rate the last movie you saw

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AndyDursin
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2986 Post by AndyDursin »

It is probably not "better" and Vetri is no Raquel either, but what can I say, I thought it was in some ways more entertaining and I definitely liked the score better. Sillier and more budget constrained but a nice companion piece. The FX by Danforth are really good also, really smooth. I did prefer Nascimbenes score for this film also. I agree this movie didn't aim as high but if all you are looking for is a caveman movie with dinosaurs this one's lack of pretenions serves it well.

I do agree about the nudity. As I wrote the film is otherwise perfectly fine for kids but those scenes don't even seem to fit with the rest of the movie, especially the rape sequence. Could have lived without them and I think they should've put both cuts on there.

Don't think I've ever seen Creatures The World Forgot...

Eric Paddon
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2987 Post by Eric Paddon »

I wouldn't bother with "Creatures". It's really a boring film as it has no prehistoric beasts and tries to be too natural as it were (When Dinos at least is still fun and entertaining).

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Monterey Jack
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2988 Post by Monterey Jack »

Swiss Army Man (2016): ???/10

Oh, the things I'll sit through for Mary Elizabeth Winstead. :oops:

Defiantly weird indie film, but it's SO bizarre it's kind of fascinating. Where else can you see Paul Dano using Daniel Radcliffe's flatulent, sentient corpse as a jet ski, a shaving device, and a source of liquid refreshment he spits out of his stomach? :shock: I don't honestly know how to properly rate this (there's also an a cappella rendition of "the song from Jurassic Park" on the soundtrack), but it's undeniably watchable, and MEW's brief role at the end gives her the perfect line to sum up everything that came before..."What the F-Bomb...?!" :lol:

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AndyDursin
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2989 Post by AndyDursin »

CERTAIN FURY
4.5/10

THEY'RE PLAYING WITH FIRE
3/10




The New World Pictures vaults have opened up and B-movie fans have not one but two choice offerings thanks to Kino Lorber’s Studio Classics line this month, including the memorable Tatum O’Neal/Irene Cara team-up CERTAIN FURY (87 mins., 1985, R) and Sybil Danning’s oddball exploitation pic THEY’RE PLAYING WITH FIRE (96 mins., 1984, R).

I remember seeing “Certain Fury” listed on a handful of Worst of 1985 lists, but was too young to actually sit through it. Decades later, all of us have that opportunity thanks to Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray and this insane exploitation picture – directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal (dad to Jake and Maggie) – does not disappoint. In Michael Jacobs’ script, tough girl Tatum O’Neal and student Irene Cara are forced to go on the lam after a court hearing turns into a violent massacre. This being the mid ‘80s, there’s no surveillance equipment around to confirm the girls aren’t the killers, so the police targets them in a manhunt – err, girlhunt – that sends both into O’Neal’s dark world of hookers, losers and junkies, while the duo eventually form a tenuous friendship.

“Certain Fury” has some nasty violence – it takes just a couple of minutes before we’re plunged into this movie’s nightmarish world of bloody killings and urban decay, though Cara manages to look fabulous even while the duo are trampling over rats in the Vancouver sewer system. Throughout, the clunky dialogue results in some memorable exchanges between the ladies and the picture’s abundant sex and violence undoubtedly mark it as a product of its time – as does the electronic scoring by Bill Payne, Russ Kunkel and George Massenburg. Make no mistake, you need to be a fan of exploitation fare to really get a kick out of this, but for bad movie buffs, Gyllenhaal’s movie does get the job done, and Cara manages to shine through some occasionally (well, mostly) tasteless material.

Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray looks pretty decent thanks to a 1080p (1.85) AVC encoded transfer and DTS MA mono soundtrack. The original trailer is included along with an enjoyable commentary from the always informative Nathaniel Thompson, who’s joined here by Tim Greer. Note the on-screen pop-up menu during the film erroneously states that the commentary is by David Del Valle and Nick Redman, requiring one to do a double take seeing as this film is as far afield from Twilight Time’s usual fare as you could possibly imagine.



