See any good films?

[CentreHice]

polarice said:

Saving Private Ryan - Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Vin Diesel, Matt Damon, Ted Danson : Based on a World War II drama. US soldiers try to save their comrade, paratrooper Private Ryan, who's stationed behind enemy lines.

I worked with a comedian who had a great one-liner.

"Saving Private Ryan"....based on the lesser-known German film: "Kill the Ryan Brothers".


The crowd roared every time.

[Skilly]

habmeister said:

Letters from Iwo Jima
the Lives of others
Sharkwater
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine

Spiderman 1 has a 7.4 rating on IMDB
Spiderman 2 has a 7.8 rating on IMDB
Spiderman 3 has a 6.9 rating on IMDB

and i agree

I thought Flags of our Fathers was better than Letters from Iwo Jima, but they were both good

The Departed was a little hard to follow, but I really liked it. The ending was kinda foolish though, IMO.

Haven't seen the others, yet.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

A few other action films come to mind. Bastardizations of history but good films nonetheless.

Braveheart: Great casting for this one. Brendan Gleeson was very convincing in his role of Hamish. Saw him in a few other films after that. The actor who played Edward "the longshanks" I was just as convincing. Thought Mel Gibson did a good job playing William Wallace but no amount of makeup could make him as young as his character should have been at certain points in the movie. Good flick though.

Gangs of New York: One of my favourite actors, Daniel Day Lewis, went into his character mode, Bill "the Butcher" Cudding. 4 months prior to the movie (IMDB trivia refers). Another original idea for a movie that kept me watching it from the start. Brendan Gleeson was also in this one as well as Monk McGinn.

Kingdom of Heaven: So little has made it to the big screen about the crusades that I became a student of sorts after seeing it. However, while the events don't exactly follow the historical timeline, K of H tries its best. Great casting once again and, yes, Gleeson is there again as Reynald de Chatillon (sp?)

Last of the Mohicans: Again, there's so little on the screen about this time period that this film caught my interest immediately. Lewis plays the lead character, "Hawkeye" and he's supported by a strong cast. Brutal in some scenes, passionate throughout. If you haven't seen it by now please give it a try.

Don't know about the rest of you, but I can tell if I'm going to enjoy a movie within the first 10 minutes or so. If it doesn't catch my interest by then I'm usually gone.

Cheers.

[Skilly]

disgruntled70shab said:

Don't know about the rest of you, but I can tell if I'm going to enjoy a movie within the first 10 minutes or so. If it doesn't catch my interest by then I'm usually gone.

Cheers.

I can usually tell alot quicker. I can tell with some movies just from the opening music playing ... such as last week went I saw "Alpha Dog". That movie had me about ready to fall asleep right from the get-go. I kept watching though, and about 30 minutes or so into it, it finally came together and turned into an ok movie.

[habmeister]

Has anyone else seen City of God? if not rent it yesterday, it's unreal.

[ropoflu]

habmeister said:

Has anyone else seen City of God? if not rent it yesterday, it's unreal.

Excellent movie indeed. The related documentary (on the same dvd) is probably just as good and worth your time.

In the same vein, I really liked Darwin's Nigthmare. But I again, I really dig geo-socio-politico-historical contents (not to say that I can't enjoy a little Grindhouse every now and then

[duster]

Agreed. City of God is a terrific movie. I highly recommend it as well.

I'm a fan of good historical movies. There are a few, besides "Martin Guerre" , that I've seen and enjoyed:

Das Boot - I think it's fair to say that this is the submarine movie par excellence. By all accounts, this is as close to real thing as you can get.

War and Peace - I mean here the 1968 Russian version with subtitles and re-released not too long ago. It's very long (7 hours or so). Far and away superior to the Hollywood version. The acting, photography, music and script are first rate. I can't imagine how many people were involved in making this movie. The recreation of Borodino using the Red Army (some wags say all of it) in the various elaborate French and Russian uniforms of the period is simply spectacular. This is what Tolstoy had in mind, imo. I can see why it was so expensive to make.

Name of the Rose - I never thought Umberto Eco would do well on screen until I saw this movie. The details, including the Inquisitor's guards speaking Swiss German, are terrific. I liked Ron Perlman as the insane and heretical monk Salvatore. Life in some areas of Western Europe during Medieval times must have been grim indeed.

