What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)

[RogueScribner]

Either the search function really sucks or there's not a Vantage Point topic anywhere.

Anyhoo, I caught VP on DVD this past weekend and I liked it. It's basically an episode of 24 condensed to about 30 minutes and that 30 minutes gets told about 6 times over from different perspectives of the players involved. There were no real surprises, but it was paced well enough to never be boring. I liked it, but it's pretty much empty calories. Once you see it, you've gotten all you're going to out of the movie. There's no deep or subtle character work going on; there's no big message or theme to explore. It is what it is--a slick thriller with some interesting action bits and tight editing.

This movie really needed a Chloe.

6/10

[Spandau Belly]

popped in "Life Aquatic" tonight, was in the mood for my favorite director working these days. damn i love this film. LOVE it. i mean, i love all 5 of Anderson's films, and i can't pick just one favorite, but this one is tied for favorite....with Rushmore, Tennenbaums, and Darjeeling. Bill Murray does great work in this, as does everyone else in front of and behind the camera. the soundtrack, as always with Wes's films, is superbly complimentary to the visuals and stays with you long after the credits roll. i believe this was probably between the 20th and 25th time i have seen this film and i already look forward to the next time i watch it.

Wes Anderson is not of Mortal Lineage! He was created by the last of the Roman Gods and placed on Earth to continue their work...

So he made films insted with his power of thunder and lightning and control over Bill Murray, a being once thought uncontrollable!

I really liked Rushmore, but ever since then I've hated all this guy's movies. I think I admire Royal Tennenbaums more, but I think Life Aquatic had more potential to be my type of movie, yet both are pretty bad movies in my book.

I also object to his films going straight-to-Criterion. I think Criterion need some sort of reflection period to really let a movie sink and decide whether it's actually some sort classic worth preserving or just a movie they really liked whem it came out.

I haven't seen Darjeerling Limited, I read a pretty funny review calling it and Anderson racist and I doubt the movie could be more entertaining than that review.

[stereosforgeeks]

Titicut Follies:
Frederick Wiseman has created a fascinating fly on the wall look at a mental health institution for the criminally insane in Bridgewater, MA during the 60s. This is harrowing stuff here. The viewer is a voyeur seeing things that most have never seen before and the movie is almost a commentary on our own sick desires to see what goes inside such facilities. Unfortunately, the inmates involved were never consulted about the filming and thus much has been said about the films release and the rights of the individuals involved. Wiseman was just trying to get this film made and unfortunately the issues that have arisen are due to a distinction between the time when the film was made and now when we have more of an understanding of mental illness, though this is by no means complete. Wiseman’s camera offers glimpses of the facility and by use of amazing editing we are shown various inmates and staff and their lives. Titicut Follies itself is a type of music stand up revue that the inmates and staff put on for each other. These musical interludes are interspersed throughout the proceedings and add a level of surreal absurdity to the whole ordeal. The most glaring issue for me while watching this film is the utter lack of understanding the staff has for the inmates. The head doctor is shown as a callous and cold individual more inclined to up medication than to actual engage with a patient in thoughtful conversation. For the most part, however, the staff seemed inclined to want to help just not able to really do so. At one point the nurses are trying to get the inmates to play a quasi-pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game and the whole thing just comes off as incredibly sad though the intentions of the staff were in the right place they fail to really get the inmates involved. Wiseman excellently refuses to add voiceover or insert himself into the movie relying on the audiences intelligence to figure out his own intentions. Wiseman inserts just enough of his own thoughts into the editing to show you his thoughts but without being manipulative. Having worked with the developmentally delayed this film evoked a very emotional response from me by comparing my own experiences in a school with this facility. This had particular relevance as the school I worked at is a mere 10 miles from the facility in question. Luckily, however, my experiences are 3 decades removed and we have learned a lot during this time period, though not nearly enough. This is a really wonderful film 9.5/10

[Bayouwolf]

In an epic fit of boredom in the lovely Central Florida summer weather (Dish won't lose it's signal in a rainstorm, MY ASS!) I finally got around to seeing a few "lately" released flicks....

