rate the last movie you saw

[AndyDursin]

MSNBC also used to have a wonderful show back then "Time And Again" that would revisit events in history using old NBC news coverage from the archives. I have over a hundred plus of these programs because it was my chance to raid the archives and get some historic material. That show alas disappeared around 2002 or so which is when I stopped watching that channel altogether.

I remember that well. I've got a couple of the Star Wars shows they did on tape that aired when the Phantom Menace came out.

[Monterey Jack]

Devil: 6/10

Hey, a Shammalammadingdong movie that's actually moderately entertaining! Naturally, he didn't direct or write the final screenplay.

[AndyDursin]

Captain America 8.5/10

As much as I liked THOR, Joe Johnston really nailed this film: confident, exciting, backed by a very strong Silvestri score, Chris Evans was terrific and the story was just pure, simple comic-book entertainment. The ending (and by that I mean the very last scene) was a bit odd, I suppose, but really the film was tremendously well executed on all levels. Even the montage using Menken's song was outstanding.

My main complaints are basically ones I could make about any modern genre film -- could've used more character development and a dash more humor...otherwise, the best super-hero film of 2011.

Not much else to say other than Marvel (with the exception of Iron man 2 which got away from them) knows what they're doing. DC ought to take a page out of their playbook.

[Monterey Jack]

Totally agree with Andy regarding Captain America (right down to the grade). Funny, exciting, with a rousing, kick-ass Alan Silvestri score blissfully untainted by techno or rock elements (even Thor stuck that totally incongruous rock song into the middle of its end credits). The only major fault of the film for me was the absurd amount of Teal & Orange in the color scheme, possibly the most heavy-handed application of this beyond tired color-coding schtick I have seen to date. God, I am so tired of that crap. I'm sure the movie looked beautiful before the post production digital intermediate meddlers got their hands on it, so it's a major blight on an otherwise sensational piece of summer entertainment.

[AndyDursin]

Agree MJ on the color scheme. 3-D made it worse, darkening the print obviously -- and what's worse for me, the local Showcase WAS showing it in 2-D, but their online listings had the 2-D show designated as 3-D! We went at 10:00 and I couldn't wait for the 2-D at 10:30, it was just too late for us.

Silvestri's score was terrific, and it worked better in the film than it did on the album. The End Credits track is the best part -- and of course it's NOT on the CD, which makes me glad I didn't buy it.

[Monterey Jack]

Silvestri's score was terrific, and it worked better in the film than it did on the album. The End Credits track is the best part -- and of course it's NOT on the CD, which makes me glad I didn't buy it.

What is it with Silvestri albums leaving off the end-credit suites? The otherwise sensational Mummy Returns CD is seriously marred by this, just sort of stumbling to an end with no real musical closure.

[AndyDursin]

Been on an Arnold kick of late...

CONAN THE BARBARIAN 9/10
This isn't just '80s nostalgia -- this John Milius film is seriously, absolutely good in every sense. Dynamic action, a story that actually pauses for character beats, James Earl Jones brilliant in every scene he's in, Arnold surprisingly confident, and best of all, a Basil Poledouris score that improves seemingly on every viewing. There are sections of that score that are as magnificent as any one of those Biblical scores Golden Age fans love (if not more so). From the pitch perfect ending to its individual set-pieces (though little can top the opening 15 minutes), CONAN is just tremendous. As I wrote in the other thread the Fox international Blu Ray has the 90 second scene that was added for the prior Special Edition DVD, along with its own retrospective 20 minute doc mostly about Robert E. Howard's legacy (Earl Jones is interviewed however). It also has all the other extras from Universal's Blu Ray out next week, which include 10 minutes of vintage promo interviews seen for the first time since '82, and the bonuses from the earlier DVD.

TOTAL RECALL 5/10
Leading up to this film's release in 1990, I was absolutely psyched -- especially being in high school at the time -- for the prospects of an Arnold movie that was based on a story by the guy who wrote Blade Runner, from the screenwriters of Alien and the director of Robocop. Unfortunately even then I was let down by TOTAL RECALL, and rewatching it now, it's even worse: dated, flatly photographed, claustrophobic in its production design, repetitive in its make-up effects, violent and dumb. It'd be one thing if the film was truly exciting, but this Paul Verhoeven film is basically just one long chase sequence, and considering the wide array of talents involved, ranks as a massive disappointment. When matched with other Schwarzenegger films of its era, it's basically a less entertaining "Running Man" with a much bigger budget and a much better score in Jerry Goldsmith's exciting offering (even if the main titles are basically "Conan" with a drum machine). One of those films, unlike CONAN THE BARBARIAN, you'd need to look through the prism of nostalgia to really enjoy -- but even then, its pleasures are limited (and like I said, I never really liked it in 1990 either).

