Movies - Take Two. Action!

[Rogue Mail]

Watched most of an early 70's French picture called Trafic. Directed and (sort of) starring Jacques Tati (who I understand to have been a highly rated director, though he only made something like 9 feature films), the picture is basically a comedy about a crew trying to transport a prototype car from somewhere in France to Amsterdam for a car show. Interesting picture, I enjoyed it, but the DVR ran out of space near the end, hopefully, I'll get another chance to see it in the not too distant future (I may also check out more of Tati's pictures).

One scene I liked was this overhead shot of the floor of the car show, where you see people looking at several cars, opening and closing the hoods, boot lids, doors, etc. Hard to explain, there was just something I amusing I found about the choreography of the scene. Its' one of those things like the scene in Room Service where the Marx Brothers are eating, you can't explain why it's funny, it just is. At least, to me it is.

One thing I found intriguing wast he occasional line of English I'd hear in the dialog. Someone's talking in French or Dutch, and suddenly, in the middle of that, you'll hear a few words of English. And it happens multiple times through the picture, by several different characters. Seemed strange. The way it happens in the movie, you have to figure Tati did it deliberately, but one wonders if there was a "reason" beyond "Long after I'm dead, I'm going to be making smoke pour out of some American dork's ears with this shit".

I had actually never seen any Tati movies until I picked up a complete box set last year. I found some of the humour a bit of an acquired taste, yet it was always well executed and often quite clever.

I struggled with some of the earlier movies like Mon Oncle and Mr Hulots Holiday. Traffic is good but Playtime is my favorite, and quite an extraordinary achievement in some ways. They built a huge facsimile of a Paris street and a fully working office block. I found that one the most accessible of all his movies for me.

[GuitarGeek]

I had actually never seen any Tati movies until I picked up a complete box set last year. I found some of the humour a bit of an acquired taste, yet it was always well executed and often quite clever.

I struggled with some of the earlier movies like Mon Oncle and Mr Hulots Holiday. Traffic is good but Playtime is my favorite, and quite an extraordinary achievement in some ways. They built a huge facsimile of a Paris street and a fully working office block. I found that one the most accessible of all his movies for me.

Yeah, from what I gather on Wikipedia, Playtime is considered Tati's masterpiece. It was on some list of greatest movies ever made or whatever.

Trafic struck me as a bit "artsy fartsy" but not obnoxiously so, the way you get with someone like Fellini, Godard, or Antonioni. Trafic at least has a plot to it.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Finally saw the original Japanese Gojira. Things that surprised me:
* How carefully and slowly they revealed the monster
* How it's actually as much of a love story as a Kaiju story
* How blatantly it attacks nuclear testing

[GuitarGeek]

Finally saw the original Japanese Gojira. Things that surprised me:
* How carefully and slowly they revealed the monster
* How it's actually as much of a love story as a Kaiju story
* How blatantly it attacks nuclear testing

Yeah, there's a lot of stuff in that picture that got cut from the US released Godzilla: King Of All Monsters version. As I recall, there's a scene where a woman makes a crack about having survived either Hiroshima or Nagasaki (I forget which).

[GuitarGeek]

if yer a Merc, its supposed to be trunk lids were you born in Britain?

10 years of watching Top Gear will do that to you.

[nosebone]

Kung Fu (TV series 72-75)

All three seasons are on Amazon Prime now and they look fantastic.

My favorite 70s show!

[moecurlythanu]

^ One of my faves as well. I've been intending to get the complete series on DVD or Blu-Ray.

[mozo-pg]

As a kid, it was with great anticipation to watch the next Kung Fu show. Loved it as a pre-teen.

[Lou]

Skyscraper

The Rock has solidified himself as the premiere action star today. Nothing new here, but still a fun action thriller.
Neve Campbell is aging quite nicely too!

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

Kung Fu was great! I watched every one back in the day

[Rogue Mail]

Skyscraper

The Rock has solidified himself as the premiere action star today. Nothing new here, but still a fun action thriller.
Neve Campbell is aging quite nicely too!

I found it a struggle to finish, was not impressed even in a big, dumb no-brainer action movie kind of way. I mean, when your expectations are low and you are still disappointed...

Now Rampage I enjoyed a lot more. A similar big dumb action movie, but for me the giant ape was fully realised as a character, and I felt that the relationship between him and Johnson's character was quite believable and even touching. Plus a nice scenery chewing performance from Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Slightly OT, but another film from a few years back that was critically lambasted as derivative of Alien and similar movies was the sci fi movie Life, but I found it thoroughly entertaining, very well made and incredibly tense.

[nosebone]

Heavens Gate (1980)

3 hour plus uncut version of Michael Ciminos box office disaster that tainted the rest of his career.

Despite its many flaws, I still like this flick.

Beautiful to look at and an amazing cast. I only just noticed Mickey Rourke in it!

[Klonk]

Heavens Gate (1980)

3 hour plus uncut version of Michael Ciminos box office disaster that tainted the rest of his career.

Despite its many flaws, I still like this flick.

Beautiful to look at and an amazing cast. I only just noticed Mickey Rourke in it!

I remember being real confused with this one, but liked it too. I'll have to watch it again...just for that cast alone!

