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

[Bloo]

After watching THE WRESTLER, I commented on it at length saying that a lot of the stuff in that movie was so crazy that it just had to be true because nobody would believe it if it wasn't. Travis suggested that I check out this documentary called BEYOND THE MAT that looks at wrestmania as a business and at the personal lives of the wrestlers so that I could see just how crazy this world is. It is crazy.

I found this documentary to be very informative. I didn't know very much about wrestlemania before seeing it, but I think I recognized all the people who were well-knowns among the wrestlemania world. I already knew about these guys like Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Vince McMahon, The Rock, Mick "Mankind" Folley, and some others. They spend a lot of time with a former legend named Terry Funk, who I did not know before this movie. But I had never researched wrestlemania before, so for me most of this stuff was new. Maybe a real wrestlemania fan would find it less informative.

On the package it says "The film Vince McMahon doesn't want you to see." which I think is just a marketing ploy. Vince seems very cooperative with this film giving many interviews and allowing the cameras backstage at events and in his office etc. Lots of people talk smack about Vince throughout the movie, but one guy says that you have be very pushy and ruthless to keep all these ego-maniac wrestlers in line and I would tend to agree with him. The wrestlers are the product, but Vince has the vision. You can't let your product run your company.

And I can't really feel that bad for these guys. Sure, Vince calls the shots and takes his cut, but they also say Mankind makes six figures a year and enjoys being a celebrity idolized by children and adult children so I wouldn't say the WWF/WWE is the worst employer in the world. Plus, it seems to be more these wrestler guys who by their own free will subject themselves to brutal torture well into their 50s because they love the fame. Jake "The Snake" talks about how Vince worked him like a dog forcing him to perform almost every day of the year during his prime. I didn't know there was that much demand for wrestling entertainment, and I also wasn't sure what to believe from "The Snake" because everybody describes him as crazy and he himself admits to being a brain-damaged crack addict, something that limits your credibility with me.

I'm not sure if THE WRESTLER is one of those movies that was commissoned after the success of this documentary like how they turned that DOGTOWN documentary about skateboarders into a real movie and I hear they're going to get actors to do a studio-made version of that CLOVERFIELD documentary movie. But a lot of the same stuff is covered in both films. Especially the stuff about the very low levels of this sport where former legends and aspiring wrestlers beat each other in barns for audiences of less than 200 people and frequently don't even get payed.

This documentary is pretty short and very interesting and moves along well. I would recommend it to anybody who likes documentaries. And there's one part where they're interviewing one aspiring wrestler guy and he says that he thinks he should take his career to Japan where there is more sport and less entertainment to the wrestlemania spectacle. The filmmakers don't follow up on this angle and I actually think a second documentary could be made about the Japanese wrestlemania scene. I'd watch it.

a bit about the "Movie Vince McMahon doesn't want you to see" you see Vince is kind of media whore, like Tarantino levels if not higher, so he'll grant an interview with a lot of people, BUT if he doesn't like the way it turns out (i.e. how he is protrayed) he'll throw a hissy fit

if I remember correctly he wouldn't let USA and Spike or whoever was airing wrestling at that time air commercials for the movie, wouldn't let any of his wrestlers mention it etc

he had a similar reaction to THE WRESTLER until t started getting critical accliam and then he embraced it

[Spandau Belly]

I'm surprised Vince would think this movie portrayed him in a negative light. The movie is prettymuch a testament to his business savy.

I guess he sells fantasy and this movie is a dose of reality, and maybe that's part of his objection to it. Or maybe by cooperating with the filming so much then objecting to it he creates controversy and gets even more attention and that's his big goal anyway.

One of the few wrestlemania matches I saw was one where he was clearly supposed to run into the ring all angry and ultimately wrestle somebody, but he obviously hit his knee climbing into the ring and his leg went limp so he just sat on the ground yelling and screaming. It was pretty funny.

[travis-dane]

I'm surprised Vince would think this movie portrayed him in a negative light. The movie is prettymuch a testament to his business savy.

I guess he sells fantasy and this movie is a dose of reality, and maybe that's part of his objection to it. Or maybe by cooperating with the filming so much then objecting to it he creates controversy and gets even more attention and that's his big goal anyway.

One of the few wrestlemania matches I saw was one where he was clearly supposed to run into the ring all angry and ultimately wrestle somebody, but he obviously hit his knee climbing into the ring and his leg went limp so he just sat on the ground yelling and screaming. It was pretty funny.

Vince hates Beyond the Mat! What you have to understand is that the WWE guys are on the Road for about 330+ days a Year. The dudes have to wrestle even when they are injured, because most of them have performance based contracts. The part you see on TV like Raw or Smackdown is just the icing on the Cake, the WWE does House Shows(non TV shows) almost every night. If you dont work like a horse in wrestling, you will make no money. It is a dirty business. What happens behind the curtain is much more interesting then the TV stuff. Now you should watch Wrestling with Shadows, the Bret Hart doc.

[Spandau Belly]

VWhat you have to understand is that the WWE guys are on the Road for about 330+ days a Year. The dudes have to wrestle even when they are injured, because most of them have performance based contracts. The part you see on TV like Raw or Smackdown is just the icing on the Cake, the WWE does House Shows(non TV shows) almost every night.

