# Things I watched this weekend



## Jayaprakash Satyamurthy

As we don't seem to have a catch-all 'recent views' thread, I'll just put up a few potted reviews of movies I watched this weekend (on my shiny new player!). 

The Devil's Nightmare: An early 70s Eruopean horror flick - Belgian, I think. Basically, a group of seven tourists who symbolise the seven deadly sins seek shelter in a castle. The family that own the castle labour under an acient curse that transforms all female offspring into succubi. Sure enough, a ravishing young woman who is secretly the Baron's illegitimate niece turns up and during the course of the night begins picking off the tourists in a grisly manner, usually somehow befitting of the sin they embody. A young priest-to-be who is part of the group escapes until the last, when he bargains with devil (played by a wonderfuly cadaverous old fellow) to save their souls in exchange for his own. The next morning, the tourists are all restored. The young cleric's bargain has saved them - or has it? 

Not an awesome movie, and only competently made, but wonderfuly atmospheric and with some very good moments. 

Horror Express: A 70s flick starring CHristopher Lee and Peter Cushing, as rival scientists who later strike up an alliance. It's a rather Alien-like story, as Lee unearths a fossilised 'missing link' in China and boards a train to Europe to take it back home for study. However, the fossil is posessed by an 'alein energy form' that soon begins shambling around the train knocking people off. It's a chaotic and often totally arbitrary plot, but everyone really looks their part and the charisma of the two lead players lends the film a certain charm. Telly SAvalas briefly strides across the screen as a wonderfuly arrogant and grandiose Cossack officer, but his appearance, which rescues the film from a slump towards the ned, is woefully brief. 

Dracula, AD 1972

A Hammer production. Lee and Cushing revisit their Dracula and Van Helsing personas against the background of mod, 70s London. It's fairly standard fare, as a monion of the Count's named Johnny Alucard (gosh!) leads young people including Van Helsing's buxom grand daughter into ritual that revives his master. A fairly well-paced and tense Dracula/Van Helsing conflict ensues.

It's rather silly at times, in its attempts to infuse the hoary old Gothic tropes with mod sensibilities,  but all in all it works as a minor but entertaining film. Lee does little except look gruesome, but Cushing turns in a fine performance, as do some of the secondary cast. 

When Worlds Collide: This SF classic can seem rather talk-y at times, but it hlds up well. It was a lot like seeing a typical Golden Age SF tale brought to life, the sort of dialogues, the scientific protagonists and so on. The effects were considered advanced at the time, and still look pretty good, although clearly dated. A very good disaster movie that I ought to enjoy viewing again.


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## Foxbat

I only managed one movie this weekend but it was a biggie an I hadn't watched it for ages - Spartacus ...and what a movie!!

As for your choices, When Worlds Collide is worth a spin on anybody's shiny new player 

I haven't seen The Devil's Nightmare or Horror Express before but they sound kind of interesting.


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## polymorphikos

_When Worlds Collide_ really bugs me, because they keep breaking their own rules. Especially how the likeable rival tricks the reluctant hero into being on the ship, even though the hero was willing to give his place up to someone else who was actually of value. The entire film was like one big study in hypocricy on the part of the self-righteous characters.

I watched _Bad Taste_ and _The Haunting_ on the weekend. They were both pretty good. _The Haunting_'s handling of Eleanor was  very well done, even if it wasn't as scary as they say.


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## Jayaprakash Satyamurthy

Yep, the emotional drama in WWC was really stilted. I liked the way everyone was so terribly stereotyped though.


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## ravenus

Not a weekend view but I finished watching *30 Days in Hell: The Making of The Devil's Rejects*. 

This is a 144 min documentary covering the entire shooting schedule for *Rob Zombie*'s psycho road movie (which is a sequel to his earlier film *House of 1000 Corpses*), and it's pretty damn interesting, although best enjoyed in instalments (the DVD kindly allows you to watch it in 5 parts). It shows you in explicit detail the way all the scenes were shot in the film, each snippet ending with how the finished product looks. It's a superb look at the entire film-making process and gives you a really high level of respect for the people who take the efforts. 

There's a lot of interesting detail about the creation of the various sets, props and especially the boatloads of make-up and gore effects. It also points out the various parts of the film where CGI was used to enhance the effect, comparing rough and finished shots. 

What the docu really highlights is how much detailed and clear Zombie's vision was for his movie, especially all the influences he incorporated into it, yet making sure it worked as a coherent whole. He also seems a damn cool guy sharing an easy rapport with all his co-workers. There are also lots of interesting soundbytes from all the actors in the film. 

TDR given its violent content and rejection of clear cut good/evil values may not be everyone's cuppa, but it's doubtless a brilliantly crafted and painstakingly executed film and this docu does a great job at showing you how it was all put together.


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## hedgeknight

My family and I watched Madagascar (I have a five year old!) and A Christmas Carol - traditional for the season. And my wife and I watched Phantom of the Opera (the latest version). Loved 'em all!
-g-


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## cornelius

watched sin city yesterday

don't know what to think of it. I like the set-up and all, but some parts seemed endless...


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## ravenus

cornelius said:
			
		

> watched sin city yesterday
> don't know what to think of it. I like the set-up and all, but some parts seemed endless...


You mean inconclusive or interminable? 

*Sin City* is not a coherent story per se but a collection of episodes and Frank Miller's original stories themselves are short and abrupt, the focus being on providing gritty atmosphere and incredible violence with caricatures of film noir, rather having a great story arc or particularly deep characters.


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## cornelius

yes, I know, I did some research on that. thx anyway. I liked the stories. the drama was a bit over the eddge, but that doesn't make it less likeble.overall, I liked the film, but it some parts were a bit too much of a rattle. maybe it's better to read it in the comics, I wouldn't know.


