eFilmCritic

TheAngryJew · Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 9:10 pm Post subject:

http://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=9644
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Scott Weinberg

natasha_theobald · Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 11:11 pm Post subject:

Tully - I really loved it. It has a pace that the viewer has to adopt and makes cornfields look absolutely beautiful. The story is not trying to break new ground, but it doesn't have to, because it is so well told. Family drama, love, regret - some pretty powerful themes are explored with subtlety and refreshing simplicity.

Collin Souter · Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 8:23 am Post subject:

Pitch Black Never seen it before. Didn't do much for me. Kinda neat, but, ehh... I asked Erik who ordered the sequel? He said the same people who have quarters for Galaga. Laughing

Casablanca Finally popped in the 2-disc I got for Christmas. Still one of the absolute greatest. I still can't imagine Ronald Reagan playing Rick.

CS
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Ryan_A · Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 1:34 pm Post subject:

Legend (Director's Cut). I hadn't ever seen this all the way through, just bits and pieces, and not really any of it recently. I love the look of it, though, and Tim Curry rules.

Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey. It's on disc 2 of the new release of Enter The Dragon, although I first saw it about two years ago on AMC. The high point is the reconstruction of Lee's cut of the Game Of Death finale. Nice little doc.
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The Sunday News Recap! Archive - Excuse me, do these effectively hide my thunder?

MP Bartley · Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 11:05 am Post subject:

I just watched Brazil for the first time too (shocking I know), the version being about 135 minutes long. How many versions are there Collin? And how on Earth it can be condensed into 90 minutes I don't know. What's that version got in it?

Thumb the Toad · Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 2:03 pm Post subject:

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King-Just as grand as it was when I last saw it in January. Top-notch direction, beautifully made, almost as good as Fellowship.

Big Fish-held up pretty well on second viewing, but not as good as I found it in theaters.

TheAngryJew · Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 4:10 pm Post subject:

I can't believe that two such staunch movie fanatics had gone so long without seeing Brazil! Wink

And the short version, generally known as the "Love Conquers All" edition, is an absolute affront. It's value exists solely as an example of how a studio will butcher a work of art, out of sheer greed and cluelessness.

Buy the CC 3-discer of Brazil before it goes OOP. It's...amazing.
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Scott Weinberg

Collin Souter · Posted: Sun May 30, 2004 1:35 am Post subject:

How many versions of Brazil are there? 4 total, but only 3 are available officially. The American version runs about 2 hours and 10 minutes. The European version runs about 12 minutes longer. Than, there's the Criterion Collection DVD version which is a combination of the two and runs about as long as the European version with very slight variations. It's a landmark film either way. The Love Conquers All version is exactly what Scott said, a more desired studio version with a happy ending. Gilliam basically just sent them a pile of outtakes that Universal used to edit a new version, which aired on TV. It's an interesting curiosity item, at best, but the DVD also features a commentary track by a Brazil nut who points out all of the horrible things about it.

You can read more about that right here or check out the great documentary about it on the 3-disc Criterion, one of the best DVD packages of all time.
There's also an early screenplay draft that was released as a book in the UK by Gilliam, Charles Alverson and Bob McCabe. Happy hunting.

Just watched Bubba Ho-Tep again. Even better than I remember it.

CS
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Chicago Film Critics Association
Nick Digilio Show, WGN Radio, AM 720
myspace.com/breakupdate

Maegs · Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 11:07 am Post subject:

Calender Girls

Ok premise: middle-aged women get naked for charity calender and shock nation.

The first half was good, but then it just dithered away. No real conflict after the 'shock' of naked older women. I guess this was one example where sticking to the real story yields a pretty boring movie. However, Helen Mirren is always fun to watch.

-M
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Charles Tatum · Joined: 04 Aug 2002 Posts: 1703

Popped in the docu "The Weather Underground," and thought the subjects were still too guarded about their domestic terrorist activities even after all the charges have been dropped. Still learned more than I knew.

"Elephant" was everything I expected it to be, and I admire Gus Van Sant even more.

Rami741 · Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 5:53 pm Post subject: bad bad bad

DAY AFTER TOMMOROW

walked out from the movies in less than 20 minutes......bah
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Luneau · Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 11:07 am Post subject:

The Warriors; The campest mix of violence and costume since A Clockwork Orange. Or maybe it was made before it. Meh, either way it was a larf.
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Never argue with an idiot, he'll just drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Stephen Groenewegen · Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 10:57 pm Post subject:

The Awful Truth (1937) with Cary Grant. I'd only seen Irene Dunne in a couple of crappy dramas (Cimarron, Anna and the King of Siam) but she dazzles in this. There's some laugh-out-loud moments and some wicked lines - Dorothy Parker apparently had a hand in the script.

