Movies you've recently watched

Johnstantine said:
Lynch is alright, but I think he's way overrated. Blue Velvet just didn't do it for me, as did, like, any of his other movies. Dune is the only one that still stands out to me, and apparently he hated it so much that he demanded his name be taken off the project.

Watch Eraserhead.

I am probably the only Lynch fanatic on this board, so just to clear it up: Lynch did NOT hate Dune. He hated the so called "Director's Cut" version, which he had no role in editing, and therefore had his name taken off of. He also hated that Dino DeLaurentiis constantly meddled in the production and compromised his artistic vision. His name appears on his original version of the film, which has been released by Criterion on DVD.

Personally, I love Blue Velvet, but I love most everything he has done. Eraserhead and Twin Peaks are his masterpieces, though.
 

Walter

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TelegramSam said:
Walter, those are fighting words! Season 2 was good after they introduced Annie/Heather Graham! And, David Duchovny in drag! And Fire Walk With Me was a good movie! :mozgus:

On that note, there are rumblings that Lynch and Frost are planning a revival of some sort (they are having a Twin Peaks retrospective at USC right now, and Frost commented that the series isn't dead yet, and hinted it may be returning). The owls are not what they seem.
Well I love it all. But I acknowledge that a large stint of season 2 is just garbage. Nailed the ending though. So that's why I always recommend new people stick to season 1. And If they like what they see, proceed with caution.

You're also not the only Lynch fan around. I love most of his work.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
I'll probably watch Eraserhead later today. Walter, I'm not sure I'd tell people to skip season 2 myself but I would at least tell them how fucking wonky it gets. I think the worst part of it for me was the random arrival of two seperate love interests for Audrey and Cooper. Rumors say that Kyle MacLachlan was so opposed to the idea of Cooper ending up with Audrey that they brought in new love interests for both of them. This added annoying story elements that I felt didn't need to be there and a lot of forced/rushed "love." I also heard he didn't want to be featured majorly in the movie so the plot didn't end up involving him for too long. Those things weren't the only issues with season 2/the movie though, I think Lynch not being there for a lot of it really fucked things up in the middle parts.

Not sure of the truth behind these rumors though, I'm sure you or Sam probably knows a bit more than I do. In any case, Twin Peaks is still one of my all-time favorite TV shows.
 
Yeah, you're actually pretty close to right on with the rumors. Cooper and Audrey were supposed to end up together, and there have been conflicting rumors about the exact cause for that not happening. Not to get too tabloid on you, but by season 2 MacLachlan had become romantically involved with Lara Flynn Boyle in real life. Now, Flynn Boyle hated Sherilyn Fenn and Madchen Amick. So as rumor had it (and it probably was true, since it was confirmed by several cast members) Flynn Boyle wouldn't stand to see her man doing love scenes with Sherilyn Fenn. So whether it was more Flynn Boyle's desire, or MacLachlan's, only those two could tell you.

Also, the problems with season 2 are very close to what you said. Lynch left the show for awhile to make the movie "Wild At Heart" with Nicholas Cage, which is a great movie, but he left Mark Frost in charge of the show and Frost went wild. Lynch then showed back up for the second half of season 2 and regained the reigns, but by then the ratings were in a tailspin and Peaksmania was over. You can also tie that in with MacLachlan's reluctance to do Fire Walk With Me. The original script was floating around online for years, and it actually showed a movie that was about 50/50 Cooper and Laura Palmer. All of the David Bowie scenes were going to be Cooper flashbacks, but were rewritten. There were originally going to be three Twin Peaks movies, also. But, MacLachlan refused that idea and agreed to only a small part in FWWM because he was afraid of being typecast as a niche, art film type of actor (having already done Blue Velvet and Dune). Fire Walk With Me was a massive failure anyway, so 3 movies were never going to happen.