“They’re Playing With Fire,” meanwhile, combines the premise of a steamy film-noir thriller with the bodacious bod of Sybil Danning and the comedic stylings of a bad “Porky’s” rip-off for a one-of-a-kind viewing experience. Dannng plays a college professor working with a fellow faculty member (Andrew Prine) to scare the pants off her in-laws in order to gain an inheritance. After Danning recruits one of her students (the quite awful Eric Brown from “Mama’s Family” and “Private Lessons” fame) to carry out a prank, her elderly relatives turn out to have been murdered instead, leading the would-be criminal masterminds to figure out who the actual killers are.

There’s not a lot of subtlety in “They’re Playing With Fire,” which from its overwrought John Cacavas score down to the weird clash of genres and broadly articulated performances, comes off as a very strange exercise in exploitation fare. Danning is frequently nude but there’s next to no chemistry between her and Brown, who seems like he’s starring in a different movie than everyone else in the cast. Meanwhile, director Howard Avedis throws in some gross-out killings that nearly create a slasher vibe in a film that seems like it wants to cover every base – be it teen sexploitation fare, youth horror, murder-mystery and ‘80s comedy – but fails to do any of them well. The flat ending also robs the film of some fun, but Danning enthusiasts still might want to check out Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray, especially for the actresses’ candid interview about the film (she’s not really a fan), the trailer, a 1080p (1.85) transfer and DTS MA mono sound.

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Paul MacLean
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2990 Post by Paul MacLean »



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The kid from Private Lessons was actually in another movie???




I forget sometimes that although the 80s gave us some of the best orchestral scores ever, most movies had awful synth pop like this.

In any case, please tell me Andy that you won't get rid of these before I visit!

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AndyDursin
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2991 Post by AndyDursin »

LOL don't worry Paul they'll be hanging around! And CERTAIN FURY is absolutely worth a viewing. :lol:

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Monterey Jack
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2992 Post by Monterey Jack »

-Balto (1995): 8/10

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I was pleased to find this on Netflix streaming recently (spurred on by a recent Nostalgia Critic review), in a nice-looking HD print with crisp lines and excellent color. Steven Spielberg's last "Amblimation" feature, Balto is a sturdy, rousing, beautifully-animated adventure film with an impeccable voice cast (Kevin Bacon, Bridget Fonda, Bob Hoskins, voiceover vet Jim Cummings) and a splendid James Horner score that proves what a perfect match his emotive, long-lined thematic material was for animated features. The storyline is certainly not terribly original (honestly, how could a movie about heroic sled dogs be anything but a cliché-fest?), and the live-action wraparound segments are somewhat clunky, but overall this is irresistibly sappy family entertainment, and one hopes that a Blu-Ray release will surface at some point. Then again, there seems to be a dearth of catalog releases for non-Disney, non-CGI animated from the pre-Pixar era, and even the post-Pixar era...despite all taking in around $100 million, where the hell are HD releases of well-reviewed DreamWorks projects like The Prince Of Egypt, Antz and Chicken Run? :? Yeah, you can find all of them on Netflix at the moment, but Egypt and Antz are sans 5.1 sound options, and, dammit, these deserve some "hard-copy" physical releases. It's like DreamWorks refuses to acknowledge any animated movies they released before Shrek, and even a lot of mid-00's films that came after that didn't generate a franchise (Shark Tale, Over The Hedge, Flushed Away, etc.). When you consider the obscure catalogue crap that DOES get released by labels like Kino Lorber and the like, it amazes me how badly studios like DreamWorks and Amblin have treated their filmographies in the HD era...hell, you can't even watch An American Tail with the original 2.0 audio, and the sequel was never released on Blu at all. :x

Anyways, Balto is a charming, occasionally exciting adventure yarn with great animation, and I was pleased how well it held up for me. :)

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AndyDursin
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2993 Post by AndyDursin »

Nice write-up on BALTO!
When you consider the obscure catalogue crap that DOES get released by labels like Kino Lorber and the like, it amazes me how badly studios like DreamWorks and Amblin have treated their filmographies in the HD era...hell, you can't even watch An American Tail with the original 2.0 audio, and the sequel was never released on Blu at all.
It's because the studios don't care about the obscure titles and are willing to license them out to Kino Lorber and friends, while keeping more popular stuff under their own wing -- even if they never release it (see WHAT ABOUT BOB, etc.). I mean, I am still shocked that one of the biggest hits of the entire decade -- 1987's THREE MEN AND A BABY -- is still nowhere to be found on Blu-Ray!

