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Post by Aedh on Feb 24, 2012 9:57:23 GMT -5
We watched "London Boulevard" starring Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley last night. Very good movie about a doomed love affair between an ex-con and a reclusive actress, but it won't appeal to American audiences; it's a very British movie, featuring understated visuals, small cars, mumbled Estuary accents, and a very gritty plot. I could see it spawning a Hollywood remake however.
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Post by Aedh on Feb 24, 2012 10:02:09 GMT -5
In the Iron Sky movie it is implied that Sarah Palin is the president of the United States in 2018. Go Prezzy Sarah!! ;D It'll never happen, but if it did, at least politics wouldn't be boring anymore.
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Post by invisiblescientist on Feb 26, 2012 10:57:07 GMT -5
In the Iron Sky movie it is implied that Sarah Palin is the president of the United States in 2018. Go Prezzy Sarah!! ;D It'll never happen, but if it did, at least politics wouldn't be boring anymore. From the Wikipedia article it seems that Iron Sky is an unusual Finnish movie, substantially different from Hollywood movies. I am planning to see this film. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_SkyThe film is based on Nazi mythology about their secret weapons and their mysticism (Hans Kammler, Schwarze Sonne, etc). But there is also political satire, and last but not the least, Sarah Palin.
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Post by Aedh on Feb 26, 2012 16:20:56 GMT -5
From the Wikipedia article it seems that Iron Sky is an unusual Finnish movie, substantially different from Hollywood movies. I am planning to see this film. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_SkyThe film is based on Nazi mythology about their secret weapons and their mysticism (Hans Kammler, Schwarze Sonne, etc). But there is also political satire, and last but not the least, Sarah Palin. Yes, and us too. Preferably after getting pumped up by listening to Hanzyl und Gretyl's "SS Deathstar Supergalaktik" at maximum volume.
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Post by invisiblescientist on Feb 27, 2012 3:08:42 GMT -5
From the Wikipedia article it seems that Iron Sky is an unusual Finnish movie, substantially different from Hollywood movies. I am planning to see this film. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_SkyThe film is based on Nazi mythology about their secret weapons and their mysticism (Hans Kammler, Schwarze Sonne, etc). But there is also political satire, and last but not the least, Sarah Palin. Yes, and us too. Preferably after getting pumped up by listening to Hanzyl und Gretyl's "SS Deathstar Supergalaktik" at maximum volume. Actually the Star Wars movies were intentionally made reminiscent of the Third Reich, the Empire, Darth Vader's authoritarian system, etc. But here is a very serious German movie about the true story of Sophie Scholl, who had the courage to protest against Hitler: "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days": www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM5A4ETW_Ioen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Scholl_%E2%80%93_The_Final_DaysHighly recommended. Very realistic. The Nazis used the guillotine to execute tens of thousands of people who disagreed with their system.
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Post by invisiblescientist on Mar 2, 2012 2:58:29 GMT -5
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Post by clericjay on Mar 2, 2012 12:23:14 GMT -5
I wanted to see this one at the Berlinale festival this year, but I would have missed my plane to Birmingham (business trip), if I had stayed in line for the tickets... And I was reading about it too late to get online tickets... Anyway, an interesting project far from the mainstream and political correctness... I'll have a watch, if I find the time... About an open source movie... I wonder, whether we as EQ board might be able to do the same?
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Post by invisiblescientist on Mar 2, 2012 19:02:03 GMT -5
I wanted to see this one at the Berlinale festival this year, but I would have missed my plane to Birmingham (business trip), if I had stayed in line for the tickets... And I was reading about it too late to get online tickets... Anyway, an interesting project far from the mainstream and political correctness... I'll have a watch, if I find the time... About an open source movie... I wonder, whether we as EQ board might be able to do the same? I am sure that an "open-source" remake of Equilibrium is possible because this EQ website already exists, but the movie director must be willing to pay attention to the suggestions. However, IF Kurt Wimmer advertises that in the future remake of EQ, he will pay attention to our suggestions, then the website is ready, and people would simply create a thread called "Suggestions for the remake of Equilibrium". As for the political correctness of the "Iron Sky" movie, this film ridicules Nazis and fascists in general, it does not praise the Nazis. In any case, next month the film will be released and we shall see if it is good or bad.
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Post by Aedh on Mar 20, 2012 6:50:52 GMT -5
We watched "Solaris" last night in the 1972 Andrei Tarkovskiy version. Terrific film in the classic slow-burn '70s mode. However, I share the original novelist Stanislaw Lem's opinion that this adaptation focuses too much on Kelvin and his relationship with his wife rather than on the scientists' attempts to study the Ocean's phenomena and the impossibility of meaningful communication with alien life forms.
