Movies - Take Two. Action!

[Lou]

The Basement

Wealthy musician heads out for a bottle of champagne late one night . Upon leaving the store, he is abducted, and
awakens to find himself in a basement bound to an old style school desk. His night is about to get much worse.

The captor is a little like the guy from Split. Every time he makes an appearance, he has assumed a different identity, which is pertinent to the story line.
The guy playing the captor is excellent. If you don't mind some torture, this is a pretty good low budget film.

[Scott Bails]

Early James Wood performance as a slimy criminal.

So, not really acting.

[Vic2012]

Watching Flash on Comet. Hell of a soundtrack. Queen kicks ass on the soundtrack.

[GuitarGeek]

Watching Flash on Comet. Hell of a soundtrack. Queen kicks ass on the soundtrack.

I take it you mean Flash Gordon, yes? Great, fun movie! I always felt like everyone involved in making that movie knew they were making a turkey, so they decided to have fun while they were at it. Some of the dialog is hilarious, there's line like:

"Flash Gordon! Quarterback! New York Jets!"

"We intended to empty your mind as we would your pockets"

"What a damn nuisance!"

"This place is a lunatic asylum!"

"Hail Flash! You've saved your Earth! Have a nice day!" (don't act like you didn't see this movie having a happy ending from a million miles away..."dark", this picture certainly isn't!).

Then you've got Klytus and General Kala's good cop/bad cop routine as they're interrogating/torturing Princess Aura, the infamous football fight (complete with Kltyus calling his men into a huddle as he explains to them that Flash is "playing some barbaric game!", and so on!

And as you say, there's all that great Queen music. And as I'm fond of pointing out, one of the best things is the song most people never hear, which is The Hero, the tune that plays over the closing credits. Apart from being a great song, Dr. Brian May plays what I think is one of his all time best solos, and I love the way it comes back to the Flash chorus on the coda, with Dr. May playing a couple really cool fills between the vocals, plus the way the vocals swoop up on the last "Ahhhhhh!" is awesome. But like I said, most people get up to leave (in the theater), hit the rewind/stop button (on home video) or simply change the channel (on TV), and nowadays, most of the time they put some bullshit on the screen for something else when they roll the credits (are they run through them at quadruple speed, so you only hear like the first 30 seconds of The Hero, if even that).

Oh, and let's not forget the cast: you've got an actor who worked with Ingmar Bergman playing Ming The Merciless, an infamously "enthusiastic" Shakespearean actor (who would later appear on Doctor Who) playing Prince Vultan, Princess Baron is played by a future James Bond, you've got an American soap opera actress playing Dale, Topol (famous from Fiddler On The Roof) plays Dr. Zarkoff, there's a Blue Peter presenter in there someplace, as well as the guy who wrote the play Look Back In Anger, along with several actors who, as I understand it, are famous in Europe for doing stuff besides this movie, and to top it all off, you've got a Playgirl refugee with little acting experience beforehand playing the title role!

On paper, it shouldn't work! But it somehow does!!!! I just wish I could find the DVD with teh Brian Blessed commentary, as I understand it's supposed to be one of the best audio commentaries ever!

[Rogue Mail]

Finally got around to seeing these:

Passengers — no, not an original story by any means, but with gorgeous visuals and a cast of four (five, technically) actors, this was a good SF yarn. Like a '70s movie with modern FX.

10 Cloverfield Lane — liked it much better than its predecessor. John Goodman gives a tour de force performance. Again, a very limited cast which allows for a good level of tension in a micro-setting.

Life — a critical and box office flop, it's Alien all over again, if it happened today. A much different but equally aggressive organism of Martian origin, similar to a tardigrade, terrorizes a hapless crew aboard the ISS. Entertaining. It could have been better. It does do one thing right: provide an unconventional ending.

I think Life is highly underrated. As derivative as it is of Alien and similar movies it grips like a vice, effects are excellent, the cast seem invested in the story and there are some interesting twists and turns.

[Rogue Mail]

The Onion Field--taken from the Joseph Wambaugh book about a couple of lowlife criminals killing a cop while one gets away and how the crime effected him as well as all the court proceedings. Early James Wood performance as a slimy criminal.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdon--if you liked the others you might like this one. Dinosaurs get out and wreck havoc. It's ok fun. These plots are getting a bit thin though.

The Onion Field is excellent. I saw it when it was released, but I watched it again on blu ray last year. Based on a true story of two cops who are kidnapped by thieves, one of whom is subsequently brutally murdered but one escapes. It's a powerful, epic story that deals not only with the crime but the terrible aftermath and guilt that the surviving cop goes through, and also a scathing indictment of the justice system. And some of the best performances those actors ever gave, including Danson before he started getting into lighter roles.

[spellbound]

I found out they are remaking Hellboy, why I don't know. They already had Hellboy and Hellboy 2, both with Ron Perlman and writer Guillermo Del Toro, both highly rated for superhero films. It does no good for me to complain about remakes of perfectly good originals, Hollywood will keep churning them out regardless.

Anyway, we watched Hunter Killer last night, a decent submarine suspense/action thriller.

Also watched Heart Alive In Seattle, a very good concert film.

[dropforge]

^Hellboy's already out as of this weekend...!