Okay, that's what Jake "The Snake" meant about being on the road and working almost every day of the year. In this doc they don't mention these road shows and I didn't know they existed. WWE shows came to Montreal pretty often but I figured they were just filming the televised spectacle there.

[Spandau Belly]

I've been keeping it real with anime lately and last night I rented:

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME

This is really good small story about high school romance and time travel. It's another one of those animes where I kinda figure it would be cheaper to just film this stuff rather than animate it since there are no big effect shots or action sequences. It has a small cast and takes place in a modern high school.

The whole thing has a nice calm feel and the score is very Yann Tiersen-esque. It seems kinda slow getting started and spends its early portion letting you get connected with the characters, but it is also subtley laying the groundwork for a pretty complex story that is open to a lot of interpretation. For example it is possible that the lead character ultimately goes way back in time and becomes her own aunt.

A stranger thing is that I actually wrote a more action-packed timetravel idea for a movie that would star Ellen Page ultimately going back in time and raising her baby self. Yet I also kept imagining Ellen Page as the live action equivilent for the lead in this story.

I think they could easily do a live action remake of this. It would be the type of thing M. Night Shaylaman would be good at, but I only saw his first two movies and everybody keeps telling me he's totally lost it ever since those two.

Anyway, if you like anime that isn't sci-fi action-oriented, this is a good one. Touching and interesting.

[Maui]

I've been keeping it real with anime lately and last night I rented:

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME

This is really good small story about high school romance and time travel. It's another one of those animes where I kinda figure it would be cheaper to just film this stuff rather than animate it since there are no big effect shots or action sequences. It has a small cast and takes place in a modern high school.
Anyway, if you like anime that isn't sci-fi action-oriented, this is a good one. Touching and interesting.

Good film, I enjoyed this as well. I'm not a big fan of Mamoru Hosoda's stuff, but this was a pleasant surprise. I've recommended this film to a few people and none of them have been disappointed.

[Al Shut]

I liked it a lot, too.

For example it is possible that the lead character ultimately goes way back in time and becomes her own aunt.

How do you get that idea? I remember reading a review where the reviewer complained that that didn't happen and called it a missed oppurtunity. And I have no clue how anyone could come up with that idea. The way I remember it the aunt simply made a joke about time travelling herself by dozing off and finding herself a few hours in the future.

[Spandau Belly]

I liked it a lot, too.

How do you get that idea? I remember reading a review where the reviewer complained that that didn't happen and called it a missed oppurtunity. And I have no clue how anyone could come up with that idea. The way I remember it the aunt simply made a joke about time travelling herself by dozing off and finding herself a few hours in the future.

They refer to the aunt as a "witch" many times during the movie and she tells the lead character about how her young life was the exact same as her's and the aunt says something like "I know you wouldn't make the same mistake I made and let that boy slip away." like she's advising her younger self. You take that plus the huge *coincidence* that the aunt spends her life restoring the very painting the neice's love interest is obsessed with and it all seems like a plausible interpretation to me. I just said it was a possible interpretation, not what the film was explicitly saying.

[stereosforgeeks]

I liked it a lot, too.

For example it is possible that the lead character ultimately goes way back in time and becomes her own aunt.

How do you get that idea? I remember reading a review where the reviewer complained that that didn't happen and called it a missed oppurtunity. And I have no clue how anyone could come up with that idea. The way I remember it the aunt simply made a joke about time travelling herself by dozing off and finding herself a few hours in the future.

This story was very sweet and reminded me a lot of the time travelers wife. Definitely enjoyable.

[Al Shut]

They refer to the aunt as a "witch" many times during the movie and she tells the lead character about how her young life was the exact same as her's and the aunt says something like "I know you wouldn't make the same mistake I made and let that boy slip away." like she's advising her younger self. You take that plus the huge *coincidence* that the aunt spends her life restoring the very painting the neice's love interest is obsessed with and it all seems like a plausible interpretation to me. I just said it was a possible interpretation, not what the film was explicitly saying.

uuh, I need to watch that again sometimes

[DaleTremont]

Ever since the Pusher trilogy knocked me on my ass I've been seeking out more Danish movies and I've yet to be disappointed. One of the most interesting ones I've seen is Just Another Love Story from Ole Bornedal.

At a certain point I was somewhat skeptical about this movie because I thought it was slightly less credible than While You Were Sleeping. See, there's this guy Jonas (Anders W. Berthelsen who was also in the delightful 80s fantasy throwback Island of Lost Souls) who falls in love with this girl Julia while she's in a coma. Jonas is married and has children, but you know how it is with beautiful chicks in comas...all helpless and mysterious and what not. Much like in While You Were Sleeping, Jonas falls into a classic case of mistaken identity when Julia's family thinks he's her boyfriend Sebastian, whom they've never met but have hear all about, love of her life, etc..etc... It always bugged me when Sandra Bullock could have just been like "Whoa guys I'm not really Peter Gallagher's fiancee," but I kind of get it because she was lonely and obsessed with him to begin with. This Jonas guy has a little less of an excuse to protract the ruse and the screenwriters have to work extra hard to come up with reasons why he would, but anyway that's kind of a minor critique.