The role MacLachlan took instead of starring in Fire Walk With Me? Showgirls! :ganishka:
 
Lynch is a master at what he does and I enjoy all his work. Season 2 of Twin Peaks was decent but Season 1 was one of the best seasons in a TV show I've watched thus far. If you're on your Lynch trip Klink, don't miss The Elephant Man or Inland Empire.

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Re-watched The Master and I could 'get' a lot more of the movie than I did on the first viewing. The first time I watched it I couldn't really concentrate on what was going on in the background like the score or the cinematography because I was heavily invested in the dialog and shut myself from the rest. As a collective, this movie is signature Anderson and you see snippets from most of his prior movies thematically. Awesome acting. 9/10.

About to watch either Amour or Freddy Got Fingered.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Watched Inland Empire today instead of Eraserhead. It was uh... interesting. :ganishka:

It was scary, intense, and had some really great atmospheric shots/scenes, but what the actual fuck was it about? Adultery, the inability to sense time correctly, Polish folk tales, reality between the character and the actress blurring... scary screaming faces. :magni:
 
Glad too see someone getting introduced to Lynch. Anyway,
the ending of the film is certainly up for debate, but it's basically a commentary on what film and even fiction represent to us as people. In other words, if I play a character on the screen, is it a real person? Is it an artificial construct utterly separate from me and entirely created by the director, writer, the film etc? If I channel elements of myself into the character, does it become a part of myself, perhaps a truer version of myself that exists outside of the limitations society/culture put on it? Do we in fact create characters to escape the people we wish we weren't, and realize the ones we truly hope to be? There's no black and white answer though, so it left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.

Inland Empire is probably one of his most abstract and difficult films, right up there with Fire Walk With Me and Eraserhead. Lynch actually financed it with his own money so that he could shoot it exactly the way he wanted without studio pressure, and it shows.
 
I actually just went through a David Lynch marathon of films, and I've never seen any of them before. I watched: Eraser Head, Lost Highway, Mullolland Drive, Inland Empire and the Twin Peaks series along with the motion picture. I enjoyed all of them except for Inland Empire; this one went right over my head. I also found it rather boring compared to his other works. Although I will say it has one of the best creepy scenes in his films; close to the end when the phantom changes faces when Nikki is confronting it.
 
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Amour is one of the best movies to come out last year, depressing and brutal, in the sense, it shows us the inevitability of growing old and what it does to you, what you have to live with but it's also primarily a love story (as suggested by the title). It felt very real and the acting is great. I'm not familiar with the director or the lead actors, so this is a good thing (hunts for their other films). 10/10.

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Watched Death Wish 3 Friday night and forgot to mention it, incidentally it's also my first Charles Bronson movie (what am I missing out on guys? Reccos?). I guess it is supposed to be serious but it's also unintentionally funny. Really surprised to see a famous Trekkie bare her boobs for the film, wasn't expecting that among other things. Took me a second to figure out the bad guy's haircut. Overall, not bad! 6/10. I'm told all the women he's with in the Death Wish movies are either raped and killed or just die anyway.

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Flight is about Denzel's character saving a lot of people from an inevitable plane crash on his watch. Denzel plays himself, like he does in every other movie and I think that was also Flight's undoing. Don Cheadle and John Goodman do well in their smaller roles. Overall it's not bad. 5/10. Oscar worthy? Nope.

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Celeste and Jesse Forever is a sort of movie that hasn't got a happy ending but it comes out making you feel good regardless of how things fall into place much like Amour or (500) Days Of Summer. It never really reaches highs like the 2 movies I mentioned but it's a bit honest which is good. 7.5/10

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Seven Psychopaths had interesting cast choices, some really good ones like Rockwell, Harrelson, Walken and it has some really cool moments here n there and as messed up it tries to be, it falls short, maybe because I went in with a lot of expectations from that sort of cast or by seeing a movie well received by critics. I'd still say it was worth it. Colin's character's a screenwriter pulling up a script for his next venture called Seven Psychopaths, but he's a constant drunk and can't get far into the story - which's where Rockwell as his best bud comes into play with this idea of putting an advert in the paper for psychopaths to call and tell them their story. The main villain of the movie's that goddamn dog. 6.5/10

