Tomes and Illusions · Legacy archive
What DVDs/ Video are you watching
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Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#41recently watched:
Unleashed - not as much action as i thought would be in it. the relationship between Jet Li and the girl was wierd, it was like a brother/sister thing that kept boarderlining "I want to pin you down and make out with you." wich was slightly disturbing. the premise of training humans was very interesting though.
Nacho Libre - I have heard a lot of people say this movie sucked, i myself enjoyed it. the movie is not ment to be good, it's like the ugly girl at school with the inner beauty type of thing. It about a person dedicated to being good and great at the same time and puts a different twist on the whole, somebody makes a lot of cash, loses sight of what is important and buys expensive clothing and then realizes what is truly important in life.
High Plains Drifter - classic clint eastwood cowboy movie, still don't understand how he dosen't get shot in the bath tub.
West Side Story - any foul words said about this movie will cause the movie gods to smite you down.
Last Man Standing - bruce willis playing both sides in a gang war in this dusty little town of Jericho. His character is well thought out, has motivation in life (money) has a weakness/tragic flaw and is intelligent. some parts of the movie are confusing but i was half asleep so i missed some parts.
Over the Hedge - they really need to stop making cg movies with nothing but talking animals, seriously, the idea is worn out, stop beating the talking dead horse already. it was cute in a disney way but it's all been done before by the same company, with the same look to all the animals. There was a time when disney films centered around a human, and not animals who think they're human. I'd like to see a sci-fi or fantasy based cg kids film. lets get out of the today environment, go back in time or forward, the present is old. lets stick some castles or spaceships in thes movies, lets properly educate our children. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#42Yeah, there's something seriously wrong with me.
Session 9 - Fairly creepy movie, about a somewhat haunted abandoned asylum. Pretty messed up.
Saw - Good if you like gruesome horror and psychological torture (well, and physical torture too), which... I do, so yeah, I liked it.
The Omen - Evil children! Whee! Evil children and hell hounds and demon nannies! A classic, if you're into horror.
The Devil's Backbone - An early Guillarmo del Torro movie, which, of course, means it's excellent. In Spanish, with subtitles. It's set in an orphanage during the Spanish Civil War, and involves hidden treasure, ghosts, and a madman with a shotgun.
Ninja Turtles - The movies and the original animated series (Blockbuster is my friend). I can't help it, I like it. Although the animated series is very childish.
The Last Unicorn - I finally found a copy of this on DVD. *does happy dance* It's theoretically a children's movie, but it's a very good fantasy, and has some pretty mature themes.
Care Bears the Movie - I like kiddie movies, I can't help it. And this was one of the best movies of the series.
Keep in mind, I watched all of these in the same week and a half, often following horror with kiddie movies, or the other way round.
Something seriously wrong with me.
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Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#43The Devil's Backbone was sublime!!!!! -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#44Transformers: The Movie - 20th anniversary edition, thank god i can watch it on DVD now, my VHS tape is about dead, and there is lots of static and white noise on the screen when Unicron is eating the first planet.
Neon Genesis Evangelion - the series and the Movie...wow...it's just wow. I love the characters and the way things play out is like a car crash, you can't stop watching no matter how bad it gets for the characters. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#45The Jack of All Trades: Volume I and II
God I love Netflix. This is the perfect saturday afternoon fare. Admusing and mindless, but with occasional high points. And did I mention Bruce Campbell? Now set your tongue in your cheek and.,.... sing with me...
"In 1801, the Revolution had been won, and Uncle Sam's favorite son, had a job that needed done.
Which brought Jack to a lady, both beautiful and smart. Who found his mix intriguing, a scoundrel with a heart!
From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli There was never a leatherneck braver, a daring dragoon is he! He'll halt the bold advance of Napoleon's attack There ain't a French or Pirate rogue Who Don't Know Jack!
From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli Sailin' 'round the bloody world to defend democracy. And if ya' think a better man ya'd trust ta watch yer' back, just ask the bloke right next ta ya' (damn right!) It's Jack!"
These...enthusiastic lyrics (accompanied by dancing soldiers and bar patrons including a dancing solo by a peglegged bar patrons and a talking parrot) kicked off each episode of Jack of All Trades . It sort of sets the tone.
American spy Jack Stiles is sent by Thomas Jefferson to the tiny East Indies island of Palau-Palau where he teams up with British agent and inventor Emilia Rothschild to thwart the efforts of Napoleon and France in that region of the world. While acting as Emilia's man-servant, Jack dons the masked garb of the legendary Daring Dragoon and fights the local French Governor as well as thwarting various other schemes against America.
