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

[Markgway]

Been ages since I saw it; I recall it being excellent but I'd still surely rate Jackie Brown and Hana-Bi above it. And maybe, uhm, Titanic (ok, forget about that )

Nah. Jackie Brown (***) is a good film no question, but L.A. Confidential is better.

I wasn't really thinking about non-English language/Japanese films to be honest, but even so I don't remember being blown away by Hana-Bi. I think I gave it a decent **½. It was a very long time ago, mind.

Not saying much? All of the films in the series are good!

Not a fan of Rambo. I don't dislike them as such, but they always left me underwhelmed. I like the first act of First Blood, but then it goes awry. Parts 2 and 3 are adequate action fodder with plenty explosions and bullets, but again, they left me a bit cold.

But yeah, I always liked how it's a shamelessly entertaining action film but it also has bit of valuable message. That's how a lot of Japanese action films used to be back in the 60s and 70s (unfortunately not anymore).

My problem was that the tone of the film was suitably gritty and realistic (unlike the previous two sequels) but that the accompanying violence was so OTT and cartoonish (gallons of CGI blood splatter) as to reduce the effect. Exploitation films aren't the best tools to deliver important messages.

[saltysam]

I think the Rambo films are great,my lowest score on any of them would probably be the 4th one.need to rewatch the series soon,been too long.

Superstition 2/5 A VHS pre-cert staple, this supernatural horror about a witch haunting a priest's house and adjacent lake is certainly a notch above the mainly dire video nasties of the era. the famous (at the time) money shots appear rather fake now but this is a breezy if predictable 82 minute watch.

Horror Express 2.5/5 Italian Hammer style movie teams up Cushing and Lee as allies here,with a mad Telly Savalas joining the party for good measure.A Monster is loose on a siberian train leading to carnage in the carriages. cheesy but fun.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Been ages since I saw it; I recall it being excellent but I'd still surely rate Jackie Brown and Hana-Bi above it. And maybe, uhm, Titanic (ok, forget about that )

Nah. Jackie Brown (***) is a good film no question, but L.A. Confidential is better.
...

Probably my top film for the year as well (as I revisited my top Hollywood film list thread on this site.) Jackie Brown is in my top 10. My favorite non Hollywood films from that year: Princess Mononoke (1997: Hayao Miyazaki), Taste of Cherry (1997: Abbas Kiarostami), Happy Together (1997: Wong Kar-wai) and The Odd One Dies (1997: Patrick Yau Tat-chi: Hong Kong).

[Markgway]

Jackie Brown would most likely have been in my top ten, too.

I tend to keep HK films on a separate list because I judge them differently from American movies.

Happy Together is my least favourite Wong Kar-Wai movie. I just couldn't relate to the characters at all. Nothing to do with them being gay. Had they been a straight couple I would've felt the same. In fact, had Happy Together been a "straight" movie directed by, er, Joe Wong it would've been roundly ignored by all, not a fixture at Cannes, IMO.

The Odd One Dies I pretty much hated. Johnnie To has made some strong films and some stinkers, of which this is one.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

... The Odd One Dies I pretty much hated. Johnnie To has made some strong films and some stinkers, of which this is one.

I was going to point to my 1000+ word essay on the film as a rebuttal, but since KFC is down . My Amazon review of the movie is censored -- it kept getting rejected, I kept taking out material that I thought might be construed as possibly offensive -- finally got it up on the site but never did figure out what triggered their censor machine.

What's interesting about Wong Kar-wai is that he is one of the few HK directors that is actually known by certain ciniphiles (I consider this a very bad thing.) I noticed this on several Criterion sites (of course there are others who know more, though often I had to deal with negative comments on action oriented films.) Sometimes I feel he can be overpraised by some just because of his name. But I'm still a fan.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Doughboys (1930: Edward Sedgwick)

An OK early talkie. I generally like WWI films and I like Buster Keaton. But his MGM talkie days are mixed at best. This is his second talkie with MGM and is a thoroughly mixed film. There are some funny moments and some nice references to WWI life in Europe, but unfortunately has a problem with not enough laughs and a middling plot. Buster thought so-so on it (I will read through my books to see if I missed any important things he had to say about this movie.) Keaton did serve in France during WWI. I know by this point he was having less and less influence on the MGM movies. But I am curious on what scenes were his idea and how much influence he had on the WWI scenes.

Keaton’s character Elmer is an overly rich young man with a German chauffeur and a fascination for Mary (Sally Eilers) who just does not reciprocate his love, mainly because of his riches. He unwittingly signs up for the military, in a scene that reminded me somewhat of Hell’s Angels (1930), when he is trying to replace his chauffeur and ends up as a low-rank army personnel. He makes one friend in Nescopeck (Cliff Edwards) and one enemy in Sergeant Brophy (Edward Brophy) in boot camp. However, Mary starts to fall for him because of his “enlisting”, though the Sergeant has eyes for her. Soon they are off to France.

