TV/Movies Megathread

[Martinus]

Love "Bram Stoker's Dracula". Amazing soundtrack as well.

Yeah, love it. It was written by a Polish guy who died last year.

[The Larch]

Love "Bram Stoker's Dracula". Amazing soundtrack as well.

Yeah, love it. It was written by a Polish guy who died last year.

Wojiech Kilar (sp?), yes. I bought the soundtrack Cd as soon as I could and we use it as background music for "scary" and vampire themed games. It's great. 

[mongers]

'Elysium ' - moderately OK entertainment. 

Slightly disappointed in the Jodie Foster character not being more kick-ass, but man was she channeling Christine Lagarde in her portrayal.

[The Brain]

Guns of Navarone is on TV.

The MAD Magazine version.

[mongers]

Is the first 'Captain America' film worth a viewing?

[Ideologue]

Barely.

Hands Off the Loot (1954).  Not really a heist movie, though the hostage plot informs Rififi a year later; though a heist is involved, it happens before the story begins, and is never shown.  Somewhat falsely advertised in the literature, then.  It's just a very cold French film noir, not great, not bad.  B

Rushmore (199-something, maybe 2000).  Maybe I had to be a bit older to appreciate it, but I no longer think that anyone whose favorite Wes Anderson movie is Rushmore is an idiot.  At least, not for that reason.  A+

Dial M For Murder (1954).  It's no Rope, but what is?  Nonetheless Hitchcock's second best film, probably.  Way better than Vertigo, anyway.  A+

Destroy All Monsters (1968).  This sucks but I bought it and I can't unbuy it now.   I feel like I'm taking crazy pills when I see this routinely considered as one of the highlights of the Godzilla Showa series.  So boring.  Even the vaunted monster battle (of which there is one), while not bad, is one-sided since it's Ghidorah vs. Everyone Else and just two of those Everyone Else's had already taken him down three years before in Invasion of Astro-Monster.  D+

Manchurian Candidate (1964).  A fantastic, groundbreaking, almost perfect psychological thriller/political satire that does its level best to fuck itself up via unnecessary, clumsy plot mechanics, which seem to exclusively take the form of actions or befuddling inactions by the character the film seems delusionally convinced is its protagonist.  And Janet Leigh as some kind of pityfucking angel doesn't help.  In case I don't get to a full review of this, the title was going to be "If the Pentagon wants to open a Stupidity Division, I think we all know who they can get to lead it."  A

[Ideologue]

Oh, right.  Double Indemnity (1945).  Like Dial M, also about a perfect murder.  Also pretty perfect.  But not quite as self-consciously delightful in its own wickedness.  A+

[Josquius]

Is the first 'Captain America' film worth a viewing?

The first half is pretty great. It then trails off.

[mongers]

Barely.
....

[Admiral Yi]

Ide: i can't believe there was a time you didn't like Rushmore. 

[CountDeMoney]

Ide: i can't believe there was a time you didn't like Rushmore. 

Film is wasted on the young.

[celedhring]

Love "Bram Stoker's Dracula". Amazing soundtrack as well.

Yeah, love it. It was written by a Polish guy who died last year.

Wojiech Kilar (sp?), yes. I bought the soundtrack Cd as soon as I could and we use it as background music for "scary" and vampire themed games. It's great. 

He also wrote the soundtrack for The Ninth Gate, which is also awesome (the soundtrack, not the film).

[Scipio]

Is the first 'Captain America' film worth a viewing?

The first half is maybe the best Marvel movie ever. The second half is easily the worst.

[Martinus]

Love "Bram Stoker's Dracula". Amazing soundtrack as well.

Yeah, love it. It was written by a Polish guy who died last year.

Wojiech Kilar (sp?), yes. I bought the soundtrack Cd as soon as I could and we use it as background music for "scary" and vampire themed games. It's great. 

Hehe, same. I spent countless hours playing Vampire the Masquerade with this music.

My favourite piece was, I think, called "The Brides" and is this rondeau piece repeating a theme from an old Russian/gypsy romance, each time more strongly. 

[Martinus]

Fun fact about the composer (Wojciech Kilar) - in Poland he is probably best known for a polonaise he wrote for a movie adaptation of the most cheerished Polish romantic poem epic ("Pan Tadeusz"). Polish prom balls are traditionally opened with a polonaise and there is a particular one, written in the 19th century, that used to be almost always played - but ever since that movie, Kilar's piece all but replaced the old one.

Here is the piece:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ0fkOQ8-Wc