Movie Randomness

Apollo · Post by **Apollo** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 5:52 pm

I'm starting this thread for movie discussions in general. Maybe you just saw a movie (old or new) and you'd like to discuss it, or you'd like to list your all-time favorite movies, actors or directors. Anything related to movies goes, as far as I'm concerned.

I'll start with a recommendation. I was visiting my parents last weekend and dad picked a movie for us that I would never have picked in a million years: Cold Pursuit. I thought, "Oh no, another Liam Neeson revenge flick", but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It's a Liam Neeson movie that starts like "Taken Part 27" but about halfway through the movie the tone subtly changes and it becomes a humorous satire of the Taken franchise. Definitely worth a look.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 5:58 pm

We watched Bad Moms the other night. I was distracted by a Fantasy Football draft, so I didn't quite get into it. What I paid attention to wasn't bad, but just didn't really hit my funny bone right.

I have Anthropoid at home at the moment, but that's a war movie, so it will be a solo watch.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:16 pm

Have you ever watched the John Wick films? They’re really good.

But on a more serious note, if you liked the American remake Cold Pursuit, you’ll fall head over heels for the far more subtle and nuanced Norwegian original version, In Order of Disappearance . I like Liam Neeson, but I’ll take the great Stellan Skarsgard any day of the week.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:38 pm

So when do you think Denzel Washington started going downhill? Training Day jumped the shark for me, though the airplane one was OK.

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:57 pm

I hear Ted 2 is pretty good.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:04 pm

I guarantee you Denzel is not as great of an actor as people think he is.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:17 pm

I recorded all five Sean Connery Bond movies from TCM. I had seen one or two of them back in the day, but not in the past...oh, 40 years or so. So far I've watched Dr No and From Russia with Love. Even though I am not ordinarily into action/adventure or spy movies, I wanted to see these classics. I've been on a bit of a Hitchcock/Agatha Christie binge lately so James Bond fits in with that.

They hold up fairly well on the strength of Connery's character. Let's put it this way: I'm enjoying them even though they're not my usual cuppa. The sexism is painfully dated, but welcome to the '60s. I don't feel any desire to see the later Bond actors, though.

You might notice as this thread ages that TCM is my favorite channel. I watch a LOT of old movies, especially from the 1930s-50s. In fact, I just saw Nosferatu a few days ago.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:24 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:17 pm In fact, I just saw Nosferatu a few days ago.

a lot of interesting info on the various prints and restorations currently in existence (the original was destroyed):

https://www.brentonfilm.com/articles/no ... ideo-guide

i originally saw this back in the early 90s ... i think my vampire-obsessed friend had shown it to me. some years back i got a DVD of it from a 'Little Free Library' near me and i finally watched it - i was like, i don't remember the characters having the same names and the locations being the same (in the placards) as the original Dracula - turns out this was just one of the several public domain versions available...

i still have to see the Werner Herzog remake.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 8:03 pm

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:24 pm
Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:17 pm In fact, I just saw Nosferatu a few days ago.
a lot of interesting info on the various prints and restorations currently in existence (the original was destroyed):

https://www.brentonfilm.com/articles/no ... ideo-guide

i originally saw this back in the early 90s ... i think my vampire-obsessed friend had shown it to me. some years back i got a DVD of it from a 'Little Free Library' near me and i finally watched it - i was like, i don't remember the characters having the same names and the locations being the same (in the placards) as the original Dracula - turns out this was just one of the several public domain versions available...

i still have to see the Werner Herzog remake.

The version that TCM showed is stitched together from several surviving prints and cleaned up for clarity. You can tell the various film stocks by their tint -- some scenes are blue-ish, some are sepia, some are more traditional b&w. They also recreated the title cards and set it to the original score. I think what I saw is pretty close to what was actually released almost 100 years ago.