My suggestion, as I've said before, is to use Vudu. If you have any of those Dreamworks titles (or BALTO, AMERICAN TAIL 2, etc.) on DVD, you can use the "disc to digital" option and snag a 1080p copy to own for $5. If you "convert" 10 or more at one time, they take off 50% so you end up paying $2.50 for an HD upgrade off a DVD (it's even less if you have a Blu-Ray that "converts"). (They also started a mobile app and are giving you a free conversion also -- all you need to do is scan the UPC from the DVD or Blu-Ray back cover in your phone). They are many times excellent quality masters -- sometimes the same as Blu-Ray or what would be used for Blu-Ray -- and it's more reliable quality than Netflix or Amazon streaming too.

Doesn't replace Blu-Ray, but I've gone to it many times over the last couple of years for stuff that'll probably never get released.

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Monterey Jack
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2994 Post by Monterey Jack »

The problem with Balto and Fievel Goes West is that they were never released in the proper widescreen format on DVD, only on laserdisc. They were only released on DVD back in the bad old "Well, it's for kids, and they don't like black bars" days of the DVD format. :? That's why I was pleased to find Balto on Netflix, because it was finally in the proper widescreen framing forb the first time since laserdisc, and with a nice, crisp HD print, as well.

I mean, I can understand why the underwhelming box office of those Amblimation projects has caused Universal to not care about releasing them on Blu (even the first American Tail -- which pulled in nearly $50 million in mid-80's dollars -- was treated like garbage, with a mediocre transfer and that HORRIBLE 5.1 DVD audio track riddled with extraneous "walla" from background characters and altered sound effects. :x ), but those DreamWorks titles like Prince Of Egypt, Antz and Chicken Run were all sizable hits back in the day, and well-reviewed as well. I mean, they released Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron on Blu, and who the hell remembers that film? It's a good movie, and I own the Blu, but why that, while much bigger CGI hits from that same early-mid 00's period like Over The Hedge and Shark Tale have not been released?

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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2995 Post by AndyDursin »

I wonder if Dreamworks' catalog jumping from one studio to another so many times has something to do with their glaring lack of catalog titles on Blu-Ray. The animation portion alone changed hands from their own distribution (via Universal) to Paramount to Fox (and soon will be Universal again) and it might explain why those recent animated films never made it to Blu-Ray. And on the live-action end, WHAT LIES BENEATH still isn't out on Blu-Ray as we know. So odd.

Maybe now that the live-action DW catalog is Paramount's for good, they might start cranking out content, but Paramount has never been good at releasing Blu-Rays as we know from their back catalog! AMISTAD is one of the few DW titles they've handled on Blu-Ray.

Anyhow, all of those do have HD masters (that are "Blu worthy") and you can find them on Vudu. I picked up SINBAD for Theo, figured he might like that eventually, for a couple of bucks a few months ago. I had bought WHAT LIES BENEATH also at the same time.

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AndyDursin
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2996 Post by AndyDursin »

HOOSIERS
10/10

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Finally got to my annual viewing before the National Championship game. What can I say? I love this movie. It's always been one of my favorite films, and to this day, I never feel like I'm watching a movie that was made in the mid 80s. This film absolutely transports you back in time to a specific moment, capturing a small midwestern town, the gymnasiums, crowds, the school, the use of the real "Butler Fieldhouse" (Hinkle Fieldhouse) at the climax -- all of it is utterly authentic and captivating. And of course the story, based on a real event, is a classic crowd-pleaser, but the performances, characters and atmosphere all heighten the moment as well. Hackman, Barbara Hershey are terrific, and Dennis Hooper might play the "showy role" of the town drunk/estranged dad trying to make good, but he's really restrained and fully believable too.

