rate the last movie you saw

[Jedbu]

Del Toro was involved in a ton of pre-production as early as 2008 and even moved his family down to NZ for the production around that time. According to press reports, it was the constant delays and funding problems (this was when MGM was having all of its financial problems and they were one of the big studio guns in charge of this due to controlling some of the rights to the book) along with Del Toro feeling that he would not have as much creative control over the films as he would like that caused him to drop out. Also, at the time of his departure there were going to be two films carved out, not three and again, my feeling is that Jackson, after taking over after Del Toro's leaving felt that 1) in order to carry out his vision of the story felt that he had to pull a von Stroheim and film every page of Tolkien's novel, 2) in order to do that properly (in his mind) he had to either make both films longer or expand to three films, and, 3) considering how expensive this whole thing was going to be, both he and the studio saw that it would be more cost effective to make three films and spread the budget that far.

And seeing the box office results for the final film so far, it looks like Jackson and the suits might have guessed correctly. Will all three HOBBIT films be as memorable as the LOTR trilogy? There are moments that might, but as a whole, I think the HOBBIT trilogy will be looked upon in the same way (although I think a bit more favorably) as the first three episodes of the STAR WARS films that Lucas did, compared to the final three that we first saw and fell in love with, which many have compared the LOTR films to-thank you for the set-up, Peter, but why did it take so long?

BTW, one of the stories that was released at the time of Del Toro's leaving mentions that he was working on a prequel to THE WIZARD OF OZ-THE GREAT AND POWERFUL WIZARD OF OZ, which as we all know Sam Raimi ended up making. According to one interview from around the same time, Del Toro denied any involvement with any OZ film, but he did have a deal with Universal to make IN THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS along with reboots of FRANKENSTEIN and DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE and his own versions of SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE and DROOD, and had delivered a script to Disney called HAUNTED MANSION. As far as I know, none of those are taking place, sadly.

[AndyDursin]

I think you are being kind Jeff! Making three movies out of that particular book was a cash grab from the very beginning. I'd also argue these films have had no impact or appeal beyond the Tolkien fan base unlike LOTR which did get a good number of main stream viewers into see them. The Hobbit grosses especially in the US are consistent with say the Twilight or bulk of the Potter films.

Personally I disliked both of the Hobbit films and sitting tthru a 3 hour CGI battle is the last thing I'm interested in lol. Regardless of how people viewed the SW prequels they went out on the right note with Sith which did extremely well and had good reviews...whereas the Hobbit reviews are mostly mixed to negative on this film and the attendance is down. It'll be interesting to see how front loaded this one is as I don't sense any great excitement surrounding it for most people...more a sense of relief that it's FINALLY over.

[AndyDursin]

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1984)
8/10



Very solid, strongly acted -- if somewhat vanilla -- rendering of the story gives George C. Scott a golden opportunity to offer a restrained and effective Scrooge. It's all well done -- with David Warner as Bob Cratchit, Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas Present and many other familiar faces on-hand -- though the direction and scoring are all rather basic, and have been done more memorably elsewhere, such as...

SCROOGE
9/10



Still my personal favorite rendering of the Dickens classic for its personality (lead by Albert Finney's highly enjoyable performance), spirited supporting cast, Leslie Bricusse's terrific songs, and best of all, the movie's sublime widescreen cinematography and art direction. There isn't a better looking, cinematic rendering of "A Christmas Carol" around, and I found myself enjoying the film even more on this viewing than I have during the many times I watched the film in the past (it was a mainstay on TV for years when I was growing up, cutting out the weird "Scrooge in Hell" scene that I only saw for the first time when I was in high school!).

While it's missing the Overture, CBS' Blu-Ray delivers a wonderfully crisp and detailed 1080p transfer as well that blows the doors off its prior DVD release. It's always great to see a movie in HD that actually looks like film, as this transfer attests, and Terry Marsh's production design and Oswald Morris' cinemtography are peerless compared to the numerous other versions of the story out there.

I'll get to the MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL and the underrated, Alan Menken-scored 2004 CHRISTMAS CAROL TV-film (with Kelsey Grammer) if I have time, but at least I made it under the deadline with these two!

Merry Christmas to all!

[jkholm]

The Babadook

7.5/10
Director Jennifer Kent plays on the fears and anxieties of most parents in this well-made supernatural/psychological horror film. Australian actress Essie Davis (“Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries”) plays Amelia, a single mom trying to cope with way too much family stress. Her husband died on the same night her son was born and she is still grieving the loss. Her son, now six, has trouble getting to sleep and is obsessed with monsters and making weapons. Amelia can’t sleep herself and things get worse when her son finds a mysterious pop-up book called “The Babadook” about a scary looking monster lurking in the shadows. Strange things start to happen. Is it the babadook come to life or is Amelia cracking up? The film tries to have it both ways and I think it succeeds at both. The sound design is impressive and so are the low-budget effects.

