Last Movie you Watched?

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  • edited July 2016 Posts: 2,081
    One of my several on-going movie-watching projects is movies directed by Steven Spielberg. I've had a break of several weeks in that, but I read this very recent quote a few days ago:

    "Nothing Christian Bale does has ever failed to impress me. He is fearless and he was fearless when he was 12 years old. I am impressed more and more with each role he takes. But in a quiet place in my own life I'll say, 'That's my boy.'" - Steven Spielberg, 2016

    Aww.

    And I decided that it was time to check out my blu-ray of

    Empire Of The Sun (1987)

    (I'm not crazy about paying extra for a pretty box in general, and I only own 2 steel ones so far - the other being Skyfall - but this was so damned beautiful I just had to get it in that version.)

    In the beginning I was mostly in awe of what a difference a bigger and better tv and a blu-ray makes to an 80s movie previously only seen on a crappy old tv. Whoa. Then I started being in awe of the movie itself. It's one of my fave Spielberg movies and one of my fave Bale movies.

    Children very rarely have clear lead roles in big (big budgets, big casts, multiple country shoots), non-kiddie movies (okay, I'm trying to think of another, but can't even think of one as big and comparable... I'm sure there are some...), and Bale carries his role here admirably. He was also lucky he got it, because these roles are so rare. And Spielberg - like he said himself - was lucky to get such a great kid. He said in some interview that Bale was one of the easiest children he has worked with, that he listened more than he talked. That sure wasn't the character, though, Jim at times was exhausting the adults... and it was hilarious.
    John Malkovich has the second biggest role in the movie and he's also wonderful. Pretty much everyone is - just an excellent cast in general. (I can't even complain about Ben Stiller in his small part.)

    It's shot mostly on location, and that's great. They even got permission to close down traffic in a long stretch of busy central Sanghai to shoot there (I think the first time that was done there) with lots of local extras involved. Production design, cinematography and everything else is naturally top notch. (Well, okay, there was a brief moment where I was thinking something like "Mr Williams, please, could you turn down the drama in the music" but as soon as I thought it the scene was over and so was that bit of music, phew.)

    This is a pretty unusual war movie, and I love it for it.

    Bale, Spielberg and Malkovich on the set of Empire Of The Sun:
    tumblr_n5zaw89ArR1rovfcgo1_r1_1280.jpg

    The documentary (from the time of making the movie) included on the blu-ray I hadn't seen before, and it was just gold. It was fascinating both about the history in the WW2 time Shanghai, and the-movie-making-history-wise. Spielberg was adorable in it in general and with his child lead in particular. It's also nice to know that J.G.Ballard - on whose partly autobiographical book the movie is based on - was happy with the kid who was playing him. And for anyone suspicious of the movie's approach (not grim or overly bleak - though certainly not ignoring that side, either... but presumably an adult's view of the situation would have been very different from a child's) - Ballard said that really was his experience: that he was pretty happy in the Japanese internment camp - though his experiences were different from Jim's in some aspects. Ballard also has a small cameo in the movie.

    Spielberg and Bale have apparently kept their good relationship ever since that movie. Chatting happily when they bump into each other at events. Praising each other often. Spielberg recommending Bale a few years ago to a Chinese colleague who wasn't familiar with Western actors - who then went to Bale with a personal note from Spielberg - and they ended up not only making the movie, but also got on really great. I assume Spielberg considered both acting and personal side, especially since there was extra stuff to consider that probably would have scared off many actors.

    "With adults, when they say lunch for one hour, the adults go back to their trailers and I go back to mine. But with Henry Thomas during 'E. T.,' we would play video games for the entire hour. And with Christian, I bought him a radio-controlled racing car so every lunch hour we would go out with our cars and have races.'' - Steven Spielberg, 1988.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    Murdock wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    Zoolander 2
    That may have been the weirdest movie I ever watched. :))
    Overtly overtly weird. Far more than the first! :))
    And a ton of unexpected cameos. I loved it. :P
    The puns were laughable enough! And I have to say, the bit Milla Jovovich and Penelope Cruz 'wrestled'... Oh dear!! :))

    Seriously guys that film was appalling, though when
    Mugatu made masks of him and Derek, Jesus that was funny
    :))

    The scene with Benedict Cumberbatch is pure nightmare fuel. =))
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,136
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Inspired by @GoldenGun , I got ahold of Antonioni's "malaise" Trilogy from the '60s; L'AVVENTURA (1960), LA NOTTE (1961) and L'ECLISSE (1962) . The middle one on BluRay, the others DVD. I had seen L'AVVENTURA in the past, but the other two were new to me.