[Monterey Jack]

Obsession (1976): 7/10



Probably the most shameless of Brian De Palma's Hitchcock riffs, this thinly-disguised reworking of Vertigo suffers from a poor leading performance from Cliff Robertson (and a really icky "twist" that makes the florridly romantic ending hard to swallow), yet it's technically superb, from Vilmos Zsigmond's hauntingly diffused cinematography to Bernard Herrmann's truly magnificent score. The UK Blu-Ray transfer blows away the antiquated DVD from a decade ago, with superb clarity and detail (and it's thankfully region free). Plus, it includes a booklet reproducing Paul Schrader's original screenplay (titled "Deja Vu"), which is very cool to read.

[AndyDursin]

I just watched it tonight MJ. Loved the score which is really one of Herrmanns best. The story...let's just say it was something you could only do in the 70s lol. Watching THE FUNHOUSE now...with thanks to Arrow for sending off the first review discs I have ever gotten from the UK.

[Monterey Jack]

The Watcher In The Woods (1980): 6.5/10

I had a $3 off coupon good for any Disney DVD or Blu-Ray, so I settled on this oddity from the studio's early-80's "dark" period. Okay...what the hell did I just watch?! While atmospherically shot by Alan Hume and scored by Staney Meyers, Watcher can't really decide what it wants to be...is it a ghost story? A kiddie version of The Shining? No, all of the apparently supernatural hugger-mugger turns out to be...aliens? Stuck in limbo? Buh?! Up until the ending (all three of them), I found the film to be effectively eerie and moderately engrossing, but the filmmakers and screenwriters clearly had no idea whatsoever how to bring the films mystery to a satisfying conclusion. It's certainly better than The Black Hole, but the ending essentially killed whatever suspense the movie had managed to generate up until that point (and not to sound mean, but in the alternate ending on the DVD, is Bette Davis' "daughter" actually played by a dude in a wig, or is that just the ugliest woman I have ever seen in my life?).

Weird movie!

[John Johnson]

The Watcher In The Woods (1980): 6.5/10

I had a $3 off coupon good for any Disney DVD or Blu-Ray, so I settled on this oddity from the studio's early-80's "dark" period. Okay...what the hell did I just watch?! While atmospherically shot by Alan Hume and scored by Staney Meyers, Watcher can't really decide what it wants to be...is it a ghost story? A kiddie version of The Shining? No, all of the apparently supernatural hugger-mugger turns out to be...aliens? Stuck in limbo? Buh?! Up until the ending (all three of them), I found the film to be effectively eerie and moderately engrossing, but the filmmakers and screenwriters clearly had no idea whatsoever how to bring the films mystery to a satisfying conclusion. It's certainly better than The Black Hole, but the ending essentially killed whatever suspense the movie had managed to generate up until that point (and not to sound mean, but in the alternate ending on the DVD, is Bette Davis' "daughter" actually played by a dude in a wig, or is that just the ugliest woman I have ever seen in my life?).

Weird movie!

Some interesting info about the film.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watcher_in_the_Woods

[AndyDursin]

The Watcher In The Woods (1980): 6.5/10

I had a $3 off coupon good for any Disney DVD or Blu-Ray, so I settled on this oddity from the studio's early-80's "dark" period. Okay...what the hell did I just watch?! While atmospherically shot by Alan Hume and scored by Staney Meyers, Watcher can't really decide what it wants to be...is it a ghost story? A kiddie version of The Shining? No, all of the apparently supernatural hugger-mugger turns out to be...aliens? Stuck in limbo? Buh?! Up until the ending (all three of them), I found the film to be effectively eerie and moderately engrossing, but the filmmakers and screenwriters clearly had no idea whatsoever how to bring the films mystery to a satisfying conclusion. It's certainly better than The Black Hole, but the ending essentially killed whatever suspense the movie had managed to generate up until that point (and not to sound mean, but in the alternate ending on the DVD, is Bette Davis' "daughter" actually played by a dude in a wig, or is that just the ugliest woman I have ever seen in my life?).

