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sorry double bank raid.
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i enjoyed this series mastadge, although it wasnt anything special and was a bit silly but as you say an amusing diversion . i particularly fancied the minx who was secretly bonking the king and bumping off enemies in all sorts of grisly eays .
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Our man in Marrakesh. don sharp. 66
tony randall, terry-thomas. senta berger, herbert lom, john le mesurier. klaus kinski.
silly but fun. 7 outta ten
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Nice review mark. With your film knowledge i wouldve expected you to have seen this already!!
nice steady 70s western. Always liked it.
Im fond of the little touches like luke Askew - whose character has previously been shot in the mouth - lowering his scarf to eat. R G Armstrong is great and Duvall is at his peak here with anothr believable portrayal.
Thank you.  Despite my many years of movie mania, there still are tons of films I have yet to see. The more I read about film history, the more I'm intrigued with!
For instance, in the 1990s European art films weren't my thing, so I'm still catching up on movies from 20 or more years ago. Last night I started Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Trois couleurs" trilogy with Three Colors: Blue. Tonight, I'll be watching "White," with "Red" scheduled for tomorrow evening. I had watched Kieslowski's "The Double Life of Veronique" a few months ago, so I knew what to expect style-wise. He really had a unique visual style, and obviously worked closely with his cinematographers and designers for the incredible color control in these last few films of his. (I'm eager to explore his earlier work.)
Juliette Binoche is superb in this, playing a woman knocked utterly sideways in her life by the car crash death of her young daughter and husband, a renowned composer. Music plays a hugely significant role in "Blue." Zbigniew Preisner rises to the challenge of writing the world-class symphonic work that the fictional composer had been working on. The last few minutes in which the music plays over shots of the main characters of the story is intensely moving.
I've really become enamored with Preisner's music over the last couple of years. His score for "Veronique" is fantastic as well. And the best musical moment of Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" is the use of his "Lacrimosa 2" from his tribute to the late Kieslowski.
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Posted: |
Sep 23, 2013 - 1:00 AM
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By: |
Michael24
(Member)
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Gone Baby Gone (2007) - 3/5
After seeing and loving The Town and Argo, I wanted to check out Ben Affleck's directorial debut and found it to be kind of an uneven experience. The first half was excellent, but the second half was almost like a different movie, and one less fulfilling, with some cliched, confusing and complicated plot developments. Although I suppose that's really more a problem with the book it's based on than Affleck's directing. That said, you get a sense that he hadn't quite found his footing as a director yet, as it tends to drag in places. Also, a little too bleak at times for my taste.
Not a wholly bad film, but just an ultimately disappointing one. Fortunately, Affleck knocked it out of the park with his next two films, which were much better.
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Posted: |
Sep 23, 2013 - 2:13 PM
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By: |
mastadge
(Member)
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I'm really looking forward to Prisoners: Denis Villeneuve's one to watch, and his next film -- coming later this year! -- also looks intriguing.
Since my last update I've worked my way through all the rest of Carroll Ballard's features (except The Nutcracker: The Movie, which I may or may not watch around Christmas): Never Cry Wolf (1983), Wind (1992), Fly Away Home (1996) and Duma (2005). Not the most prolific director, but a very good one, and also very skilled at coming up with technologies to get really cool shots -- the yacht-mounted cameras in Wind that improbably managed to make the sport seem exciting, and the aerial footage from Fly Away Home come to mind. Wind is probably his weakest movie, but its Poledouris score has stuck in my head the most. I do wish Isham's score for Fly Away Home would get a real release someday. Anyway. It's been fun going back through his filmography.
I also watched World War Z -- the unrated extended version, I think, because it was the only one on the rental disc -- and enjoyed it pretty well, though I would have liked it better if Pitt's character were a little less of a superhero. Also, I liked the concept of the swarming zombies but as usual the CG execution didn't really convince, much as it failed to convince in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and much as CG scuttling insects so rarely manage to look like real scuttling insects. As good as they're getting at rendering things now, they still haven't figured out how to convincingly simulate biological movement.
Also watched Oblivion, which was pretty enough if you find antiseptic sf-scapes pretty, but which was also pretty much a giant mass of familiar imagery and clichés tossed in the blender. Was there a single surprise or surprising visual in this entire film? I read it described somewhere as the precise average of all sci-fi movies and that about covers it. It was enjoyable enough, and less bad than the director's Tron: Legacy, but also completely forgettable and disposable.
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Posted: |
Sep 23, 2013 - 2:56 PM
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By: |
Michael24
(Member)
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I also watched World War Z -- the unrated extended version, I think, because it was the only one on the rental disc -- and enjoyed it pretty well, though I would have liked it better if Pitt's character were a little less of a superhero.
That's interesting. Most reviewers seem to point out that they liked the fact that he wasn't a stereotypical, gung ho, superhero-esque action star, but more of an Everyman, just one whose background gives him the experience and skills needed to handle extreme situations. I thought the movie did a terrific job making him a very relatable character, someone who could have been the guy living next door, and there was actually a moment toward the end where I started wondering if he would even survive the movie.
I think I prefer the theatrical cut, though. I liked a couple moments that were exclusive to the uncut version, but overall thought it didn't really do much to improve what I thought was already a well-crafted and suspenseful experience.
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Posted: |
Sep 23, 2013 - 3:02 PM
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By: |
mastadge
(Member)
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That's interesting. Most reviewers seem to point out that they liked the fact that he wasn't a stereotypical, gung ho, superhero-esque action star, but more of an Everyman, just one whose background gives him the experience and skills needed to handle extreme situations. I thought the movie did a terrific job making him a very relatable character, someone who could have been the guy living next door, and there was actually a moment toward the end where I started wondering if he would even survive the movie.
He looked that part, and they tried to sell it, but he was just too super-competent (and also super-lucky). Like his time as a UN fixer had turned him from Everyman into Übermensch. Super weapons and combat skills. Super battlefield surgeon skills. Super problem solving skills. Super pattern recognition skills. Super pancake-making skills. Super people skills. No, he wasn't typically macho or gung-ho, but he was several cuts above Everyman from what I could tell.
I did really enjoy the movie though, despite my problems with it.
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THE WORLD'S END
I'm going to let this one sit with me for a few more days but I just got back from it and I must say it was...different.
70 percent of the film is what you expect from the trailers but there are some darker themes that I didn't see coming and sprinkled through out [bullying, betrayal, divorce, suicide, depression, etc] and the finale was nothing at all like what I thought it would be nor even what the whole film was building up to.
That being said I did laugh and enjoyed the hell out of the 70 percent that was what it was and I don't even think I dislike the other 30 but it just felt...off...and I don't know...
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Posted: |
Oct 13, 2013 - 6:05 PM
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By: |
Sirusjr
(Member)
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Gravity (2013) - 10/10
TV shows have become so high quality lately that movies need to show you something unique to draw you out to the theater. “Gravity” succeeds at this perfectly. If you have seen the trailers you may think you have seen a lot of the film. The majority of what you see in the trailers takes place in the first 20 minutes of the film, so there is a lot you haven’t seen. The film does focus primarily on Sandra Bullock in space but it never becomes tiresome. The pacing is excellent. She constantly moves from one obstacle to another.
The cinematography is very well done. We are treated to some gorgeous shots of earth from a low orbit. The film largely feels realistic as the characters move through space. Steven Price wrote a solid minimalist/atmospheric score that works well in the film. He makes good use of solo vocalists to emphasize how alone the characters are. The final cue of the film is gorgeous and stands out compared to the rest.
“Gravity” is a tense film that grabs hold of the audience from the beginning and doesn’t let go until the credits roll. Through great use of long shots and skillful editing, there isn’t a dull moment. If the trailer gets you yearning for more, this is a film that you must catch in theaters to get the full experience. The 3D ads to the experience, giving space a depth that would otherwise be missing. If you enjoy the thrill ride that comes with big movies in theaters, you will not be disappointed by “Gravity.”
Captain Phillips (2013) - 8/10
A good thriller is gripping even when you know how things are going to end. Many are familiar with the story behind the Somalian pirates that attacked the ship Captain Phillips helmed. In the hands of a director like Paul Greengrass, the story feels fresh and the threat immediate. Skillful direction combines with powerful acting by Tom Hanks and talented young Somalian actors.
After a brief introduction to set the scene and introduce the characters, the tension becomes immediate rather quickly. There are few moments of calm once things take off. Henry Jackman provides added tension through a brooding percussion-driven score. Though it works well, it largely serves as sonic wallpaper and would be difficult to distinguish from other similar scores.
The film was portrayed well in the trailers so if you liked what you saw in the trailers, you will probably enjoy the film. Though it is 2 hours and 15 minutes long, it moves briskly and never drags. If you enjoy the modern style of portraying thrillers as realistic as possible, you will be swept up into “Captain Phillips.”
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