I just found out that the co-star Cliff Edwards is the voice of Jiminy Cricket. He’s also the voice of Jim Crow in Dumbo. He would later work with Keaton in Parlor, Bedroom and Bath and Sidewalks of New York, but he is a strange pairing (though the worst pairing was Keaton with Jimmy Durante) with an even slower speaking pattern and eccentric manner.

The highlight of the movie is a French apache dance (La Danse Apache) where he gets tossed around like a ragdoll (funny because he gets roughed up in the later Sidewalks of New York). This is a type of French dance that was popular in early 20th century (and is shown in lots of films including City Lights) where the woman dancer is violently thrown, tossed, manhandled by the male dancer (sometimes the roles are reversed, but not usually) and Keaton is in the drag role. His athleticism is on display here and is one of the scenes that works well. You might also notice that Keaton’s speaking voice is a little less crotchety than a few years later when alcohol makes him hoarser. That scene along with the earlier drag scenes reminded me of the later Le Grand Illusion from Jean Renoir. A couple other highlights are a duet with Cliff Edwards and an amusing droll bit of him behind enemy lines.

Fans of Keaton and 1930s films might want to see this. Most will want to either watch the silent Keaton or better films on WWI like The Big Parade or All Quiet on the Western Front. I watched the WB Archive release. There is no extras. The print is decent, but could have been cleaned up more.

Nice little article on Buster and WWI

[grim_tales]

Interesting, I'm not that up on early talkies/silents - afaik Buster's MGM debut was The Cameraman (1928) but I did like some of his silent shorts like The Goat (1921) that play like an old Sesame Street skit in some ways

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Interesting, I'm not that up on early talkies/silents - afaik Buster's MGM debut was The Cameraman (1928) but I did like some of his silent shorts like The Goat (1921) that play like an old Sesame Street skit in some ways

I love Keaton's shorts even the ones where he started with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Those you can see him blossom -- at first playing second fiddle to Arbuckle's relative Al. St. John (later famous as an old western coot), but later when John kept getting injured he got more and more play. Eventually going his own way and creating great shorts like The Goat. I like all his solo shorts as well as his pre-MGM silent. I'm a fan of The Cameraman though -- in a nice coincidence I've been listening to the commentary on it starting last night. I was trying to see if there was any info on some of his talkies. I just bought online What - No Beer?, his last MGM film before he was fired from MGM (they later did try to hire him back later.)

[grim_tales]

I do feel sorry for Arbuckle - he was an innocent man stitched up by the press and public for a crime he didnt commit which destroyed his reputation

[Markgway]

The Silence of the Lambs (1991-USA) ***
The filmmakers wisely focus on rookie FBI agent Jodie Foster's criminal investigation rather than the graphic exploits of its serial killers (which lesser clones and sequels would glamourize and devour). Hard to believe that this admittedly gruesome chiller was once controversial.

Arbitrage (2012-USA) ***
It says a lot for Richard Gere's charisma that he makes us root for a mega rich fraudster guilty of manslaughter. Talky, but interesting throughout.

[HungFist]

The Silence of the Lambs (1991-USA) ***
The filmmakers wisely focus on rookie FBI agent Jodie Foster's criminal investigation rather than the graphic exploits of its serial killers (which lesser clones and sequels would glamourize and devour). Hard to believe that this admittedly gruesome chiller was once controversial.

This is pg-12 in Japan nowadays, btw.

[Markgway]

This is pg-12 in Japan nowadays, btw.

I certainly wouldn't recommend it for 12 year olds.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

I do feel sorry for Arbuckle - he was an innocent man stitched up by the press and public for a crime he didnt commit which destroyed his reputation

He kept working as a director under the pseudonym William Goodrich until a comeback as an actor in the early 30s for Warner Bros. He did several shorts (I have not seen them) and had just signed a contract to do feature length films for WB and unfortunately had a heart attack. What could have been with his comeback. So it is a canard that his career ended by the scandal, but it was severely hurt by the scandal.

But his early silent films are fun. He kept a more slapstick persona that Keaton would take, but he was quite inventive and quite adroit.*

* Seeing W.C. Field's do a juggling act was quite surprising to me (until I later found out that is what he did as a act for many years before his talkie days.)

[saltysam]

Death Line 2.5/5 Cannibalism is alive & well at Russell Square tube station on London Underground. decent and different for it's time gory 70's british horror, Donald Pleasance is the eccentric cop on the case though the film isn't helped by having the incredibly wooden and uncharismatic David Ladd in a prominent role.Christopher Lee makes a rather pointless 90 second cameo.

