What movie are you viewing at the moment?

[CARLTON BROWN]

Originally Posted by Brecht

Blow-up (1966)



Trailer

Thomas (David Hemmings) is a London-based fashion photographer whose daily routine involves taking pictures of hot chicks, screwing hot chicks and the occasional reefer. Growing bored of a photo shoot, he walks out of the studio and ends up in Maryon Park where he's inspired to take a few shots of a couple. The woman (Vanessa Redgrave) notices him and demands that he hands over the film. Thomas refuses and they part ways. However, he is soon located by the woman who is begging him to give her the film roll and after a while of flirting, she is given a different film. Curious to see the result of his spontaneous shoot in the park, Thomas develops the film, making a shocking discovery that could get him into serious trouble.

This is pretty much a film about the spirit of the 1960s. David Hemmings is brilliant as the quickly irritable mod photographer Thomas, especially during the second half when he becomes something like a detective. All this is accompanied by a mesmerizing Herbie Hancock score and by the end of the film, Thomas walks into a Yardbirds concert during which Jeff Beck smashes his guitar.

I'm a huge fan of this movie. The photographer played by the late David Hemmings was based on David Bailey, who's work is well worth looking at if you like photography.

I have the UK (red package) DVD for this film, which has a couple of major flaws.

First, it includes an extra appraisal by the late American author Peter Brunette who does not seem to understand what a British college rag week is all about. His ridiculous view of the film is simply misleading and my advise is to ignore it.

And having seen this movie at two different theatres and on TV, I've always been impressed by the soundtrack which has interesting sound effects of the wind in the trees at the site of the incident (actually Maryon Park in Greenwich). So I was really annoyed that it was missing from my DVD.

To begin with, I didn't appreciate the ending much, but have come to like it. I agree about this being very much a zeitgeist of the "Swinging Sixties." I was there and moving in some of the circles seen in this film. It was a very exciting time to live through and this film captures the mood brilliantly.

Highly recommended!

[Reclaimedwg]

I have been digging out movies in my collection made before 2000 that I haven't seen in a while.

Can't believe this one is already 21 years old !!



Starship Troopers (1997)
*aka Bug Hunt At Outpost Nine (USA original script title)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120201/



Starship Troopers is one of my favorite movies but the humans in it are stupid!!

They have all that technology yet they go up against Bugs that are armored like Tanks with just plain old machine guns?

You can empty a full magazine at one bug and most of the time it will still come at you.

Furthermore there were several scenes where the bug gets one last crack at a human right before they go down (or after they look like they are down and dead) by impaling (or even just a flesh wound) the poor guy (or girl) with one of their armored legs, enough to kill the victim.

If a crab becomes full size as big as a house, would you go up against it with just an M-16 or an AK-47, each one loaded with only a 30 round magazine?

No, you won't!!

Then take into consideration you have 100s to 1000s of them coming at you from all direction, what are 30 rounds of ammunition going to do for you?

There was 2 scenes in the movie I wanted to see more of but NOOOOOO!!

1. they bombed the Bugs with fighter-bombers: good strategy !!



2. they used rocket propelled mini nuclear warheads to take out a Bug cave: another good strategy !!



Now why on earth did they not use those weapons more often?

Or they should had just bombed the Bug planet back to the stone age from deep space.

They have an entire fleet of dozens or even hundreds of starships and it seems none of those ships have any kind of offensive weapons where they can launch torpedoes or phasers from space down onto targets on the planet's surface.

Don't even get me started on the no talent cast either!!

[Rogerbh]

If you haven't read the book it was based on, I'd recommend it. From the Wiki - http://starshiptroopers.wikia.com/wi...e_Infantry_(TF)
"A Mobile Infantryman is equipped with a Powered armor suit as well as an arsenal of weapons, some built into the suit. These weapons range from conventional firearms to micro-nuclear warheads. The armor is strong enough to resist any conventional weapon less than high explosives or anti-tank rounds. The servo-motors give the wearer enough strength to crush a tank or tear through a concrete wall, but are dexterous enough to allow them to pick up an egg without breaking it. The armor is also equipped with jump jets and rockets, allowing the trooper to move rapidly about the field and cover entire square miles of terrain. One expression used in the book as a compliment to good soldiers is that they are "on the bounce". According to Rico, when one is suited up in the Powered armor, they appear like a "steel gorilla".
Usually, a Cap trooper of the Mobile Infantry in platoons would drop from individual capsules launched from a troop transports in orbit. The capsule is destroyed during descent. The Mobile Infantry platoons will then execute their missions. These missions range from hit-and-run strikes to search and rescue missions. The Mobile Infantry will usually deploy about one trooper every half-mile. After the mission is complete, the Transport will launch a retrieval beacon for the platoon to follow to the retrieval area. Usually the beacon will play music such as, in the case of the Starship Rodger Young, "The Ballad of Rodger Young." Once the retrieval boat lands, the platoon boards and returns to the transport."

