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I was this close to buying Arnold's jacket from T3
Glad I came to my senses in time :D
But T3 isn't awful I suppose. It's just such an obvious cash grab. At least with Genesys they are trying some new things; maybe that one should have been part 3.
IMO, there are two big things that could have saved T3:
One, lose the kiddie humor (talk to the hand, etc)
Two, make Arnold the bad guy and get a more prominent actor to play John Connor, as he is now the only good guy. This benefits us in a couple ways: we'd have the scary unstoppable killer from the first movie, and it would finally let us see a glimpse of what's so great about John Connor, because we really haven't seen that yet
Back to the humor though-- it truly plagues a lot of movie sequels as of late. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is another guilty one. I actually prefer Alien 3 to Terminator 3 for that reason alone!
Iron Man 2 here tonight. Eh, well...
Of course I started with the epic submarine film 'Red October', with Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin as the first Jack Ryan. This movie is just amazing. The plot is very interesting, the acting is superb and the tension goes up and up as the film advances until it reaches monumental heights during the last 20 or so minutes. This reminds me of another submarine film, Crimson Peak, especially with the whole rising tension for the whole duration, which is expertly done in both films. The 1990's were truly an epic decade for films!
I am now going to start the Harrison Ford tenure with 'Patriot Games'.
I've just finished Patriot Games. Ford is my favorite Jack Ryan. The story this time is more intimate, a one-on-one face off between Ryan and the villain played by Sean Bean. Bean was terryifingly evil in this film. I can see why EON chose him for 006 after seeing this film. I really like the tension at the end, in Ryan's house in the dark. It's easy to feel the danger as you'd think the commandos and Bean hold the advantage.. but you can count on Harrison Ford to save the day and beat the odds! All in all, a very engaging film.
Tonight I shall continue with 'Clear and Present Danger' and maybe 'Sum of All Fears' (if I am not feeling too sleepy.) :D
The Dark Knight, dare say several years later i prefer to watch the other two films ahead of this in Nolans trilogy.
Once upon a time in the West. This film to me is one of the greatest films ever made, a true masterpiece.
Don t you just love it when the bad guys get theirs?
Clear and Present Danger Another very good outing, Ford is so charismatic in the role. The story is complex, and I really like the plot and villanous scheme goes all the wat to the top (US President). Willem Dafoe is badass as always, and this film seemed very epic in scope, with scenes in several south american countries.
Sum of All Fears I was quite disappointed the first time I saw it, but this time it was much better! Affleck is a fine addition to the role, a younger and more nerdy Ryan. A lot of good actors in the supporting cast, with Morgan Freeman, Liev Schreiber and James Cromwell. The story is not as powerful as the first 3 films but I still found it really interesting.
I'm going to continue with 'Shadow Recruit' now.
Jaws 1975
When a Great White Shark stakes a claim off the waters of a peaceful community island of Amity, it is only the towns Chief of Police Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) that recognises the potential damage that could be done, it is only when oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) arrives to confirm Brody's suspicions, that a large dangerous predator is snacking on the locals and tourists. Only when the attacks are intensified that the Town's financially concerned Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) sits up and takes note after ignoring Brody's warnings. A bounty is paid to local salty sea dog fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) and accompanied by Brody and Hooper set out to sea to confront the danger face to face.
In the advent of Universal's 100th Anniversary, a selection of it's films have been restored digitally for blu ray releases and some cases as here also re-released on the big screen in a new 4K rendered print for audiences in 2012 to witness what made people so terrified and thrilled back in 1975 when Jaws was first released. Jaws literally invented the term summer blockbuster and opened the Hollywood studios good or bad to the opportunities of releasing a picture in the sunny season. Jaws went onto smash box office records and became a phenomenon that would not be beat till Spielberg's friend George Lucas introduced the world to some space fantasy opera 2 years later in 1977.
Having been too young to catch Jaws on the big screen the first time round, (my first initial experience was at the age of 9 on British TV when it premiered October 9th 1981), a chance to catch this in the format it was meant to be seen in was too much to of an opportunity to miss out on. From my first viewing all those years ago I was immediately hooked, transfixed, terrified and thrilled at this story and it has remained one of my favourite films of all time ever since.
