Recently watched movies!

[MekaGojira3k]

[lhb412]

Watched Gojira, Rodan, and about half of Mothra last night on TCM (have House on the DVR).

All Through the Night

Rather bland title for a fun film, an early '40s gangster/comedy/espionage thriller. Humphrey Bogart plays a well-liked and rather nice gambling kingpin. Him and his crew end up uncovering a conspiracy of Nazi spies in NYC and (because the police don't believe them) have to stop an attack on our shores. Great cast, snappy dialogue, fun film all-around - but I feel it got a bit too comical near the end, as opposed to the nice balance of comedic and shadowy suspense in the rest of the film.

[Psycho Soldier]

I decided to sit through King David, with Richard Gere in the title role. Meh. I didn't really hate it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again. It spreads itself really thin despite being nearly 2 hours long, so there isn't a lot of character development or tension. It's also not nearly as epic as the soundtrack seems to think it is. If you need to see a movie about King David, this one probably won't offend you, but you won't get anything new or exciting out of it. I guess Richard Gere dances around in a loincloth at one point, and the guy playing Saul has some pretty strange line deliveries, but neither thing elevates the film in any way.

[lhb412]

Rio Bravo

Excellent western from director Howard Hawks. John Wayne is the sheriff and arrests the brother of the big-shot rancher who owns the town. Said big-shot has the town under siege, making is almost impossible to get in and out of the town and it'll be a week before the marshal gets there to take the prisoner. Wayne, his deputy (a former sharpshooter and current drunk who's just decided to get on the wagon), a young gunslinger who just arrived in town, and another deputy (an old man who keeps the jail) have to hold down the fort and last the week as the town fills with hired goons.

This is a fantastic film. Lots of great dialogue and character interaction punctuated by nicely staged moments of violence. At about an hour and a half is doesn't wear out its welcome.

[lhb412]

The Jungle Book

The final film in my Criterion DVD set of adventure films starring Sabu, and this film is far bigger and better then the previous two, on par with the more famous other film Sabu did around the same time (and not included in this set): The Thief of Bagdad.

This flick is actually pretty close to Kipling's original stories, excepting the fact that Mowgli's conversations with animals is limited (apparently dubbing the animals seemed a bit too out-there for the makers). Only the old cobra and Kaa the anaconda, both puppets, get to talk. The filmmakers do as good a job as humanly possible of working around that rather huge part of the original book to deliver a good adaptation. The film is gorgeous. They built huge jungle sets and the technicolor gives the whole thing an eye-popping storybook look.

[jellydonut25]

[king_ghidorah]

Chronicle

Wow, this movie went to some dark, interesting places. A gem of a film. Such a smart screenplay all around. I mean, it's just a well crafted screenplay. This film avoids the usual clunkiness of POV films by interjecting splices and jump cuts into the film in a natural, fluid way. This film never drags and it never focuses on the cliched things we don't care about. For example, we don't watch the main characters discovering they have powers. It's boring and tried. Great choice in not showing it.

Really, it's a good film. Easily in my top 5 superhero films of all time. The finale is so dark. I literally backed away from my TV a lil to get away from what I was watching lol. It's Akira/ Revenge of the Sith....or what Revenge of the Sith should have been. See this film. The crew and cast are all people to watch in the future.

[MouthForWar]

[MekaGojira3k]

Wow. I didn't know about the Weyland spelling thing.

Weird.

[jellydonut25]

I also prefer Ridley's original idea of the Alien having a complete life-cycle. It's 100% a preference thing, but I like the notion that it would capture rather than kill some people in order to convert them into eggs for face-huggers.

[MouthForWar]

[MekaGojira3k]

[MouthForWar]

[jellydonut25]

[MouthForWar]

[jellydonut25]

[MouthForWar]

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[MouthForWar]

[jellydonut25]

[MekaGojira3k]

[MouthForWar]

[jellydonut25]

[MouthForWar]