Basically there are aspects of this movie, plot-wise, that are very silly, but I didn't care too much because it was so fucking awesome otherwise. It's a sort of arty mystery/thriller wrapped in a philosophical meditation on love. Bornedal shoots the thing beautifully and takes a lot of visual risks that could have ended up silly but I think he pulls it off.

I don't want to give too much away but I'll just say it's not one of those movies that never resolves anything...the ending is absolutely smashing. Also, this actor Nikolaj Lie Kaas is fucking incredible.

So yeah this review is a scatterbrained, but suffice it to say this movie, while flawed, has been one of the most personally enjoyable flicks I've seen. Intrigue, gore, and hot Danish actors are all right up my alley.

[Spandau Belly]

TAKEN
This review is based on the unrated cut of the movie.

I have been prettymuch a lifelong student of Luc Besson, he has always been a hero to me in his storytelling. And I can relate to how he has more stories in his head than he does time to tell them all properly and I like that he now just bangs away at a keyboard and chucks the scripts at whoever is standing nearby and tells them to go direct it.

At first he was a groundbreaking filmmaker, but over the years and films the hallmarks of his writing have become recognizable and there has been such thing as "a Luc Besson movie" for like ten years. It's fine. I love his movies, Luc Besson makes better Luc Besson movies than anybody else. Most of the time he tells stories about codes of honour and professional discipline revolving around some event where a guy breaks his own rules to regain a bit of humanity.

However, sometimes Besson writes movies in other people's formulas, and TAKEN is such a movie. It does not follow any of the Besson formula or have many of his writing's hallmarks. This is a kidnapped girl movie in the tradition of SPARTAN and MAN ON FIRE and stars Liam Neeson. Yes, that's right, it stars Liam Neeson, he's not some other main character's mentor this time.

I'll say that I sadly found this movie a tad underwhelming. I think it is good and worth watching, but it fell a little short of staying with me in any big way. What this movie has going for it is two things: Liam Neeson and Luc Besson. Neeson brings serious acting chops and presence to a character that could've been pretty cliched. Besson brings a few very inventive scenes to a story we've all seen a hundred times before. My favorite is definately a part where Neeson goes over to a buddy's house for dinner and they're all acting all nice and he then starts shooting the dude's wife and pistol whipping the dude. And Neeson really plays this part. His career has made him paranoid, which makes him a bit of a Struggling Background Artist to be around when nothing is going wrong because he's spent his whole career just looking for things that could go wrong in any situation. Neeson plays the character with a calmness that is realistic of an actual spy/hitman/bodyguard and not that typical movie guy cool of a guy who struts away from explosions not looking at them and shit.

I think my problem, and it's not really a problem since I do think this is a good movie, is the director. He's in full Bourne shakeycam mode when the fights and stuff are on and then gets more steady when it's plot time. I liked how the Bourne movies kept the shakeycam the whole time to keep you in the mind of the hero. Even when Bourne's not fighting he's always moving and exhausted and looking around for threats and the camera style helped communicate that. At the same time, I also liked how Redbelt filmed everything steady and treated the action the same way it treated the plot to show how Chiwitel Redbelt kept the same mentality all the time. In Taken, when the camera steadies itself it just feels like the movie is slowing down, but not slow enough to stop and really take full advantage of Neeson's acting or to bust out some nice atmospheric photography, just slow enough to tell you that you can relax because nothing exciting is going to happen for a few minutes.

This is the second Besson movie about a foreigner coming to Paris to kick everybody's asses, and I think the dude who directed Kiss Of The Dragon was just a better director than this guy and Besson should throw him some more scripts. The guy who did this Taken movie is okay I guess, but he definately has no auteurist style, nor the abiltiy to really do a great job ripping off other people's.

I'm also not sure if Besson is going through some sort of child custody battle or something, because this movie does kinda get into overkill with the my-daddy's-a-hero stuff at the end. I mean, fuck, your dad saves you from being fucked to death as an Al Quaida smackhead sex slave, that's gotta make for all the dance recitals he missed right there. Does he really need to help you get your foot in the door as a pop singer too? I was fine with the pop singer bodyguard stuff at the beginning because it kept you wondering what the movie was going to be about and it established the character's skills, but I didn't need to come back again at the end. And this didn't even seem like a movie about a father proving his value to his daughter. His daughter actually seemed to like him right from the start. Neeson's problem was more the resentment of his ex-wife.

So overall, this one is good for one viewing in my opinion, but nothing really classic. I do think Neeson should get more leading roles. It's been a long time since I've seen him even try to carry a film and he does a great job.

[Bloo]

And I can relate to how he has more stories in his head than he does time to tell them all properly and I like that he now just bangs away at a keyboard and chucks the scripts at whoever is standing nearby and tells them to go direct it.

I have this image in my head of a script coming right off the printer and Besson just chucking it at someone and saying "here make this"

note to self:hang out with Luc Besson more

[thefraze]

Rashomon

X-Men: The Last Stand

Clash of the TItans

30 Rock: Season 2

Sword of Doom

[caruso_stalker217]

I like to think of Spandau as the next Luc Besson. Only the kind of Luc Besson who can't get any of his movies made because no film studio would have the brass to finance them.

[Spandau Belly]

I had myself a little double bill last night.

HOSTEL & HOSTEL: PART 2
both of these of these films were viewed in the unrated director's cut format

I have to say, I liked both these movies. And based on these two films and the Thanksgiving trailer in Grindhouse, I think this Eli Roth guy is a good filmmaker.