    Quite an emotional and artistic experience. In some ways I find Antonioni to have matured as a filmmaker beyond his contemporary Fellini over the same time period. I don't particularly have the energy or desire to go into the detail that these films deserve, nor is this really the appropriate venue for that. Suffice to say that I am very happy that there are still a few of the great films out there for me to discover.

    @Birdleson. Happy you liked it!
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Death on the Nile, I'm a big fan of these murder mysteries.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Been running through the Mad Max films for the first time while at the same time playing the fantastic game based off of the films, and I've fallen a bit in love, I think.

    I usually don't care for post-apocalyptic films, because so many of them are awash in darkness and dread just for the sake of it, and everything can be so utterly predictable and boring. My experience with Mad Max has been much different, however, and that's down to the utter genius of George Miller. He takes a very formulaic genre and gives it a greater sense of originality and zany wonder that really puts it on a shelf by itself. The series is not weighed down by dourness and shot in colorless tones; everything is larger than life, out of this world and vibrant, like a raging flame that keeps burning brighter and brighter. Miller's world is one that is utterly nuts, full of people dressed in leathers like they're preparing for a BDSM convention. Each character has their own unique vernacular full of fun slang, giving the post-apocalyptic Australia it's own language of madness that's hard not to appreciate and chuckle at. You could make a glossary full of the slang in the Mad Max universe, and I'm sure that there is already one out there. I for one would be disappointed if there wasn't.

    The first Mad Max film was interesting, but it was with the sequels Road Warrior and the later Beyond Thunderdome that Miller really got to use a bigger budget to create a mad, wonderful world that captivates like no other. This is understandable, as the first was an independent film, and the most profitable one for over twenty years following its release until Blair Witch came around in the late 90s. It was clear what Miller wanted to do with the post-apocalyptic Australia from jump, but he lacked the funds to do it at the very start. In the later films his full vision really gets transmitted and there has and never will be anything like it on celluloid. The characters, their vernacular, dress sense and their motivations all combine to form the picture of a truly crazy world where wars are fought over gasoline (referred to as "guzzoline" in the films) and people do anything and use anyone to survive. Those like Max who were alive when the world crumbled into nothing and witnessed the madness take over clash with those born after the destruction of the world, where that madness is all they've ever known. The contrast of those who lament the lost world and those who know nothing different is played up especially powerfully in Beyond Thunderdome, a film that seems to be largely derided, but that I really got a kick out of.

    There's also great mechanical sensibility to everything in the Mad Max universe. Max alone signifies this, as he has an almost symbiotic relationship with his cars throughout the series, namely the powerful Interceptor. Further still, the many zany outfits of his allies and foes are made up of metal scrap and various items salvaged from the Wasteland, further evoking a theme of machinery and man becoming one in a world where that kind of industry helped to tear everything apart. You see people fashioning clothes and weaponry out of anything they can find in the Wasteland, which provides nice visual metaphors for how they have all had to adapt and adopt this new, crazy world of theirs to survive, and become one with it reluctantly over time before letting the fever of madness and disorder take complete control.

    The factors that make the films reach such a class of their own are many in number. Max takes on a beautifully mythical quality in each film, completely in line with Joseph Campbell's playbook of heroes. Max is the quintessential "Man with No Name," the lone figure who pops up out of mystery to solve a problem before disappearing again with double the mystery of before. There are characters in Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome who tell legends of him and his exploits that they pass on and on down the line, making Max less of a man and more of an idea in the post-apocalyptic landscape. His legend becomes a symbol of order in chaos, giving people suffering in the Wasteland the hope that the Road Warrior is always out there somewhere righting wrongs and fighting the insanity grasping hold of them all, while slowly losing grips with his own at the same time. This makes the series a great, shocking mix of apocalyptic films and westerns in unexpected, glorious ways, while also adopting the social commentary of classic sci-fi to make statements about humanity in captivating ways.

    This is all a long way of saying I love these films and the lore of the universe. I think Miller should've kept Mel and told old Max stories, but I'm interested to see how Tom Hardy performs in Fury Road, which I'll be watching soon. Nothing will change the fact in my mind, however, that Mel originated the character and made him the icon he is, or that every time I think of Max I picture Mel in leather, carrying that sawed-off in his hand walking down a dusty, desolate highway off to another accidental adventure that'll again carry his name into legend.

