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Writer: Dana Olsen
Cast: Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher
Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review
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Writer: Dana Olsen
Cast: Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher
Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
Writer: Lorene Scafaria
Cast: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley
Genre: Adventure, Comedy-Drama
About: An asteroid is only three weeks away from slamming into Earth and killing everyone! A quiet, mild mannered man named Dodge (Steve Carell), finds himself alone after his wife runs away, never to be seen again. Alone in the world he meets Penny (Keira Knightley) a much younger and eccentric woman, who wants to spend time with her family before the end comes.
Review: Yes! I really liked this film! At first it starts out sort of ecliptic with all sorts of weird behaviors going on by those trying to deal with the end of the world which I thought was funny in a clever, quirky way...like the CNN style newsman who talks about the end with an upbeat voice...behind him is a countdown to doomsday clock. The movie is filled with all sorts of interesting tidbits of human nature based on the hypothetical idea that people let all inhibitions go, without any fear of consequences. Such as:
His best friends wife who wants to have sex with Dodge, just because she can and what the hell the world's ending soon anyway. Not that she's really even interested in him.
Or the lady at the party who explains she wore all of her jewelry that she never got to wear before, because it's her last chance to so.
As the movie progress we meet even stranger people in even stranger places. The world is ending and people want to party....Latter in the film as the asteroid approaches (hint we never see the asteroid), the film takes on a more somber tone, becoming quite serious, which made me think about a lot of things. I love films that make me feel and think...and this one did!
Steve Carell really made this film unique and accessible too as he's a regular guy dealing with some heady stuff. The way he quietly deals with all the madness around him works well.
I'm not a big fan of Keira Knightley but she fit into her role well, as her and Steve are meant to be a strange pair. Indeed they are.
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I'm not a big fan of Keira Knightley but she fit into her role well, as her and Steve are meant to be a strange pair. Indeed they are.
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Last edited by Citizen Rules; 01-19-17 at 11:36 PM.
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Childstar (2004)
Director/Writer: Don McKellar
Cast: Don McKellar, Peter Paige, Gil Bellows, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Genre: Drama Dark Comedy
Length: 98 minutes
A little known Canadian indie film that takes a bitingly, truthful look at the out of control life of a 12 year old TV star/celebrity. Taylor Brandon Burns is a messed up, arrogant, bratty and ultra rich TV star who goes off to Canada to shoot a big budget film. But before shooting can even start he promptly disappears from the set and spends the night with a older model/actresses who's been paid to show him a 'good time'. His reluctant limo-driver, is a would be director and former cinema professor who ends up being responsible for him during the movie shoot.
His mom is a loose, lush who spends her days in over self indulgence, sponging off her rich son, while ignoring him...brilliantly played by Jennifer Jason Leigh.
This film is either brilliant! or it's not, I'm unsure. It really hooked me at first with it's story of the darker, yet funnier side of movie making, but it went off in an abstract towards the end. Those who like unconventional films, should love it!
Last edited by Citizen Rules; 01-23-17 at 01:56 PM.
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What made you watch Seeking a Friend for the End of the World? It's one of those random movies that I love, and I cannot watch it without breaking down at the end. I was also not a Knightley fan until this movie.
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What made you watch Seeking a Friend for the End of the World? It's one of those random movies that I love, and I cannot watch it without breaking down at the end. I was also not a Knightley fan until this movie.
That's one of the types of movies I love. Great ending too, real powerful.
It's one of those random movies that I love
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Random because it's not especially well known, highly rated, or my type. I didn't think of it for The as I-Fi countdown. You don't think that's pushing it a little?
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Agreed, it's not sci-fi (even though IMDB has it tagged that way)...It won't be on my list, even though I liked it a lot.
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Ok I'll leave it off too. Any trouble I've been having with that list involves what is Sci-Fi in my eyes.
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Ok I'll leave it off too. Any trouble I've been having with that list involves what is Sci-Fi in my eyes.
I would love to see it make the countdown, but I doubt it would. Like you said an under seen movie for sure. My problem in making my own list is I really love sci fi and I had a good 100 possible movies that I have to cut down to only 25, damn hard for me to do
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Childstar (2004)
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I though about you, when I wrote that review. I do think you would enjoy this one, it's grossly under seen and a little different. Think about all the obnoxious, messed up child actors there have even been and you get an idea of what the movie is like. And, a very plumb role for Jennifer Jason Leigh
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I though about you, when I wrote that review. I do think you would enjoy this one, it's grossly under seen and a little different. Think about all the obnoxious, messed up child actors there have even been and you get an idea of what the movie is like. And, a very plumb role for Jennifer Jason Leigh
I was reading the synopsis and it reminded me of a movie that was on my favorite show biz movies list...Life with Mikey with Michael J. Fox.