That being said, you cannot make a movie about something that doesn't happen, but only about things that do happen, and the potential relationship scenarios that the novel's basic ideas open up are impossible for any professional filmmaker to resist.
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Post by Mirabilis on Mar 26, 2012 14:35:09 GMT -5
Chernobyl Diaries looks vaguely interesting ... except that I know for a fact that all "tourists" have to wear protective gear ... so the fact that none of the people were wearing anything protective makes it look somewhat lame. www.imdb.com/list/voCA4OW3Suo/#play-all
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Post by invisiblescientist on Mar 27, 2012 11:47:03 GMT -5
I have seen Hunger Games, and it was very interesting, a futuristic gladiator version of Truman Show, with political overtones. Fascinating in many ways. It is guaranteed that there will be sequels! www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hunger_games/
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Post by Aedh on Apr 7, 2012 9:06:14 GMT -5
Not last night, but a while ago, we watched "Another Earth" (2011). Excellent film and highly recommended for EQ fans. Caution: this is no more about sci-fi than the film "Monsters" was. In both cases, the sci-fi element is only a device to indicate that what we see around us is not the only reality there is, but there is another reality--not "out there" where few if any can go, but "IN there," inside us, where we can all go.
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Post by Aedh on Apr 11, 2012 9:31:09 GMT -5
We watched "Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close" www.imdb.com/title/tt0477302/ the other night, a drama about a New York boy whose father died on 9/11. He finds a mysterious key among his father's effects and begins a search of the city for the lock that it fits. Kudos to young Thomas Horn, who perfectly portrays a boy with ASD (autism spectrum disorder). However, just because Horn does a terrific acting job doesn't make his character, Oscar, entertaining to watch. The fact that it was written, directed, and acted by proficient people only makes the film's basic flaws more obvious: it is too long, has a terribly contrived plot riddled with indie-film cliches, and features--despite even Tom Hanks' presence--a cast of characters who remain obdurately irritating and unlikeable. Watching this film is work, and left me tired at the end. Unless you want to watch it for a brilliant portrayal of ASD, or for Max von Sydow's moving (and entirely mute) performance, I do not recommend.
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Post by Aedh on Apr 21, 2012 8:41:03 GMT -5
Recently saw "The Darkest Hour." Despite the mostly indifferent reviews, we found it to be a very watchable little alien invasion movie with spectacular Moscow locations and a good Russian supporting cast. Yes, the plot is one we're familiar with--it IS an alien invasion movie after all, and there is only one plot you get with that genre, however cleverly you may deck it out. The actors are all at least competent, the special effects range from good to excellent, and the locations are worth the price alone. I'd like to see any of the critics make something this good on a $30m budget! Recommended. www.imdb.com/title/tt1093357/
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Post by invisiblescientist on Apr 21, 2012 9:13:19 GMT -5
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Post by Aedh on Apr 24, 2012 11:19:25 GMT -5
I think we ought to start a separate "Prometheus" thread since it will probably engender a fair amount of discussion.
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Post by clericjay on Apr 28, 2012 15:18:52 GMT -5
I've seen quite a bunch of interesting films recently, besides watching Game of Thrones, but I'd just like to point out three for the moment: 1.) Chronicle www.imdb.com/title/tt1706593/To be honest I didn't like the mockumentary genre much until I've seen the Norwegian "Troll Hunter" (really good movie by the way...), so I gave this one a chance. The plot of three young guys learning to work their sudden superpowers is very well known, but this version works it quite good. Especially how they play around with it and the flight scenes are well done. In the end the story becomes much like the classic Japanese comic (Manga) "Akira", which also plays very well with the idea of someone having unlimited abilities and what these powers make of him in a very destructive way. It starts slow, but becomes very good later, except for the cheesy end monologue. 2.) Iron Sky www.imdb.com/title/tt1034314/I've got quite mixed feelings about this very strange movie. Watched it in German might add to this strangeness somehow. ;D In my opinion it was really entertaining, but not very funny. I wonder why, maybe the "open-source" script was filled with too many stereotypes, but still it was very well designed and animated I think. For me the film could have been much better, based on such a somehow intriguing idea. We've got a saying in German like this: "Too many cooks spoil the meal" and that's my feeling about the films story, though basically the idea of plots formed by everyone interested participating sounded very interesting to me. Still it's very impressive to me that they were able to really make that movie. Almost every production company in Europe would have denied such script but nevertheless they found a way by participation of so many. I'm curious whether more films of that type will be made and what they would be like... 3.) #9 www.imdb.com/title/tt0472033/Very lovely movie about an alternative world, where a bunch of living puppets struggle for survival in an post-apocalyptic world, where all men died in another version of WWI. This film is living from lovely written and animated characters, fascinating and unusual design, while the story is also well told. The director Shane Acker was working on the short film "9" during his time as a film student for 4 years and got nominated for the animated short-Oscar. Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov got interested and produced this film and I'm glad they did.