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## ravenus

Yes, most will disagree with me, but watching the _Sin City_ movie gave me a very disjointed and "why BOTHER?" feeling given how faithfully they imitated the source material. As it stands, I feel it's more an expensive and technically accomplished advertisement for Miller's books than an adaptation of his work.


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## sanityassassin

I really enjoyed sin city and didn't find the broken storyline a problem. I watched L4yer cake a british ganster flick in the vain of lock stock and snatch , quite enjoyable although the amount of double-crossing was a bit hard to follow


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## kyektulu

*I watched the new willy wonka and the chocolate factory this weekend, what a silly ending. 
 Talk about drifting off the plot.*


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## Culhwch

I just finished watching the extended cut of _The Frighteners_, Peter Jackson's first 'Hollywood' film. It's not the greatest film in the world, but it is great fun. Good to see PJ make his standard cameo in one of the new scenes. Also interesting is that in the intro he points out that without this movie LotR would never have come about. WETA upgraded from one computer to some thirty for the production, and nearing the completion of the film, PJ was at a loose end as to what to do with them once they'd finished. Hence the idea for a effects-heavy fantasy flick, namely Rings. That, plus Michael J. Fox reminded him of a hobbit.

I may have made that last part up.


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## the_faery_queen

i love that filml. i thought it was so funny. and clever. and just odd


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## sanityassassin

I remember a movie poster for the frighteners in my local cinema it was there for over a year before the film acually came out and it looked great but in the end it was only an ok film


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## ravenus

I thought _The Frighteners_ was a dull and so-so film. It tried to be both scary and funny but IMO didn't do well at either. It didn't tell a partcularly compelling story, either, and too much of the movie seemed to have been designed as a testing ground for the then fledgeling WETA studio.


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## ravenus

*The Descent* *- Neil Marshall*

An all-girl cast with no gratuitious tit-flashing? How could such a movie be kickass? How about by making the girls believably tough adventurers who go spelunking through an undocumented underground cavern system, braving their way through unbroken darkness, claustrophobic spaces and over scary drops only to find themselves confronted with vicious flesh tearing mutants. The action is kickass and the tensions between the women keep things interesting even when blood isn't flying all across the screen.

After _Dog Soldiers_, Neil Marshall has put up a terrific gender variation on a similar theme with enough difference in tone for this one to stand proud on its own.


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## SukiTrek

I watched The Day the Earth Stood Still and Sleepless in Seattle.  Sleepless makes me cry everytime.


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## ravenus

Saw all the three original *Star Wars* movies back to back (*A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of The Jedi*). 

The last time I had seen these fully was in my chidhood, in the days of worn and cropped VHS tapes from the neighborhood video library. Having seen them again now in full glory, I can say...they're pretty damn fun. They have that old-style swashbuckling episodic adventure thing that's pretty cool, and Lucas at that point of time hadn't taken his characters and so-called universe so seriously that they didn't have fun while saving the universe. In contrast whatever I've caught of the newer movies on TV seems to concentrate enormously on old (and young) bores sitting in rooms somberly discussing the price of rice in China. 

My main headache still comes from the Yoda segments in _TESB_, festering with annoying and pretentious crap. But they now seem surprisingly shorter than the endless stretches of agony I imagined them to be from the VHS days.


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## Adasunshine

I saw Wedding Crashers and LMAO!

xx


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## littlemissattitude

I finally saw _The Professional_ (Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman), after ages of hearing how good it is.  Usually when I've heard so much about how wonderful a film is, I end up being disappointed.  I wasn't disappointed with this one.


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## Foxbat

Watched _The Sea Is Watching _(stuck a short review in the reviews section)
and also watched a docu on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge - very impressive


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## nixie

Blade Trinity..


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## Salazar

King Arthur (Director's Cut)


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## Priv8eye

MOvie wise this weekend I only managed to watch Sabatta with Lee Van Cleef.

Lovely stuff, aint seen that for years.

Just adding to a few comments from other posters:

Sin City is the closest thing I think I've seen to a comic book on screen.  As pointed out its almost a direct translation of the comic with nothing added or taken away.  This is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your opinion.

as for Charlie, the ending couldn't drift any further.

The Frightners - every time this is on Tv i miss it.  And, as the DVD Recorder has just broken down and I cant replace it, I'm not about to see it again soon either.  Bad Taste I saw when it first came out and it is a fantastic film.  Really out there.  Try Brain Dead sometime.


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## Culhwch

Salazar said:
			
		

> King Arthur (Director's Cut)


 
Is that any better than the interminable original cut?


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## kyektulu

*I watched Die Hard AGAIN this weekend, my partner insisted on watching it despite the fact we have seen it about 20 times and we own it on dvd... men.*


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## ravenus

Saw Dario Argento's *Suspiria* again, this time with the unofficial commentary track by critic *Michael Mackenzie* of the DVD Times website

The commentary can be downloaded from   here 

The commentary was nice on the whole with good information on the cast and crew of the film and insights into some of the techniques used. Mike's Scottish accent and style of delivery is sometimes monotonous (I recommend watching the commentary in 2 sittings) but it's still worth the doing for those that are interested in the film.


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## Alysheba

I had the unfortunate pleasure in watching The Brothers Grimm (it was forced on me) and The Great Raid. They both were long and drawn out without much to be desired in the acting department. For TBG I have to say it was the most complete misuse of acting ability I've ever seen. 

I did rent The Island which was okay. Not anything to write home about. It was better than the other two.


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## kyektulu

*Mission Impossible and Die Hard 2...  bah, hes obsessed!

