I remember my wife while watching the ending of Guardians, "great, now I'm all verklempt about a fucking tree".
I remember my wife while watching the ending of Guardians, "great, now I'm all verklempt about a fucking tree".
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
I was tired last night and El Rey network was playing a Godzilla marathon. I caught Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, and yes, it was cheesy, but was about what I'd want from a Godzilla movie, lots of mayhem & destruction. Even though was cheesy I enjoyed it more that that recent 2014 American reboot, which I found mostly boring. I also caught the Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla movies and enjoyed them as well.
Do you think it was supposed to be Godzilla vs. Destroyer, not Destoroyah?
X-Men: Apocalypse - Surprisingly, a decent action flick.
I watched an amazing French flick on Netflix last night called Breathe (2014).
Beautifully shot film about two teenage girls whose friendship takes a turn for the worse.
Its understated and perhaps a tad slow for some, but man, what performances by the two lead actresses.
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
Considering how powerful the main bad guy was meant to be it seemed to be remarkably easy to defeat him. I also didn't like the character development, it seemed rather flimsy.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
Yeah, he did go down pretty easy. I just thought it was a lot of fun - mindless entertainment.
I think it was/ is the same film. Godzilla vs. Destroyer is the English title. I think El Rey had the title as Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. It came out in 1995, and I believe was the last Godzilla of the Japanese films. You can read about it on the Wikizilla.
They got a combo pack on Blu-ray over at Amazon.
10 Cloverfield Lane - really enjoyed this, though the last 20 min's or so are a little...well, won't spoil it. That said I suppose it does fit in with the concept of it being set in the same world as the original movie. But I enjoyed the tension between the characters in the bunker, and loved John Goodman's menacing performance.
Grimsby - Oh dear lord! An odd mixture of Bourne-style mayhem, and gross-out comedy. Unsurprisingly for a Sacha Baron Cohen vehicle, expect some strong stuff. Very strong. It's not a particularly good movie, but I watched it in a 'horrific car crash' fashion...sick in places but often compelling. I am not sure how it will fare across the pond (I am UK based) as it's very parochial.
London Has Fallen - atrocious. A virtual re-run of the first one, set in London with the Pres attending a funeral. Not very convincing at all. Most of the action and stunts showing mayhem in London are CGI, though there is one car-chase that was filmed right outside my office. Made by people who have probably never visited London before...lots of easy-to-spot geographical mistakes. Moorgate station dressed up as Charing Cross...Stansted airport is NOT in the countryside...trash cans on the tube stations (they don't exist)...and at one point a character refers to a location US style like 'He's on Brunswick and Piccadilly'. We don't use that phrasing at all. Totally stupid, dumb movie.
Midnight Special - I liked this. I like Nichol's/Shannon's collaborations. This seemed to receive a lot of early praise and hype comparing it to early, classic John Carpenter and similar stuff, also it was made to look like an action/road movie. It is kind of a road movie, but very much character driven with little action. But it is very well acted. I do get some of the Carpenter comparisons, especially with Starman (Which I incidentally loved).
Eddie The Eagle - hugely enjoyable, feelgood stuff. Eddie Edwards was a typical, lovable loser. A naïve, geeky English guy that dreamed of going to the 1988 Olympics as a ski jumper, somehow scraped through, but basically came last in every event. But as a result he became an unlikely hero as a result of his unwillingness to give in. Hugh Jackman is very good as his reluctant coach, and Taron Egerton (Kingsmen) captures Eddie's character and signature jutting jaw perfectly. Great score too...not just sourced 80's music, but the soundtrack itself evokes the period beautifully.
The Last Wave - early Peter Weir film, with Richard Chamberlain as a lawyer in Australia given the task of defending a group of Aborigine's for killing a man during a ritual. The film deals with Aboriginal tribal customs and portents of an impending disaster, to which Chamberlain's character is somehow linked. It has some brilliantly effective, haunting imagery and at times evokes a genuine sense of dread and fear. There is a bravura 'dream' sequence, where the camera follows a characters 'spirit' through a house, and the didgeridoo on the soundtrack gets louder and more menacing as it goes on.
I only clicked on it because I thought it was going to be something more interesting...
What do you mean, "the first one?" Was there an earlier movie with this title/plot?Originally Posted by Rogue Mail
I wasn't planning to see this film, as it looked stupid in the TV commercial I saw and the reviews I read did not convince me it was worth my time.