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Post by invisiblescientist on Apr 29, 2012 23:22:36 GMT -5
www.imdb.com/title/tt1034314/I've got quite mixed feelings about this very strange movie. Watched it in German might add to this strangeness somehow. ;D In my opinion it was really entertaining, but not very funny. It seems that Iron Sky was never intended to be excessively funny: it' supposed to be dark comedy, with some sinister ideas. I don't know when this movie will be shown in the United States, but the initial information at YouTube is interesting: The producers of Iron Sky intentionally published the first 4 1/2 minutes of the film at YouTube as if it were a trailer, a few months before the movie was released: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX2cS8wvQHIAlso they released a documentary about the computer generated special effects they used to make the film: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9raYQYdh-E(The Nazi military base on the moon is very detailed. ) Here is an interview with the German actor Götz Otto, who has the role of the evil Nazi general Klaus Adler: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2CiNZULEQoIf I understood the articles that I have read, in the English version of the film, the Germans will only speak German among themselves (with English subtitles whenever needed) and they will speak English only when they are communicating with Americans. This way the film will look more "real." In many American films Germans speak English with a German accent even among themselves (to give us the illusion that they are in fact speaking German.)
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Post by Aedh on May 5, 2012 9:17:51 GMT -5
We watched "Outcast" (2010) the other night, a film about a Celtic magickal hunt for a monster in modern-day urban Edinburgh. Very gritty, low-key economy and good acting from a talented British/Irish cast. EQ fans will appreciate the Nethers-like urban decay and night-tinted settings. There is occasional teeth-on-edge bloody violence but done briefly and tastefully. A solid recommend. www.imdb.com/title/tt1396219/
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Post by Aedh on May 5, 2012 9:33:39 GMT -5
We also watched "Haywire" (2011), a film about a professional assassin/black operative betrayed by her employers and seeking explanation and revenge. We don't understand all the poor reviews this film got; yes, some people just hate Steven Soderbergh, and if you already don't like him this film will not change your mind. Sure, the plot is a standard one; keyword "genre movie." Like all genre movies it has the plot that belongs to its genre. Yes, it is "boring" if you need big-budget SFX and a car chase or shootout every five minutes to keep you awake. It is creatively done, features a lot of pretty realistic hand-to-hand fight scenes (the star, Gina Carano, is a former professional fighter), and good performances from a solid cast including Ewan MacGregor, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Douglas. Recommend. www.imdb.com/title/tt1506999/
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Post by invisiblescientist on May 6, 2012 12:35:36 GMT -5
Probably all science-fiction fans have seen Rollerball (the original 1975 version not the 2002 remake), but although this movie is very different from Equilibrium, I would like to bring to your attention the following detail: in Rolleball, the corporate executives take various mind altering drugs to stay calm! Thus drugs are also used for mind control in addition to the popular Rolleball game. If you have not seen Rolleball, this is a classic that is impossible to forget. You can find the full length movie at YouTube. www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1017814-rollerball/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollerball_%281975_film%29
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Post by Mirabilis on Jun 22, 2012 15:03:02 GMT -5
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Post by invisiblescientist on Jun 27, 2012 2:07:18 GMT -5
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It looks interesting. Incidentally, this movie is also about a synthetic drug that can control people. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DreddThe chief villain in the movie is Lena Headley, who was the queen of Sparta in the film "300": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_(film)
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Post by Aedh on Jul 23, 2012 14:38:10 GMT -5
Recently watched "Rescue Dawn," in which Chris Bale plays real-life airman and Vietnam war hero Dieter Dengler between the time he is shot down in combat and captured by the North Vietnamese, and his rescue some time later. Well-done little war/adventure movie overall, and, for those who may be concerned, the torture scenes aren't long or graphic; I remember some Vietnamese sharpening some bamboo things, and then Bale/Dengler getting ducked in a well. Overall a decent pic. www.imdb.com/title/tt0462504/
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Post by invisiblescientist on Sept 23, 2012 13:21:51 GMT -5
I have seen the new Dredd movie in 3D!!! It is absolutely remarkable. It is an existentialist movie, with brutal realism. Unlike the Sylvester Stallone version which has extravagant flying motorcycles, this one is very down to earth, relatively lower tech and has deep realism. By the way, the movie was made in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The Scottish actress Lena Headey is the villain in the movie, and she is perfect for this role. By the way, if you like this movie, you should first see The Raid: Redemption because it is crystal clear that the new Dredd movie is inspired by this Indonesian movie. In The Raid: Redemption, police officers enter a giant apartment building where criminals reside, but the raid turns out to be an ordeal they did not expect, a trap they cannot escape, and gradually it becomes like a horror movie instead of an action movie. So I suggest seeing the Indonesian movie first before Dredd. www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_raid_redemption_2012/Again, many thanks for bringing this movie to my attention!
