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Some Girls Do
Richard Johnson is back in the sequel to "Deadlier Than The Male"
on the plus side the music is stronger, the villains lair is more spectacular and Johnston is still playing it admirably straight as Hugh Drummond-Bond
the girls are still beautiful and much of the camera work is still enterprising
unfortunately the plot has crossed the line into silly 60s land, scenes and dialogue are sketchy and under developed, and character development is non existent
it reminded me of the "Billion Dollar Brain" and "The Presidents Analyst" where the hero is largely a bemused passenger as the movie rushes along, never stopping long enough to develop any interest or tension
still easy on the eye but disappointingly shallow
note - Joanna Lumley appears in a small role near the beginning, but sadly soon blows herself up, cinema's original suicide bomber?
(she'd been "robotised" by the villain)
Robert Morely also appears in an ill-conceived cameo, an awful role which is symptomatic of the silly 60s spirit which has infected the sequel
mercifully he too is killed off earlier than might be expected, his plot culdesac having wasted valuable screen time that could have been put to better use
Not a bad film but shows it's age.
And to think, 5 and 6 are on their way...
Pirates 2 = I liked Bill Nighy's Davy Jones and crew, pity about everything else...
Pirates 3 = there aught to be a law against it
Barton Fink
I quite enjoyed the journey, populated with typically quirky Cohen characters, but in the end I was lost
I mean, I understand the surface story, but what was the underlying message?
what was the point they were trying to get across?
too deep for me I'm afraid
can anyone spell it out for me?
Looking forward to the Cavill Superman. Should be a big improvement.
I'm actually somewhat intrigued by this fourth film, given that they've distanced themselves somewhat from the other three by not having two of the three main characters back. They've also surrounded Johnny Depp with a very strong supporting cast this time around (Geoffrey Rush returning to the series along with newcomers Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane), which has me at least somewhat interested in giving the series another shot, but given the reviews I've read, it doesn't sound like it's been all that successful in rejuvenating, at least creatively, a series that desperately needs to do something new.
Anyway, saw "Thor" tonight. Nowhere near the best comic book superhero film ever but not bad for a summer action fantasy popcorn flick.
George Raft in one of his better sub Bogart adventures
the plot is intriguing enough, and moves along, but is let down by the dialogue, which is largely flat and lifeless, rather like Raft's performance, which once again fails to live up to the promise shown in "Scarface"
Raft has the stoney look and the voice but not the spark or charm
the movie also has a nice supporting role for Hoagy Carmichael, as the wily taxy driver
Carmichael projects a kind of laid back cool at times, but is far too short and of slight build to serve as a model for James Bond
I can only presume Fleming was referring exclusively to his face or demeanor when he sighted him as an ideal for the appearance of Bond
As chick-flick rom-coms go, this was watchable. Take the wife. Take the gf. You can painlessly parlay this offering into, I figure at least two guy flicks.
Some funny scenes in the Hamptons.
Usually during such films I cheer for the lead guy to make it with lead girls best friend and no happy ending but here the tables are turned. I found myself rooting for the lead girl. Must be getting soft.
Edit by Luds: Ads removed. This is a Bond discussion forum, please stick to that.
Euch. A half-decent book made into a clunking turd of a film, handling the topic of terminal cancer with all the sensitivity and subtlety of a blind elephant with a sledgehammer. Basically just close-ups of Cameron Diaz and her family looking happy interspersed with shots of Cameron Diaz and her family looking sad.
Off to see Route Irish tomorrow, though, and just bought the re-released Apocalypse Now. Can't believe I haven't seen it yet :P
pure soap ( sorry, I mean drama...)
a long drawn out movie with nothing to say that hasn't been said better elsewhere, more concisely, more poignantly (but certainly not using more footage)
what is this film about, Texas growing up?
the grand tradition of Texas cattle versus new rich oil economy story is superficial and never properly developed
James Dean remains a peripheral figure, popping in for a colourful cameo every half hour or so, but his character is never properly fleshed out
is Dean supposed to be some great villain of the piece? if so he never actually does anything to live up to this, generally I felt sympathy for him most of the time
it's never really clear why he and Rock don't get along, no scene where they express their views in such a way that I could really understand where they are coming from
just vague resentment by one man of another's privileged life and the other sensing this and returning it, there needed to be a more personal aspect to it
and the resolution of this conflict, such as it was, was of questionable moral value
what was the message? once a punk always a punk and you can't rise above your lowly birth? money can't by you class?