It's funny; I knew that it was the Dracula story, but I didn't realize how closely it tracks Stoker's book -- really, only the names and locations are changed -- until Count Orlok arrives in the New World (namely Germany, which isn't all that far from Transylvania and wouldn't be a sea voyage, but...ok). After that it abandons the source material and wraps up rather quickly.

I know many people can't abide even black-and-white movies, never mind silents, but if you can get into the right mindset, it's definitely still entertaining.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:06 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:17 pm Dr No

The best.

I've been to Jamaica a few times and visited some of these original filming locations. We were once on an excursion to the coffee farms in The Blue Mountains and we picked up a group of Brits who had all spent the previous day at Goldeneye and I immediately added that to my Jamaica visit wishlist. Pretty sure you can sleep there now, for a price.

As a youf I felt quite a stirring from the Honey Ryder scene. Pretty sure the dive knife is what did it for me.

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 10:21 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:16 pm Have you ever watched the John Wick films? They’re really good.

But on a more serious note, if you liked the American remake Cold Pursuit, you’ll fall head over heels for the far more subtle and nuanced Norwegian original version, In Order of Disappearance . I like Liam Neeson, but I’ll take the great Stellan Skarsgard any day of the week.

Agree 100% on the recommendation to watch the original. I probably watched it due to recommendations from folks here (and likely hep). I thought it was excellent. That said, I haven't watched the remake because I'm worried it will detract from the original. Thoughts on that?

(I am still haunted by the monstrosity that was Point of No Return... </shudder>)

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 10:32 pm

Goldfinger was great; I can see why many feel that it was the best Bond movie ever. You sure can see where all the Archer tropes came from; Bond's Aston-Martin is a character unto itself.

One thing I like about these is that the obligatory car chases, fisticuffs, explosions, and gunplay scenes are short and serve the plot. They don't take over and become the whole point.

Apollo · Post by **Apollo** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 11:27 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:16 pm ...But on a more serious note, if you liked the American remake Cold Pursuit, you’ll fall head over heels for the far more subtle and nuanced Norwegian original version, In Order of Disappearance . I like Liam Neeson, but I’ll take the great Stellan Skarsgard any day of the week.

Added to my Netflix queue. How in the world did this movie and it's remake get released without me hearing about them?

Hopefully this thread will help alert me to a lot more good movies that I've missed out on.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:31 am

In Order of Disappearance feels like a Coen brothers film, which is one of the highest praises I can give. Skarsgard gives a master’s class in acting throughout the entire thing.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 12:20 am

After seeing You Only Live Twice, I hanker to watch Austin Powers again.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 12:34 am

My first thought on seeing Connery hop off the tree into the water in the Dr No clip was "I bet he cant even do that anymore",..ugh Im old.

Apollo · Post by **Apollo** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:42 pm

After avoiding all the remakes, and not watching the originals since the 70's, I finally re-watched the original "Planet of the Apes" from 1968, and I was amazed at how well it held up after all this time. While it was the epitome of a movie that needed no sequels, they couldn't resist the money grab. But the way the studio underfunded the sequels is very telling about why Hollywood sequels in those days were usually awful. The first movie had a budget of 5.8 million, the second movie's budget was 3.4 million, the third movie 2.5 million, the fourth movie 1.7 million, and the last sequel had a budget of only 1.2 million.

Nowadays, Hollywood is well aware of the money-making power of sequels and they usually have bigger budgets than the original movies, but in those days they were apparently considered a cheap throwaway to make a quick buck.

Hell, if it weren't for sequels and remakes, we'd have almost nothing to watch at the movie theater these days...

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 3:46 pm

I can't wait for The Shawshank Redemption 2.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 3:55 pm

McNutt wrote: ↑Mon Sep 16, 2019 3:46 pm I can't wait for The Shawshank Redemption 2.

Wasn't that The Green Mile?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 4:09 pm

I'm anxious for Romeo and Juliet 2: The Quickening

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 4:21 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Sep 16, 2019 4:09 pm I'm anxious for Romeo and Juliet 2: The Quickening

I'm thinking Romeo and Juliet 2: Electric Mercutio

gameoverman · Post by **gameoverman** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 4:34 pm

Jaymann wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:38 pm So when do you think Denzel Washington started going downhill? Training Day jumped the shark for me, though the airplane one was OK.