The first one was really well done. It starts off like some comedy movie like EUROTRIP or something about two Americans and their goofball Icelandic dork buddy getting into various American Pie type situations. Roth does a good job making these scenes entertaining in themselves, which seems to be his strength as a horror movie maker. Not only was I never just looking at my watch waiting for the next kill, but I actually always wanted everybody to escape all these violent situations unscathed. Most horror movies are purely sadistic and you're clearly supposed to root for Jason or The Leprechaun or whoever, but these were actually horror movies where I rooted for the victims. So I'd say he does a good job in establishing sympathy.

Roth also has a good skill for creating distinct environments. He films locations really well in a way that makes them interesting to look at. He also mostly gets actors to play their own ethnicity and their accents match up, unlike the big trend in Hollywood to get French actors to play Russians and Jean Reno to play all western Europeans.

The second film is pretty much like the first one only expanded in every direction to fully flesh out this world. If you were kinda on the fence for the first one you'd probably hate the second one to death. But I really liked it. The first one had that creepy factor of how the killers liked to sniff out their victims before they were even abducted by pretending to bump into them in public places. They go even deeper with following the types of people who would pay to kill somebody and have them interact even more with their prospective victims.

In the second one Roth's confidence as a filmmaker has clearly gone up. He creates a lot more weird moments that just stay with you like the one where the head of the torture factory demands that the roving gypsy kids sacrifice one of their own for damaging his merchandise. There's a part with a dude with big teeth that is also just memorable in a strange way when it probably otherwise shouldn't have been. The second one is a lot more perverse. There's a lot of sexuality mixed in with the violence, making it even creepier.

If I remember correctly, a few years ago Roth was at the centre of The Great Torture Porn Debate getting it from both sides. Mainstream audiences made him the whipping boy for bringing cinema to a new gorey sadistic low, and horror buffs called him a hack saying that his films were not that gorey compared to other stuff out there. I think his movies offend both groups because they are effective. I think a lot of sadists watch horror movies because they enjoy seeing girls get hurt, and these Hostel movies would make them feel bad about it. Same goes for mainstream audiences, these movies aren't total escapist fun because there's such legitimately creepy stuff in them.

When I finished the second film I watched the special features on the disc, and not to my surprise, Eli Roth is an American guy who has spent a lot of time in Europe during his youth and has been a student of European horror films his whole life. He's a bit of a self-hating American and that definately comes across in his films too. In the interviews he talks a lot about the messages of his films and the social issues. He says the Hostel movies are supposed to be a message against American capitalism that people should learn to be satisfied with what they have because they keep hungering for more and will eventually pay to kill another human just for that next level of thrill. That's a legitimate interpretation of the films' message, but it just wasn't the one I took away from the films at first. The message I got was more of a commentary on man's need to be macho in an increasingly pussywhipped world. To me it felt like the films were saying there are fewer and fewer socially acceptable places for men to fullfill their needs to beat and fuck and dominate and so those urges come out in these extreme ways. Maybe I'm wrong in thinking these movies are about social castration, but the scene where a chick cuts a dude's cock off and feeds it to dogs makes me think I'm onto something.

So I liked these movies a fair bit. Actually the only thing I didn't like over both movies was the beginning of the second one. I thought it was stupid to have a character dream about being killed in a way that was totally in step with these movies and then wake up and be killed in a way that just didn't fit these films and the way they keep saying this evil organization is so discreet and controls everything in Europe. But that's just a minor criticism. So good job, Mr. Eli Roth.

[Bloo]

just saw THE REDUCDED SHAKESPERE COMPANY's THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPERE which in 90 minutes, with 3 actors, condenses everything the Bard wrote. It's funny,wonderfully executed, and a must see

this is however one of those "filmed lived on stage" deals so if something like that bothers you...

[caruso_stalker217]

I watched CAT PEOPLE and THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE. Two very different but cool motherfuckin' movies. I mean you got CAT PEOPLE where it's not really clear if the French lady is a cat or not but at the end she is and it's not really a horror movie but there are two pretty good suspense scenes and overall it's just a sad story. CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE is the same kind of deal except with even less suspense and more of a fairy tale but without all the magic bullshit, although there's some crazy shit with the old lady who thinks her daughter is an impostor and the daughter goes a little nutso there for a moment but again mostly it's a sad fuckin' story about a little girl with no friends and an active imagination whose parents are douchebags who don't really pay enough attention to her and even the man-servant seems like a shady character, letting the girl go to some strange house alone even though he was supposed to go with her and then later it seemed like they were trying to pass it off as a misunderstanding but really I think this guy is negligent and tried to cover his ass, "Oh if I'd known it was that house I definitely would've gone with her, etc." Like he couldn't have taken twenty minutes out of his fucking day of vacuuming model sailboats to escort the girl to the house. What an asshole.

