What are you watching now?

Cell · Jan 15, 2009

This is for the future, but hopefully some people will participate and decide what I end up watching and then reviewing for my 100th review. Any movie you want to suggest is cool, just leave a comment at the link below, but please, no documentaries, I don't watch or review those. Thanks.

http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/countdown-to-100th-review/

GKarsEye · Jan 15, 2009

You should make something really weird but awesome, like A Clockwork Orange or Mullholland Drive. Yes, they're two of my favorite movies ever ever and I take every opportunity to try to get as many people as possible into them.

Last night I watched a movie called Dirty Pretty Things. It's pretty cool- about a couple of illegal immigrants in London, a Nigerian guy and a Turkish girl, and how they get caught up in an underground organ trading enterprise. The movie works as both a taught suspense thriller and social commentary.

Jade Jaguar · Jan 18, 2009

I watched a strange one last night, called The American Astronaut. I think on the IMDb someone describes it as if John Waters had done Firefly. I'd change that to say it's as if Jim Jarmusch and David Lynch had collaborated on Firefly. Black and white, gritty, strange characters, such as "the boy who actually saw a woman's breast."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243759/

Cell · Jan 18, 2009

GKarsEye · Jan 19, 2009

As a Western fan I just had to check out Appalloosa, directed and starring Ed Harris, co-starring Viggo Mortensan. Also w/ Rene Zellweger and Jeremy Irons. This was basically deliberately stylized classicist genre picture by and for Western fans so I enjoyed it.

Has there ever been a less attractive leading lady than Zellweger though? She's this girl that all these dudes are going crazy for and her face is just always scrunched up and she has the weird all-too-cutesy tone and... well I'm sorry to be mean but she's just not very pretty. I'm not saying every female actress has to be stone cold gorgeous, but the fact is that in these movies a woman's attractiveness is part of the story. In fact, didn't she get famous from Bridget Jones' Diary, where her plain looks is actually central to the story of the movie? So now, what, she's the hot chick? Meh.

Cell · Jan 19, 2009

GKarsEye said:
As a Western fan I just had to check out Appalloosa, directed and starring Ed Harris, co-starring Viggo Mortensan. Also w/ Rene Zellweger and Jeremy Irons. This was basically deliberately stylized classicist genre picture by and for Western fans so I enjoyed it.

Has there ever been a less attractive leading lady than Zellweger though? She's this girl that all these dudes are going crazy for and her face is just always scrunched up and she has the weird all-too-cutesy tone and... well I'm sorry to be mean but she's just not very pretty. I'm not saying every female actress has to be stone cold gorgeous, but the fact is that in these movies a woman's attractiveness is part of the story. In fact, didn't she get famous from Bridget Jones' Diary, where her plain looks is actually central to the story of the movie? So now, what, she's the hot chick? Meh.

I want to see Appaloosa, but you are not alone on Zellwegger. I thought she was decent looking for most of her career, read; I would shag her but wouldn't be bragging about it. Then she lost all kinds of weight after people told her she looked fat in Bridget Jones, a, wait for it, role that she gained a lot of weight to play. Now that she's super skinny all her flaws are even more evident and I would no longer shag her, I take it as her loss.

Galahad · Jan 19, 2009

I would guess she's had botox as well, her face seems to look incredibly tight these days... almost as if it's been embalmed.

Jade Jaguar · Jan 20, 2009

GKarsEye said:
As a Western fan I just had to check out Appalloosa, directed and starring Ed Harris, co-starring Viggo Mortensan. Also w/ Rene Zellweger and Jeremy Irons. This was basically deliberately stylized classicist genre picture by and for Western fans so I enjoyed it.

I guess I don't consider myself a western fan because so many of them are such gawdaful crap. But still, there are a lot that are favorite films of mine. Did you ever see the 1966 The Appaloosa, starring Marlon Brando and John Saxon? That's a favorite, although there are far better westerns. The 2008 film is not a remake of the 1966 film. One-Eyed Jacks, which Brando directed, as well as starred in, is also a favorite of mine.

