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Post by EdoBosnar on Dec 31, 2023 5:09:48 GMT -5
I think I commented on this before, but I saw this movie on video not long after it came out and from memory I thought it was a bad Solomon Kane movie but a very enjoyable low budget genre movie. So I both agree and disagree that Purefoy was well cast: I agree in that his screen presnce and acting skills enabled him to give a fun performance in this low-ambition, modern-day B-movie, but I disagree in that he was totally wrong as a physical type for REH's tall, lanky, sinuous Solomon Kane. I can't remember now if they bothered with the solemn, even morose, and religious-fanatic personality, but I suspect not.
I meant he was well-cast as the lead in this movie and he acquitted himself quite well; like I said, though, little about this movie bears any resemblance to Howard's Solomon Kane. That said, though, if this had been a more faithful adaptation of Kane, I think the only strike against Purefoy is that his face is a bit too pretty.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 31, 2023 12:51:08 GMT -5
I watched this a few years back; I enjoyed it and thought it was good pulpy fun, if not Howard. It was different enough to stand out, a bit.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 31, 2023 16:27:54 GMT -5
A lot of movies played on the computer as I was drawing this weekend:
In the Heat of the Night
Mississippi burning
Eye of the Needle
That was pretty much a hat trick for Tubi's algorithm; I loved all three. Great work by Poitier and Rod Steiger in the first, with a terrific script; excellent performance by Hackman and McDormand in the second, and a nice WWII spy hunt in the third. Sutherland makes for a scary bastard when he wants to!
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Post by Rags on Jan 4, 2024 15:33:30 GMT -5
Yep....getting my head around the fact that The Crow will be 30 years old this year. I've had this fascination with dark justice / avenging angel types since I was 4 feet tall....and this movie was on constant play while I was getting my own black belt. Also has my favourite song for 1994 (Burn by The Cure). The sequel was utter rubbish though.....shame....
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Post by Batflunkie on Jan 4, 2024 20:16:27 GMT -5
A lot of movies played on the computer as I was drawing this weekend: In the Heat of the Night
Mississippi burning
Eye of the NeedleThat was pretty much a hat trick for Tubi's algorithm; I loved all three. Great work by Poitier and Rod Steiger in the first, with a terrific script; excellent performance by Hackman and McDormand in the second, and a nice WWII spy hunt in the third. Sutherland makes for a scary bastard when he wants to! I watched the tv show adaptation of "In The Heat Of The Night" a lot during my younger years and still do. True, it is a very typical police drama, but there's just something to it that I really enjoy that I can't describe I didn't see the movie until later, but I liked it a lot Yep....getting my head around the fact that The Crow will be 30 years old this year. I've had this fascination with dark justice / avenging angel types since I was 4 feet tall....and this movie was on constant play while I was getting my own black belt. Also has my favourite song for 1994 (Burn by The Cure). The sequel was utter rubbish though.....shame....
As good as The Crow is, I still wonder if the film would have been anywhere as near as successful if Brandon's untimely demise didn't occur
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 4, 2024 21:31:17 GMT -5
A lot of movies played on the computer as I was drawing this weekend: In the Heat of the Night
Mississippi burning
Eye of the NeedleThat was pretty much a hat trick for Tubi's algorithm; I loved all three. Great work by Poitier and Rod Steiger in the first, with a terrific script; excellent performance by Hackman and McDormand in the second, and a nice WWII spy hunt in the third. Sutherland makes for a scary bastard when he wants to! I watched the tv show adaptation of "In The Heat Of The Night" a lot during my younger years and still do. True, it is a very typical police drama, but there's just something to it that I really enjoy that I can't describe I didn't see the movie until later, but I liked it a lot Yep....getting my head around the fact that The Crow will be 30 years old this year. I've had this fascination with dark justice / avenging angel types since I was 4 feet tall....and this movie was on constant play while I was getting my own black belt. Also has my favourite song for 1994 (Burn by The Cure). The sequel was utter rubbish though.....shame....
As good as The Crow is, I still wonder if the film would have been anywhere as near as successful if Brandon's untimely demise didn't occur I think it would have been less publicized; but, I think it would have still been a hit and would have pushed Brandon Lee to a higher profile, though probably in action & genre films, rather than dramas or comedies. It probably wouldn't have been as big a hit, but I suspect it would have done good box office.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 4, 2024 21:39:04 GMT -5
ps I first saw Brandon in the Kung Fu reunion movie, as a young assassin, who is actually Caine's son. I watched him in Showdown in Little Tokyo and he was the best part of that middling film and he was great in Rapid Fire. It took me quite a while to get my hands on his Hong Kong film, Legacy of Rage. He is so-so in that, probably due to inexperience and the language issue (can't recall him ever mentioning if he spoke Cantonese or not)
I actually was acquainted with someone who sparred and trained with him, when he was young (not sure exact age, but no older than his teen years). Man named Steve Fristo, who was from Springfield, IL and had about a dozen black belts, including in Kai, from Dan Inosanto's school. He had been a world champion kickboxer and fought some muay thai bouts in Thailand. He said Brandon always wanted to spar, but he was too fast for Steve to lay much on him. Inosanto was one of Bruce's students and the only one he blessed to teach jeet kun do, and he brought his own background in Filippino martial arts. He appears in Game of Death as the man with the nunchucks, who Bruce fights, before ascending to the next level to face Kareem Abdul Jabar. He can also be seen at the end of the film Red Belt, as the jiujitsu master, who had taught Chiwetel Eijiofor.
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Post by Batflunkie on Jan 6, 2024 9:37:55 GMT -5
Watched Moonstruck (1987) last night on TCM
I've seen it before many years ago and thought it was great and came away last night with the same opinion. In the introduction, they were talking about how the Opera plays a big part in the story and it does kind of feel operatic (lonely woman gets proposed to, fiance leaves to go be with his dying mother, woman seeks to make amends with bread baking brother in law, ends up falling in love with him, etc.). Something that I also liked about the movie is that it feels very "old hollywood" with the of an Italian romance(s). Also Cher is gorgeous in this too and seems to be ageless despite supposedly being (or at least her character) 37 in the movie
That being said, while I do love the movie, I kind of prefer Mermaids (1990) more
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 9, 2024 18:08:27 GMT -5
Not super classic, but it still qualifies for our purposes. Did a re-watch of Good Night, and Good Luck. Damn I love that movie. David Strathairn absolutely kills as Edward R. Murrow. It probably helps that Murrow is a hero of mine. I do think that the movie plays a little loose with the facts. McCarthy was already in trouble before Murrow's reports on See It Now. The film doesn't outright say that Murrow brought him down, but clearly implies that. Still a great film with an excellent deep cast.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jan 10, 2024 5:56:57 GMT -5
Not super classic, but it still qualifies for our purposes. (...) For this forum, I use the same ten-year rule that applies to comics. Makes it easier since we have no generic movie thread, just 'classic' and 'new & upcoming.'
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Post by berkley on Jan 10, 2024 8:38:50 GMT -5
Not super classic, but it still qualifies for our purposes. (...) For this forum, I use the same ten-year rule that applies to comics. Makes it easier since we have no generic movie thread, just 'classic' and 'new & upcoming.'
I'm think I'm OK with having no General Movie Thread in addition to the New and the Classic, though there is a hazy line between the two. Anyway, what would go in a general movie thread rather than to one of the existing threads? I can think of some things - e.g. general questions or issues about film as a genre, etc - but I'm not sure it would get much activity. Might be worth a try, though.
One thing I definitely think we could do with is a Classic or Vintage Sports Thread as a supplement to the general sports thread. I keep meaning to start one and never get around to it, so if anyone else wants to take the initiative they'll have my full support!
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jan 10, 2024 10:12:42 GMT -5
For this forum, I use the same ten-year rule that applies to comics. Makes it easier since we have no generic movie thread, just 'classic' and 'new & upcoming.'
I'm think I'm OK with having no General Movie Thread in addition to the New and the Classic, though there is a hazy line between the two. Anyway, what would go in a general movie thread rather than to one of the existing threads? I can think of some things - e.g. general questions or issues about film as a genre, etc - but I'm not sure it would get much activity. Might be worth a try, though.
(...)
Just so we're clear, I wasn't advocating for a general movie thread; I'm fine with the way things are now, since there are, after all, three ongoing threads in which movies are discussed.
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Post by Batflunkie on Jan 10, 2024 11:17:52 GMT -5
Not super classic, but it still qualifies for our purposes. Did a re-watch of Good Night, and Good Luck. Damn I love that movie. David Strathairn absolutely kills as Edward R. Murrow. It probably helps that Murrow is a hero of mine. I do think that the movie plays a little loose with the facts. McCarthy was already in trouble before Murrow's reports on See It Now. The film doesn't outright say that Murrow brought him down, but clearly implies that. Still a great film with an excellent deep cast. Period movies are some of my favorites. I've got this on DVD and have been meaning to watch it (hello backlog), but I haven't gotten around to it. Maybe I need to
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 10, 2024 15:41:19 GMT -5
Not super classic, but it still qualifies for our purposes. Did a re-watch of Good Night, and Good Luck. Damn I love that movie. David Strathairn absolutely kills as Edward R. Murrow. It probably helps that Murrow is a hero of mine. I do think that the movie plays a little loose with the facts. McCarthy was already in trouble before Murrow's reports on See It Now. The film doesn't outright say that Murrow brought him down, but clearly implies that. Still a great film with an excellent deep cast. Period movies are some of my favorites. I've got this on DVD and have been meaning to watch it (hello backlog), but I haven't gotten around to it. Maybe I need to It's worth it from more than just the acting standpoint, or the re-enactment of the broadcast. It kind of gets into the battle for control of the media, as this represents a kind of dividing line of dedicated journalists challenging authority to justify controversial actions and actually refuting weak arguments and just letting politicians have their say, without actual challenge by the journalist. You can be objective and challenge the validity of a statement. CBS had one of the better news teams, thanks to the influence of Murrow; but, events surrounding this and, later, during Vietnam and after, chipped away at that, especially once corporations bought up the networks. CBS resisted longer than most networks; but, you can see the decline, especially after Walter Cronkite retired. Much of this foreshadows later battles, such as the Westmorland vs CBS lawsuit and some of the other battles, over content in 60 Minutes (such as the tobacco industry, as seen in The Insider).
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 11, 2024 7:06:59 GMT -5
I watched The Hills Have Eyes yesterday.
I thought the movie starts very well, establishing a palpable tension with a few simple elements. The dilapidated gas station in the middle of nowhere and its cantankerous owner were extremely creepy, evoking the unease of many Lovecraft stories. Just what seems to be going on in that god-forsaken place? I had the same slightly sick feeling watching Bone Tomahawk.
The cast is believable (I especially liked Virginia Vincent as the hapless mother), and it's hard to tell in advance who's wearing a red shirt. The low (very low, by the looks of it!) budget is put to good use; a bit of desert land, a rocky hill and a stranded camping car can go a long way to inspire fear! The direction is efficient, with several Chekov guns being set up early on (even if you instantly see them for what they are). Nuclear tests in the region? The dog that never barks before attacking? Dad has a heart condition? Yep, we're sure that's gonna be relevant a bit later.
Most of the early tension dissipates, however, when we learn what's going on and when the film turns to gruesome violence slash torture porn. It's that kind of movie so I really shouldn't complain, but I thought it really dragged from that point on.I think the story would have been better served by less exposition; fear of the unknown is always worse than fear of degenerate mutant hillbilly cannibals who rarely live up to the hype, despite good makeup.
All in all it's all right for what it is, funny in the way that over the top gory films can be, but I'm not sure I would like feeling that queasy on a regular basis.
And I can't believe I ever wore that kind of shorts in public. Oh, my, what were we thinking back them.
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