Overall I think I preferred CURSE. It's a real sort of sweet and poignant story and some other shit. It really is pretty sad that this girl is all alone and has to imagine up dead catwomen to be happy. Though according to this film she wasn't really a catwoman at all even though at the end of the first movie the douchebag wife even acknowledges that there was some bona fide cat shit going down. I can't really think of any other movies like this, where it's all presented like some sort of fantasy shit but really nothing fantastic has actually happened, you're just seeing it through the eyes of a child and the imagination and so on. Kinda like fucking PAN'S LABYRINTH, I guess, which would be a good example of what I was just talking about yet claimed not to know any examples of. Guess that makes me kind of an asshole. Anyway, nobody gets shot in this movie and there's no giant goat-men either.

[Bloo]

caruso, you should check out Paul Schrader's remake of CAT PEOPLE from 82

[papalazeru]

Just seen Transporter 1 2 and 3 back to back.

Nowhere near as good as Crank 1 and 2 but very enjoyable. Thought the editing in the 3rd movie suffered from speeding up the character and the action too much.

I also notice how the cars don't really get beaten up. When they crash, they crash but actually bashing cars together that are new....Noooooooooooooooo. Looks like Audi and Merc all wanted their cars back in one piece, and it made the chase scenes a little less real. The driving scenes in all 3 was superb though. Very much the American remake of Taxi.

[Spandau Belly]

I haven't bought Transporter 3 yet, though I've seen used copies plenty cheap so I'll get around to it soon and do a triple Transporter bill one of these days.

I'm not really sure why people always compare the Crank and Transporter series other than both starring Statham. I feel like they're both going for different things as movies.

[Chris a.k.a StuntMike]

I had myself a little double bill last night.

HOSTEL & HOSTEL: PART 2
both of these of these films were viewed in the unrated director's cut format

I have to say, I liked both these movies. And based on these two films and the Thanksgiving trailer in Grindhouse, I think this Eli Roth guy is a good filmmaker.

Here I thought I was the only one who thought that.

[Chris a.k.a StuntMike]

Just seen Transporter 1 2 and 3 back to back.

Nowhere near as good as Crank 1 and 2 but very enjoyable. Thought the editing in the 3rd movie suffered from speeding up the character and the action too much.

I also notice how the cars don't really get beaten up. When they crash, they crash but actually bashing cars together that are new....Noooooooooooooooo. Looks like Audi and Merc all wanted their cars back in one piece, and it made the chase scenes a little less real. The driving scenes in all 3 was superb though. Very much the American remake of Taxi.

I did the back to back trilogy viewing as well. Great way to spend an afternoon.

They need to get cracking on the next three.

[caruso_stalker217]

Caught THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION on Encore after work. Woody Allen is playing himself again but this time he's playing himself as an insurance investigator. Apparently there isn't a whole lotta love for this movie, but I thought it was fairly charming with quite a few funny scenes like the one where Helen Hunt catches Allen going through her desk. The only problem I had with it is it took forever before everybody finally realizes who is behind the jewel robberies, while the audience knows for the entire film. Kind of irritating. Other than that I thought it was pretty good.

[Bloo]

I have to admit, I haven't been watching shit lately, work has been keeping me busy as hell (few on staff+busy time of year) so I usually turn something on and fall asleep

I did watch NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM tonight on F/X I have to say I love the secene where Mickey Roony, Dick Van Dyke and Bill Cobbs kick ben Stiller's ass

[caruso_stalker217]

I saw some of NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM at work and God is it terrible. Now normally I enjoy watching Ben Stiller get the shit beat out of him, but not when it's a couple old motherfuckers doing some stupid kung-fu crap. Now if Van Dyke had been using his cockney accent from MARY POPPINS, that's another matter.

[Bloo]

see that was the shit that made me laugh, I loved watching Mickey Rooney doing elbow drops on Ben Stiller, that's comedy gold considering Roony is only like a 1/2 inch taller then your typical midget

Van Dyke doing kung fu not so funny

and I LOVE Bill Cobbs, that old man is funny

[caruso_stalker217]

It seems like Cobbs is always playing somebody's grandfather, even though that's not true. Maybe it's because I remember him the most from PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS.

[DerLanghaarige]

For obvious reasons I re-watched The Terminator (yes, part 1 had a "The" in its title).
It turned out to be one big pile of 80's cheese, but damn, what a delicious one! I think there are only two reasons why this movie is still watchable today, but they are really good reasons:

1.) Arnie's iconic take on the role of the evil killer robot. Seriously, this is his finest acting hour! He is not just making this part scary because of his physics (He is a fucking tank, like Jason Vorhees!), but also with his surprisingly subtile mimic art. Man, he just owned this role!
2.) James Cameron. This guy knows how to keep this pretty simple movie going and leave the audience breathless. There is so much that speaks AGAINST this movie today! The horrible synthie score by Brad Fiedel (he got lucky with the main theme, but everything else is as forgettable as your typical Full Moon DTV score), the bad acting from Linda Hamilton and almost every supporting player (especially Sarah's annoying friend), the even by 80's standard awkward FX (like the flying toys in the future or the skeleton in the end, which might be one of the worst stop motion animations ever) or a kinda one note script that can be summarized with "he shoots, they run". But the movie is so incredibly well directed! It never gets boring and already in the first 30 minutes happens more than in most movies within 90 minutes! It's so full of suspense, atmosphere and exciting action, that...
I just got interrupted and totally forgot what I wanted to write , but I can assure you, the movie holds up damn well - without romantized nerd nostalgia!

[thefraze]

"Kill Bill: Vol. 1"

Watching Vol. 2 tonight... mmm.