The Passion of Joan of Arc - Forget that it's a silent movie (1928), this is a very good film that used the transcripts of her trial for heresy as the script. This was actress Maria Falconetti's only movie and she gives a memorable performance.

Alexander Nevsky and Potemkin - I'm a fan of director Sergei Eisenstein's works and both of these movies are him at his best. No doubt about it, both movies are propaganda, but they are very entertaining.

Edit: grammar

[Disgruntled70sHab]

duster said:

Agreed. City of God is a terrific movie. I highly recommend it as well.

I'm a fan of good historical movies. There are a few, besides "Martin Guerre" , that I've seen and enjoyed:

Being an amateur history buff of sorts I used to get bent out of shape when Hollywood took liberties with facts. However, I heard a term a few years back that I now agree with; do you want a movie or do you want a documentary? Historical movies:

* Zulu,

* Zulu Dawn,

* Gladiator,

* A Bridge Too Far,

* Saving Pte Ryan, and a plethora of others.

Das Boot - I think it's fair to say that this is the submarine movie par excellence. By all accounts, this is as close to real thing as you can get.

Insert thumbs up smiley here.

War and Peace - I mean here the 1968 Russian version with subtitles and re-released not too long ago. It's very long (7 hours or so). Far and away superior to the Hollywood version. The acting, photography, music and script are first rate. I can't imagine how many people were involved in making this movie. The recreation of Borodino using the Red Army (some wags say all of it) in the various elaborate French and Russian uniforms of the period is simply spectacular. This is what Tolstoy had in mind, imo. I can why it was so expensive to make.

Excellent movie. I once heard Gwynne Dyer describe the slaughter at Borodino as, "... picture a 747 full of people, crashing ever two minutes from sun up to sun down ..."

Name of the Rose - I never thought Umberto Eco would do well on screen until I saw this movie. The details, including the Inquisitor's guards speaking Swiss German, are terrific. I liked Ron Perlman as the insane and heretical monk Salvatore. Life in some areas of Western Europe during Medieval times must have been grim indeed.

I think Perlman thanked the director for making him Hollywood's newest scary guy. I still haven't read the book but the movie has to be one of my all-time faves. Don't know how I missed this one.

Cheers.

[Tattac]

disgruntled70shab said:

Excellent movie. I once heard Gwynne Dyer describe the slaughter at Borodino as, "... picture a 747 full of people, crashing ever two minutes from sun up to sun down ..."

It was the bloodiest single-day battle in human history. There are 11 memorable sites and 52 monuments erected in the area (including those devoted to 1941).

I enjoy almost all Russian movies devoted to this war but non of them can be compared to War and Peace.

[BadCompany]

I didn’t really like In the Name of the Rose. I thought the book was a convoluted mess, and that the movie was rather tough to follow, especially if you hadn’t read the book.

As far as historical accuracy goes, I couldn’t really answer that for the Name of the Rose. But I think Gladiator was a total botch, from a historically accurate portrayal (though it was a pretty fun movie to watch). Braveheart was another “well that ain’t even close to being accurate” movie. And don’t get me started on that King Arthur movie, where 8th centuries Brits wore 18th century Spanish armor.

Not that I pay attention to those sorts of things.

Das Boot was very good, both historically and as a movie, as were my two favorite movies, The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far. A really, really good historical movie, in my opinion though, was Gettsyburgh, but very long as well. Book an afternoon if you’re going to watch it, as I think it clocked in at 4.5 hours. Great cast too.

[Kareem]

Add me to the crowd of people who loved City of God, one of the best movies I've seen recently.
Cidade de Deus
Children of Men
Godfather I II
Goodfellas
Borat
Pulp Fiction
Se tu mama Tambien
Amores Perros
Interview with the vampire
Eternal Beloved
Reservoir Dogs
The Holy Grail(Monty Python)
Two smoking barrels
Snatch
A Clockwork Orange
The Shining
The Pianist
Amadeus
Full metal Jacket
The thin red line
Forest Gump
Sin city
Twelve Monkeys
Shawshank Redemption
The Wizard of Oz (eh oui...)
Alice in wonderland


I also really liked Grindhouse.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

badcompany said:

I didn’t really like In the Name of the Rose. I thought the book was a convoluted mess, and that the movie was rather tough to follow, especially if you hadn’t read the book.

