Ive always wondered about OZ being in colour when it was made in 1938/39?, it must have cost alot to make that,with it being so rare at the time.

Stray Dog is black-and-white.

LEPRECHAUN 2 1/2
(First Viewing)

A nice sequel, however they never explained how the leprechaun came back after the first.

Last year in Marienbad ***
This is not one of those movies that explain everything at the end. I enjoyed it all throughout, including the frustration of not having understood. The theme is of memory and reality. It probably is better left not deconstructed. It is visually fantastic and the music is haunting. I would have liked to see it in color.

Nope I mean it literally as in "laughing out loud" because I found whatever funny, but like Wiki says, most people mean LQTM (laughing quietly to myself).





Other than answering your question yesterday and replying first to your comment about dubbing, I think I haven't replied to you in this thread since July 27 (skimmed my own posts real quick). Since then I think just "talked" to Ice, RRA, and especially SVSG and Irish.

The reason why I'm still posting here, despite what I assume you mean that movie discussion isn't necessarily going full blast here either, is that I've been a member here a little over a year. What'll take me joining a new forum in FCM is lots of discussion. Kind of like what marketers say, "It's cheaper keeping existing customers than getting new ones."





Apologies. I am an idiot. I've also revealed that I'm narcissistic in thinking that you guys were making fun of me.

No misunderstanding. Just chalk it up to me being a douchebag. Apologies.

Its in Black & White, as Capo points out. Besides, the Japanese were so damn broke after Dubya Dubya 2, well I would think color was out of their financial reach.

And you can watch this movie for FREE!

http://www.archive.org/details/Nora_inu

I just finished watching this. It is excellent! I also want to add that the sound design and Kurosawa's flair for visual story telling is just awesome. Plus the heat/sweat theme really goes well with the tension surrounding the characters.

Oh I absolutely agree. Because of little touches by Kurosawa, what could have been a good if formulaic plot-boiler ends up being an underrated great movie. Too bad it came out a year before RASHOMON.

For Thanksgiving, a TURKEY of a review!



STRIPTEASE (1996) - * - Bomb

"There is nothing worse than an unfunny comedy" - Michael J. Nelson

I've never read the Carl Hiaasen novel, but friends swear to me that its hilarious in an Elmore Leonard smart-ass/black comedy sort of way. It knows its own plot is pretty damn goofy, and everyone is in the joke, even the luckless heroine.

Too bad Demi Moore didn't read the book.

STRIPTEASE opens in a courtroom where former FBI worker Demi Moore loses custody of her daughter to her scumbag ex-husband. Why is he a scumbag? Because anyone with a big black mustache and a redneck accent must have to be the villain when compared to a starlet like Moore.

Anyway, this is a very serious yet silly melodrama with Demi Moore having to struggle against the evil sexist society this side of Sally Field, while having to work as a strippper to afford the appeal. This movie could have been titled NOT WITHOUT MY TITS.

Moore stays in this mode for the entire movie. No really, she actually is goddamn serious while everyone else in STRIPTEASE is relaxed and trying to be funny. And I stress trying because jokes fly all over the place, but like a strip club customer's dreams of having non-solicited sex with an exotic dancer, they all crash and burn.

You have the great Ving Rhames firing off gags about insect yogurt, the strip joint owner with the fetish for nude cream corn wrestling, and even the Jewish stripper who states over and over again her disturbing fixiation on Steven Spielberg. Surely he learned his lesson from Amy Irving.

Nevermind Burt Reynolds as the perverted Florida Congressman who lubes himself up (!) before speaking to a church convention. Everyone tries to be wacky but its end up being only awkward this side of HUDSON HAWK, absent a forgiving cultdom.

Rhames, Reynolds, and Robert Patrick are proven good actors, or at least game for comedy work, but they absolutely fail. Maybe the blame has to go to scripter/director Andrew Bergman. In the decade of Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith, Bergman was trying to be self-conciously witty and hip that is "post-modernistic humor."

Instead, he won the top Razzie for the worst movie of 1996. Considering that STRIPTEASE beat out a potent list of turkeys that include the infamous monkey flick ED, the goofy blockbuster INDEPENDENCE DAY, and Pauly Shore's BIO-DOME....that's actually pretty damn impressive.

Back in the day there was so much press, and so many horny guys and young boys tripped up, about the fact that Moore flashed her tits for a then-record $12.5 million paycheck. Yet when we do finally see her peaks, its really symbolic of what STRIPTEASE really is, for her silicone breasts are bulky, discolored, and rather damn ugly.

In fact, imagine if her character had never gotten those implants. She would have had the cash to win her damn kid back, and there would be been no reason for this boob in the first place.

SKINWALKERS 1/2
(First Viewing)

Too much of a cross between THE GOLDEN CHILD and UNDERWORLD. It was closer to UNDERWORLD but instead of vampires it focused on werewolf's. Plenty of ladies to feast your eyes on but it's not worth it with this story and lack of action/excitement (the werewolf side of the characters only turned a handful of times).

Dog Day Afternoon ***
This was made when Al pacino was still subtle and restrained in acting. Good acting from him and John Cazale. The movie is paced well and never goes over the top in terms of drama that is usually seen in many hostage movies.

