Recently watched movies!

[jellydonut25]

[XvGojira]

Yeah the last one was made purely to keep the rights at Dimension Pictures.

[lhb412]

Spaceballs

I hesitated to watch this one because I liked it as a child and had no idea whether it would hold up or not. Thankfully, it does. It has a great cast (Rick Moranis is the most underrated comedic performer of the '80s), and I was suprised that the romantic scenes were largely played straight. I also give Mel credit for pointing out just how much Lucas was simply riffing on older pop culture, oddly predicting things like the diner scene and Disney-esque royalty in the prequels.

[O.Supreme]

Although I've always liked Spaceballs, I initially thought it to be a bit weaker in comedic value than Mel Brooks earlier films (Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World), but now that the film has aged, (28 years ago now). I can definitely say it is top tier among Mel's best works. At my work, there is a circle of guys, and we quote the film almost daily

Just watch Guardians of the Galaxy again, trying to find that one Easter Egg that James Gunn claims nobody has discovered yet. With all the visuals in that film, I'm sure someone has noticed it, probably Gunn hasn't seen all the comments from fans yet.

[klen7]

American Beauty - I had seen this back when it came out, but felt like revisiting since when now i'm a married, father, working class, suburban, etc. Still an interesting flick, lots of miserable people, but told in a way that isn't miserable, which is refreshing.


Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - Saw this for the first time in many years, my wife and i came out completely on opposite sides.. she said it made her appreciate the remake more, i said it made the remake seem even more vapid. I had forgotten how much fun the movie is before they get to the factory (for scenes not involving Charlies family).. and that Cheer Up Charlie is sooo tedious... I do much prefer Gene Wilder's Wonka, who seems particularly clever to Johnny Depp's Wonka who seems particularly weird.

[jellydonut25]

[klen7]

Tusk This film was clearly made as a joke.. it could have been a bit more realized as a film with better casting (Jean Reno instead of Johnny Depp, almost anybody other than Lily Depp and Harley Smith as the clerks) but there are still some really awkward flashbacks, so maybe it couldnt be completely saved. Really the only argument i could make for checking this out (beyond the bizarre premise) is to watch Michael Parks deliver a really solid performance.

[jellydonut25]

[DannyBeane]

Tusk is awful. One of the worst movies I've ever seen. There is a good buildup but the movie is basically a 2 hour setup for a stupid joke. I hate every character in that movie. I have never been so mad watching a movie I didn't pay a dime for.

[lhb412]

The Twelve Chairs

Mel Brooks' second film is probably the least 'Brooksian' one he ever did. It's more reserved than usual, but a few of his over-the-top gags pop in here and there. Sometimes I'm not receptive to Dom DeLuise, but he is absolutely hilarious here playing a role that's manically greedy and cowardly (kinda reminds me of Chuck Jones' version of Daffy Duck).

[Dr Kain]

I love Mel Brooks, but I absolutely hate 12 Chairs. It is easily the worst movie of his I have ever seen.

[jellydonut25]

Dom DeLuise is the only thing in 12 Chairs I enjoy. I don't hate the movie, but I just find it bleh.

[canofhumdingers]

Monster Zero and War of the Gargantuas via 35mm prints at the Alamo Drafthouse in Denver! The prints were pretty beat up, faded, and pink shifted in many places, but still very watchable. And August Ragone, acting as MC, had some very interesting history on each film. It was a great time!

[Dr Kain]

Monster Zero - 9/10

War of the Gargantuas - 8/10

This was a double feature at the Alamo Drafthouse and it was excellent. Well, mostly. It was my first time seeing Gargantuas dubbed and I was not a fan of the dubbing. Stewart sounded so monotone (and August explained to me why). Nevertheless, it was fantastic seeing them both on the big screen, especially because the miniatures were absolutely stunning on a screen that size.

Oh, and I did a quick video with a couple of friends:

[DannyBeane]

The miniature work in WOTG all around is top notch but my favorite scene is probably of Gaira wandering around Haneda Airport. Those miniatures were certifiably beautiful.

[Dr Kain]

[DannyBeane]

I'm glad it was awesome. I will say I am jealous. I wish we could get an alamo drafthouse here in Ohio. The only niche movie theaters around here only showsnoody Indy art films.

[XvGojira]

Dumb and Dumber To - Not high art. But I got quite a bit more laughs from this than I was expecting from all the negate reviews. Although laughs slow down after the scene with the train. It feels like after that the writers realized that they had a plot to take care of instead of making jokes.

Chappie - I thought this was great. Didn't like the middle act so much; not a fan of the thug gang crap and Ninja being all surprised Chappie come back all damaged from made him an idiot and a character I eagerly awaited for his death. But the beginning and ending of the movie really makes up for it to me. Although I want to watch it again with subs on. Every now and again I can't understand what anyone is saying. Also Sigourney Weaver seems rather wasted, it;s like "Hey look! Sigourney Weaver is in a sci-fi movie!"

[klen7]

Gangster Squad - a bit of wasted opportunity considering the cast, though the brakes went on whenever Emma Stone was on screen. It almost feels if her character was written in after the script was finished. To borrow a remark from Dr Kain, the main cast had their character shields up almost the whole time in shoot outs where every bullet hit a bad guy, and the bad guys (double fisting tommy guns) couldn't hit anything.

[Dr Kain]

Psycho - Saw this in theaters. Still Hitchcock's greatest movie ever. 10/10.

[klen7]

Slow West - i had never heard of this Western, but it was released in 2015, stars Michael Fassbender, has a decent score on imdb, and was available for streaming with Amazon Prime. It's definitely a western, the movie slowly moves and builds tension to the final showdown. It clocks in at under 90 minutes so it doesnt overstay its welcome. As far as modern westerns go, it wasn't as good as something like 'The Proposition' or the '3:10 to Yuma' remake, but it was a decent entry in an under represented genre

[Dr Kain]

Nightmare on Elm Street - First time seeing it in the theater and it was quite good. There isn't a whole lot to talk about that I haven't said about it before, but it is a really good movie. It isn't anywhere near my favorite, but it is well done. I give it an 8/10.

BTW, oh my god, the pre-show at the Drafthouse showed some really really scary rap videos with Freddy in them. Now THAT was scary.

[lhb412]

The Three Worlds of Gulliver

Feels more like Disney than Harryhausen, no? I'm glad they kept some of the satirical edge even with the kid-friendly tone. Unfortunately, the film looses a lot of steam when they go from Lilliput to Brobdignag.

[Dr Kain]

My Alamo Drafthouse did the Indiana Jones trilogy today. It was so awesome to see all three on the big screen at the same time.

Raiders - 10/10

Temple - 6/10

Crusade - 8/10

[klen7]

The Drop a crime thriller from Dennis Lehane, starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and James Gandolfini. I enjoyed this quite a bit. Less bleak than Lehane's normal fair. Kind of a modern noir in a lot of respects.