complain as it went on :pac:

Looper007 wrote: »

I hate when the word masterpiece is thrown around, Motor's was a great piece of cinema but I taught Martha Marcy.. was very overrated myself. good performances but nothing special. Would have made a far better short film imo.

Argo is a good old fashioned Hollywood film nothing wrong with that. Not Affleck and Co's fault for the awards. For me its a top 10 film of 2012.

And isn't it wonderful that one person's masterpiece is another's disappointment? And trust me the 'm' word is not one I throw around lightly!

Duggy747

Speed (1994)

Pop Quiz, hot shot! There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up.

What do you do? What do you do?

Cheesy, ridiculous, hammy dialogue, some awful one-liners, and Keanu is like a breathing plank of wood with his delivery of lines. Even his character's introduction is completely OTT when his car comes flying through the air for no reason.

But, by golly, I enjoyed it though. Hopper would be twirling on his moustache if he had one in the movie, he plays his character that dastardly :pac:

This was such a huge film, especially for a violent, swearing, big budget one when it was released. Keanu was hot property at the time and Sandra Bullock got her kickstart. Crazy to think the film is nearly 20 years old, I remember when they had specials on TV on how they did the bus jump :eek:

I love the 90's poster, that black and orange was the big colour scheme before blue & orange became the go-style:

Says all that needs to be said, it's got Keanu, a bus, and shìt blows up

McGrath5

Broken City

Saw this in the cinema the other night.

Meh, is all I can say.
Mark Wahlberg plays the disgraced former NYPD detective, turned private investigator.

Russell Crowe is the selfish mayor running for re-election, who emplys Wahlberg to find out who is wife is having an affair with.

I found myself getting quite bored with this one about half way through, Wahlberg probably gives the worst impression of a drunk person I have ever seen in film.

Broken City is itself broken, a prime example in medocrity, avoid.

3/10

Tony EH

‘Sinister’
Decent horror film fare that starts off very well, but unfortunately trails away badly in the last third. Ethan Hawke, who’s now looking his 42 years, is a writer who specialises in prurient “true crime” books, with some limited success. It’s not the success he wants though and he is seeking his “shot” at the real big time. With this in mind, he takes his family off to a new house and new neighbourhood and pursues his latest venture. Unbeknownst to his family, the new house once belonged to a murdered family and while settling in, Oswalt (Hawke) finds a box containing some reels of Super 8 film. After viewing these films, each with banal titles, but featuring grizzly images, Oswalt starts experiencing strange goings-on in the new home, leading to a bizarre discovery.

‘Sinister’ is certainly not a bad film, but once the central punchline is delivered, it ends up being a little disappointing. The build-up, however, is very well handled with a rather tense atmosphere throughout and the film is best watched without too much knowledge of the forthcoming events (which is why this review is so vague).

The Super 8 “home-movies” are handled with great creepy skill and are uncomfortable to watch and as a whole ‘Sinister’ is quite a scary picture. Probably, one of the scarier horror films that I’ve seen in quite a while and this comes from a pretty jaded horror fan.

But, I don’t believe that I am giving anything away when I say that when the reveal comes, it’s a let down.

When we discover that the killer is not actually the creepy guy in the Super 8 films, but actually a load of kids, it sort of ruins the run of the picture.

Also, the director abandons the creepy atmosphere some way in and goes for jump shocks instead, which cheapens the effect.

Also, the film is shot in a really annoying contrast and with odd lighting. Is lighting a film a dead art? At times, it really was quite irritating to look at. The horror film cliche of characters walking around the house without switching on a light is employed as well.

However, in lieu of any other decent efforts in the genre lately, I’d recommend ‘Sinister’, although genre fans may join all the dots, long before the end credits roll.

6/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtlAW-T0ScE

‘Raise the Titanic’
Lew Grade’s spectacular box office disaster is a weird kettle of fish. Despite its immense failure at the time of release, it remains far more entertaining that it has any business being. It employs a great cast and is actually a kind of exciting enough waste of time. Its story is a load of old bunkum, of course, with some real ill-fitting Cold War nonsense and a completely redundant love interest thrown in to the central idea of raising the doomed 900 foot ocean liner, the reason for which is the discovery of a rare mineral, that could be of use in new forms of weaponry.