Rambo... I loved it for being stupid mindless action. I also hated it for the same reason. 6/10
Jumper... What a turd. The lovely special effects couldn't keep this POS entertaining. By the 3rd act, I had already checked out... 2/10 (It only receives the second star because Diane Lane makes a brief appearance.)
Be Kind Re-wind... Loved this! It wasn't at all what I had expected from the previews. Although, by the end of the flick, Mos Def's inability to emote was beginning to grate. 8/10

This reminds me...I need to update my '08 Film log...

[stereosforgeeks]

The Hart of London:
This is a very difficult film to write about. The movie is incredibly massive in terms of style and substance and even remotely trying to piece all this together in a unifying theme beyond what Chambers himself deems “generations” is will require many many more viewings. This is a landmark experimental film that is unfortunately ridiculously rare and difficult to see even for fans of experimental cinema. The Hart of London begins with black and white archival footage of a deer(hart) being lost trapped in a most likely newly fenced area of London, Ontario with the townsfolk watching in amusement. Chambers uses archival footage of London showing it’s growth as a city and the surrounding area to give a quasi-timeline of the city, but this footage is also overlapped with itself in opposing polarities but the footage in each polarity never quite matches itself giving us a frame of reference as to what could have been before or maybe after each image. For a more obvious example, you’d see a positive frame of a field with a negative frame of some building construction. Leading me to see the field as the past and the building as a future to that field at least thematically thus giving each image a frame of reference. What results from this experiment is not unlike memory with frames referencing each other but having one struggle to catch up and not quite ever matching the other polarity. This gives you a sense of past and future struggling to come to terms and us as a bystander trying to place the pieces together. This is by far the most audacious part of the film and the part I found the most fascinating. It is the closes thing to memory that I’ve ever seen attempted on film. Even if your just looking at this aesthetically it provides some beautifully contrasting images that each stand on its own but when combined provide new and exciting details. The film shifts to color footage in the second half with some disturbing and beautiful images. Chambers adds himself into the ending of the film with his family approaching a hart near a fence in an outside zoo echoing the trapped hart at the beginning of the film and our own involvement with nature. This time, however, Chambers children are offering nourishment while the parents are urging them to be careful. We are back to the beginning of this story but a little different this time around and in the meantime we the viewer and the participant in life have been exposed to images of birth and death, nature and city, the battles between them, and the circular nature of all things. Chamber pinpoints this further with his choice of soundtrack which is a minimalist noise of water, which again being a source of life but also can mimic ebb and flow of life, nature, and our connection with it. Seek this out!!!! Approximately 10/10.

This was written based on a conversation with my friend.

[John-Locke]

Titicut Follies:.....

Sounds very interesting SFG, I'm gonna check that one out soon.

I watched Primer for the first time last night, not bad at all but a little confusing towards the end, but I'm sure it all makes sense if you can be bothered to complete the puzzle, I hear people can get very obsessive about trying to figure out every single thing in the film. I can't be bothered, enough of it made sense for me to be content and the stuff that becomes a mindfuck was mainly down to the fact that the Director gets sloppy and throws too much at you without explanation.

Check it out if you are in the mood for some extremely clever Time Travel goodness but don't get obsessed about it, it's just a movie.

[stereosforgeeks]

Titicut Follies:.....

Sounds very interesting SFG, I'm gonna check that one out soon.

I watched Primer for the first time last night, not bad at all but a little confusing towards the end, but I'm sure it all makes sense if you can be bothered to complete the puzzle, I hear people can get very obsessive about trying to figure out every single thing in the film. I can't be bothered, enough of it made sense for me to be content and the stuff that becomes a mindfuck was mainly down to the fact that the Director gets sloppy and throws too much at you without explanation.

Check it out if you are in the mood for some extremely clever Time Travel goodness but don't get obsessed about it, it's just a movie.

Primer does all add up Shane Carruth was obsessive about keeping track of that stuff. I remember reading about how everything parses out in some article but don't remember where now.

[RogueScribner]

Oh yeah, Bayou reminded me that I also saw Jumper! Yeah, the movie obviously didn't leave much of an impression on me. It started out well enough, I suppose, but my mind started to wander about 2/3 of the way in and while I remember lots of VFX at the end, I don't really remember what any of it meant. And Hayden Christensen cannot act. He brings down every movie I've seen him in.