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The Hobbit. Self indulgent, unsurprisingly. Neither packs any punches nor a sense of adventure. I can't understand if Hollywood either has a dearth of good Editors or it's just pure economics at play. Movies such as this give a bad precedent to smaller independent productions where you have good ideas/ bold scripts and they can never take off or get that sort of exposure as playing it safe with such a story. 5/10.
 
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Waiting weeks for this to come out and finally watched it. If you're a fan of David Cronenberg, it's his son's movie and it has a slightly common style in storytelling and substance than the former's movies. It's also his first movie and for that, it's pretty good. Unconventional plot and pretty good acting by Caleb Landry Jones, this's a guy to watch out for. It felt a bit dragging towards the last half hour but redeemed itself with a cool ending. I'd give it a solid 8/10 for being bold and more than decent.

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The Perks of being a Wallflower starts off like the usual coming-of-age teenage flick where the guy seems to have some sort of dark history/ past but as the movie unfolds you get to see a lot more layers and darn good acting chops from the guy who plays the main character and Erza Miller (We Need To Talk About Kevin). I got to admit it has this really corny scene mirroring the one from Titanic *gaahhh*. 7.5/10.
 
I watched this in my Russian culture class Friday and I feel as though not nearly enough people have seen this film. Steven Spielberg watched this movie several times in preparing to film both Schindler List and Saving Private Ryan.

Come and See is a powerful, intense and honest movie not just about World War 2, but about war itself. This is the anti-war movie Hollywood would and could never tell. It draws on real life events to recreate not only the war on the Eastern Front, but show how far people can go when they regard their foe as "Less than Human". In addition, this is an extremely well shot film with an incredible performance by the young man who plays the main character.

This is a graphic movie, but its not graphic for the sake of it. Its just being truthful.

Tralier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWL-qyS_UOM
Roger Ebert Review:http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100616/REVIEWS08/100619989/1023
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Thanks for the recommendation JoeZeon. Picked this up over the weekend and I'll give it a shot when I'm in the mood for it. Wasn't aware of Spielberg's admiration for the movie.

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Watches The Loved Ones yesterday and it was BLOODY GOOD! There are times you'll cringe or smirk at the movie's refreshing twists/ shock value or feel the suspense. Gotta watch out for this ensemble and first time director, Lola plays a terrific bad-girl. 10/10. I'd recommend not watching the trailer and going in it blind.
 
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Iron Man Rise Of The Technovore ... awful. Tony's lost his humor or wit and the plot is predictable. The only good thing about the movie was Punisher's cameo. Stane's son infuses some bio-tech into himself and it manifests into a new armor which he calls world-altering. So his plan is to destroy the world and create a new one, pssshhh. A completely beaten Iron Man comes back for rounds 2 and 3 and gets some help towards the end. 3/10

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Sightseers - brilliant dark comedy, came out of nowhere. Saw this up for grabs and watched it blindly cos I loved Wheatley's other flick - Kill List. Chris loves his girlfriend Tina and wants to show her the world in this caravan of his. Tina confronts her Mom and leaves, with/ without her permission to embark on this exciting adventure, so she thought. Chris is a bit anal and a slight dispute (throwing a piece of wrapping paper on the floor of a tour bus) turns ugly, bloody ugly and picks up from there. The end is hilarious. 9/10.

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A Letter To Momo is heartfelt and hits the right emotions. It's a sweet, emotionally driven story that gives a few chuckles here n there. Momo and her mother move in with her grandparents away from the city and she has a page that says "Dear Momo" written by her recently deceased Dad. Wondering what her Dad was about to say in this unfinished letter, with some guilt weighing in on her, she finds her way through this new town. There's a bit more to it but I can't spoil it for you. 8/10.

