movie recommendations

[JRD]

Anyone interested in the upcoming remake of Total Recall?

I'm a big fan of that movie... truly mind bending. Arnie in one of his best movies with state-of-the-art special FX from early 90s!  8)

There's a moment where you have no idea if he is just having a nervous breakdown due to an unsuccessful memory implantation or if that really happened!  :-X

The scene with the fat lady's head opening to reveal Arnie's CG face is priiceless! And the alien chick with three boobies? I remember the cab driver saying "I whish I had three arms" 

I'm really not fond of that Colin Farrel chap... just don't like his bad boy aura.  I still remember him from Phone Booth as an arrogant a$$... think this role was taylored for him! I just don't get the lack of imagination from part of today's screenwriters... can't they come up with something actually new? Is it really necessary to dig in the last decade or so for a potential remake? As if people wanted to see a good movie all over again with different actors and directors etc........  :-(

[Jim di Griz]

That is unfortunately the way of the media industry (no caps) - they haven't a clue so go with what appears to be succesful and that is true of the publishing industry too and has been for almost as long - trust me on that.

Give Colin Farrel a second chance though - sure he's survived on the bad-boy image for a while, try In Bruges, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus or The New World where he plays entirely a different sort of character. I think he has the legs to make a top grade actor for all seasons.

As for the remake - I'm down for that. Excellent film which might well be made better with hindsight - or not. I suppose we will have to wait and see though.

[Fiach]

I like Colin Farrel

Some movies to check out, he made a LOT of mvies and sure, some stink (Alexander), but I really liked phonebooth, he reminded me of a young Al pacino (my favourite actor).

Horrible Bosses awesome cameo
The way back, awesome actin from Colin, pretty crap movie (imo).
Miami Vice crockett with actual acting skills
Daredevil In all fairness one of the best "human" bad guys in a superhero movie.
American Outlaws, first movie I ever saw him in, It put him on my radar.
Tigerland reminded me of Biloxi Blues, great movie and great acting (imo)

[Fiach]

Sorry about the spellings above but sometimes this site laggs like hell for me and makes posing awkward at times.

Saw two movies tonight.

Lockout, great blokes movie, Max Sec prison in space, presidents daughter is there on a visit and the inmates escape, so a guy is sent to rescue her, black humour and decent action raises it above the norm.

The Dictator, normally I dont tend to watch these movies, I only know (vaguely) his Ali G persona, so bear that in mind regarding my opinion. It's humerous, sometimes bellylaugh inducing with a good denouement at the end, vis a vis democracy vs dictatorship, but the pedophillia jokes left a VERY sour taste in my mouth, I dont really espouse censorship, but, self censorship is arguably worth thinking about in this case, it adds nothing to the message and imo actually detracts significantly from the movie as a whole....how the f@#k can you make a joke about pedophilia and expect anybody to think its funny?....

[JRD]

Oh I like Phone Booth too... I just think the main role fits Colin Farrel perfectly, the arrogant a$$hole who thinks too much of himself!

The writers and directors really milked every last drop of a guy being held hostage over the phone on a public booth!!  ???

In Daredevil he is good too. Haven't seen Miami Vice but I recall him from SWAT and man, that movie sucks!

I'll check In Bruges, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus and The New World when next time I check a rental store!

[Fiach]

Oh yes, SWAT was really bad, I didnt particularly like the last three you mentioned either tbh :)

[Jim di Griz]

...Lockout, great blokes movie, Max Sec prison in space, presidents daughter is there on a visit and the inmates escape, so a guy is sent to rescue her, black humour and decent action raises it above the norm...

Sounds like a job for Snake Plisskin  ;)

[Fiach]

Actually I was thinking of EFNY while watching it :)

[Fiach]

Meeting Evil

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1810697/

Great to see Sammy Jackson in a decent movie again, its kinda like The Hitcher, so you can guess which character Samuel plays.

The acting is top notch and also, something I dont pay much attention to in movies, the lighting, was very well done, from the bleak wide open landscapes, to more intimate indoor settings.

Mr average real estate salesman just got canned, gets picked up by a total stranger in a souped up GTO and the movie continues with never a dull moment until the "twist" ending.

One of the best movies I've seen this year.

[Jim di Griz]

Putting that on the LoveFilm list  :-X

Lighting, when done well can transcend a film. Cheers Fiach.

[Art Blade]

cheers, Fiach, might check that one out myself when I get the chance   :)

[PZ]

I don't know why, but reading this thread reminded me of a couple of spy spoofs:

[imdb]In Like Flint[/imdb]

[imdb]Our Man Flint[/imdb]

[Fiach]

The Expendables 2

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764651/


Does exactly what it says on the tin, great movie, the only way it could be improved is by getting free popcorn hand fed to you by Angelina Jolie as you watched the movie  >:D

[Art Blade]

if she does that, you might have Brad Pitt sitting on your other side squeezing your hands so your eyeballs start to pop out of their sockets.  :-D

By the way, "hands" is just a place holder, a replacement for something else Brad might actually be squeezing.  8-X

[Fiach]

Hahahaha :)

I saw a trailer for his new movie, Killing Them Softly, looks good :)

[fragger]

Was just looking at the cast for the Expendables 2. Holey moley! Think of any iconic action movie actor and he's in it :-()

[Jim di Griz]

I've seen the first and the second does look good too. Oddly enough, I watched RED (Retired: Extremely Dangerous) at about the same time Fiach was probably watching Expendables 2.