As far as historical accuracy goes, I couldn’t really answer that for the Name of the Rose.

I never read the Name of the Rose, but I liked the movie because I had never seen a movie like that before.

But I think Gladiator was a total botch, from a historically accurate portrayal (though it was a pretty fun movie to watch).

It was early in the movie when I noticed stirups on Russell Crowe's horse. They weren't introduced unitl the 4th century I believe. Still, the character names were accurate, while the scenarios were fiction. Was an entertaining movie but you're right. It shouldn't be used as a historical reference.

Braveheart was another “well that ain’t even close to being accurate” movie. And don’t get me started on that King Arthur movie, where 8th centuries Brits wore 18th century Spanish armor.

Braveheart was another one I liked. I visited the Wallace Monument when I was in Scotland in '87. His statue depicts him wearing armour, so when I saw him in regular rags I was surprised. Still liked that flick too actually. This was the first time I saw Brendan Gleason on the big screen as well.

Not that I pay attention to those sorts of things.

I normally can't stand Tom Cruise movies; sometimes just on principle. However, another movie with a twist was, "The Last Samuari." The timeline for the rebellion was accurate but I only found out later that the armour the Samuari and Ninja wore was 200 years out of date. And from what I read it was the Germans and French (I think) who trained Japan's Imperial Army. Still, a good action flick.

Das Boot was very good, both historically and as a movie, as were my two favorite movies, The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far. A really, really good historical movie, in my opinion though, was Gettsyburgh, but very long as well. Book an afternoon if you’re going to watch it, as I think it clocked in at 4.5 hours. Great cast too.

I talked to a Gettysburgh guru here at work (he goes down to the battlefield once a year minimum) and he said it was just about bang on as far as historical accuracy goes.

Cheers.

[duster]

I'd completely forgotten "Zulu". What a movie!

You make an interesting comment about documentary vs movie. I think the quality of recent series such as "Rome" and "Deadwood" proves that you can follow true events, pay attention to detail and make it entertaining. "Zulu", "Das Boot", "War and Peace" and "Martin Guerre" do just that, imo. I'm hoping the forthcoming "Passchendaele" can succeed in doing this well. I can imagine what could have been done with "300", "Alexander" or even "Gladiator". In the latter movie, I agree about the stirrups while the real Commodus was far more scary and interesting.

I liked Gettysburg. I also enjoyed the book "The Killer Angels" on which the movie is based. Some remarkable performances by everyone involved. Richard Jordan, in his last role, was outstanding. Jeff Daniels too. I visited the battlefield at Gettysburg some years ago and looked at where Pickett's Charge took place. Like the Rayevski Redoubt at Borodino, just plain murder.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

duster said:

I'd completely forgotten "Zulu". What a movie!

You make an interesting comment about documentary vs movie. I think the quality of recent series such as "Rome" and "Deadwood" proves that you can follow true events, pay attention to detail and make it entertaining.

WRT Zulu, again they take liberties with the film but it turns out alright. It was Michael Caine's first movie I believe. Some little-known facts about the film.

* Stanley Baker plays Lt. Chard of the Engineers. In the film he organizes the defence of Rorke's Drift. However, it's well documented that the man who actually organized the defence was a former Infantry Company Sergeant-major (CSM) turned Commissary, James Langley Dalton. While Dalton wins a VC during the action, he is given no credit for this in the film.

* Also about Baker. He purchased a copy of a VC but only after his death was it learned that he had actually purchased Lt. John Chard's authentic VC.

* At the end of the movie we see the Zulu honouring the British defenders by allowing them to live for the valiant resistance they put up. However, this never happened. The 4,000 Zulu who participated in the attack never actually took part in the attack of Islandlwana. They were the veterans and were held on reserve. However, by the time they got to Rorke's Drift they hadn't eaten in quite some time and were exhausted. They probably would have overrun the garrison but retired from the field when they saw British reinforcements arriving. This as actually the second half of Chulmford's column of the 24th on their way back to the rear after realizing the other half of the column had been chopped up the day before.

