Post by ironhammer on Jun 30, 2024 19:33:13 GMT -5
I learned filmmaker Robert Eggers is doing a remake of "Nosferatu". The original 1920s Nosferatu was an unauthorized and loose German adaptation of Dracula. Moving the setting from London to the fictional German city of Wisborg, although they kept closer to the source material with the vampire (now renamed "Count Orlok") being from a transylvanian castle. The Stoker family sued the makers of the Nosferatu for copyright infringement and most copies of Nosferatu were seized and burned. Fortunately, a few copies escaped the ban and today audiences can still watch that expressionist film.
Interestingly, this remake features William Dafoe, who played a fictional Orlok in the "Shadow of the Vampire", a movie about the production of the original "Nosferatu", although in this remake, Dafoe seem to be playing more a Van Helsing type character (the expert Dutch vampire hunter in Dracula):
Last Edit: Jul 2, 2024 20:22:47 GMT -5 by ironhammer
A top ten Westerns list is interesting to me. Mine would include in no particular order:
Dances With Wolves Wyatt Earp Unforgiven Little Big Man True Grit OG The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Duck, You Sucker Tombstone 3:10 to Yuma The Outlaw Josey Wales (The line "I'm an Indian, all right; but here in the nation they call us the "civilized tribe." They call us "civilized" because we're easy to sneak up on." Cracks me up every time.)
I have four of yours in my top eleven favorites Unforgiven - check The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - check Tombstone - check Josey Wales - check True Grit (Coens) Once Upon a Time in the West High Noon Junior Bonner Support Your Local Sheriff The Wild Bunch The Cowboys
Continued watching Westerns over the past year. Updating my top ten:
Unforgiven Tombstone The Good the Bad and the Ugly True Grit (Coins) Once Upon a Time in the West High Noon
New Additions: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - Favorite vignette "The Gal Who Got Rattled" Liberty Valance The Naked Spur Meek's Cutoff
I watched the four Mann/Stewart Westerns the past couple of months. Going to move on to the some of Mann's non-Stewart led Westerns.
Post by ironhammer on Jul 10, 2024 20:59:31 GMT -5
When I heard someone is going to do a sequel to "Gladiator", I thought that was a terrible idea. A sequel to the Oscar winning film? Its almost like a bad joke on SNL. But no, its very true. Now they got a trailer out:
After watching the trailer...I don't know. Its possible the producers and director have some trick up their sleeves to make this work and create a good movie. Or...it could crash and burn...hard. I just don't know at this point.
Last Edit: Jul 10, 2024 21:01:16 GMT -5 by ironhammer
Alright, an old school bone crunching no holds barred martial arts film, yeah! This film "Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In" is that kind of movie. Its a story set in the infamous Kowloon "Walled" City in Hong Kong, where an illegal migrant, fleeing a triad gang boss (triads are basically Chinese mafia, they deal with drug smuggling, running brothels and collecting "protection" money), flee to the walled city and try to muster a living...until his past catches up to him and he has to decide whether to defend his newfound home:
The real-life Kowloon Walled City has inspired several Hollywood movies and graphic novels. Famously, "The Narrows" as seen in Chris Nolan's "Batman Begins" was based on the Walled City. It began life as a Qing dynasty military garrison in the otherwise then British colony of Hong Kong. When the Qing dynasty collapsed however, who controlled that piece of land was subjected to competing claims over the subsequent decades, either by the British government or the nationalist and later communist regime controlling the mainland to the north. Ultimately, it was governed by no government, where all kinds of crime, drugs and low-lifes dwell and florished. It was a mismash of tightly packed concrete buildings and dim and narrow maze-like alleyways. But it was also a safe haven for political refugees fleeing oppression and people who fell on hard times and needed a second chance and over time a community was created despite the anarchy.
In the 60s and 70s, the Walled City was a turf controlled by different triad gangs, where the Hong Kong police only go there in force (just like how the Gotham police only go to the "The Narrows" in force in "Batman Begins"). This began to change in the 80s as Hong Kong's return to China's control loomed ahead. Police began to crackdown on the triads in the walled city. And ultimately, London and Beijing agree to tear it down and replace it with a classical Chinese garden. The Walled City was ultimately demolished in 1993 and today the land is replaced by the said garden, with its original foundational military garrison retained. Its supposedly quite a pleasant garden today, a far cry from its more shady history.
Last Edit: Jul 12, 2024 8:57:37 GMT -5 by ironhammer
When I heard someone is going to do a sequel to "Gladiator", I thought that was a terrible idea. A sequel to the Oscar winning film? Its almost like a bad joke on SNL. But no, its very true. Now they got a trailer out:
After watching the trailer...I don't know. Its possible the producers and director have some trick up their sleeves to make this work and create a good movie. Or...it could crash and burn...hard. I just don't know at this point.
At least it has the same director and producer as the original, four time nominee Ridley Scott. He could have won Best Picture for Gladiator, but he was an uncredited executive producer and not nominated.
I have a soft spot for Ridley Scott because I love the Alien franchise. I sure don't mind that Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal are in Gladiator II. They will get butt$ in $eat$. They alone won't necessarily guarantee it's a good movie, but I'm hopeful it will be better than Scott's recent Napoleon.
When I heard someone is going to do a sequel to "Gladiator", I thought that was a terrible idea. A sequel to the Oscar winning film? Its almost like a bad joke on SNL. But no, its very true. Now they got a trailer out:
After watching the trailer...I don't know. Its possible the producers and director have some trick up their sleeves to make this work and create a good movie. Or...it could crash and burn...hard. I just don't know at this point.
