What was the last movie you saw?

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Jestak
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Re: What was the last movie you saw?

Post by Jestak »

For A Few Dollars More is the second of Sergio Leone's "Man With No Name" Western trilogy starring Clint Eastwood, and it has much of the same character as the first (which I wrote about several pages back). Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef are rival bounty hunters who team up to try to bring in a notorious bank robber, played by Gian Maria Volonte. Eastwood is only out for the money, but the older Van Cleef is motivated by something else--what, we learn only at the end. A young Klaus Kinski appears in a supporting role, and there's more of the famous Ennio Morricone music.
"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing
Jestak
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Re: What was the last movie you saw?

Post by Jestak »

For the second night in a row, I watched the middle film in a trilogy. Tonight it was The Two Towers, which of course is the middle film in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, and which maintains the excellent standard set by the first of the trilogy. Jackson rises to the storytelling challenge of Tolkien's plot, which splits into three main storylines. Viggo Mortenson begins to grow into the role of Aragorn in this movie, and Sean Astin as Sam also stands out more than in the first film. The cast is strengthened by Bernard Hill's superb Theoden and Miranda Otto's excellent Eowyn; David Wenham as Faramir comes off better in the Extended Edition which gives him more dimension, and lets him interact briefly with Sean Bean giving an encore as Boromir. The battle of Helm's Deep is a superb, gigantic set-piece that is the film's climax. The only reason not to watch this would be if you hadn't first seen Fellowship.
"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing
Jestak
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Re: What was the last movie you saw?

Post by Jestak »

Tonight I watched The Bourne Supremacy, the second in the "Bourne" trilogy. I've enjoyed all three films in the series pretty well. Paul Greengrass was a good choice to take over as director; he delivers a very tightly-paced thriller with well-staged actions, including three of the series' renowned chase sequences. Matt Damon is, as in all 3 films, a solid if unconventional action hero, and he's backed by a good supporting cast. Back from the first film are Brian Cox, Julia Stiles and Franka Potente; Joan Allen is a very welcome addition, while we also see lots of Karl Urban and a cameo from Michelle Monaghan.
"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing
Jestak
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Re: What was the last movie you saw?

Post by Jestak »

One of the very first movies I went to as a child, once my parents started taking us to movies, was What's Up, Doc. The roughly 10-year old that I was liked the movie, but there was a lot about it that I wasn't able to appreciate back then.

The movie, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, is a reworking of the basic premise of Howard Hawks' classic Bringing Up Baby (which I posted on several pages back in this thread), one of the classic screwball comedies. Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand assume the Cary Grant and Kate Hepburn roles as, respectively, the extremely absent-minded, otherworldly professor, and the madcap woman who totally upsets his life. Both of them are very good, especially O'Neal. Madeline Kahn, in her first feature, is also terrific, and you have M. Emmet. Walsh and a young Randy Quaid in likable cameos. Plus, the comic chase sequence to beat all comic chase sequences, through the streets of San Francisco.

Great fun, especially if you like screwball comedies.
"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing
Jestak
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Re: What was the last movie you saw?

Post by Jestak »

Once upon a time, there was a hit movie called Star Wars that spawned a whole slew of cheap sci-fi films trying to cash in on its success. Like most of them, Spacehunter has only the slimmest of stories, and less-than-dazzling spfx. When a spaceliner is destroyed, the only survivors are three women who escape to a planet ruled by a crazed cyborg called Overdog (Michael Ironside). Luckily for the women, adventurer and bounty-hunter Wolff (Peter Strauss) is following after them, in search for a big reward. Luckily for Wolff, when his android sidekick is offed, he runs into a teenage waif named Nikki (Molly Ringwald, only 14 and not yet the apple of John Hughes' eye), who knows her way around the planet better than anyone. Nice performances from Strauss as a laconic hero and Ringwald as a spunky adolescent heroine give this one a quirky charm that lift it above many of its competitors.
"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing
funkidiva
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Re: What was the last movie you saw?

Post by funkidiva »

Salt - starring Angelina Jolie. Boy does she have a tough time in this film. It was nice though to see her unglamorous and playing a tough character. Lots of action as she is on the run as a suspected russian agent/spy. Very good film with plenty of action and fast pace. More involved plot line than the trailer led you to believe which was a nice surprise.

Youth in Revolt - this was a fun and odd film. Its about a young lad who will do anything to make sure he and his girlfriend can live near each other in the same town. He listens to his bad self, the devil on his shoulder as such, with serious yet funny consequences. Funny quirky film and would watch again.

Kung Fu Panda - This is a funny animation film with plenty of famous voices. Jack Black as the main character, Po the panda, is perfect and really brought this character to life. Fun, happy film about Po having to save his town from a baddie, with the help of some friends.
"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb" "...What shoes had Alice put me in? Stilettos? She'd lost her mind..."
Jestak
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Re: What was the last movie you saw?

Post by Jestak »

Trying to make an animated classic into a live-action film is potentially disastrous, but the live action version of 101 Dalmatians works fairly well. Glenn Close was a terrific choice to play Cruella De Vil, and Hugh Laurie is extremely funny as one of her henchmen. The animals are pretty good, including, needless to say, the Dalmatians, and also the best movie performance by a terrier since Asta was on the silver screen.
"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing
Jestak
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Re: What was the last movie you saw?

Post by Jestak »

If you watch Joe Dante's Small Soldiers, you'll notice resemblances to his earlier film Gremlins. Once again, some very small critters are out to wreak havoc--the Commando Elite, toy soldiers implanted with AI chips, are hunting the Gorgonites, peaceful aliens (also toys). Once again, a pair of teens are what stands between a small town and total mayhem--Alan (Gregory Smith), whose dad owns the local toy store, and the feisty girl next door, Christy (Kirsten Dunst). While kids are the target audience, there's a fair amount of fun for bigger kids, too. And there's a horde of famous names serving as voice actors, headed by Tommy Lee Jones and Frank Langella. Lively and fun.
"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing
Jestak
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Re: What was the last movie you saw?

Post by Jestak »

Tonight I watched John Boorman's ambitious but flawed Excalibur. No surprise to learn it's an attempt at a film version of the saga of King Arthur and his knights. Nigel Terry, best known for his stage career, gives an unorthodox but intriguing performance as Arthur, Nicol Williamson is a delightful, sometimes batty Merlin, and the supporting cast is full of names that later became big ones--Gabriel Byrne, Ciaran Hinds, Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart. Visually it's often a stunning film, but Boorman really drops the ball in the storytelling department, failing to sustain a compelling narrative. This one is probably still worth a look if you're a fan of heroic fantasy.
"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing
ArtyLinz
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Re: What was the last movie you saw?

Post by ArtyLinz »

Today I watched 2 very different films, but I love them both... Bonnie & Clyde (1967) and The Birdcage (1996).
"It sounded like you were having Bella for lunch, and we came to see if you would share".

~ Alice Cullen, Twilight Ch. 16
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