 We should be going to see Underworld Evolution at the cinema today... any good?*


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## weaveworld

*I watched 'The Dark Half' last night, I hadn't seen it for ages, it was ok*


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## ravenus

[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif] Watched the first 4 episodes of this anime series called *Ninja Scroll* at a friend's place. The production values on the series are great with terrific visuals and music. The only problem I have with it is that the plot across the 4 episodes has moved very little, you just have one action sequence after another, almost like the plot was so thin they decided to interrupt every little sliver of it with a combat scene to extend the running time. It's all very well done, but I'd seriously have liked more revelations into the story by this point.

The lead character Jubei seems a direct lift from *Toshiro Mifune*'s portrayal of Sanjuro.
[/FONT]


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## Alysheba

Culhwch said:
			
		

> Is that any better than the interminable original cut?



I wouldn't say better, but different. More gore and violence. Some scenes in the theatrical version were left out and scenes that were not in the theatrical version were added in. Some scenes were put in a different order but that is about it. I liked King Arthur though.


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## ravenus

[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif]*TALES OF HOFFMAN – Powell & Pressburger*

This colorful film adaptation of the famous opera by *Offenbach* is a musical in the truest sense, meaning every bit of narrative and dialog is put forth by means of song. I am not in general the biggest fan of such endeavors, but it works quite well for this film, although some of the love paeans may be outstaying their welcome.

In the story a poet – Hoffman – tells in episodic fashion about the many times that he has loved and lost. There have been several films made with such a theme but Hoffman stands well apart because of the Goth-fantastic nature of the narratives. Hoffman, in turn, falls in love with Olympia - a puppet, Guiletta - the temptress of a soul-stealing demon, and Antonia - a singer doomed by fatal consumptive illness.

This narrative is complemented by the brilliantly supportive artistic design of the film. The makers construct a deliberate stage-like ambiance, with the use of representative backdrops, suitably exaggerated props and striking motifs to convey the settings and moods of the various episodes. In this aspect it shares strong kinship with *Masaki Kobayashi*'s period ghost story anthology *Kwaidan*. You also have the concept of the same actor returning to play different parts in the various episodes of Hoffman's life, the most notable of which is *Robert Helpmann* who portrays the sinister element in all the episodes (and with his vampiric menacing look, does a terrific job of it, although his motive for evil in the Antonia episode goes unexplained).

The fantastic elements of the plot, color-drenched distinctive look, intricate balletic choreography and excellent fit of all the actors in their roles make _Tales of Hoffman_ a very interesting watching experience on the whole.[/FONT]


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## ravenus

[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif] Saw Eli Roth's debut horror venture *Cabin Fever* last night.

The first 25 odd minutes consisted of mind-numbingly boring teen movie stereotype and one seriously considered shutting it off before the night was lost. But once the plot actually gets going, more interesting events pile on and the horror/comic elements find their groove. Especially towards the end the movie goes pleasingly gonzo, although that may not appeal to all. The film is not particularly original and as is nowadays fashionable to do, there are obvious nods to classics like _Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead, Night of the Living Dead_, but it's still a worthwhile watch on the whole.[/FONT]


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## GrownUp

'28 Days later' and 'Dead End'. 
Both were on the telly. 

10/10 times 2.


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## Quokka

Only movie I caught this weekend was _Rabbit Proof Fence, a_ true life tale of daughters living through what has since become known (atleast within Australia) as the 'stolen generation' an excellent movie and I couldn't recommend it high enough.


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## Omega

Got 28 days later on DVD, great film 

Haven't heard anymore news on the sequel.


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## Teir

Didn't watch anything this weekend but last weekend I watched 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' for the first time. hehee -  loved it.


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## Marky Lazer

knivesout said:
			
		

> *Things I watched this weekend*


Groningen FC 3 Ajax 2! Hurrah!


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## weaveworld

*Storm of the Century and Supernatural*


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## Adasunshine

Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

It was my first time watching this and apart from the cheesy ending, I laughed hard, very very hard! Great film!

xx


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## littlemissattitude

Teir said:
			
		

> Didn't watch anything this weekend but last weekend I watched 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' for the first time. hehee -  loved it.


"Priscilla" is really good movie.

I watched Dr. Who this weekend - SciFi over here in the States started showing him.


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## dwndrgn

Watched a portion of "Every Which Way but Loose" and the entirety of "Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban".  I got a giggle out of watching Squint from way back...

After watching HP III, I realized that I was being silly in being upset that the moviemakers never reveal the origins of the Marauder's Map - after seeing it again this weekend, I realize that it truly isn't necessary to the movie by itself.  It may become important later - depending on what they leave in and leave out in the next three.  The only reason it was important to me was because I already knew.  If I hadn't known, it wouldn't have mattered to me at all - it is just a prop that the Weasly twins used to create mischief, not a tie in to the school's history (and Harry's history) as it is in the book.  I still think it would have made the movie richer - especially explaining the Patronus that Harry calls forth to get rid of the dementors.


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## steve12553

Adasunshine said:
			
		

> Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
> 
> It was my first time watching this and apart from the cheesy ending, I laughed hard, very very hard! Great film!
> 
> xx


 
THat was the most painful movie I ever saw. Too many of their situations were very easy to identify with to the point that I cringed. That's one movie I could never watch twice.


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## Ahdkaw

The entire first season of Farscape.

Bloody great stuff, I now know for a fact that both Chianna and Scorpious were introduced in the first season (could never tell on TV as they have a tendency to show one episode per week at 2am).

Working my way through Season 2 now (well, when I finish work I will). Saw the episode that explains how and why Pilot was merged with Moya, the Leviation ship.

I would sing the theme song now, but I don't know how to type it (just image it playing as you leave the thread.


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## kyektulu

*I watched House Of Flying Daggers last night.

Excellent film, I never thought I would get into a film with subtitles but I did.

What an ending, it is different to have a ending that isnt all happy ever after dont you agree...*


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## kyektulu

GrownUp said:
			
		

> '28 Days later'
> 
> 10/10 times 2.



*Really... I didnt like 28 days later very much, I felt the film wasnt very substancial...
Each 2 his own I guess.
*


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## ravenus

Saw *Syriana* which I thought was fairly interesting although the various plot threads often get too convoluted for their own good (I was never sure of what activities George Clooney's character was involved in) and what I consider the movie's courageous stance of keeping emotional and character aspects low and focussing more on the political threads may be considered by others as cold and uninvolving. 

[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif] Saw this superbly made Thai flick called *Bang Rajan*, which is about the valiant efforts of the warriors of a small Thai village (called Bang Rajan) in the 18th centuryto keep the massive Burmese army from invading the Thai capital. The various battle sequences in the film are brilliantly shot, bringing to mind Kurosawa's *Seven Samurai* (although the plot is more simplistic without any of the moral questions that Kurosawa raises) and it's great to see a sincerely patriotic film without having characters bursting into put-on loud "inspirational" speeches all the time.

[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif] Saw *Cannibal Holocaust* from start to end and while it's a stupid-ass movie and the work of morons with cameras, there are parts which are pretty well done in the context of the cheapass exploitation flick. Also some instances of crazy humor and the bizarre juxtaposition of cheerful synth music against scenes of carnage. But it's not a movie I'd trouble myself to watch again ever.
[/FONT]


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## GrownUp

Two films. 'My Beautiful Laundrette' and 'The Shining'. They were on sale at Woolworths. I would have gotten 'Empire of the Sun' which was stacked up in pyramids, and which I know is great, but it _wasn't_ on sale.

*My Beautiful Laundrette*. Oh my dear God is it dreadful. Embarrassingly poor acting.  And irritating, in the way that films about Asian people are when the makers force the characters to spend approx. half of their dialogue holding forth about being Asian. I mean good grief. 'I'm a character in a cultural drama, so I cannot walk through this door without discussing with you the cultural complexity of walking through doors.' Oh dear oh dear oh dear. 
Still, for a dreadfully made film, it was slightly uplifting, _somehow_.

*The Shining*. What can I say, but Hurrah! I watched it four times in a row. Long live Wendy!


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## Niolani

I watched The 40 yr old Virgin and found it pretty dismal, it just dragged on and on. I also watched Dark Water, which I though was alright but the remakes of Japanese horror films is just getting a bit to much. I would like to see a horror film from more cultures to see how they try to inspire fright and what they think is scary. Last of all, I watched an Aussie horror movie Wolf Creek and it was good. I'm still thinking about it days later and wishing I'd made time to watch the extras. I would definately recommend watching this.


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## ravenus

*@ Grownup:*
Terrific review about _Laundrette_. I can't tell you, as an Indian, how much it embarasses me when people recommend that I watch movies like this (and now the stuff made by turd minion *Deepa Mehta*) to understand cultural diaspora. Makes me so mad.


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## GrownUp

ravenus said:
			
		

> *@ Grownup:*
> Terrific review about _Laundrette_. I can't tell you, as an Indian, how much it embarasses me when people recommend that I watch movies like this (and now the stuff made by turd minion *Deepa Mehta*) to understand cultural diaspora. Makes me so mad.


And I bet if you leaned over and gave one of those people a slap, they'd be offended.  

There was another film on this weekend, called 'Banglatown Banquet'. I didn't watch it. I'll tell you why. Because the clip I saw featured a Bangladeshi woman, of course, bemoaning the grey skies here, and remembering the warm skies of her home. Oh dear God. Who says that? Have you ever met anyone who would say that? 

I mean, she _could_ complain that you can't buy the right type of fish here. That'd be about right.

It's worse than the fakeness of Disneyish London you see in Hollywood films. At least those are made by Americans who don't know or care.

I mean if you are on a bus full of Asian people and white people, if it's a miserable day, everyone says 'we wish we were in Majorca'. 

But you can't have that in the script can you? Not poignant enough. Got to have the inevitable sorrow of being trapped between cultures. Asian and conflicted, the two go together like chips and ketchup...

How could a Londoner make 'My Beautiful Laundrette'? It's inexcusable.


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## ravenus

GrownUp said:
			
		

> And I bet if you leaned over and gave one of those people a slap, they'd be offended.


Hah tell me about that. A couple years back I was cajoled by friends into going for Deepa Mehta's *Bollywood/Hollywood* which was supposed to be this gently humorous take on the expat Indian community, canny spoof on Bollywood film stereotypes AND a charming love story to boot. It was the most idiotic, contrived, godawful, hair-pulling experience of my life. Some way into it, when I began to make vocal my dissatisfaction with the onscreen goings-on, I was immediately pounced upon by this expat woman sitting adjacent to me who started telling me about how this movie isn't meant for  [a hopelessly thick-skinned boor like] me and how I need to be an Indian in a foreign country to understand how wonderfully meaningful and incredibly humorous it is...UGH!! Someone was really lucky I didn't have a sledgehammer at hand.

[uber-rant]And actually worse are some of the films by Bollywood's bigshots like Yash Chopra and Karan Johar, tailored for the expat Indian community which are filled with the most disgusting forms of pseudo-patriotism where they show Indian families sitting their fat bottoms tight in the UK and US, taking every advantage of the social and economic systems there and then mouthing these platitudes about what a great country India is and how Western culture is hollow and can't hold a candle to Indian culture. Frankly the way I see it, if the people actually behave like this, it's practically giving an excuse for all the racial abuse incidents they complain about.[/uber-rant]


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## GrownUp

ravenus said:
			
		

> Someone was really lucky I didn't have a sledgehammer at hand.


I know. I know. 

It is the same bloke in the pub. You can't miss him. He's reading the 'Guardian', sort of waving it about. He leans over and says to his Asian/Black/Russian friend 'I think it is really important to acknowledge your roots'. And says, magnamanously 'Women should be allowed to succeed in the workplace.' 
And you want to say 'Really, you prat? Well who the hell is queing up for your approval?' But again that would be interpreted as overly aggressive. Funny, that. 

It is _that_ bloke who makes these films. You know it is.

(We should be discussing this on a different thread, people will get confused.) I suppose I could bring the discussion back to topic by talking more about 'My Beautiful Laundrette'.

The film-making style of 'My Beautiful Laundrette' is not fair to anyone. I was browsing the web about it (so I would know just who exactly to blame). 

Johnny (common as muck-type) was played by Daniel Day Lewis. A versatile actor, fair enough. But when you know that the other actors who were up to play the part were: Tim Roth(well alright, I can see this choice), Gary Oldman and Kenneth Branagh, then the phenomenon of pretentious film-making more or less explodes in your face. Can't you just hear it? _...Such a challenge and experience it would be for Shakespearian stage actor to play a rough London lad! Wonderful. Moving. A revelation...._

 A real south-london lad could not be approprate? Oh no. An actor such as that would be more comfortable in Eastenders, don't you know, luvvie.


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## ravenus

*Daniel Day Lewis* was still by far the most credible and the best element in this movie, otherwise populated by assorted morons whose being Asian was regarded by the makers as sufficient coverup for the utter lack of depth to their characterizations and utter lack of spark in their acting.


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## GrownUp

ravenus said:
			
		

> *Daniel Day Lewis* was still by far the most credible and the best element in this movie, otherwise populated by assorted morons whose being Asian was regarded by the makers as sufficient coverup for the utter lack of depth to their characterizations and utter lack of spark in their acting.



 Oh no no no. The most convincing acting was by the woman who played the mistress. And Saeed Jaffrey was better too. Oh, wait. No, the alcoholic dad was better, I mean, given the general awfulness of it all.  

Although Daniel Day Lewis is a good versatile actor and tried his best, I think he ended up as stilted and inconvincing as most of them. And any effectiveness he might have had was defeated by the editing. 

I wish you were here right now so that I could put the DVD on and I could point out the cringeworthy moments to you. He does not escape.

Plus didn't you think he looked rather too old to be Omar's school friend? The actor who played Omar looked like a child next to him.

Although, remember I said, an age ago, that the film was still somehow uplifting? It was Johnny's and Omar's relationship going on that made it so, and the fact that the story didn't slip into tragedy and melodrama, which it could have done. The two mismatched actors did manage to convey something. Sort of. A small, miniscule, tiny bit. Maybe.


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## ravenus

> didn't you think he looked rather too old to be Omar's school friend? The actor who played Omar looked like a child next to him.


 Well he looked like someone who flunked so many times he was much older than his classmates.
And I can never think of *Saeed Jaffrey* without getting reminded of the Donald Duck tag a witty critic had once given him. He does so waddle and quack


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## GrownUp

Omar-'We've known eachother since we were five!'

The Audience -Well, since he was five... and Johnny was, from appearances, thirty-five...

Still. * The Shining* was a great film. Really good fun. So not a wasted weekend.

Anyway, there are truly great Indian films. Have you seen 'April 19th'? It's in Bengali, but it comes with subtitles.


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## Quokka

A couple from last weekend.

_The Wedding Crashers _
This one suprised me a bit. I was expecting to have seen the only two funny moments already in the promo's, as is often the case now but some parts had me in stitches and it was actualy fairly entertaining all the way through.

_Rabbit Proof Fence _
I'm not sure how well known this film is outside of Australia, it's based on a true story and deals with a period in Australian history commonly referred to as the stolen generation. A brilliant and powerful film (IMO).


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## steve12553

I watched "_A Sound of Thunder_" on DVD. I somehow missed it when it was in the theater which would seem to imply it didn't do well. I now know why. I looked for a reference to it on the forums and was only able to find my own reference to the Ray Bradbury short story. This makes the second time in two years that one of my favorite classic Science Fiction stories was destroyed as a movie (_I, Robot_ was the first) I guess it's just too much to ask.


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## ravenus

_Sound of Thunder_ was I thought a bit of a ho-hum short story in itself.


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## steve12553

ravenus said:
			
		

> _Sound of Thunder_ was I thought a bit of a ho-hum short story in itself.


 
_Sound of Thunder_ has a sentamental value to me since I read it so long ago and had not read so many things that had taken that idea and branched from it. It was a great concept in a world full of space opera. I tend to try to understand a writers world before I judge their writing.


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## littlemissattitude

_Highlander_.  The original.  It had been years since I'd seen it, and I happened to catch it just as it was coming on AMC.  I was a bit surprised to find that it has held up pretty well to my memory of it.


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## weaveworld

*I watched 'O Brother, where art thou?', I forgot how funny it was and I watched 'Gladiator' as well.

Tonight I watched 'Supernatural', which was really good, it was the scarecrow one.

*


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## GrownUp

littlemissattitude said:
			
		

> _Highlander_. The original. It had been years since I'd seen it, and I happened to catch it just as it was coming on AMC. I was a bit surprised to find that it has held up pretty well to my memory of it.


 
Yes Highlander is great.


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## littlemissattitude

And then I watched _Zoolander_ again.


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## Taltos

10 episodes of "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" - so far pretty good.


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## GrownUp

Is it better than the film?


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## orionsixwings

We did a whole lot of DVD watching during the weekend.  My kid loves to watch films over and over again so we had to endure two days of the same films.

Death Becomes Her
The Village
Sleepy Hollow
Independence Day
The Mummy, The Mummy returns, The Scorpion King

Yeah, mostly popcorn shows.


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## jackokent

I watched the Scorpion King and was instantly transported back to the fantasy cliche thread.  The film seemed to contain all of them.  I thought it was truly awful, I can't think of one redeeming thing about it.