[Peven]

"Kill Bill: Vol. 1"

Watching Vol. 2 tonight... mmm.

there you go....

[Doc Holliday]

I recently watched the harmlessly ridiculous (and sometimes amusing) EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS. A tongue-in-cheek homage to those 'Big Bug' movies from the fifties, it never really hit the 'spoof-spot' for me, but certainly wasn't terrible. Most notable, I guess, for a few throwaway lines and a very young Scarlett Johannsen - face of a 12-year old and boobs of a Vegas Stripper.

[DerLanghaarige]

I love Eight Legged Freaks! I'm not just unbelievable arachnophobic (I once spent a whole night on the floor, because there was a little spider hanging over my bed), I also tend to hate every movie where a cat dies (especially if it looks like mine), but I laugh my ass off everytime I watch it. I even had David Arquette's scream "You eight legged FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEAKS!" as Windows start sound for a while

Now I finished Terminator 2: Judgement Day. (Yes, I know how you feel. The Talkbacks lied to us AGAIN! The movie's subtitle is NOT 'We Wuv You Robodaddy'!)
Well, it's a very good movie, with one very big flaw, that isn't necessarily a flaw: While part 1 was nothing more (but also nothing less) than a dark and gritty non-stop action movie, James Cameron this time ruined some of the fun by putting not just a story, but also a message in the script! This makes the movie unfortunately drag a lot in the middle part (I watched the Director's Cut, BTW) and also causes some unintentional comedy.
But yes, it's without a doubt one of the best action films of it's decade, maybe ever. Not just for the great action moments, but also for its believable characters (especially with the Terminator's learning curve), its decent humorus bits, Linda Hamilton's brillant performance (It seriously seemes that she took LOTS of acting lessons between part 1 and this) and the the T-1000.
Robert Patrick is an even more convincing killer robot than Arnie in the first movie! I think the only reason why he didn't make the big career after T2, was that everybody was just scared of him. ("Hey Mr. Producer. I would like to cast Robert Patrick in my million dollar blockbuster." "The guy from T2? Are you fucking insane!? He's gonna kill everybody on set! Why don't you try Keanu Reeves. He seems to be a nice guy.")And it's not just Patrick's performance (and the Special FX) what makes this role so memorable, it's that the T-1000 is a sadistic little fucker! The Arniebot just shoots people and then shoots five or six more times when they are already lying on the floor, to make sure they are seriously dead. But our favourite liquid psychopath (next to The Liquidator from 'Darkwing Duck') stabs people through the mouth while they are drinking milk or pokes them in the eye when they got a full house on their coffee cup.He even tortures Sarah Connor and tells her in the face that he knows how much this hurts!
I like this movie. Not as much as I like part 1, but it still is a damn good movie.

[Spandau Belly]

The director's cut of T2 does really drag. There's some unintentional comedy, but also a lot of intentional comedy like Arnie learning to smile being a running gag that got cut from the theatrical cut.

I really prefer the theatrical cut. But I do love that one scene where Sarah takes out the Terminator's brain and wants to smash it with a hammer, but John stops her. They should've left that in.

[DerLanghaarige]

Arnie learning to smile

I loved that one. Arnie might not be the greatest actor of all time, but he knows how to use himself for comedy. (Just remember the look on his face in True Lies, everytime he wants to hurt Bill Paxton )

[Doc Holliday]

Arnie learning to smile

I loved that one. Arnie might not be the greatest actor of all time, but he knows how to use himself for comedy. (Just remember the look on his face in True Lies, everytime he wants to hurt Bill Paxton )

The bit that gets me is right at the end when he's beating his family at 'Thumbsies' - to me he's not even acting at that point, he's genuinely taking an hilarious, childlike pleasure in crushing everyone...

[Seppuku]

Arnie learning to smile

I loved that one. Arnie might not be the greatest actor of all time, but he knows how to use himself for comedy. (Just remember the look on his face in True Lies, everytime he wants to hurt Bill Paxton )

The bit that gets me is right at the end when he's beating his family at 'Thumbsies' - to me he's not even acting at that point, he's genuinely taking an hilarious, childlike pleasure in crushing everyone...

I think I might have read that scene slightly differently from you.

[Peven]

a very young Scarlett Johannsen - face of a 12-year old and boobs of a Vegas Stripper.

sounds like Kirk's dream date......

[thefraze]

Currently watching Akira Kurosawa's 1980 film, "Kagemusha"

[Chris a.k.a StuntMike]

For obvious reasons I re-watched The Terminator (yes, part 1 had a "The" in its title).
It turned out to be one big pile of 80's cheese, but damn, what a delicious one! I think there are only two reasons why this movie is still watchable today, but they are really good reasons:

1.) Arnie's iconic take on the role of the evil killer robot. Seriously, this is his finest acting hour! He is not just making this part scary because of his physics (He is a fucking tank, like Jason Vorhees!), but also with his surprisingly subtile mimic art. Man, he just owned this role!
2.) James Cameron. This guy knows how to keep this pretty simple movie going and leave the audience breathless. There is so much that speaks AGAINST this movie today! The horrible synthie score by Brad Fiedel (he got lucky with the main theme, but everything else is as forgettable as your typical Full Moon DTV score), the bad acting from Linda Hamilton and almost every supporting player (especially Sarah's annoying friend), the even by 80's standard awkward FX (like the flying toys in the future or the skeleton in the end, which might be one of the worst stop motion animations ever) or a kinda one note script that can be summarized with "he shoots, they run". But the movie is so incredibly well directed! It never gets boring and already in the first 30 minutes happens more than in most movies within 90 minutes! It's so full of suspense, atmosphere and exciting action, that...
I just got interrupted and totally forgot what I wanted to write , but I can assure you, the movie holds up damn well - without romantized nerd nostalgia!