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Finally got around watching Piano In The Woods last night and was pretty impressed. Character design mirrors the manga and ends on a high note. The music or character emotions come out perfect. The story centers around Amamiya (who comes from a family of famous pianists, doesn't necessarily enjoy playing the piano, sees it as a duty) and Kei who, mysteriously, is the only guy who can play a mysterious piano abandoned in the woods. I'd re-watch this if I could, hard to compare it with A Letter To Momo, so they both get an 8/10.
 

Th3Branded0ne

I'll be back.
Last night I saw " From up on Poppy hill" on this limited release theatre. A nice ghibli film, the setting of the 60's may feel more nostalgic with the Japanese audiences, but overall it was a goid flick. Not as long as previous movies. I recommend it if you like ghibli and see what miyazaki's son has to offer on this film.
 
Saw G.I. Joe Retaliation last week, for what it's worth it was "okay" despite a huge majority of characters undeveloped and the film mostly feeling quite soul-less due to lack pf plot so as a big dumb pop-corn film it was worth seeing, at least it was more G.I. Joe than Rise of Cobra was at least.
 
Need to check out both movies listed above ^

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Special screening last night at NYAFF for The Dragon Lives Again on 35mm, don't think they'll ever feature it again after this weekend, so it's a rare occasion and regardless, it is AHMAZING. What a laugh riot! I mean, the cover says it all and without spoiling much I'd give it a 10/10. Among the 12 assassins you have James Bond, Clint Eastwood, Dracula ... but Popeye's on Bruce's side :serpico:
 
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Pals and I checked this out last night, hoping to get a few drinks in us before we watched it. Narrowly escaped the ticket dude who asked to check my bag, I unzipped the other compartment that didn't contain the bottles of beer I was carrying for my pals. Anyway, I had a Cider few minutes before and 4 White Castle sliders, few chicken rings and didn't feel much of a buzz (I don't do well with beer). That was the fun part of the evening. The movie was something I expected more out of. There's a bit of a continuing story - sure - but no continuation on either the tech or some characters you see in the first movie - disappointing much, I expected to see Eagles/ Hawks on a cliff with laser guns on their heads. Snake-eyes has a much better costume (no lips) and the overall plot is a bit weak, too easy. Bruce Willis is fun, a ninja fight scene on the top of/ sides of a cliff that you briefly see in the trailer is ridiculous, so ridiculous it's hilarious. I regret not seeing just that in 3D haha. I had more fun with the first one, but this's still a decent effort. The movie's done good enough to get studios to green-light a sequel. With The Rock's growing popularity on film, movie 3 should be round the corner. 6.5/10.

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The Last Stand had some (very little) style with a basic predictable plot. Few good lines, unfortunately all used in the trailer itself. Not a good movie to pick for a come-back but hey, he's back and the world won't end because this was put out. 4/10. Low score because the director is such a heavy weight - I Saw The Devil, A Tale Of Two Sisters, The Good, the Bad, the Weird, The Quiet Family, etc.
 

Deci

Avatar by supereva01 @ DA
I finally watched Dark Shadows and I don't know if I'm just weird or this is really a good movie. I loved it. Even though I also think Depp and Burton need to get away from each other.

I'd like to see Burton get out of his comfort zone with a movie some day.

I also watched the new Total Recall and The Watch. The Watch sucked, period. Total Recall was too understandable to be good, I'm actually positive that they dumbed it down on purpose, which is sad. I usually like Kate Beckinsale but she was completely wooden and focused on way too much. I don't mind Colin Farrell much anymore, he seems to know the limits of his acting skill I think so he's not so horrible anymore. Jessica Biel... I don't know, I give her a pass too.

Apparently the Extended Director's Cut is a lot more ambiguous but I don't have any motivation to track it down.
 
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