This series starring cult-favorite Bruce Campbell and produced by Sam Raimi combined various factors from both of their series: the use of a historical setting (sorta) and quirky humor that Raimi had made famous with Hercules and Xena, a mix of The Wild Wild West Jules Verne-style tech that was used in Campbell's The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., and the wild stunts that were seen in all of these shows. Airing back to back in syndication with another Raimi production, Cleopatra 2525, Jack... lasted two years.
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Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#46Seen lots of movies, actually. Whole series even, oh what a mass time I have spent on that. Now only one:
Lady in the Water (2006)
An M. Night Shyamalan movie, it needs to be said. It has some bads, but if you are willing to ignore them, you will get a pretty dose of atmosphere in return. Also comes with a neat evil creature, and fantasy in the modern world is always a plus. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#47Seen that movie too. Average-ish if you ask me. Night Shyamalan has a decent imagination and all. He made me like the movie somewhat, which is astounding considering the plot. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#48Ladyhawke for the seventh time. Still one of the best fantasy films made. Of course, the field of good fantasy films is not that crowded, but still.
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Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#49I've always liked Ladyhawke, but the music.... What were they thinking? It's got to be some of the most inapproriate movie music I've ever heard.
The armor's goofy, too, but the starring actors were so good, I forgave the filmmakers that one. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#50Why does everyone assume a fantasy film needs to have psuedo medieval recorder and lute music as its sound track?
Does everything fantasy have to be pigeonholed? -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#51In no particular order-
Ghostbusters 1&2 - I've been watching this increasingly. I have a probably unhealthy fascination with it; I can and have watch it over and over again in the course of a single day.
The second season of Fraggle Rock - This supports my theory that kid's entertainment has gone downhill; I don't think there's ever been anything as good as the stuff that came out of the eighties.
Clue - I love this movie so very, very much.
H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon - Really, it's The Shadow Over Innsmouth, but that's okay. Really good, for a film adaptation of Lovecraft. (That means that there's an unneccessary sexual element added in to make it socially acceptable, but reasonably accurate otherwise.) I actually really like the way they did the Deep Ones.
The Pit and the Pendulum - I was on a Vincent Price kick, it was fun.
The House on Haunted Hill - ditto
The Bat - ditto, and is almost unique in being a fifties-era horror movie with a strong female lead who was not useless, and was, in fact, very cool and rather snarky.
Hatari! - Kind of an odd John Wayne movie. Focuses on big game hunters in Africa who capture animals for zoos. The Charge of the Baby Elephants alone makes it worthwhile.
Mirrormask - This proves that there is nothing the Jim Henson Co. can be involved in that is not good. Putting them and Neil Gaiman together... wow.
The Last Unicorn - Such an old movie, the backgrounds have grain. But it's sooo good, and I wish I could find the soundtrack. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#52I've got it -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#53
Why does everyone assume a fantasy film needs to have psuedo medieval recorder and lute music as its sound track?
Does everything fantasy have to be pigeonholed?
Actually, I vastly prefer pseudo-Wagnerian orchestral compostions as background music in my fantasy films. While medieval music has it's virtues, it fails to work as backround music. I may be predictable, but I know what I like.
Of course, since the hacks that rule Hollywood wouldn't know good medieval music if you hit them with a set of Flemish pipes, any hope of music that is both "medieval" and "good" is slim.
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Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#54
I've got it
The Last Unicorn Soundtrack? Really? Where did you find it? -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#55Napster, about 8 years ago. The soundtrack was done exclusively, or almost exclusively by a band called Orange Dream. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#56I just watched Mission Impossible III (or is it 3?). It was basically the same thing as MI:2 - plenty of action, a few witty quotes here and there, completely unbelievable storyline. I'm usually willing to suspend disbelief at even the most ridiculous of plots, but this one was just too hard to swallow. Didn't help that it became unnecessarily political. Tom's acting skills are waning. He should stick to channelling Xenu. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#57(On soundtrack) I thought it was done by the band America... that's what the cover says, anyway. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#58Watched Deliverance (1972) - "Squeal like a pig! Honk like a hog!"
It was decent. Rarely do that old movies stay good, but the storytelling of some of the old ones are so good, they keep on shining long after they were filmed.
Then "Howl's Moving Castle". I loved it! It is recommended! -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#59Family brought Deliverance with them when they came last time. They never saw it all the way through and everybody quotes the pig and the banjos so they had to see it. They liked it.
We have been watching the TV series "Lost" lately.
First season was good. Took a little to get into it and then kept us entertained. Second season basically sucks though. The characters are getting a little one-dimensional with their same way of acting during every situation it seems. Takes away a lot when you can predict character's reactions...for the most part anyway.
Watched another series a few months ago, "Freaks and Geeks." Another series that lasted only one season. If you want to relive all the pain and embarassment of High School, this is a good one for you. We liked it a lot. A lot of cringing watching them do some of the typical High School things. -
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#60After watching Howl's Moving Castle I decided to watch Spirited Away!
Two thumbs up! -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#61Seen "Rome", the first season of a TV series an HBO and BBC production, and the production definitely stands out. It was the express desire of the creators to create an authentic Rome with the lifestyle and darn, they did it pretty well! There's plenty of interesting characters and intrigue, and the history is pretty solid (the deviations are well documented, if you want to know them).
Overall, it is a very good series. (Friendly warning on some 'mature content' though, this is no history for kids.) -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#62I've wasted way too much time on movies and stuff recently. Here are some of them:
Yojimbo from Akira Kurosawa - I can see now why is it called a classic. Too bad I have seen Last Man Standing before (a very close remake), the story held little surprise for me. Still very enjoyable, though.
Conan the Barbarian - finally in the original. Used to the German dubbed version, I was was a little disappointed by the voices. Still okay, Arnie makes the barbarian believable (really! :) ), Thulsa Doom should get his own fanclub, and the music is just the right amount of epic. One hilarious detail that I learned from the docu: the vulture Conan/Arnie has bitten at one moment was a genuine one, dead from unknown causes. No comment.
The Life of David Gale - I knew what the plot was about, and it still annoyed me at the end. People killing to prove killing is wrong drives up my Arrrggghhh way too much. Enough said.
Der Himmel Uber Berlin - now here is a great old cinematic piece. Go see it, you'll like it.
Garden State - it seemed to suck at the beginning, but eventually got better as Natalie Portman showed up. Turned out quite good.
God of Cookery - am not sure if I want see more from the author. Had some funny and bizzare moments, but sometimes it was too much.
Pan's Labyrinth - this is actually good fantasy! It has definite fairy-tales qualities (not those for kids though, it is quite dark), but is strongly rooted in reality. It had some predictable things, but I repeat: it is good (and recent) fantasy. Give it a try.
Perfume, the story of a murderer - it reminded me of one of my items, and I wasn't happy. Go watch if you need a serial killer for the Victorian period, or an alternative insight into the times. The exploration of the sense of smell might be even used for some rpg stuff. Or steal the whole plot.
Predator - seen already a few times, and may see it someday again. It's not that great, just gets you thinking of the ways particular races of aliens may develop. In a spacey setting, you really should have such a race available.
The Pursuit of Happyness - I've learned from the net that they concentrated the suffering of the main character into a short time period, and it was in fact ridiculous in places. However, if you like stories where a nobody becomes a somebody with hard work and against all odds, there you have one. Will Smith does it well. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#63recently (in the past two weeks) watched:
Labyrinth - awesome movie, I watch it over and over
Family Guy volume 4 - Lois: "Paladins can't use the helm of disintegration!"
Point Break - Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swazey surfing and robbing banks. a whole lotta fun!
Kingpin - it's about an ex-bowling champion who loses his hand and tries to make a Mormon man into the next champion. it's a weird movie
Pink Floyd's The Wall - eh, I've always liked this one, though i can't watch the part where Pink is shaving his chest.
V for Vendetta - yeah, I watch this movie a lot
The sound of Music - I've liked this movie since I was three years old. The most original love story of it's time. It's got nuns and Nazis and wicked little children. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#64I like the quick lists.
Fahrenheit 451 - Stick with the book 2 stars
Killing Zoe - crazy french druggies rob a bank and kill most everyone and get killed themselves. The American lives. :) 3.5 stars.
The Usual Suspects - Saw it for the first time and loved it. Heist with a twist. 5
Sanjuro - Akira Kurosawa - Way better than Yojimbo wich I saw right before it. Hidden Fortress of course and The Seven Samurai is on the way. Love them all!
The Mouse That Roared - X small country attacks the US during a air raid drill and think they conquered it. Pretty darn fun. 4
Lucky Slevin - This is my style of movie. Witty and interesting. 5
Only saw parts of Vendetta and it confused the hell out of me. Never got around to renting it. Same with Miami Vice which looked very stupid. Point Break is an old favorite. Bank robbery/heists are some of my favorites. Kingpin = YES!
Perfume sounds worth watching to me, if just for the atmosphere of it. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#65Recently only three
Ben 10 Season 1. Who says cartoons are for kids.
Ladyhawke: Classic
Riverworld: Not a bad job really.
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Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#66Dagon - I don't know where the hell I got the idea to rent this "horror" film but UGH! Lovecraft and all that and it is always good to hear the IA Cthulhu chant but not worth it. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#67You might have gotten the idea from me, I posted something about it. I like the movie, but I can also see why you might not want to spend the money to rent it. I bought it used for a couple of bucks, so it wasn't a huge investment for me.
The Fog - The original, haven't seen the remake. Such a good movie.
Dune - Also the original. I love it so, and the sandworms are always awesome. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#68Eragon:
*Painful whimper*
This fantasy dragon-ryder movie was a joke. It is basically your "Young, white hero meets female voiced dragon and battles sinister and ugly foes" film. The acting was horrible, except that of Malkovich, which was clearly sarcastic :D, and, well, Jeremy Irons tried at least.
Still... I am a sucker for anything fantasy so it kept me somewhat amused for the duration. 2/5 flames. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#69I found it merely average fantasy fare. It is mildly entertaining.
However, it is worse if you read the book. This movie falls under the category of "movies vaguely based upon the plots, using some of the same character names" category.
I found the cinematorgraphy quite good and I did like the way they decided to the "non humans". That is to say, as humans with distinct looks. But the movie is your standard boring fantasy fare other than that.
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Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#70hehe, we're all watching the same thing.
My nephew made us rent it over the weekend while we were baby sitting him. My one year old, who was watching with us, summed it up best however, when he said...."Ka-Ka" -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#71Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
I laughed until I hurt and then I laughed some more. Cohen has absolutely huge balls to make a movie like this. Verry Niiice!
The Prestige
Great cast, good acting, Michael Caine is great in anything! Gotta love stage magic rivalries that involve massive inverted tesla coils.
Man of the Year
Appy rented it, haven't watched it. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#72Borat was hysterical, I peed myself! -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#73Muro, I knew you were old, but don't tell me we have to start putting you in diapers. ;) -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#74Well, that Depends (pa-rum-pum)
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Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#75Primer
Ummm. errrrrr. I need to watch it a couple more times. I probably picked a bad time to watch it (2am) so I might not have been at the top of my game. But it is a very interesting, twisting movie that I am not sure I fully understood. It did make me immediately think of The Prestige with the premise of it all. Wierd. Watching again. I think I like it.
The Guardian
Yeah, well, it really didn't suck. I guess just chalk it up to your generic action/adventure/training type movie it was well worth the time spent watching it. Won't become a favorite though.
Man of the Year
I liked this one quite a bit actually. A pretty bold statement about politics that I entirely agree with. It is all an illusion of choice. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#76yeah, Primer is like that. What impressed me most, is not their brand of time-travelling science (though it was certainly a NEW twist and fascinating) but that the movie was a simple idea, filmed on a 7K budget, and well, rocked...relatively speaking. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#77Crank - Well, I like Jason Statham the way I used to like Vin Diesel. It seems he is the new, rising "cool action star" and all. As for Crank it certainly didn't pretend to be anything other than it was: A non-stop action fest with some humoristic sequences and new angles. Of course it doesn't have a shred of likelihood, but... I liked it! :D
It kept me amused and awake for the duration. The plot had some interesting twists and nuances and my initial doubt was overcome quickly. Had it not featured Statham I probably wouldn't have rented it in the first place though. (I wonder when Statham is gonna do a "credible actor" thing and play a baby sitter action figure like Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Reynolds, Diesel, Hulk Hogan and all other male action actors before him?) *sigh*
4/5 flames -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#78Dark City - This is the movie "The Matrix" was trying to be, and is infinitely more disturbing, and I think better. You spend most of the movie going "What the hell?" before they explain everything near the end. Then every thing makes sense. Or at least, as much sense as it's ever going to make.
V for Vendetta - I was finally made to watch this, and I can tell I should have seen it much sooner. It deals with some pretty hefty Orwell-type themes in a very cool way. There are also little touches all through it that mean you have to watch it more than once to catch them all.
Avatar: The Last Airbender - This is one of the few American attempts at anime that actually works. If you're into anime at all, you should at least check this out. Fantasy-ish setting, fun characters. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#79I actually really like Avatar when I watched it on Nick (It was Nick, right? Not Cartoon Network?), but I didn't make it through the whole 1st season because we moved and I lost access to cable.
Minority Report: Pretty good. Based off of a Phil K Dick story, which is generally a plus. The only downside, in my point of view was that the movie seemed to climax twice, leading to a 5 or 10 minute period where I was sitting there thinking "wtf? Don't they know that it isn't polite to leave questions unanswered at the end of a feature length film?" before I realized what was happening.
Serenity: Wow. I want to shoot myself for taking so long to see this movie, and now I have to find myself some way to watch the series. -
Re: What DVDs/ Video are you watching
#80Avatar was on Nick, yes, although it's being released on dvd, which is the way I saw it. (I hate network television.)