* Check out Rorke's Drift VC A great site that is updated regularly.

* Also if you want an accurate account, one of the best books I've read about the Zulu wars is "The Washing of the Spears."

I can imagine what could have been done with "300", "Alexander" or even "Gladiator". In the latter movie, I agree about the stirrups while the real Commodus was far more scary and interesting.

Well this is it. BC was quite right about Gladiator. Though the personalities are factual, the rest is Hollywood.

I really didn't like "Alexander" mainly because Collin Farrell couldn't sell it well enough.

And had I known "300" was based on a comic book I wouldn't have seen it. Or, at the very least I would have been prepared.

I liked Gettysburg. ... Jeff Daniels too. I visited the battlefield at Gettysburg some years ago and looked at where Pickett's Charge took place. Like the Rayevski Redoubt at Borodino, just plain murder.

Daniels character was awesome. Col Chamberlain I think? Some accounts tell that the battle was already over by the time Pickett led his charge. About as terrible as The Battle of New Orleans.

I visited Waterloo back in the early 90's. There's a huge man-made hill on the site that was made on the orders of The Prince of Orange. It surveys the whole battlefield, granted, but it also displaced a lot of evidence as to how the battle actually transpired. There's a lot of controversy surrounding the validity of The Waterloo Dispatch, which was written by Wellington himself, that basically undermines the Prussian involvement in the battle.

Please see Wellington's Smallest Victory.. It tells of the making of a scale model of the Battle of Waterloo. The maker of the model, Lt. Siborne, had one tin soldier made for every two on the field at 16:30 hrs of the battle, or the time when Prussians take the field. The detail is spectacular as he goes right down to the regimental buttons.

The maker included 20,000 (representing 40,000) Prussian troops to the rear right flank of Napoleon. However, Wellington condemned the model calling fictitious. Siborne offers to remove 12,000 pieces, Wellington still refuses. However, this error is still prevalent on the model as it is today. As soon as I find out where it is I'll let you know.

Cheers.

[jkr]

I keep thinking of more as I read this thread.

One of my favorites that I have seen 2-3 times is The Usual Suspects. Kevin Spacey is great in this.

Back to comedies - I know I am a lot older than the target demographic for this but I found Napoleon Dynamite really funny & have seen it at least 3 times. Not sure why I like it so much - maybe the character just hits close to home.

[habmeister]

jkr said:

I keep thinking of more as I read this thread.

One of my favorites that I have seen 2-3 times is The Usual Suspects. Kevin Spacey is great in this.

Back to comedies - I know I am a lot older than the target demographic for this but I found Napoleon Dynamite really funny & have seen it at least 3 times. Not sure why I like it so much - maybe the character just hits close to home.

we all know someone like the uncle in that movie, classic character, and napoleon's brother actually reminds me of skilly in a lot of ways. you know the annoying brother that you have to love because he's your blood, but he's just always getting on your nerves, and you swear he has nothing better to do than sit on the computer all day.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

The Australians have done a pretty good job in putting their military history on the big screen. Here's a few I remember pretty well:

"Breaker Morant"

Three Australian officers are singled out by the British for war crimes against the Boer. It's based on the book Scapegoats of the Empire, written by Lt. George Witton, who was one of the three accused.

This is another original idea for a movie in that I haven't seen all the much on the Boer War on the big screen. I've tried to find this but can't right now. At the end of the movie when Lt. Harry 'Breaker' Morant, and Lt. John Hancock are walking to the chairs they are to be seated in while facing the firing squad. In the film, they join hands as they approach the chair. This was an impromptu decision by Edward Woodward, the actor who portrays Morant. However, only after the film did they discover that the real Morant and Hancock had done the exact same thing.

I can't tell you what liberties the producer/director took with the book, but the film remains an excellent movie based on fact.

The Lighthorsemen

Another excellent movie based on actual events. The Australians are tasked to take the water wells at Beersheba. The task is given to the Australian Light Horse Regiment and it was probably the best cavalry charges ever filmed for the big screen (personal opinion only, but TLOR, part III was a close second). At the end of the movie they scroll through some of the main characters and what they went onto after the war.