[aith01]

I found out they are remaking Hellboy, why I don't know. They already had Hellboy and Hellboy 2, both with Ron Perlman and writer Guillermo Del Toro, both highly rated for superhero films. It does no good for me to complain about remakes of perfectly good originals, Hollywood will keep churning them out regardless.

Supposedly it was because Guillermo Del Toro couldn't do his third Hellboy movie, and the reboot was supposed to be darker and delve more into the horror elements.

The reviews have been pretty bad though. I was hoping it would do well because I like David Harbour (from Stranger Things) and thought it was cool for him to get a lead role in a movie, even if I wouldn't be seeing it myself.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

While in hospital I watched Bruce Almighty, figuring it would require just the right amount of brainpower - to my surprise it took a little more. Not a great movie but far from a bad one.

[Rogue Mail]

While in hospital I watched Bruce Almighty, figuring it would require just the right amount of brainpower - to my surprise it took a little more. Not a great movie but far from a bad one.

A better movie than its given credit for. One of Steve Carell's earlier roles, and a standout moment that gets me every time. The outtakes from that scene are just as funny.

[spellbound]

Supposedly it was because Guillermo Del Toro couldn't do his third Hellboy movie, and the reboot was supposed to be darker and delve more into the horror elements.

The reviews have been pretty bad though. I was hoping it would do well because I like David Harbour (from Stranger Things) and thought it was cool for him to get a lead role in a movie, even if I wouldn't be seeing it myself.

Thanks for the information. I have never seen Stranger Things and am unfamiliar with the actor. I don't automatically reject remakes. Some are pretty good. And darker can be better. But the bad reviews make it unlikely I will see it before it goes to DVD.

[spellbound]

I revisited Glengarry Glen Ross last night. My wife said she hadn't seen it, so we had to. I hadn't seen it in many years. Amazing what a handful of really good actors can do.

[SteveSly]

I revisited Glengarry Glen Ross last night. My wife said she hadn't seen it, so we had to. I hadn't seen it in many years. Amazing what a handful of really good actors can do.

The cast in the film is amazing as is their acting. Great stuff!

[dropforge]

Thanks for the information. I have never seen Stranger Things and am unfamiliar with the actor. I don't automatically reject remakes. Some are pretty good. And darker can be better. But the bad reviews make it unlikely I will see it before it goes to DVD.

NPR's review: "Like 'watching' four heavy metal album covers up on the screen!"

[Progatron]

I revisited Glengarry Glen Ross last night. My wife said she hadn't seen it, so we had to. I hadn't seen it in many years. Amazing what a handful of really good actors can do.

Outstanding film version of the play. Those guys just feed off of each other.

[Rogue Mail]

I revisited Glengarry Glen Ross last night. My wife said she hadn't seen it, so we had to. I hadn't seen it in many years. Amazing what a handful of really good actors can do.

It is an incredible movie.

Occasionally you come across people who just don't get it, they say things like there is no plot, or it's just a bunch of guys sitting around talking. If they really think that then yes...they truly dont get it.

I saw a stage version of this last year in London, with Christian Slater in the Ricky Roma role. He was ok, but some of the other actors struggled with Mamets overlapping dialogue, you know where people interrupt each other as we often do in real life.

It's a difficult thing to get right in a theatre production, and makes you realise how unique Mamets writing is.

[Progatron]

Man, I find it hard to picture Christian Slater as Ricky Roma. I believe Pacino later played Shelley "The Machine" in a stage production. That would be great to see!

[Rogue Mail]

Man, I find it hard to picture Christian Slater as Ricky Roma. I believe Pacino later played Shelley "The Machine" in a stage production. That would be great to see!

I can go even further back to the mid 90s and a production at the Donmar Warehouse in London where British actor James Bolam played the Shelley Levine role, and he was excellent.

I think my favourite scene is between Spacey and Lemmon, where Lemmon admits he broke into the office. The sheer desperation and exasperation he goes through is incredible.

[Progatron]

I think my favourite scene is between Spacey and Lemmon, where Lemmon admits he broke into the office. The sheer desperation and exasperation he goes through is incredible.

Yes, outstanding scene! I get jeered at for this sometimes, but I've often said this film was Lemmon's best ever performance. It's like the role was created for him.

[progeezer]

Yes, outstanding scene! I get jeered at for this sometimes, but I've often said this film was Lemmon's best ever performance. It's like the role was created for him.

It's right up there, but the man has a staggering resume, and it's tough to top "Days Of Wine & Roses". IMO "Save The Tiger" was one of those "for previous work" Oscars.

[Progatron]

It's right up there, but the man has a staggering resume, and it's tough to top "Days Of Wine & Roses".

Can't argue there. Another brilliant performance (and film). Another that I've always liked is The China Syndrome.

[Rogue Mail]

Yes, outstanding scene! I get jeered at for this sometimes, but I've often said this film was Lemmon's best ever performance. It's like the role was created for him.

Really? I can only think that comes from the sort of people who have only ever seen his comedy movies.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

It's right up there, but the man has a staggering resume, and it's tough to top "Days Of Wine & Roses". IMO "Save The Tiger" was one of those "for previous work" Oscars.

Jack Lemmon was one of the greatest actors of all time. While he may have done some films that were beneath him, he always brought depth to his character.

[progeezer]

Jack Lemmon was one of the greatest actors of all time.

YUP!!