What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by grim_tales »

King Kong (2005): 4/5

Overlong but visually spectacular remake/tribute to the classic monster movie. The beautifully realised sets of depression era New York work so well, some great action set pieces and Andy Serkis gives a remarkable performance as Kong (Naomi Watts isnt bad either!) While she's initially scared shitless by Kong (and with good reason), watching the bond develop between Anne and the ape is strangely touching. When Kong gets chloroform thrown in his face I almost wanted to cry :(
This element of the story probably speaks to us in a way it didnt to audiences in 1933 because of how scientists have studied gorillas since then and tried to communicate with them.
There is some humour because of Jack Black's character and fun little nods to the original - near the beginning Denham is asked if Fay Wray is available to be in his movie, to which he replies "She's making something for RKO" :)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (USA, 1970) [DVD] - 4/5
An absolutely insane 60s hippie party skin flick Hollywood satire musical shocker about a girl band taken under his wings by a crazy music producer while the protagonist is seeking her share of family inheritance in a soap opera storyline, all played with a poker face as it should be! Rated X by MPAA upon its release, presumably for "excess" because there isn't really anything X rated (one bit of hard violence, frequent but brief topless nudity, no graphic sex). I can hardly believe this film even exist. Would make a great double feature with Spring Breakers.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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HungFist wrote: 08 Aug 2018, 15:20 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (USA, 1970) [DVD] - 4/5
An absolutely insane 60s hippie party skin flick Hollywood satire musical shocker about a girl band taken under his wings by a crazy music producer while the protagonist is seeking her share of family inheritance in a soap opera storyline, all played with a poker face as it should be! Rated X by MPAA upon its release, presumably for "excess" because there isn't really anything X rated (one bit of hard violence, frequent but brief topless nudity, no graphic sex). I can hardly believe this film even exist. Would make a great double feature with Spring Breakers.
Given his later crusades against slashers, I'm surprised Roger Ebert slept at night after writing this.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Taking Care of Business (1990-USA) **½
Likeable lifestyle switch comedy with James Belushi and Charles Grodin.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Camp on Blood Island (1957-UK) **½
Despite the horror movie title, this is a serious drama from Hammer, and pretty well done.
Though the usual white guys as comic book Asians is a distraction.

The Gauntlet (2013-USA) **
Not bad puzzle horror, a little reminiscent of Saw.
Let down by naff ending.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Cable Guy: 3/5

Dark Jim Carrey comedy is quite funny, but has a fairly nasty, twisted streak at times too.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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grim_tales wrote: 14 Aug 2018, 23:29 The Cable Guy: 3/5

Dark Jim Carrey comedy is quite funny, but has a fairly nasty, twisted streak at times too.
I wasn't a fan of the Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber stuff... couldn't sit through it. Hugely popular though.
The Cable Guy I really enjoyed, but it was considered a box office dud. ($47 million budget - most of it to pay for Jim Carrey at that point - $60 Million DOMESTIC box office)
Broderick as the straight guy and Carrey as the antagonist I thought was a good team for a dark comedy.

(And I greatly enjoyed the hugely successful next movie for Carrey - Liar, Liar.)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Meg (2018, USA) theater 3/5
It feels weird giving this a 3 as it doesn't feel quite worthy, and yet I WAS entertained - it's pure and simple in its premise to try and thrill you and keep you on the edge of your seat. And it's been a while since I've seen a Jason Statham movie on the big screen (Fate of the Furious I saw on an airplane).
Nothing surprising here, and the usual small amount of unlikely scenarios to make you go "Uh, no way" but popcorn entertainment nonetheless.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote: 17 Aug 2018, 13:38 Broderick as the straight guy and Carrey as the antagonist I thought was a good team for a dark comedy.
I find Broderick a charisma vacuum.

I'd rather Ben Stiller had played that part himself.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote: 17 Aug 2018, 13:38
grim_tales wrote: 14 Aug 2018, 23:29 The Cable Guy: 3/5

Dark Jim Carrey comedy is quite funny, but has a fairly nasty, twisted streak at times too.
I wasn't a fan of the Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber stuff... couldn't sit through it. Hugely popular though.
The Cable Guy I really enjoyed, but it was considered a box office dud. ($47 million budget - most of it to pay for Jim Carrey at that point - $60 Million DOMESTIC box office)
Broderick as the straight guy and Carrey as the antagonist I thought was a good team for a dark comedy.

