Movies & TV The Hangar Film Thread

[Lord Nicholson]

Since "movies" are what philistines call them. I'm super serial.

Basically, I guess this is a catch all thread for film discussion. Since it's kinda the industry I'm trying to get into I'm always on top of film news, trailers and all that kind of stuff so I guess I'll post some of it in here if people are interested.

Might as well kick things off with the latest major trailer to be released, for Timur Bekmambetov's (Wanted) new film, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, based on a book that some people allegedly read.

[youtube]34x6m-ahGIo[/youtube]

In the meantime... what sorts of films do people from 'round these parts like? I pretty much watch anything and everything (well... mostly anything), so I'm always interested.

 

[Burzum]

Billy Madison
Happy Gilmore

 

[doug85]

Raging bull, Pineapple express, Superbad, There will be blood, Goodfellas, Godfather 1 & 2, Anchorman, Rushmore, This is spinal tap.

There's loads more that I can't think of.

 

[Kong]

Can't really stick to one genre, or even one standard of film.

I love some of the "best" films ever made, like LotR; some "arty" types like Donnie Darko and Drive; some formulae types like Dodgeball.

Sometimes I just really prefer to watch a "dumb" movie.

I saw "The Vow" the other night..

 

[Skeeta Olly]

Love a dumb movie, enjoyable and passes the time.

 

[Skeeta Olly]

Since getting into TV shows, I've had trouble really getting into movies.

 

[Lord Nicholson]

TV still lacks the artistry and visual storytelling of film. Things like Mad Men close the gap, but I guess I just like more contained stories told on a larger scale. That being said I'm not overly well versed in modern TV (I've still got to catch up on a heap of HBO stuff).

There are some "dumb" movies that work better than others. I'm very fond of Adam McKay's films - he has utter contempt for trying to force a plot onto a comedy, and whenever one of his films resorts to pure plotting it's usually parodic or made fun of. By the same token, the early Adam Sandler films were much better than the Big Daddy-onwards stuff, where they shoehorn in these lame, supposedly "emotional" moments.

I'm not expert on Arnie's films, but I think two of them - The Terminator and Predator are seriously good films, judged on any scale. Especially Predator, which I only saw through for the first time recently. I was blown away by the fact that a significant portion of the film lacks dialogue, but McTiernan tells you everything you need to know with pure visuals. That's cinema, to my mind.

My personal preferences go towards the two ends of the spectrum - I love huge films like the first two Star Wars flicks, the Godfather films, Lawrence of Arabia, or really contained, small films like Glengarry Glen Ross, Casablanca, or Network. That being said, the huge, epic films have to either be about something - I can't stand most of Michael Bay's films (easy target, I know), and a disturbing amoung of big blockbusters at the moment are bereft of character. Although last year felt like an exception to that rule on the whole, so maybe the trend is reversing. One can only hope.

 

[Kong]

I didn't enjoy Predator as much when I watched it recently, but I never tire of Terminator and Terminator 2.

In fact, I've learnt to appreciate The Terminator more as I've gotten older.

 

[Lord Nicholson]

I need to revisit T2. It just gave me the irates when I first saw it. Particularly Furlong. And the thumbs up.

The first one, though, is just a really well plotted and presented little thriller. Budget forced so much restraint on Cameron that it turned him into a filmmaker, instead of the grossly excessive and ultimately meaningless stuff he's done more recently (hats off to his ability to find an audience of a mammoth scale, though).

Rise of the Machines is a pretty unimaginative rehash of T2 with a slightly impressive final few minutes. Salvation is a neat idea sabotaged by a horrendous script and the fact that Sam Worthington just... cannot... act. Anton Yelchin did an awesome Biehn impersonation, though.

I hope they bring someone with a real vision onto the next Terminator film, instead of Mostow and McG-style hacks. The producer, Megan Ellison, has shown a pretty good taste in filmmakers, financing films for the Coen Bros, Paul Thomas Anderson, Andrew Dominik Wong Kar-wai, Spike Jonze, Kathryn Bigelow, and John Hillcoat, so that's pretty promising. That and the fact that she insists that it be R.

 

[Kong]

R? Wow.

That in itself indicates it won't be another rubbish blockbuster like T3 and Salvation.

Oh and Christian Bale was terrible as John Connor. If anything he would've made a decent effort at playing Worthington's character.

 

[Lord Nicholson]

Well, R in America anyway, which is closer to MA for us.

The thing with John Connor is that at this point in the timeframe, he works better as a legendary figure. Having him be a central character won't work anymore.

 

[Kong]

Ya reckon?

Surely they needed to make him the central figure to create the legend of the future (as seen in T1 and T2).

 

[Lord Nicholson]

Ya reckon?

Surely they needed to make him the central figure to create the legend of the future (as seen in T1 and T2).

Yeah, the process of him becoming that figure is interesting and worth exploring. But now it's done, and unless a really top-notch screenwriter gets brought on board and does something radical, Connor will just be... dull. The progress will be purely plot-wise (the war evolving) rather than character-based, which doesn't necessarily make for good viewing. I'd like it more of Connor cameod in future installments. The Terminator universe is pretty interesting - I'd like them to explore other facets of it. Just not Sam Worthington.