3/10

[John-Locke]

I watched Primer for the first time last night, not bad at all but a little confusing towards the end, but I'm sure it all makes sense if you can be bothered to complete the puzzle, I hear people can get very obsessive about trying to figure out every single thing in the film. I can't be bothered, enough of it made sense for me to be content and the stuff that becomes a mindfuck was mainly down to the fact that the Director gets sloppy and throws too much at you without explanation.

Check it out if you are in the mood for some extremely clever Time Travel goodness but don't get obsessed about it, it's just a movie.

Primer does all add up Shane Carruth was obsessive about keeping track of that stuff. I remember reading about how everything parses out in some article but don't remember where now.

Nah, I did a little research and one thing is clear, the Father of the girl, that guy they wanted to get funding from, that whole paradox thing with him suddenly going into a coma is left open with absolutely no explanation. The rest of it made sense even if I couldn't be bothered to put it all completely straight in my head.

[stereosforgeeks]

I watched Primer for the first time last night, not bad at all but a little confusing towards the end, but I'm sure it all makes sense if you can be bothered to complete the puzzle, I hear people can get very obsessive about trying to figure out every single thing in the film. I can't be bothered, enough of it made sense for me to be content and the stuff that becomes a mindfuck was mainly down to the fact that the Director gets sloppy and throws too much at you without explanation.

Check it out if you are in the mood for some extremely clever Time Travel goodness but don't get obsessed about it, it's just a movie.

Primer does all add up Shane Carruth was obsessive about keeping track of that stuff. I remember reading about how everything parses out in some article but don't remember where now.

Nah, I did a little research and one thing is clear, the Father of the girl, that guy they wanted to get funding from, that whole paradox thing with him suddenly going into a coma is left open with absolutely no explanation. The rest of it made sense even if I couldn't be bothered to put it all completely straight in my head.

It's been a long time since Ive watched it... heh.

[Maui]

I watched "Ocean's 13" the other night. I found it rather entertaining. Another heist cleverly done.

I was amazed at how great Ellen Barkin looks. She must be close to 50 by now.

[caruso_stalker217]

I watched "Ocean's 13" the other night. I found it rather entertaining. Another heist cleverly done.

I was amazed at how great Ellen Barkin looks. She must be close to 50 by now.

54, actually.

[Maui]

I watched "Ocean's 13" the other night. I found it rather entertaining. Another heist cleverly done.

I was amazed at how great Ellen Barkin looks. She must be close to 50 by now.

54, actually.

Wow!!

Is that the second collaboration of Barkin and Pacino. I only remember seeing them together in "Sea of Love".

[caruso_stalker217]

Never seen SEA OF LOVE, though I know I gotta get around to it someday. As Pacino is the shit and so on.

[Maui]

Never seen SEA OF LOVE, though I know I gotta get around to it someday. As Pacino is the shit and so on.

It's very good Pacino. Goodman is in it too, rather funny. I think one of my favourite parts of the movie is when they setup all of Pacino's dates and he meets all these women at the restaurant. Just a really interesting scene.

[Spandau Belly]

I know I'm going to get piled on for this, but here goes.

I watched Into The Wild last night and I'm going to say that I think it was a fascinating subject completely mishandled.

You've got a lot of Five Easy Pieces in there, and that's a movie I really like, only unlike Five Easy Pieces they don't let the lead character draw you in or seem mysterious at all. They give him a voice-over narration and actually have him write his feelings on the screen literally in giant yellow capital letters instead of just letting this actor dude do his job. They also give his sister a voice over narration track too, and she further explains this guy to death before we even really get a chance to get to just watch him.

The main character is a well-educated bright young man from a dysfunctional rich family. He quickly becomes a self-righteous hobo who drifts around North America spouting Tolstoy quotations and ranting to anybody who will listen about the failures of society. The movie doesn't let things unfold in a natural way. Aside from various narration tracks and giant text on the screen telling us everything about this guy and what he feels and why, they also employ a fractured timeline like 21 Grams, so the movie is more like watching a puzzle fit together than watching a story build or a character develop. It's also more than halfway into the movie before the main character actually gives you any reason to like him. In the second half he's bit more funny and likeable, but you've kinda already made up your mind on the guy after an hour of his pretentious literary quotations and self-righteous self-pitying blathering.