Deans performance is quirky and interesting as always, in fact I think he over does it, but he was only young and sadly we never got to see him mature
in any case he fairly drips charisma, in contrast to the apply named "Rock" Hudson
to be fair Rock's not bad in this and quite well suited to the part, but despite his magnificent physical attributes I always feel there is some spark missing from his performances, and this is thrown into stark relief whenever he shares the screen with Dean
I'm guessing Rock represents raw, gauche young Texas, growing up and learning to be civilised from sophisticated easterner Liz Taylor? (how patronising)
from the get go I found it hard to believe someone from Liz Taylor's silver spoon, fox hunting, black servants background would be less racist than a Texan rancher
this seems to be the other main moral thread of the story, but as with everything else in this movie, it is a secondary consideration, fitted in where they can around the very mundane and predictable family soap opera which dominates and overwhelms this film in the end
it soon becomes apparent that none of Rocks family will ever do what he wants them to do in life
it is all tediously predictable, as soon as Dennis Hopper meets the Mexican girl you know he will marry her, as soon as you see the worthy but expendable Mexican boy in uniform, you know he will be coming home from the war in a box
if the second daughter had married James Dean things might have got interesting, but that would have required another interminable hour of film
the half baked racism angle does however provide the only decent piece of action in the whole film, as Rock finally sees the light and engages in a battle royal with the owner of a diner
but my favourite scene was when the kids found out that the turkey on the table for thanksgiving was the pet they had been feeding the day before and all burst into tears
for me this is film does not meet my definition of a "western", basically it lacks any life and death drama or moral dilemma on a personal level, and IMO you can't have a western without guns
by the end I was thinking "well that's three and a quarter hours of my life I will never get back..."
Ben Affleck sure gets a lot of negative criticism for his choice of roles, and for his personal life, but he sure can direct. Not the first one he did either. Following a solid debut with Gone Baby Gone, he returns with a great heist thriller. The Town follows a few inhabitants of Charlestown, a neighbourhood in Boston known for producing more bank robbers than anywhere else. Affleck plays Doug MacRay, the brilliant leader of a crew and son of a very well known bank robber. McRay doesn't realize that he's always wanted to avoid this life but all attempts to avoid it simply failed. He leads the foursome with technical expert Desmond Elden, getaway expert Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan and enforcer James Coughlin. Caughlin is MacRay's best friend since childhood when the family took him in as MacRay's father was sent to prison on multiple life sentences. The movie begins as MacRay leads his crew into a bank robbery where Caughlin takes assistant bank manager Claire Keesey hostage in case anything goes afoot. Upon releasing her, the crew learns that she may be talking to the FBI and decide that someone should keep her quit. MacRay understanding possible implications decides to handle it himself and enters in a relationship with the kidnap victim. MacRay finds in Claire, the light he has always searched to leave his crime life behind, but when FBI investigator S.A. Adam Frawley learns that the lady left her job with the bank and has been involved with MacRay, she is now a suspect.
The Town is a very interesting thriller and very much like previous heist flicks, the good guys are very much the thieves. We are well aware of their crimes, and in this case there are innocent victims. Viewers still take to the thieves as their well developed character grows throughout the film. With multiple levels of players involved, and many unknown wild cards in play before and during the heists, The Town is certain to keep the audience on the edge. Not quite as good as "Inside Man", The Town gets a solid 8/10 from the Ludster, and high praises for Affleck the director, as well as Affleck the actor in this one.
Batman (1989)
Yes, the original Batman with Keaton. I have to admit not being much of a fan of your typical american comic book super hero. Especially not Batman. As a kid, Batman was a funny TV-series. When the flick was released, I had zero interest in seeing it and up until last Thursday night, had not seen the flick.
