You are not logged in. Please register or login.
- Topics: Active | Unanswered
#41 Re: The Sunset Strip » Best Films of the 1990s » 81 weeks ago
Ever since I got into movies Carlito's Way has been recommended as a great mob type movie. Back then I didn't get it, Goodfellas, Godfather just seemed so much better. But now I see the greatness. It can be hard to explain exactly what makes DePalma so great. He's definitely an acquired taste and he can also be very hit and miss. He's not flashy, he doesn't really do anything new. There is no obvious music, humor or coolness about him. But you can tell he loves what he's doing. He lives and breathe film. He's a bit like Lynch where he's got this ideal, romantic touch to his film making. So many directors fall prey to their own hype. They want to be the big man and somewhere along the way they lose their essence. Tarantino is a good example of this. Great, innovative, fun director in his early years, now he's become pretentious and full of himself. Lars Von Trier also went down this path. But DePalma stayed true.
It's more of a toned down Scarface to me. And it's one of my faves since I don't care too much for Scarface. Pacino and DePalma give great performances. There's a great chase scene in the train station too. No one does chase/movement scenes better than DePalma. Like you said he loves film. I think he genuinely cares about how the scene is presented to the viewer and how to use the different uses of the camera to achieve them. He can do blockbusters (MI) and arty ish type (Femme Fatale) but there's a joy in watching his films.
Tarentino just makes these long slogs now that I can't really sit through. Pulp Fiction is like 2.5 hours and it doesn't feel that long. Some of the more current stuff just drags to me. Kill Bill 2 was basically the last great Tarentino film for me.
On Van Trier: where the hell would you start with him (film wise)? The Element of Crime always sounded interesting to me.
I should give this a chance someday.
I can't stand Hugh Grant or Andie McDowell in anything...so it was a deal breaker from the start.
Truthfully, if you can't stand either of them I'd pass. If you want to watch one of those Hugh Grant comedies to see what the fuss is about I'd suggest About A Boy, it's really different and dark and has Toni Colette and Rachel Wieisz. The other one might be Notting Hill but you've mentioned not being the biggest Roberts fan either so that's another deal breaker.
This is one of those movies that had pop culture by the balls yet wasn't really a huge blockbuster. It probably made a killing in VHS rentals.
I've always wondered if she eventually regretted not doing the TV series. She would've made less money than she did doing that Batman movie, but Batman was the beginning of the end of the Alicia craze and the Clueless series might have kept her in a holding pattern until she finds something better.
See, I think she did the right move. She kind of got lucky and was in the right place and right time with Clueless. Her main appeal was either the teenage vamp or the Clueless character. She was limited in her range and in this case struck while the iron was hot and made a lot of money. I'm not sure she had a lot of appeal outside of those type of roles and she definitely couldn't carry a film by herself.
I may watch this soon. Last year I watched a bunch of River's films but never got around to that one.
This is one of those star studded films "done right". Some of these modern ones are annoying in that it feels less like a film and more like something to showcase, actor X and Y. But Sneakers is great, tells a decent story and is entertaining and everyone gets something to do and contribute.
#42 Re: The Sunset Strip » Best Films of the 1990s » 81 weeks ago
After going over that, I may lean towards Polluxlm's view that the 90s is on par or even better than the 70s. While 70s films look better, I had to leave off a lot more amazing films on this list than I did for the 70s.
Yep. While I love the grittiness of the 70s and the ambivalent/creative endings, for pure rewatchability its the 90s stuff. It's just so easy to just kind of watch this stuff and get sucked back into the decade. I think it's probably we all grew up during this decade and for better or worst we can relate to the films more. I had a hard time just putting 10, I had to leave off some great films as well.
In the Line of Fire
Unforgiven
Casino
Pulp Fiction
Jackie Brown
The Last Seduction
Seven
The King of New York
Heat
Four Weddings and a Funeral
The ones I left off:
Clueless : it's probably one of the quintiseential 90s comedies and Alicia Silverstone was never hotter or better. Weird to think now that Paul Rudd has had the better career.
Silence of the Lambs: had a really tough time leaving this one off. Another 90s essential.
Bound/ Wild Things: both get notoriety for the lesbian scenes but that's a disservice. Bound is a great cat/mouse/heist movie. Wild Things i s just a freaking sleazy and wonderful movie where people decieve each other like crazy
Rushmore: coming of age story with Bill Murray transforming into whatever you describe his acting is (it's way different than his 80s stuff) kick ass soundtrack
New Jack City
Jurrasic Park
The Game
The Grifters
Face Off
One False Move
State of Grace
Shallow Grave
Basic Instinct; another 90s essential but I had to leave it off, the second half drags a little
Sneakers
Gonin; 90s japanese film, sort of rare, Japanese version (kind of) of Heat
Some brief comments on those that did make the list: Pulp, Heat, In the Line of Fire, Four Weddings, are all comfort movies. I pop it in and relax. Four Weddings seems like an odd one amidst all the thrillers but I've always liked how it made me laugh with it's British charm plus I've always sort of respected the question it poses in the film : Is marriage overrated or do you even need or want to be married?
