TV/Movies Megathread

[dps]

I like Alien 3, you're an idiot Ide.

Alien 3 is not as bad as its reputation, but it's very much a step down for the franchise.

[Admiral Yi]

4 is every bit as bad as its reputation.

[Ideologue]

Hmm, looks like I missed the run of Rififi.   Though it's starting to sound like I'm too much on the repertory end of the film appreciation spectrum, so perhaps it's for the best.

Missed Horse Money too, though.   So which should I aspire to see this weekend: Black Mass or Straight Outta CompUSA?

If it's around, go check out 99 Homes and tell me what you think.

It's not playing here.  Big city, my ass.

P.S.: I own Rififi.  It's pretty swell.  Although it's terribly misogynist.

[Capetan Mihali]

Oh, Du rififi chez les hommes (let's just be fully pretentious) is a favorite -- and I'm not sure I agree that it's actually misogynistic, despite (because of..?) the fact that it depicts male violence against women very graphically -- I just wanted to see it in a theater.

In any event, I ended up with a compromise seeing Grandma this evening and wasn't impressed.  I suspect much of the good press was due to the fact that many movie critics are, like me, great fans of Lily Tomlin and happy to see her in a starring role for the first time in 25+ years.  LT's acting is wonderful, of course, but most every other element of the movie is mediocre.

[Admiral Yi]

Just watched Unbroken, US airman spends time in Nip POW camps.

I thought this was worse S&M porn than Passion of the Christ.  It's just two hours of the protagonist getting the shit beaten out of him.

[The Brain]

Like Ide for his movie opinions.

[Josephus]

Just watched Unbroken, US airman spends time in Nip POW camps.

I thought this was worse S&M porn than Passion of the Christ.  It's just two hours of the protagonist getting the shit beaten out of him.

This is what I said a couple weeks ago:

Speaking of the Coen Brothers, I saw Unbroken just now. (yes, they are listed in the screenwriters credits).

it was pretty good, if a bit too long...had a bit of everything...part Chariots of Fire, part Jaws, part Bridge on the River Kwai, part Passion of the Christ

[viper37]

4 is every bit as bad as its reputation.

Which one has a "resurected" Ripley? 3 or 4?

[dps]

4 is every bit as bad as its reputation.

Which one has a "resurected" Ripley? 3 or 4?

The fourth one.  The title isn't actually Alien 4, it's Alien Resurrection, which kind of is a clue.

[Martinus]

Just watched Capote. Good movie.

[Ideologue]

Like Ide for his movie opinions.

It is accomplished!

[Ideologue]

Oh, Du rififi chez les hommes (let's just be fully pretentious) is a favorite -- and I'm not sure I agree that it's actually misogynistic, despite (because of..?) the fact that it depicts male violence against women very graphically -- I just wanted to see it in a theater.

I was on that fence too when I reviewed it, but ultimately I came down on the "actually misogynistic" side.  It has a musical number about how getting slapped around is what bitches secretly want, and it never stops worshiping at the altar of Tony's tubercular coolness.  (Julian Dassin was in a bind with the source material, as I understand it, and the movie is extremely toned down.)

[Tonitrus]

Caught up on the last few weeks of Fear the WD...

[spoiler]So far, it's staying at a pretty weak level...and most of the characters are pretty lame.  But most new shows don't start off well, so still giving it some time.[/spoiler]

[Ideologue]

Netflix Instant sucks, exhibit Z: they have a grand total of 18 silent films, and 2 of them are alternate versions of A Trip to the fucking Moon.  And it's soon to be 17, I imagine: happily, I caught Mark of Zorro three days before they lost it.  It was the only Fairbanks movie they have left.  Thief of Bagdad (which, luckily, I own) is gone; so's The Doll and The Hands of Orloc.

I guess there's not much of a market for them but honestly I can't imagine there's much of a market for 90% of the shit on Netflix Instant, and at least one supposes silent films are cheap to acquire.

Speaking of cheap, I watched Robin Hood (1922) on Amazon Prime.  It's already a pretty direly misconceived film (the name "Robin Hood" first appears at one hour and seven minutes into the movie, and Douglas Fairbanks doesn't start climbing on shit for several more minutes still), but what was even worse was the awful public domain ragtime score.  You know what goes just swell with a 12th century period piece, particularly scenes of a knight being thrown into a dungeon, or of a lady-in-waiting tortured by a would-be usurper prince seeking information?  Scott Joplin.

[lustindarkness]

Caught up on the last few weeks of Fear the WD...

We learned quite a bit of the characters yesterday. Some good stuff. The show is still holding me .