Training Day was almost a perfect movie. I thought it was spoiled a bit by how over the top they went with it at the end. It should have felt more like Taxi Driver but instead that ending was more like Rambo. I enjoy a lot of his work up through Book of Eli and Flight. I think his mistakes have been doing so many remakes. One or two choice remakes sure. But once an actor's output seems to consist of remakes I can't take them as seriously. What I like about Flight is that he plays an unlikable character, yet does it well enough that I'm interested to see what happens to him and at the end I almost feel bad for him. I think a movie like that would easily be unwatchable with a lesser actor handling that role.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 5:12 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 10:32 pm Goldfinger was great; I can see why many feel that it was the best Bond movie ever. You sure can see where all the Archer tropes came from; Bond's Aston-Martin is a character unto itself.

One thing I like about these is that the obligatory car chases, fisticuffs, explosions, and gunplay scenes are short and serve the plot. They don't take over and become the whole point.

I'm enjoying your opinions. When they were on Starz recently I watched all of the Bond films up through "A View To A Kill". The camp factor really ramps up through the Roger Moore films. And one thing I was struck by watching so many Bond films in a row...there are only so many different environments you can have chases in. About the 4th ski chase it was like "again on the ski slopes!"

Did you get "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"? I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed that film. But that may have had more to the presence of Diana Rigg than anything else...

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 6:17 pm

Backdraft 2. Avoid it like the plague. It is awful. Seriously one of the worst sequels I've ever seen. The original movie stood well enough on its own. In this one, the main character is the son of Kurt Russell's character from the original. He's become a Fire Marshall, investigating fires in their aftermath for their causes. Technically, if done right this could have been fascinating, but the weak script drags the entire premise down, and the actor plays the guy more like a street cop, and yes, he does wave a gun around towards the end as the whole thing ends up devolving into a shootout anyway. About the best thing about this is Donald Sutherland reprising his role. William Baldwin does return, but feels like he's basically phoning it in.

Most likely won't even know a sequel's been released. There's a reason for that. It's a Direct-to-Video/On-Demand release.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 8:09 pm

hentzau wrote: ↑Mon Sep 16, 2019 5:12 pm
Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 10:32 pm Goldfinger was great; I can see why many feel that it was the best Bond movie ever. You sure can see where all the Archer tropes came from; Bond's Aston-Martin is a character unto itself.

One thing I like about these is that the obligatory car chases, fisticuffs, explosions, and gunplay scenes are short and serve the plot. They don't take over and become the whole point.
I'm enjoying your opinions. When they were on Starz recently I watched all of the Bond films up through "A View To A Kill". The camp factor really ramps up through the Roger Moore films. And one thing I was struck by watching so many Bond films in a row...there are only so many different environments you can have chases in. About the 4th ski chase it was like "again on the ski slopes!"

Did you get "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"? I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed that film. But that may have had more to the presence of Diana Rigg than anything else...

Nope, only recorded the Connery movies. After finishing You Only Live Twice, I have added the Austin Powers movies to my queue.

Haven't seen those since they came out 20 years ago.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 8:10 pm

Tonight I'm watching The Bridge On the River Kwai. Or the first half of it, anyway. Three hours is a slog, even for a great movie.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 8:49 pm

All these years I thought it was OVER the river...dangit.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 8:54 pm

That would be a better engineering choice, you’d think.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:26 pm

Saw a great movie tonight called The Last Full Measure. It's the true story about Vietnam War hero, William Pitsenbarger, and the investigation that led to him finally receiving the medal of honor he had never been given. The movie is a mix between war scenes and modern day, with the war scenes being the vietnam war's version of Saving Private Ryan when it comes to intensity, and it is quite intense. The movie has quite a cast, with Samuel L. Jackson, William Hurt, Ed Harris and Peter Fonda playing his war buddies in the modern day setting, including Christopher Plummer playing his father, who all turn in great performances. Oddly enough, I couldn't find a trailer for this movie.