This movie is set in the early 1990s, but the whole thing has such a 60s feel. There's such blatant plagarizing of Easy Rider right down to him talking about wanting throw his wristwatch away and live without it. Most of the music is provided by Eddie Vedder of The Pearl Jam, a music group that actually did have it's heyday back in the early 90s, but the rest is all 60s and 70s road trip music like Canned Heat and stuff that just throws Into The Wild into a feeling of an hommage to all those 60s-70s road movies like Two-Lane Blacktop when this film should be trying to create a new modern chapter in that genre.

So I'll say this is a bad movie. This generation could probably use its own Five Easy Pieces mixed with Two-Lane Blacktop, but in my opinion it didn't get it with Into The Wild.

[so sorry]

I know I'm going to get piled on for this, but here goes.

I watched Into The Wild last night and I'm going to say that I think it was a fascinating subject completely mishandled.

You've got a lot of Five Easy Pieces in there, and that's a movie I really like, only unlike Five Easy Pieces they don't let the lead character draw you in or seem mysterious at all. They give him a voice-over narration and actually have him write his feelings on the screen literally in giant yellow capital letters instead of just letting this actor dude do his job. They also give his sister a voice over narration track too, and she further explains this guy to death before we even really get a chance to get to just watch him.

The main character is a well-educated bright young man from a dysfunctional rich family. He quickly becomes a self-righteous hobo who drifts around North America spouting Tolstoy quotations and ranting to anybody who will listen about the failures of society. The movie doesn't let things unfold in a natural way. Aside from various narration tracks and giant text on the screen telling us everything about this guy and what he feels and why, they also employ a fractured timeline like 21 Grams, so the movie is more like watching a puzzle fit together than watching a story build or a character develop. It's also more than halfway into the movie before the main character actually gives you any reason to like him. In the second half he's bit more funny and likeable, but you've kinda already made up your mind on the guy after an hour of his pretentious literary quotations and self-righteous self-pitying blathering.

This movie is set in the early 1990s, but the whole thing has such a 60s feel. There's such blatant plagarizing of Easy Rider right down to him talking about wanting throw his wristwatch away and live without it. Most of the music is provided by Eddie Vedder of The Pearl Jam, a music group that actually did have it's heyday back in the early 90s, but the rest is all 60s and 70s road trip music like Canned Heat and stuff that just throws Into The Wild into a feeling of an hommage to all those 60s-70s road movies like Two-Lane Blacktop when this film should be trying to create a new modern chapter in that genre.

So I'll say this is a bad movie. This generation could probably use its own Five Easy Pieces mixed with Two-Lane Blacktop, but in my opinion it didn't get it with Into The Wild.

Did you read the book? Cause I'm pretty sure the movie is a decent interpretation, so your criticisms would be against the story more so than the movie (if that makes sense )

Anyway, if you want to read some other Zoner's thoughts on Into the Wild, be sure to paruse the existing thread right here

[Spandau Belly]

Thanks, so sorry.

I did not read the book. I don't know if it used the same fractured timeline structure or if it was more linear. Like I was saying, with Five Easy Pieces we find Jack NIcholson intriguing and charming and funny for the first half of the movie and gradually learn how troubled he is and then get an idea of just what Struggling Background Artist he is and what he abondonned and figure out why. This movie was the opposite where they show this guy as a Struggling Background Artist, tell us why he abandonned society and then in the second half give him some opportunities to be charming and funny and I think that was a bad move.

You're right, the idea interests me and I know it can work since I liked both Two-Lane Blacktop and Five Easy Pieces, I just don't think this film is a good version of that type of story.

[Hermanator X]

I thought into the wild was great. I see some of your complaints, but I actually enjoyed it for those reasons.
Vedders soundtrack blew me away, and I enjoy it immensely. Its been the soundtrack to my own summer, and driving round the norwegian countryside in the sunshine with the album on repeat has been bliss.

