Seen any good films lately? [3]

Eldo I suggest you watch the original Disney Jungle Book first, its truly lovely.

I'll add it to the list.

I watched The Long Good Friday today and loved it. I had previously seen the ending scene after reading about it (don't really remember the context) and had read a synopsis of it at the same time, but a great film through in through. I loved Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit but he was truly sublime here. Helen Mirren too. I didn't recognize Pierce Brosnan until I watched the 25th anniversary documentary, though.

Bloody Hell!

Bob Hoskins is one violent fool in that movie!

A great showcase for Bob Hoskins (and even more so for Judy Dench) is Mrs Henderson Presents. It's one of her greatest roles.

Mrs Figg wrote:Eldo I suggest you watch the original Disney Jungle Book first, its truly lovely.

ditto. All the later Disney success starting from the Lion King were a pale joking reminder of the glory days of Disney. I'd add Pinochio and Sleeping Beauty to that list, and Bambi. The only modern Disney that compares to them is Beauty and the Beast.

Godzilla 2014 6.5/10.

Birdman 7/10.

{{{That's very generous to Godzilla! }}}

halfwise wrote:

Mrs Figg wrote:Eldo I suggest you watch the original Disney Jungle Book first, its truly lovely.

ditto. All the later Disney success starting from the Lion King were a pale joking reminder of the glory days of Disney.  I'd add Pinochio and Sleeping Beauty to that list, and Bambi.  The only modern Disney that compares to them is Beauty and the Beast.

Bambi was made by a sadist.

I would add Snow White to that list too.

Yes, Snow White is a masterpiece, especially when you remember that nothing like it have ever been seen before. Both sound and colour were still new and exciting, and all previous animation looked like Popeye and Betty Boop.

I've also got a soft spot for Dumbo.

Dumbo is adorable And I agree with Figgsy, these animations were added by a sadistic Stephen Kingest individual that loved to laugh in the face of pain !

Saw Warcraft today as it just opened in the US. It was alright. I respect Jones' ambition to create something more than just another blockbuster, but it didn't really click for me. If I had played Orcs & Humans and was more familiar with the story I imagine I would have been more invested. It didn't really have much of an ending so I hope for the fans' and Jones' sakes that they get to make a sequel (it's doing great in China so far and the midnight premiere numbers from the US were higher than expected), but I dunno if I'll be there for it. Still, it at least wasn't cookie cutter.

{{{Saw Alice Through the Looking Glass- its better than the first one I thought but still not actually good. And its only based on the book in the loosest possible sense.
Its main problem is the plot- which is pretty loose, and pretty standard- it basically boils down to the Hatter is upset because his family died long ago at the hands of jabberwocky and something from his childhood that turns back up brings it all back to him- Alice has to steal a magic device from Time to go back and help him.
Part of the problem here is tat there is no bad guy to drive things on- Time isnt bad, just has to stick to the rules and he is quite likeable, the Red Queen's arc is all about a childhood tragedy that led to her being as she is- so whilst she plays the villain role towards the end for a brief bit, the scripts heart just isnt in it as they want her sympathetic.
The script isnt exactly bad, its a bit dull and predicable and feels like you know where everything is going but it at least tries to have an 'Alice' style theme- albeit a feminist one here about choosing your own path and not taken those dictated to you by anyone or by society at large (which is better than the first film which took out the point of the book which is a coming of age puberty metaphor- all that changing shape and wondering if she is still the same person because her body has changed so much, 'painting the white roses red' ect.)
But even the theme is a bit heavily done- I found it easier to believe in Wonderland than I did in Alice as a 18th century female heroic, adventurous, ship captain.
Oh and thats another thing- its no longer called Wonderland, apparently she misheard the first time or something? Its now Underland- which is a horrible name and the point of which eludes me.
The visuals are nice, the performances are adequate, locationally rising to entertaining but I cant really say Id recommend it save as a way to pass a couple of hours on a really boring rainy sunday afternoon when you cant be bothered changing the channel. }}}}

I would only go to see it because of the fantastic 3D effects they did last time. Its lovely to look at, not too bothered with the actual story.

there is an ALMIGHTY stink about the new Ghostbusters film. I have seen the most virulent poison spewed out and it seems to have brought the feminist haters out in force. its quite bizarre. and sad. Its just a shit film, leave feminism out of it.

azriel wrote:Dumbo is adorable  And I agree with Figgsy, these animations were added by a sadistic Stephen Kingest individual that loved to laugh in the face of pain !

Bambi left me traumatised as a kid. My mum had to take me out of the cinema I was weeping so much. it broke my heart. Even now I cant watch the first part of it. Whoever thought children wouldn't be destroyed emotionally at the sight of a mother getting burnt to death is an evil fucker.