Clockers (1995)

Directed by: Spike Lee
Produced by: Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, et al.
Starring: Mekhi Phifer ("ER"), Harvey Keitel, Delroy Lindo, John Turturro; with Michael Imperioli

"Strike", a young Black male (Phifer) from the Brooklyn projects, although seemingly well-meaning, gets involved in dealing drugs to make money under an older mentor (Lindo) who needs him to eliminate someone to prove he can be trusted. When the mark turns up dead, Strike's brother confesses to the murder. Keitel investigates in this urban street who-done-it that leaves the viewer (at least me) wondering until the end.

A post-Turkey Day On-Demand entry that caught my eye after seeing the filmmakers and cast. I really like Spike Lee, and seeing Scorsese having a piece of it -- with Keitel, Turturro, and Imperioli -- it was a no-brainer!

I enjoyed this one, despite some questionable acting in the beginning. There was *something* missing, I think, (lack of the requisite "love story"? not sure) but right now I can't put my finger on it... but I think it's worth a rental...

IMDb: 6.8
Netflix: 6.6
JGeoff: Agreed... almost a 7/10

I think CLOCKERS is a good Spike Lee entry, with Harvey Keitel given a rare post-1970s chance to star in a major Hollywood release as a lead. CLOCKERS is nothing superbly remarkable, but thats not a bad thing at all.

CLOCKERS (1995) - ***

Just watched trainspotting again,although ive seen it a hundred times i still think its a great movie and ewan McGregor was great in it.

"Who the Fuck are you" Begby is class

Apur Sansar (The world of Apu) ****
This is the third of the Apu trilogy by Satyajit Ray, very conspicuous for its male actors occupying the center stage unlike the other two. The only happy phase in the main character Apu's life comes in the presence of his wife, during his short-lived marriage. Though the movie ends in a way to signify continuity of life amidst misery, this movie is on the whole a bleak portrayal of the viciousness of urban poverty.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA
(First Viewing)

I'm going to give Jet Li a crack before Jackie Chan. For whatever reason Li seems to garner my attention better than Chan. The fight scenes in this film were well executed. The story was somewhat strong, just kind of confusing in parts. Looking forward to the next two installments in the trilogy.

What started all of these "Once upon a time in...." movies? There seem to be dozens of them.

INVENTING THE ABBOTTS 1/2
(First Viewing)

I had seen parts of this and while it was good, it wasn't as good as I was hoping for. Joaquin Phoenix was still growing as an actor and wasn't on top of his game as he is now. Also, I just don't see Michael Keaton as a narrator. Not that he has a terrible voice but I don't think it's great enough to do voice over work either.

Probably just coincidence. Sergio Leone did ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST and ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. This is a ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA trilogy staring Jet Li. Again, probably nothing more than mere coincidence.

I rewatched "The Hustler" last night and am reminded that its a totally awesome movie! Not one bad performance in it, and its among the best movies of all-time. Paul Newman, George C. Scott, Piper Laurie and Jackie Gleason are all absolutely wonderful in this telling of a "loser's" trip to beomong a winner.

I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who has never seen it!!

(Look for the real Jake LaMotta ["The Raging Bull"] in a small role as the bartender in the bus terminal).

Leone's titles evoke the traditional fairy-tale; one of universality by means of fabricated (fictionalised) nostalgia. It's a very romantic gesture (West and America are both romanticised, historical epics to both their historical period and respective genres).

I'd assume the China trilogy takes its title from Leone's, actually.

Shane Meadows directed Once Upon a Time in the Midlands a few years ago, a throwback to the Western (and Leone's in particular) set in a humble, mid-England contemporary town. It's an awful film.

3:10 to Yuma *
I think it fits well into the western genre with its themes of bravery, drawing guns fast, legendary tales of a bad guy killing N number of men and families etc. Acting wise, nothing remarkable, even from the usually great Bale. Maybe this was a great movie and I am just not a big fan of westerns. I think the ending is as Hollywood* as it gets.

* =derogatory

THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD
(First Viewing)

The effects were good considering when the film was made (1974). I wasn't too familiar with the tale of Sinbad prior to viewing. However, a lot of the actors seemed to be white rather than of middle eastern decent was a bit distracting at times.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA II 1/2
(First Viewing)

I'm glad they still kept the foreigner angle in this film and the addition of the White Lotus clan made it more enjoyable than the first installment. More action, more Jet Li, and better fight scenes than Part I too.

BOUND 1/2
(First Viewing)

Wow, the Wachowski brothers do it again. This was a great and intense rollercoaster ride from start to finish. Joe Pantoliano was great as Caesar in this pre-Sopranos mafia role. His Chicago, wise-guy routine was excellent at times. Likewise, Gina Gershon was valuable as the tough girl, lesbian/brains of the operation. I haven't really seen her since FACE/OFF or THE INSIDER unfortunately. Jennifer Tilly pulls her weight as well and it's unfortunate she hasn't had much of a career since this either. I'm sure this will be in your local video stores so next time your in you may want to think about picking it up.

No country for old men ***
Blibble is right about the ending in a way. It is an unexpected one, but not necessarily a very satisfying one either. Leaving that aside, the cinematography is great and the story is gripping till the end. There are some small similarities to Fargo in terms of plot elements.

Did you think Tommy Lee's role was maybe bigger than it needed to be svsg? Also, which do you like better, FARGO or NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN?

Both are good.