(And I greatly enjoyed the hugely successful next movie for Carrey - Liar, Liar.)
I actually felt sorry for Chip (Carrey) at the end of the movie when he reveals all he had was the TV so no real parenting and stuff like that, but the very last scene when he talks to the medic guy and says "Am I your buddy?" and there's a kind of evil grin - has he really learned anything?.
His predictions about the internet, online gaming, Skype etc are pretty spot on.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Devil's Knot (2013-USA) **
Average treatment of grim true story drama about three misfit teenagers accused of murdering three young boys in Texas.
I believe there are documentaries that do a better job.

The Lazarus Project (2008-USA-Canada-UK) **½
Prisoner Paul Walker is executed, awakens to find himself in a psychiatric institution.
Pretty forgettable, but just interesting enough as long as it lasts
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Terror (1978) 2/5
Not bad late 70's british horror from Norman J Warren has a Hammeresque feel at time, let down a little by some tiresome soft porn "comedy" sequences

Goosebumps 2.5/5
Not bad teenage supernatural fantasy, let down for me by Jack Black, i think he's fucking awful and lets down most things hes in.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Predator 4.5/5
Stone cold Arnie action classic. Maybe i'm easily pleased but the 4k Ultra HD Disc was a revelation on my Oled. Beautiful
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Box sets are a pain in the arse sometimes.

I want Predator, and Predator 2, but not Predators.

I want Clear and Present Danger, but none of the other Jack Ryans, well, at least not the last two.

Individual foreign imports are an option for these, but at excruciating prices. :(
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by saltysam »

Markgway wrote: 24 Aug 2018, 06:26 Box sets are a pain in the arse sometimes.

I want Predator, and Predator 2, but not Predators.

Buy the trilogy set, you'll get at least £15 for Predators disc only and the Digital codes . Result= Predator/Predator 2 a tenner each :)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Unfortunately the Predator and Jack Ryan sets are both digipacks.

I can't sell a disc on its own and leave the film's name plastered all over the packaging.

An incomplete set is worse than having a film I won't watch.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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No Escape (1994-USA) **½
Ray Liotta isn't an obvious choice for an action hero, but this future-set jungle prison flick is good fun.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Markgway wrote: 24 Aug 2018, 17:44 Unfortunately the Predator and Jack Ryan sets are both digipacks.

I can't sell a disc on its own and leave the film's name plastered all over the packaging.

An incomplete set is worse than having a film I won't watch.
is Predators that bad? i haven't seen it for years and i vaguely recall it being nowhere near the quality of the first two but i don't remember thinking it was awful? Don't think we are talking Beverly Hills Cop 3 badness here are we? Anyway i'll find out soon enough, Predator 2 over the weekend and Predators next week :)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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I probably should watch Predators again myself.

Edit: I gave it **½ in 2011 so it's probably not that bad as you say.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Blackkklansman (2018, USA) Theater 3.5/5
Spike Lee has a lot to say here, but he lets the excellently casted actors and actresses say it all with their performances. Everyone just seems perfect in their role and it's an interesting story to tell.
The first black police officer in a Colorado community infiltrates the local chapter of the KKK via phone, then gets a white detective to play him in person, eventually even bringing David Duke (the Grand Master of the KKK) into the picture.
I felt sad at times, not for being white (I can't help that), but for being a human being in general. It's just shocking the things people do to each other in the name of their differences, and footage from Charlottesville at the end of the movie really drive the point home.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote: 26 Aug 2018, 14:33 Blackkklansman (2018, USA) Theater 3.5/5
This is being a bit of a hit in Finland, ranking no. 1 at the box office for two weeks straight now, largely due to Finnish actor Jarper Pääkkönen being in it. He's come a long way from being a soup opera pretty boy whom no one took seriously, to playing a KKK member in a Spike Lee film, apparently well enough for audiences in USA not to realize (?) he's not American.

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Hopefully it will open here in Japan some day as well.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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HungFist wrote: 26 Aug 2018, 16:24
chazgower01 wrote: 26 Aug 2018, 14:33 Blackkklansman (2018, USA) Theater 3.5/5
This is being a bit of a hit in Finland, ranking no. 1 at the box office for two weeks straight now, largely due to Finnish actor Jarper Pääkkönen being in it. He's come a long way from being a soup opera pretty boy whom no one took seriously, to playing a KKK member in a Spike Lee film, apparently well enough for audiences in USA not to realize (?) he's not American.