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## Jason_Taverner

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, really good film and when he tries to hide her in his shame laughed my arse off, its a family place so no details but I recommend this over looked and truly orginal film Jim Cary showing he can act and kate winsolt acting out of her standard roles brilliant all round


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## orionsixwings

Jason_Taverner said:
			
		

> eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, really good film and when he tries to hide her in his shame laughed my arse off, its a family place so no details but I recommend this over looked and truly orginal film Jim Cary showing he can act and kate winsolt acting out of her standard roles brilliant all round


 
I enjoyed that film too, love the editing and the acting bit is yeah brilliant.  Jim Carey is better when serious.  I do find him funny but he can really go over the top.  

Love this film!


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## orionsixwings

jackokent said:
			
		

> I watched the Scorpion King and was instantly transported back to the fantasy cliche thread. The film seemed to contain all of them. I thought it was truly awful, I can't think of one redeeming thing about it.


 
Well, for a kid, The Rocks seems to be quite appealing, though I don't know why.


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## Taltos

GrownUp said:
			
		

> Is it better than the film?



Can't say that, let's just say they are a bit different. Film is a very nice stand-alone - series has it's own appeal.  And BTW series are not continuation of the film story, but take place in alternative universe where Puppet-Master and Major Motoko don't meet.


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## Teir

orionsixwings said:
			
		

> The Village
> Sleepy Hollow


 
I'm assuming the sleepy hollow with Mr depp 
I have to say that these two movies were really beautiful, the art direction was exquisite - the colours in particular were amazingly done.

I watched 'The Triangle' on sunday and then the second part on Tuesday.


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## Marky Lazer

Oh dear Odin! Were you just refering to The Village as a really beautiful movie?


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## Teir

yes,
yes i was.
do you have a problem with that marky?


----------



## Marky Lazer

It was pretty to look at, but the film didn't make sense at all. Though I don't want to fight you over it


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## Teir

don't need to fight . 

It made perfect sense to me though, *shrug*. The story was simple enough and between the lines it was a portrayal of human manipulation and fear of the 'other'. I studied it in school in relation to McCarthyism and fear of communism. lol, but to each their own I guess.
*teir decides to stop her inane babbling *

but yes, very pretty to look at


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## Marky Lazer

Well, it all depends on with what intention you went I guess. I went with my girlfriend back then and expected horror and scarryness, but... well... it was none of that.

But... still pretty... But I rather watch a nice painting than a long movie just for prettiness.


----------



## Paul Darcy

Been watching Farscape season 2 (about half way through now). Don't have cable TV, only DVD access. Pretty decent show so far.


----------



## Teir

Marky Lazer said:
			
		

> Well, it all depends on with what intention you went I guess. I went with my girlfriend back then and expected horror and scarryness, but... well... it was none of that.


 
oh i had the same problem. i was all ready for a scary movie and got a romance instead


----------



## Marky Lazer

Nothing wrong with a bit romance nowadays is there...

Anyway, I saw Revolver last weekend. I liked it.


----------



## GrownUp

Romance. Yeulch.


----------



## GrownUp

'Taxi Driver'. It's a very watchable film, especially the first time. The second time it can feel a little strange, when you are not as emotionally jumpy and can take a more prosaic look at the narrative. 
'The Taylor of Panama'. Funny, political, moving. Very good. Very relevant. Except, of course, for Pierce Brosnan's graphic sex scenes, which are neither good nor relevant. They seem to shoe-horn these into almost any film he's in. _I don't want to see Pierce Brosnan in graphic sex scenes._


----------



## Jason_Taverner

I watched taxi driver for the first time this weekend and I just didn't like it. I feel like I commiting a crime for saying it but I thought it was poo.


----------



## GrownUp

Really?


----------



## cornelius

ice age I


----------



## GrownUp

Really?


----------



## Paige Turner

Turner Classics played _Forbidden Planet._ I love everything about that movie: the dashing-but-aloof captain, the alcoholic ship's cook, the theriman soundtrack, the alien landscapes, an 8000-cubic-mile computer, and the second-best robot in the history of movies. Brilliant!


----------



## steve12553

Paige Turner said:
			
		

> Turner Classics played _Forbidden Planet._ I love everything about that movie: the dashing-but-aloof captain, the alcoholic ship's cook, the theriman soundtrack, the alien landscapes, an 8000-cubic-mile computer, and the second-best robot in the history of movies. Brilliant!


 
Possible the second best Science Fiction movie ever. And remember that computer could actually convert thought to matter. Might be a little hard to minaturize. 


And don't call him Shirley.


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## littlemissattitude

steve12553 said:
			
		

> And don't call him Shirley.



 at Steve.


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## GrownUp

...or midweek.

'The Bourne Identity'. I wasn't sure I'd like it because I'd heard it lauded so often. The nearest description I can think of for it is a sort of back-to-front, upside down, less camp James Bond populated by _more_ brainwashed-psychopaths than is the usual case. Quite well done, I thought. Good stunts.


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## ravenus

Rewatched *Yojimbo*. A thoroughly entertaining film.


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## steve12553

GrownUp said:
			
		

> ...or midweek.
> 
> 'The Bourne Identity'. I wasn't sure I'd like it because I'd heard it lauded so often. The nearest description I can think of for it is a sort of back-to-front, upside down, less camp James Bond populated by _more_ brainwashed-psychopaths than is the usual case. Quite well done, I thought. Good stunts.


 
I enjoyed it when I saw it but the sequel made me naseous. Literally.


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## Jason_Taverner

GrownUp said:
			
		

> Really?


 
yeah I think I built it up in my head too much. Also I felt I was waiting for the mohawk and the 'are u looking at me' line all the way through the film


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## jackokent

The Fastest Indian.  I so much didn't want to go but am very glad my mates talked me into it.  It was a magical little film and I highly recomend it.


