|
Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 3, 2020 14:44:04 GMT
GREAT write-up! Well done dude. I watched this maybe two years or so ago, after having not seen it for a good 15 years. It held up better than I thought it would and as you pointed out, it's loaded with great supporting characters. Michael Wincott (one of the greatest voices in movies!), David Patrick Kelly (a personal favorite), Jon Polito, Tony Todd (another personal favorite) and Michael Massey whose life and career derailed in some ways after the shooting incident as he felt responsible for it. Can you imagine having to carry that around with you for the rest of your life? Ugh. Anyway, I hear you on the music. In some ways, watching it is what made me feel nostalgic for those days as I was in high school at the time but it's true it really takes away the timelessness of the movie as the music of the day is so integral to this movie. Thanks, man. Yeah it's tough to say how much is nostalgia, but it's still a blast to watch. Like you said, they hit a home run with the casting of this flick. Jon Polito was great in everything, no matter how small the role. I always forget Tony Todd is in this until he shows up. For such an offbeat story, and one that could've easily been taken too far stylistically, everyone just 'gets' their character. They don't act like they're in an action movie or a horror movie, they play it straight. Wincott twirls his mustache (a lot), but again somehow it works because the character is so strange. Ernie Hudson, while more well known than most of the guys you mentioned, is also great in this. Had to chuckle at the scene where Torres accuses him of aiding and abetting a fugitive and Albrecht (Hudson) continues talking shit to him, then wonders why he gets suspended. The only recasting I would do is the Sarah character (who I just looked up and realize she didn't act again for 15 years, and I'm not surprised). I always think about the dude who shot Brandon, how devastating that must have been. Totally not his fault, he isn't in charge of the props. But still, you pulled the trigger. Has to be devastating.
|
|
|
Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 3, 2020 17:51:36 GMT
I rewatched The Crow (1994) on Friday. I watch it every couple of years and come to the same conclusion: it's dying for a remake, but I'm afraid it would lose its charm. The film bleeds 90s, it puts such effort into incorporating its soundtrack (which I had on cassette and listened to death back in the day) that is features multiple scenes of bands playing in the villain's night club. The direction and cinematography are rather poor, which is unfortunate because they were really going for an aesthetic here. Every once in a while you caught glimpse of a decent shot, or what could've been an incredibly framed scene, but it was always just out of reach of the director. The story is a fantastic blend of action and melancholy that would be well suited for October even if the events didn't take place around Halloween. The mysticism takes center stage over the action for the most part, but every scene where Eric confronts one of his killers is gold. The writing and editing in those scenes in particular is awesome, every side character (and I mean every one) in this film is memorable in some way. The dialog is off the charts, the script takes snark and sarcasm to a whole new level. Michael Wincott takes it over the top as the lead villain, but somehow with the tone and the themes of the film, it still works. It enhances the final product instead of becoming distracting. As a whole, the film is highly quotable (or is it that I saw this movie when I was much more apt to go around quoting movies constantly?). Either way it's great. Circling back to the potential remake, there was one in the works for a while apparently, but as is often the case with these projects, they couldn't pull it together. I'm on the fence. On the one hand, they could use a better director and honestly a bigger budget for establishing an atmosphere all its own, and they could lose the overreliance on pop music of the day-- to help establish a tone and cash in at the same time-- because that's what dated the movie the most. But the fun of the flick is the character interaction. All that dialog, those great confrontations between adversaries or Ernie Hudson's character and Eric, all that stuff would be lost as someone put their own stamp on the story. I don't know that another writer could recreate the mood they were going for with this story. It was the early 90s, angst was the zeitgeist. (What better time to be a teenager?) And of course a remake wouldn't have the mystique of the original. Brandon Lee, son of the legendary Bruce (who himself died mysteriously while filming Game of Death), also dies filming a movie, ironically about a man who is murdered and comes back to life. I'm not sure films come with more spiritual baggage than that, and it cannot be duplicated. All of this stuff keeps it high on my list of favorites even if overall the production quality isn't the greatest, it suffers from weak direction and the little girl is a flat out lousy actress. Despite being so of its time, the movie never gets old, and I guess it doesn't need a remake because it'll always be a fun little piece of nostalgia for me. (And we won't get into how James O'Barr, writer of the Crow comics, probably ripped off The Wraith (1986); also among my favorites by the way, but in the 'good bad movie' category. Both stories are about a young man who is killed by a gang and comes back for revenge on his killers, one by one. The Wraith has goons named Skank, Gutter Boy, and Minty. The Crow has goons named Skank, Fun Boy, and Tin Tin. The Wraith revolves around street racing in a small desert town whereas The Crow is a kind of alternative gangster story in an urban setting, but the similarities are eerie. I recommend both films; again, The Crow for legitimate entertainment and The Wraith as more of an unintentional comedy, though I suppose both are time capsules of their respective eras. The Wraith is worth seeing for a prime Sherilyn Fenn alone.) Haven't seen this movie in a while, but just reading this post was a nice little nostalgic trip for me. I saw that movie a lot when I was a kid. I'm not sure if it would hold up for me now, but there's a lot I remember loving about that movie. I never read the comic(s?), but I understand that they're rather different. Not sure how, but I think the movie remake was supposed to be more 'true to the source material,' which is really just a phrase they like to throw out these days more than it actually means anything. But at one point Nick Cave was attached to write the screenplay, which was a fantastic prospect.