GKarsEye · Jan 20, 2009

Did you ever see the 1966 The Appaloosa, starring Marlon Brando and John Saxon?

Nope

dreamer · Jan 21, 2009

I've been watching Stargate Atlantis, through seasons 1-3 and while the production values generally make things look good, the series isn't really going anywhere - not to mention how tired an idea the Wraiths felt right from the start, not forgetting how they brought old crap from the main series, like the Replicators. The soundtrack is good and the premises pleasing (when they're not squatting under a bush in someone's backyard) and I even warmed up for some of the actors; the irish doctor I liked from the beginning but he hasn't had much screentime, the main character Shepard is almost exactly like O'Neill, so it's hard not to like him and the grunt they got in season 3 was surprisingly good. My favourite is of course the irritating genious Meredith McKay.

While back I learned that they're making a new Stargate show with Robert Carlyle playing a "machiavellian doctor", and while the franchise doesn't make me hold my breath I can't say that I'm not interested at all to see what they come up with.

Also, I've been watching through Star Trek Enterprise's first season. It is fairly unbelievable, mostly in negative terms.

Galahad · Jan 21, 2009

I'm being utterly and unashamedly narcissistic and watching some of my own produce from college,15 years ago. Those of you on Facebook can sample some of my more corny offerings... but here's an old video starring my dad as a man who is trapped in a telly and wanting to emulate a band who are representing Dire Straits (it was supposed to be a mock promo to demonstrate we could cut images to the beat.... didn't necessarily need to make any sense). I therefore filmed a few friends as they materialised in a church... and made the worship band sound somewhat good by wiping out their soundtrack and dubbing Dire Straits over them!

I should point out that I filmed the video with my digital camera, as it played on television so the quality is pants.... for that matter... as you will see, so was my hair!

Cell · Jan 22, 2009

What I've been watching,

The Guns Of Navarone (1961)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/review-the-guns-of-navarone-1961/

Good enough action flick, but that's all it is. The acting is decent, but nothing to take notice of and Gregory Peck who I usually love becomes grating as the holier than thou philosophy dropping Captain. If it had been trimmed down a bit and focused more on the action and less on the ridiculously thin characters it would have been a great action film. But, still a good explosions driven action movie.

The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/review-the-sweet-hereafter-1997/

Brilliant film, with a lot to say but it says all of it so quietly. Every actor is amazing in their roles, but Sarah Polly, Gabrielle Rose and Ian Holm stood out above all others. A movie not about death, although it is at times, but about how death affects everyone that is left alive. It's powerful and small at the same time, just a tremendous film.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/review-a-beautiful-mind-2001/

Highly compelling movie with good performances across the board. I thought the interweaving of reality with his fantasies was deftly handled. The movie flew by, and I had almost no problems with it other than his wife disappearing down the home stretch and a few other minor things. Nowhere near worthy of the backlash there has been against it.

Soylent Green (1973)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/review-soylent-green-1973/

Not the best of sci-fi dystopia movies. It wants to be so much more than what it ends up being, but Soylent Green ends up with a lot of nifty ideas but little in the way of a passable story or a reasonable structure. Plus, they had Joseph Cotton and they used him for about two minutes. I'll pass on ever seeing this again, thank you very much.

Stagecoach (1939)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/19/review-stagecoach-1939/

Really great Western, only brought down a few pegs by the tacked on happy ending. This went against the standard Western grain in so many ways, never giving into any of the classic Western stereotypes. John Wayne is very good as a much more subtle version of his usual bravado filled cowboy. One of my favorite Ford Westerns, or Westerns in general.

They Were Expendable (1945)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/review-they-were-expendable-1945/

They Were Expendable is a decent look at the camaraderie formed between soldiers during time of war. It also features some great battle scenes, looks good and outside of Wayne's over the top performances features some good acting. But, as I am finding to be far too typical of John Ford's work, it is far too patriotic, and slanted towards US sentimentality to be a great movie.