I always forget about that annoying ditz of a roomate she has that was the featured skank on The 20 Minute Workout back in the 80's. And the skank's boyfriend who I always get confused with Bill Paxton even though he's in it earlier on.

[caruso_stalker217]

THE TERMINATOR is perfect. It's aged better than T2, in my opinion.

[travis-dane]

For obvious reasons I re-watched The Terminator (yes, part 1 had a "The" in its title).
It turned out to be one big pile of 80's cheese, but damn, what a delicious one! I think there are only two reasons why this movie is still watchable today, but they are really good reasons:

1.) Arnie's iconic take on the role of the evil killer robot. Seriously, this is his finest acting hour! He is not just making this part scary because of his physics (He is a fucking tank, like Jason Vorhees!), but also with his surprisingly subtile mimic art. Man, he just owned this role!
2.) James Cameron. This guy knows how to keep this pretty simple movie going and leave the audience breathless. There is so much that speaks AGAINST this movie today! The horrible synthie score by Brad Fiedel (he got lucky with the main theme, but everything else is as forgettable as your typical Full Moon DTV score), the bad acting from Linda Hamilton and almost every supporting player (especially Sarah's annoying friend), the even by 80's standard awkward FX (like the flying toys in the future or the skeleton in the end, which might be one of the worst stop motion animations ever) or a kinda one note script that can be summarized with "he shoots, they run". But the movie is so incredibly well directed! It never gets boring and already in the first 30 minutes happens more than in most movies within 90 minutes! It's so full of suspense, atmosphere and exciting action, that...
I just got interrupted and totally forgot what I wanted to write , but I can assure you, the movie holds up damn well - without romantized nerd nostalgia!

I always forget about that annoying ditz of a roomate she has that was the featured skank on The 20 Minute Workout back in the 80's. And the skank's boyfriend who I always get confused with Bill Paxton even though he's in it earlier on.

He was Iceman's co-pilot in Top Gun!
Slider...

[Doc Holliday]

a very young Scarlett Johannsen - face of a 12-year old and boobs of a Vegas Stripper.

sounds like Kirk's dream date......

What? It sounds nothing like Ellen Page...

[TonyWilson]

Exactly doc, try 12 yr old boys face and body.

Much closer for Kirk.

[Hermanator X]

I just got through watching all 29 episodes of Twin Peaks, then the movie fire walk with me.

My brain is fried.

Really there is just too much to review as a whole, but a very simple breakdown goes thusly:

Season 1, from the get go, was absolutely stunning. Its not even that "weird" it seemed, but maybe thats coming off the back of seeing so many shows and movies borrowing the style (to a degree) over the years. This doesnt detract from the quality of the show, and the writing and the characters are all top notch. (Except the brooding motorcyle bad boy James who just bugged me the whole time he was on screen). Overall it was pretty damn fine, and I have to applaud the things it tried to do even though there were some misses, they were more than made up for with the hits.

Season 2. Truly a 3 part act.
Part 1. The resolution of the Laura palmer case. Even though the LP case was merely the framework to hang so much of the show around, the resolution to it brought the show to a grinding halt. Im familiar with the fact that Lynch and Frost didnt want to reveal it to such an extent, and keep it bubbling under the surface of the show, and my god they were right.
Part 2. Spinning the wheels. For the longest time, it just got downright silly, and all the air had gone out of the show. Benjamin Horne thinking he was a general over around 7 episodes was cringeworthy, and really missed the Lynch input from him buggering off to do wild at heart. That and the introduction of Windom Earle as the new big bad got off to a really bad start in my opinion. I was seriously considering not watching any further, and wishing I had left it at the first season only at this point.
Part 3. The beauty contest. Somewhat of a redemption. While never again hitting the highs of the first season, towards the end it did get better, and made me glad I stuck with it, and crucially Windom Earle improved (his disguise as the log lady had me fecking howling with laughter).

So overall I enjoyed it, but it was a real shame with the sharp decline of quality to the lows of season 2, but there was some scattershot brilliance throughout.

As for the movie, my god thats an oddity. Again, its all over the place, and I know thats intentional, what with masked figures hopping up and down randomly, and the turmoil faced by Laura in her final week. The problem is, its all just a bit tooo much, and left me bored and uncaring. But I do love the mucho weirdo David Bowie part. (Actually, I watched it last night, and im still not 100 percent how I feel about it, again high points and low points, but its a tough movie to judge).

I will leave it at that for now, as I could go on and on and on, but I dont have the time right now.