|
|
|
Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 3, 2020 18:12:02 GMT
Haven't seen this movie in a while, but just reading this post was a nice little nostalgic trip for me. I saw that movie a lot when I was a kid. I'm not sure if it would hold up for me now, but there's a lot I remember loving about that movie. I never read the comic(s?), but I understand that they're rather different. Not sure how, but I think the movie remake was supposed to be more 'true to the source material,' which is really just a phrase they like to throw out these days more than it actually means anything. But at one point Nick Cave was attached to write the screenplay, which was a fantastic prospect. Yeah they made some changes in the story, like switching the deaths of Eric and Shelly (in the book she dies during the attack and Eric briefly slips into in a coma before dying; in the movie it's the other way around-- and I think it works better that way, especially when he uses Shelly's pain to defeat Top Dollar). The 'skull cowboy' present in the comic was supposed to appear in the film, but was scrapped during production. I even had some The Crow collector cards from the film featuring the character even though he didn't appear in the final cut. I think being more 'true to the source material' in this case would've meant more angsty brooding by the main character, I'm not as interested in that. I enjoy the straightforward nature of the story as a kind of depressing revenge thriller. I said to my wife while we were watching it that I could go for a Netflix series as a remake, but only if it was no longer than six episodes. Don't drag things out and throw in a bunch of melodramatic filler, just tell the story that needs to be told. Like I say about most older flicks that I enjoy, I'm not entirely opposed to a remake, I'll just keep my expectations low. Nothing is going to replace the original in my mind, and that's fine. Maybe the remake will be the equivalent for some other kid who is being introduced to the material for the first time at around the same age I was. That's actually a fun thought.
|
|
|
Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 4, 2020 14:00:59 GMT
A Bronx Tale
It's on AMC right now....
|
|
|
Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 4, 2020 14:02:10 GMT
...and 'Gladiator' is on IFC right now flipping back and forth
|
|
|
Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 5, 2020 10:05:59 GMT
Miller's Crossing
Irish Mob flick
My favorite Coen Brothers movie
Great soundtrack - great atmosphere
|
|
|
Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 5, 2020 12:24:47 GMT
Miller's Crossing Irish Mob flick My favorite Coen Brothers movie Great soundtrack - great atmosphere Where are you watching it? It hadn't been able to catch on TV or streaming for a while. And I've been trying to get my dad to watch. It's right up his alley and one of the few Coen Bros movies he hasn't seen. I've been trying to get him to watch that and Blood Simple, one of the other few of the Coens' that he hasn't seen but he'd love.
|
|
|
Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 5, 2020 12:49:59 GMT
Miller's Crossing Irish Mob flick My favorite Coen Brothers movie Great soundtrack - great atmosphere Where are you watching it? It hadn't been able to catch on TV or streaming for a while. And I've been trying to get my dad to watch. It's right up his alley and one of the few Coen Bros movies he hasn't seen. I've been trying to get him to watch that and Blood Simple, one of the other few of the Coens' that he hasn't seen but he'd love. I own it.
It's one of my favorite soundtracks to a movie.