Apollo · Post by **Apollo** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 12:16 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Sep 16, 2019 8:09 pm ...Nope, only recorded the Connery movies. After finishing You Only Live Twice, I have added the Austin Powers movies to my queue. Haven't seen those since they came out 20 years ago.

A few years ago I watched all of the Bond movies in chronological order and I enjoyed the imagery and music of the opening credits of "You Only Live Twice" more than any of the other openings. When I was a teenager and really into Bond in the early 80's, getting to see and hear the new opening credits was actually a memorable part of going to see the new Bond movie. I can't think of any other movie franchise where the credits were so memorable, at least in those days.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 12:42 am

Speaking of Bond openings, I've been finding the modern ones to be rather lame. The best recent one has been Casino Royale's 'I Know Your Name" followed by Skyfall's. The one for Quantum of Solace, I didn't like at all. I haven't seen Spectre yet, so I can't comment on that one.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 9:40 am

hentzau wrote: ↑Mon Sep 16, 2019 5:12 pm Did you get "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"? I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed that film. But that may have had more to the presence of Diana Rigg than anything else...

I too was watching them all back to back over the summer - oh my gosh - that one was horrible! He was a horrible Bond and they took the character in a direction that just made on sense. I was happy to see Connery back for Diamonds are Forever. Sadly, that was the last one I saw as work really picked up. I hope to get back to them soon (meaning Christmas break).

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:13 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 10:32 pm Goldfinger was great; I can see why many feel that it was the best Bond movie ever. You sure can see where all the Archer tropes came from; Bond's Aston-Martin is a character unto itself.

One thing I like about these is that the obligatory car chases, fisticuffs, explosions, and gunplay scenes are short and serve the plot. They don't take over and become the whole point.

The best/worst part about Goldfinger is the explanation of the plot to the mob bosses before Goldfinger kills them. He builds this elaborate room with an apparent dual purpose of explaining a convoluted criminal scheme (with scale models and everything) to the mob bosses that then seals off into a gas-filled killing chamber for those same people. A lesser (more rational?) villain might have just killed them all right away, but our man Auric has to ostentatiously tell them all what they're going to be missing in the minutes before snuffing them out. It certainly serves a plot purpose in letting Bond (and the audience) know what is going to happen, but it would serve no purpose in real life.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:30 am

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:13 am
Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 10:32 pm Goldfinger was great; I can see why many feel that it was the best Bond movie ever. You sure can see where all the Archer tropes came from; Bond's Aston-Martin is a character unto itself.

One thing I like about these is that the obligatory car chases, fisticuffs, explosions, and gunplay scenes are short and serve the plot. They don't take over and become the whole point.
The best/worst part about Goldfinger is the explanation of the plot to the mob bosses before Goldfinger kills them. He builds this elaborate room with an apparent dual purpose of explaining a convoluted criminal scheme (with scale models and everything) to the mob bosses that then seals off into a gas-filled killing chamber for those same people. A lesser (more rational?) villain might have just killed them all right away, but our man Auric has to ostentatiously tell them all what they're going to be missing in the minutes before snuffing them out. It certainly serves a plot purpose in letting Bond (and the audience) know what is going to happen, but it would serve no purpose in real life.

Shh. You're spoiling the mood.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:40 am

The Man with the Golden Gun will always hold a place in my heart as it featured my first car, an AMC Javelin, in what was the first computer generated car stunt.

