groaninjock Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 2001: A Space Odyssey - 2/10 Watched this for the first time last night. It's one of my favourite books but I thought the movie was pish. Pretentious as hell, just a couple of hours of Kubrick wanking over his own 'genius'. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik's tongue Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 2001: A Space Odyssey - 2/10 Watched this for the first time last night. It's one of my favourite books but I thought the movie was pish. Pretentious as hell, just a couple of hours of Kubrick wanking over his own 'genius'. Yeah he did that with The Shining as well. Apparently Stephen King was bemused (raging) about the changes he made. Although not a bad film in its own right it is totally different from the book. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Yeah he did that with The Shining as well. Apparently Stephen King was bemused (raging) about the changes he made. Although not a bad film in its own right it is totally different from the book. I think in recent years King has softened his view on the film, but I believe he's been trying to get a more faithful adaptation on the screen too. Whilst the book and film differ greatly, they're both brilliant. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyarabnuts Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 2001: A Space Odyssey - 2/10 Watched this for the first time last night. It's one of my favourite books but I thought the movie was pish. Pretentious as hell, just a couple of hours of Kubrick wanking over his own 'genius'. thats one of my favourite sci fi movies 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lau03143 Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Treasure Guards A cross between Tomb Raider and The Da Vinci Code starring Anna Friel. Yes, it's as bad as it sounds. 4/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The OP Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 (edited) Once Upon A Time In America - 4 hour long Sergio Leone gangster epic which I decided to give another go, having been sorely disappointed with it when I watched it in my younger days. I like gangster epics, I like Sergio Leone films, but I'm afraid my opinion on this one hasn't changed much. It is not without its good points - the cinematography is excellent, the sets and costumes are sumptuous and there are a few iconic scenes (mainly in the childhood flashbacks) but otherwise this film is very flawed. The dialogue is poor, the characterization is inconsistent (and aside from 3 main characters, non-existent) and the film gets very implausible in the 2nd half. I like the Morricone score in Once Upon A Time in the West and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, but here it just feels as though it is screaming "This is a masterpiece!! Haven't you noticed yet??'. Just like the film itself, it is generally self-indulgent, moves at a glacial pace and is occasionally ludicrous (I'm thinking the use of Yesterday, by the Beatles). Very disappointing film from an otherwise great director and a cast to die for. I can't help thinking of Peter Griffin's line about The Godfather - 'It insists upon itself'. But The Godfather it ain't. 5/10 Ted - Not bad, funny at times, and doesn't rely as much as I feared it might on a swearing teddy bear being inherently funny. Although the laughs aren't quite frequent enough, especially given that the plot is non-existent. 6.5/10 Dial M for Murder - Hitchcock classic, which plays out a bit like the best Columbo episode you could imagine. Ray Milland is an ex-tennis pro who wants to kill his wealthy wife (played by Grace Kelly) for cheating on him. Ray Milland is a guy I don't think I've come across before, but he is absolutely superb in this. He absolutely owns the scene where he manipulates a crooked acquintance into committing the murder of the title, and it is fascinating to see him change tack in a heartbeat after the supposedly perfect murder doesn't go to plan. However, he meets his match in an eccentric but brilliant detective. It is dated and not a film that should be taken too seriously - it is actually really amusing once the detective shows up, although the whole thing does run out of steam a tiny bit towards the end when everyone starts talking endlessly about keys. 8/10 Edited August 19, 2012 by The OP -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik's tongue Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Not a bad film? The shining? I've seen worse 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik's tongue Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I think in recent years King has softened his view on the film, but I believe he's been trying to get a more faithful adaptation on the screen too. Whilst the book and film differ greatly, they're both brilliant. Yeah. I read a while back that King was disappointed with the casting of Jack Nicholson at the time. He had just come off Cuckoos nest and the premise of the book was the hotel slowly driving Nicholson insane. King felt the audience took one look at Nicholson and identified him as the (acting) crazy guy from Cuckoos Nest. He also said Kubrik used to phone him during the night whilst filming with no considerstion of the time difference and ask him Random stuff like if he believed in God 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Sergio Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I'm not the best film critic, but anyway: Killer Elite - Decent action movie starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. I enjoyed it but it pisses me off when Britain gets referred to as England. The SAS are referred to as 'English' which is a fucking cheek considering the regiment was founded by a Scot and the majority of it is made up of Scots. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeRoyDFC Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I'm not the best film critic, but anyway: Killer Elite - Decent action movie starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. I enjoyed it but it pisses me off when Britain gets referred to as England. The SAS are referred to as 'English' which is a fucking cheek considering the regiment was founded by a Scot and the majority of it is made up of Scots. Decent film. I like all Statham films though to be honest. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kincardine Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 My weans are away with their mother this week so I've watched a few films online. Two worth mentioning.: A French film called "Leaving" or, actually, 'Partir' in French. In truth it's pretty dull, slow and predictable. Posh woman leaves her wealthy surgeon-husband to get rode rotten by a much younger Spanish builder. It is saved by having many scenes of the delightful 50 year old Kristin Scott Thomas in the skud. Visual viagra for those of us in our 6th decade who have a penchant for skinny, neurotic women with wee tits. 1/10 mostly but 7/10 for KST's very suckable nipples. I also watched Pulp Fiction for the first time in more than a decade. Is it OK to rate it 1,690/10? One critic said, "I'm not sure I've ever encountered a film-maker who combined discipline and control with sheer wild-ass joy the way that Tarantino does." Samuel L Jackson must be one of the coolest blokes to walk the face of God's earth and the, "I Shot Marvin in the Face" moment is the only time in history that you're allowed to laugh at someone, well, being shot in the face. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Sergio Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Decent film. I like all Statham films though to be honest. Yup, same. Cracking actor IMO. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludo*1 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 This put me off Stephen King slightly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I prefer Kubrick's film The Shining to King's book. I thought the book was too long and became boring very easily. The film might not be perfect but the cinematography - like most Kubrick films - is stunning and makes it worth the watch. The psychological aspect and the unreliable narrator is much better than King's "supernatural" idea IMO. The allusions to the USA's treatment of Native Americans and children's fairytales are also nice aspects of the film. Having said all that, I'm not really a fan of Stephen King anymore. The more I read from him, the less fond of his books I become. He also comes across as someone who constantly needs his ego massaged and a desire to remain a relevant literary figure. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I think one of his more recent books, Under the Dome, is up there with his very best work. It's an absolutely magnificent piece of work. A lot of his recent stuff is pretty poor. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Sugden Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 The Stand is my alltime favourite book, shit fim though- best left alone. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik's tongue Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I think one of his more recent books, Under the Dome, is up there with his very best work. It's an absolutely magnificent piece of work. A lot of his recent stuff is pretty poor. I loved UTD but I thought his last book, 11-22-63 was his best in a decade. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewbo Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Warrior - 6/10 Every single person that mentioned this film to me said "watch it, it's better than The Fighter/Rocky/etc." or something along those lines, so when I saw it appear on Netflix I thought my luck was in. Now by no means is it a bad film, if it weren't for all the hype I would've given it a 7 purely for the fight scenes. It's clearly trying to be an underdog story but when you can't connect with the character you don't root for them, in which case they aren't real underdogs. Tom Hardy I felt was totally off form, no platform to show of his sarcasm or humour coupled with a pretty poor generic American accent. There were two shots that I really enjoyed; when Hardy's character enters the ring for the semi-final and the soldiers start singing for him coming out, and when the brother beats Kurt Angle and climbs the cage to hug his trainer (a relationship that was not shown in enough depth to make it a great scene). All in all, disappointed 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik's tongue Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 This put me off Stephen King slightly. Why? Seems he was just taking the piss and playing up to the audience. Not even remotely funny stories right enough. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludo*1 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Why? Seems he was just taking the piss and playing up to the audience. Not even remotely funny stories right enough. Just because he doesn't like what Kubrick done with his film, years later he's still trying to paint him as a total idiot. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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