Movies you've recently watched

[Josephus]

Saw Paschendale last night.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1092082/

I thought you WW1 grognards would love it.
Certainly the battle sequences are realistic and very well done. Lots of mud, decapitated bodies and mice comining out of dead soldiers's mouths.
But, alas, there's a whole hour of Home Front boredom, set in Calgary, no less; in between the good battles scenes.

I'd recommend it just for the battle scenes.

10000 dead Canadians out of 60 000

[BuddhaRhubarb]

Watched The Wrestler, and Frost Nixon as a double bill.

Wrestler was easily Aronofsky's proof that he can make an appealing to most people Hollywood movie (with a dash or vibe of Indie spirit mind you.) Rourke gave one of those great performances he can wriggle out when he wants to. As always Marisa Tomei is a convincing stripper. The wrestling was old-school and fun. quality film making right there all round.

9.11111 Ramjams coming at you from the top rope outta 10

Frost Nixon took some time to get going imho but was a film all about performance. fine turns from Langella and Sheen as well as the smaller roles... Rebecca Hall who I loved in Vicky Christina Barcelona has a great time as Caroline Cushing. Almost makes me want to go back and watch the actual interviews.

8 drunk Nixons monologging ala Dr. Doom over the phone outta 10

[Admiral Yi]

The original Munchhausen.  I was surprised that Germany made a movie at all in 1943, let alone a color (didn't look colorized), boob-laden fantasy.

[The Brain]

The original Munchhausen.  I was surprised that Germany made a movie at all in 1943, let alone a color (didn't look colorized), boob-laden fantasy.

Making it was a good choice I think. Escapism was sorely needed. I haven't seen that movie in years but it rocks.

[Syt]

The original Munchhausen.  I was surprised that Germany made a movie at all in 1943, let alone a color (didn't look colorized), boob-laden fantasy.

Yes, it's a colour movie, and it's a pretty good one (they show it now and then on tv). Hans Albers FTW. He made the movie back to back with "Große Freiheit Nr. 7" (a drama taking place in the sailor bar scene in Hamnburg); his rendition of "La Paloma" being famous to this day, and a folk hymn of Hamburg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOInn_N5hLw
together with "Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb ein" (from the 1954 movie of the same name):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07hn4uXJ-tQ&NR=1

The biggest movie of the Nazi era, "Kolberg" was finished in 1945 and premiered in Berlin on January 30th, 1945:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolberg_(film)

[Syt]

More about Münchhausen:

Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels ordered the production of Münchhausen in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Ufa film studio which released it. A banned author, Erich Kästner, wrote much of the film's screenplay. However, the pseudonym Kästner wrote under, "Berthold Bürger" (Bürger means "citizen", but also refers to one of the writers who made the Münchhausen tales popular), was left out of the credits. Maybe it slipped from the censor's attention or it was left in the movie for good, there is one surprisingly clear political statement of Kästner to be heard in the film: on the moon, where Münchhausen experiences a quite weird time warp, he realizes "Nicht meine Uhr ist kaputt, die Zeit ist kaputt!" ("My watch is not broken, it's the times that are broken").

Some of the film's footage was long thought to be missing. In March 1943 on release the film was 134 minutes long. Over the years the length of the film gradually decreased until the 1954 version, which was 101 minutes long (with the generally screened version being a mere 88 minutes). Today a 114-minute version exists in the Murnau Foundation. Only after the peaceful revolution in the east of Europe could a complete version be restored.

Münchhausen was the third feature film made in Germany using the new Agfacolor negative-positive material.

[Martinus]

I'm down with flu, so have been watching all episodes of "North & South". It's a great tv series. 

[Valmy]

I'm down with flu, so have been watching all episodes of "North & South". It's a great tv series. 

Now you can post in topics hijacked by the American Civil War with a firm foundation in historical knowledge.

[Neil]

I'm down with flu, so have been watching all episodes of "North & South". It's a great tv series. 

Now you can post in topics hijacked by the American Civil War with a firm foundation in historical knowledge.

[Syt]

I'm down with flu, so have been watching all episodes of "North & South". It's a great tv series. 

I found that they had surprisingly the chronology largely right.

[Alatriste]

The original Munchhausen.  I was surprised that Germany made a movie at all in 1943, let alone a color (didn't look colorized), boob-laden fantasy.

Yes, it's a colour movie, and it's a pretty good one (they show it now and then on tv). Hans Albers FTW. He made the movie back to back with "Große Freiheit Nr. 7" (a drama taking place in the sailor bar scene in Hamnburg); his rendition of "La Paloma" being famous to this day, and a folk hymn of Hamburg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOInn_N5hLw
together with "Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb ein" (from the 1954 movie of the same name):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07hn4uXJ-tQ&NR=1

The biggest movie of the Nazi era, "Kolberg" was finished in 1945 and premiered in Berlin on January 30th, 1945:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolberg_(film)

IIRC you can hear 'La Paloma' in the background in 'Das Boot'... an homage to "Große Freiheit Nr. 7"? [some seconds of Google later: confirmed, 'La Paloma' is played in 'Das Boot']

[HisMajestyBOB]

The original Munchhausen.  I was surprised that Germany made a movie at all in 1943, let alone a color (didn't look colorized), boob-laden fantasy.

That's a cool film. I watched it as part of a "German Cinema pre-1945" course in college. Possibly one of the best courses I ever took.

New films I've seen recently:
The Host (korean film) - funny yet sometimes touching monster movie. Vaguely like Cloverfield, as it focuses on just one group of people affected by the monster (one family, in this case), but much better and more interesting, IMO.
Das Boot - actually I've only gotten through half so far. Good movie, but I really don't like the hair styles of most of the crew. It's too 70s. It really bothers me.
Watchmen in theaters - I read the comic book before seeing it, and I found it pretty good and rather faithful in the ways that matter.

[FunkMonk]

Saw Threads for the first time today. jesus 

[Ed Anger]

Saw Threads for the first time today. jesus 

[FunkMonk]

Saw Threads for the first time today. jesus 

Went into work today super depressed.