[John-Locke]

For personal reasons I put Into The Wild as my favourite film of last year. I can see why people might not like it but I loved it.

[RogueScribner]

Superhero Movie

I couldn't resist the lure of Leslie Nielsen.

It had a few laughs, but it wasn't jam packed with hilarity (or even unfunny jokes) and with the reams of superhero movie cliches to make fun off, they really didn't do anything more than spoof Spider-man. I'm sure if I was 10 I would have loved this movie, but it's pretty meh.

3/10

[Chairman Kaga]

Death Bed: The Bed that Eats...
Those familiar with Patton Oswalt have probably already heard of this. Save yourself the rental and just watch a few clips on YouTube to get the gist. Right up there with Manos and The Beast of Yucca Flats.

[DerLanghaarige]

Well, do you know a better movie to watch on a sunday morning with the whole family than Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd?
As a huge Burton-fan, who even enjoyed his 'Planet Of The Apes' I gotta say that I was slightly disappointed, but it wasn't his fault. I'm just not really into musicals. There are a few that I like. 'Little Shop Of Horrors' or 'The Produers'. But while I think that it was an overall good movie, the musical part didn't do it for me. The songs were pretty boring and I can't remember even one. And even worse: The old musical cliche of singing about every damn thing! There are musicals where you have dialogue and story and then there are songs just once in a while. Like, let's say the Disney movies from the 90's. 'The Little Mermaid' and stuff. Five or six songs in the whole movie. But this is one of these musicals that's almost like an episode of 'Barney'. People can't even scratch their ass without singing about it. At least the singers were all good, the actors were convincing and Burton's directing was as good as usual.
7/10

[Chris a.k.a StuntMike]

Rutger Hauer in Wanted: Dead or Alive.
Once Upon a Time in America

[Chris a.k.a StuntMike]

For personal reasons I put Into The Wild as my favourite film of last year. I can see why people might not like it but I loved it.

Man, what a shit way to die. Heartbreaking

[Maui]

Untraceable

with Diane Lane and some other people. She looks great for her age, btw.

It was okay, I certainly enjoyed the computer, IP hosting, hackery of it all.

6 out of 10

[caruso_stalker217]

When I first saw the trailer for UNTRACEABLE my first thought was, "This looks like a piece of shit." My second was, "Man! Connie Nielsen really let herself go!"

Then apparently it was Diane Lane and I was confused. She was definitely looking good in that crap HOLLYWOODLAND movie.

[Maui]

When I first saw the trailer for UNTRACEABLE my first thought was, "This looks like a piece of shit." My second was, "Man! Connie Nielsen really let herself go!"

Then apparently it was Diane Lane and I was confused. She was definitely looking good in that crap HOLLYWOODLAND movie.

She was very good in HollywoodLand - it was an excellent movie. There are several hollywood actresses in their 40s that look great and they AREN'T doing the whole botox/plastic surgery fake thing.

[caruso_stalker217]

I thought HOLLYWOODLAND was mediocre with an overrated performance by Affleck and an overlooked performance by Adrien Brody, who consistently rocks the shit in every movie he's in.

[Maui]

I thought HOLLYWOODLAND was mediocre with an overrated performance by Affleck and an overlooked performance by Adrien Brody, who consistently rocks the shit in every movie he's in.

Yes, his nose was definitely overlooked.

[caruso_stalker217]

No one CAN resist Brody!

[Maui]

I actually like him, alot. He's a good actor and easy on the eyes. Yes, I like his nose too. It's his trademark.

[caruso_stalker217]

The kid's got moxie.

[Spandau Belly]

I thought HOLLYWOODLAND was mediocre with an overrated performance by Affleck and an overlooked performance by Adrien Brody, who consistently rocks the shit in every movie he's in.

Yes, his nose was definitely overlooked.

I think I was talking earlier about how I had rewatched Fight Club, then saw The Machinist, then saw Secret Window all in one month and had my fucking fill of imaginary friend movies.