Chris, I think you may be interested in a movie from last year I recommended to Lou called Summer of '84. Goonies meets Stand By Me meets Disturbia. It's one of my favorite thrillers from last year. I know you appreciate thrillers...this may be a winner for you. First 2/3 has an "I've seen this before" vibe, but the last 1/3 is where it shines. Dark and ballsy!

[nosebone]

I remember being real confused with this one, but liked it too. I'll have to watch it again...just for that cast alone!

Chris, I think you may be interested in a movie from last year I recommended to Lou called Summer of '84. Goonies meets Stand By Me meets Disturbia. It's one of my favorite thrillers from last year. I know you appreciate thrillers...this may be a winner for you. First 2/3 has an "I've seen this before" vibe, but the last 1/3 is where it shines. Dark and ballsy!

I'll check it out!

[Hal...]

First 2/3 has an "I've seen this before" vibe...

That was my favorite part.

[GuitarGeek]

Heavens Gate (1980)

3 hour plus uncut version of Michael Ciminos box office disaster that tainted the rest of his career.

Despite its many flaws, I still like this flick.

Beautiful to look at and an amazing cast. I only just noticed Mickey Rourke in it!

I saw that probably about 10 years ago, it was shown on either Encore or Starz. Good movie, as I recall, though it really wasn't "my kinda picture".

A few years after that movie came out, there was a picture called Irreconcilable Differences, which was a comedy that hinged on Drew Barrymore (this was just after ET) attempting to get her parents to divorce because they had "irreconcilable differences". Anyway, the father is a movie director, and there's a bit in the picture where they're talking about he was working on some sort of epic period picture where he dragged this cast and crew out to the middle of Montana or some place like that, made them wait like a week or more until the sunlight was "just right" to shoot this one scene. After I became familiar with the story of Heaven's Gate, I always reckoned that was a jab at Cimino, who apparently did the same kind of stuff while working on Heaven's Gate.

That was kind of the movie that kinda put an end to big Hollywood studios letting their directors have too much control over the pictures they produced. And it also famously bankrupted United Artists, who had to be bailed out by MGM.

BTW, this morning I finally finished watching La Strada, the classic Federico Fellini picture. I think this was the movie that I saw Anthony Quinn on TV talk about how he had a piece of the picture and his agent talked into selling it because "This movie isn't going anywhere". I think his comment summing up the upshot was "That SOB cost me millions!". And that's why you never give up "a piece" of whatever project that you're involved in (that and Donald Sutherland telling the producers of Animal House that he'd forgo a piece of the action in favor of getting paid his full usual salary for a picture).

Anyway, I enjoyed La Strada. Depressing ending, a little bit, but good picture, I thought.

[Progatron]

Watched Hitchcock tonight, and really enjoyed it. I know there are a few liberties taken (as always) but it was still very good. Once again I manage to convince my wife to watch a movie with Scarlett Johansson in it.

[nosebone]

Watched Captain Marvel (2019) tonight at a beautiful little restored movie house in Bedford NY.

They have a bar and can bring your drinks into the theater.

Being a marvel fan, I liked the movie, although the lead actress should have been better.

Looking forward to Endgame.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

Watched Captain Marvel (2019) tonight at a beautiful little restored movie house in Bedford NY.

They have a bar and can bring your drinks into the theater.

Being a marvel fan, I liked the movie, although the lead actress should have been better.

Looking forward to Endgame.

gonna take my 8 year old daughter to see CM tomorrow

[NogbadTheBad]

I thought Captain Marvel was very well done, very enjoyable. Also saw Mortal Engine this weekend, extremely silly park your brain at the door movie about cities on wheels attacking each other, main attraction was Hugo Weaving chewing the scenery, it was ok.

[spellbound]

Watched the recent remake of Suspiria last night. I can't compare it to the original, which I have yet to see, but I thought the remake was quite good.

[hippypants]

Wonder Wheel--Woody Allen movie shot very much like a play in some regards about a young woman that goes to hide out at her father's place on Coney Island as her husband, who is in the mob, wants to kill her. Her and her father don't get along well, and neither do his present lady friend. Overall too much anger for me, and it just wasn't what I was expecting. Not recommendable but ymmv.

The Great Escape--stars Steve McQueen and other notable actors at the time about captured Americans planning one of the largest escapes from a Nazi prisoner of war camp. It'd been a while since I'd seen it, but it's worthwhile still.

[NogbadTheBad]

Wonder Wheel--Woody Allen movie shot very much like a play in some regards about a young woman that goes to hide out at her father's place on Coney Island as her husband, who is in the mob, wants to kill her. Her and her father don't get along well, and neither do his present lady friend. Overall too much anger for me, and it just wasn't what I was expecting. Not recommendable but ymmv.

The Great Escape--stars Steve McQueen and other notable actors at the time about captured Americans planning one of the largest escapes from a Nazi prisoner of war camp. It'd been a while since I'd seen it, but it's worthwhile still.

There were actually no Americans in the the real Great Escape and very few in the movie, McQueen & Garner, the bulk of the escapees were British with the balance made up of Canadians, Australians, Poles, and other Alllied non-American airmen.

[Klonk]

Man did I love that movie as a kid. Steve McQueen was the shit! After watching The Great Escape I spent hours in my basement throwing a tennis ball against the wall and catching it

[nosebone]

Man did I love that movie as a kid. Steve McQueen was the shit! After watching The Great Escape I spent hours in my basement throwing a tennis ball against the wall and catching it

And then Bullitt and The Getaway