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Loved this film! Wild and funny and Fiennes was actually quite poignant...
Still on a Godzilla binge. Probably among my top ten of Godzilla movies, this one. However, there was a glitch with the DVD, which made me lose a good 20 minutes of the movie (including the attack on Tokyo, the JSDF Vs. the Monsters, and the infiltration on the Kylaak base. I had to go to the scenes menu to get what I had missed. The perils of buying second-hand. Caveat emptor and all that, but how can we be sure, right ?
Francis Ford Coppolas excellent paranoia thriller, with a superb Gene Hackman (is he ever anything else?) as Harry Caul, the surveillance expert, who, while taping a couples conversation in a busy park, suspects they are going to be murdered!
There are great contributions from John Cazale, Frederic Forrest and a young Harrison Ford in a sinister role.
The twist ending is a shocker, and Hackmans final scene is devastatingly memorable! Sharply written and directed by Coppola, it's a superb addition to these types of thrillers of the 70's.
Great choice, one of my all-time favorite films. Ranking Coppola's 70s output on a personal level is honestly impossible for me. All 4 films are probably in my Top 30 of all time.
I love this movie. It's such a strong paranoia thriller. Along with Pakula's Klute, The Parallax View and All The President's Men, this one is part of a marvelous output of '70s thrillers. As far as Coppola's work is concerned, I actually prefer The Conversation over AN, though it's hard to compare those two, I know. ;-)
My favourite would be 'The Parallax View ' am due another watch of that soon, must upgrade my dvd! The 'psych testing' sequence is one of my favourite scenes in cinema!
I get the feeling that Pakula's output is largely forgotten now. Too bad. Awesome films.
Yes, same here. And to think he helped write Patton and produce American Graffiti. That's an almost unmatched hit streak. When it comes to trying to have range in more ways than one, Coppola is a great example.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/francis-ford-coppolas-megalopolis-1235917022/
I will give this a chance.
I watched The Conversation as recently as a couple of months back. Really great film, and along with "Popeye" Doyle in The French Connection, it's probably my favourite role of his.
I also watched All The President's Men not that long ago. I'd seen Klute and The Parallax View a few times and really enjoyed those, but never ATPM. I think I prefer ATPM more actually, and the fact that it's based on real-life events might be one of the reasons. I plan to rewatch both Klute and The Parallax View, so it will be interesting to see how I feel about them now.
Thanks I bought the complete The Beatles Anthology on CD on original release though did not realize there was a DVD set that accompanied it, I will look out for it.
I have reverted back to physical media and bought a lot of Beatles physical music in the last month or so, I bought The Beatles at the BBC both on CD and a few days later on Tape Cassette, I figured I would never get the chance to buy it on cassette again so that justified the purchase.
Disk 1: Growing up in Liverpool to "Please, Please Me"
Disk 2: Touring the UK to "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
Disk 3: Arrival in the US to filming A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
Disk 4: First US Tour/Meeting Bob Dylan to Receiving the MBE
Disk 5: Shea Stadium Concert to "Rain/Paperback Rider"
Disk 6: 1966 World Tour/Decision to stop touring to SGT. PEPPERS"
Disk 7: "All You Need Is Love"/The Maharishi to John & Yoko
Disk 8: Apple Corp/THE WHITE ALBUM to ABBEY ROAD/break-up
Disk 9: Bonus Features w/Joint 1994 Paul, George and Ringo interview
Note: There was also a book released on the Anthology that goes into even greater detail. Also, there was a 2nd volume of The Beatles at the BBC issued back in 2013.
Darkness of Man (2024)
This was fun to watch, but it's a mediocre film. There is a not-too-original, but nonetheless potentially interesting story at hand, with a potentially touching relationship at the center of it. Unfortunately, the plot details and story beats are often messy or messily told, and crucially, I didn't warm up enough to the character of Jayden, because we practically never see him in a scene where he isn't in a conflictive situation. Also, while the plot synopsis talks about "an all-out turf war", the budget is too limited to portray that convincingly. The film appears to come to a natural end at a certain point, but then it continues, which also felt awkward. On the plus side, the characters played by Kristanna Loken and Spencer Breslin lift the film a great deal. There is also a gripping fight scene shot from the inside of a car, while Van Damme is outside doing the fighting. And in a strange way, some of the non-descript locations of the nighttime scenes end up creating a hazy, even slightly dreamlike atmosphere that works to the film's favor. The other big plus is Van Damme himself. By this point he can convey so much with so little. The aged face, the sad expression, the minimalistic acting style... I kid you not, he should play a private eye in a period film. Someone make it happen.
Lukas (aka The Bouncer) (2018)
This is without a doubt one of Van Damme's best films, and it's great to see that such a recent project can boast that title. A simple, well-written story with genuine pathos, stylishly shot and well paced, that made me feel absolutely invested in seeing him pull through. The supporting characters, despite how little we know about them, are also compelling, especially Van Damme's employer, who grows affectionate towards him, while ignoring Van Damme's true motivations in working for him. The action scenes, brief and sporadic as they are, have a great sense of immediacy and danger, thanks to the often sudden and nonchalant way in which they break out (the "job interview", in particular) and the extremely long takes used. The very end of the film is just superb. Then there's the man himself, as good to watch as always. A must watch in his filmography, and I personally look forward to checking out more of his European productions.
I haven't seen those two yet.
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No car chases, no explosions.... THIS should be the blueprint for a Hitman: Agent 47 film.
@MajorDSmythe
You are absolutely correct. I wish we could have more films like The Day Of The Jackal, a good example of a film that doesn't need action and spectacle to build tension.
It's definitely not as good, but I love the remake too. Especially Sidney Poitier's hand wizardry at the nightclub.