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Writer: Dana Olsen
Cast: Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher
Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
I had never seen this one before, even though it's well known. It sort of reminded me of the 1981 movie Neighbors with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. The Burbs stars another comedy legend, Tom Hanks. These days we think of Tom Hanks as playing serious roles in pretentious movies, but here he's young, he's stressed out and married to Carrie Fisher. Hanks is real good at the straight laced, over worked, married man living in the suburbs, or the 'burbs as I like to call them. Hanks was a hot commodity in the late 80s, by the time he made this movie he had a number of successful comedies under his belt including Big (1988) and Splash (1984). Hanks is in top form here and the supporting cast and the crazy 80s antics really suit him.
I watched this for Carrie Fisher. She doesn't have a big role and is Tom's sensible wife. She was really good in that role too and it was nice to see her.
The other stand out in the cast is Bruce Dern, who knew he could do comedy so well! He plays this whacked out para-military guy who believes there's conspiracies everywhere. I could have done without Corey Feldman. He was OK in small does, even funny. I don't know why they gave him so much air time as clearly the other actors was where the movie was at.
The weirdest thing was the crazy neighbor played by Rick Ducommun. He was funny but I kept thinking his lines sounded like they were written for John Candy. Now if Candy had been in this film, it would be golden! Still I liked it, it's fun! it's wacky! it's funny! What more could you want?
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If I didn't like Big, would you say I would like this film?
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Just making sure I read this correctly...why don't you like Big?
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If I didn't like Big, would you say I would like this film?
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The Burbs is nothing like Big. The Burbs is more darker, more edgier, it's a dark comedy. Several members here really like The Burbs. I thought it was pretty cool.
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Director: Christian Duguay
Writers: Philip K. Dick (short story), Dan O'Bannon(screenplay)
Cast: Peter Weller, Roy Dupuis, Jennifer Rubin
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
About: A distant mining planet, Sirius 6B in the year 2078 that has been destroyed by a long civil war. The war is fought between an Alliance of miners and scientist who live there, and the Earth mining corporation NEB who has polluted the planet with toxic radiation.
In a last ditch effort to save themselves, the Alliance creates Autonomous Mobile Swords (AMS) which are A.I. self-replicating machines that burrow under ground and kill NEB soldiers. They're nicknamed screamers, for the sound they make.
Review: Get your beer and pizza ready, kick back and and have a good time watching 1995's Screamers.
There's nothing to deep about the story, even though it's based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. Peter Weller makes for an interesting commander...and there's the usual number of grunts...which ones will get sliced to bits by the screamers? That's half the fun.
The cool thing about this movie is that they filmed it in Canada and the planet looks cold with distant cliffs and snow on the ground. The best thing is the huge, cavernous bunkers that the humans hide out in. It looks impressive because it's not a Hollywood set. The movie was partial shot deep in the bowls of the Montreal Olympic Stadium.
Don't expect anything fresh, just kick back and enjoy the carnage.
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Writers: Philip K. Dick (short story), Dan O'Bannon(screenplay)
Cast: Peter Weller, Roy Dupuis, Jennifer Rubin
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
About: A distant mining planet, Sirius 6B in the year 2078 that has been destroyed by a long civil war. The war is fought between an Alliance of miners and scientist who live there, and the Earth mining corporation NEB who has polluted the planet with toxic radiation.
In a last ditch effort to save themselves, the Alliance creates Autonomous Mobile Swords (AMS) which are A.I. self-replicating machines that burrow under ground and kill NEB soldiers. They're nicknamed screamers, for the sound they make.
Review: Get your beer and pizza ready, kick back and and have a good time watching 1995's Screamers.
There's nothing to deep about the story, even though it's based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. Peter Weller makes for an interesting commander...and there's the usual number of grunts...which ones will get sliced to bits by the screamers? That's half the fun.
The cool thing about this movie is that they filmed it in Canada and the planet looks cold with distant cliffs and snow on the ground. The best thing is the huge, cavernous bunkers that the humans hide out in. It looks impressive because it's not a Hollywood set. The movie was partial shot deep in the bowls of the Montreal Olympic Stadium.
Don't expect anything fresh, just kick back and enjoy the carnage.
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That's thanks to MoFo I went through all the sci fi threads and copied the titles of the movies. There's a lot! Most I hadn't even seen. I still have more sci fi to watch too. Though I haven't really found anything that will make my list yet, but I've had a fun time doing it!
I went through all the sci fi threads and copied the titles of the movies. There's a lot! Most I hadn't even seen. I still have more sci fi to watch too. Though I haven't really found anything that will make my list yet, but I've had a fun time doing it!
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