Weird movie!

It IS very strange, but I agree with you -- it's an interesting film, certainly better than THE BLACK HOLE and for a while actually works. (Plus Lynn-Holly Johnson was quite the babe back then too!).

Oddly enough, that WAS one of those instances where the recut, shortened version of the film was better -- of all the endings, the one they ultimately used was the best one...certainly beat the weird one where she went to the creature's planet, which (I believe) was also the one where the creature showed up and it looked like a bunch of Glad trash bags someone had strung together. I remember that movie also playing in theaters at least twice when I was a kid too...very strange. Clearly they couldn't end it properly, but at least they did the best they could with the final released print.

Anchor Bay initially released a DVD of it with all the extras and a few other bonuses that they didn't bring back for the Disney DVD (including the commentary) -- and they were ashamed of the movie for a while too, because they made Anchor Bay remove any Disney studio markings/logos. They couldn't even put the trailer on there I believe because it had a burning doll with the studio's name over it (though I don't quite recall that anecdote).

What's interesting is that it bears some similarities to SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES in terms of it being this very troubled film where Disney tried recutting it, re-shooting the ending, etc. At least with WATCHER they didn't throw out the music the way they did on SWTWC...though frustratingly, they had no issue showing people all the things they cut from WATCHER, but we've still never seen the original SWTWC.

Of all the "lost" movies sitting somewhere in the vaults of Hollywood, I would absolutely kill to see SWTWC in Jack Clayton's original version with Delerue's score attached.

I had a $3 off coupon good for any Disney DVD or Blu-Ray, so I settled on this oddity from the studio's early-80's "dark" period.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS is an absolute favorite of mine...if you haven't seen it, this should give you a good idea of what it is:

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/article ... Part_I.asp

[Monterey Jack]

MIDNIGHT MADNESS is an absolute favorite of mine...if you haven't seen it, this should give you a good idea of what it is:

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/article ... Part_I.asp

I remember watching that movie as a kid (and being disappointed that the "Nerd" group was losing the competion ). Maybe I'll Netflix it for some cheap nostalgia one day.

[AndyDursin]

SOUL SURFER 8/10

What a terrific film -- well acted, inspiring, true to life -- I think most of the people who disliked it were people who had an issue that the film was produced as a "faith based" picture. There's no preachifying here, just rock solid performances (AnnaSophia Robb is just great; Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt equally fine as Bethany Hamilton's supportive parents), good messages, gorgeous cinematography and a thoroughly entertaining 106 minutes.

Marco Beltrami's beautiful score is both the best score I've ever heard from him as well as the best score I've heard in 2011 also. Bravo.

[AndyDursin]

CONAN THE DESTROYER 7/10

Fans of the first movie hate this sequel with a passion, but distancing yourself from the Milius film -- and accepting this as the PG-rated, more Howard-esque fantasy it was intended to be -- makes it easier to accept this film for what it is. Jack Cardiff's cinematography is terrific, Arnold is a bit more laid back, Grace Jones is actually pretty good (too bad they didn't give her more to do) and Olivia d'abo....mmmmmmmmm.....she's just a peach.

On the down side, Tracey Walter's comic relief doesn't work -- I don't entirely blame him since he replaced "Laverne & Shirley" co-star David L. Lander a couple of weeks into filming (their first choice was Danny DeVito, who bowed out before shooting began); Wilt Chamberlain is silly; and some of the effects aren't so great. (Walter is actually fairly candid about working on the film in his commentary, which is part of a number of excellent supplements only on Fox's international Blu-Ray disc, including a 17 minute interview with Basil conducted in, I believe, 2005; an interview with writers Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway; and another commentary with Richard Fleischer).

I also have to say this -- and it won't be popular in film music circles -- but Basil Poledouris' score is also one of the film's problems. It's leaden, lifeless, recycles bits and pieces of the original score in seemingly arbitrary places, and its new material is forgettable. It comes off like a generic '60s Italian sword-and-sandal type of score whereas the first score is this epic, magnificent dramatic work that's one of the decade's finest.

This is no more obvious than looking at the film's theatrical trailer, which uses Basil's 1982 BARBARIAN score -- it raises the material immensely. Even if the old music had been tracked in, it would've been superior to what he wrote for DESTROYER.

Anyway at least I've still got memories of this: