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- Smoking Guns
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Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
American Underdog - The Kurt Warner story. Freaking awesome movie. Loved it.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Pumpkin - This was a wacky movie. Christina Ricci as a sorority girl who falls in love with a retarded guy. She's the only actress who could have made such an absurd premise believable.
The problem with the movie isn't the absurd plot...as you can imagine this happening somewhere at least once. The problem is that the film itself doesn't take it seriously. On one hand it feels like an attempt to poke fun at Greek life...then it tries to be a comedy in general.
It was the wrong approach. It's not very funny and as it gets more ridiculous, it takes you out of the story. This needed to be a drama. Her boyfriend's accident was a jump the shark moment and that ending was terrible.
Terri - It's about this overweight teen loser's experience being bullied in high school and his friendship with his principal.
It was pretty good but you never get a real climax even though it begs for one. The little party at his house with his only friend and the girl who started hanging out with him had potential for something monumental to occur but it just peters out.
I hated the non-ending.
Runaway Jury - It was shaping up to be my favorite Grisham movie but the last 20-30 minutes ruined it for me. The twist that they weren't actually bad guys and you were supposed to sympathize with them was preposterous.
What a great cast.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Scarface (1983). There was nothing wrong with this movie but I came away kind of with an eh? reaction. It's well acted and there are some great set pieces. So why does this not move me or engage me like Carlito's Way (another Pacino/DePalma collaboration and gangster film) or the Godfather (another 3hr epic from Pacino)? Pacino is great and gives it his all into the character. I just don't know why I didn't connect with this on an emotional level. Oh the fixation that Tony had on his sister Gina was disgusting bordering on incestous. This is one of those films that's well made but I have no desire to watch for another few years.
Hell up in Harlem--fun blaxplotation film from 1973. It's obvious this was made with a lesser budget but it didn't bother me. I had fun seeing the different shot/angles that came from some of the scenes from this film. It's over the top but that's the fun of watching some of these films. Pretty good soundtrack too from Edwin Starr.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
I think a major problem with Scarface is it comes off a tad cheesy...the over the top accent, the level of violence, and just the way it's filmed. Even though the 80s are just kicking off when this is released, it has that 80s feel to it...which is a huge contrast to this type of film in the 70s.
I've talked about this before....the realism of 70s film which gets brushed aside for the glossy, over the top feel of the1980s. No aspect of pop culture avoided this in that decade.
Go watch an episode of Maude or Streets of San Francisco and then watch something like The Facts of Life or Matlock.
Yeah that incest subplot is bat shit....
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
The Rental - This was great. Two brothers and their girlfriends rent a vacation house for the weekend. One of them screws around with the other's girlfriend...and then they find out there's hidden cameras in the house.
Amazing job keeping the tension high throughout the story. It's only problem...and it's a big one...it switches into a borderline slasher which leads to a lackluster ending.
I was on the edge of my seat until it veered in this direction.
Swallow - A young bored housewife becomes pregnant and starts swallowing inedible objects(batteries, pens, dirt, etc.).
While on the surface it would appear she's acting out over the pregnancy, you find out a secret from her past that's really fueling it.
I really felt sorry for her. Her husband and his family are horrible and treat her like a dog. She's being suffocated by these people.
This probably deserved a couple Oscar noms.
Backcountry - Young couple go hiking out in the wilderness, get lost, and wind up running into a bear.
It was ok but I always have trouble sympathizing with the characters in these types of films.
Air Force One - Hadn't watched this since it back when it came out. Yeah this has everything you want in an action movie. It was interesting watching it knowing this was meant for Kevin Costner. It would've been perfect for him and the quality wouldn't have suffered at all.
See for Me - This was interesting. A new spin on the home invasion movie. A blind girl housesitting and has to deal with the invaders. She uses an app that calls someone to use her phone to be her eyes.
Great tension... especially when you find out she isn't a saint and is willing to negotiate a way out with the invaders. It goes a tad off the rails in this direction though.
Escape from LA - I saw this in the theater. I couldn't finish it this time. It's way too cheesy and I don't like how Kurt Russell delivers some of his lines which were clearly meant to either become catchphrases or as dramatic effect for the trailers.
The Human Centipede - Couldn't finish this one. Same problem it had back when it came out...a HUGE mistake having the head of the centipede be a guy constantly screaming in Japanese. Placing one of the girls in that spot would have improved it so much...at least made it tolerable.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
I think a major problem with Scarface is it comes off a tad cheesy...the over the top accent, the level of violence, and just the way it's filmed. Even though the 80s are just kicking off when this is released, it has that 80s feel to it...which is a huge contrast to this type of film in the 70s.
I've talked about this before....the realism of 70s film which gets brushed aside for the glossy, over the top feel of the1980s. No aspect of pop culture avoided this in that decade.
Go watch an episode of Maude or Streets of San Francisco and then watch something like The Facts of Life or Matlock.
Yeah that incest subplot is bat shit....
Funny you should mention the cheese/over the top factor of Scarface. I remember the scenes where they are in the club and that annoying cheesy 80's anthem Push it to the Limit starts playing.
I think some of the really early 80s films (maybe 80 and 81) avoid this cheesiness and still retain part of the grit/realism of the 70s. Blow Out from DePalma was released in 1981 and still has that ambivalent shades of gray/ feel. Ditto Thief from Mann in 1981.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Thief is sooooooooooo good. I really wish they could have used that character in HEAT.
I really love Manhunter, too. To Live and Die in LA was a great 80s film. William Petersen ended up turning down Goodfellas, Platoon and Tom Sizemore's role in HEAT. Yikes!
There's a film called Fear City with Tom Berenger and Melanie Griffith about a serial killer murdering strippers in seedy, Taxi Driver era NY. Great 80s film. It might be the greatest sexploitation, B-movie I've ever seen. Abel Ferrera is the Scorsese of B films.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Thief is sooooooooooo good. I really wish they could have used that character in HEAT.
I really love Manhunter, too. To Live and Die in LA was a great 80s film. William Petersen ended up turning down Goodfellas, Platoon and Tom Sizemore's role in HEAT. Yikes!
There's a film called Fear City with Tom Berenger and Melanie Griffith about a serial killer murdering strippers in seedy, Taxi Driver era NY. Great 80s film. It might be the greatest sexploitation, B-movie I've ever seen. Abel Ferrera is the Scorsese of B films.
Frank in Thief is James Caan's best performance. You totally buy him as this tough East Coast guy trying to quit and live the American Dream that he has built for himself. The sad thing is he can't escape the criminal life or the past (the scene with the baby adoption worker).
This might be sacrilege but I enjoy To Live and Die in LA more than The French Connection. It's just more fun for me to watch. Dafoe is great as Rick Masters as well. Yikes, indeed, probably as bad as Costner turning down all those roles.
I've seen Fear City and it's hilarious. And yes, I love seeing pre-cleaned/up sanitized NYC. Couple other Abel Ferrara's suggestions: Ms. 45 but it's got that 70s grit. The storyline is a little unique. King of New York, probably Ferrara's most mainstream film. Features a great cast and some fine performances from Christopher Walken and Laurence Fishburne.
