The last film you watched....

[Jona Lendering]

I mentioned A Separation already before. But it's apparently now in the American cinemas. Here's a review that I might have written myself, word for word; I wholeheartedly endorse the suggestion in the final line.

[Narukami]

Last night on the BD player: Jackie Brown

To my mind the best film by Tarantino, sporting an excellent cast, engaging story and a superb soundtrack. Perhaps not his most innovative film, but certainly his most fully realized bit of story telling.

Tonight, being New Year's Eve, we will continue our own tradition of watching Sci-Fi movies all night. This year perhaps an Outer Limits Marathon (the original series of course!)

And Vindex -- your film selections are not frivolous at all. It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World and The Philadelphia Story -- excellent choices.

:wink:

Narukami

[Ghostmojo]

Clearly being far too frivilous...

As I don't own a TV I amuse myself from my vast dvd collection and so far this Festive Period I have watched:

Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World....

One of my absolute favourite films! :-D 8) :lol: Just madcap brilliance.

"I'm coming for ya momma!" :wink:

[Jona Lendering]

Last night on the BD player: Jackie Brown

To my mind the best film by Tarantino, sporting an excellent cast, engaging story and a superb soundtrack. Perhaps not his most innovative film, but certainly his most fully realized bit of story telling.

It's also the one with the best developed characters. They are people as in real life.

[Justin I]

Last night on the BD player: Jackie Brown

To my mind the best film by Tarantino, sporting an excellent cast, engaging story and a superb soundtrack. Perhaps not his most innovative film, but certainly his most fully realized bit of story telling.

It's also the one with the best developed characters. They are people as in real life.

I agree, I don't like most of Tarantino's movies but Jackie Brown was good.

[Vindex]

Not seen Jackie Brown but last night's fitting end to my festive period dvd jamboree was The Magnificent Seven.

Tonight it'll be the original Seven Samurai...

[Narukami]

Quite agree Jona -- the characters in Jackie Brown are some of the most honest he has written and the actors all rise to the challenge of making them believable. Although many of the actors are Tarantino favorites, the two leads, Pam Grier and Robert Forster, we have not seen on film in some time and they are both excellent.

It also helps that Tarantino is working from an Elmore Leonard book -- that gives the screenplay a strong story telling foundation.

Vindex -- The Magnificent Seven is a lot of fun, and the cast has spoken about how they were all drawn to this project because of their admiration for the Kurosawa original. So, please favor us with your thoughts on The Seven Samurai after you see it.

:wink:

Narukami

[Jona Lendering]

If I may quote myself:

A Separation. An Iranian movie about divorce, but essentially a movie about ordinary middle class people who are trying to make the best of it. Except for the daughter, who really is the victim, all characters are flawed, yet they remain sympathetic. Just as in normal life.

An absolutely supreme movie. Excellent acting, meaningful dialogs, a strong script, well-directed, and with a message that transcends cultural differences. In short: a masterpiece.

Four Golden Bears, and awards in thirteen other film festivals. I would be surprised if it wouldn't win the Oscar for the best foreign language movie 2011, and as far as I am concerned, it deserves a Nobel Prize too.

Well, the Golden Globe for A Separation: more about it here.

[M. Demetrius]

Watched Limitless last night. Quirky but interesting film about a drug that "allows one to use 100% of the brain" instead of the 20% that has often been theorized. Personally, I believe the brain is all used for something, but that's another story. Problems develop when the drug is used for long periods of time, and it's a health risk if stopped altogether. Worth the time, but on the DVD we found it better to watch the unrated version rather than the released one. In my opinion, the ending is much better.

Watched Rango tonight. Much funnier and a better plot than I would have thought.

Second Sherlock Holmes a Game of Shadows on Friday just past. Wonderful film, and very well done. Fight scenes much better, though still preposterous, of course: Steampunkish meets Kung Fu, kind of. Good ending, too.

[Ghostmojo]

Well, I went to see War Horse with my son over the weekend. You know what they say about working with children and animals - well both proliferate in this excellently moving story.

With the centenary of The Great War nearly upon us, I reckon we will be seeing a great many more films covering this period - and why not? I haven't read Michael Morpugo's novel and am frankly bewildered as to how this was made into a theatrical production (full size puppets or something I believe) - but it is a perfect story for the cinema.