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## Quokka

Paige Turner said:
			
		

> Turner Classics played _Forbidden Planet._ I love everything about that movie: the dashing-but-aloof captain, the alcoholic ship's cook, the theriman soundtrack, the alien landscapes, an 8000-cubic-mile computer, and the second-best robot in the history of movies. Brilliant!


 
Speaking of classic Sci-Fi, and I do love _Forbidden Planet, even _though I only saw it for the first time a few years ago. I caught_ It came from_ _beneath the sea_ late the other night, classic stop motion cinema (along with that 70's Sinbad movie) speaking very personally to what Ive seen but these few along with_ When Worlds Collide_ and a few others are what drew me to Sci-Fi.


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## steve12553

Quokka said:
			
		

> Speaking of classic Sci-Fi, and I do love _Forbidden Planet, even _though I only saw it for the first time a few years ago. I caught_ It came from_ _beneath the sea_ late the other night, classic stop motion cinema (along with that 70's Sinbad movie) speaking very personally to what Ive seen but these few along with_ When Worlds Collide_ and a few others are what drew me to Sci-Fi.


 
Add in "This Island Earth" and "The Day the earth Stood Still" and you got a deal.


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## Teir

jackokent said:
			
		

> The Fastest Indian. I so much didn't want to go but am very glad my mates talked me into it. It was a magical little film and I highly recomend it.


 
Really?,hmmmmm i was wondering about that one....


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## littlemissattitude

steve12553 said:
			
		

> Add in "This Island Earth" and "The Day the earth Stood Still" and you got a deal.



Well, _The Day the Earth Stood Still_ is the perfect science fiction film.


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## ravenus

*Island of Lost Souls - Erle Kenton* 

A loose adaptation of H.G. Wells' _Island of Dr. Moreau_, made way back in 1933. This is fairly interesting as a movie, mostly due to the performance of *Charles Laughton* as Moreau. He may not have so much of the scientist element (although the scene where he briefly rues his losing battle against beast flesh truly evokes Wells' memorable character), but he's magnificient as a soft-spoken but cold blooded sort who will stop at nothing to carry out and protect his work. The make-up FX for the man-beasts are of course quite primitive (Bela Lugosi as one of the beasts looks like he stuck his face into a haystack after applying glue on it), but unavoidable given the low budget nature of the production. To its credit, the movie's a fast-paced and entertaining venture on the whole, and miles ahead of the Moreau-nic latter-day venture with Brando and Val Kilmer.


----------



## littlemissattitude

I never saw the Brando/Kilmer version.  However, there was a 1977 version with Burt Lancaster and Michael York that I did see.  Unfortunately.  It was horrid.


----------



## Denie Alconn

Was watching "How Harry met Sally" on TV (just have one channel atm.  *cry* )  otherwise I watched a coupple of episodes of the series "Lost" . Now that is something to recommend!!

Edit: Denie, you don't need to make additional posts to correct previous ones. You just hit the edit button and make the necessary changes


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## alex22

During the week i caught the latest 'Simpsons' to air in Aus. The episode where Bart and Homer are in heaven doing the riverdance in the Catholic part of heaven. Absolute classic!!


----------



## Denie Alconn

Denie Alconn said:
			
		

> recomend!!


Pardon my spelling, *recommend*


----------



## Quokka

_The Proposition _It's being described alot as an Aussie Western, not too bad though maybe a touch more style than substance.


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## ravenus

*Salvador - Oliver Stone* 

A pretty damn good movie by Stone released in the same year (1986) as *Platoon*, which must have been a really hard working year for Mr. Stone. 

This one is about a down-and-out photojournalist Boyle(James Woods) who heads out with his drifter friend (James Belushi) to El Salvador hoping to get some sensation-worthy pictures of the conflict between the dictatorial government and militant rebels that'll earn him money and put his career back on the line. Boyle's a smooth operator, hobnobbing and playing off against both sides of the conflict, while he carries on with his Salvadorean lover. But situations soon drift out of control and his frustrations with how the conflict is affecting him personally exposes a raw nerve (and a scene where he basically becomes Oliver Stone's mouthpiece in which he denounces the US government's support for tyrannical regimes simply for being non-communist) which lands him in deep trouble. 

Whatever your political viewpoints maybe, this is still a very energetically made movie and James Woods gave a great lead performance (nominated for the Oscar).


----------



## kyektulu

*Star Trek films weekend on Sci Fi channel! 


Yay! *


----------



## Paige Turner

_Door to Door_, starring William H. Macy. 

More-than-inspirational true story of a man overcoming obstacles.

Great story, great acting, official Paige Turner© endorsement.

Go rent this movie. Go on.


----------



## weaveworld

*Watched the Star Trek movies on sci-fi

'My name is Earl' on Friday night

I missed Supernatural but I will catch it on Thursday!



*


----------



## hermi-nomi

The new, tenth Doctor Who  
(just a little bit smug  )


----------



## Stenevor

The Squid and the Whale

American indie type film about a couple and their two kids going through a divorce. Some sad moments and some funny moments. I liked it. 8/10.


----------



## jackokent

Watched Westworld last night.  Had forgotton how good it was.


----------



## Alysheba

Fun With Dick And Jane (the Jim Carey one) and Jarhead. Neither were bad, but I prefered Jarhead. Carey did a really good job as usual in FWDAJ, but I didn't care for Leoni much.


----------



## tiny99

Sexy Beast


----------



## Rosemary

V8 Supercar Racing !  I wonder if I could class that as Science Fiction?

Apart from that, there was nothing on worth watching...


----------



## Alysheba

I watched the new version of "Yours, Mine, and Ours". Not bad. I prefered the original though.