Gallipoli

First saw this movie on a reel-to-reel, 16 mm back in 1981/82, while doing a UN tour of duty in Cyprus. A very young Mark Lee and a very young Mel Gibson star in a movie that showed the incompetence of command and the futility of WW I. Very emotional ending.

Cheers.

[Skilly]

habmeister said:

jkr said:

I keep thinking of more as I read this thread.

One of my favorites that I have seen 2-3 times is The Usual Suspects. Kevin Spacey is great in this.

Back to comedies - I know I am a lot older than the target demographic for this but I found Napoleon Dynamite really funny & have seen it at least 3 times. Not sure why I like it so much - maybe the character just hits close to home.

we all know someone like the uncle in that movie, classic character, and napoleon's brother actually reminds me of skilly in a lot of ways. you know the annoying brother that you have to love because he's your blood, but he's just always getting on your nerves, and you swear he has nothing better to do than sit on the computer all day.

sheshhh ... talk about hurting my feelings

[habmeister]

skilly said:

habmeister said:

we all know someone like the uncle in that movie, classic character, and napoleon's brother actually reminds me of skilly in a lot of ways. you know the annoying brother that you have to love because he's your blood, but he's just always getting on your nerves, and you swear he has nothing better to do than sit on the computer all day.

sheshhh ... talk about hurting my feelings

lol it was tongue in cheek big time skilly. anyway i got an issue with you, i rented flags of our fathers and i thought it wasn't even close to as good as letters from iwo jima.

sup wit dat?!

[duster]

disgruntled70shab said:

First saw this movie on a reel-to-reel, 16 mm back in 1981/82, while doing a UN tour of duty in Cyprus. A very young Mark Lee and a very young Mel Gibson star in a movie that showed the incompetence of command and the futility of WW I. Very emotional ending.

I saw Gallipoli (or Jollypolly as the Anzacs call it) when it was first released in 1981. An outstanding movie and a personal favourite. I think this was the movie that made director Peter Weir famous. Albinoni's Adagio for strings and organ in G minor had just been rediscovered and was an inspired choice for music. This is the type of movie I hope Paul Gross attempts to emulate in "Passchendaele" scheduled for release November 11th. There was one major flaw. It was not a British general but an Australian one who was responsible for the final exercise in futility.

A recently seen movie I would recommend is "Syriana". I've never been a George Clooney fan but he definitely deserved his Oscar for this film. Alexander Siddig and Christopher Plummer are also quite good. It's based on true events.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Picked up a video called "Bloody Sunday" the other day.

The true story of a massacre that occurred in the Irish town of Derry back in January of 1972. 13 civilians were killed and another 14 wounded when British troops opened fire on a civil rights demonstration.

I found it very one sided but very well done anyway. Apparently, the British government aired an entirely different version shortly after the movie was released. I only noticed this after reading about it on IMDB but the entire movie was shot using portable cameras and no artificial lighting was used.

Interestingly enough, no charges were laid on the soldiers who opened fire on the crowd and the officers in charge of the operation were later decorated by the Queen.

Definitely worth the look. A good flick.

Cheers.

[mic]

Amadeus by Milos Forman
Psycho, Vertigo and a few others by Hitchcock
Barry Lyndon by Kubrick
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly , Once Upon a Time in America, A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More by Sergio Leone
Dead Man, Night on Earth by Jim Jarmusch
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and The Elephant Man by David Lynch
The Last Emperor, 1900 by Bernardo Bertolucci (with a great Donald Sutherland)
Goodfellas, The Departed by Scorcese
MASH by Robert Altman
Godfather by Coppola

[CentreHice]

"The King of Comedy" 1983. Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis. Directed by Martin Scorcese.

De Niro portrays Rupert Pupkin, a delusional, pathetic stand-up comic wanna-be who's obsessed with getting on the Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) show and becoming a star.

Worth a rental.


If you've ever wondered how a stand-up goes about putting an act together.....watch:



It's a 2002 documentary following Seinfeld on his journey to create an entirely new stand-up act. He's tossed away his old bits and is starting fresh. Sure, he's got the credibility on his side...but he's got to work for it....honing/crafting material...working out the bugs.
The movie also follows newcomer Orney Adams...who you just want to smack.