The movie starts off well enough, and it doesn't take a long time to realize this is very much a comic book world, rather than the serious feel to the last 2 Batman entries. That's perfectly fine. As a matter of fact, halfway into it, I was rather enjoying myself. Kim Basinger didn't have to do much and still shined, and Jack Nicholson is as great as ever. The main issue with the film, at least with the first half was with Batman himself. Keaton may not be entirely to blame, he's quite bland, but the character is quite boring and uninteresting. Furthermore, the action and stunts performed in this flick are also pretty bland. I wasn't looking for special effects or anything spectacular, but still failed to see anything exciting. The most interesting relationship in this movie is the one between Bruce Wayne and butler Alfred. The writing is pretty bad, most of the interactions between Wayne and Vicky Vale is pretty horrid. As the movie progresses it becomes more apparent that the plot and the writing were hair thin. Nicholson's Joker goes from feared murdered for poisoning beauty products to loved after a single television appearance where he claimed he'd throw money in the crowd. Batman attacks the Joker in his bat-ship armed to the teeth, yet crashes due to the Joker's single pistol shot. Now without any help whatsoever from his minions, the Joker arrives on site of the crash and just grabs Vale and climbs the Gotham cathedral. On top though, all of a sudden, a few minions are giving batman all the troubles in the world. The movie shortly concludes as Batman throws the Joker down, and gives Gotham a batman light to call him.
Frankly, I never could have imagined how bad the second half of this movie was. It's in the DAD-ballpark. Shocking! I know how Batman is a big comic icon, but can't get how this movie still gets positive reviews. It pales in comparison to pretty much any comic book based or hero based flick from the 90s with a much larger budget. I'll give it a 4/10 for a decent first half.
I'm not a huge fan of Russel Crowe's films, so I had fairly low expectations for this film going in, but was very pleasantly surprised. This is a riveting thriller that excites from beginning to end. The only complaint I'd have is that the stellar supporting cast is woefully underused (Olivia Wilde and Brian Dennehy get very little screen time, and Liam Neeson's involvement can only be considered a brief cameo).
3.5/5
Johnny Depp is back as Jack, Some of the old cast is back; Barbosa,Teague & Gibbs (to name a few). But the new cast are much welcomed with Penelope Cruise playing Angelica AKA Jack's Love interest with just as feisty and sharp as Jack (The J keeps braking!!! X( ) Ian McShane as Blackbeard, Angelica's Father and the most famous Pirate to sail the seven seas, ruthless and supernatural. Richard Griffiths As Old King Gorge again to name a few.
This one is a lot more slower pace then the pervious installment. Jack (who is in possession of a map that shows there ware-abouts of the fountain of youth.) rescues his old friend Gibbs from trail. However he winds up in the court of King Gorge as someone claiming to be Jack rallies a crew to find the fountain, Jack then discovers Barbosa is now a profiteer the Royal Navy. Jack Escapes through London (featuring a cameo by Judi Dench) to find his impostor AKA his old love Penelope and her father Blackbeard......
The Film is fantastic my only complaint is that some times the film lags between action sequences but only for 4 or 5 minutes but the best in the Series so far
8.5/10
Ps. @Chuck happy 100th post
probably the high point of Christian Slater's and Patricia Arquette's careers
a crime fiction movie with a script by Tarantino and a incredible line up of cameo appearances by people who went on to become more well known than they were here
you probably won't recognise Val Kilmer as the spirit of Elvis, as he his face is never shown clearly
Samuel L Jackson manages about 60 seconds of archetypal patter before being blown away by...
Gary Oldman, who does a great "evil Ali G" impression (white man with dreadlocks and African American patter) before Slater deals with him
Dennis Hopper puts in a memorable stint, as Slater's father, before being blown away by...
Christopher Walken, in vintage form in Mafia mode (and he survives the carnage)
as does Brad Pitt, at least as far as we know, who plays a laid back doper dude
James Gandolfini gets to play the prototype of Mr Blond, and audition for his career defining role in the Sopranos, before Arquette manages to despatch him
Bronson Pinchot gets to play it straight for a change, but that still doesn't save him
and Tom Sizemore and Nice Guy Eddie, I mean Chris Penn, turn up as colourful cops, who also bite the dust in the Mexican stand-off gone wrong finale
very good
Saoirse Ronan will get the best roles in the near future. She is so intense you might dream of her after seeing this film.
But that´s about it. Of course, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett are terrific, how can they not be, and the first half hour of the film is pretty amazing. But then the film loses its focus and becomes kind of dull, climaxing in a rather forseeable ending. From the middle of the film on, the times I was close to leaving the cinema increased, and actually I feel like I wouldn´t have missed too much if I hadn´t stayed until the end.
