Recently watched movies!

[klen7]

Miller's Crossing - Classic Coen Brothers neo-noir gangster flick. It's been nearly a decade since i last saw this film. Still a solid flick. The scene is one of the most amazingly badass sequences, which is really impressive considering there is no martial artistry, wire work, quick cuts, etc.

[Dr Kain]

Nightmare on Elm Street 2 - God this movie is bad, really bad. I do like that they were trying to do something different from the first movie, but it just doesn't make sense. It doesn't work, especially with the really bad actors they have here. Freddy is at least serious though, so I give it a 5/10.

[jellydonut25]

[O.Supreme]

The Day the Earth Stood Still - (1951) - Monday night I was browsing Amazon Prime, when I came a cross this, my 9 year old son said (oohh I want to watch that), based on the cover alone, which was a modified version of the original movie poster. Now, I have always liked this film, but I was almost certain my son would find it to be boring. Sure enough when the B&W 20th century Fox logo came up, he let out a long groan (cause you know B&W means "OLD", and old=boring). My 10 year old daughter came in the room and started MST'ing the names in the credits (kind of cute actually) 'cause movies nowadays don't have beginning credits.

But once the film actually started I was a bit taken back. They were actually watching & paying attention. This 1951 Sci-Fi film, with little SPFX, and a perfectly human looking alien, was actually holding their interest. THAT has to be the mark of a good film. Now I have always held this film in high esteem. I guess because I had seen it so much on TV over the years, I never thought to own it (unlike Toho films, Harryhausen etc...) . But after Monday nights experience, I think I am going to add this one to my collection. -If anyone has the Blu Ray, I wonder if they could comment on its quality? -Thanks

[lhb412]

^ The Day the Earth Stood Still Blu-Ray looks excellent and has fantastic bonus features that focus not just on the making of the film, but its place in the anti-nuclear movement and influence on UFO and 'abductee' culture.

[O.Supreme]

Thank you so much lhb412 , I'll be adding this to my collection soon.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

Across the Universe- I'm not really a fan of musicals but this one set to Beatles music is amazing. If you haven't seen it yet I suggest you do.

The Babadook- I didn't really care for it. It did have a nice original premise but I just couldn't get into the film.

[jellydonut25]

[Dr Kain]

Halloween - You know, I constantly give this movie a 9/10, but I'm upping my score to a 10/10. It isn't perfect, but you know what, it is that damn good.

[mr.negativity]

The Martian and The Iron Giant

[jellydonut25]

[O.Supreme]

Back to the Future Trilogy – These were just added to Amazon Prime on 10/1. Although I had seen them often in my teens and early 20’s, I was surprised to realize it had probably been well over a decade since I had seen any of them. I think seeing as how the first film was made 30 years ago, and the surreal feeling of part II’s vision of 2015, made this viewing all the more enjoyable.

Back to the Future is still a classic. I found myself laughing quite a bit at all the subtle humor. The dialogue is at times fast, especially with Chris Lloyd, but that adds to the charm of the film, and you have to pay attention at every moment, or you will miss something. Also the awkwardness of Fox’s character (Marty McFly), having to confront his mother who has developed a crush on him. I think the teenager in all of us *shudders* at the dread of that ever happening. Thank goodness there is no such thing as time travel. There were more twists and turns than I remember, but seeing the ending still felt satisfying.

Back to the Future II –Growing up, this one always felt the weakest to me. Probably so much hype was built on being in the Future, but the film only spends only about 20 minutes there. But now as I am older, I can appreciate the film for what it is, really a story about undoing the all damage made by one reckless decision. Though in reality when you deal with time travel there are always flaws. When 2015 Biff traveled back to 1955 to give himself the Almanac, when he returned to 2015, *that* timeline would have ceased to exist, but oh well, for the sake of the story I guess we can overlook that. Part II’s vision of 2015 was a fun exercise for me in seeing what predictions came true, and what didn’t.
Flying Cars –No
Weather Control –No
“Smart” clothing- No
Hover boards – No
Jaws 19 – No it’s much worse, we have Sharknado 3
“Smart” Homes –Yes
Flat Screen TV – Yes
Fax’s in every room (actually tablets and smart phones with instant e-mail access have eliminated this need)
Phone/ TV Glasses (see smart phones & Tablets)
Cubs win the World Series –This one is probably the most fascinating because for the first time in 17 years the Cubs are in the playoffs, and as we’ve seen, in recent years anything can happen. *if* they do by some miracle win however, it won’t be against the fictitious Miami team as stated in the film, seeing as how the real Miami Marlins are not in the Playoffs, and play in the same league as the Cubs (NL), so a world series meeting would be an impossibility. But Kudos to the writers for predicting a team in Miami 4 years before they actually existed.

Back to the Future III – This one had the opposite effect on me now as an adult. I liked this one more when I was younger, but now seemed to be a little boring especially the whole romance between Doc Brown & Clara, but I suppose it was necessary for the final outcome. I still found myself getting a little misty eyed at the end when the DeLorean was destroyed, and Doc Browns line about “nobody’s future has been written yet, so make it a good one.” All in all, I think not seeing these movies in such a long time gave me a greater appreciation for them, and it was an overall enjoyable experience, especially exposing my kids to these for the first time.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

King Kong (33)- I love this movie one of my all time favorite movies and it still holds up today. No matter how many times you watch it, it never gets old.

The Wolf Man (41)- My all time favorite werewolf movie it truely is ahead of its time.

[Dr Kain]

Phantom of the Opera (1925) - My first time seeing this ever and it was on the big screen at the Mile High Horror Festival and it was quite enjoyable. Ron Chaney was there and did a Q&A before it, which was great. Also, they had a guy there with a piano and machine who was playing the music to the movie live, which was great. Ron did say it was the 1929 version, which had colorized scenes, but was also missing some footage apparently. It was kind of weird as I expected the movie to be straight up black and white but it was sometimes yellow, sometimes red, sometimes blue, sometimes green, etc. Nevertheless, I have to say that this is probably hands down the best version of the story I have seen in movie form thus far. I really loved the masquerade ball scene, especially when the Phantom came dressed up as the red death. Overall, I give it an 8/10 stars. Oh, and this was my first official silent film movie ever too.

I've got some pictures and a video I'm going to put together of the festival, but it was fun. We got to meet Ron and his daughter, who were fun to chat with. The same goes for Ari Lehman (child Jason in the original F13). All of them were very down to earth people and act way different from others I met at the festival last year. Oh, and here are my hauls from the festival (sans Kylo):

[DannyBeane]

[lhb412]

Kain, if that's your first silent film it sounds like the right introductory experience!

Nudges me towards buying Kino's new Blu-Ray release (and I've already got a bunch of genre movies on my to-buy list this October!).

[Dr Kain]

Oh yeah, Ron also said that next week in LA he has the movie showing at the Egyptian Theater with an orchestra containing a pianist, a drummer, and a violinist, so that would be awesome to see. Also, he talked about that he is in negotiation with WB about doing a completely recreation of London After Midnight as he has obtained the rights to the entire score but they just don't want to do it. Oh, and he is still working on getting House of the Wolf Man released.

ANyway,

Halloween II - Not as good as the original, but still quite enjoyable. I give it a 7/10.

Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - A pretty enjoyable movie with a still frightening Freddy and some really creative deaths and dream sequences within. Unfortunately, what they do to Nancy here is just unforgivable. It is also interesting to see Lawrence Fishburn in his early days. Overall, it gets a 7/10 from me.

[jellydonut25]

Nightmare 3 is one of my very favorite sequels to any of the major slasher franchises.

[XvGojira]

[MekaGojira3k]

Been watching Universal Monster movies/horror stuff I've not seen.

Werewolf of London - Not as enjoyable as The Wolfman, but still a lot of fun. I feel like they should have taken more advantage of having a second werewolf in Dr. Yogami. I also really like the makeup, honestly I like it more than the Wolfman make up. I think it's because I've always disliked the hair on the Wolfman makeup.

The Mummy's Hand - It is far more upbeat than the first mummy. At times it feels like Babe and Jennings are a bargain bin Abbot and Costello. They come across as more aggravating than genuinely funny. I like the Tana leaves stuff, but Kharis doesn't get any real characterization like Imhotep did.

Murders in the Rue Morgue - I really liked this. However, the finale...with an ape carrying a woman up a building. Realllyyy reminded me of the climax of Kong. Has anyone else noticed this? I also think I like Lugosi more here than I do in Dracula.

[XvGojira]

[Dr Kain]

[Psycho Soldier]

Actually finished watching these last weekend, but...

The Hunger Games (movies 1-3) - Overall, pretty enjoyable. Generally well paced with some neat action scenes. Some decent social commentary, too, if not exactly profound. On the negative side, sometimes the CGI is garbage, and some of the dialogue has "YA novel adaptation" written all over it. Katniss isn't super compelling, but the supporting cast helps keep my interest. I don't care for the love triangle at all, though. It really strikes me as flimsy. At the risk of inciting controversy, I wish one of these YA stories would end with the 3 people in a polygamous relationship, because that's how tired I am of the usual conventions. But anyway, I'll be watching the last Hunger Games movie once it's out.

[jellydonut25]

Katniss is much better in the movies than in the novels. I absolutely HATED her by the end of the novels. She's such a clueless moron in the novels, it's insane.

[Dr Kain]

I just hate the idea of Katniss, everything revolves around her. She is the only one in the entire country that can rebel against the government? That makes no sense.