The Movie Trade-off Tab

Really tough call. It feels like a to me, but this is one of those instances in which I know my view was very much influenced by knowing the film's story beforehand. I loved the conclusion when I first read about it, so something tells me I'd have given this a if I'd gone in fresh.

That said, from what I've read of a book, they omitted a few things that I think could've added a lot to the story, presumably to find more room for the scenes with Sarah (which were kind of odd, I thought).

So, in short: hard to say given that I knew what would happen, but pretty good anyway.

One scene that's completely dated, by the by, is the car crash. He's gotta be going, what, 25 MPH when he hits the milk truck? It wasn't a very tense scene, though I imagine it was supposed to be.

Did you want to take part in round three yoda?

I think I'll skip this round, if only because my schedule's a little kooky for the next couple of weeks and I'd probably take forever to watch the next choice. 'Tis fun, though, and I'll certainly give this another whirl soon.

I will participate

__________________

Yoda, as you were talking about Cronenberg in his thread, wonder how you found Dead Zone to fit into his body of work

__________________

I actually didn't think it "felt" like a Cronenberg, at least based on the several I've seen. There was nothing fleshy pulsating with a cord sticking out of it, for example. Makes sense, since it was an adaptation. I thought the direction was actually pretty conspicuous. I didn't think there were too many showy camera angles or elaborate set pieces. It almost felt like a documentary at times. I don't really have anything terribly negative or positive to say about it.

Then again, I might have missed quite a bit, and I'm not suggesting Cronenberg doesn't have any skill. To me, it just feels as if he kind of let this story tell itself without getting in the way too much, which I kind of admire, given how annoying the opposite can be.

I'd agree it's not very 'Cronenbergial' or his most exciting film but it does stand as a pretty solid thriller. And don't forget, a lot of his movies are adaptations of some variety.

License to Kill (1989 John Glen)



I don't know if James Bond movies are exactly my cup of tea, but I was glad to finally watch one. This one is jammed packed with action (my favorite being the underwater chase scene) and truly horrible ways to die, or be maimed.

I don't have any other bonds to compare him to, but I liked Timothy Dalton as Bond. My boyfriend tells me that Sean Connery was the best, but that he liked Dalton better than Moore. The one who really shined for me though was Robert Davi as the drug lord Sanchez. I love him in Goonies, so it was fun to see him here. Surprisingly, the actor who I thought did a horrible job was Benicio del Toro as Dario. He didn't have too many lines, but when he did he delivered them waaaay over the top. I think he even over delivered with his body language. Look at this mug:



I give it a B- Even though I don't think I'll ever be a huge Bond fan, I was engaged and entertained and it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours on my day off.

You're already partnered with Fenwick for round three check the first post of the trade-off game thread for updates like that

Orphée/Orpheus (Jean Cocteau 1950)
Ophee is the second part in Cocteau's Orphic trilogy, (the first and final parts being The Blood of a Poet (1930) and Testament of Orpheus (1960) respectively). The film is a contemporary imagining of the Greek myth of Orpheus, and takes place in 1950's Paris with Orphee (Jean Marais) a famous poet who's fallen out of favour with his fans.

After a riot at a cafe results in the killing of Ophee's poet rival; a beautiful woman arrives to whisk the body away requesting Ophee accompny her as a witness. Simply calling herself 'The Princess' the woman (played by Maria Cesares) is actually Death and proceeds to take the body into her spirit world. Mesmerised by her mystique and beauty Orphee falls in love with the Princess, but is unable to follow her through the mirror (and portal) back to her world. Unbeknownst to him Death has also fallen in love with Orphee, visiting him while he sleeps, and eventually taking the life of his wife Eurydice (Marie Dea). Assisted by Death's accomplice Heurtebise (Francious Perier) Orphee follows The Princess back to her own world where she faces punishment for breaking the rules *exhales loudly*

That isn't the half of it as Cocteau's fantasy weaves it's own magic with dreamlike special effects (mostly comprising of rewinding techniques) and enchanting performances from the entire cast. Filled with inventive touches like coded messages from the Princess's world sent as radio broadcasts, and the leather clad bikers who act as policemen to the afterlife. This is awe inspiring stuff with standout scenes like (my favourite) Orphee's journey to the afterlife guided by Heurtebise. 'there is no wind yet why do you seem to fight against it?' as the two appear to merely drift there on a non existant breeze. The film works both as magical fantasy and romantic melodrama with superbly nuanced and emotional performances from Cesares as Death and Marie Dea as Orphee's faithful wife Eurydice especially.

