Amph What was the last movie you saw?

Picture Perfect (1997)

Utterly sexist trash, and I was so offended that I quit halfway through. I might be being irrational though. Yeah, that's hopefully it.

 

The Secret Life of Pets. Saw it yesterday with my kids, and we all really liked it. Comparing it to other well known Illumination movies, it's probably not quite as good as Despicable Me 1 and 2, but quite a bit better than Minions.

The beginning is a bit slow... a nice introduction of the main dog and his owner, but then it goes into the exact sequence that was used in the trailers. That makes you start to think it's going to be one of those movies where all the good stuff was already given away in the ads. But it actually turns that on its head pretty soon after establishing things, and ends up with a decent amount of action that wasn't really shown at all in the ads. It has a pretty predictable conclusion, but it's a satisfying one anyway, and the fun is in watching how it gets there.

 

The 1939 one

 

For UK Star Trek fans with Sky, Sky Cinema channel 304 has been renamed Sky Star Trek and is running the Trek films up to the first Chris Pine film back to back until Jul 24. We were just watching ST Generations.

 

I thought they were setting him up to be a mole or a plant, and in the end it turns out he's just lied and they kick him out and that's it. Just seemed a strange diversion to me and rather pointless I felt.

I'm sure I read rumours that this is going to be remade.

 

Dp

 

There's Something About Mary (1998)

Saw this movie a long time ago too.

It's hilarious. Love Cameron Diaz.

5/5

 

I think it's there to establish everything that these men aren't. Some of the action scenes and such later could make them look reckless or even just kind of crazy. I think Bean's character is there as a contrast, to make us realize just how professional and even honorable in some ways the other characters are. He's the reckless, dishonest, crazy one; the others aren't. I get it, but it's always disappointing to see Sean Bean in a movie and then have him just unceremoniously shuttled out of the action so quickly. But it works and it's a great movie. I'd give it a five out of five really.




Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) – Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone

Ever since I was born, I was dope.

In Popstar, the Lonely Island boys get together for a mockumentary about superstar Connor4Real, played with brio by Andy Samberg. This documentary really takes on everything about the modern music world and just nails it perfectly. The jokes are brilliant and they come at a pace of about two or three a minute at times. It’s a movie that often had me just sitting there with my mouth hanging open; this is a reaction I occasionally have to comedy where I find it to be so brilliant that I’m kind of too gobsmacked to even laugh. I did laugh a lot, but some of this stuff is so perfect that I was just blown away by it. The cast is spectacular. Jorma Taccone is wonderful as Connor’s second fiddle and Akiva Schaffer is hilarious as an ex-bandmate of Connor’s that turned to farming after the band broke up. Tim Meadows is wonderful as the manager. And a special mention for Chris Redd who is perfect as Hunter the Hungry, a completely unhinged up and coming rapper. The cameos are myriad; I won’t spoil them and I would urge you not to look at the cast list anywhere before seeing the movie. I was surprised by a lot of them and I was really glad about that. I’m loathe to even mention certain bits that I loved, but I just can’t say anything at all about this movie and fail to mention the CMZ bits, which absolutely had me on the floor every time they came up. And the music is nothing short of phenomenal. These songs nail the tics of popular music to perfection and yet also blaze their own paths into some completely weird other territory. Again, no spoiling the bits but Equal Rights is a dead on spoof of music video posturing and “socially conscious” pop music. And Finest Girl is just . . . I just don’t even know how to explain the genius. At this point, it’s hard to imagine anything ever touching This is Spinal Tap when it comes to music satires. But Popstar is breathing that same rarified air, if I can be frank. It’s not just as close as anyone’s ever come, it’s closer than I ever expected anyone to come. Popstar isn’t operating constantly on the level of genius and Spinal Tap really was, but there are scattered scenes here and there in Popstar that . . . my God, I’m going to say it. There are scenes in Popstar that are AS GOOD as parts of Spinal Tap. I know. Right? I never thought I’d say that about anything. But Popstar is everything it needs to be and more. It’s dead-on, pitch-perfect and non-stop hilarity. It didn’t do well at the box-office, but I expect it to have a huge second life. This is the kind of movie that fails initially and then gains cult status. In thirty years, this movie might be as big as Airplane or Holy Grail. Get in on the ground floor; watch it now. 4 stars.

tl;dr – mockumentary about pop music stardom is dead-on and frantically, constantly hilarious; comedy genius and destined for cult status, it’s nothing short of a masterpiece. 4 stars.

More Movie Reviews!

 

Yeah, w/Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Jack Burton (or at least the lead). I used to get worked up when Hollywood decided to remake movies I considered to be "sacred", but I've come to believe that %99 of the time it's a non issue. If the remake is good, wonderful. If not, it can't touch the legacy of the original, and in either case it only serves to increase the latter's visibility and recognition with new generations.

W/BTILC I'm not so sure that removing it from the 80s--or more accurately, the 80s from it--isn't like removing a key ingredient, akin to leaving the marshmallow out of a s'more. But I'm a big fan of Johnson's, and I think he's got the charm and innate likeability to pull off a fresh take on the character. The fact that he looks like a prototypical action hero could only serve to enhance the humor as finds himself surviving more on luck than skill time and time again.

