Movie What's the last movie you saw? (7)

[Frank Bunn]

The Convert (2023)

A lay preacher arrives at a British settlement in 1830s New Zealand. He gets drawn into the violent conflict between local tribes.

Guy Pearce is good in the lead role, as is Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne who plays the daughter of a tribal chief. It doesn't pull any punches about the brutality of Maori life then gives a flavour of the impact of the arrival of the British. You get the standard historical revisionism of sex roles, such as women performing the Haka and being involved in battles. The cinematography is what you would expect - point a camera at the beautiful New Zealand coastline and countryside.

It's a good story, well told, but nothing spesh.

5/10

 

[GROTTO]

Not so much time travel but there is an idea - science nerds can explain it better than me - that time slows down when in space

ie one twin goes into space and comes back to earth is younger than the twin on earth

There is some other forces in play but I think Boule used this in his original story to fast forward earths timeline

Astronauts Taylor, Landon and Dodge awaken from deep hibernation after a near-light-speed space voyage. Due to the time dilation or time warping effects of traveling near light speed predicted by a theory Taylor attributed to a scientist named Hasslein, the astronauts themselves have traveled for only 18 months.

Plot synopsis​

Captain Taylor has been on a spaceship for six months. The dashboard shows that on Earth nearly 700 years have passed since they left. This is normal, as their ship has been travelling at close to the speed of light.

The crew go into a deep sleep for the remaining 12 months of their journey. But they wake to find their ship crashed on a planet with a similar climate to Earth.

The dashboard shows the Earth’s year has jumped forward another 1215 years. When they explore, they soon discover intelligent talking apes are running the planet with savage human mutes as their slaves.

 

[GROTTO]

It was one of the great cinematic reveals of the time, akin to 'I am your father' in The Empire Strikes Back.

 

[sandeano]

Not that the DVD cover would give anything away, of course....

 

[Chief]

The dashboard shows the Earth’s year has jumped forward another 1215 years. When they explore, they soon discover intelligent talking apes are running the planet with savage human mutes as their slaves.

What the hell? Don't tell me what happens next!

 

[GROTTO]

Not that the DVD cover would give anything away, of course....

View attachment 2050109

Is that your copy? Ive watched this very recently, in preparation for the Kingdom release. I really liked it, sure its dated, but I respect that this is made in the 60s, some 55+ years ago.

Im going to watch Escape from the Planet of the Apes next as I didnt realize this series of movies, actually has a somewhat meaningful conclusion.

 

[GreyCrow]

Just dont watch the 70s tv series

 

[phantom13]

Just dont watch the 70s tv series

Or the attempted Burton/Wahlberg reboot

 

[GROTTO]

Just dont watch the 70s tv series

Are you an Ape fan?

On IMDB its got a fairly decent rating.

I ask this because Ive seen Escape from the Planet of the Apes years ago and actually liked it and the themes overall. I just never got around to watching the movies following this.

• Planet of the Apes (1968)
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
• Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
• Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
• Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

Even though Mark Wahlberg's Planet of the Apes got bad reviews, I actually liked it as well, as an Ape Fan.

 

[Roobs321]

Dawn is the only new one that stacks up with the originals for mine.

It might be the childhood bias of adoring the original series, but those first four films through Conquest are just a lot more special than middling stuff like Rise/War/Kingdom.

 

[GROTTO]

Or the attempted Burton/Wahlberg reboot

Its the MI2 of the Ape movies.

 

[Roobs321]

Or the attempted Burton/Wahlberg reboot

Still, it was a thrill at the time to finally see an Apes film on the big screen. My whole family went that first Friday after school. And it did come out around a similar time to Mummy Returns & JP3, twas a season of somewhat disappointing franchise returns. Similar deal to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, finally get to see a new bigscreen Indy even if sucky by comparison.

 

[phantom13]

Still, it was a thrill at the time to finally see an Apes film on the big screen. My whole family went that first Friday after school. And it did come out around a similar time to Mummy Returns & JP3, twas a season of somewhat disappointing franchise returns. Similar deal to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, finally get to see a new bigscreen Indy even if sucky by comparison.

I reckon Mummy Returns is okay. I ****ing LOVE JP3, i actually think in many ways its better than the original (albeit it will never have the love and nostalgia of the original) but i also know im pretty much alone in that.

 

[GreyCrow]

Are you an Ape fan?

On IMDB its got a fairly decent rating.

I ask this because Ive seen Escape from the Planet of the Apes years ago and actually liked it and the themes overall. I just never got around to watching the movies following this.

• Planet of the Apes (1968)
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
• Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
• Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
• Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

Even though Mark Wahlberg's Planet of the Apes got bad reviews, I actually liked it as well, as an Ape Fan.