So yeah this was a highly rewarding experience and I'm guessing an informed recommendation from Fenwick (especially if he's been looking at the 'What are you listening to...' thread) as the New Romantic/New Wave influences didn't go unnoticed. An image of Orphee (I wonder where Morrissey got the idea for that hairstyle?) was used for the cover of This Charming Man by The Smiths, and The Pet Shop boys sampled some of the radio messages from the film on their DJ Culture release. Not to mention the countless other wave artists this film no doubt influenced. So thanks Fenwick...and err sorry I took so long to watch it. I'll actually be looking to buy this on dvd pretty soon

Happiness -



What an unhappy movie! Men are icky and and i'm glad my happiness doesn't revolve around sexual relationships i just sounded like a lesbian >.> but anyway i enjoyed it, i made Iro watch a big downer and he got me back haha

At least we don't have cooties.

None that I know!

__________________

Ohhhh, well, I know a few....

By the way, are there any lesbian MoFos? I'd be interested in meeting one here. I'm sure the straight guys would love to hear stories.

I recommend it watching it with a friend so you appreciate the black humour of it a lot more. Bonus points if you watch it with a guy.

Also, I should think that there are lesbians whose happiness revolves around sexual relationships.

__________________
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Swan, I want to assure you that I have and actually have watched MirrorMask, but I'm probably going to watch it again before I write it up. What's up with Allegro non troppo?

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

I actually haven't been watching a whole lot of movies lately, been sort of busy. Allegro non troppo is #1 on my Netflix, so I just have to watch and send back one of my current Netflix flix, then I'll get to finally see it. Can't wait.

I'll watch Paths of Glory tomorrow and send it back. Sci-Fi's Twilight Zone marathon is ending tonight, and I've missed most of it already! What's wrong with me?

I'm not a big fan of watching subtitled movies, but enjoyed this quite a bit, even if I had the nagging feeling I'd seen this story several times before.

Yes, I realize that this came out before a fistful of dollars, I'm sayen I'd saw FOD first, so it seemed like a foreign copy.

Speaking of which teh Bruce Willis Actioner Last Man Standing was almost a scene for scene homage, albeit set during the prohibition.

__________________
"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." - Michelangelo.

As per the request of linespalsy, I watched Naked Killer (Clarence Fok Yiu-leung, 1992) - Try saying the director's name out loud for a good laugh; it might remind you of a scene from Full Metal Jacket.

I'd give it a low .



That scene on the box wasn't in the version I saw, but it was the American R-rated one I got from Netflix.

Basically, the film is about some female assassins who love to not just kill but destroy their male victims in particularly unpleasant ways such as twisting their arms and scrotums off. If they're in a hurry, maybe they'll just blow off the latter with a gun. The main plot involves a "sweet young thing" (Chingmy Yau) who seeks revenge for the death of her father, but even before that happens, she meets and falls for a Hong Kong cop (Simon Yam) who's investigating the earlier-mentioned assassinations and suffers from psychosomatic problems involving his accidentally shooting his brother to death. When the young woman gets her revenge, she's rescued by a female hit woman (Kelly Yao) who takes her under wing, trains her and gives her a new identity so that she can make a living as an assassin. Complications arise when the cop tracks her down and the most-elite hitwoman (Carrie Ng) enters the scene.

The plot is no great shakes and often comes off as corny but the point of the film is to have lots of great stunts involving Chinese martial arts moves, gunplay and mostly scantily-clad women. The female characters all come off as strong and self-sufficient while the males all have multiple weaknesses and cannot seem to hold their own in the real world, so this probably makes Naked Killer a feminist film even though it appears to be a basic exploitation film with plenty of sex and violence. I'm no expert on Hong Kong action flicks, but I'm assuming that Naked Killer's depiction of three strong women was something of a change of pace from most of the normal fare, even if Jackie Chan occasionally had a strong female ally in his films.

The film is enjoyable in its own right but I'm a little confused by the ending. The ending didn't really have to happen the way it did, but the film tried to turn an almost semi-campy exploitationer into some kind of tragic romance so it came off a little bit more schizophrenic than it already was. I suppose they just wanted to add in the proverbial kitchen sink at the last second although it was actually an oven.

Thanks, lp.

Cashback
2006, Sean Ellis

it probably isn't a good idea to watch a film when you're tired, but i do it all the time anyway. thankfully, i didn't fall asleep or anything (i absolutely hate having to watch a film in two parts). this is probably the first sign that i actually was enjoying the film, because my eyes were burning.

i think i went away from this film with mostly good thoughts. i thought it was beautiful looking, and i especially loved the fantasy bits the best (and not just due to the bounty of hot bods!). i find it weird, though, how this film is labelled as a romantic comedy, as i didn't really think it was that funny. the two "goofy" clerk-esque characters mostly seemed forced, and i honestly didn't really find most of the characters very likeable. on the flip side, it's a visually stunning film with a lot of touching bits that i found relateable and sexy.

i felt the most weird about the ending. it seemed out of sync with the rest of the film, somehow.

so! interesting choice of film you had me watch, genesis.