Fort Apache (1948)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/review-fort-apache-1948/

Excellent Western, this remains one of the finest Westerns I have ever seen, and is the best of Ford's cavalry trilogy. Fort Apache managed to find the perfect mix of romance, comedy, action and the technical aspect of the cavalry men that Ford was so enamored with. Henry Fonda was great, but this is the role of John Wayne's career for me, he tones down his usual bravado and delivers a very quiet, subtle performance. This also takes America to task for its stupidity and arrogance in the old West, truly a classic.

The Quiet Man (1952)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/review-the-quiet-man-1952/

I enjoyed The Quiet Man, it was a fun movie, full of romanticized ideas about Ireland and our way of life. John Wayne was good in a reserved fashion, and I quite enjoyed Victor McLaglen as something more than a soldier for once. People can call me sexist all they want, but man does Maureen O'Hara have a rack. Sexism aside, an enjoyable movie and another fine entry in the Ford/Wayne collaboration.

Libeled Lady (1936)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/review-libeled-lady-1936/

A screwball comedy that is funny at times and not so funny at others. There's really nothing to Libeled Lady beyond that, it's a run of the mill comedy that is worth a watch if you stumble across it, but it's not something I'll revisit anytime soon.

It Happened One Night (1934)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/review-it-happened-one-night-1934/

A Capra classic, and with good reason. It is lighthearted, but it has a lot of said heart and it is very funny. Some scenarios don't work, but that's just how comedy works. Great performances all around, just a really good, uplifting story that you can get behind.

King Kong (1933)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/review-king-kong-1933/

There's not much I need to say about this one, it's still so much fun all these years and all these viewings later. Kong looks just as great now as he did when I first saw him, and unlike the horrendous 2005 remake that got everything about the story wrong, this one moves fast and never lets up, putting the focus where it belongs, on Kong. A seminal film for a lot of reasons, but none of those matter because king Kong is still a lot of fun to watch.

That's what I've been watching. Read, if you like.

Cell · Jan 25, 2009

Quick update for a reason I'll link to later,

Zwartboek (2006)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/review-zwartboek-2006/

Great WWII thriller that offers a more fantasy driven look at the war. I loved the moral relativism present in Zwartboek and how it attacked all the people who like to think of themselves as far superior to the Nazis. Carice van Houten and Sebastian Koch were both great in their roles and outside of a few instances Verhoeven reigned in his usual over the top nature in regards to sex or blood and gore.

Blue Velvet (1986)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/review-blue-velvet-1986/

Scathing, and often crude, look at the rotten nature of suburban life that we all try to ignore. I didn't find Blue Velvet to be shocking for the sake of the shock, but rather it was shocking because people needed to be shocked into reality about the type of people who may live next door. Good all around cast, when Laura Dern wasn't trying to cry, but Rossellini and Hopper were the best, although Dean Stockwell sort of stole the show.

The Field (1990)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/review-the-field-1990/

Great allegorical movie, it asks all kinds of questions about man and what he owns or has the right to own. It also questions the old ways of living versus progress. Tremendous performance from Richard Harris in the lead, but Sean Bean was good as the son, but blink and you might miss Brendan Gleeson in a small role as a quarry man.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/review-invasion-of-the-body-snatchers-1956/

Sci-fi flick that ranged from decent to good. It needed a little more depth or fullness to it, because it was too stark for my liking. Still, it did a good job of presenting 1950's McCarthyism in a palpable subtext and did a great job of using paranoia to create fear.

North By Northwest (1959)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/review-north-by-northwest-1959/

My favorite, and the best, Hitchcock. not only is this full of all the usual tremendous camera work and cinematography, but it is incredibly fun and actually has a script that can keep up with Hitchcock. Grant is great, and I would take Eva Marie Saint over Grace Kelly or any other Hitchcock preferred icy blond every day of the week.

