What was the last movie you've seen?

[BurningDoom]

Just watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Pretty good movie that is somewhat inspired by Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. Great prequel with an emotionally invested story, great "ape" effects, and good acting. I recommend it to any sci-fi or Planet of the Apes movie fans. I hope that this gets a sequel and we finally get a real Planet of the Apes series reboot.

[Luke]

One of my black friends was really excited to see this.

No need to color code your friends. (I get the racial significance, but I was a little taken aback after reading that. I'm busting your ballz, as I know you are in no way one to stereotype or prejudge...but still I find that comment weird.)

I think the first line in the movie that is in English is "NAZIS! Lez go get 'em!" (possibly the same line from Inglorious Basterds). I also wouldn't have been the least surprised if any of the pilots answered a mobile phone call or used his GPS while in a dogfight.

The biggest disappointment was the lack of actual planes, which is what the vets want to see. I can't say I wouldn't watch it again though, it has some silly moments I wouldn't mind seeing again.

[Hobie-wan]

No need to color code your friends. (I get the racial significance, but I was a little taken aback after reading that. I'm busting your ballz, as I know you are in no way one to stereotype or prejudge...but still I find that comment weird.)

Yeah, I couldn't think of a way to say it that didn't sound weird, but it was significant to the comment as he was annoyed by that aspect of the movie and specifically brought it up when telling me about it.

People are people after all, no matter what flavor.

[Luke]

No need to color code your friends. (I get the racial significance, but I was a little taken aback after reading that. I'm busting your ballz, as I know you are in no way one to stereotype or prejudge...but still I find that comment weird.)

Yeah, I couldn't think of a way to say it that didn't sound weird, but it was significant to the comment as he was annoyed by that aspect of the movie and specifically brought it up when telling me about it.

No harm, no foul, and I still think the world of ya. As I previously stated, race plays a significant role in the movie, and as you stated race shouldn't be significant these days. As Geoffrey Biddix told me when I was fifteen, "It's all brown downtown" (he was wrong though as I slept with a few red heads).

OKAY! Back to movies...


http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/g ... -nadam.php

^Movie by Bobcat Goldthwait. Well, Hit Girl is back which is a plus, but the movie might as well be called "I hate Reality TV and Douche Bags" (apparently not all of us do, as there is still a huge audience who loves to see real worlder's from a decade ago try to walk across a greased pole).

But, I'm looking forward to this. It doesn't look great, but I don't think it will be a movie solely based on reference jokes. If it is, fuck it, but Bobcat's smarter than people give him credit for.


Oh, it's a redband trailer, so nsfw.

[Michi]

There was an interesting tangent discussion going on in the General Gaming forum comparing 2D/3D gaming to Silent/B&W/Color films. It inspired me to get this write-up out of a fascinating film I just saw recently.

Haxan
Witchcraft Through The Ages


I've noticed I've been watching a lot of Criterion Collection films recently. I'm starting to think TCM has an agreement with them or something.

TCM showed this two weeks ago on Sunday (it's their silent movie night). So, yes, this is a silent movie. All you silent movie haters may now flee or stay and be educated.

Haxan examines the nature of witchcraft, witches, and those who sought to destroy both. It's a bit odd as it's part documentary, part dramatization. The first is done through a series of ways including images, models



diagrams


Diagrams come complete with helpful pointy-stick.

and even an animated sequence.


This isn't actually the sequence. I just couldn't find a decent picture of it.

The movie often shifts perspective as it moves through the ages of man while addressing the varying notions of 'the witch', what they were believed to be doing at the time and how they operated. This is usually accomplished by showing old wood carvings and then having actors play out the events depicted in those wood carvings. In this case, how they would stand in line to kiss devil ass:


I wouldn't kiss that wrinkled butt even if you promised to make me Supreme Ruler of All the Land.

Admittedly, some of these depictions venture into the realm of the absurd


Evil demon....er, somthing or other. At least they're wearing sensible shoes.

But that's less the films fault and more the fault of the people of the 16th century who believed in some of these things so adamantly that they felt the need to write them down.

And not all the depictions of the witchcraft are so bizarre. Some of them are downright creepy (Demon ass-kissing not withstanding).


Reminds me of dreams you wake up from because you think something's grabbing you in the f*&%#@* night!

The Devil is also featured prominently in these scenes. I don't know who they picked to play the guy, but he can be both horrifying


Say what you will, but this film had a fabulous makeup budget.

humorous


Behold the mighty Devil Gif! Get Over Here!

and in some cases downright disturbing.


I say disturbing because in two scenes he churns this butter....vigorously....Like, really vigorously. It creeped me out.
I thought about finding a gif for it, but that probably make it NSFW.