It is also nice to see Hollywood - in the shape of the ever decent Steven Spielberg - produce a film that deals with a period of history and story that is quintessentially British without trying to Americanise it as these things often are. Other less ethical director/producers would have turned this immediately into either an American story of the Civil War, Wild West or just possibly WW1 (although I think they might have struggled with it). Full marks to SS to paying us the respect as a nation, and MM the respect as an author that the story deserves.

There are scenes in it that remind us of the famous Christmas of 1914 when British and German soldiers stopped fighting and played football instead (more chance of the Germans winning that!) and swapped cigarettes etc., and in general it makes no political or behavioural comment about either side. In fact, the British, French and Germans are all represented as the usual human mix of good, bad and indifferent - but interestingly this time we have a Hollywood film that doesn't just have stereotyped middle and upper class English twits providing the token baddies! Most characters come across as very sympathetic and you really feel for some of them - particularly two young Germans.

Full marks to Mr. Spielberg for producing such a wonderful and emotive film. As you might expect it has his usual touch of tear-jerking moments - but in this case, why not? We both really enjoyed it and my teenage son is developing an interest in WW1 (due to visit the battlefields and Ypres on a school trip this year). War Horse is highly recommended and as for Joey himself - well an Oscar surely? (And perhaps next year he can take over from Ricky Gervais!)...

[Narukami]

Watched on DVD this Weekend:

Margin Call -- About a firm dealing with the melt down on Wall Street. The draw here are the performances and the cast includes quite a few familiar faces, many in minor roles. This is a low budget film, and in many ways the HBO show, To Big To Fail, is more frightening (or anger inducing) however the performance in Margin Call are quite good.

Rampart -- this is about a corrupt LA policed officer and how he deals with his Fall, engineered in large part by elements in the LAPD. ?The camera work is rather poor, and the acting, while workman like is not very noteworthy, with the exception of the young actor playing the Officer's eldest daughter -- she does a very good job. This is a film we have all seen numerous times before -- wait for cable.

50/50 - This is a mildly amusing "dramady" (as they are now called) and while several of the performance are good, overall the film is only so-so.

Pariah - this is another low budget film about a young black girl learning to deal with her family, her obvious talent as a writer, and her awakening as a lesbian. The camera work is a bit unpolished, but this film proves once again (as if more proof were need) that there is an amazing wealth of talent in the African American acting community that sadly goes unrecognized and underutilized. There are several actors here to do a good job and could have exciting careers if they are give half a chance.

This week we will try to see Red Tails. Reviews have been fair to poor (the script has been singled out for criticism) but all reviewers agree that the flying sequences are first rate. Once again, ILM sets a new standard.

:wink:

Narukami

[Jona Lendering]

If I may quote myself again:

A Separation. An Iranian movie about divorce, but essentially a movie about ordinary middle class people who are trying to make the best of it. Except for the daughter, who really is the victim, all characters are flawed, yet they remain sympathetic. Just as in normal life.

An absolutely supreme movie. Excellent acting, meaningful dialogs, a strong script, well-directed, and with a message that transcends cultural differences. In short: a masterpiece.

Four Golden Bears, and awards in thirteen other film festivals. I would be surprised if it wouldn't win the Oscar for the best foreign language movie 2011, and as far as I am concerned, it deserves a Nobel Prize too.

Well, the Golden Globe for A Separation: more about it here.

So, tonight the Oscar's there too. Now the Nobel Prize. After that, I promise I will stop repeating myself.

[Vindex]

Having read your reviews on here I was looking out for this at the Oscars.

A great success - just need to find a copy of the movie! :roll:

[Magnus]

Just went and saw "John Carter of Mars", based on the novel Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Surprisingly, it was pretty good!

Also, the director/producer must have been a fan of HBO's Rome...Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds) plays the king of Helium, and rather odd, but Marc Antony (James Purefoy) plays his right-hand man. Caesar's servant, Posca (Nicholas Woodeson) is also in it.

[Draconis]

Oddly enough, The Fall of the Roman Empire with Stephen Boyd, Sophia Loren, Alec Guinness, Christopher Plummer and others...1964, more factual than your average sword and sandals. total flop in the box office. They even got the part about Commodus changing the name of Rome and the empire. Gladiator has roots in this though not a formal remake.