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Hopefully it will open here in Japan some day as well.
Oh yeah... he's AMAZING in it. Scary as hell, and...I had no idea he was Finnish until I looked at imdb after the movie. He IS that character in this movie.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Crazy Rich Asians (2018, USA) Theater 4/5
Crazy Rich Asians is the first American made, all Asian cast movie since The Joy Luck Club 25 years ago.
I was actually trying to temper my enthusiasm for this movie (I’ve been watching movies and TV Shows from Southeast Asia for over 40 years, trying not to let that influence me), so I knew just the place to go - imdb. Sure enough, there are enough hateful user reviews to make anyone change their mind.
But I didn’t.
Yes, it’s about the excess of greed amongst the ultra-rich - what? The name of the movie didn’t clue you into that?
Yes, the behavior of some of them is erratic and… crazy. Hello? The title of the movie.
And yes, it had an all Asian cast.
What was everyone expecting?
I was expecting a Joy Luck Club, and instead what I got was a funny rom-com, that still had enough drama to keep me interested.
Rachel (Constance Wu) an economics Professor in New York is marrying Nick (Henry Golding), and they’re headed to Singapore for Nick’s friend’s Wedding. Rachel doesn’t know it but Nick’s family is wealthy. Not just wealthy but, FILTHY wealthy.
His mom, played by Hong Kong Action Icon Michelle Yeoh (now in her late 50’s), isn’t fond of his choice and sternly makes it known. As do all of the women on the bridesmaid getaway, where they put a gutted fish in Rachel’s bed and write in big red letters that she’s a ‘golddigger’.
Luckily, we have Ken Jeong (The Hangover) to add levity (“Eat your nuggets. Don’t you know there are starving children in America!”) and Awkwafina to make us laugh and nearly steal the movie.
Awkwafina plays Rachel’s close friend from her college days, who also just happens to live in Singapore, and her part, as the somewhat unrefined friend is the kind of performance that will immediately open up her career in Hollywood.
It’s fun, it’s funny, it has great drama….
Yes, it’s about the Ultra Rich, and that can be annoying (I’m not a fan of Housewives of the… or Lifestyles of the… either one), but seeing all of these sets and locations in Southeast Asia and the fun everyone has… ah, we can dream, can’t we?
And what sets it apart from your typical rom-com is that the problem that gets in the way of true love isn’t just wealth, it’s also tradition - Chinese tradition - and the dynamic between Grandmother (Lisa Lu - who was also in the Joy Luck Club 25 years ago), the mother (Yeoh), and the newcomer Rachel is a shock to the system at times. And Yeoh really comes across as reserved, snooty, and cutthroat.
There are a few other plotlines running through the movie that probably got a lot more fleshed out in the novel, but luckily here we just get a bit of it, and they concentrate on what the main part of the story is about.
I've ignored the controversies surrounding the movie - I mean, it's JUST a movie. Aren't there more serious things in life to worry about? I'm glad it got made with an Asian cast, and an Asian director, but most importantly, I'm glad they made a really enjoyable movie.

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Michelle Yeoh, Henry Golding, and Constance Wu
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Bad Genius (2017, Thailand) Netflix 4/5
You wouldn't think one of the best movies of 2017 would be a Thai movie about students cheating on exams, but this film hits all the marks.
Lynn (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) is a brilliant student who gets into a better school based on her abilities. There she meets a friend, Grace (Eisaya Hosuwan), something she's in short supply of, who she agrees to tutor, but ends up helping her cheat.
This leads to Grace's spoiled, wealthy boyfriend (Teeradon Supapunpinyo) asking for help for himself and five of his friends. And they'll each pay 3000 Baht apiece (about $100 each).
Complicating things is Bank (Chanon Santinatornkul), the school's other stellar student, who ends up exposing the cheating and almost getting Lynn expelled. They aren't enemies - Bank is just driven by a sense of right and wrong, in a morally traditional sense, while Lynn makes rationalizations based upon a world that she sees is unfair to those who start off with less.
With her Dad (Thaneth Warakulnukroh) heartbroken over what she's done, and having lost her scholarship, Lynn needs to really buckle down and run straight... instead she goes the opposite route.
It just gets better from there, and these reserved Asian students end up showing more emotion and depth than you would have thought - they may be young, relatively new performers in the Thailand movie industry, but they prove their worth here.
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Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Chanon Santinatornkul, Eisaya Hosuwan, Teeradon Supapunpinyo
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote: 26 Aug 2018, 22:31 and the dynamic between Grandmother (Lisa Lu - who was also in the Joy Luck Club 25 years ago)
Never mind The Joy Luck Club, she was one of the stars of The 14 Amazons!
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