Speaking of franchise films, this year's going to be particularly nuts. We've got:

The Avengers
Men in Black 3
Prometheus
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Dark Knight Rises
The Bourne Legacy
Skyfall
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
...friggin Twilight (hopefully the last one)

And we were also going to get:

Man of Steel
and
Star Trek 2 (or 12)

It's kinda depressing I guess, but I'm actually kinda looking forward to the bulk of them.

 

[Kong]

Goes without saying The Dark Knight Rises can't come soon enough. Probably what I'm looking forward to the most this year.

Spiderman will be interesting. Hopefully he's not such a punce this time around (being a fan of the cartoons where he was a smartarse didn't help)

I'll watch The Hobbit just cause, but knowing nothing about it, I hope they involve a lot of the other LotR characters, because I found the hobbits to be the most boring part of the films

Bourne Legacy.. Did they end up recasting Bourne, or is it still Matt Damon?

 

[Lord Nicholson]

Goes without saying The Dark Knight Rises can't come soon enough. Probably what I'm looking forward to the most this year.

Absolutely. My #1 most anticipated for the year, and it was ever since it was announced.

Spiderman will be interesting. Hopefully he's not such a punce this time around (being a fan of the cartoons where he was a smartarse didn't help)

The recently released trailer shows him wisecracking and whatnot. I don't really know what to expect from it, although I liked the director's previous film, (500) Days of Summer.

I'll watch The Hobbit just cause, but knowing nothing about it, I hope they involve a lot of the other LotR characters, because I found the hobbits to be the most boring part of the films

I'm not big on LOTR, but it's fresh Hobbits (or just one, I think. Hence the title). Young Bilbo, and a few returning characters from the other films, namely Gandalf, Saruman, as well as the Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett elves. And probably a few others. It's been ages since I read it.

Bourne Legacy.. Did they end up recasting Bourne, or is it still Matt Damon?

Neither - it's about a new character (played by Jeremy Renner), another agent, and the fallout from Jason Bourne's hijinks in the first three films. A few actors will be returning, like Joan Allen and Albert Finney.

 

[Lord Nicholson]

Funnily enough, I had a dream he (points to your avatar) was killed by Batman in TDKR, last night.

George Smiley?!

It's interesting... I just can't see Nolan killing Gordon. He's almost as much of a main character as Wayne/Batman is in those films, and in both of the previous films the final scenes have "belonged" to Gordon. The speech at the end of TDK obviously, but also the little smile before Batman leaps off the building at the end of BB.

If he's not there at the end of TDKR... wow. That would be a shock. Personally I think Batman himself is more in peril.

Ewwww.. Might stear clear of that one.

Normally I'd agree. But there are a few things that have me interested. Firstly, I like Renner, and I'm looking forward to him headling a big blockbuster like this. Also, Tony Gilroy is the writer/director - he was a writer on each of the previous films, but the final product(s) were far from what he had envisioned/intended. Which is what happens, but he's bitched about it more than a few times in interviews. Basically he envisions more of a 70s-style paranoid thriller, I'm guessing more like Three Days of the Condor and The China Syndrome and Serpico rather than the Euro-thriller of the first film and the kinetic crash-bang-wallop of the two sequels.

So I assume he's going more towards his original vision (which I think is more in line with Ludlum anyway), while still having to play in the universe of the previous films. I think my interest chiefly stems from the fact that I thought Gilroy really nailed that 70s-style thriller (albiet a more talky, dramatic one than an action thriller) with Michael Clayton.

Anywhoo, there is a trailer:

[youtube]Wlj8Cy8Eb-s[/youtube]

 

[Kong]

Yeah Michael Clayton was good, even if I struggled to keep up with some scenes/conversations.

 

[Burzum]

Can't decide whether The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus or The Hobbit is my numero uno anticipated film of the year.

 

[Lord Nicholson]

The only hang-up about Prometheus is that it's been a long time since Ridley Scott's been at his best. Still, the cast he's assembled is pretty fantastic, and the trailer looked good.

A few other films I'm anticipating from this year would be:

Gravity
Cogan's Trade
Django Unchained
Moonrise Kingdom
Lincoln
Only God Forgives
The Wettest County
and Anna Karenina

And possibly The Master, if it gets done this year. It should be a pretty fantastic year for film if even half of the films scheduled live up to expectations (sometimes that actually happens).

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

Billy Madison
Happy Gilmore

Beat me to it.

 

[Beerfish]

I watched Predator again not that long ago and still enjoyed it as much as the first time. My DVD copy is looking a bit *hmm*. Have to upgrade to Blu Ray.. but I digress. I only found out recently (via an article in Empire about the problems associated with Last Action Hero [which I also really enjoyed]) that Shane Black, the guy that plays Hawkins:

also happens to be the writer of:

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Lethal Weapon 4
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Last Action Hero
Lethal Weapon 3
The Last Boy Scout
Lethal Weapon 2
Lethal Weapon

He's also apparently directing Iron Man 3.

I'm also really looking forward to Prometheus.

Oh yeah and I HATED Driver. That movie was a piece of shit.. right down to the stupid jacket.

kthx

 

[Beerfish]

[youtube]db2sD4P_Ieg&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[Burzum]

arnold is numero uno

 

[Skeeta Olly]

Driver or Drive?

 

[Beerfish]

The one with Gosling in it.

Even having not seen the Cage one though, I'm willing to bet it was also shit.

Though not as.