I hated it when they made out Dumbo's mother was "mad"  I hated seeing her snatched away & more or less fighting for her life ! As you say, evil fuckers ! And its always the child & mother heart ache scenes ? Never the father ? They know that separating mum & child will hurt more

I think Walt Disney must have had some issues he was working through. They say he'd tell the stories, exactly how he wanted them, to the animators by acting out all the parts.

well he was a bit weird from all accounts.

{{{I never did get round to finishing my indepth review of Fassbenders Macbeth, and I don't have time now! But I thought I would at least summarise my thought son it.

The good- the cinematography, its beautifully shot and lit. The caveat to that however is whilst almost every frame is a poster, its in very few shades. And whilst individual shots look great, the cumulative effect of relentless grim landscapes works against it.

Its well acted- Fassbender in particular stands out, given a different treatment truer to Shakespeare's original he would be my favourite Macbeth.

The bad- everything bad boils down to the same thing- the decision to make the loss of their child, highlighted in an added scene right at the opening of the film, and Macbeth suffering PTS the narrative arcs of each respectively.

This is my view cocks up some fundamentals of the tale.
Firstly and most importantly is the relationship between Banquo and Macbeth. In this version from the moment you meet them they are more like grudging allies forced to work together than life long friends fighting as Captains in campaigns for the king. Lines of banter and humour are either cut completely or played with suspicion instead, as if they already question each others motives.

This fucks up things that are crucial- first Macbeth might like the idea of being king in fancy but he has not the natural bent of ambition to do what it takes to seize it- left to his won devices he never would- Lady Macbeth says exactly this off him, 'I fears your nature, to full of the milk of human kindness'- and by making him more like he becomes later in the play from the off it undermines her role as being the main well of ambition they both draw on. Instead film versions Lady Macbeth's madness and eventual suicide is more tied up with her lost child than the murder, or her part in it and in the disintegration of their marriage that results from it. And thats another thing- you never see the two of them in a manner which makes you think they are madly deeply in love and in everything together. They are more two distinct plot lines in this version than any other I have seen.

On top of that Macbeth should not be a bad guy at the start- and Banquo is his best friend.
The murder of Banquo is crucial. Out of all those Macbeth dispatches its only Banquo's murder which literally haunts him, because he murdered his best friend.
But when they didnt seem like friends at all to start with there is no real reason why Banquo's ghost should particularly haunt him, in this version be more sense to be MacDuff's wife and children who in this version he horrifically puts to the stake and burns alive before everyone.

When you take those things away you completely undermine Macbeths character by making him wholly unsympathetic from the very start. There is no fall.

This is exemplified nowhere better than in the openings of the original and the film.

The film opens with the battle, in slow mo because its narrative is about the effect of all this bloodshed and violence has on Macbeth, the roots of his pts.

The play opens with an account of the battle and of the heroic and yet violent, but in a good cause, deeds of 'Valiant Macbeth and Banquo'. And this is because Shakespeare is setting us up with the image of them before we meet them- of the popular view of them- the heroes of their day, the captains of the men fighting for a good and just king in a noble cause against the threat of Norway. You need the heights to fall from first.

The film still has a decline into further violence and misery, but its starting point is a Macbeth already ambitious, already fucked up by pts and already unpleasant and distant.

The play opens with a man who jokes with his mate, is known for his bravery and heroism on the field of battle, and most importantly for his loyalty.

So can I recommend it? No sadly I cant, and I say sadly because its got great performances and some lovely ideas, particularly regards how the wood arrives, and some beautiful cinematography- but the changes of direction are not compensated for by changes elsewhere- we just lose stuff thats important to the story to make it work.

So as it stands if I were recommend a cinema version of Macbeth, it still has to be Polanskis version from way back in the 70's. }}}

That's disappointing. I had hopes....
I know there's still a better version than Polanski's waiting to be made.

Good point, Peppermint Petty, about how the choice to frame the story within this idea of a lost child alters the play's themes in a negative way. I had similar thoughts myself. It seemed that everyone was miserable to begin with, and became aggressively more miserable as time went on. I felt like this air of depression and unhappiness softened, through context, the horror of the murders that Macbeth and his Lady carry out. When the whole sky is gray to begin with, it's hard to be as impressed when a storm-cloud passes overhead.

A copy of M just arrived in the mail. Has anyone seen this 1931 film?

"Peppermint Petty"

{{{{ }}}}

I watched "Gods of Egypt" & I loved it Mile a minute fun, outrageously outrageous, but I did like the Gods morphing into their armour etc Apparently they dont bleed blood, they bleed gold & can fly thru the sky being pulled in a chariot with giant scarab beetles. I liked it much better than the "Mummy" films ! Didnt think Id say that ! The trailers I saw made the film seem a cheesy, Hollywood, 2hrs of cliches & cringe.