While the first has all of the action-heads imaginable in it, RED has only the one, Bruce Willis...but the rest are the most unlikely action heroes around: John Malkovitch; Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren See her in the clip on iMDb.

Lots of fun in that quiet way that only Bruce Willis can bring - John Malkovitch is superb and Morgan Freeman is...himself. If you want lots of grins, this will do the job - especially the car exiting moment Bruce pulls to deal with some pursuit.

[Fiach]

I think Bruce Willis is a very underrated actor, he's not exactly Al Pacino quality sure, but when he gets a role that suits him, you realise nobody else could play the part as well. I enjoyed RED, big Helen Mirren fan here :)

[Jim di Griz]

Agreed Breakfast of Champions is perhaps my favourite Indy film of his and of course 16 Blocks.

[Art Blade]

RED was hysterical  :-X

[fragger]

I watched Battleship, not bad but it had a bit too much of the gung-ho, formularic, way-over-the-top colouring for my taste. Like Independence Day and the recent War of the Worlds, it was never explained why the aliens were invading Earth. To provide us with an action film, I guess. Great effects and everything but the characters really grated on me - I was kind of hoping that the aliens would use a smartarse-disintegrator to take them all out.

Coincidentally, I also rented John Carter, blissfully unaware when I picked up the two movies that the same actor had the lead in both of them (Taylor Kitsch). I quite enjoyed this one, even though it too was a suspend-all-belief affair. I think the difference is that the viewer isn't expected to take this one seriously - it's an unashamed fantasy romp that's all just for fun. A nice touch was the portrayal of the author of the John Carter On Mars novels, Edgar Rice Burroughs, as a character during the beginning and end parts of the movie (he turns out to be Carter's nephew) and there was a nice twist at the end. As far as I can remember from the first book in Burrough's John Carter series, A Princess Of Mars (which is the only Carter novel I've read and which the movie was based on according to the credits), the film doesn't bear a lot of resemblance to it. In the portrayal and appearance of the alien races it does, and does so very well, but in the storyline it doesn't. Still, it's imaginative and great to look at, despite the ludicrous "jumping" scenes - apparently Carter can leap like the Hulk on Mars. Dunno where they got that from - Mars' gravity is less than ours but not that less, and Burroughs knew it. Carter certainly didn't do that in the books.

I guess it's a fun movie if you've read any of the novel series :-X

[Art Blade]

today I bought and watched Battleship on BR. Amazing effects, I think only those alien ships rising from the sea looked CGI but all the other stuff that just had to be CGI was done so well you can't tell the difference any more.

The story, I do agree with fragger there, reminded me of Independence Day and OK, War of the Worlds, too. The main characters only lacked a line imprinted on their foreheads, "I'll make it!" Additionally, it reminded me of Pearl Harbour (with Ben Affleck) not only because it too played on O'ahu, Hawaii, and not only because they too used the USS Missouri :-D Some sort of awkward attempt on redemption/rectification of what went on between Japan and the United States regarding WWII, first having a Japanese and an American soldier hate each other and beat themselves up occasionally but later they come to respect the opponent, then w@&k together and even start to admire each other. A proposal would have been just what I needed, then  And I agree with Jim di Griz, there were hints of The Final Countdown as well, particularly when the aliens set up that barrier which kept a few ships inside without means of communication with the outside world.

However. Overall, very nice entertainment, not boring at all, and a few chuckles in between.

In case you have missed it: After like three hours of credits there is a last bit of film (I do love films with those "secret" bits at the VERY end) which takes place in Scotland.. so there actually might be a sequel.  :-()

[Jim di Griz]

...In case you have missed it: After like three hours of credits there is a last bit of film (I do love films with those "secret" bits at the VERY end) which takes place in Scotland.. so there actually might be a sequel.  :-()

Definitely missed that  :-X nice find and I'll definitely ned to look at that.

It was a fun film - maybe not the effect the director wanted  ;) but it was enjoyable nonetheless and great

Spoiler

when the USS Missouri hove into sight and joined the fight.

Reminded me of the pilot for the new Battlestar Galactica

[Art Blade]

Oh yes, indeed, the "old" Battlestar Galactica also was (about to be) decommissioned yet became the key and flagship in the new war. Nice observation, Jim  :)

What I liked about Battleship was how they used the Missouri in a way you drift cars: rip on the handbrake and slide around a corner.. 

[Fiach]

Saw The Road to Perdition on TV last night , I hadn't seen it in years, quality movie making at its finest, they just dont make films like this any more.

Set in the US gangsters era, a hitman and his son go on the run from mafia boss Paul Newman.