Cinemexperience: part deux., Some more filums you saw. Options

[Rebus]

16 Blocks Decent film with a nice ending. Mos Def was really good in it as well and I'm fast becoming a fan of his films.

I liked what he did with his voice. It was a good little film, and David Morse is a greatly underrated actor who you don't see enough of.

[Peronel]

Iron Man

Awesome. It seemed to fly by much faster this time. As much as I dislike the woman, I'm still impressed by Gwyneth running in those heels.

[dandan]

well, i'm now free from the shackles of watching all six seasons of 'the sopranos' back-to-back and can rejoin the world of film...



lucky stars go places - reading. reading. you'll go blind...

in what is, seemingly, an attempt to merge the 'lucky stars' and 'aces go places' franchises into one, kidstuff (sammo hung) is asked by the police to assemble the lucky stars in order to foil a diamonds for guns exchange, between some terrorists and japanese criminals (led by matsui tetsuya). the other four lucky stars (eric tsang, richard ng, stanley fung and kirk miu) aren't interested in any more adventure, so kidstuff gets to choose five cops to step into their shoes.

and so the new lucky stars are chosen: top dog (alan tam), fat cat (kent cheng), long legs (anthony chan), lambo (andy lau) and libbogen (billy lau). this rag-tag bunch are placed in a house with yum yum (maria tung), a female, free-boxing expert, who is going to train them for their mission, whilst fending off their advances. meanwhile, kidstuff bumps into quinto (sylvia chang), an old flame who is now married to a chief inspector, baldy (karl maka); who, fearing being cuckolded, enters into a battle of wits with kidstuff...

well, i thought this looked like fun and i was right. having enjoyed the 'lucky stars' films in the past and being a fan of the 'aces go places' series; a loosely related, super silly, cameo-filled spin-off was always going to be fun. with eric tsang directing, andy lau in a role where he was still being touted as a new martial arts star, sammo choreographing the action, and a stellar cast you can't go too wrong. well, maybe you can...

the two narrative threads, the new luck stars and the kidstuff/quinto/baldy triage, are only very loosely connected, but this doesn't really matter. sammo and karl maka make a good on screen pair and fun to watch; especially when their feud finally escalates from petty abuse to a confrontation in a padded cell, which is great fun. as for the new lucky stars, there's plenty of fun and humour, even if there are a few too many of the usual jokes which relate to groping and molestation.

one thing we do get, which is rather good, is another role where andy lau shows that he is a pretty decent on screen fighter; sure he's probably doubled at times, there's a fair amount of wire work and under-cranking, but he still looks good. the scene where he is introduced and the final show down are particularly enjoyable, especially his scene with matsui tetsuya, where sammo arrives and takes over.

typically fun. if you like this sort of thing...



bad lieutenant - we gotta eat our legs to get the energy to walk...

the lieutenant (harvey keitel) is an addict; be it alcohol, cocaine, heroin, crack or gambling, he's addicted. the mets are three games down to the dodgers in a seven game series; he's betting on the dodgers, but they win the fourth game and their luck seems to be changing. a nun (frankie thorn) is raped and the lieutenant investigates, in between smoking some rocks, drinking some booze, smoking some smack and exploiting a couple of teenage girls for his own pleasure. the mets win again and things seem to be going down hill...

it's sixteen years since this film came out. i remember there being a bit of a hoo-har upon it's release and droves of people say that it was a totally fucked up film and, like wow, how i should watch it. i was never really interested in seeing it, as it just looked like something i wouldn't really like but, when i needed a third film to add to a '3 for £10' offer, i picked it up.

i was right. it wasn't something i liked. it may try to be more than just a simple, gritty exploitation flick; trying to be the opus of a tortured, self-destructive soul, torn between his own evils and a dream of redemption. or, some other such bollocks, but it really isn't up to much. in fact, it's a pretty boring film; scene after scene of keitel being a loser addict, seeking gratification in one way or another, with some coffee-table injections of catholic imagery and a guilt laden soul thrown in for good measure.

dull, and something i shouldn't have bothered watching...

[Sostie]

Iron Man

Awesome.

Am I the only person that thought it was just OK. Entertaining yes, and a good performance by RDJ, but it isn't that special.

[Rua]

Am I the only person that thought it was just OK. Entertaining yes, and a good performance by RDJ, but it isn't that special.

Correct. It was good. I enjoyed it. Downey Jr was fun.

I'll probably never watch it again.

[maian]

I'd agree with that as well. I thought that Downey Jr. anchored it well but that the rest of the film was just good, not great, and it was at its most interesting before it went all Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots.

I still stand by my high opinion of Tropic Thunder, though. Satan's Alley is my band's name on Rock Band.

Twelve Monkeys

Tied with Brazil as my favourite Terry Gilliam film. This was the first time that I'd noticed the Vertigo-aping shots when Cole and Railly come out of the cinema.

Raising Arizona

Hands down the Coen Brothers best film. Everything about it is perfect; great comic performers delivering a rapid fire script, superb direction, a slightly loony soundtrack and an ending that never fails to make me tear up.

This post has been edited by maian: Oct 15 2008, 10:32 AM

[Crutch]

Live Free or Die Hard - First without then with audio commentary. The movie really nails the franchise and made everything right what Indiana Jones 4 struggeled with. And there is quite a lot going on in visualising and narrating the whole old-school against cyber-age subtext. Plus a very convincing side-kick, good use of free-running and a big massive misogynistic sequence in the middle of the movie playing out the father/daughter conflict (including a phallic Freudian elevator sequence).

[Jimmay]

Shanghai Knights Exactly what you'd expect from a Jackie Chan:Owen Wilson film. Fantastic fighting scenes and some really funny set pieces but you really really had to detach yourself from reality on it as I have no idea what year it was meant to be set in. The main concrete thing in there was Victorias 50 year Jubilee which puts it at 1887 but there were cars, machine guns, movies. Oh, and Stonehenge was within crashing distance of London? Great fun way to spend a couple of hours though.

[logger]

Am I the only person that thought it was just OK. Entertaining yes, and a good performance by RDJ, but it isn't that special.

I'm not sure I'd even go that far.

[dolfyn]

Am I the only person that thought it was just OK. Entertaining yes, and a good performance by RDJ, but it isn't that special.

I LOVED it. I saw it 3 times at the cinema, & I just bought the 2-disk DVD. Iron Man is awesome.

Feel the love.
dolfyn.

[logger]

I LOVED it. I saw it 3 times at the cinema, & I just bought the 2-disk DVD. Iron Man is awesome.

What do I know, I really liked Speed Racer.

This post has been edited by logger: Oct 15 2008, 02:31 PM

[dolfyn]

^

At least you're honest.

Feel the love.
dolfyn.

[GundamGuy_UK]

The truth is, I am Iron Man

[fatseff1234]

I knew it.

Why aren't you killing Terrorist scum?

[GundamGuy_UK]

I knew it.

Why aren't you killing Terrorist scum?

I only go after people who use the weapons I've made.