    Anybody who hasn't experienced the Mad Max universe outside of Fury Road or at all should check out the films that began it all. Fans of great lore, fascinating characters and the interesting mixing of various genres that Miller and his team manage should get a kick out of these movies. I know I have.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    The Dark Knight rises. =D> can't beat a bit of the Bat.
  • Posts: 6,432
    Murdock wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    Zoolander 2
    That may have been the weirdest movie I ever watched. :))
    Overtly overtly weird. Far more than the first! :))
    And a ton of unexpected cameos. I loved it. :P
    The puns were laughable enough! And I have to say, the bit Milla Jovovich and Penelope Cruz 'wrestled'... Oh dear!! :))

    Seriously guys that film was appalling, though when
    Mugatu made masks of him and Derek, Jesus that was funny
    :))

    The scene with Benedict Cumberbatch is pure nightmare fuel. =))

    All is one odd mo fo :-O :))
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    The Dark Knight rises. =D> can't beat a bit of the Bat.
    Agreed. A maligned classic imho.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    When I first watched it in the cinema, the entire audience ( me included)
    Stood up and applauded it. :)
  • Posts: 7,434
    Just watched Last Man Standing.
    Am a big fan of Walter Hill, especially his work in the 70's.
    This is yet another re-working of Yojimbo. Entertaining, with a great opening track from the great Ry Cooder, but not Hills best. Willis is good, but Chris Walken steals his thunder!
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 4,016
    bondjames wrote: »
    The Dark Knight rises. =D> can't beat a bit of the Bat.
    Agreed. A maligned classic imho.

    Best one of the lot! Loved Tom Hardy's Bane!
  • Posts: 6,432
    I watch TDKR the most from the Nolan trilogy.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I find TDKR to be a complete nosedive, in terms of quality/storytelling that we got in the first two installments. It's another terrible conclusion to what could've been a perfect trilogy, like 'The Matrix' (note: I still enjoy the third film, but find it to be very weak compared to the former two).
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    It's great how we all have so varied an opinion, I'm in the camp that
    Regard it as a Masterpiece. ;)
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    TDKR is my least favorite of the trilogy, but I adore them all. A great conclusion to the series, and the single greatest moviegoing experience I've had to date, at a midnight showing next to my equally Bat-crazed friends.
  • Posts: 12,474
    TDKR is my least favorite of the trilogy, but I adore them all. A great conclusion to the series, and the single greatest moviegoing experience I've had to date, at a midnight showing next to my equally Bat-crazed friends.

    THIS. I saw a showing of the entire trilogy, and when it came time for TDKR, the hype was through the roof. All 3 are definitely some of the best Batman films we've ever gotten.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    I can see what people may enjoy about it, but a "masterpiece"? Definitely not. Hell, as much as I like both 'Batman Begins' and 'The Dark Knight,' I don't think I'd even stretch to consider either of those a masterpiece, either.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    That's the great thing about opinions, we all have one, and we all think
    We're right. :)
  • Posts: 12,474
    I'm about to give Barry Lyndon (1975) a rewatch, attempting to finish my Kubrick-thon by tomorrow's end. This was one of my favorites of the master, but we'll see how it holds up on rewatch.
  • Posts: 6,432
    Inglorious Bastards this was the only Tarantino film I had not watched, I attempted a few years ago though did not finish it. Decided to buy it last week and quite enjoyed it, a few reviewers said it was talky though I enjoyed the script and interactions. There are some good subtle performance's, Fassbender and Waltz were stand out.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    'Inglourious Basterds' drags in a lot of scenes, but on the flip side of that coin, it has some of the greatest scenes, moments, and characters throughout Tarantino's world, as well.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Basterds had the most beautiful rendition of a Spaghetti Western music based on One Silver Dollar. And needless to say, Fassbender and Waltz were the highlights of the film.

  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited July 2016 Posts: 23,883
    I'm a huge fan of Basterds. The opening scene itself is enough to make it one of Tarantino's best, and that's before the legendary bar scene. I personally have it ranked just behind Pulp Fiction on the Tarantino roster.

    I'm long overdue for a rewatch.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Ditto!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Speaking of that movie, Tarantino re-confirmed in an article recently that not only is Hans Landa the best character that he feels he has written, but he doubts he'll ever write one as great and impactful as him again.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Tarantino is indeed a very astute man, and a modest one too, as I'm sure he can surpass Landa if he really puts his mind to it.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    He's got a point!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    He also stated that he still plans to retire after his tenth film - only two left, then - but he would return and do another if it was a story that really grabbed him.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    I'm still waiting for him to do a Modesty Blaise film.
  • Posts: 6,432
    The opening very much reminded me of Once upon a time in the West, the strangulation scene very similar to Frenzy. Inglorious... indeed has some excellent moments, I have not seen Diane Kruger in many films though wow extremely attractive. It's definitely one of his better films, to be honest there are only two of his films I struggle with.
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