Last night, Dark Victory (1939) with Bette Davis and featuring Humphrey Bogart and Ronald Reagan (bleugh). Not the tearjerker I expected (not till the end anyway). Bette's (nearly) always worth a look.

Tonight, for a change of pace, will hopefully get to Super-Size Me. And Sunday I have plans to catch Intermission which has just opened here.

UDM · Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 11:57 pm Post subject:

Soul Plane: Stupid as hell, but I have a weakness for movies like this. Tom Arnold is actually tolerable.

Mean Girls: Can't say much about this because I walked out after about ten minutes. Looked like yet another teen comedy made by 50 year olds.

Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary: OK talking-heads documentary about an old woman who relates having worked for Old Adolph back in WWII. Interesting, but I didn't learn much that I didn't already know, and I'm not a big history buff either.

Fear of a Black Hat: Funny mockumentary about a black rap group. Felt a little too long, though.

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky: Insane Asian kung-fu/prison movie. Plays like a Jackie Chan movie made by Troma. Must be seen to be believed. Got this off Netflix.

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn: In which the author of Showgirls complains about the venality of Hollywood. Hideous. Go watch a washing machine on spin cycle instead.

UDM

Oz · Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 2:51 am Post subject:

Steve, don't pay for Intermission. Just play dramatic music and punch yourself in the face a few times during a Love Actually rental and you've basically seen it.

TheAngryJew · Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 4:11 am Post subject:

I had a David Caruso double feature: King of New York and Kiss of Death. I dig 'em both just as much as I did back in the day, tho Ferrara's flick is the better of the two.
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Scott Weinberg

y2mckay · Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 11:52 am Post subject:

Were going to try and watch Bubba Ho-Tep last night at my freinds' place, but they had too many people dropping by and too many distractions, so we threw in Original Latin Kings of Comedy instead. Jesus Christ that thing is funny! especially if you know a little Spanish. George Lopez has the best set. I thought his sitcom was funny, but damn, this shit was off the hook funny.
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I shouldn't get high to come up with ideas. I should come up with ideas, and THEN get high, to reward myself!

Oz · Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 2:09 pm Post subject:

Dude, you just said 'off the hook'.

That's like my dad saying 'cool'.

Luneau · Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 8:37 pm Post subject:

I'm currently watching a bunch of short films from around England, and they're great. But short film makers need to bloody lighten up, things don't need to always be gritty representations of the pain of life, life isn't like that.

You gotta love small hour TV.
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Never argue with an idiot, he'll just drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Stephen Groenewegen · Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 1:08 am Post subject:

Oz, you were on the money with Intermission. Except you forgot to mention saying "fock" a lot.

y2mckay · Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 1:13 am Post subject:

Well dude, It's time I let you know - I AM your dad
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I shouldn't get high to come up with ideas. I should come up with ideas, and THEN get high, to reward myself!

Oz · Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 1:22 am Post subject:

That's weird because... well, me and your mom... how can I put this...

y2mckay · Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 2:28 pm Post subject:

I think we may have some kind of incestuous temporal causality paradox loop thingamajig going on here Shocked

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I shouldn't get high to come up with ideas. I should come up with ideas, and THEN get high, to reward myself!

milehigh · Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Posts: 105 Location: Colorado

I've seen several movies that have been sort of disappointing. Monster was not what I had hoped it would be. I thought Elephant and 21 Grams were both significantly better, and I consider both of them to be somewhat similar types of stories. I recognize that Charlize Theron gave an impressive and extreme performance, but I definitely prefer Naomi Watts in 21 Grams.

One other seriously disappointed me, but if I name it, "Angry" will become furious. Twisted Evil

y2mckay · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 9:07 am Post subject:

I prefer Watts in 21 Grams too. Plus she shows her boobs. Again.

Watched The Sea is Watching yesterday, made from a script by Akira Kurosawa that he never got a chance to direct. It's a moving little tale about a group of women working in a brothel in Edo-period Japan, and it has some amazing visuals, considering the whole thing is set in one tiny village. I would have liked to have seen Kurosawa's take on it, but I think this director did a better job with it than Spielberg did with Kubrick's A.I.
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I shouldn't get high to come up with ideas. I should come up with ideas, and THEN get high, to reward myself!