Now Watching

[GtrPlyr]

 

I finally saw this one after hearing about it for so many years.

 

"Warriors, come out to play-ayyyyy!"

[Sir Stewart]

What did you think? I watched it a few years ago and thought it held up pretty well. I remember there was quite a stink about glorified violence when that came out.

[aricandover]

Superbad

 

Eh.

 

I'm leaving my opinion at "eh" for now, as I'm not sure this is one of those movies everyone loves or everyone hates.

 

What does it matter if everyone loves it or hates it?

 

for the record, I loved it.

[Beltmann]

I was planning to make a trip for a sneak preview of Sweeney Todd tonight, but today's mountain of snow and sleet, which is still piling up with no end in sight, makes it unlikely. Bummer.

[tongue-tied]

That's a good'un. What'd you make it up to?

 

Sinatra got guard duty for taking too long to get dressed. I think that was the last thing I saw, got past the famous beach scene anyway. Hopefully it will make the rounds again on TV, but I'm getting Netflix soon anyway. Whichever comes first.

[Beltmann]

Finally got around to seeing A Mighty Heart. I've been beating the drum for Michael Winterbottom for many years, but while he's consistently one of the most interesting--and important--filmmakers alive, he still hasn't hit a home run. A Mighty Heart is like every other Winterbottom film: Visually aggressive, overflowing with ideas and anger, and in desperate need of a quality editor. Jolie's awesome, but the movie isn't fully shaped; in particular, the midsection grows redundant.

[LouieB]

Actually I am in the middle of watching (not right this minute) The Departed. Not sure it is a great film, but it is a great watch.

 

LouieB

[the_fliz1]

The Departed just kind of moves along until the last 15 to 20 minutes or so. The last quarter of the movie makes it all worthwhile. With out getting into too much detail, you are sitting there watching the movie sort of like ho-hum, ho-hum and just all of a sudden it's like...Whoa, what the fuck just happened.

 

I am currently watching the fluorescent lighting in my office because I have to sneeze and the shit will not happen.

[PigSooie]

I really enjoyed "The Departed"

[Sir Stewart]

Miracle on 34th Street with Sebastian Cabot, David (?!?) Hartman!?, Jane Alexander (yes!) and Roddy Freaking McDowell.

[napoleon]

alright seriously, what's the deal with blade runner.

 

i'm a big noir fan. and here lately i've been getting into alot of neo-noir.

 

harrison ford is pretty much my hero. i can watch all 3 indiana jones back to back to back to back to back for the rest of my life and be happy.

 

blade runner sounded so badass, but it was such a let down.

[the_fliz1]

alright seriously, what's the deal with blade runner.

 

i'm a big noir fan. and here lately i've been getting into alot of neo-noir.

 

harrison ford is pretty much my hero. i can watch all 3 indiana jones back to back to back to back to back for the rest of my life and be happy.

 

blade runner sounded so badass, but it was such a let down.

 

Blade Runner was the type of movie that in it's time was phenomenal. But if you watch it now you are just sort of like ehh. It is a lot like the original Dune movie. When that movie came out it was the shit. The visual and especially the sound effects kicked ass, the story line was great, good acting etc. Yet if you watch it now it just sort of comes off as a bit cheesy. After reading the book I have a hard time watching it just for storyline purposes, but that is for a whole other thread.

[GtrPlyr]

What did you think? I watched it a few years ago and thought it held up pretty well. I remember there was quite a stink about glorified violence when that came out.

Yeah, I remember hearing about the controversy; gang fights in theaters and that sort of thing. They eventually pulled the film from theaters.

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it does hold up after all these years. The violence is very stylized so I'm not sure what all the fuss was about. The film has a great pace to it and some great action sequences. The story was like a modern day Odyssey, but instead of Greece it's Coney Island . The only thing that really dates it is the music which relies heavily on synthesizers. Even then, it still added some interesting atmosphere to the film in places. I'd give this one a definite thumbs up.

[watch me fall]

We saw No Country for Old Men last night. Very good movie, if you can get past all the blood. Tommy Lee Jones is such a good actor and Javier Bardem was most excellent. So was Josh Brolin. It was a very well acted movie.

[Beltmann]

 

Nine-year-old Anna tries to understand why her parents have turned their home life upside down in order to become political radicals in Paris in the Seventies. What I liked most is how the story is told, with steadfast consistency, from the young girl's point-of-view; in specific terms, it's a movie about how a child tries to navigate the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of political conviction, but in general terms, it's a movie about every childhood.

[mountain bed]

Best of Chris Farley on NBC. He was no John Belushi, but still...the guy cracks me up.

[Beltmann]

 

All the best bits of business emerge from the movie's singular, absurdist tone--I laughed a lot, and had to immediately rewind the "cool beans" scene to watch it again.

[Reni]

I thought Dune was horrible when it came out - and it's even worse now. My daughter LOVED that movie when she was 10.....strange kid.

[Beltmann]

I thought Dune was horrible when it came out - and it's even worse now.

I agree. Unwatchable.

[PigSooie]

I'm watching that documentary on the "F" word.

[hollow]

Superbad

 

Eh.

 

I'm leaving my opinion at "eh" for now, as I'm not sure this is one of those movies everyone loves or everyone hates.

 

Saw Superbad this past weekend, and I thought it was great. I thought the drawings were hilarious!

[Sir Stewart]

Finished season 4 of The Wire. Damn.

