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+--- Thread: The last film you watched.... (/showthread.php?tid=13172)
Re: The last film you watched.... - Jona Lendering - 06-09-2009
Quote:I just rented Mongol, and it was terrific. But my knowledge of Mongolian history is pretty limited.I was told it was not bad at all. In any case, I also found it very impressive, and we are not alone: I saw it with a friend who is right now traveling from Beijing to Ulan Bator.
Does anyone know about how accurate this film is?
Re: The last film you watched.... - Justin of the New Yorkii - 06-09-2009
Before I die, I'd like to visit that statue of Genghis Khan they built in Mongolia. It's the size of the Statue of Liberty:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikechu/31 ... 2/sizes/l/
But yes, it's nice to watch a movie about history that isn't completely Hollywood-ed out, if you know what I mean.
For example, I rented King Arthur a few weeks ago. Hugely disappointing, and barely even watchable. Instead of characters, it has caricatures.
Of course, that's what happens when you make a historical movie for a general audience: you end up with something no one can relate to.
Re: The last film you watched.... - Gaius Decius Aquilius - 06-10-2009
I have Mongol, and like a lot of Russian films, it is excellent on visuals, but seems to be a bit loose with the facts. Which is just like Hollywood. I am not an expert on Mongol history but I don't think Genghis spent any time in a Chinese jail, with Borte finally springing him. The first half of the movie was the best, but I got a sense that towards the end, things got a little fantastic and rushed in the production. My wife and the cat got up and left when Genghis ran from screen left to screen right escaping captivity three times with a yoke around his neck. Russian films almost always have a great sense of atmosphere, like Kurosawa, which H. Wood could learn a lesson from. You should also see "Sadko" (1954, I think).
Ralph I.
Re: The last film you watched.... - D B Campbell - 06-24-2009
I have just watched a fantastic movie called Hidden (Caché with subtitles, of course). Absolutely brilliant!
hock:
Re: The last film you watched.... - barcid - 06-25-2009
Defiance ,about the jewish partisans in bellorussia ,not bad ..true story...acting a bit lame .nice forests & period feel to it
Re: The last film you watched.... - Narukami - 07-05-2009
At the Cinema: Public Enemies
Must say I was disappointed. Several critics have said the film does not catch fire or reach a boil and this is quite true -- it just simmers along.
Additionally, it looks like they filmed this on HD Video and the camera work only serves to emphasize the video look. Distracting, even disconcerting.
Now digital film making has been with us since at least The Phantom Menace and frankly it looked much better than this new film. Perhaps Lucas was using a better camera or a better process, but the "video look" of Public Enemies is very obvious.
Beyond that this is not a very engaging story -- perhaps a rental, or even better a cable movie. Oh well...
The only trailer of note was the new Kathryn Bigelow film "Hurt Locker" That one looks interesting.
:wink:
Narukami
Re: The last film you watched.... - Jona Lendering - 07-13-2009
I'm just back from Worms, the capital of the ancient Burgundians, so I could not resist "Die Nibelungen" by Fritz Lang. It's an old one from 1924, but still convincing; it's essentially the mother of all fantasy movies. Watch the version with the English subtitles here.
Re: The last film you watched.... - D B Campbell - 07-13-2009
A movie where "Dragon design" gets a separate credit cannot be bad, Jona!
Re: The last film you watched.... - Gaius Julius Caesar - 07-14-2009
Has anyne seen Red Cliff?
Re: The last film you watched.... - Medicus matt - 07-14-2009
Quote:Has anyne seen Red Cliff?
Yes. Stunning cinematography and immense battle scenes. Worth the cost of the ticket for those alone. It suffers badly (or rather, we suffer badly) from a lack of relevent historical knowledge and understanding of the context which just compounds the problems caused by the film being a 2 1/2 hour cut of two seperate 2 hour+ films (I'll be buying the DVD releases of both films) but just forget about plot and let the action wash over you.
Got to be seen on a big screen. Go!
Re: The last film you watched.... - Jeroen Pelgrom - 07-14-2009
Invasion USA from 1952.
Interesting movie from the red-scare period in America. In this movie the Sovjets invade the USA and nuke about any airfield they see, including San Fransisco, boulder dam and New York. During al this, a group of US citizens learn that a lazy citizenry invites invasion and occupation. Complimenting this lesson is the notion that the military is only as strong as its civilian support. Before the film is over each character has learned the hard way that freedom isn't free, eternal vigilance is the price of democracy and that it is extremely difficult to book a flight to Montana during a nuclear war.
Futhermore the movie consists of a lot of fighting (tanks, bombers etc) - funny thing is that this combat footage is historical combat footage from WW2, so you have American B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers attacking San Francisco and C-82 Packet transports drop "Enemy" paratroopers on Washington D.C.
Extra on this DVD is the movie "Red Nightmare" from 1962. This is an "educational movie" from the dept. of Defence in which a lazy American citizen ("just your average guy, it could be you!") who has taken his freedom for granted wakes up one morning to find out that the Communists have taken over America.
Re: The last film you watched.... - Jona Lendering - 07-14-2009
Chéri, the latest movie by Stephen Frears. It's essentially the same movie as Dangerous Liaisons: a tragedy, somewhere in the not too distant past, about love and cynicism, with people you can sympathize with even though you do not share their morality. The tragedy becomes even darker because there are also some funny parts. Witty one-liners, brilliant acting, and beautiful costumes all add to this great movie. Only the farewell scene of the two lovers does not convince. Yet, sincerely recommended.
Question: did Frears ever make a movie that was not worth seeing? The Hit, My Beautiful Laundrette, Prick Up Your Ears, Sammie and Rosie Get Laid, Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity: they're all excellent.
Re: The last film you watched.... - Jona Lendering - 07-16-2009
Brüno. It's essentially two movies: one about people who want to become famous and one about how people respond to sexual deviant practices. The second part has received most attention, and does, actually, not remain interesting. A joke about an automated dildo can be funny once, not four times.
The celebrity story is far more interesting. One moment, Bruno has a casting office to hire babies for a movie; what parents are willing to allow their children to do, is shocking. "We have chosen your baby to be dressed as a Nazi Officer," says Bruno, "pushing a wheelbarrow, with a Jewish baby, into an oven!" -- and the parents continue to smile!
On balance, I think that the celebrity story line makes the movie worthwhile, but if people think the first story line is just not funny, they are right.
Re: The last film you watched.... - Narukami - 07-17-2009
At the Cinema: Moon
This was a surprisingly good film -- much better than I had expected and a return to Sci-Fi films that deal more with ideas than explosions.
Some critics have likened it to 2001, but it actually echoes Silent Running with a little Outland thrown in for good measure. However the story is pure Philip K Dick whose many books (and films there of, most notably Bladerunner) explored the human condition and the twin themes of identity and what it means to be human.
There is almost no CGI in this film but instead extensive model work (which also harkens back to Silent Running and 2001) and it looks very good. Amazing what you can still achieve with a $10 million budget.
All in all a well spent afternoon at the cinema.
:wink:
Narukami
Re: The last film you watched.... - Sean Manning - 07-18-2009
1612 (Vladimir Khotinenko, 2007, on DVD). A historical low fantasy epic set in 17th century Russia during the Time of Troubles which ended with the establishment of the Romanov dynasty. Its an entertaining movie, with nice scenery and props/costumes. And some of the fencing isn't too bad, although there are a bunch of silly spinning techniques and armour is mostly useless. Its a bit nationalistic, but I'm used to that from American films.