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Post by Aedh on Sept 28, 2012 6:49:16 GMT -5
We recently watched "Melancholia" (2011) by Lars von Trier. In this movie, two stepsisters from a wealthy Swedish family must confront difficult family situations, one a disastrous wedding, and the other trying to manage her son and keep her relatives off each other's necks, whilst all the time it appears that a rogue planet is about to collide with Earth, obliterating it. Possibly the most beautiful and depressing movie I've ever seen, and I tend to specialise in that genre. Like some other movies with sci-fi settings (Monsters, Another Earth, 4:44*), the sci-fi setting is NOT the story; the story is the characters' emotional and mental lives against the setting, rather like one of those Renaissance paintings where one thing is going on in the foreground and another, seemingly unrelated thing in the background. In this case the real topic of the film is not the apocalypse (which is handled non-realistically), but depression (which is handled with exquisite realism). A recommend, if you can handle intense depression. www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/*I also recommend "Monsters" and "Another Earth." I do not recommend "4:44."
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Post by invisiblescientist on Sept 29, 2012 8:33:53 GMT -5
The movie Cypher (2002) is very unusual. It is about corporate espionage in the future. There are relatively few high-tech instruments in the film, so that the film is more like an alternate reality. Equilibrium fans will find this movie very interesting. www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cypher/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypher_(film)Basically, there are many layers of deception, so that even the spies are brainwashed to make sure that they don't get detected by the advanced interrogation systems. In the end, reality is blurred and everything becomes different. Highly recommended!
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Post by Aedh on Oct 1, 2012 6:52:28 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip, Cleric invisiblescientist. We have 'Cypher' lined up to watch. Last night we got around to watching "The Runaways" (2010), about the '70s girl band. Like pretty much all biopics it suffers from severe factual flaws; unlike some biopics it does portray some things accurately. It was based on a book by Cherie Currie, and produced by Joan Jett, so no guesses as to which charas dominate the story. All the acting was very good, and loving care was obviously taken to portray the mid/late '70s time frame accurately. I have several minor quibbles--with me always a sure sign I actually like a film, so here goes. One, Dakota Fanning was already a veteran actress and really should have received billing over Kristen Stewart, in only her second major movie role, but in 2010 Kristen was rolling on the smash success of "Twilight" so this perhaps natural. Two, the portrayal of Lita Ford got somewhat short shrift. Since the band did not break up over Cherie's problems, as portrayed, but over differences between Lita and Joan, maybe the producer didn't want to give too much time to her old adversary. Still, I'd like to think they've buried the hatchet. Three, Jackie Fox disappeared altogether, to be replaced by a colorless background chara named "Robin Robbins." But Jackie--by 2010 a successful, established lawyer--wanted no part of the film, and the band DID go through several bass players, so that was not so much of a loss. The fact of the revolving bass players could have rated a mention, especially as one of them--Michal Steele--went on to major fame with The Bangles. And, four, I thought that the final minutes contained a rather greater-than-necessary plug for Joan Jett going on with the Blackhearts, though again with some justice, Joan's Blackhearts success came more or less straight off the Runaways, so that is understandable. I also have a quibble with the implication that Joan wrote "I Love Rock 'N' Roll," though it was in fact an Arrows song from 1974. (So put another 10p in the jukebox baby?? ) Altogether, a recommend. www.imdb.com/title/tt1017451/
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Post by clericjay on Oct 7, 2012 17:13:35 GMT -5
I've seen the 2011 remake of Fright Night (new Vampire neighbour moves into a peaceful small suburb and families start to disappear one after another until a teen fights back basically...) today and this film is great fun to watch for the horror, action as well as the comedy... everything real good entertainment and Collin Farrel really works great as boss vampire. www.imdb.com/title/tt1438176/
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Post by invisiblescientist on Oct 15, 2012 19:34:18 GMT -5
In the Iron Sky movie it is implied that Sarah Palin is the president of the United States in 2018. Go Prezzy Sarah!! ;D It'll never happen, but if it did, at least politics wouldn't be boring anymore. I have seen the DVD version of Iron Sky, and it is definitely a cult movie. This experimental low budget movie has some very interesting ideas and satire. As I mentioned, Sarah Palin is the President of the United States in 2018. And there is also a scene that is intentionally inspired by "The Downfall (Der Untergang)" movie, where the adviser of the president starts screaming at her workers exactly in the same manner. So if you have seen "The Downfall", then you will definitely recognize the analogous scene in "Iron Sky." The end of the film is also a big surprise. Recommended!
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