----------



## Void Dragon

Stargate SG1

and...

That's all...


----------



## Trollkien

Saw LOTS of movies over the weekend - and slept through some of the duller ones which i shall not mention here. 

First up was *The Stuff* a fairly entertaining shlockfest by Larry Cohen. Unlike most of Cohen's other films though, this was not consistently interesting. Also it was short on the audacious scripting and events which made God Told Me To, It's Alive and Q - The Winged Serpent such amazing films. It's essentially about a malignant ice cream like material, found oozing out of the ground, that soon becomes a nation-wide fast food craze in America, taking over the people who eat it and forcing them to do its insiduous bidding. 

*Urotsukidoji - The Legend of the Overfiend*: A hilariously OTT hentai anime. The directors realised that there was nothing that holds people's attention more than sex and violence and so there's very little else to distract the viewer by way of plot or interesting characters or any wuss crap like that. The severely notional story is about a beast-man/angel who wishes to summon up the Overfiend to cleanse and regenerate all three worlds. Naturally the forces of Hell are not too enthusiastic and so keep sending out their minions to rape and murder wide-eyed anime chicks; it being the sort of reaction evil creatures have to ANY situation. 
However much to the manbeast's shock and horror, the overfiend turns out to be no different from the forces of Hell and unleashes a cataclysmic doom on the world. All of which is rendered in the most drop-dead gorgeous anime I've seen so far. There's nothing that can compare to the majesty and brilliance of some of the destructive scenes or the perverse inventiveness of the monsters — something I wish i get a chance to see on a fullsized movie screen at some point of time in my life, to appreciate fully. While this may not be for everybody (the only sort of sex that's had in this movie with a couple of exceptions is rape) it's still a very entertaining film. 

*Pulp Fiction*: After hearing so much about this film, I was confident I wouldn't quite like it and there was no way it would live up to the hype. Well, it quite naturally doesn't, but is still a very fun film — snappy dialogue, very black humour and a pace which never makes you conscious of its 2 hour+ length — except the annoying sequence where Bruce Willis is romancing his retarded French girlfriend. 

On returning home and being plagued by insomnia i saw *Badlands* by Terrence Mallick. I don't think any director I've ever seen so far has been as capable of doing justice to landscapes as Mallick — his shots are so well composed and ethereally beautiful, a plot REALLY wouldn't matter. And yet, there's quite an interesting one driving Badlands — inspired by the same killer couple whose rampage across America in the 1950s was referenced in Nebraska by Springsteen and Natural Born Killers by Oliver Stone. While Stone turned the killers into cool slick smartasses, the couple in Badlands (Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek) seem to live in awful limbo-worlds of their own, interesecting only at the point where they beleive they are in love with each other. And as the movie progresses and the bodycount mounts, even that is no longer enough to keep them together. Martin Sheen is nothing short of brilliant in this movie. He plays this not-too-bright guy who desperately wants to be James Dean and to have his rather placid laidback version of a good-time; genuinely horrified by the efforts that people go through to stop him. He's not a particularly cocky killer; doesn't toss-out lines that will go down in history, but at the same time is not entirely devoid of wanting to play to a gallery — rearranging his hair even as he drives in the last car chase and magnanimously tossing memorabilia to the cops who apprehend him. 

*The Wicker Man:* WOW! From a rather slack beginning this film evolves into one of the most original horror flicks I've seen in a while. It's notionally a Scottish Pagan twist on the backwoods brutality genre — except apart from the last sequence there's no real brutality, just an sense of utter and total 'wrongness' that seems to know absolutely no peak. An upright seargent arrives at the island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a local girl and finds a (Christian) Godless place where people carouse about naked, sing lewd songs about the landlord's daughter and do rustic bump and grind routines on her, under the approving gaze of her father; use toads to cure illnesses, teach 9 year old school kids about phallic symbols and do this in an absolutely casual manner, like they know no other way. Much of the horror stems from the contrasts offered to these by our straightlaced protagonist with his very Christian notions about propriety and good behaviour and his helplessness at seeing the law he is obviously proud to represent being undermined so casually. I won't spoil the climax for you, but its easily one of the most visceral, all the more so because there's no copious bloodletting. The entire movie is set to a gorgeous folk-rock soundtrack that will sit very well with fans of bands like The Pentangle and Fairport Convention.


----------



## jenna

i saw Flightplan on DVD, it was actually quite good. i'd not expected that much from it, but i did enjoy it, despite a few major plot holes. and Jodie Foster is brilliant..


----------



## weaveworld

*I watched 'Constantine' on sky

And missed Supernatural *


----------



## Nokia

I watched Constantine too, although I'd seen it before. Which is good, I could look away right before all the gory parts.  What did you think of the film, weaveworld?


----------



## Trollkien

Ah though the question was addressed to Weaveworld I really liked Constantine. My only problem was that they named it after a character/comic that it bears absolutely NO resemblance to. But me and my friends went in expecting a poor Matrix clone and were quite surprised by hoe engaging it was. The other people in the theatre were surprised too — though not as pleasantly. By the interval, there were less than 10 people in the hall.


----------



## GrownUp

'Passport to Pimlico'. 1949, the residents of a street in postwar Pimlico find that due to a legal technicality they are natives of Burgandy. 'Undesirable aliens.' A joyous film. They were giving the DVDs away at WHSmiths! One of my two favourite British films it is, along with 'The Winslow Boy' (1948).


----------



## Rane Longfox

Watched "The Island" yesterday... too similar to _Cloud Atlas_ for my tastes - its a great book, but the film stinks of plagurism


----------



## TK-421

Watched Chronicles of Narnia...Yes, finally catching up.

Not bad. Very faithful to the book (which should please most purists). Much more a kid's story than others in its genre.


----------