Superior to the original, Batman Returns still fails at in the same areas without much improvement. Still very little character development for Batman himself, it's not clear who the star of the hero is. Keaton barely appears in the first half hour used to set up the Penguin as the main villain. Still very much cartoonish, the movie at least succeeds to establish a decent mood. But with Christopher Walken's over the top character and looks, it's hard to take him seriously. Devito is interesting and so is Michelle Pfeiffer, even though her character is vastly superfluous. The movie's failure is again due to its awful story, plot and dialogs. A slight improvement over Batman, I wasn't sure if it deserved a 5 or a 6, I'll round up to 6 as I'm in a generous mood. 6/10
An Education (2009) - a fine recreation of youthful aspiration in '50s Britain. Carey Mulligan really impresses and The Pikelet delights in a welcome foray into comedy
The Last King Of Scotland (2006) - wasn't exactly blown away by this acclaimed semi-biopic; it's all a bit neat and feels, well, a bit too fantastic, but Forest Whitaker's performance is indeed power-house stuff, if actually for a supporting role that won him a Best Actor Oscar
Cocktail (1988) - Coughlin's Law says that this is clearly utter claptrap, but alarmingly entertaining and engaging stuff with a surprising anti-yuppie message
The flicks I've watched in 2011
CW = Cinema watch
FW = First watch
RW = Re-watch
5 out of 5 ~ *****
Elizabeth (1998) RW
The King's Speech (2010) CW/ FW
Layer Cake (2004) FW
They Shoot Horses, Don't They (1969) FW
WALL.E (2008) RW
4 out of 5 ~ ****
Alpha Male (2006) RW
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) RW
Los Cronocrímenes (Timecrimes) (2007) FW
The Darjeeling Limited (2007) FW
The Departed (2006) RW
An Education (2009) FW
The Killing Fields (1984) FW
The Last King Of Scotland (2006) FW
Scener ur ett äktenskap (Scenes From A Marriage) (1973) FW
Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal) (1957) FW
3 out of 5 ~ ***
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) RW
Birthday Girl (2001) FW
Brideshead Revisited (2008) FW
Cote d'Azur (Cockles And Mussels) (2005) FW
Escape To Victory (1981) RW
Female Agents (2008) FW
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) FW
Genova (2008) FW
The Ghost Writer (2010) FW
Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003) RW
Hallam Foe (2007) FW
Hope Springs (2003) FW
Monkey Business (1952) RW
Octopussy (1983) RW
Proof (2005) FW
Quantum Of Solace (2008) RW
Les Rivières Pourpres (The Crimson Rivers) (2000) FW
Sweet Charity (1969) FW
Trust The Man (2005) FW
2 out of 5 ~ **
Cocktail (1988) RW
Déficit (2007) FW
Lesbian Vampire Killers (2009) FW
Night Watch (1995) RW
1 out of 5 ~ *
I must confess that I was never a huge fan of the original film. Whilst it was perfectly passable it did feel somewhat underwelming. However, as I hadn't been to the cinema with my friends for a while (who all loved the first one), I thought I'd tag along.
I think the word that sums the film up is "meh". At worse its a complete rehash of the first one. At best it just isn't that funny (I think I raised a couple of smiles). The only difference this time is that it's in Bangkok rather than Las Vegas. Hence, we get the usual, predictable jokes about ladyboys, drug dealers and gangsters.
I'm probably also one of the few that finds Alan (Zach Galifianakis) more annoying than loveable. If you want a better film featuring Galifianakis then go and watch It's Kind of a Funny Story.
There are a few impressive shots of Thailand however, esp in the opening credits. Nonetheless, It's a pretty forgettable experience.
4/10
I was actually quite surprised that I enjoyed this movie as much as I did. Had they decided to cast a leading actor that could have held his own with the rest of the cast (Timothy Olyphant brings his usual quality performance to the proceedings, and the two leading ladies in the film, relative unknowns Dianna Agron and Teresa Palmer, are both going to be big stars sometime in the near future based on the quality of their work here), the film could have been significantly better. Still, as it is, this film is a fairly entertaining and non-challenging way to spend a couple of hours.
A very generous 3/5
Basically a terrible film, i can watch the first half-hour or so, but it is hugely confusing (And this is coming from me, who understands Inception's story), and just the same thing as in the previous films, though Pirates 1 was good :D
Papillon 3/6.....just indifferent , just didnt capture my attention well enough.
Rocky 6.......4.5/6 , pretty good
10/10
It's still the BEST movie I ever seen in my entire life!!