All of this silliness holds together, because the entire film is played completely straight and it helps the audience buy into the premise. Even the dodgy physics, which wouldn’t pass even the flimsiest of scrutiny, can be forgiven, if the viewer just lets the film play out, without giving it too much thought. The film is also helped no end, by James Barry’s excellent score, which incorporates big string arrangements and is reminiscent of those big scores from the 70’s and early 80’s. Barry’s music gives the film a real sense of magic and scale.

The effects are quite decent, for the time as well. There’s some very charming model work and a lot of it remains quite impressive still. The actual raising of the Titanic looks great and it’s only in places that the specially designed 50ft model gives itself away.

Of course, with the knowledge of Ballard’s Titanic discovery and subsequent dives, it’s clear that the scenario that the film employs could never occur. Her back is a mess of broken metal and any kind of movement would simply tear her apart with great ease. But, at the time of filming, this was unknown, as was her exact location, which wouldn’t be unveiled for another 5 years after the picture was released. There were also lists of outlandish ideas bandied about regarding raising the ship, since her sinking in 1912, including the use of Ping Pong balls! So the idea behind the story was no so ridiculous at the time.

Grade’s epic cost a reported over 40 million dollars to make and only returned about 17% when it was finally released in 1980 (it stayed on the shelf for nearly 2 years). To put this into perspective, ‘Star Wars’, which contains far more effects work, bigger set designs and was released a year before ‘Raise the Titanic’ was shot, cost around 10 million. Grade once said that it would have been cheaper to “…lower the Atlantic.”




6/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Il7Hub5Vqs

‘Scanners’
Probably David Cronenberg’s most famous film, to people of a certain generation, ‘Scanners’ achieves a remarkable ability of being both boring and entertaining at the same time. It’s also a really cold fish of a film, shot with a real removal of soul. I don’t know if that was the intent of the director, but there is a real distance involved.


Its central star is the appropriately named Steven Lack, who robotically drones his way through the film, while being completely blown off the screen with a great (but totally bog standard) Michael Ironside. Patrick McGoohan is in fine form too as the creepy Dr. Paul Ruth.


The “Scanners” of the film are people who read (or scan) people’s minds and in some way, control objects. These telekinetics are hunted down by the sinister ConSec, a company concerned with employing the scanners for their own dodgy uses. Cameron Vale (Lack) is a very powerful scanner, but is unable to deal with the stresses that accompany his telekinetic powers. He is captured by Con Sec agents and introduced to Dr. Ruth, who is helping scanners to subdue the nastier side of their abilities with the use of a drug called Ephemerol.


There is also an underground scanner society, which exists outside of ConSec and the renegade scanner Darryl Revok’s (Ironside) group, who has vowed to track down other scanners that work for the ConSec organisation. Vale takes on the task of infiltrating Revok’s group and tackling him.
‘Scanners’ was Cronenberg’s most accessible film, before he made his remake of ‘The Fly’ in 1986. It isn’t as crazy as ‘Videodrome’, nor as sexually orientated as ‘Shivers’ and it certainly isn’t as obscure and impenetrable as his early work, like ‘Stereo’, or ‘Crimes of the Future’. It retains Cronenberg’s odd sense of style, but this goes some way to disabling the viewer from caring what happens to anybody on screen. Steven Lack is such a poor choice of actor, that he wrecks his essential central role and Ironside is an unlikeable psychotic. Other scanner characters too are odd, in an uncomfortable way, like Robert Silverman’s character. It isn’t a must that a picture should have likeable characters, but in a slow paced film like ‘Scanners’ it can help to at least allow the viewer to take a genuine interest in what happens to the main character. This just isn’t present in the film.


The film makes great use of Dick Smith’s excellent special effects and was quite notorious in its day for showing a head exploding in its most famous scene. Unfortunately, the rest of the picture largely eschews horrific effects, for more straight forward thriller-based material.


‘Scanners’ remains something of a classic horror film, despite the misgivings and there is an undeniable atmosphere to it, but its low budget, poor choice of lead and odd feeling take away a lot of the umph that could have been injected into it.



5/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdAh1qDmJng

Judgement Day

I think I'll give "Raise the Titanic" a whirl after watching that trailer - my eldest is very keen on anything to do with with the ship and we even have the bizarre 1943 German propaganda movie.

missingtime

Se7en was on tv last night so I watched it again.