Modern Times (1936)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/review-modern-times-1936/

Charlie Chaplin is funny, that's all there is to the man. Modern Times also presents plenty of social commentary and while I was greatly taken by that turn for Chaplin, the film still moves along because of Chaplin's innate ability to get a laugh out of just about every scenario.

Babel (2006)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/review-babel-2006/

Mediocre movie, no depth or characterization at all outside of young Chieko. The fractured narrative doesn't work here as well as it has in other films, and the entire nanny Amelia story is incredibly fake and a blatant attempt at making us feel sympathy for an idiot. I've never seen the greatness in Iñárritu that others do, and this is yet another film that falls into the overrated camp.

100th Review Poll
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/100th-review-poll/
Finally, I'm just about to my 100th review, and I created a poll so you could decide what I review. Just click on the link above and leave your vote.

Alluveal · Jan 25, 2009

I have no time for movies, so I just get my television in.

Lost is back.
Galactica is back.

House better come back soon.

The last movie I saw in the theater was Benjamin Button and I really liked it (though the ending was difficult for me to watch.)

I saw a little bit of "Hackers" on cable the other day just to get me some Angelina fix. She had 90's mom pants, but she was still hot.

Otherwise, that movie sucked big one.

I'm a desert in the movie department lately. I need an oasis.

GKarsEye · Jan 26, 2009

Blue Velvet (1986)
http://billsmovieemporium.wordpress....e-velvet-1986/

Scathing, and often crude, look at the rotten nature of suburban life that we all try to ignore. I didn't find Blue Velvet to be shocking for the sake of the shock, but rather it was shocking because people needed to be shocked into reality about the type of people who may live next door. Good all around cast, when Laura Dern wasn't trying to cry, but Rossellini and Hopper were the best, although Dean Stockwell sort of stole the show.

I'm a huge Lynch fan.
I once found Rogert Ebert's review on TV where he slams the movie because he had the opposite opinion of you- he argued that the shock was for its own sake, particularly what Isabella Rosellini had to do.
While Laura Dern was saddled with the straight role, Lynch's eye for talent about here was proven when he cast her later in Wild At Heart and Inland Empire. Though these films are only cherished by Lynch devotees, her performances in them are stunning, especially Empire.

I rented a film noir box set from the library that includes the following films:

The Hangmen Also Die
directed by Fritz Lang
About a rebellion plot/frame-up intrigue in Nazi-occupied Prague. Not really a film noir per say, but it is a kick seeing Lang's legendary suspenseful direction in what might have otherwise been just another WWII movie.

Sudden Fear
Starring Joan Crawford as the wealthy heiress/writer and Jack Palance as the actor who marries her and tries to plot with another woman to kill her and take her wealth. Now this is classic scenery-chewing severe lighting contrast noir stuff, and it's great. I mean, Joan Crawford... what else needs to be said?

Railroaded
directed by Anthony Mann
Straight up noir-style frame job plot flick, cool for fans the genre.

The Long Night
starring Henry Fonda
I'll prob watch this tonight...

Behind Locked Doors
something about an insane asylum, and it's only an hour long apparently. Will watch tomorrow night.

Jade Jaguar · Jan 26, 2009

I am also a big fan of Lynch, and Blue Velvet.

I'll have to disagree with Cell about North By Northwest being Hitchcock's best. It is excellent, and one of his very best, probably better than Notorious. But, nothing can really compare to Vertigo. It may not be quite as high-energy as NBNW, but the complexities, subtleties, and mind-bending surrealism of the plot, plus the incomparable acting, make Vertigo his best, IMO.