Also, some Jack Lemmon favourites....one of the best actors of all time. He could do it all.

The Apartment
Days of Wine and Roses
Some Like it Hot
The Great Race
Glengarry Glen Ross

[cigarviper]

So many to name, but here are a few of my favs in no particular order:

- The Longest Day

- Bridge On the River Kwai

- The Guns of Navarone

- The Burbs

- Jaws

- Master and Commander (Russell Crowe was born to play Captain Jack Aubrey)

- A Raisin in the Sun

- Quest for Fire

- The Gods Must Be Crazy

- Porkchop Hill

- Raid on Rommel

- High Plains Drifter

- Gone with the Wind

- Robot Monster

- Plan 9 From Outer Space (Ed Wood's finest)

- The Gathering Storm (won 14 awards including 2 Golden Globes and an Emmy)

- Battle of Britain

- Halloween

- Planet of the Apes

- Life of Brian

- The Holy Grail

- An American Werewolf in London

- Tora! Tora! Tora!

- Midway

- A Perfect Storm

- The Hitcher (with Rutger Hauer)

- Easy Rider

- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

- Cat Ballou

[franko]

I'm glad the question isn't "See any bad films?" [or rather, "Slept through any bad films?". With three women in my home I could fill a thread on my own (the latest that I was able to find a walk-away-from excuse on "family movie night" [why is it that I can never choose the movie on family night even though I have to pay for them?]: "Bad Acting and Shallow Script" [aka Music and Lyrics]. Avoid at all costs -- unless, of course, there is a reward at the end of the evening for sitting through it -- and even then the reward has to be greater than great).]

[Disgruntled70sHab]

cigarviper said:

So many to name, but here are a few of my favs in no particular order:

- The Longest Day

A good movie that represents the allied invasion very well.

- Bridge On the River Kwai

One of my all-time favourites. A very disturbing ending with, "... what have I done?" summing up the entire movie.

- The Guns of Navarone

I remember Gregory Peck saying to David Nevin (while waving his revolver), "... now you've put me in the mood to use this and I'm ready to use this one you!!!!"

- High Plains Drifter

I took my girlfriend to this one. A vintage Clint Eastwood flick.

- Planet of the Apes

First saw the original movie at the drive-in with my sister and dad. It featured one of my all-time fave actors in Charleton Heston. However, the remake wasn't too bad either. Tim Roth played an excellent role.

- Life of Brian

- The Holy Grail

Both classics. In fact, there are students here in the military school who recite lines from "The Holy Grail" the way we did back in 1981.

- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Was Johnathan Winters in this one?

This movie also reminds me of another classic; "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming."

Cheers.

[jkr]

The most chilling film I have seen in some time is The Vanishing - the Dutch original, not the Hollywood one with the sanitized finish.

It depicts a family man that who in reality is a sociopath. He plans & carries out a random crime just to prove to himself that he can do it. The ending is surprising & truly frightning. It has been several years since I have seen it but those final scenes still haven't lost their edge.

[CentreHice]

cigarviper said:

- The Burbs

1989....holy crap....18 years ago.

Got the movie poster hanging in the basement. One of the family's favourites over the years. Still quote it once in a while....inside jokes. In the same line as Happy Gilmore...just sit back and enjoy a laugh.

Bruce Dern is great and Brother Theodore steals every scene he's in. It may be worth the rental just to see the "sardine" scene.

Tom Hanks' everyman acting ability gives the story an air of credibility that such a script should never have.

The only lowlight for me is Corey Feldman....but somebody had to play the "party dude" teenager role.

[franko]

I must be getting old or losing my mind: was dragged to Away From Her tonight and thought that it was quite good -- even if it is Canadian.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

jkr said:

The most chilling film I have seen in some time is The Vanishing - the Dutch original, not the Hollywood one with the sanitized finish.

It depicts a family man that who in reality is a sociopath. He plans & carries out a random crime just to prove to himself that he can do it. The ending is surprising & truly frightning. It has been several years since I have seen it but those final scenes still haven't lost their edge.

Have you seen, "The Others" with Nicole Kidman? Gave me the heebee geebies.

Cheers.