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

[grim_tales]

Been a long time since I've seen this, great film imo

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

...
Falling Down (1992-USA-France) ***½
The most unfairly overlooked film of its year come Oscar time (releasing it in Feb probably didn't help). Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, even Frederic Forrest could've/should've been nominated. Powerful, potent urban drama, leaves you with plenty to think about.

I think about this film every time I get stuck in traffic. I agreed that it is overlooked. Joel Schumacher has a lot of films I'm ambivalent about, but I've always liked this one.

[Markgway]

They say every director has at least one great film in them...

If so, Falling Down was Schumaker's.

Although he has made other good films.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

They say every director has at least one great film in them...
...
Although he has made other good films.

Michael Bay?

What would you consider the other good Schumaker's films?

[Markgway]

Michael Bay?

The Rock.

What would you consider the other good Schumaker's films?

A Time to Kill would be my runner-up choice.

Flatliners, The Client, and The Lost Boys all have their merits.

[Markgway]

Eyes Without a Face (1960-France-Italy) **
Considered somewhat controversial at the time of release, due to its surgical scenes and generally unpleasant theme, this nasty little shocker hasn't, alas, stood the test of time. Will likely still garner raves from the sort of critic who thinks any film subtitled and B&W is an automatic classic; it's actually plodding, shallow and ordinary, with a peculiarly misguided score from Maurice Jarre (it's hard not to imagine what Bernard Herrmann could've done).

Olivia (1981-USA-Germany) **
Cheapy feel and occasional amateurishness (especially in the performances) makes this Hitchcockian psycho drama feel grubbier than it actually is. Not without interest, exactly, but the third act is preposterous, even if you're willing to swallow the obvious Vertigo/Marnie steals.

[Markgway]

Amuck (1972-Italy) *½
Blonde bombshell Barbara Bouchet stars in this tedious erotic mystery (not, as is often claimed, a giallo) . Plenty of nudity and lipstick lesbianism, dull plotting and characters. Strangers on a Train's Farley Granger wonders where the fuck his career went?

[Markgway]

Inside Llewyn Davis (2012-USA-UK-France) ***
The woes of a self-absorbed folk singer doesn't sound like the makings of a good movie, but the Coen Brothers somehow manage it. Oscar Issac is very good, in terms of both acting and singing, but the cats steal the show.

[Killer Meteor]

I love Eyes Without A Face, and Franju's Judex as well.

[Shingster]

Eyes Without A Face hasn't stood the test of time? Gotta be the first time I've heard that!

[Markgway]

Eyes Without A Face hasn't stood the test of time? Gotta be the first time I've heard that!

Have you watched it lately? It's very ordinary. I believe it's another of those films people like because they're supposed to like it. It's easier than going against he crowd.

[Shingster]

I last watched it around 2yrs back and it was still a pretty damn good film afaiac!

[Markgway]

Four Brothers (2005-USA) ***

Morning Glory (2010-USA) **½
Lightweight media-centric comedy stars an (overly?) enthusiastic Rachel McAdams as the bright new producer of a failing breakfast TV show who brings in self-important grouch Harrison Ford to co-present (with Diane Keaton). Harmless, but hardly biting satire; and the romantic angle is dull and predictable.

[Killer Meteor]

There is nothing ordinary about EWAF...as its many imitators can attest!

[Markgway]

Yeah, I'm sure back in 1960 it was shocking, just as Psycho was, but unlike Psycho, I don't feel that EWAF holds up; it doesn't transcend it's B movie exploitation origins into classic status (I believe French critics were scathing at the time, noting that the film was unworthy of Franju's talent). Given its revisionist reputation, I guess I expected a lot more than a potboiler.

Psycho scared me as a kid, whether EWAF would have, I don't know.

[HungFist]

The Hateful Eight (USA, 2015) [DCP] - 4/5
I wasn't the biggest fan of Django Unchained, which I found a bit uneven and too "baroque". I feared this would be more of the same, but this is actually a much more low key affair set almost entirely in one location, and with a very tight story/character focus. Atmospheric and captivating enough for your not to pay attention to Kurt Russell's moustache. Also nice to have an original score by Morricone, as the last few Tarantino films have suggested Tarantino has already used the best hits from his record collection. Though neither the film nor the score are quite among the gentlemen's greatest achievements, both are pretty haunting. Unlike Django Unchained, which I haven't seen since its theatrical release, I could watch this again right away.

[Killer Meteor]

Much to my pleasant surprise, Morricone (or Tarentino) recycles a cue from Exorcist II.

[Markgway]

The Wolverine (2013-USA-UK-Australia-Japan) **½
OK episode for everyone's favourite X-Man, benefits from Japanese setting and energetic direction, but is ultimately too familiar for all but Marvel fans, culminating in the usual crash bang wallop with a giant metal warrior. The plot is clumsy, the villainess weak (the dubbing of Russian actress Khodchenkova doesn't help), but the result is never dull, and Jackman is on fine form.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Girl Shy (1924: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor):

For me I pretty much like everything Harold Lloyd did in the 1920s. This is no exception. Lloyd portrays a completely shy stutterer who has been working on a manuscript to get women. His Tao of Steve. In some of the funnier moments his reverie segments of his successes of various types of females (like flapper or vampire – no not that, a vamp was a Pola Negri or Theda Bara type of “maneater” role – that still does not sound right.) He falls in love with, unknown to him, a rich heiress who loves him as well. Of course it ends with another awesome chase sequence, not quite up there with Speedy, but quite good. At some point expect this to come out on Criterion as they have the rights to this. I have the New Line Home Video collection (R1) of Harold Lloyd which is awesome and still relevant since Criterion is so slow on their releases.