It certainly didn't invent the "buddy cop" genre, but it may have perfected it. It's an exceptionally well made film with pitch-perfect casting, deftly mixing humor, action and drama. There was a level of diminishing returns with the sequels IMO, but I think it's safe to call the original a genre defining classic. Be curious to see how this new TV adaptation fares.

I'm a fan of Samberg and Taccone; particularly when they're in their wheelhouse, which this most certainly is. Was interested, but now I'll definitely check it out.



Smokey and the Bandit (1977) - Plot; Two drivers agree to bootleg a load of beer 1,800 miles in 28 hours only to find their mission complicated by a runaway bride and a fiercely determined sheriff who happens to be her would-be father in law.

Released during the late 70s CB radio craze here in the States, Smokey and the Bandit would be easy to write off as a disposable byproduct of that short-lived fad, but that would be unfair. It ain't exactly high art to be sure, but it is a skillfully directed bit of automotive ballet enhanced greatly by charming and energetic performances from its leads. Burt Reynolds was the biggest box office star in America at the time, and it's easy to see why. He's got an innate likeability and an effortless charm that never seems forced. On top of being impossibly cute, Sally Field is Reynolds' equal in every measure, and the two share a wonderful chemistry. Joined by singer Jerry Reed (who delivers what may be the best performance of the lot), they form as likeable a trio of heroes as you're ever going to meet. But a hero is only as good as his villain, and the Bandit has a doozy in the form of Sheriff Buford T. Justice. Thanks largely to a tour de force performance from the legendary Jackie Gleason, Justice steals every scene he's in and makes for a great comic foil for our heroes.

Fun, fast-paced and good-natured, Smokey and the Bandit is the proto Fast and the Furious that easily hangs with and often exceeds its sleek 21st century progeny. - 7.5/10

- Smokey and the Bandit was the second highest grossing movie of 1977, surpassed only by a little film that all of us here may have seen called Star Wars.

- I went to see this at the drive-in (Summer of '78 I think) as a kid in my parents black and gold '77 Trans-Am, almost identical to the one in the film. My brother and I thought we were just about the coolest kids ever for that two hours.

 

I like your thoughts as to why his character is in there. That aside its a great movie for me.

I'm quite looking forward to the remake. The original is certainly something on its own, how that translates to now we can only wait and see. Agree on the Rock I find him easy to watch and likeable.

 

Not sure by what he meant by "sense" but I too found Bean distracting in that he was far too loud and erratic in contrast to the more subdued characters. Yes, it could be a deliberate juxtaposition but his presence ultimately served very little despite my liking of Bean.

 

It was a deliberate juxtaposition. I thought it was pretty clear.

The movie doesn't really have a purpose to serve, but I suppose Bean's purpose is to disabuse the audience of the fiction of the tough talking, bullet spraying, foolishly reckless adrenaline junkie action hero we're so used to.

Bean runs his mouth (while everyone else is reticent), trying to sound tough by talking about methods of resisting torture, to hold out indefinitely. It's obviously bs posturing. In contrast, De Niro says you can't hold out forever, that everyone cracks eventually. One is realistic. The other is tough guy fiction.

Bean calls himself a "weapons man". De Niro simply states that a weapon is a tool, and that you fit the tool to the situation. Bean mocks De Niro's choice of a 1911, a simple and effective pistol, as an "old gun". In combat, Bean uses the newer, fancier HK MP5K, which he sprays all over the place after stupidly walking into an ambush. Meanwhile, the professional De Niro uses carefully aimed shots, which actually hits his target.

Bean is involved in maybe my favorite exchange in the entire movie, where this classic action movie line is destroyed as the nonsense it is.

Bean: You worried about saving your own skin?
De Niro: Yeah, I am. It covers my body.

I just love that.

The rest of the characters were professionals. Sean Bean was not, he was only pretending to be. That he was full of hot air was the point.

I guess, in their business, you get wannabes. Once Bean (and his type) is exposed as the fraud he is, he is unceremoniously dumped and the real business, the real movie, can begin.

 

I'm sure you already have the official Making Of and Art of books on order... Big Trouble never gets old. I don't know how many times I've seen it myself but it is many.

So last night mom surprised me and said, "So let me see another of those Kung Fu movies." Knowing mom is very squeamish and wants linear stories pretty much axed most of the Shaw Brothers film I love. So that meant, the only Golden Harvest movie I watch frequently, Broken Oath (1977). In describing the two plots to mom, she found it was easy to understand, and a solid story that moves beyond the Lady Snowblood revenge plot to entangle with some governmental coupe take outs too. Mom liked Miss Mao Ying and her scorpions and kept asking - why do these people suddenly drop into frame? I pointed out the character I love (ultimately the most dangerous big bad whose straw hat looked like (in mom's words: "a lamp shade.")

She told me again this morning, "that was a good movie."