Well, then I rent The Jacket, and I was kinda scared it was headed in that direction but glad that it turned out to just be about time travelling mental patients. It wasn't any fucking masterpiece, but a good little Adrian Brody movie. Kris Kristoffersen does a good job of play Kris Kristoffersen. Plus, Kiera Knightley did a really good job playing Winona Ryder, almost better than Winona Ryder, or at least thinner. And Daniel Craig did his usual as being the ugly talentless fuck with no charisma that just used to distract and annoy me in small roles, but now destroys entire movies through leading roles.

Good flick, if you're into time travelling mental patients, and who fucking isn't?

[Maui]

It wasn't any fucking masterpiece, but a good little Adrian Brody movie. Kris Kristoffersen does a good job of play Kris Kristoffersen. Plus, Kiera Knightley did a really good job playing Winona Ryder, almost better than Winona Ryder, or at least thinner. And Daniel Craig did his usual as being the ugly talentless fuck with no charisma that just used to distract and annoy me in small roles, but now destroys entire movies through leading roles.

Good flick, if you're into time travelling mental patients, and who fucking isn't?

hee hee

Yes, I also place Ryder, Knightley and ScarJo in the 2 x 4 club. Daniel Craig though???? However, he was rather insignificant in "Munich".

Caruso, your sig cracks me up!

[havocSchultz]

No one CAN resist Brody!

Where's burl when you need him...?

[caruso_stalker217]

Caruso, your sig cracks me up!

'Bout damn time somebody mentioned it! You think I do this for shits and giggles? You think I worked my fingers to the bone for minutes throwing that bastard together? It took guts! Grade-A Barry Goldwater American-Grown GUTS!

[caruso_stalker217]

I thought HOLLYWOODLAND was mediocre with an overrated performance by Affleck and an overlooked performance by Adrien Brody, who consistently rocks the shit in every movie he's in.

Yes, his nose was definitely overlooked.

I think I was talking earlier about how I had rewatched Fight Club, then saw The Machinist, then saw Secret Window all in one month and had my fucking fill of imaginary friend movies.

Well, then I rent The Jacket, and I was kinda scared it was headed in that direction but glad that it turned out to just be about time travelling mental patients. It wasn't any fucking masterpiece, but a good little Adrian Brody movie. Kris Kristoffersen does a good job of play Kris Kristoffersen. Plus, Kiera Knightley did a really good job playing Winona Ryder, almost better than Winona Ryder, or at least thinner. And Daniel Craig did his usual as being the ugly talentless fuck with no charisma that just used to distract and annoy me in small roles, but now destroys entire movies through leading roles.

Good flick, if you're into time travelling mental patients, and who fucking isn't?

I don't even remember Craig being in that movie. Can't wait for QUANTUM OF SOLACE. Craig is the greatest Bond ever.

Winona Ryder's looking pretty good these days. Seems like I haven't seen her in years (probably true). The age thing is good for her.

I'm gonna go watch BATMAN: THE MOVIE. Cesar Romero fucking owns Ledger's ASS.

[Maui]

Caruso, your sig cracks me up!

'Bout damn time somebody mentioned it! You think I do this for shits and giggles? You think I worked my fingers to the bone for minutes throwing that bastard together? It took guts! Grade-A Barry Goldwater American-Grown GUTS!

You are truly a marvel.

[caruso_stalker217]

Caruso, your sig cracks me up!

'Bout damn time somebody mentioned it! You think I do this for shits and giggles? You think I worked my fingers to the bone for minutes throwing that bastard together? It took guts! Grade-A Barry Goldwater American-Grown GUTS!

You are truly a marvel.

I've always thought so, thank you.

[Maui]

Blood Diamond

I'm a little late on watching this movie - came out in 2006. I thought it was ok. DeCaprio's accent seemed a bit all over the place, but an interesting, disturbing story.

[caruso_stalker217]

BATMAN: THE MOVIE is seriously a work of genius, by the way. Very few movies have the ability to make me laugh while I'm by myself. And Lee Meriwether is sexy as hell. Probably more so as Kitka than as Catwoman.

[Hermanator X]

Yeah, BATMAN:THE MOVIE is a work of genius. Just so many silly things done completely straight. I watched it a year or 2 ago (maybe longer) as I picked it up cheap for a giggle, having loved it as a kid.