The later, more interesting scenes focus on the prosecutors of the so-called 'witches', examining religious intolerance, fear, or just corrupted dominance. One section in particular focuses on a household of women who call in the local monks/judges


They're willing to whip each other? That's never a good sign. Actually, that little guy looks like he kind of likes it.

to take away an elderly woman from their home who they accuse of being a witch. The old woman is tortured, forced to confess her treachery



But then also implicates the women who turned her to be witches as well. Obviously retaliatory motivations went right over the bald heads of the monks of yore and all the woman of the household are executed.



The film also takes some time to show off several ye ole torture devices in detail, examining the different types and various uses of the torture devices that were used to extract confessions.


Please don't pick the round, spiky thing. Please dont' pick the round, spiky thing.....

Even going so far to explain how one of the actresses wanted to experience the thumb screws for herself


Ouch! The S*&# I do for my craft!

Released in 1922, Haxan was banned in every country in Europe. It's not hard to see why. What with love potions created with, amongst other things, human fingers, the devil sexually attacking women, people digging up corpses, babies thrown into cauldrons, women giving birth to demons, and half naked or fully naked women walking around in silhouette, it's amazing that the film make it out of 1922 unscathed. The prominent violence and sexuality in the movie is surprising considering when it was made in and was probably even more shocking to anyone who viewed it in the theatre.

There are many a draw back to silent films, it can not be denied: the over acting, the broken narrative, the poor image quality, the obvious special effects, or lack thereof (Hello pointy-stick!). However these are products of the limits of the times. If the viewer can look past them than Haxan is a movie to be viewed by those interested in history and the history of cinema.

[Gamerforlife]

Kung Fu Panda 2

Great, fun, movie, but I worry about them making this a franchise. Franchises generally dip in quality at some point or another. Sometimes it's best to just let something go after it's peaked

[Luke]

Watched HARVEY again last night. Still is probably my favorite film ever.

[dsheinem]

Haxan
Witchcraft Through The Ages

I haven't watched this movie in ages, but I agree it is an interesting film to see and really quite something for 1922. iirc, many point to it as one of the earliest examples of a film with some Satanic and occultist themes (something that didn't really come into its own as a sub genre until some 40-50 years later). I love your reviews on here, and this one was no exception - thanks!

[Nintendork666]

I saw Haxan with live noise band accompaniment at a tiny Detroit art-house theater about a year and a half ago. It was nice to finally discover what all those .gifs were from I had seen floating around online for years. Pretty decent noise too, a wild experience overall.

Still hard to believe that TCM played both this AND Hausu. Maybe they do have a deal with Criterion after all. Also Michi, I've acquired The Town That Dreaded Sundown, and plan to watch it within the next few days.

[dsheinem]

It’s time for my annual “watch the Academy Awards nominated films-a-thon” that takes place between the announcement of the nominees and the actual Oscars. Here’s the first installment.

War Horse (2011) – Spielberg can pretty much coast at this point and still produce a beautiful film, and this one is no exception. Some of his hallmarks – the use of light and weather to accentuate scenes, the Williams score, the predictable but compelling plot, etc. - they all work well to make it an enjoyable (if a bit lengthy) film viewing experience. The use of lesser-known actors adds a lot to the film, as does the choice of locations used for shooting. There’s a nice mix of high drama, exciting action scenes, believable dialogue, and good pacing to make this one easy to recommend. Not his best work, but it’s a solid addition to his oeuvre.
Grade: 4/5

The Descendants (2011) – While I enjoyed this film and found the way in which it dealt with the subject matter at hand to be quite compelling, I am a little surprised it is getting as much Oscar buzz for best picture as it is. More melodrama than comedy, the standout work of this film is in the character acting, the cinematography, and the score – each of which I felt worked to prop up an otherwise fairly average plot. There are some cool moments in the film and it is nice to see Clooney at least a little bit outside of his comfort zone of the snarky, alpha-male, and /or quirky character. It was a fun one to watch with my wife and I recommend it, but it doesn’t feel like best picture material to me.
Grade: 3.5/5

The Ides of March (2011) – This one was nominated for an adapted screenplay Oscar, and while I am not familiar with the original source material I can tell you that I found the story to be one that was interesting to follow and well orchestrated. The strengths here are in the attention to detail in the “behind the curtain” look at a campaign, the dialogue, and – surprisingly – in Gosling’s acting. I need to see more things with him in it, as he’s clearly come a long way since The Notebook. The film’s last act isn’t the payoff I was hoping for given the build up, it would have been nice to see more scenes with Wood, Tomei, Hoffman, Clooney, Giamatti, etc. (the casting is really A-list), and Clooney’s direction seems a step back following Good Night and Good Luck .
Grade: 3/5