[Eric Paddon]

The Christmas Candle (2013) 8.5 of 10

-This was an obscure movie that came out last year based on a novel by Christian author Max Lucado. I got it today on DVD with my Barnes and Noble gift card because I was frankly in the need to see something uplifting for me given that Christmas Day turned out to be a day of an unexpected family blow with my mother having another downturn that for the second Christmas in a row resulted in her spending the day in the hospital. And this looks to be something more potentially serious for the long-term though things have stabilized for now. I mention all this because when I saw it in the Christmas clearance section and saw that it was in essence a Christian film production it seemed appropriate for me as I felt more than ever the need to be inspired.

-The story is an interesting mixture of period/fantasy set in an 1890 English village where a newly arriving pastor who is devoted to modern methods clashes with the town's longstanding tradition of belief in the miraculous power of the lighting of a Christmas candle every 25 years. It is a movie made for the Christian faithful but I thought it was well-done and a cut above some of the low quality efforts I remember Christian film companies putting out in the 70s (though I was not surprised to see that the group of phonies I mentioned above like Mr. Overstreet, formerly of Christianity Today, chose to purposefully ignore it with their usual snarky condescension when I checked to see how they had evaluated it). For what it attempts to do for its intended audience, it does quite beautifully and I was glad to discover it. I intend to make it a tradition for Christmas viewing.

[jkholm]

The Imitation Game

7/10

The story of how a team of math geniuses cracked the Enigma code during World War II is a by now a familiar one and has been filmed before. This version focuses on Alan Turing, a math professor who is hired to crack the supposedly unbreakable code. He may be incredibly smart, but he is anti-social and nearly gets kicked off the team several times before finally convincing his co-workers that a machine he has invented will work. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Turing quite well, sort of a variation on his Sherlock Holmes character, just not as snarky. It’s a fascinating story and the supporting cast is excellent but it follows too closely the “misunderstood genius” biopic formula. There’s not much style and the movie gets preachy whenever Turing’s homosexuality is brought up.

[Jedbu]

How does IMITATION GAME compare to ENIGMA, which came out in 2001 and had a lot of the same plot?

[jkholm]

How does IMITATION GAME compare to ENIGMA, which came out in 2001 and had a lot of the same plot?

I've seen Enigma but it's been so long I can't remember much about it. I will say that the more I think about it, The Imitation Game is more about Turing than it is about the Enigma code.

[Eric Paddon]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) 9 of 10

-30 years ago right about now (last week of December) a friend of mine (we were just 15) took our first VCRs and rented several movies (for the first time) and hooked them up so we could make crude copies and not have to pay $80 for them. I remember choosing three Bond films starting with this one, DAF and Octopussy. Those were the VHS releases done under the CBS/FOX label. Now, 30 years later its full circle as I've seen the best possible version of OHMSS on Blu-Ray. The detail is so incredible for the first time I could see the tears in Tracy's eyes at the beginning of the wedding (as well as Moneypenny's later!) and I also had fun freeze-framing when Bond is going through the documents in Gumbold's office to read the full text of the letters Blofeld has sent Gumbold and the College of Arms (somewhat surprisingly, they show that Blofeld was sending letters signing his own name, which is never suggested in the dialogue, I think because after these were prepared someone had to point out in light of previous films, Blofeld would NOT have been likely to be using his name at all in these areas). It's a reminder of the care that goes into a film when they will create full text letters that could only have been glimpsed briefly for a split second (TV does it cheaply with gibberish text under a headline related to the story). Freeze-framing also reveals what you can see of the centerfold in the magazine before Bond turns the corner to go the elevator!

-No matter what shortcomings one might point to in Lazenby's performance (and Blu-Ray vividness I have to confess makes his wet-behind the ears performance seem weaker than it has in previous viewings) it still can't change the fact that without him, we don't get Diana Rigg (people should stop thinking we were denied Connery-Rigg. If he'd done it, we'd have likely gotten an unknown) who is perfection. The brilliance of Rigg's performance is how there might be a moment when she evokes memories of Mrs. Peel, but never overtly enough to detract from the uniqueness she brings to the character of Tracy. I can't envision anyone else in the role. And I've said this before, but I can not buy Connery with his rough machismo that hit its uber-peak in "Thunderball" (to disquieting effect in one instance) being credible in the more tender moments. Ten years later maybe, but not the Connery of this era who had established himself too well in the Bond dynamic to be acceptable breaking form.

