What Have You Just Seen... Marks Out of 5

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 30 Sep 2007, 14:01

romerojpg wrote:Fargo is a BIG hit or miss, I adore it, its not a kind of film that gels with everyone thats for sure. I could watch it forever

I've barely read a bad word about it.

romerojpg wrote:The Coens do not make very similar films, do to me you can buy another film of theirs and it will be very, very different.

You're always saying that

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 30 Sep 2007, 14:01

The Coen Bros film I liked the most was............ wait for it........... The Hudsucker Proxy.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 30 Sep 2007, 14:07

bradavon wrote:
romerojpg wrote:The Coens do not make very similar films, to to me you can buy another film of theirs and it will be very, very different.
You're always saying that

I am not.

Do you think Fargo and Intolerable Crulety are anything alike? if so your crackers

they make very serious films, serious films with no comedy in them, wacky insane experimantal films, comedy, silly films and mainstram ones too.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 30 Sep 2007, 14:18

Shit, I forgot about Miller's Crossing. Add that to my aforementioned list.

Romero is right, they have no real set style.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 30 Sep 2007, 14:21

romerojpg wrote:Do you think Fargo and Intolerable Crulety are anything alike?

Yes of course. They're very different films but both feature similar black comedy. Both feel like Coen films.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 30 Sep 2007, 15:15

Both feel like Coen films

see some more and then say that.

Intolerable Crulety aint black comedy, its crap comedy

their most mainstream attempt at a film, pretty bloody painful to watch.

Millers Crossing is a good start, thats not comedy at all (well its funny in a holy shit way) Hard core gangsta film, Bugsy Malone, but for adults

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 30 Sep 2007, 16:41

bradavon wrote:Which one was it? . Seriously which one was it.

After Jackie drinks the industrial alcohol and just goes ape shit

As for the Coen Brothers, I have seen Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother, Where Art Thou, and I really love Raising and Lebowski

brooce-leroy · Post by **brooce-leroy** » 30 Sep 2007, 17:03

Live Free or Die Hard 3/5

Pretty decent. Certainly not the disaster that everyone predicted when Len Wiseman was announced as director.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 30 Sep 2007, 17:15

bradavon wrote:Fargo is supposed to be their best is it not?

Typical bradavon ignorance. There is no generally considered "best" Coen film. Big Lebowski is probably their most popular title nowadays, but it wasn't a hit upon release. Fargo and Raising Arizona were their biggest hits upon release. Barton Fink won them the Palme d'Or in 1991.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 30 Sep 2007, 17:19

romerojpg wrote:They make very serious films, serious films with no comedy in them, wacky insane experimantal films, comedy, silly films and mainstram ones too.

That couldn't be further from the truth, the only film they've ever made that could be labeled as completely "serious" was Blood Simple, but even that has some blackly comic moments. No Country for Old Men sounds like it might be a return to their harder neo-noir style, but I expect black humour to be coursing through that as well (and probably fat people screaming).

Markgway wrote:The Coen Bros film I liked the most was............ wait for it........... The Hudsucker Proxy.

I'm not surprised by that given your preference for pre-60's cinema (when it comes to hollywood anyway). Hudsucker's very much underrated and a wonderful homage to Capra.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 30 Sep 2007, 17:30

Shingster wrote:Typical bradavon ignorance.

Calm down, didn't you notice the question mark? Jeez why are you always in a stress? Haven't you heard of brushing off comments you think are stupid? You're always on the offensive.

Why would I have great knowledge about film-makers I don't even like anyway?

p.s - If not their best Fargo is definitely their most popular.

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 30 Sep 2007, 17:43

Fargo just annoyed me when I saw it on TV years ago, especially the weird accent. But I shall give it another go next time it's on.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 30 Sep 2007, 17:44

bradavon wrote:Calm down, didn't you notice the question mark? Jeez why are you always in a stress? Haven't you heard of brushing off comments you think are stupid? You're always on the offensive.

Calm down dear!

Don't presume to think that your opinions on anything merit such an extreme reaction as anger on my part. If I reply sharply to your posts it's because:
A: You're a total fuckwit.
B: You usually only admit you're wrong when someone verbally bitch-slaps you in the face with your fallacy, and
C: I come across much harsher in print than I do in person. Bite me.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 30 Sep 2007, 18:36

hey,

Air Disaster 1/5

Hong Kong cinema doing Airport but without any resources at all. Yep, a great disaster that is hard to laugh at although the inclusion of a panty sniffing pervert on the plane was memorable. Apparently a real life retelling which means it doesn't end happily. Might as well let you know as you're not going to track this shit down anyway!

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 30 Sep 2007, 18:49

bradavon wrote:
Yi-Long wrote:What version did you see, Brad? Cantonese, or English dub?
I've seen DM2 twice. I thought it was worth a second chance, like T3. Unlike T3 it wasn't worth it.

I first saw the R1 English dub which obviously looks great but the dubbing was so awful (despite Chan's dubbing) I gave the Chinese Thakral DVD ago which is much more watchable (despite the cropping) but alas it didn't improve it greatly.

I guess it makes a huge difefrence how you experience a movie the first time. Which is why I usually dont watch cut versions, not to mention dubbed versions.

I'm not a huge Jackie fan myself. I enjoy his stunts and some of his action set-pieces, but I dont enjoy many of his movies. Drunken Master 2 is his very best work, as far as I'm concerned. I loved it from start to finish. Finally it showed Jackie doing what he does best: fighting. And for a change, the story was also pretty interesting and pacing was good.

Yi-Long wrote:IMHO Fist of Legend is THE best martial arts flick ever made, just amazing action, and a nice paced classic plot. But Drunken Master 2 is absolutely in my top 5 action flicks.
I liked Fist of Legend but thought OUATIC1-3 were definitely better. I love those films. The Donnie vs. Jet fight in OUATIC fight is great.

Personally, I feel the OUATIC movies are well made pieces of cinema... but TBH I dont ENJOY watching them as much as I enjoy watching Fist of Legend. Also, I dont really care much about Wong Fei Hung all that much. It was a little bit boring to me.
Fist of Legend is just lots of fun to watch, I care about the characters more, I care about the story more, the action is just outstanding, with every fight very very good. Just a brilliant action flick. Perfect from start to finsh, as far as I'm concerned.

I didnt care all that much about the Donnie vs Jet fight btw. I was disappointed it was only fought with weapons. I would have preferred an unarmed fight. Both are excellent screenfighters, so I would have loved some good boot-action.

Yi-Long wrote:Cant believe anyone NOT liking it.
After thinking about it I'm probably more not a fan of the way Jackie creates action (on the whole) than HK cinema in general. I've disliked more than I liked of Jackie's films.

I almost forgot, another so called HK classic:

Project A: I bought this after not liking the previous Jackie films to see if there was anything left I've been missing. Sadly it's as boring as DM2. It gets a wee bit better at the end but again just pretty dull and definitely not exciting.

Yeah I didnt care much about Project A either. You're right, that many Jackie movies are pretty boring when there isnt any action onscreen. Plus the story usually isnt that interesting.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 30 Sep 2007, 20:14

I guess it makes a huge difefrence how you experience a movie the first time. Which is why I usually dont watch cut versions, not to mention dubbed versions.

I definitely agree, but in the case of DM2 I just didn't like it.

Shingster wrote:Don't presume to think that your opinions on anything merit such an extreme reaction as anger on my part. If I reply sharply to your posts it's because:
A: You're a total fuckwit.
B: You usually only admit you're wrong when someone verbally bitch-slaps you in the face with your fallacy, and
C: I come across much harsher in print than I do in person. Bite me.

I don't think you're a fuckwit.

I just don't get why you feel the need to constantly belittle my comments, when was the last time I disparaged yours? If you don't agree with them ignore them, how hard is that?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 30 Sep 2007, 21:00

Transformers (2007): 2,5 / 5
Barely average.

+ Some of the stunts are quite enjoyable.
+ The early "my car is alive"-type scenes are hilarious.

- The dialogue is unbelievably cheesy.
- The kid who plays Sam Witweeki (sp?) is extremely irritating.
- The plot is too simple. I just wasn't expecting Transformers to be a kids' film.
- Splitting up the two main characters for the climactic fight was a bad idea. It's the interaction between them that made the first part of the movie work.

Oh... and Michael Bay still doesn't know how to shoot action scenes without using the headache-inducing shaky-cam effect.

I guess The Island was a fluke, then ('cause I liked that one).

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 30 Sep 2007, 21:37

Tom, what were your thoughts on the John Turturro/government organisation stuff; the subplot with the computer analysts; and Megan Fox?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 30 Sep 2007, 22:09

what were your thoughts on the John Turturro/government organisation stuff

I thought that was a bit unnecessary.
In fact, I thought that the whole Hoover Dam thing slowed the pace of the film too much.

