Author Topic: Have you seen ....... ?  (Read 3837 times)

Offline alyssa

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #15 on: May 20, 2022, 06:21:43 AM »
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Sure, I'll recommend it, but only if you really need a nice long nap.

that's a recommendation? LOL
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Offline alyssa

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #16 on: May 20, 2022, 10:31:40 AM »
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trying to tell me something You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login ?
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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #17 on: Today at 10:11:02 AM »

Offline perc2100

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #17 on: May 20, 2022, 10:31:43 AM »
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anybody recommend Solaris?
I keep hearing about it
The original Russian Tarkovsky film or the remake? I haven't seen the American Clooney-starring remake, though I really like the original.  It's definitely meditative, and long, and I totally get why the average person isn't interested in it, but I think it's wonderful.  It's a slow-burn, and uses science fiction genre to explore human nature.

Dunno why I haven't seen the Clooney/Soderburgh version: I really like both actor/director so maybe this summer I'll find the time to rectify that

Offline perc2100

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #18 on: May 20, 2022, 10:32:25 AM »
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It's incredibly rare that I'm speechless, particularly on the subject of films, and my wife would def. want to commemorate that moment  :P

Offline perc2100

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #19 on: May 20, 2022, 10:45:41 AM »
Color of Money is streaming on Amazon Prime right now, and it's pretty great minor-Scorsese.  With MAVERICK coming out soon, revisit an early 'legacy sequel/legasequal' also starring Tom Cruise (with what may be one of his worst film haircuts ever, though one that totally fits his character).  The 1986 film is a sequel to the late-1950's film THE HUSTLER, and stars Paul Newman in an Oscar-winning role as an old-time pool hustler who takes a young hotshot (Cruise) under his wings and 'stakes' him in pool halls while traveling to Championships in Atlantic City.  Cruise bought a pool table for his apartment and practice for hours every day for MONTHS in order to do all of the pool playing 'stunts'/shots himself, and with the exception of one shot near the end of the film (where his character Vince hits one ball over another to make a shot) all of the awesome pool shots were done by Cruise himself.  This is Scorsese trying to fit into the mainstream film world, and the way he and his cinematographer make the game of pool feel like an high-adrenaline game with how the camera moves & lots of close shots of moving pool balls is really great.  There's even an amazing shot of Newman's reflection in (IIRC) the 8 ball that was done 100% practice long before CGI that I would love to hear details on how they got the shot!

This would be a top-tier film in most directors' canon, and while it's a legit solid film it's just "middling" on the long-list of Scorsese films.  I think Scorsese kind of struggled for a bit in the 1980's trying to make mainstream movies (mostly so he could get financing for the movies he really wanted to make, such as THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST).  Even Scorsese cheerleader/close friend Roger Ebert only gave this one ** 1/2, still a thumbs up but w/reservations.  This was a time in Cruise's career when he often played the hotshot pretty boy and seeing him in a Scorsese film definitely felt "odd."  Newman was of course great in this role, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is really good as Cruise's girlfriend who has a much better handle on the business-side of pool hustling than Cruise's character does.

COLOR OF MONEY is a Scorsese film that's easy to forget about, but still an interesting watch if you haven't seen it in awhile.  I rewatched it for the first time in decades and while I remembered it as being "mostly OK" it held up a lot better than I thought it would, mostly due to Newman & Cruise's interactions and the way all of the pool games were shot.  There's of course the well-known/remembered scene of Cruise winning a game while singing along to the Warren Zevon song "Werewolves of London" that rocks just as hard now as it did in the mid-80's!

Offline Jesse O

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #20 on: May 26, 2022, 01:34:43 PM »
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anybody recommend Solaris?
I keep hearing about it

The original > the remake

Offline perc2100

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #21 on: June 01, 2022, 08:22:43 PM »
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anybody recommend Solaris?
I keep hearing about it
Just saw it’s gonna be on TONIGHT, Wed. June 1 at 9pm on Turner Classic Movies. This is the original, commercial-free & uncut and likely in its original aspect ratio (I TCM): and likely with a nice intro


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Offline TossedSalad

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #22 on: June 11, 2022, 03:50:36 AM »
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Color of Money is streaming on Amazon Prime right now, and it's pretty great minor-Scorsese.  With MAVERICK coming out soon, revisit an early 'legacy sequel/legasequal' also starring Tom Cruise (with what may be one of his worst film haircuts ever, though one that totally fits his character).  The 1986 film is a sequel to the late-1950's film THE HUSTLER, and stars Paul Newman in an Oscar-winning role as an old-time pool hustler who takes a young hotshot (Cruise) under his wings and 'stakes' him in pool halls while traveling to Championships in Atlantic City.  Cruise bought a pool table for his apartment and practice for hours every day for MONTHS in order to do all of the pool playing 'stunts'/shots himself, and with the exception of one shot near the end of the film (where his character Vince hits one ball over another to make a shot) all of the awesome pool shots were done by Cruise himself.  This is Scorsese trying to fit into the mainstream film world, and the way he and his cinematographer make the game of pool feel like an high-adrenaline game with how the camera moves & lots of close shots of moving pool balls is really great.  There's even an amazing shot of Newman's reflection in (IIRC) the 8 ball that was done 100% practice long before CGI that I would love to hear details on how they got the shot!

This would be a top-tier film in most directors' canon, and while it's a legit solid film it's just "middling" on the long-list of Scorsese films.  I think Scorsese kind of struggled for a bit in the 1980's trying to make mainstream movies (mostly so he could get financing for the movies he really wanted to make, such as THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST).  Even Scorsese cheerleader/close friend Roger Ebert only gave this one ** 1/2, still a thumbs up but w/reservations.  This was a time in Cruise's career when he often played the hotshot pretty boy and seeing him in a Scorsese film definitely felt "odd."  Newman was of course great in this role, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is really good as Cruise's girlfriend who has a much better handle on the business-side of pool hustling than Cruise's character does.

COLOR OF MONEY is a Scorsese film that's easy to forget about, but still an interesting watch if you haven't seen it in awhile.  I rewatched it for the first time in decades and while I remembered it as being "mostly OK" it held up a lot better than I thought it would, mostly due to Newman & Cruise's interactions and the way all of the pool games were shot.  There's of course the well-known/remembered scene of Cruise winning a game while singing along to the Warren Zevon song "Werewolves of London" that rocks just as hard now as it did in the mid-80's!

This one of my favorite movies!!  Werewolves of London and Clapton’s “It’s in the way that you use it”. I enjoy both of those songs. Don’t forget about Turturro and Forest Whitaker having roles as well.
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Offline TossedSalad

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #23 on: June 11, 2022, 03:56:36 AM »
Since Color of Money was brought up a much lesser known movie that I really enjoy and is probably a lot harder to find is Poolhall Junkies. I have this on dvd. Written, Directed, and Starring little known Mars Callahan who I believe ended up with some serious legal issues. Great performances by Chazz Palmienteri and Christopher Walken. A small role for Rick Schroeder of silver spoons fame as well. Speaking of former child actors you will also see Ernie Reyes Jr. Michael Rosenbaum plays the leads brother as well.

I’ve always loved Rounders, Bronx Tale(I’ve also seen Chazz Palmientieris one man show of this), and another Cult Classic for me is Rad and also Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
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Offline Old Man Grey

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #24 on: June 12, 2022, 11:26:53 AM »
"Frankenstein's Army". A very disturbing entry in the WWII monster genre. Makes the recent "Overlord " look tame.

Offline lliving

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #25 on: June 20, 2022, 07:01:07 PM »
I haven't seen this movie mentioned is this space, but RRR deserves a look.  It's a Hindi epic that tells that pairs two well known figures from the Indian rebellion who never actually met in real life. Initially in theaters earlier in the year, it's been on NETFLIX for past month. Trailers do not really do this movie justice. It's part musical, part bromance, part historical fiction, part combat movie with absolutely bonkers over the top fight scenes with crazy stop action poses. Did I mention there's a dance off?  It's subtitled(British imperialism is a major part of the story so, several characters speak english) and clocks in over 3 hrs, but well worth it. I regret not seeing on the big screen.

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #26 on: June 20, 2022, 08:22:02 PM »
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"Frankenstein's Army". A very disturbing entry in the WWII monster genre. Makes the recent "Overlord " look tame.

You have my attention, I'll check it out.
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Offline Old Man Grey

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #27 on: September 01, 2022, 05:28:56 PM »
The "Fright Night" remake. Finally saw this and was really impressed. I loved the original and figured this would be junk but it was very impressive. I wish they had a longer build up, like the original, but Colin Ferrall was mesmerizing. Of course, the ending became an over-the-top CGI fest, but Ferrall was fantastic. Having Dr. Who and Mc Lovin was just icing on the cake. If you passed (like me) when it first came out, give it a try.

Offline perc2100

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #28 on: September 02, 2022, 09:51:44 AM »
"Light & Magic," the docuseries on Disney+ the details the history of Industrial Light & Magic, the special effects company George Lucas started to manufacture FX for STAR WARS.  This is a six episode series, which each ep. around an hour long, and for movie fans this is GOLD!  A lot of the documentaries/docuseries on Disney+ in particular are pure, vanilla marketing: not a ton of technical information and more of a "don't forget to watch this series, OR if you already loved the series/movie we also would like you to watch this for the streaming hits."  I don't mean that to be dismissive, because I often enjoy that stuff.  But not a lot of technical revelations are made in those.

"Light & Magic," however, is a cornucopia of technical info!  The series is directed by Lawrence Kasdan, the screenwriter of EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, RETURN OF THE JEDI, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and others as well as the director of THE BIG CHILL, SILVERADO, WYATT EARP, etc.  So basically, Kasdan is already an old timer in Lucasfilm and was around ILM from almost the beginning.  He does a great job getting ALL stakeholders on camera, from the technical wizards/department heads & supervisors to directors still alive (ILM has done TONS of FX work for Spielberg, Ron Howard, James Cameron, and other icons), Lucas himself of course, as well as office secretaries and others who were involved.

For me, these guys are legit wizards: icons of filmmaking that literally invented nearly every technological breakthrough in film my entire 45 year life.  I grew up as a member of the Star Wars Fanclub (which then became the Lucasfilm Fanclub), which published a quarterly newsletter called Bantha Tracks.  Obviously they couldn't land interviews w/Lucas, or movie star cast members or directors all the time, but often had lengthy interviews with the FX wizards that brought the magic to the big screen: stop-motion & creature effects wizard Phil Tippet, camera wizards Dennis Muran and John Dykstra, incredible concept artists and matte painters like Ralph McQuarrie and Michael Pangrazio, etc.  I devoured that content and these weirdo niche artists were legends in my mind!  So seeing most of these guys (some are no longer living, like the great McQuarrie) talking very frank and blunt about their mayhem behind the scenes is a real treat.  Lucas essentially recruited incredible specialist artists and left them on their own to figure out how to accomplish the FX shots needed for STAR WARS; after over a year and millions of dollars spent they literally had less than 60 seconds of usable FX footage because they were designing equipment on-the-fly.  Heck, the Dykstraflex computer-controlled camera system they created for STAR WARS became the foundations of the current industry standard, as did other techniques!

There are also fun stories galore, of course, with a favorite being how they 'snuck' potatoes into the iconic EMPIRE asteroid field shots because 1) they thought it would be funny and 2) they knew the potatoes looked like the asteroid models from a distance so this would be a quick & cheap way to accomplish the same thing: a real show of on-set ingenuity.  Of course ILM reaches FAR beyond just Star Wars films and they get into details of many classic/iconic movie FX (the Nazi face melting in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK; the imploding house in POLTERGEIST, etc).  And they cover it in what I think is an east-to-understand but technical way that goes into the weeds of how they accomplished their magic.  And of course, PIXAR studios and CGI animations was birthed at ILM, which is also covered in detail.

I'm not 100% sure whom this movie is made for, as it's 6 episodes of really nerdy FX stuff.  But if you're a hard corps movie fan that likes to learn the fine details of how the movie magic is made, "Light & Magic" will be a blast to watch!  And the best part?  We're seeing 4K footage of the original trilogy/non-Special Edition SW films in here which shows us they DO exist and could someday be released for us completionist/die-hards that want to not only enjoy Lucas' editions to his films but also the original theatrical cuts (remastered in 4K)!

Offline alyssa

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Re: Have you seen ....... ?
« Reply #29 on: December 23, 2022, 10:26:39 AM »
Interesting list of movies
I've seen 3 of the 5 and agree, they are all worth rewatching and 'hold up'
I'll have to put the 2 not watched on my list of movies to watch.

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Iron Giant is my fav. animation movie 
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