The conversation with Kitka in the carraige is absolutely filthy, its like bat-viagra.

Also, I noticed how well choreographed a scene in Gordons office was, basically Officer Dibble (cant remember his name), Gordon, Bats and Robin, all pondering the recent wrongdoings, and what could be behind it all, but walking in and out of shot perfectly timed with each line of dialogue and chin stroking by each character. Absolute lunacy, but very subtle but once I noticed it I was in fits laughing. Real hard belly laughs. 10 out of 10.

Batman telling off the navy official for selling a nuclear sub to someone named P.N.Guin without a background check. Priceless. Especially his jolly little whistle as he answers the phone.

Never mind the famous "some days you just cant get rid of a bomb" line, (which is also genius) there are so many moments to just laugh your head off to in the movie.

Last one, I promise, the infamous rubber shark scene. Robin is coming to pass the Bat-Shark Repellent to Bats. Instead of simply climbing down the ladder far enough to pass the can to Bats, he does an awkward and not at all gracefull upside down trapeze type move then passes the can. WHY????

Judge for your self! The best and funniest clips in youtubeovision

[Maui]

Apocalypse Now

Love this movie. Duvall, Sheen, and BRANDO!

Sounds silly but I love how they add water sports into this film. It's just so quirky and disturbing at the same time. Waterskiing behind the boat, surfing in the middle of battle.

Couldn't help but think Charlie Sheen repeated what his Dad did in "Apocalpyse" with "Platoon".

[Spandau Belly]

Apocalypse Now

Love this movie. Duvall, Sheen, and BRANDO!

Sounds silly but I love how they add water sports into this film. It's just so quirky and disturbing at the same time. Waterskiing behind the boat, surfing in the middle of battle.

Couldn't help but think Charlie Sheen repeated what his Dad did in "Apocalpyse" with "Platoon".

It's strange, once the Redux cut came out, I only watched that cut since. I always felt I only marginally preferred it, that it added lots of stuff that was pointless or kinda lame (the second scene with the Playboy Bunnies, Willard stealing Kilgore's surfboard was really out of character), but that those crappy parts were worth the extra good stuff that got added in (the awesome plantation part, the extra stuff with Kurtz at the end, the extended intro).

Then I saw the original cut again recently and realized just how much I prefer the Redux cut. The original just feels so short now, the Redux really feels like these guys journey through hell forever and I feel we fully appreciate Kurtz's madness.

[Maui]

Apocalypse Now

Love this movie. Duvall, Sheen, and BRANDO!

Sounds silly but I love how they add water sports into this film. It's just so quirky and disturbing at the same time. Waterskiing behind the boat, surfing in the middle of battle.

Couldn't help but think Charlie Sheen repeated what his Dad did in "Apocalpyse" with "Platoon".

It's strange, once the Redux cut came out, I only watched that cut since. I always felt I only marginally preferred it, that it added lots of stuff that was pointless or kinda lame (the second scene with the Playboy Bunnies, Willard stealing Kilgore's surfboard was really out of character), but that those crappy parts were worth the extra good stuff that got added in (the awesome plantation part, the extra stuff with Kurtz at the end, the extended intro).

Then I saw the original cut again recently and realized just how much I prefer the Redux cut. The original just feels so short now, the Redux really feels like these guys journey through hell forever and I feel we fully appreciate Kurtz's madness.

Hmmm, I guess I need to get my hands on the redux and see what this extra 45 minutes is all about.

[Chris a.k.a StuntMike]

This has always been my 2nd favorite film of all time. Film Threat magazine had an article years ago of a 4 or 5 hour cut so we knew it was coming in some form or another. I've never looked at Redux with anything more than an enjoyable curiousity though. The original cut is where it's at for me. Every beat is right on the money.

The extras on The Complete Dossier Edition are amazing though. The mini-doc on the making of the soundtrack is worth the price of admission alone. Coppola just went over the top on every facet of this film.

[Chris a.k.a StuntMike]

BATMAN: THE MOVIE is seriously a work of genius, by the way. Very few movies have the ability to make me laugh while I'm by myself. And Lee Meriwether is sexy as hell. Probably more so as Kitka than as Catwoman.