I just watched The Man Between, directed by Carol Reed, who directed the stunning The Third Man. Like TTM, TMB is set in post-WWII Europe, but Berlin this time. It stars a young Claire Bloom, who looks remarkably like Audrey Hepburn, but better, IMO, and James Mason. Not as good as TTM, but still well worth watching, for the view of 1953 Berlin, and the early cold war intrigue.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046031/

Alluveal · Jan 26, 2009

I've heard people compare Carnivale to Lynch's work. I've always been interested in Lynch's stuff, but I'm not really sure where to start.

Jade Jaguar · Jan 26, 2009

Blue Velvet would be a good place to start. I would not start with Eraserhead, or [/i]Dune,[/i] two of his earlier films. Wild At Heart, and [/i] Lost Highway,[/i] are good films too. I would wait to see Mullholland Drive, which is more surreal, until you have seen some of the others. It may be his best film, but it is hard to follow. In the public comments on the IMDb, someone has posted a scenario which explains it all. It seems unexplainable while you are watching it. His TV series, Twin Peaks, was good at first, but lost its spark. Inland Empire is over three hours long. I would recommend it only to hard core Lynch fans, or avant garde fans.

GKarsEye · Jan 26, 2009

I'll have to disagree with Cell about North By Northwest being Hitchcock's best. It is excellent, and one of his very best, probably better than Notorious.

Well obviously this is where personal taste comes into play, because Notorious is one of my favorite movies ever ever. And if you're thinking "oh GKE just says that because it has Ingrid Bergman and he's a sucker for a pretty face" well then... yes, yes it does, and yes I am. Not only is she one of my all time favorites, but it's also her most sexually charged performance, at least that I've seen.

But all 3 are great- actually comparing them seems inappropriate since they're all different styles.

As much fun as North By Northwest is, I've always thought that the secret base at the top of Rushmore was a little silly, but that is one of the all time iconic Hollywood movie images.

For the interested Lynch novice, my recommendation is to check out Twin Peaks. Since it's a TV show, it's designed to be more accessible, though it's still weird for TV. Yes, it did suck for most of season 2, but you can just watch the pilot episode, season 1 (only 7 episodes), the beginning of season 2 until Laura Palmer's killer is revealed, and then skip to the last couple of episodes of the series- that last ep is a doozy.

And of course Blue Velvet is the seminal Lynch movie. Lost Highway suffers from an inferior cast (IMO) and I don't know if it's ever actually received a proper DVD treatment. Mullholland Drive isn't actually as impossible to follow as people make out, you just have to watch it twice

It's my favorite work of his, and one of my favorite movies of all time. Naomi Watts is absolutely amazing in it.

Jade Jaguar · Jan 27, 2009

GKarsEye said:
Well obviously this is where personal taste comes into play, because Notorious is one of my favorite movies ever ever. And if you're thinking "oh GKE just says that because it has Ingrid Bergman and he's a sucker for a pretty face" well then... yes, yes it does, and yes I am. Not only is she one of my all time favorites, but it's also her most sexually charged performance, at least that I've seen.

But all 3 are great- actually comparing them seems inappropriate since they're all different styles.

As much fun as North By Northwest is, I've always thought that the secret base at the top of Rushmore was a little silly, but that is one of the all time iconic Hollywood movie images.

I agree completely. Spellbound is another favorite of mine, in part because I am a sucker for the Salvador Dali dream sequence, or Dali most anything...

For the interested Lynch novice, my recommendation is to check out Twin Peaks. Since it's a TV show, it's designed to be more accessible, though it's still weird for TV. Yes, it did suck for most of season 2, but you can just watch the pilot episode, season 1 (only 7 episodes), the beginning of season 2 until Laura Palmer's killer is revealed, and then skip to the last couple of episodes of the series- that last ep is a doozy.

Another caveat I would point out is that he only wrote, or directed, a few of them.

... Mullholland Drive isn't actually as impossible to follow as people make out, you just have to watch it twice It's my favorite work of his, and one of my favorite movies of all time. Naomi Watts is absolutely amazing in it.

I find that gratifying, because I remember urging you to watch Mullholland Drive...

What are you watching now?

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