I loved my 72 Javelin. It was "baby shit brown" as my father liked to call it. It could do 0 to 30 in 3 1/2 weeks. If I wanted to pass someone, I had to yell out the window that I needed them to slow down. And most importantly it had a "desert only" setting on the air conditioner. I don't recall ever feeling like James Bond while driving it, but I do recall wondering if Q had worked on it at any point as it did leave oil streaks behind it wherever I went.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 12:14 pm

Despite having loved the Marx Brothers for decades now, I had somehow never seen The Coconuts. For a non-Marx Brothers fan, I would not really recommend it, other than if you wanted to see the Marx Bros first talkie appearance. There’s even less story than in the usual MB vehicle. Much of that comes from the fact that it was lifted directly from the vaudeville stage show they had been running for a few years...the staging and set up were pretty much "Funny Scene, Musical Number for the Transition, Funny Scene, Musical Number for the Transition." But there are gems in there, such as a scene with two bedrooms and three doors, and the whole "viaduct" gag between Groucho and Chico

But there’s there's something in the "viaduct" scene that caught my eye. Groucho is trying to explain to Chico his grand plan for the Coconut’s properties using a blueprint. When they start the scene, the blueprint is all shiny and limp, like its soaking wet. It made no sense within the scene why his blueprints are wet, so I assumed it was a cut scene. it was still a good scene, showing the genesis of the usual Groucho-Chico banter, but the wet blueprint still bugged me, so after the movie I did some research.

Turns out, that this was filmed at the dawn of talkies, and they were still figuring out all of the audio issues (pretty evident by how much the audio varied from scene to scene.). In this case, when they rehearsed the scene, where the mics were placed the noise the paper rustling was covering the vocals, so the solution was to soak the blueprint so it was silent during the scene.

And now you know...

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:41 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:17 pm I recorded all five Sean Connery Bond movies from TCM. I had seen one or two of them back in the day, but not in the past...oh, 40 years or so. So far I've watched Dr No and From Russia with Love. Even though I am not ordinarily into action/adventure or spy movies, I wanted to see these classics. I've been on a bit of a Hitchcock/Agatha Christie binge lately so James Bond fits in with that.

They hold up fairly well on the strength of Connery's character. Let's put it this way: I'm enjoying them even though they're not my usual cuppa. The sexism is painfully dated, but welcome to the '60s. I don't feel any desire to see the later Bond actors, though.

You might notice as this thread ages that TCM is my favorite channel. I watch a LOT of old movies, especially from the 1930s-50s. In fact, I just saw Nosferatu a few days ago.

Live and Let Die is one of the Moore Bond movies which stands up well.

I'm with you on TCM. One of my go-to channels. I wish we hadn't been too busy over Labor Day weekend to see Lawrence of Arabia on the Big Screen when they did that.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:50 pm

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:41 pm Live and Let Die is one of the Moore Bond movies which stands up well.

I wish it stood up as well as my memory of it does. Much like the song, it just seems to have a place in history that is better left remembered than experienced again for me.

As a kid, it was by far my favorite, though. So much I loved. Tattoo, the opening funeral, the 7 Up guy, creepy VooDoo for a child to see, etc... etc... etc... Maybe not by far... I Christopher Lee's Scaramnga was something I loved as well. For context Moonraker was the first Bond movie I saw in the Theatre (also still as a kid)....

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:54 pm

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:50 pm
Pyperkub wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:41 pm Live and Let Die is one of the Moore Bond movies which stands up well.
I wish it stood up as well as my memory of it does. Much like the song, it just seems to have a place in history that is better left remembered than experienced again for me.

As a kid, it was by far my favorite, though. So much I loved. Tattoo, the opening funeral, the 7 Up guy, creepy VooDoo for a child to see, etc... etc... etc... Maybe not by far... I Christopher Lee's Scaramnga was something I loved as well. For context Moonraker was the first Bond movie I saw in the Theatre (also still as a kid)....

When you saw it did Jaw's girlfriend wear braces?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:57 pm

Holy crap, I had to look that up and was surprised to see that she DID NOT have braces. I could have sworn that she did. I even had the damn image in my head.

Looks like I'm far from being alone with that memory though. They call it the "Mandela Effect", although I don't recall Nelson Mandela wearing braces either.