Damn you Caruso! Well thanks to you and Hermanator X, I just bought Batman: The Movie. Though I've always been partial to Julie Newmar myself.
I haven't seen this in something like 25 years.

[Spandau Belly]

While the Dark Knight is becoming the highest grossing film in history, I decided I'd finally check out these Nolan brothers' attempt at Americanizing a movie I really liked, Insomnia.

I'll say I avoided seeing this remake because I really liked the original and feared they'd fuck it all up and turn into some cheesy action movie or something. Plus the casting of Pacino made me nervous.

I'll start off by saying they changed all the stuff I expected them to change in order to make it more appealing to North American audiences. That is to say, they completely changed the two main characters and the point of the movie.

But I'll give these guys credit, they understand that if you change stuff in scene #1, then it has an impact on scene #24. They went thorough on their adaptation of this. A lot of the time when stuff gets adapted either from a book or another movie, they end up cutting and changing a bunch of stuff, but then keeping some scenes that result from the stuff they axed and changed. The results are usually inconsistent characters and final acts that feel like they come out of nowhere. In American Insomnia they rebuilt this story scene by scene from the ground up and everything made sense. Most of the scenes in American Insomnia happen in the Norwegian original, but they just happen in a different way. Plus the Nolans have added a whole new final act that happens after where the original ended, because their version of the story needed it.

I'm not sure how many of y'all have seen the original or this new one, so I'll do a little comparison.

WARNING: SPOILERS

I'll still say I prefer the original because it appeals more to my sensibilties and opinions on the fuzz. It's got so much more Bad Lieutenant to it. The main cop guy (played by Skarsgard) struts around like a pompous asshole calling the little Northern village a backwater shithole and trying to stick his dick in anything with legs that spread and all the while trying to outrun the shitstorm he's been leaving behind him his whole life while adding some new damage to the landscape.

Pacino is more playing a good guy cop who's had to resort to some cutting of legal corners to do the right thing but nonetheless feels guilty about his own tactics. And my fears about Pacino were incorrect, he's actually acting in this movie and not doing his standard arm-waving shoutfest. He actually looks ridiculously fucking bagged the whole movie and I liked that.

And the killer/novelist guy who was more of a suave artistic type(I don't know who played him, but he's probably some huge star in Norway), whereas Robin Williams plays the character as a bit more of creepy loner. I knew they would have to get more moralizing in the American one because in North America you just can't make movies about middle age dudes fucking teenagers and act like it's perfectly natural. Even though I know when I'm that age I'll still be drooling over these Ellen Page types and that shit will feel natural as a fucking forest but I just won't talk about it at work or whatever.

I thought Norwegian Insomnia was a movie about a cop who was a million times worse than the guy he was chasing. The movie put labels on the main characters of "cop" and "killer" and then defied those labels. That the novelist guy had committed an understandable murder and wasn't a risk of recidivism. But the cop guy was just a fucking disease who would fuck up everything he touched. Ultimately the cop kills the killer in an unheroic way, and even though a cop killing a killer is typically satisfying conclusion to cop movie, I didn't feel like justice had been done, I think the point was the opposite. And that last shot of Skarsgard driving into the tunnel and his eyes looking all demonic just put the hook in me that this guy not only got away with all this shit but would actually be considered a hero and go on to fuck more shit up elsewhere.

American Insomnia choses to be about sticking to the book and due process and what have you. Pacino broke the rules to frame a guy he knew was a child kidnapper but couldn't prove it in court, and this movie is more about him learning that part of his job is to deal with the frustration of the bad guys sometimes getting away and that he failed his professionism by doing what was morally right and would ultimately end up looking like the bad guy if this shit came to light. Interesting dilemma. And he leaves Hillary Swank with the life lesson to follow the book and bring honesty to the system.

So, I'll say the American remake isn't really a step up or a step down, but more just a step to the side. More different than better or worse, which in my opinion made it worth making.

[travis-dane]

BAM!
POFF!
BOING......
dadadadadaDADADA..BATMAN!

funky shit!