 

Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan can almost be summed up with a short line of dialogue spoken by the character played by Tom Hanks - "Yes it is. Quite a view." This statement is made during the early stages of the film where the Allied Forces who were lucky to survive the assault on Omaha Beach were left to sit at the top of a gravelly slope only to look down at the blood soaked sand and water of their countrymen. But, the words spoken by the character say far more than the sheer sacrifices made during World War 2. Equally, the statement also refers to the futility and fallacy of war because it is at this point (along with the audience) that the characters realise the senseless loss of life. At that precise moment, Saving Private Ryan is echoing the realisation of the audience who may not have fully grasped the tragic loss of Allied lives. This is why, unlike legendary titles such as Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket, it is not appropriate to think of Saving Private Ryan as a protest film or a film that is explicitly anti-war. Spielberg at no point condones the loss of life but rather laments the prevailing ignorance of the value of human beings during that time.

Saving Private Ryan doesn't have the cynical humour of Apocalypse Now nor does it feature memorable quotes or a socially conscious soundtrack. Instead, Saving Private Ryan is an absolutely vital portrayal of World War 2. Saving Private Ryan is an education of sorts in this precise aspect because it refuses at all points to glorify violent conflict. This includes the opening and closing shots of the American flag where the colours of red, white, and blue are not richly detailed. Instead, like the rest of the film, the flag's colours are faded, cold and sterile to illustrate the dehumanisation of war. It is possibly the most uncomfortable and confronting film from Spielberg's diverse repertoire that has spanned decades. Violent, saddening but necessarily raw. Essential viewing, at least just once.

5 out of 5

 

Akira Kurosawa's Dreams. One his most visually engrossing films, but as its split up into eight episodes, some passages compel more than others.

 

Second to last film from Kurosawa that is limited by the strengths of its individual episodes.*

What are your favorites episodes? I like Crows a lot. Same with the ending with the watermills.

*Rhapsody in August was released after Dreams.

 

Sunshine in the Rain, The Tunnel and Crows were the highlights for me, the latter of which was a nice representation Kurosawa's outlook on artists and artistry, looking up to masters with youthful ambition, and reflecting on one's work after a fruitful life.

 

Lucas executive produced it too and ILM did the vfx(most noticeable in the Crows episode with the Van Gogh art walkthrough).

 

Red Sun (1972) Let's see: Mifune, Deleon and Bronson in the old west. Of course, this being a European western, money (gold) is coveted and a noble samurai's order to deliver a ceremonial sword to President Grant goes wildly awry when Bronson and Deleon rob the train with the contingent from Japan and their sacred prize. Deleon's Gouche makes off with the gold and leaves Bronson's Link in a tricky situation. Link is ordered to work with Mifune's samurai Kumbei to retrieve the sword. Of course, Link is an utter a-hole to Kumbei throughout the film, tries to kill him more than once. But the stoic samurai keeps putting the wily thief in his place. Ursula Andress is here as a woman torn between Gouche and Link (and she's the weakest link, ahem...)

I owned a copy of this about 15 years ago and I don't remember there being an English dub for Mifune. No matter. Good is good and he and Bronson have a terrific chemistry. I also don't remember Alain Deleon being that handsome, but... well those things happen. Still holds up as an interesting piece between East and Spaghetti west.

 

Jaws 2 (1978)

While neither as entertaining or as quality as it's predecessor, it's still a half-way decent watch. At least it is watchable, unlike the two abominations that come next.

 

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

 

Now You See Me (2013)

You know.... not so bad actually. I really didn't see a certain something coming towards the end so it got me there.Still not sure about seeing the sequel, but this one was good.

 

Von Ryan's Express. Frank Sinatra stars as an American colonel who's shot down and taken to an Italian POW camp. There, he's now the highest-ranking officer, and comes into conflict with Trevor Howard's British major, whose unyielding devotion to escape and resistance are putting the men in a bad spot. It makes for an interesting opening section, but the meat of the film is once they find themselves on a prison train bound for Germany. They have to figure out how to hijack it and then, through a combination of circumstances, how to escape with a vehicle that's on rails. It makes for a movie that's as much a caper film as a war one. It nicely balances its adventure aspects -- featuring some humor and thrilling action -- with gravity, taking the cost of war seriously and grappling with some larger issues. Sinatra makes a good protagonist, someone who's not a perfect hero, but Howard's character is the film's most notable creation, a man whose old-school defiance is noble, but intermingled with hatred and viciousness that are clearly character defects. It's not The Bridge on the River Kwai, but it's a pretty damn good war adventure.

 

The Village

Honestly, M.Nights 3rd best movie. 6th sense was great but Signs and Unbreakable were spectacular. I had just seen this film 2 nights ago and it's one of the most beautifully shot and acted films I have ever seen. It's sort of like a big character study, of fear and what it does to the human mind to drive them to a certain point.

It's plot twists was just astounding to watch, and revealing one of them half way brought so much more weight to the story. The marketing was bad on M.Night's part(as he admitted) but the movie itself is something to watch and have a discussion about.