Peter Benchley's best selling novel was picked up by David Brown and Richard Zanuck and after first choice Dick Richards didn't work out they turned to new kid on the block Spielberg to direct, who had one theatrical film Sugarland Express under his belt. Although it is the incredibly well received TV film Duel, Zanuck and Brown obviously seeing the parallels between that story of an every man confronting a faceless nemesis in the shape of a big truck and seeing the potential this young director could bring to this project. They couldn't have been more right, although things didn't go along swimmingly straight away. Spielberg was not too impressed with the screenplay provided by the author Benchley and bought Pulitzer winning play write Howard Sackler to do a re-write. Also wanting some humour asked friend Carl Gottlieb to offer some help as well as offering a role, Gottlieb choosing the politically motivated editor Meadows aligned with Hamilton's Mayor Vaughn. Gottlieb went onto do a complete re-write after only been employed to do a polish, John Milius would also contribute. Arguably the films most classic scene the USS Indianapolis speech where Quint recounts his experience as a crew man on board the ship which delivered the Hiroshima/Nagasaki atomic bomb which was then subsequently torpedoed and sunk with the crew been left at the mercy of the sea and thousands of sharks. A true story, this was said to have been worked on by both Sackler & Milius although Shaw a gifted writer himself rewrote the scene after researching the incident .
One of the reasons that the subsequent sequels have never captured the magic of the original has been that although Jaws 2 might have had some exciting if not preposterous moments on sea it never was as half as compelling on land as the original. Jaws is obviously well know for the action that plays out on the water but it also is invested with hugely enjoyable interactions on land, witness the moments of tenderness the beautifully played sequence between Brody and his young son Sean as the young toddler sits at the dinner table mirroring his Father's actions until he's noticed. Spielberg a director well known for working well with children shows at an early stage in his career how he elicits such performances from minors in one of the most touching scenes of his career. Although the sea moments have never been bettered, the opening sequence when a unsuspecting skinny dipper (Susan Backlinie) becomes the first victim is utterly terrifying, as she whipped across the surface violently by the unseen terror. Much has been made of the mechanical shark and Spielberg himself has little love for it but the fact is the problems that allowed the effect to only be employed sparingly play to it's strength. It is more of what you don't see makes it work, that by the time we do see the shark properly in a scene that now goes down in legend with Schneider famously ad-libbing the most famous line of the film "We're gonna need a bigger boat" that the work has been done. Although that rubber shark may look somewhat lifeless in some sequences for all it's expensive ground breaking SFX Jurassic Park hasn't one scene to level the sheer thrill of Jaws.
The fact we don't actually get to see the shark until a good hour into the film is not a problem as the story is told so well by it's actors, Jaws is invested with some great supporting players, Lorraine Gary's supportive Wife and Murray Hamilton's Mayor but it is the three major players this film belongs to. Schneider off the back of an impressive turn alongside Gene Hackman's Oscar winning role in William Friedkin's French Connection, is simply magnificent as Brody, the every man, not an islander from New York afraid of the water. Brody representing the audience, relative unknown Dreyfuss provides much of the humour and seasoned actor Shaw commands the screen with his unsubtle but undoubtedly memorable turn.
When composer John Williams let Spielberg hear his idea for his academy winning score, the director initially laughed at Williams but attributes a large percentage of the success of Jaws to his score, not since Bernard Hermann's score for Psycho has the music become synonymous with a film. Williams work is so simplistic but devastatingly effective, choosing to use the music only when the real threat is present when it's not it's misdirection on the directors part as well as genius main theme the score delivers all departments, thrilling, scary, sinister and touching. Rarely has music to a film been a character in itself, it may have been parodied and copied but that has never robbed it of it's ability to entertain. Verna Fields academy awarded editing has the film paced to perfection.
Many will cry the director has moved onto more powerful work but for all the importance of Spielberg's academy winning output, I would argue that other directors are capable of just as impressive or superior results. Whereas in the blockbuster arena no other director has matched the efforts displayed here. Jaws also sees the director break two cardinal rules in mainstream cinema, killing a child and although admittedly off screen a dog. The scene is that more impact full that he's lightened the mood with the bathing cap moment "that's some bad hat Harry". When we get that Hitchcock zoom moment as Brody realises he's helpless to prevent the scene right in front of his eyes. Spielberg being also greedy after getting great results from test audiences decides he could pack one more scare into the film and in his editors swimming pool shot the now famous Ben Gardner decapitated head sequence that made audiences around the world jump out of their skin. Benchley was appalled at Spielberg's intention to close the film, the author had the shark get tangle up in the ropes and drown. Though the director wanted something more explosive quite literally and in an ending which program Myth Busters devoted an entire special to prove if it was possible ( it was just). Remarked to Benchley that if I have their attention for the duration they'll buy it however preposterous, he was not wrong. Jaws literally is suspenseful film making at his best but enriched with a great script a superb cast and one of the most memorable scores of all time.