It dawned on me though that I must have re-watched a lot of David Finchers movies several times over. The Game, Zodiac, Fight Club, The Social Network, TGWTDT etc they are all so re-watchable.

ButtersSuki

Finally got around to Perrier's Bounty last night. I had assiduously avoided any review of it up to this pointas it had been on my “to watch” list so I came to it completely open. Startsoff promisingly enough but slowly starts slipping into mediocrity (or below)around the shootout scene in the snooker hall. Yet another Irish film starring almostevery working Irish actor (Glesson Sr. + Jr., Cillian Murphy, Liam Cunningham, Michael McElhatton,Don Wycherly, Brendan Coyle etc. etc. and a VO from Gabriel Byrne). I had hopedto like it, but it’s just a big pile of meh – and incredibly lazy in places. I'd elaborate on the laziness but I'm too lazy.....:rolleyes: 4/10

Corkfeen

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Compliance - a solid slice of escalating, incredible uncomfortableness. If it wasn't based on real events one would almost call it ridiculous. But the director manages to probe the motivations and psychology of events with great care, while even his penchant for lengthy tracking shots adds to the dread and discomfort. Good performances further help.

Sat down with my unsuspecting brother to watch it. Was worth it just to see him squirm and complain as it went on :pac:

I thought it was all a bit implausible when I was watching it so kept bursting out laughing at random points (less so towards end). I only realised afterwards that it was a slightly toned down version of the actual story. Felt rather guilty for my spontaneous laughter.
:mad:

GAAman

There has been stories told, passed down from generation to generation. They tell of when the moon and stars align just right, to deliver a great few hours viewing on sky.

Such a day has happened to me. I missed the first ten minutes of Once Upon a Time in the West but watched the rest. This is definitely in a list of films which you forget just how great they are until you watch them again. Some people call this the perfect western, I might just agree with them.

Right afterwards sky showed Villa Rides I didn't even have to change the channel! I had never seen this before today and although had heard of Panco Villa I did not know the full story. Suffice to say I was so sucked into this film that I didn't even realise it was Yul Brynner in the title role!

darced

This post has been deleted.

Judgement Day

"The Blue Max" (1965) on DVD. World War.1. classic starring George Peppard, Ursula Andress, James Mason.

George Peppard stars as the German ex.infantry man who has transferred from the trenches to the airforce and his ruthless pursuit of "The Blue Max", the medal awarded to air aces with 20+ confirmed kills. Filmed on location in Ireland - including Weston Aerodrome and Calary Bog (adjacent to the Great Sugar Loaf in County Wicklow) transformed into the Western Front. The superb aerial dogfights alone make this worth seeing, and the sequences at the Blackwater railway viaduct in Fermoy. I hadn't watched the full film in years and was amazed at just how good it was. I'm going to have to get hold of a copy of Roger Corman's "The Red Baron" which was made six years later for less than a fifth of the budget using many of the same planes/props etc. 10/10 - a keeper!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efc6Y6LCuuc

mike65

Frightmare (1974) one of the Pete Walker/David McGillivray "terror" dramas made in the early to mid 70s. Sheila Keith as ever having a whale of a time, she really knew how to throw herself into a role. Walkers directoral style was somewhat rudimentary (started out soft core porn) but he keeps the story moving along and never allows a film to go on too long.

Corkfeen

darced wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

You should definitely check out 'War Photographer'...

mike65

Tony EH wrote: »

‘Scanners’
5/10

I saw Scanners on its release in 1981, I think I never quite recovered from the opening scene at the time and didn't really get into the film. I finally got round to watching it again in full in the last year and really enjoyed it. I think it probably benefits a second viewing though Stephen Lack doesn't get any better! However with McGoohan and Ironside in the cast opposite him his lack of acting is balanced. It is a "cold" clinical film but that was esp true of all Cronenbergs earlier films and still is to a degree.

Technocentral

Corkfeen wrote: »

You should definitely check out 'War Photographer'...

The other side of the photography coin, but there is an absolutely amazing documentary about Bill Cunningham, a street fashion photographer in his 80s who still cycles around NY taking snaps for the NY Times, there are an amazing amount of NY eccentrics featured including the man himself, who lives in a tiny rent controlled apartment with a single bed surrounded by pretty much just filing cabinets filled with his negs. 10/10.