Its been that long since I watched anything but the original I have zero awareness

Maybe a double drive in bill for the next 2 highly likely then the last 2 nada

Have not watched Marky Mark

 

[Roobs321]

Yeah I’m fond of Mummy Returns and JP3 as well. But on release they were more critically muted and a bit frontloaded (whereas Burton Apes was more panned and extremely frontloaded, had the 2nd highest opening weekend and opening day ever at the time).

I still haven’t seen the Mummy 3 with Jet Li. Which is weird because The Mummy was my favourite film when it came out and I was so damn excited for Mummy Returns. No Sommers, no Weisz, Fraser & Li fallen stars by then, seven years later too and released during that summer of TDK, WALL-E and the Beijing games.

 

[Beerfish]

I can't remember a thing about the wahlberg one but I don't remember hating it either.

 

[Roobs321]

Yeah it was definitely disproportionately overhated (like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). Had a lot of good aspects, I remember tuning in to its first few television showings. Sort of a lesser Hulk 2003. It would probably benefit from being part of a film series, like Battle which concludes a saga but wouldn’t be watched much as a self-contained stand-alone on its own terms.

But yeah I haven’t seen Burton Apes, Hulk, Crystal Skull or Mummy Returns since my youth so I can’t speak to their quality with any confidence.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Emperor of the North Pole (1973)

At the height of the Great Depression, psychotic freight train conductor Shack (Ernest Borgnine) refuses to let any hobos ride his train. He is more than happy to club them with his hammer and watch them get mangled as they fall between the carriages. Older 'bo, A-Number 1 (Lee Marvin) for no reason than the challenge declares he will ride the train and lets everybody know. An inevitable climax is ensured.

An exciting and unusual film, aided immeasurably by the performances of its protagonists, many stunts done aboard the moving trains, the period design and director Robert Aldrich's handling of this fable of masculine power-plays over nothing. However, the inclusion of Keith Carradine as a whiny young bum who tries to ride on Marvin's coattails sucks life from the narrative each time the camera turns to him and surely by 1973 someone other than Frank Devol could have been requested to write the score. Otherwise, well, well worth watching. 7/10

I had it on fast forward at times but there's lots of fun scenes. The barking cop, the baptism, the shaving lady, fighting with a chicken! It was towards the end of the days when actors used to do most of their own stunts. Marvin, Borgnine and Carradine were actually clambering around on moving trains, and were in a cattle truck that was on fire.

Marvin and Borgnine both have great screen presence. Marvin's character is mostly cool and understated but he's a legend and inspiration for the downtrodden in his world. Borgnine is just pure bad guy. I don't need to know his backstory. I agree about Carradine. The character is supposed to be an annoying young punk but Carradine plays him in cartoon-like fashion.

 

[edgie]

There's no doubt movies were more harshly received 20+ years ago.

Mummy 2, JP3, both quite good I reckon.

Indy 4 mediocre, not disastrous.

Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using Tapatalk

 

[sandeano]

I had it on fast forward at times but there's lots of fun scenes. The barking cop, the baptism, the shaving lady, fighting with a chicken! It was towards the end of the days when actors used to do most of their own stunts. Marvin, Borgnine and Carradine were actually clambering around on moving trains, and were in a cattle truck that was on fire.

Marvin and Borgnine both have great screen presence. Marvin's character is mostly cool and understated but he's a legend and inspiration for the downtrodden in his world. Borgnine is just pure bad guy. I don't need to know his backstory. I agree about Carradine. The character is supposed to be an annoying young punk but Carradine plays him in cartoon-like fashion.

Good stuff!

There's something about those actors of that time - let's say those that experienced the Great Depression and WW2 - they have experience and hardship etched into their faces and it comes across naturally in their performances.

 

[CJL1]

Reservoir Dogs for pure tension

 

[Macca19]

Twisters. Good fun.

 

[GROTTO]

Twisters. Good fun.

Is there a connection to the 90s movie?

 

[Beerfish]

Is there a connection to the 90s movie?

The twisters?

 

[Frank Bunn]

Good stuff!

There's something about those actors of that time - let's say those that experienced the Great Depression and WW2 - they have experience and hardship etched into their faces and it comes across naturally in their performances.

Douglas Fairbanks and Buster Keaton probably set the standard. Errol Flynn did most of his own stunts. In the 1970s there was Steve McQueen and Burt Reynolds. In the modern era Tom Cruise is famous for his stunt-work such as jumping out of aeroplanes and giant motorbike jumps. There's lots of actors who are highly trained in martial arts for fight sequences but it's not the same.