"Alright that's ENOUGH!!!11"
And the music score is *chef's kiss*. Burwell should score a Bond film ASAP.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=HAPyiLk_ujo&t=4m45s
Agreed on the remake. It's as generic as it comes when compared to the original, but it's very enjoyable nonsense. And you're spot on about the score: I love it.
I really miss hearing the harpsichord in current film scores.
Some of the unreleased music can be found in the next video. I love Le valse du président at 1:05. Beautiful piece of music, and an inspired choice to change the mood after a tense couple of hours. By virtue of contrast, this lighthearted piece serves as a kind of commentary on the film. It makes the preceding events go gently into history (mostly fictional history, of course).
A re-recorded version of the piece has been released but not the film version.
Apart from this, there is bit of martial music at the end credits. And I think there was a brief string tremolo in an early scene in which the Jackal visits Paris before the assassination attempt.
Edit: I just remembered I actually made an (incomplete) MIDI of the main title music and of the end credits waltz. I could finish reconstructing the waltz someday, so that it could be in higher quality than in the film audio, and in stereo.
This film is so interesting to me. I find myself thoroughly invested in what's happening, and in the lead characters. We know basically nothing about their lives away from their work, but the way they handle their jobs tells us enough about them. There are no big speeches, no emotional stuff, no real character arcs, just the self-apparent drama of the situation. When it comes to character, this film's attitude is as casual as striking a conversation with a stranger at a bus stop. But just like one can come to feel empathy for a total stranger, we come to feel interested in these people, and it's not because of "who they are", but almost strictly because of what they do and how they do it. Because this film is a fascinating study of process. Forging a passport, having a sniper rifle made, calibrating it, concealing it, painting a car, disguising yourself... Checking birth records, wiretapping phones, making phone calls until late hours, implementing security measures...
It's revealing to compare the original, European film with the American remake. While the original is a documentary-style affair that never goes for big emotions, the remake is an action movie that actively tries to get you emotionally involved, especially through the Richard Gere character. The same basic story approached in two completely different ways.
As for me, sunday, I ended my watching of Heisei Godzilla movies with Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah. On the plus side, it's really a great movie, easily in the top ten Godzilla movies ever made. Of course, the influence of Alien can't be overlooked (did Giger sue Toho ?). Great to see Momoko Kochi (Emiko in the original movie) back, for a last encore (she passed away three years later, alas). And Gozilla's death is really poignant, after one hell of a fight. On the other hand, I got the impression that Toho wanted to have their cake and eat it, what with giving Junior (and Tokyo) a happy ending. Still, great movie all around, and a great sendoff to the King of the Monsters.
Despite there being no theatrical release in the US (yet again) for a Heisei era film, word of the plot did spread during late 1995, and fans were quite sad about it. I remember a friend actually calling me at work, to inform me that Toho was killing off Godzilla. Even my mother called me when I got home: "Are you sitting down Dwayne? On the news today ...." Everyone was probably responding to seeing the piece that CNN ran about the Japanese public’s response. I even vaguely recall there being a New York Times OP-ED about it. For a film that few in the US would even see for a number of years, it cut very deep.
As to why, from what I’ve read, since Toho had just licensed the character to Sony/TriStar – which resulted in the 1998 film – and given declining box-office returns at home, they felt that a US based series was the wave of the future. Of course, ultimately that didn’t really happen, and within three years, Toho decided to re-start production.
Personally (and I know my fellow Bond fans will hate me for saying this), when I finally got a chance to see the film, I was more moved than I was by NTTD years later. Don’t understate the impact of a really moving piece of music to accompany the visuals, I guess. Even after all these years, Akira Ifukube’s “Requiem” (which plays over Godzilla’s meltdown) makes me sad even though, I know that it wasn’t really the end of the character. And apparently, Ifukube felt the same way, having been quoted that in writing it, he felt like he was writing the music to his own funeral.
The resurrection of Godzilla Jr. (to presumably carry on), didn’t bother me or detract from the moment. I also liked having the extended “Godzilla Theme” play out as the closing credits which showed clips from the 1954 original film and all of the Heisei era movies.
* For the record, I was moved by Felix Leiter’s death in NTTD. More so, than Bond’s. And while I understand the decision to use “We Have All the Time in the World” as the close out song, I’ve often thought that they should have used a song uniquely linked to the Craig era instead. Just my opinion, clearly. And I know many will disagree with it.
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More Van Damme:
The Last Mercenary (2021)
This movie starts off with a slightly annoying tone. The mood is jovial, but things are not as funny as they should be, because the character of JCVD's son is a little grating. However, the film picks up steam as it goes along, and that character, along with all the other ones, begin to click, so that by the end, the movie is firing on all cylinders and is a lot of fun to watch. The plot is cool and enjoyably complicated, and Van Damme gets to show his ever-increasing acting abilities, not to mention his comedic chops, with a series of hilarious disguises. The bathroom fight scene, involving eight people, is remarkable, probably the action highlight of the movie, and I loved the meta-reference to one of his older films, perfectly acted by him. The plot detail of Van Damme sending a message with an outdated code to the secret service, thus prompting a conversation between people who knew him before he left, reminded me a great deal of 1981's The Professional, in which practically the exact same thing happens with Belmondo. I wonder if it was an intentional reference. So good to see JCVD in a proper big budget film again. Recommended, and I look forward to his upcoming collaboration with director David Charhon.
corrupt cop wants piece of action from burglars in Athens
stars Belmondo/Omar S
wasnt that excting imo.....4/6
The film’s premise is a bit far-fetched, but its heart is in the right place, and that final shot of “Dewey” watering the plants is among the most poignant that I have ever seen (still). Directed by Douglas Trumbull and starring Bruce Dern, the film is yet another example, that one doesn't need a super large budget to make a compelling film.
:((