5 / 5
Anyone knows if there's an actual reason why our very own George refused to be in it, as Jesus? Was it for the "George Lazenby IS Jesus" gimmick?
Black Hawk Down (2001)
I know the popular thing is to bash Ridley Scott. I won't. I like him and his movies more often than not, including these two.
Well, I guess this one doesn't really count because I turned it off after an hour. It's not that it was embarrassingly awful, but it was so damned dull, and it was getting late over here. I saw that there was 45 minutes left and I didn't feel it was really worth it. Maybe I'll get around to finishing it, but from what I saw, I was not impressed at all. Brosnan is alright, I guess, but Luke Bracey is as energetic as a doorknob and the rest of the cast seem to be on sedatives as well.
This is a great addition to the Apes Saga, although I think Rise is the better film. The motion capture/CGI is excellent and the film builds to a thrilling climax, and the interaction between apes and humans is very believable, and touching at times.
The blu-ray looks awesome and there are some nice special features taking you through the whole process from story inception to completion, and if you ever wondered why modern movies are so expensive, just look at the credits as this film employs about 1500 people - and they all have to paid!
Oscar nominated Norwegian film about explorer Thor Heyerdahl, and specifically his expedition on a balsa raft from Peru to Polynesia in 1947. Not bad.
Started with the 2 'Bad Boys' films, and I must say I really prefer the 2nd outing. Sure the humour is for young teens, sure the film is 300% OTT, but I just love it. The action scenes are so OTT I can't help but cheer at what's going on. The film, for me, is 2+ hours of pure, mindless, stupid, epic entertainement.
This afternoon I continued with the first two ''Men in Black'' installements. I hadn't seen the 2nd one in years. I loved it as a kid, and I still do. The first one is the better made film, but damn, the sequel is simply hilarious and entertaining. Some of the faces that Tommy Lee Jones makes are pure gold, and the dog is utterly hilarious. The scene where Jones gets his memory back is one of my guilty pleasure moments. Brings a huge smile on my face.
Tonight I will start the 'Police Story' series with Jackie Chan, I'm ashamed to say I've never seen them before.
Whereas most films dealing with the James legend end around his death this one carries on showing Bob Ford's story, how he reenacted his famous deed on stage, a drunken and humiliated man berating a minstrel, "It was two children, NOT three, two children", his going north to become a saloon owner and death at the hands of another glory seeker.
A damn fine film, wonderfully constructed, great acting form Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, not much action but for that and earlier escapades of the James gang you need to see Walter Hill's magnificent…
The Long Riders (1980) DVD. Which gives us the story of the James-Younger gang as they become folk-lore. Again beautifully shot and with a great score by Ry Cooder we get as the trailer says 'as close to the truth as you can about a legend', for even as they were going about their business the James-Younger gangs exploits were being exaggerated and fictiously written about in the press and dime novels.
We get, a bank robbery, a stage coach hold up and a railroad robbery before an increase in violence as the Pinkerton's try to track down the outlaws which leads to an incident that leaves the James boys youngest brother ('a backwards boy') dead during a attempt at the mother's house to smoke out the outlaws. There are shoot-outs, hold-ups and stake-outs until the gang break up for a while to let the Pinkerton's cool off. After a time of marriages and farming, the old outlaws get back to it. This time they go to Northfield Minnesota ('that's a hellava way off our patch, Jesse') because Clem Miller says that 'those squareheads up there got themselves a real fat bank', and so they take the train to Northfield. This proves their undoing as out of their native Missouri where the boys are though of as heroes, here the townsfolk think different. Once the alarm is raised the outlaws find themselves beset on all sides and here director Walter Hill goes into overdrive, in a brilliant sequence the bullets fly and there is plenty of slow mo hits, with a great effect that most of the hits on the boys are accompanied by the noise of the bullets also in slow mo. This audio track really could do with a 5.1 update to really make the most of that sound. As they escape the Youngers, all of whom are hit, stay behind while Jesse and Frank make it back to Missouri. Then we get the Bob Ford murder and Frank handing himself over to the authorities.
The USP of this film is that it has real life acting brothers playing real life outlaw brothers, the Carradines play the Youngers (Keith excellent as always), the Quaids the Miller boys, the Guests are Bob and Charley Ford and Frank James is the brilliant Stacy Keatch (TVs Mike Hammer) and his brother James plays Jesse. And I have to say that James Keatch is probably the weakest in his part, but still good. This film is one of my favourite westerns and really should have been a bigger hit on its initial release.