Jerry's score is one of his very best. There are those who have given the score some flack for the electronics, but frankly, they fail to see how the beat, the rhythm adds to the montages and basketball sequences. And when the full orchestra gives a statement of the "town theme" at the end -- a whole ending done without extraneous dialogue -- man, I get chills every single time. The melodic quality of that score is also, undoubtedly, the main reason this is one of the best scores Goldsmith ever wrote as well. He was inspired and delivered one of his career highlights.

Same team of director David Anspaugh and writer Angelo Pizzo (plus Jerry) obviously later came together for RUDY -- another classic -- but for my money HOOSIERS is the single greatest sports movie ever made.

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Monterey Jack
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2997 Post by Monterey Jack »

Monterey Jack wrote:When you consider the obscure catalogue crap that DOES get released by labels like Kino Lorber and the like, it amazes me how badly studios like DreamWorks and Amblin have treated their filmographies in the HD era...hell, you can't even watch An American Tail with the original 2.0 audio, and the sequel was never released on Blu at all. :x
Holy crap...looks like WalMart did a stealth release of both Balto and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West this week. :shock: :D

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AndyDursin
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2998 Post by AndyDursin »

Man when was the last time someone went into a store and saw a piece of media nobody knew was coming? It's like a flashback to when I was in high school and you'd just walk into a store and go 'man it's the CD for Jurassic Park!"

Good to see Walmart and Universal churning these out. I don't care about Fievel Goes West (and I'm not even a fan of the first one) but I might pick up Balto as something to watch with Theo. I do have the Vudu version but it might be worth it to have the Blu in hand.

Eric Paddon
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#2999 Post by Eric Paddon »

I won't have as much time to watch as many movies during Holy Week as I have in the past but some will be done.

Young Messiah (2016) 7

-I saw this in the theaters last year (along with "Risen" which I will revisit later) and I have to give a half point more than I did at the time because of an erroneous assumption on my part regarding the depiction of "Herod" in the story. I was puzzled as to why the story and the film would take the license to depict King Herod Antipas, who went on to kill John the Baptist and was alive at the time of Jesus' Crucifixion as obsessed with finding the child Jesus. It turns out (and it was the commentary track by the director and his wife that cleared this up) that the Herod depicted in this film is *not* Herod Antipas but an older son of Herod the Great, Herod Archelaeus who briefly held control of all the territories of his father's kingdom before he was deposed by Rome and the decision was made to divide the kingdom into multiple provinces (with Judea under direct Roman control and Antipas rule of Galilee). I have to confess to being red-faced on my not being aware of this piece of history on the period between the death of Herod the Great and the establishment of the tetrarchy but with this detail cleared up it allows the fictional storyline to have a greater claim to being a reasonable type of speculative storytelling.

Watching "Jesus Of Nazareth" now (The old DVD release. I never bothered with the Blu-Ray because of the missing scenes)

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AndyDursin
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Re: rate the last movie you saw

#3000 Post by AndyDursin »

SPLIT
6.5/10

M. Night Shyamalan fully returned to the good graces of Hollywood studios after his latest thriller, “Split,” returned $137 million domestic on the director’s modest budget ($9 million). It’s also one of Shyamalan’s more watchable films after several minor, even lower-budgeted horror outings (“The Visit”), with James McAvoy playing a disassociative-personality-disorder afflicted man who abducts three teenage girls in preparation for one of his 23 personalities to feast upon. Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Witch”) isn’t just one of them, but her own, troubled past – shown in flashbacks throughout the movie – directly plays into her eventual fate; meanwhile, our antagonist’s psychiatrist (Betty Buckley) tries reasoning with a couple of McAvoy’s characters, including a young child, an effete fashionista and a scary psycho starting to take over “the horde.”

“Split” is compellingly packaged by Shyamalan with PG-13 levels of restraint, in keeping with his past films. Its most effective moments come about midway through, when Buckley’s shrink begins to believe that something isn’t entirely right in “Kevin Land,” and McAvoy’s various personas take on even larger, creepier levels of insanity. The resolution, though, is curious, and as Shyamalan “opens up” the film from the confines of a twisty “Psycho” homage to a “world building” franchise starter (or, in this case, continuation, which will baffle many viewers), it loses its claustrophobic grip. Taylor-Joy, meanwhile, is merely serviceable as the heroine, with the actress mostly welling up with tears and often staring blankly into the camera.

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