What was the last movie you've seen?

[AppleQueso]

I'd put it at second-to-last in the Nolan pantheon, right above Batman Begins.

If Batman Begins is Nolan's worst movie I'd say that's a pretty fuckin' good track record.

[sabrage]

If Batman Begins is Nolan's worst movie I'd say that's a pretty fuckin' good track record.

Well, yeah.

[BoringSupreez]

Nolan is in the god tier of directors.

[Luke]

If you are a die hard HST fan, it is watchable.

What if I love HST, but hate Johnny Depp?

Avoid at all costs. He's almost at his Depp-ish.

I saw Prometheus last night <snip> It's more old style sci fi that really takes itself seriously and portrays a fantastical idea in a sensible tone.

Jesus Christ.

(did mjmjr just win another $5?).

[Forlorn Drifter]

Just watched It's Kind of a Funny Story.

I was kinda iffy on watching it in the first place, and now I'm kinda questioning a bunch of things. It made me feel bad inside, but certain areas lightened the tone. I understand what it was going for, but it didn't connect up.

Seeing that I have thought of suicide, like I believe most have, I connected slightly with the protagonist. I didn't connect with the end of the movie though. He just kind of says screw it and decides to be happy. I'm more of a combined him and his friend Aaron. I'm happy as hell on the outside, but I'm depressing and disturbed on the inside.

And that is why I do not like watching 'deep' stuff around 90% of people. Girls especially.

[Pulsar_t]

Man on a Ledge

Entertaining, but does absolutely nothing new.

[BurningDoom]

I saw Prometheus last night ... and it was absolutely fantastic.

I had avoided pretty much all trailers of any kind. Apparently the TV spots being shown show some very big spoilers.

But I thought it was great. It's not flashy sci fi, which I liked a lot. It's more old style sci fi that really takes itself seriously and portrays a fantastical idea in a sensible tone.

Rather than just being flashy and actiony about it.

It's very much more Blade Runner than Transformers ... which I guess most people didn't like. :\

Also, the implications of what's in the film is absolutely geektastic. I love it.

I just got back from the theater. I completely agree with it being a great sci-fi film that takes itself serious. It was fan-freaking-tastic. They just don't make em like this anymore which is a shame.

And the potential for a sequel at the end has me all giddy. So everyone NEEDS to go see this so a sequel gets the green-light!

[Michi]

New Year’s Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil
(Extra vowels added for artistic licence)



TCM is still showing re-runs (Tomorrow night they’ll be re-showing Hausu AKA: House. Just an FYI for those who are interested.) So a couple weeks ago I stayed up extra late (or really early depending on how you look at it) to watch one of their other late night/early morning showings. I’ve noticed on Fridays that after the Underground is over they usually show another movie very similar to the first. So after catching the end of You Better Watch Out, I stuck around to catch another holiday themed slasher, New Year’s Evil.

The film starts off kinda promising with a quick death, and then a jump to a televised punk rock/new age New Year’s party. It’s sort of a cross between a Dick Clark broadcast and a telethon, with people calling in and voting of their favorite song of the year. It looks like something MTV would have done, if MTV had bothered to get off it’s @$$ and invent itself yet (The movie was released in 1980. MTV didn’t start til 81.)

The party is hosted/MC’d by a popular female host who talks to the camera and takes the occasional phone call. She’s also a constant reminder that, yes, you’re watching an 80’s film.


Nice pink eyebrows, hon.

Inevitably she picks up the phone only to be greeted by Mr. Psyhcopath, who insists on calling himself Eeeevil (I’m not kidding, he really does draw out the E) and informs her that he’s going to kill someone as each US time zone strikes midnight, with her being his final victim.

Naturally she calls the cops, but, this being a slasher film, they’re pretty damn near useless. Meanwhile, Mr. Eeeevil chooses his first victim, the hot, slutty nurse, a character contractually obligated to show up in every slasher film. He wastes no time getting busy.


Oh, you thought I meant the other busy. Well fine.


See what happens when you should be watching the patients.

By now the cops are freaking out. Not only do they now have a dead body on their hands, but the guys calling the host back and playing the victims pre-recorded screams of death for all the world to hear.


Fear me, for I know how to use a tape recorder.

We spend the rest of the movie watching the host freak out, watching the police do an admirable job of mucking things up and watching the killer slightly change his appearance while he stalks and kills his next victims.


He’s a master of disguise.

The movie starts off with a couple interesting concepts. The first is the thought of killing a new victim at the stroke of midnight for each time zone (not IN each time zone.) That was something a little different and fit in well with the New Year’s theme. The second is the fact that we essentially see the killer right away. He’s silhouetted in the opening scene, but after that there is no effort made to hide his face or his real voice. This turns the movie less into a who-done-in, into more of a who-is-it, and even then I’m sure 99% of the audience could figure out his connection to the host in the first 10 minutes.

It’s obvious by the tone of the film that with much of the mystery aspect gone that they tried to more thriller aspects. And while there is an amusing car chase, being able to see the killer and know his intentions pretty much kills any suspense.

One thing I thought was very interesting about New Year’s Evil was the casting. As any slasher fan knows, most slashers are filled with ripe, lush victims between the ages of 16-25. But all the primary characters for this film were clearly in their 30’s and 40’s, with the one exception being the host’s son, but that boy has issues.


Like, Silence of the Lambs issues.

But that doesn’t mean that the added age makes the characters any wiser or smarter than their younger counterparts. While the ages may have increased in this movie, the slasher stereotypes did not.

In the end, New Year’s Evil has some decent comedy (not all of it intentional, I’m sure) and is another example of an early slasher with little of the gore and nudity that these types of films would later be known for. The death scenes are decent, but lack any creativity. However, you’ve gotta love a movie where the villain comically tries to distort his voice, ala Scream, and whose idea of a good disguise is to use a “glue it on yourself” mustache that you could probably buy at any 99cent store. If you’re interested in early slashers and don’t mind less than stellar direction and production values that feel more “TV movie” rather than theatrical, or if you just like holiday themed horrors, than feel free to give this one a try. But if you’re looking for something with a bit more blood and creativity you’ll probably want to look elsewhere.

[Evildeadmanwalking77]

See I wanted to like New Year's Evil but I just couldn't get into it. I agree with what you're saying though as far as the comedy goes in the film.

House was pretty cool. I just ordered Zombie Land and Night of the Creeps on BD so I'm pretty excited to get those from Amazon since I LOVE those two films! Especially Night of the Creeps! CLASSIC!

[Gamerforlife]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo



I actually watched the extended edition, which I believe was shown on TV over in Sweden. I didn't watch the two sequels yet though

I'm not typically into these whodunit mystery stories. I usually find them boring and there were points in this movie where I wanted to shut it off and do something else. However, this movie really isn't about the murder mystery. It's about the, "girl with the dragon tattoo."

There is something fascinating about the character and the actress who plays her. She is one of the strongest female characters I've ever seen in a movie and I found myself not giving a crap about the murder mystery and more interested in just learning about this girl, getting wrapped up in her story, and learning about her past. This is the sort of movie that leans heavily on its main character and having the right actress to play her. The murder mystery itself is fairly uninteresting. It's just her part in it that makes the movie work

The movie has a strong feminist vibe to it. It's a movie about men abusing their power against women and the girl with the dragon tattoo is the direct antithesis to that. This seems like a good movie for female viewers. She is not your traditional female heroine, but a much more realistic, believable one that the audience can relate to.