+ We've already seen that kind of stuff in Independence Day (hidden lab, secret organization, etc...).

(note: I don't know anything about the Transformers' universe, so I don't know which bits of plot are faithful to the original and which bits were specifically created for this film).

the subplot with the computer analysts

Useless.

Megan Fox

Pretty girl, but not a good actress.
Lacks range.
I didn't find her very convincing in the final action scene.

Mind you, I've never seen her other films.
Maybe she was just wrong for the part.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 30 Sep 2007, 22:30

Hudsucker's very much underrated and a wonderful homage to Capra

I'm no expert on the golden age... but it made me think of Preston Sturges, Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder. It's rare to find such warmth and nostalgia in a "modern" movie; as Jennifer Jason Leigh's cynical reporter (a performance clearly based on Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday) is won over by Tim Robbins' innocent charm. I found it funny, visually inventive and true to the Coens' unique stylings (many feared that doing an Joel Silver movie would be a sell-out, and they were wrong). In fact, the film is arguably more quirky than much of what they'd done before, which is probably why the general piublic didn't take to it.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 30 Sep 2007, 22:36

Apparently Jet Li sustained a severe back injury on Born to Defend which is why he's been extensively doubled in all his films since. Alas it's noticeable in almost every fight in every film. Look at his skills in the Shaolin Temple trilogy and see how much of his own action he does (pretty much all of it). I would say that OUATIC I & II are better films that Fist of Legend; that's just my opinion. And Project A is classic Jackie. Not his ABSOLUTE best, but in his top ten for sure.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 30 Sep 2007, 23:00

Jet Li, well Fist of Legend is probibly great for anyone who does not spot doubles in films, in fact some people never notice them ever. Sadly I am cursed with eyes which go stright to the doubles and notice them, it pains me watching some great films I know could be so much better if I was looking at someone I thought was that person.

Some films you can forgive it once in a while, but others entire films are gutted becuase of some fool who has a wig on and looks little like the star.

The Coens I love to hate sometimes, I love some of their films, and hate some of them. Its such a wide range of work they have made, but I do remember watching Barton Fink and Millers Crossing back to back a while back and thinking damn they really do make stunning films, music in the films esspecially is always pretty much perfect, even if the film is not.

I am not a fan of comedy at all, esspecially the shit we see on cinema screens, the Coens are one fo the few film makers to make me smile, or even bust out with a chuckle, even if some do not find some parts that funny.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 30 Sep 2007, 23:15

I never notice but then you knew I was going to say that

Markgway wrote:I would say that OUATIC I & II are better films that Fist of Legend; that's just my opinion.

Finally

. I thought I was only one who thought this.

tom2681 wrote:Pretty girl, but not a good actress.

Megan Fox is uber hot. She was good enough in Transformers. It's not as if much is asked from her. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Transformers, very cheesy in places but great overall. That scene when the Autobots are standing on that palace reminded me of Power Rangers

Tom did you play with the toys as a kid? I did and that made it even more enjoyable. Optimus Prime on the big screen = WOW!

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 30 Sep 2007, 23:38

bradavon wrote:I never notice but then you knew I was going to say that

I really wish I didnt

watched the new Jet Li film WAR tonight, they did a lot of doubling in that, esspecially the Old man, uuurrggh. But they did cut around it well, or digitally darken faces so you did not notice the double as much, so thats one good thing about having cash at hand, you can disguse the double more.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 30 Sep 2007, 23:55

bradavon wrote:I just don't get why you feel the need to constantly belittle my comments, when was the last time I disparaged yours? If you don't agree with them ignore them, how hard is that?

Ok, ok. I'll admit that i'm probably harbouring too much resentment towards you after the thread you started about being banned from DVDTimes, as some good friends of mine write/run the site and I happen to know for a fact that a lot of bullshit was spewed forth in that thread of yours and you was the main instigator of it all.

Nevertheless I don't have the capacity to hold a grudge indefinitely so I will just apologise to you now: I'm sorry if my comments have upset you in any way shape or form and promise that I will at least try to hold my breath next time you make a dopey comment. Clean slate, that fair enough?

Markgway wrote:I'm no expert on the golden age... but it made me think of Preston Sturges, Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder.

You're right I was over-simplifying the influences and references by just saying Capra. They basically took Capra's use of the fantastical and whimsical to drive a narrative (the use of the omniscient narrator is classic Capra) and then went to Preston Sturges and Howard Hawks for the screwball interplay between the characters.