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Roland Emmerich is pretty bad. Michael Bay is even worse. Though neither of them should be anywhere near a film camera. If they'd shoot a Christmas video featuring their own families, they'll still end up blowing up the room.
Thought you guys might appreciate this. :D
But they are, not to mention Bay's films make a boatload of money every time. And as long as that keeps happening, he will continue. With that being said, The Rock is a great film IMO.
One of my all time favorite action films. Simple yet effective plot, thrilling action scenes, powerful soundtrack from Zimmer, and a legendary duo formed by Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery. This pairing is most certainly in my top 3 favorites, alongside Sean Connery/Harrison Ford in 'Last Crusade' and Bruce Willis/Samuel L Jackson in 'Die Hard 3'. I could rewatch any of these 3 films every day for weeks. Pure, mindless, non stop entertainment.
With the 6th film due for release in a few weeks, I thought i'd run through the series in preparation, this one being my favourite. As thrillers go, this film has bags of tension and then some. Tom Berenger is such a stone cold badass. Matt Damon's Bourne? Pfft... Becket would eat pussies like him for breakfast.
I was in the mood for some kick-ass Roger Moore, but decided to watch a non-Bond entry from him. This late 70's thriller is very much of its time, and is somewhat similar to another British film from around the same period called Juggernaut (aka Terror on the Britannic).
Moore plays Rufus Excalibur Ffolkes, an ex-SAS operative who is now an anti-terrorism consultant. He's an eccentric who dislikes women and in lieu loves cats. He also manages a team of crack operatives who anticipate major attacks and find out methods to thwart them.
As luck would have it (so to speak), one of Britain's North Sea oil rigs is hijacked and loaded with explosives by Lou Kramer (played by Anthony Perkins - channeling his Bates persona), who's looking for 25 million quid for his troubles. Enter Ffolkes and his team to execute the rescue.
The late great James Mason also stars as an Admiral of the British Navy, David Hedison (reuniting with Moore after LALD) is the head of the rig crew and Jack Watson is the captain of the hijacked ship. Faith Brook stars as the prime minister (channeling Maggie only in sex).
If you like Moore (as I do), then you'll love this film. He plays against type, and is actually quite a tough guy here. Quirky, but still likeable. One of several excellent performances he put in towards the later 70's/early 80's (along with The Wild Geese & The Sea Wolves).
***
The Protector (2005) and Ong Bak (2003)
I only knew Tony Jaa from 'Furious 7' and 'SPL 2: A Time For Consequences'. Well, after these past 3 hours, I know now what a total badass he is. His physicality is awe-inspiring! The way he can destroy dozens of goons with his fists, elbows, knees and feet is bloody fantastic. There is a single shot sequence in 'Protector' where Jaa storms a restaurant and the camera follows him as he moves up the stair, and my jaw dropped on the floor. I now need an action film that features Tony Jaa vs Lee Byung Hun vs Iko Uwais vs Won Bin.
Tomorrow I will continue with action films made outside of Hollywood (or featuring foreign actors) with 'Ip Man 3', 'District B13' and maybe 'Unleashed/Danny The Dog' if I have enough time.
Yes, I love the stare down after he takes the sip of whiskey, and the confrontation re: the ticket just afterwards: "Well, aren't you going to clip it?!"
Moore is priceless in this film.
One of the most intense and flat-out entertaining movie I've seen in a long time. Barely 1 hour and 20 minutes long, but features non stop tension, action, badassery and humour from start to finish. And the parkour sequences are brilliant. This and 'Shoot 'Em Up' are now 2 of my favorites 'short but sweet' films.
Oh yeah; 1941 is his worst by far IMO. Crystal Skull and Lost World are my other least favorites, but neither were that awful. I'm a huge Spielberg fan, and I was shocked he directed 1941. Just so bad.
Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly in a drama about suburban lives. Pretty good, though not great.
Broadcast News (1987)
Holly Hunter, William Hurt, Albert Brooks. (Lois Chiles in a small role for those who care.) Somehow... irritating.
Léon: The Professional (1994)
I haven't seen this for about two decades and didn't remember it was this good - though I was thinking... I have a soft spot for both leads, and maybe it's originally because of this movie. Jean Reno and Natalie Portman were absolutely perfect here. And such a rare and an unusual story, a real treasure.
Neverwas (2005)
A good cast and the story is pretty good in theory, the movie just isn't very good. Ian McKellen was still lovely.
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
A classic and the kind of epic that aren't really made anymore. A very influential movie, so kind of a must-see. Visually plenty of great stuff: cinematography, direction, use of locations, etc. - all that was worth seeing. Story-wise some interesting stuff, but on the whole boring to me - over 3 and a half hours really felt like a long time with this. I didn't like Peter O'Toole in the lead role, but apparently many people do (and what was with the just out of a hair saloon thing going on? Travelling or fighting in the desert or just waking up or any other situation, the hair was just washed, cut, and combed, geez...)
Il mio nome è Nessuno (My Name Is Nobody) (1973)
A comedic (though not funny) Western with Terence Hill and Henry Fonda. Pretty meh. Included an irritating piece of music that was repeated throughout (I already hated it right at the start).
The Last Picture Show (1971)
A black&white drama set in a small town in Texas in the early 50s. Jeff Bridges in an early role, Cybill Sheperd in her first role, Ellen Burstyn, etc. Pretty good.
Director's Cut of the 1999 Mel Gibson film, Payback, that was 75% the same, with a whole different third act and ending, sort of different direction, first person narrative removed, and damn... I thought the original soundtrack was good, this one was... on top of the world!
This one's ending makes it seem similar to Point Blank (1967) as intended by Brian Helgeland, but I sort of prefer the ending of the theatrical cut as redone and reshot by Paul Abascal. Overall, the director's cut is hell of a movie and only made it more badass than the theatrical release version. I loved the original, but I love this even more.
Highly recommended.
Interesting I did not know this cut of Payback existed, I love Boormans Point Blank and Payback I was pleasantly surprised by when I first watched it. Will have to try and get a copy of the alternate cut.
:-bd
Edited: Just found the Special Edition Theatrical/Directors cut.
And despite the hatred and the constant mocking Payback gets, this is by far truer to the spirit of Richard Stark's Parker than any of the film adaptations based on the character's novels, including Point Blank (which only uses the premise of the book, but not the real spirit or the character).
By the way, the role that Sally Kellerman plays in the Director's Cut (Kris Kristofferson in the theatrical cut) was originally offered to Angie Dickinson. :D
Another french gem. Fourth film i have seen directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, and i've enjoyed every single one. The other being: Le Samouraï (1967), Army of Shadows (1969), and Bob le Flambeur (1956). All of which has had a nice swagger and style. His movies might be a bit slow, but nontheless never boring (for me at least).
Yves Montand in "Cercle Rouge" is absolutely fantastic, IMO he steals the spotlight from Alain Delon (who was in his prime back then).