These pair make a good double feature, well worth seeking out.
Man, my childhood memories of these have been absolutely shattered- they both sucked big time. :((
<font color=#334455 size=5><b>09</b>Cop Out (2010)</font>
Kevin Smith doesn't only direct movies, he also "acts" occasionally ("guest starring" would be a more appropriate term). In Live Free Or Die Hard (that's the fourth Die Hard, folks) he had played the short but funny part of the Warlock and according to Smith himself had to write pretty much all his lines (something I'm sure he didn't regret) because the screenwriters of that film didn't get the character right. Bruce Willis seemed to like Smith's small addition to the film enough to suggest a future collaboration. Three years later, Cop Out was born. It wasn't a film based on a script by Smith and that was a first.
Cop Out is a buddy cop movie in which Bruce Willis partners up with Tracy Morgan to get some action done. I really can't say much more because by now - or by 2010 for that matter - every member in the audience has grown sufficiently genre sophisticated to practically complete the film after learning about the premise. One more thing though: it should be a funny film. Hmm... Let me make things perfectly clear: in the 1960s, Cop Out might have been fresh and new; in the 1980s, Cop Out would have been one of the bunch, a kid brother for Lethal Weapon so to speak. In 2010, Cop Out is terribly dated.
But even if you don't mind sitting through a film that's miserably chasing the past, there's a bigger ordeal coming in the shape and form of Tracy Morgan. Now I understand the appeal of the funny black partner going all "street" (in an 80s kinda way, mind) on old Bruce Willis, but this dude is even worse than Jason Lee was in Mallrats. (Incidentally, Jason Lee has a very small role in this film too.) Morgan just yells and cries and yells and cries and ... thing is, he demonstrates overacting in such a way that it merits its own academic thesis. Rashida Jones, who plays his wife, is a woman I sympathise with while watching the film.
Not all of it is bad - Seann William Scott is actually kinda fun - but it shows that Smith is a long way from home. Cop Out is too far removed from the stoner cosmos of Jay and Silent Bob to be comfortable for Smith in 2010. Also, despite the buddy-buddy thing Smith and Willis originally had going, things got a little sour on set as Smith felt that Willis was just phoning it in instead of giving the director what he wanted.
And it shows because Cop Out is not a good movie. Cop Out starts too loud and ends too boring. Remember The Hard Way, starring James Woods and Michael J. Fox? Better film. Remember Money Train, starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson? Still a better film. This isn't me complaining about Smith though. He was working for the suits, with an actor who doesn't let anyone tell him how to act any more and with a script not written by himself. The film rightfully bombed at the BO and in my opinion Smith deserved better.
The verdict
Zack And Miri Make A Porno (2008): 8,5/10
Clerks II (2006): 8,5/10
Jersey Girl (2004): 8/10
Chasing Amy (1997): 7,5/10
Dogma (1999): 7/10
Clerks (1994): 7/10
Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back (2001): 6/10
Cop Out (2010): 5/10
Mallrats (1995): 4/10
Wuthering Heights (2009) - a two part tv adaptation of the classic Emily Bronte novel. (In one part, so practically a feature length movie on the dvd.) An interesting version but somewhat uneven and some of the cast weren't that great.
Warrior (2011) - also starring Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte.
Lawless (2012) - also starring Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Guy Pearce, Shia LaBeouf, Gary Oldman. A prohibition time family/crime drama set in the countryside instead of the more common cities.
Locke (2013) - a guy driving a car at night on a motorway, talking on the phone to several other people, none of whom we see, only hear their voices. The camera stays with the protagonist in the car and the road and the lights. And I couldn't take my eyes off. Mesmerizing.
Basically... Tom Hardy ^:)^
Dear Mr Nolan,
You know that Tom and Christian would really like to work with each other again, don't you? And you know they like you, and you like them. So... I was just wondering... what will you be up to next...? (Surely something soon-ish?) Oh, and maybe give Wally a call, too? Thanks.
Lots of love,
A concerned movie fan
P.S. I make tea. Lots of tea. ~O) I can make cookies, too.
Hmm, the address...?
This left me utterly depressed. It holds up remarkably well. Makes me wish contemporary directors would experiment more with black and white cinematography because the shots of the ghouls in the dark with this weird lighting, which makes their faces look even more terrifying, are really striking.
And I watched Lisa and the Devil. Telly Savalas/OHMSS's Blofeld was in this. Never had seen 70s Bava before. The eerie use of color reminds me of Suspiria.