Thanks for pointing out those errors. I've never been to London before and would likely not have caught them. I am very interested in the locations movies are shot. Nowadays, many movies in the US are shot in states that supply bribes to the movie makers paid for with taxpayer money. This is not only wrong, but confusing. I recently watched a movie that took place only in Ohio (The Fifth Wave). The entire film was shot in Georgia. I have never been to either state. But if I did visit Ohio, I might expect it to look like Georgia based on the film. I saw another film (Black or White) based in Los Angeles that was filmed in Louisiana. In the special features on the DVD, Kevin Costner talked about how useful the money Louisiana gave him was. Why do taxpayers have to fund movies (made by millionaires), and why can't they be filmed at the location where the story is set?Made by people who have probably never visited London before...lots of easy-to-spot geographical mistakes. Moorgate station dressed up as Charing Cross...Stansted airport is NOT in the countryside...trash cans on the tube stations (they don't exist)...and at one point a character refers to a location US style like 'He's on Brunswick and Piccadilly'. We don't use that phrasing at all.
As for geographical errors, I can only (and often) spot them in movies filmed in places I have been.
Thanks for the reviews. I already saw, and enjoyed 10 Cloverfield Lane. I never saw the original movie Cloverfield. I was planning to see Midnight Special. Now I will add Eddie The Eagle to the movies I want to see.
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
Mad Max: Fury Road. I have no idea why I watched this; not my type of movie, at all. Never even liked the original.
Oh, wait. Now I remember: Charlize Theron. Ooh baby.
Over all, I'm not even sure what the point was to this movie. It was action from beginning to end... so, essentially, mind numbing. And what was the point of even having Max in it? Totally extraneous character.
And how this came to be nominated as best picture at the Oscars is one of the biggest Academy mysteries of all time.
Money grabbing tie-in to a franchise that isn't worth the time. Blah.
I saw a documentary-type story about the guy on TV. It was around the time the movie came out. Kinda forgot about it. Will have to put it on my "to watch" list.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
It was a fun chase movie, not really a Mad Max movie as he was second banana in this one. I laughed a lot in it, thought they handled humor very well.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
I'm not sure I laughed once. But then I'm losing my sense of humor and am becoming a bitter old cranky fuck. The one thing I did like about it was the sentiment that crept into the movie toward the end.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Exciting things happen, thanks to the educated performers - beautiful imagery and emotional connections to the story are depicted in the performances.
On a prog board, whining about not liking that kind of combo is silly. But typical, if it doesn't involve a 12-string and white hair.
Mad Max: Fury Road was everything to film that KC, Zappa, Genesis with and without "Big Time", Voivod and CTTE are to music.
London Has Fallen was sequel to Olympus Has Fallen, about terrorists taking over the Whitehouse. It was watchable, not great. But this is somewhat inferior.
I know and fully expect a lot of substitution when it comes to location shooting - there are often very practical and financial reasons why movies cannot be shot in the location they are set. Sometimes permission cannot be obtained, or when it comes to large, busy cities its just far too difficult logistically.
Therefore its all down to set dressing and making the location look as convincing as possible. LHF didn't really get that right.
The worst possible example of this is Superman 4 - there is a sequence set on the New York subway...except its CLEARLY a London Tube station. No use putting subway signs over the existing ones...a London Tube station design is iconic and unmistakable. And London tube trains also look NOTHING like NY subway trains. Worst and cheapest set dressing I ever saw.
But I am fascinated at how some non-indigenous filmmakers portray London, and some of the short-cuts they take. Another fave is Brannigan, with John Wayne. The car chase in that movie takes some bizarre twists and turns geographically, but you realise that the filmmakers are just trying to squeeze as many well know landmarks as possible into the sequence.
To be fair, only the people who live in that location and those who know it well will notice it. When you consider the movie will be watched all around the world most people won't know the difference. But sometimes filmmakers are so obsessed with cramming every single iconic part of the city into their shots, they often lose sight of the practicalities.
It's not a deal breaker for me, it does not really take me out of the movie, just one of those things that happens. However, in a movie like this where its just very poor in general, location issues are the least of its problems.
I only clicked on it because I thought it was going to be something more interesting...
I liked the very first Mad Max.
This one. Theron was good, IMO. I didn't pay much attention to how much screen time Max had. I don't think Hardy was the best choice in the first place. The rest of the cast was mostly average. The film is fairly forgettable. If I compare it with most of the other action type movies of late - it doesn't stick out. At least for me. Something like Skyfall was far better.
And about the Oscars - agreed.
I can understand how filming these days in New York City or Los Angeles can be an expense and a hassle. I appreciate those films that go to the trouble to shoot there anyway. Some of the best location pictures are the James Bond films. AFAIK, when they are supposed to be set somewhere, they really film there. Most pictures that are filmed someplace other than claimed in the film do not require me to suspend my disbelief to a distracting degree.Originally Posted by Rogue Mail
For me, recognizing a location in a movie (often Westerns) is just gravy. One of the funniest that comes to mind is John Wayne in North To Alaska, where in a fight scene I see in the background Mt Whitney, California, and not Alaska at all.
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
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