At least it has the same director and producer as the original, four time nominee Ridley Scott. He could have won Best Picture for Gladiator, but he was an uncredited executive producer and not nominated.
I have a soft spot for Ridley Scott because I love the Alien franchise. I sure don't mind that Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal are in Gladiator II. They will get butt$ in $eat$. They alone won't necessarily guarantee it's a good movie, but I'm hopeful it will be better than Scott's recent Napoleon.
I don't know, some of the Alien sequels that Ridley directed were rather medicore at best. Hopefully that won't be the case with the Gladiator sequel.
Post by XAsstCoach on Jul 13, 2024 19:29:09 GMT -5
Watched The Dark Knight Rises again last night, and I wish Nolan will come up with another trilogy from where they left of with either Batman, or Robin.
Does anyone ever go through phases where they pick movies to watch based on a common theme/director/actor?
With the Olympics coming up, I watched Under Paris when it came out in June and sort of just ended up in a Paris/France/French phase.
Under Paris (2024): 6/10 stars which is probably generous because I'm a sucker for monster movies, creature features, disaster flicks, etc. Mindless fun. Not sure I understood what the plan to deal with the shark was at the end there, and I'd have it no other way. La Haine (1995): 10/10. Whoa. This one will stick with me for a while. I feel something akin to betrayal that no one told me about this movie sooner. Strongly recommend. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022): 8/10. Didn't get around to watching it pre-Oscars (Costume Design nominee). Nothing amazing but a solid warm-fuzzy, feel-good movie. Isabelle Huppert is in it and she's one of my favorite actors, which led me to watch... Things to Come (2016): 8/10. Huppert is sublime in her role as a woman whose life she built begins to erode around her. Bonus point for the cat. Grand Illusion (1937): 8.5/10. A Best Picture nominee (the first in a language other than English) checked off the list. I was surprised by the lightness it offered. Definitely went in thinking it could be an old, dry war movie. I can see why it's considered by some as one of the best films ever made. Fantastic Planet (1973): 420/10. Giant blue aliens with pet/slave humans. Memorable animation, great use of music, only 70 minutes? I'm down. Made me wish I was high in a dorm room.
What should I watch next? Open to re-watches. Except Les Mis.
Does anyone ever go through phases where they pick movies to watch based on a common theme/director/actor?
With the Olympics coming up, I watched Under Paris when it came out in June and sort of just ended up in a Paris/France/French phase.
Under Paris (2024): 6/10 stars which is probably generous because I'm a sucker for monster movies, creature features, disaster flicks, etc. Mindless fun. Not sure I understood what the plan to deal with the shark was at the end there, and I'd have it no other way. La Haine (1995): 10/10. Whoa. This one will stick with me for a while. I feel something akin to betrayal that no one told me about this movie sooner. Strongly recommend. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022): 8/10. Didn't get around to watching it pre-Oscars (Costume Design nominee). Nothing amazing but a solid warm-fuzzy, feel-good movie. Isabelle Huppert is in it and she's one of my favorite actors, which led me to watch... Things to Come (2016): 8/10. Huppert is sublime in her role as a woman whose life she built begins to erode around her. Bonus point for the cat. Grand Illusion (1937): 8.5/10. A Best Picture nominee (the first in a language other than English) checked off the list. I was surprised by the lightness it offered. Definitely went in thinking it could be an old, dry war movie. I can see why it's considered by some as one of the best films ever made. Fantastic Planet (1973): 420/10. Giant blue aliens with pet/slave humans. Memorable animation, great use of music, only 70 minutes? I'm down. Made me wish I was high in a dorm room.
What should I watch next? Open to re-watches. Except Les Mis.
Favorites set in Paris: Amelie (2001) Ratatouille (2007) Breathless (1960) An American in Paris (1951) Riskier suggestion that I particularly liked but many did not: Personal Shopper (2016) Or watch anything with Huppert and see if its possible to not like it because she's in it.
My last themed stretch was Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart Westerns. Been watching a lot of Westerns this past year. Oh and I mostly went along for the ride when my kids watched every MCU film that included Tom Holland as SpiderMan.
mikegarrison Legend All-Volleytalk 1st Team (2019, 2017, 2016), All-Volleytalk 2nd Team (2018)
Post by ironhammer on Aug 20, 2024 22:14:33 GMT -5
Saw "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" on Netflix the other day, its an Oscar-winning short film directed by Wes Anderson, based on the short story by the late British author and screenwriter Roald Dahl (famous for his best-selling children novels like "Charlie and Chocolate Factory", "BFG" and "Matilda", he was the JK Rowling of his era). Its a tale about Henry Sugar, a rich trust fund baby who aimlessly go through life until...he discovers a way to see with his eyes closed and essentially see through solid objects, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley:
The film has the trademark eccentric style of director Wes Anderson. His unique method can be an acquired taste, some either love Anderson's direction or they don't. But in this case, I thought it fits the quirky Dahl's tale quite well. The film resembles more a stage play or a live moving children picture book. Anderson directly lifts text from Dahl's story and have the actors face the audience and narrate the story live while they also act out the scenes. The sets have that pastel color known in other Anderson films and production moves like a choreographed stage dance.
It all somehow just works for this movie. It has a whimsical tone that draws you in. I enjoyed it.
Last Edit: Aug 20, 2024 22:15:06 GMT -5 by ironhammer