[Analogman]

Blade Runner was the type of movie that in it's time was phenomenal. But if you watch it now you are just sort of like ehh. It is a lot like the original Dune movie. When that movie came out it was the shit. The visual and especially the sound effects kicked ass, the story line was great, good acting etc. Yet if you watch it now it just sort of comes off as a bit cheesy. After reading the book I have a hard time watching it just for storyline purposes, but that is for a whole other thread.

 

The long-anticipated DVD event of the year is finally here and, after years of hype and expectation, Blade Runner: Final Cut doesn't just live up to expectations, it shatters them to become one of the best home market releases to date. It's no exaggeration to say that this is a must-have for movie fans. It's one of the DVDs you grab first when the house is on fire. It's the kind of collection that you could literally spend an entire day with and never once tire of the film, the people who made it, or the incredible collection of extras spread across five discs on the Ultimate Collector's Edition. Available in three versions - 2-disc, 4-disc, and the Ultimate 5-disc, Blade Runner: Final Cut really is the definitive edition of one of the most influential films ever made.

 

Disc One: One of the best experiences I had in a theater this year was being lucky enough to see the new version of Blade Runner digitally projected in Chicago. Check out the Final Cut review for some specific information on the differences between previous versions and this one. A great movie, one of the most influential on me personally, has been turned into an undeniable masterpiece. Of course, the first thing I wanted to check out upon opening the Final Cut DVD was the picture and sound quality to see how it compared. It's absolutely incredible. From the first breathtaking shot, the video and audio on this version of Blade Runner, the one that Ridley Scott thinks is the best, is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Scott himself introduces the film and offers one of three commentary tracks. The second audio track is by executive producer/co-screenwriter Hampton Fancher, co-screenwriter David Peoples, producer Michael Deely, and production executive Katherine Haber and the third features visual futurist Syd Mead, production designer Lawrence G. Paull, art director David L. Snyder and special effects supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich, and David Dryer. As you can guess, each track offers something different with the writers and producers having a much different story to tell than the technical team or Scott himself. A cast track would have been nice, but everyone returns later in the set, so it might have felt repetitive.

 

Disc Two: If this disc was the only one in the set, we would still recommend this package. That's because Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner is one of the best documentaries on filmmaking we've seen in years. To call it 'feature-length' would be inaccurate because you don't see a lot of features that are over 210 minutes long. Covering every aspect of the film from its origins through early storyboards and screenplay drafts to the controversial post-production and poor initial reception, Dangerous Days is fascinating. Everyone involved in the production of the film, including Harrison Ford, Ridley Scott, Sean Young, and, well, everyone else shows up for interviews through every stage of the filmmaking process. The documentary even expands to people who were inspired by Blade Runner, featuring interviews with Guillermo Del Toro and Frank Darabont. And the trivia for you hardcore Blade fans is stunning. Check out storyboards of never-shot opening scenes (with a Deckard that looks a lot like the almost-cast Dustin Hoffman) and listen to Ford record unused narration that even he never thought would be used and that's just the beginning. It's an amazing documentary.

 

Disc Three: Here's where the set gets a little bit for the hardcore fan only, which is why Warner Brothers released a two-disc version with just the new cut and the great documentary. For me, the Final Cut is probably the only version of Blade Runner I'll revisit over the years but if you want to see the previous incarnations, the third disc of the set includes three different versions seamlessly branched or separately available and remastered. Each version is introduced by Ridley Scott and they've all been gorgeously restored. Now, you can watch and compare the 1982 theatrical version (complete with the narration and the horrible happy ending), the international version from that same year that included some extended action sequences, and the 1992 director's cut that had been the ultimate version of Blade Runner until this year.

 

Disc Four: The "Enhancement Archive" includes more than a dozen segments on various elements of the production, including a lot of material that has never been seen before. Where do we begin? This is the stuff that digs even deeper than the three-and-a-half hour Dangerous Days, if you can believe that's possible. You can listen to audio interviews with Philip K. Dick, watch screen tests for Rachel and Pris, check out deleted and alternate scenes, experience all the trailers and TV spots, and a lot more. Much of what's on disc four is glimpsed on disc two, but with the archive you can take your time and get even more detail.

 

Disc Five: Only the Ultimate Collector's Edition, which comes in a numbered steel case that resembles Deckard's briefcase includes the fifth disc, contains the legendary workprint cut. This was the first cut of Blade Runner ever assembled and shown to test audiences and is the most radically different of all the versions available. It includes an altered opening sequence, no Deckard narration until the end, no unicorn scene, no happy ending, different lines between Batty and Tyrell, alternate/temp music, and more. It's a curiosity, but also a rough cut and the kind of thing that you'll probably watch once just to make your Blade Runner history complete, but you're unlikely to return to. This disc also contains an introduction by Ridley Scott, a commentary by Paul M. Sammon (the author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner) and a featurette called "All Our Variant Futures: From Workprint to Final Cut."

 

Blade Runner is one of the best sci-fi films ever made and it finally gets the long-planned DVD treatment it deserves with The Final Cut. It might sound like hyperbole, but this is truly one of the best DVD purchases you can make. Warner Brothers have taken the entire history of this controversial and influential film and laid it out for the fans over a weekend's worth of content. Spend even a little time with the Final Cut and you won't look at other supposedly "ultimate" editions the same way again.

[the carlos]

Finished season 4 of The Wire. Damn.

werd

[PigSooie]

So, The Wire is a good show?