Movie Tab II

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Wow., That's a really low rating for a rather decent film. What didn't you like?

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Trouble in Paradise (1932) - Ernst Lubitsch
My first Lubitsch movie and I'll definitely be watching more.

French Connection II (1975) - John Frankenheimer
Really just a showcase for Hackman's acting - which is fine with someone as talented as him. Slightly better than the first IMO. -

King King (2005) - Peter Jackson
This would have been great if it was about an hour and a half shorter. As it was I enjoyed it well enough. +

The Graduate (1967) - Mike Nichols
Remember when Hollywood did more than remakes and super hero movies? Those were the days ...

Primal Fear (1996) - Gregory Hoblit
Watched for HoF. Mostly OK but gets bad at the end. +

Paper Moon (1973) - Peter Bogdanovich
Remember when Hollywood did more than remakes ... Tatum O'Neal was great, Ryan O'Neal was, well, Ryan O'Neal. -

Apocalypto (2006) - Mel Gibson
First half was excellent - second half turned into a standard action movie with all the clichéd story devices. Decent overall but I was pretty disappointed by the end.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (2003) - Kim Ki Duk
One of my favourite movies.

What's Up, Doc (1972) - Peter Bogdanovich
Streisand was great and it had some funny parts but overall it was only decent.

The Man Without a Face (1993) - Mel Gibson
OK, I'm calling it, Gibson is an average actor and a bad director. -

Dead Calm (1989) - Phillip Noyce
Pretty effective thriller. The ending gets criticised but I thought it was OK.

Catch a Fire (2006) - Phillip Noyce
True story about the making of a terrorist in South Africa. I liked it. +

The Travelling Players (1975) - Theodoros Angelopoulos
Angelopoulos doesn't exactly make "easy" to watch films but with patience they often end up great. This is a four hour historical drama that becomes really worth watching if you get through the first hour and a half.

Halloween Resurrection (2002) - Rick Rosenthal
When a movie starts and you see that the top billed actor is Busta Rhymes you kind of know you aren't about to see a masterpiece. Still, this wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.

In the Heat of the Night (1967) - Norman Jewison
I love Poitier and Steiger and they are at their best here. +

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975) - Gene Wilder
When I saw Willy Wonka in the 70s countdown I got hit with some nostalgia so I searched for Gene Wilder films. Upon seeing he directed a few I thought I'd watch some - I think that may have been be a bad decision.

Growing up very recently, Victim just seems really timid for its subject matter, many state (including Roger Ebert) that it's daring for its time, but for mine it quite bland. I also felt that the film tried to hard to be dramatic, and I was never really touched. I can't say it's an awful film, just extremely ineffective. That being said I plan on watching more films from Basil Dearden. Any recs?

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As you know, I don't really care about directors too much, however, looking at his other work, I'd recommend The League Of Gentleman, The Mind Benders and Dead Of Night.

There's really a lot going on in Victim. Just because the subject matter isn't so edgy now doesn't mean it wasn't a big deal, and I think it stands up today as solid entertainment and social comment. Besides the fact that Dirk Bogarde plays a lawyer in the closet, there's the fact that at the time Bogarde was also in the closet. I guess there was more to it than coincidence when he was pitched in the '50s as England's Rock Hudson. Another Dearden film from that era is Sapphire, a murder mystery dealing with a "victim" who passed for white. It's similar in treatment and quality (I'd say good) to the film you gave a crap rating.

I have Victim recorded to and I'm going to watch it for the 60s list

Palo Alto (2014):
Ivan's Childhood (1962):
Solaris (1972):
Fantastic Planet (1973):
Heathers (1988):
A Woman Under the Influence (1974):
Christiane F. (1981):
Aladdin (1992):

* = Rewatch
High Tension (Haute Tension) (2003) +
Sauna (2008)
Lawless (2012) +
*Jaws 2 (1978) -
*Good Will Hunting (1997) +
*American Beauty (1999)
Signs (2002) +
The Fourth Kind (2009) +

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''Haters are my favourite. I've built an empire with the bricks they've thrown at me... Keep On Hating''
- CM Punk
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The Cranes are Flying
Oh great Kalazatov why are thou films so beautiful?

Tatiana Samoilova

Apocalypto
Honestly, as far as big epic blockbusters go this film is top of the line. Thoroughly engrossing,exciting,intense and its remarkable how well-crafted it is. Mel Gibson might be a slimey scumbag of a human-being, but as a director he's damn good.

My Girl Friday -
Alright film but the characters are just outright irritating. They never shut up!

The Circus -
Meh

The Great Dictator -
One of the better Chaplin films I've seen and it showed that the transition to sound works really well. It could use some trimming in terms of length, but its a really enjoyable film and I'm glad I viewed it.

Nice to see such a high rating for Lifeboat as I have it recorded as I aim to watch more Hitchcock.

TRV N KVLT!


Have you seen I Am Cuba and Letter Never Sent? I love the first one. The latter is decent, but the cinematography is still outstanding.


Watch MOAR beautiful Soviet films! Like Ballad of a Soldier or Destiny of a Man.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

I've seen Letter Never Sent, tis' a magnificent film. Some of the most gorgeous cinematography I've ever seen. Haven't seen Soy Cuba though,but its on my watchlist.

Primal Fear (Hoblit, 1996)



When this first hit, I recall people being sort of over-the-moon about Norton's performance as Aaron. His performance is definitely good, and I don't recall seeing much of Norton before this flick, but its not to tour-de-force it was made out to be. Something about the production approach seemed sort of bland to me, as well. It's pretty workmanlike and lacks any signature style; sort of a Film Making 101 type approach that didn't age very well. I dunno, it fell pretty flat for me this time around, especially the final act.


The Last Boy Scout (T Scott, 1991)



Apparently I am still quoting this film all these years later, and I wasn't even aware of it. That's too bad, because it's not a very good movie. I am sure it appealed to my 19-year old self when it first came out, but Bruce Willis turns in a fairly one-dimensional, cliched performance as a tough-guy private investigator. Damon Wayans is terrible as the ex-quarterback with a chip on his shoulder turned sidekick. One scene in particular has Wayans shedding a tear, and the way Tony Scott set it up, shot and edited it made it seem like it belonged on the gag reel. I was reminded of another Wayans performance in I'm Gonna Get You Sucka, in which a gag with a Rambo type character getting a tiny cut on his finger goes over the top with melodrama, and the character drops to his knees screaming, all over a tiny cut. Too bad a similar scene is supposed to be serious in The Last Boy Scout; I was supposed to feel bad for the character, but I was in ****ing stitches laughing.

Tony Scott has done a couple of decent flicks, but the guy can sure dial up a garbage scene from time to time. The Last Boy Scout is full of them. It's not all bad, as the opening scene is very memorable, and there is some decent comedy from Willis, who seemed stuck mid-transition between Moonlighting and Die Hard. The guy is entertaining enough to keep the film moving, but the screenplay hamstrings the proceedings far too often for my taste, like Bruce Willis and a badly planned escape involving a sock puppet, or a final joke centered around a bomb going off in a residential neighborhood in Los Angeles, clearly contrived and written long before either 9/11 or the Oklahoma City bombings. Regardless, the whole thing is just in sort of poor taste.

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I listen to it tonight ! you're attracted my attention

Make sure you stick with it because the second half is better than the first.

Was that viewing of A Field In England with your brother?