Love Gabriel Byrne's character too
This instrumental piece and Ennio Morricone's 'Deborahs Theme' to Once Upon A Time in America are two of my favorites
|
|
|
Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 7, 2020 9:36:25 GMT
'The Campaign'
Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis
|
|
|
Post by Aj_June on Nov 7, 2020 13:31:20 GMT
'The Campaign' Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis As you are a big horror fan you would definitely enjoy this short video. Man, this is actually scary. Hats of to the cameraman and producers.
|
|
|
Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 7, 2020 13:42:59 GMT
'The Campaign' Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis As you are a big horror fan you would definitely enjoy this short video. Man, this is actually scary. Hats of to the cameraman and producers. I can't believe the lizard escaped!
Moments later it was probably eaten by a Golden Eagle
Such is life
|
|
|
Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 7, 2020 13:46:44 GMT
'The Campaign' Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis That was pretty bad.
|
|
|
Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 8, 2020 13:12:28 GMT
Hoffa - Nicholson, DeVito I enjoyed it a lot more than The Irishman
|
|
|
Post by klawrencio79 on Nov 9, 2020 17:06:48 GMT
The Queens's Gambit, a Netflix miniseries starring Anya Taylor-Joy about a young orphaned girl who blossoms into a chess prodigy. Very engaging and worthwhile character study that is highlighted by Taylor-Joy's work. She's an impressive up-and-coming actress and she gives a standout performance. Check this out if you're in need of something new to watch.
|
|
|
Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 9, 2020 17:38:41 GMT
Feels like Summer here Think I'm going to get a John Candy double feature in - Summer Rental The Great Outdoors Once it cools down - Uncle Buck
|
|
|
Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 9, 2020 20:41:42 GMT
Gonna try to finish up the 'Seduced' docuseries that aired it's last episode last night. Watched the first so far, 3 more to watch now.
The second documentary series about the NXIVM (nexium) cult. The HBO series The Vow was waaay too long and I didn't think there'd be much more ground to cover but this one so far explains things a lot more clearly and succinctly and from a more specific perspective.
That dude was just sentenced to 120 years in prison. In The Vow you could tell he was an terrible cult leader, but it wasn't clear what his charges would be and I didn't quite understand why that sentence would be handed down. From what I've heard Seduced makes it quite clear.
Allison Mack must be scared shitless.
|
|
|
Post by klawrencio79 on Nov 9, 2020 21:40:10 GMT
Feels like Summer here Think I'm going to get a John Candy double feature in - Summer Rental The Great Outdoors Once it cools down - Uncle Buck I have a big ole soft spot in my heart for Summer Rental. I can live without The Great Outdoors, but Summer Rental is one of those movies I watched with my dad when I was a kid and we always laughed like idiots at it. Every scene with Rip Torn and Richard Crenna is great.
|
|
|
Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 10, 2020 0:01:45 GMT
jeopardy
|
|
|
Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 10, 2020 0:06:06 GMT
Feels like Summer here Think I'm going to get a John Candy double feature in - Summer Rental The Great Outdoors Once it cools down - Uncle Buck I have a big ole soft spot in my heart for Summer Rental. I can live without The Great Outdoors, but Summer Rental is one of those movies I watched with my dad when I was a kid and we always laughed like idiots at it. Every scene with Rip Torn and Richard Crenna is great. summer rental is great
was watching Planes, Trains and Automobiles the other day gearing up for Thanksgiving
what a lovable guy.
seems like a lot of his movies you're kind of rooting for him throughout the movie
highly underrated one with Ally Sheedy never gets talked about a lot - 'Only The Lonely' Candy is in it - plays a bachelor who still lives with his mother but ends up falling in love with Sheedy and has a hard time determining if he should leave his Mom or put Sheedy first - well worth a watch if you've never seen/heard of it
|
|
|
Post by FrankSobotka1514 on Nov 10, 2020 0:26:51 GMT
The Queens's Gambit, a Netflix miniseries starring Anya Taylor-Joy about a young orphaned girl who blossoms into a chess prodigy. Very engaging and worthwhile character study that is highlighted by Taylor-Joy's work. She's an impressive up-and-coming actress and she gives a standout performance. Check this out if you're in need of something new to watch. I’m two episodes into it and so far it’s excellent.
|
|