[thefraze]

I love Twink Peaks - the first season is near-perfect, but the second season - it does get a little muddled there. Still, the most engaging tv experience for me outside of Lost

[Seppuku]

I rewatched Twin Peaks again recently, and, for the most part, I'd say I actually preferred the second season. What I love about Twin Peaks is the dreaminess of it all, but the first season came across as more of an off-kilter murder-mystery than the second season, which was just unique. I love the way it drifted from one not fully resolved plot strand to another, just like a dream (if you dreamt you were in an episode of Dallas, that is). I know it seems like a cop out, critic-proof thing to say, but you've really just got to let the whole feel of it wash over you. I'm sure that's why Lynch mixed fucking godawful actors like the guy who played James (I think the actor's actual name was James. He'd probably have gotten too confused if his character had a different name) with Professionals like Mr. MacLachlan. Seeing someone who can't act, or who at least acts differently to what you're used to, immediately sends the viewer out of his comfort zone into somewhere...other (The White Lodge?). That being said, that run of episodes after we found out who killed Laura Palmer with James and the harpy was a bit much, even for me.


By the by, if any of you want to recapture that Twin Peaks vibe, or just wanna listen to some really dreamy, shoegazery pop, I'd HIGHLY recommend Julee Cruise's album, Floating into the Night. Angelo Badalamenti did the music and David Lynch wrote the lyrics, and you can tell- they're like the kind of thing you'd hear in a '50s pop song, just slightly off somehow (the same way the town in Blue Velvet seems normal but somehow isn't). Plus none of the lyrics rhyme. Julee Cruise appeared in a scene in Twin Peaks singing at The One-Armed Man, and she also contributed a song to Blue Velvet (you'll know the one if you've seen the movie). I'd say the album's an essential addition to any David Lynch fan's collection...or anyone who just wants to nod off in style (though the music's really too good to fall asleep to).

[Hermanator X]

Yeah, it was James and the harpy, and the civil war story that left me cold. Those 2 stories got so much time, and it just killed the vibe a bit. That said, there was a lot of good stuff in there, just some of it seemed a bit forced. Im sure I will work through watching it all again someday, and maybe I will draw a different conclusion. Since my last post I spent most of the day reading TP sites, just to know a bit more about it, now that I can do so spoiler free, and some of the tidbits gleaned are pretty interesting.

I love the fact that the receptionist, Lucy was encouraged to adlib a lot, so a lot of the stunned faces on the other actors are natural reactions, and she and Andy had some of the best scenes in the show.

It was also very sad to learn that Pete, the fisherman/friend of Josies, died a few years ago, after a head injury obtained in a fight in a donut shop. Somehow a fitting end for the character, but not for the actor playing him. RIP dude. You were gold in that show.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

Watching The Dreamers with Eva Green now. Wish me luck with her as I move my hand toward her knee!

Or post version 2....

Watching The Dreamers with Eva Green now. I think this is it for me, guys. Goodbye.


Or post version 3....

Watching The Dreamers with Eva Green now. *Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.**Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.**Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.**Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.**Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.**Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.**Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.**Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.**Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.**Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.**Keeps on repeating the lines that you guys said earlier about beautiful looking girls with ugly blokes.* Repeat to eternity.

[DerLanghaarige]

Anyway, I just finished Terminator 3, which is seriously better than most people are willing to admit. At least his has some awesome action scenes, a great ending, is in its kick-some-balls-mentality closer to the spirit of the first movie and has so far the best score of the series (Face it: Apart from the main theme was everything that Brad Fiedel did in the first two movies plain and simple shit! Haven't listened to Elfman's work for T4 yet.).
Its biggest flaw isn't even that much of a flaw: It feels like an "expanded universe" comic book. It adds not really anything new to the mythology (except that Judgement Day was inevitable), but it's entertaining. Especially because it embraces its ability to be more over the top than the first two movies were!
The humor in this movie has caused huge controvery among the fans.I'm pretty neutral with it. They don't overdo it and it has even less humorous parts than T2. And I even love the gag with the stripper glasses, because this might be one of these things that could happen in reality! How in the world should a machine know that his glasses are looking silly!? I doubt that Skynet gave him a "Don't put on star shaped sunglasses"-subroutine. I just wish they would have find a better way to get rid of them. Because appareantly he HAS this subroutine! I would've let the bouncer of the strip bar come back, but with a crow bar or a baseball bat, to let him beat the glasses off Arnie's head, but well, I can live with it. To me it's one of the jokes that work! The joke that bothered me a lot was the one with Dr. Silberman. I remember when I saw the movie in theatre and he appeared. My buddy whispered in my ear: "Ha, this is gonna be cool." And I agreed. But then nothing happened. He just sees Arnie and runs away. It's like one of these awkward moments where you are telling a joke to your friends and everybody is already laughing, but then you tell the punchline wrong.
But even I, as someone who appreciates T3, gotta admit that the movie is way too formulaic to completely succeed. I mean, Skynet sends a Terminator to the past AGAIN (because the first two times worked so well, eh?), the resistance finds out and sends also a protector to the same date (why not a few days or weeks earlier, to give him more time to escape or warn everybody!), then there is lots of chasing and shooting and in the end Arnie has to lose one half of his face, because this is the iconic Terminator look. The real innovative ideas aren't starting before the last act, when the machines begin to rise.
But yes, I was seriously satisfied with this one and I hope that part 4 won't suck as much as many people say.

My full ratings are:

T1: 8/10
T2: 7/10
T3: 7/10