-Telly Savalas remains the best version of Blofeld realized on-screen of the three who showed themselves (you can say that Dawson's anonymous turns were probably the most effective).

-The only two plot holes from my perspective are that it's never made clear just *why* the doomed agent Campbell is needlessly calling attention to himself and risking easy capture by going up the mountain. Is he just trying to confirm Bond is still there and going about in his Hilary Bray disguise? I'll be checking back in Helfenstein's book to see if this was clearer in the draft. I also know about the partially filmed and scrapped plot point regarding the chase of the underling at the College but need a refresher on how that fit in.

-Also, one other plot point I couldn't help but think of at the ending. Bond should have been leading the authorities back to where Blofeld was still hanging from the tree after getting thrown from the bobsled! (unless I suppose he had to wait hours for help to come and meanwhile Blofeld came to with his bad neck and slipped away. Still, it showed a lack of efficiency on Bond's part. I guess maybe that close shot of Blofeld in the tree unconscious was meant to fool the audience that he was dead to shock them with the ending?).

[mkaroly]

A VIEW TO A KILL - 2/10. It is a shame the Roger Moore ended with this film, but I guess it had to end at some point, and it went out with a whimper. The Blu-Ray is fantastic in that all the locales are vivid and bright; John Barry's score is sneakingly better than I remembered...the available CD does not do the whole score justice. But the movie is just so sluggish and boring to me, as if everyone was going through the motions. It takes what seems like forever to get to the conclusion (and I also never cared for the usage of the Beach Boys' California Girls during the opening sequence). At any rate, Bond looks too old to be able to defeat the younger villains in this movie. Christopher Walken may have seemed like a good casting choice on paper, but his acting style makes his Zorin more cartoonish than psychotic. Grace Jones...I don't get it. And another thing that really annoyed me all these years about the film is the ease with which you could see that the stunt double wasn't Roger Moore. For me it breaks the illusion. Ultimately, the film needed energy and life, something that Moore was unable to bring to it at that point in time. He had a good run as Bond: LALD, TSWLM, MOONRAKER, and FYEO are all decent films to me where, despite my complaints, I felt Moore was at his best with what he did with the character.

[Monterey Jack]

Sadly, all of the longest-running, most popular Bond actors to date have gone out on a terrible, terrible movie (Diamonds Are Forever for Connery, A View To A Kill for Moore and the atrocious Die Another Day for Brosnan [spits])...one hopes that Daniel Craig will break this ignoble tradition whenever he hangs up the tux.

[Eric Paddon]

Agree on View To A Kill (Moore would have gone out on top after Octopussy since he IMO won the battle against Connery that year) but disagree on DAF and to a lesser extent DAD which I didn't dislike. Both IMO at least are fun to watch.

[AndyDursin]

Yeah Octopussy would have been a perfect exit for Moore. MJ and I have different tastes with Bond movies thats for sure. Personally I'd take Diamonds Are Forever over You Only Live Twice, Die Another Day over The World Is Not Enough, and even A View to a Kill -- pedestrian as it admittedly is -- over Man with the Golden Gun. So no I wouldn't agree.

[Monterey Jack]

DAF has a paunchy, greying, clearly bored Connery sleepwalking his way to an easy paycheck, not to mention some of the worst F/X in the series, a camp-riddled screenplay, the politically-incorrect Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint as a disturbingly dated element of the times, and not one really noteworthy action sequence. Plus, Jill St, John literally screwing her face up and saying the word "Yeeeeeee!" AVTAK has a mummified, withered Moore getting dominated in the sack by Grace Jones. And DAD is the only Bond movie that is not only lame, but literally makes me ANGRY when I watch it. They're my unholy trinity of rock-bottom 007 films.

[Eric Paddon]

DAF has its flaws. A foppish Blofeld in drag being the worst problem. OTOH, I Jill St. John I think is terrific and her entrance is my second favorite behind Ursula Andress's. Given how she'd been in one of the lousiest of Bond knockoffs, "The Liquidator", it was nice to see her get a chance at the real deal at the latest point in time when there was still room for a 60s bombshell in a Bond movie. The film is definitely transitional in nature by anticipating the shift in the 70s, but with the last chance to see some of the old 60s elements.

View To A Kill I won't disagree with. When you add a horrible Bond girl in Tanya Roberts, a worse #2 in Grace Jones AND a plot that recycles so much from "Goldfinger" right down the Mr. Solo demise set-up, you make for a lousy exit for Moore. I much prefer TMWGG to this, J.W. Pepper and all.

Maybe we should compare anger charts MJ to see if yours for DAD exceeds mine for LTK!