Seven is a damn masterpiece in terms of almost everything. It's like perfect. Constantly raining and dark. And then you have these characters who are bleak yet balanced with upbeat ones. Then there's the moral choice at the end that has to be made, and it doesn't matter if you've seen it more than once; it's still gripping.
Unforgiven is a western...and it's not at the same time. And that 's the brillant part. It takes what you know about the genre and sort of twists it around.
The Last Seduction; it's sort of a similar reasoning for Unforgiven. The femme fatale/lure (use your own term) usually doesn't get the starring role, it's usually a support character or just used to move the plot along. Fiorentino has a ball here as Bridget and it shows. There's also a very un PC (in current times) ending.
On Strange Days: I liked it (saw it within the last few years) but I found the tech parts a little dated, not horrible like some other 90s film but it could use a modern approach
Point Break, saw it a few years ago after having not seen it since the 90s. and you know what time totally changes your perspective. When I was growing up, whenver I saw that film I focused on the heists and the masks "gimmick". But the last time I saw it, I saw it as a celebration of the surfer culture and less of a heist film.
Just as I post this, I see Polluxm's list.
I just saw Lost Highway last month or whatever. It's very trippy
Carlito's Way is probably top 5 DePalna for me. Snake Eyes is really fun to rewatch because the plot doesn't matter as much and you pay attention more to the camera work and directing.
#43 Re: The Sunset Strip » Best Films of the 1980s » 81 weeks ago
I've seen a couple of movies and yet you managed to make a list with 7 movies I have not seen! You must be watching a lot.
I watched a lot during the pandemic shutdown. Also, I still buy/collect media so it's easy when you have the disc at hand and kind of feel like watching a movie and just popping it in instead of scrolling through 500 different choices and praying that your internet doesn't go down the tubes.
I probably should scale back on the movie buying but I will say that you get exposed to a lot more different stuff, for better or worse.
#44 Re: Guns N' Roses » The General and Monsters » 82 weeks ago
This got delayed? Par for the course for these guys. This is why they'll probably never release another album of new material as long as Team Brazil are the managers.
#45 Re: The Sunset Strip » Best Films of the 1980s » 82 weeks ago
Ms. 45
Fabolous Baker Boys
The Hunger
Back to the Future
Ferris Buller's Day Off
Thief
To Live and Die in LA
Blow Out
Hannah and the Sisters
The Killer
De Niro is damn lucky he even made it out of the 80s with his star power intact.
Pretty sure Midnight Run in 1988 saved his ass in terms of star power. That was a hit and he's been milking that one in terms of playing the grouch (think Meet the Parents) for a while now. He did a lot of "director's films" / maybe a bit arty like Once Upon a Time in America and Brazil, King of Comedy in the 80s.
I'm pretty sure there are a lot of curious films on my list. Back to the Future and Ferris Bueller are seminal comedies that are very 80s but really rewatchable. Also, I read about this somewhere else but the 80s seemed , at least in some films seem to wax poetic about the 50s. You can see the 50s infleunce in a shit ton of other films.
Mentioned it before but To Live and Die in LA is the Friedkin film I watch the most, and just have fun with it. It's got the Wang Chung soundtrack but it shows how vapid the characters were. Great performance by William Dafoe as Rick Masters.
Ms. 45 is one where it shows grungy, pre cleaned NYC but it also has a really unique character and performance from Zoe Lund. James mentioned Hannah and Her Sisters and I'll just say when you get older it just connected with me. It has none of the neuroticness of Annie Hall but I watch and just feel kind of moved afterwards.
Picked Blow Out for the De Palma. Features a great Travolta performance, has a meta sort of plot on filmaking and I love Philly as a character in the movie.
The Killer is gun fu as it's finest and there was a ton of imiataions in world cinema afterwards.
Missed the cut:
The Terminator, this one really should have been up there. It's more satisfying than T2.
Raiders of the Lost Ark, ushered in Ford as the action star of the 80s.
The Vanishing (Dutch orignal), the ending is damn chilling
48 Hrs, mismatched buddy comedy at it's best
Videodrome: predicted how we'd get hooked to reality TV, I really almost dumped Ferris and put this on the list
Tenebrae: Argento's most accesible thriller, plot is easy to understand and it just kind of hums along at a nice pace;
#46 Re: The Garden » NFL 2023/24 season » 82 weeks ago
Not much football discussion this season.
On Monday I watched the first Bears game in about 4-6 weeks. They won...but that was an ugly game. I didn't realize the Bears get the #1 and #4 picks in the draft. They better not waste those.
Like all seasons in the parity era, it's topsy turvy in comparison to the previous season. Some teams that were good now suck...and vice versa.
There's a Barry Sanders documentary on Amazon that looks really good. Gonna have to watch it soon. Always felt sorry for him. One of the greatest players in history yet had to waste his career in Detroit.
This season sucks just in terms of play that's why. This is like the worst season in terms of having good legit SB contending teams. There are just a bunch of frauds who have winning records. MIA, JAX, SEA, maybe DET. A lot of the games are flat out boring and feature shit play from both of the teams. The primetime games are a bore. I've skipped out on several SNF games and just enjoyed a movie instead. The list of truly awful teams are like 10 deep (that includes my Titans). Brady is correct when he says football isn't as good as it was 10 years ago.
The best 4 teams are; SF, PHI, BAL, and KC. I think SF is probably the best if everything is clicking and no injuries. They just seem to have it all really. PHI has the best record but they seem a step down from last year. KC is hurt by the lack of reliable WR. The question with the Ravens is always the same whether or not Lamar can beat teams via the pass in the playoffs.
Bears picks, first overall is going to be a QB. Fields isn't the answer at this point, move on. 4th pick is either a WR or LT. I'd guess LT but I have no idea how much they like Jones the incumnbent LT.
#47 Re: The Sunset Strip » Most Recent Movie You've Seen » 82 weeks ago
Watched a bunch lately (in order of decade from new to older)
The Killer : hey a new Fincher film. And this one is very good. One caveat, the first twenty mins nothing much happens. But after that it's basically wonderful modern neo noir goodness. It works as a "globetrotting" film as well a modern crime film. There are references to Amazon, smartphones etc (modern stuff) but it's still a revenge film in the vein of the better ones.
True Grit: this was a good film. I just expected a classic given what I read. The child actress Stanfield, definitely deserved the Oscar. Bridges gave a good performance too but I felt like they rewarded him for slightling him for better performances in the past. Matt Damon was fine as a supporting character. I did really like a sequence near the end that took place in the night as they were racing through the forest.
Ghost World: this is technically a 90s film. I kind of felt there was a connection to Reality Bites. I mean it's semi similar material with the main characters just floating aimlessly. I totally forgot what a horrible character Enid (Thora Birch) was. She destroys a couple of relationships in that film for no real reason. Ilyena Douglas does a great portrayal of one of those left leaning art professors. Oh, I did laugh when they showed a Radio Shack at the end.
One False Move : I've mentioned this one before. So I'll just go over stuff I found interesting. Most of the main characters are filled with shades of gray. Also, the stuff with the crimminals was far more interesting. The cops were just kind of there. Oh while watching this I was struck with the thought that this type of film could only be made in America. You have this blues soundtrack that's playing in the back along with the setting of small town USA and its just kind of soothing and the film kind of rolls along. Oh, I totally missed the race stuff at the end, the first time around. It's really strong and powerful.
Warning Sign: first off in a post covid world, this was a lot more possible than one imagined. Anyway to the film. This was really good. I'm not sure if the science/medical stuff was accurate at all but I didn't care it kept me entertained. It works as both a conspiracy film and as a disaster film. Acting is fine with Kathleen Quinlan, Sam Waterson and the late Yaphet Kotto. There were a couple of scary moments in this that almost delved into horror. I much preferred this to Outbreak which came out 10 years ago in 1995.
#48 Re: The Sunset Strip » Best films of the 1970s » 82 weeks ago
I'll try to not put titles on this that have already been included:
The Godfather
Network
The Driver
Charley Varrick
Prime Cut
Sorcerer
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Three Days of the Condor
The Red Circle (aka Le Cercle Rouge)
Hardcore
I had a hard time with the last one almost went with Hickey and Boggs (really underrated Bill Cosby film), also almost went with Suspiria, and Across 110th Street (deals with both race and post Vietnam war issues). Also for cultural significance almost went with All the President's Men but the fact that they don't mention at the end that Nixon re-signed /impeached etc. bugs me a lot.
Marathon Man and Three Days of the Condor are kind of interchangable. French Connection and maybe Exorcist are probably more popular but I like watching Sorcerer more because the scenes in the forest look beautful and the colors pop.
Also almost put Black Christmas on there because it works as both a slasher and sort of a psycho character examintion.
Obligatory they don't make movies like that anymore and never will. Forget the US, it was a very creative time for World Cinema.
#49 Re: Guns N' Roses » KATARINA BENZOVA vs. GUNS N ROSES; GUNDAM TOURING SERVICES U.S. LLC,;G » 83 weeks ago
Well, Puffy P Diddy and his boys just outdid Fernando and Guns….look it up
Oof.
Fernando can’t compete with car bombing rivals etc. And somehow I’m not surprised; that nice guy or whatever act was always a facade for Combs.
#50 Re: Guns N' Roses » KATARINA BENZOVA vs. GUNS N ROSES; GUNDAM TOURING SERVICES U.S. LLC,;G » 84 weeks ago
It's probably in chinese whispers somewhere, it's been years since i read it. Look for the name Lourenco in there, all the Darknemus stuff was a good read. The early leaks came from songs shared by Fernando if i remember right.
Yeah, it's common knowledge that Fernando shared songs with friends in Brazil in the early 2000s.
If her accusations are credible and she has evidence (text messages), he's fucking toast. And it should not be hard for Axl to elevate Vanessa or Beta to replace Fernando and whatever he does.