Operation Petticoat (1959: Blake Edwards)

I have been trying to cover a few of the more well-known films dealing with WWII that I have not seen. I have seen scenes of this, but never all of this. Directed by a good comedy director in Blake Edwards (love the Pink Panther films, well the Peter Sellers ones) and it is a completely non-serious movie – a war film with I think no casualties – not counting a truck sunk by a submarine or the indignity of the pink paint job. I am a Cary Grant fan so that made this a must watch for me. It is kind of funny that Grant was a proponent of LSD at this time and he gave an interview to the New York Herald Tribune which was published during this movie about it. One scene was peculiar when he flicks his lighter and just stares at it. I was wondering if he was under the influence at that particular moment. Overall I found it fun with sporadically hilarious scenes. Tony Curtis’s character got a little annoying as the “I can get you anything” clerk cliché though. I know it is supposed to be a comedy, similar to later military ones such as Sgt. Bilko (not quite in the realm of Stripes) and Down Periscope (I actually like this one.) I have this in an Olive R1 which unfortunately does not have subtitles but the print is quite good.

[HungFist]

The Martian (USA, 2015) [DCP] - 3.5/5
MacGyver in space! Entertaining, well made mainstream sci-fi, though it sometimes feels like directed by an engineer rather than filmmaker. Kissing the Chinese government's ass is a bit too evident (nice to see Eddy Ko, though), but it seems to have paid off with a solid $95 million return from the Chinese market.

The Wolverine (2013-USA-UK-Australia-Japan) **½
OK episode for everyone's favourite X-Man, benefits from Japanese setting and energetic direction, but is ultimately too familiar for all but Marvel fans, culminating in the usual crash bang wallop with a giant metal warrior. The plot is clumsy, the villainess weak (the dubbing of Russian actress Khodchenkova doesn't help), but the result is never dull, and Jackman is on fine form.

Agreed. I think I gave it 3/5. I'm not a Marvel or X-Men fan, though. Bonus points from featuring a love hotel

[Markgway]

The Fly (1986-USA) **
Cronenberg's update of 50s monster classic starts out as intelligent sci-fi, but finishes as a silly goo fest. A shame. Goldblum is good as nerdy scientist, hammy as Brundlefly (under a ton of prosthetics).

[Markgway]

Panic Button (2011-UK) **½
Horror flicks such as these require huge suspension of disbelief; the filmmakers do their best to keep it credible, and thrilling, but only partially succeed. Don't think about it too long and you may get wrapped up in the "victims'" plight. Alas, ugly digital photography seems to be the new trademark of low budget horror.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

She Done Him Wrong (1933: Lowell Sherman) 2nd time watched:

For me it is fun seeing Cary Grant in his earlier roles, especially after seeing him several decades later in Operation Petticoat. You can see his personality starting to bud, he’s not quite as good an actor as he would be later, but he has his transatlantic voice down. In the early 1930s he was mostly second billed, here to Mae West in his first starring role and only her second time on camera. West is a legend, one that has been copied, mimicked and referenced countless times over the years and she has only been in 12 films which 8 are in the 1930s.* She reprises a role she did on stage in Diamond Lil, only it is less raunchy, and full of obvious double entendres where the play was more specific. But there was not much of a choice as it would not have been shown otherwise (the Hays Code was official adopted a year later, but there was pressure to not do this play; funny enough this movie helped push the cause of the Production Code.) This film was a hit, was even nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

I find this film more interesting from a historical standpoint, then actually interesting. The direction is stolid, I am not sure how I actually feel about Mae West (though in some ways she is a precursor to Queen Latifah), Cary Grant is still learning the profession, the plot is so-so (though I do like the 1890s setting) and it suffers from early 1930s cinema problems: the camera is too still and not much of a soundtrack (to see what I mean watch Frankenstein and then Bride of Frankenstein done a few years later to see how soundtracks would be better used for a film). But this is Mae West’s film and what you think of her will probably determine if you like it or not. Or you will be historically interested yet recognize the faults of the movie.

* Ultimately the reason her career was cut short was that the Hays Code was detrimental to her style of comedy. Funny enough the book I read earlier: The Films of the Thirties (1982) by Jerry Vermilye had stated that some people thought she was a female impersonator.

[Markgway]

Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil (2010-Canada-USA-UK-India) ***
Clever horror-comedy; plenty of laughs, spot on performances, CGI splatter isn't my thing, but it doesn't spoilt the concept. Second-time viewing and I think I appreciated it more this time.

Magic Magic (2013-Chile-USA) **½
A curious one this... a psychological drama that absorbs almost the entire way and then suddenly ends, seemingly with explanation or purpose... Odd and probably not worth your time.

[Markgway]

The Blood-stained Butterfly (1971-Italy) *½
Tedious giallo, light on violence, even lighter on thrills; resolution is nonsensical even by genre standards.