Cold Turkey 3/5 early 70's satirical american comedy is little seen these days and a hidden gem.a tobacco company offers 25 million to any town who's citizens can top smoking for 30 days. Clergyman Dick Van Dyke rallies the town of Eagle Rock to take up the challenge, Bob Newhart is the tobacco chief who is desperately trying to make the town crack in time.

[Markgway]

Payback (1998-USA) ***
I watched both versions (on BD) and still prefer the fleshed out theatrical cut.

[Markgway]

Mission: Impossible (1996-USA) ***
Brian De Palma's stylish and thrilling update of 60s spy show.

So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993-USA) ***
Funny comedy vehicle for Mike Myers. Bombed at the box office, but has since garnered a cult following.

[saltysam]

i didn't mind MI:1 but thrilling wouldn't be a word i'd use to describe it.one signature set piece does not make a film "thrilling"

[Markgway]

I disagree.

The first act betrayal, the break into Langley, the Chunnel chase... all thrilling.

Doesn't have to be a big set piece to grip you though; M:I doesn't have as much 'action' as its sequels, and I'm perfectly fine with that.

[Markgway]

Mission: Impossible II (2000-USA-Germany-Austalia) **½
John Woo's trademark action sequences highlight blockbuster sequel, a radical departure from the style and tone of DePalma's original.

White Heat (1949-USA) ***½
Excellent post-war gangster drama with James Cagney at his best as psychotic mama's boy.
Unfairly overlooked at Oscar time.

Tango & Cash (1989-USA) **½
Sly Stallone and Kurt Russell have great chemistry in this dopey, but fun buddy-cop actioner.

[saltysam]

The Klansman 1/5 Lee Marvin & Richard Burton star in this unbelievably trashy 70's potboiler. There's two rapes within the first 10 minutes,which sets the scene for the rest of the movie. Marvin is the sheriff,Burton the well off black sympathiser hated by the rest of the racist town for his views. a strange cookie,this movie has allegedly fallen into the public domain,there's been a few bootlegs of the cut full screen version released. i watched the (i think) intact 107 minute widescreen version.A bad movie but any movie that sees a gammy legged Burton take on Cameron Mitchell in a fist fight has something going for it surely

Contamination 1.5/5 Italian alien knock off stars genre stalwart Ian McCulloch.not very good at all but has a decent Goblin score and some nice gooey gore effects.

Tower Of Evil 2/5 Not bad british 70's horror,worth a watch.Robin Askwith with an american accent

[Markgway]

Robin Askwith with an american accent

Robin Askwith

[Markgway]

The Fugitive (1993-USA) ***½
Harrison Ford gives one of his best performances in this first rate thriller.
The poster boy for how to adapt a beloved TV show.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005-USA) ***
Sharply scripted comedy-thriller from the great Shane Black (also making his directorial debut). Features a star-making performance from Michelle Monaghan.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

... So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993-USA) ***
Funny comedy vehicle for Mike Myers. Bombed at the box office, but has since garnered a cult following.

I saw it in the theater. I was surprised it was not more popular. I even picked up the soundtrack to it. An overall fun film.

Made it, Ma! Top of the world! White Heat's a great film. I'm a big fan of Cagney though. Just recently saw him in a cameo in Bob Hope's The Seven Little Foys (1955: Melville Shavelson) where Cagney reprised his George M. Cohan role (Yankee Doodle Dandy.) The Public Enemy is one of my favorite Cagney films. You could get away with more in the pre-code days. But still good gangster films did continue.

[Markgway]

Public Enemy is pretty good for its era, but a bit too creaky for my taste.

The Roaring Twenties and Angels with Dirty Faces are easier to take.

[saltysam]

Lila & Eve 2/5 Viola Davis is a mother who's son is victim of a drive by killing,she joins a bereaved mother's group where she forms a friendship with Jennfier Lopez. Vigilante drama plays like a tv movie with the late plot twist being fairly obvious early on.

Ted 2 2/5 overlong but sometimes funny sequel runs out of ideas toward the end which plays like a rerun of the first movie in a different location.

Death Machines 1.5/5 70's low budget actioner tells the tale of three martial artists injected with a serum that makes them unstoppable assassins.,the only vaguely familiar name in the cast is Ron Marchini as one of the death machines of the title. it's a poor film on most levels but strangely watchable and the scope aspect ratio gives it the feel of a bigger budget movie. i saw this at the cinema back in the late 70's as part of a double bill,i wish i could remember what the other movie was.

The Choirboys 1/5 obnoxious,unfunny adaption of the Joseph Wambaugh book. the first half plays like a laughless forerunner of Police Academy while the second half takes a darker turn with tragedy the result. The characters here are so uniformly unlikeable i didn't care about any of them.