I read that the movie producers spent so much money on the CGI for the bugs that they had almost nothing for the Mobile Infantry - thus the cheap lightly armed and armored human wave type infantry in the movie. Quite a disappointment for the Heinlein fans expecting the battles described in the book to appear on screen. Also the bugs in the book had spaceships, ray weapons, nuclear mines, etc. Not at all as depicted in the movie.

[Reclaimedwg]

So they spent most of the $105,000,000 budget on CGI?

I doubt they spent any of it on those no name stars.

The 'biggest' name in that entire cast was no, NOT Doogie.... it was Michael Ironside

In the animated Starship Troopers, they had the full suit up armors like those troopers had in Avatar.

[Reclaimedwg]

Halloween (2018)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502407/





In 1978, a little independent horror film made with a measly budget of roughly $300,000-325,000 by an unknown filmmaker named John Carpenter, went on to become one of the most successful independent films of all times.

It sold over 30 million tickets and earned over $70 million worldwide in that year alone - the equivalent of over $271 million today.

It made its main star Jamie Lee Curtis, at the time an unknown actress, a household name.

Curtis will subsequently appear in a Halloween sequel in 1981 along with roles in several others horror films - making her the new scream queen of the 80's.

Halloween also gave a rebirth to the slasher films: a genre first gained commercial success in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 Psycho.

The success of Halloween resulted in an almost never ending slew of slasher films being produced and released between 1979 and the mid 90's including several commercially successful franchises like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Child's Play and Scream.

Halloween also gained its own film franchise: it was soon followed by 7 sequels and 2 reboots but none of them were as satifying as the original.

Now 40 years later, the original producer of the 1978 film, John Carpenter, returns to produce a direct sequel to the original Halloween that will forget anything and everything that happened in the 7 sequels.

The result is a movie that is much better, superior and more satisfactory than any of the 7 sequels.

It's good to see Jamie Lee Curtis again as Laurie Strode confronting Michael Myers but this time she is no longer his helpless victim:

40 years of women empowerment and feminism and preparation has made her a very tough cookie.

There are many nodes and "Easter Eggs" to the original film and several twists and revelations which I won't give away.

Is this closure for Laurie Strode?

Is this the end of Michael Myers?

Before this film was released, John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis has said this was their final Halloween film and they will never make another one but you know what folks say:

Never Say Never!!

After all, not only did this movie still left a couple of 40 years old questions unanswered;

the ambiguous ending also created some new questions.

4.5/5

[Silicone Carne]

My Dinner Wih Hervé


IMDB
YouTube Trailer

A look at the life of French actor Hervé Villechaize, co-star of the hit '70s TV series Fantasy Island, who took his own life in 1993 at the age of 50.

As usual, HBO did great and produced a very interesting and well made movie about the unsual life of an unsual man, Hervé Villechaize. Director Sacha Gervasi, who previously made gems like Anvil - The Story of Anvil and the underrated Hitchock, featuring Anthony Hopkins & Scarlett Johansson, delivers a powerful and riveting story. The performances by the lead duo composed by the always awesome Peter Dinklage and a very convincing Jamie Dornan are inspired and there's no boring moment during the 2 hours that My Dinner with Hervé lasts.
This man was rejected by his mother, considered as a freak by most of his pairs and still managed to make is own path into stardom, money and all kind of excess. His story is obviously tragic and even if Villechaize had his demons, he remains a moving human being, through contradictions.
My Dinner with Hervé is another perfect example of the greatness of HBO, its bravery and its astonishing way of producing wonderful biopics.
A must see.

[jomama]

Dracula (1979)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079073/

[73north]

went to see the latest Michael Moore Documentary Film
Fahrenheit 11/9 - and I have got to say it was fabulous .

Filmmaker Michael Moore did predict that Donald Trump would become the 45th president of the United States.

I also got told I was ' stupid ' when I predicted to my workmates back in 2015/16
that Trump would win the nomination - as they were not watching his performances
during the Republican Debates ( I watched them all ) and Trump was trouncing them .
I also knew he would win as he was the ' outsider ' and would attract votes .

Traveling across the country, Moore interviews American citizens to get a sense of the social, economic and political impact of Trump's victory. Moore also takes an in-depth look at the media, the Electoral College, the government agenda and his hometown of Flint, Michigan .
Moore's satire is really good as well , when he has Hitler deliver Trump's words during a Nazi Rally ( it really works well )
worth a look .
Rating 4.5 / 5

[Sir Honkers]

Incredibles 2. Much better than I thought it would be and not really for younger kids oddly enough.

[Reclaimedwg]

Originally Posted by loosegoose

Incredibles 2. Much better than I thought it would be and not really for younger kids oddly enough.

Really? How younger are we talking about?

My kids (oldest being almost 12) love the first one.

Two of them turn 8 years old this Sunday and we were going to have pizza and cake and watch Incredibles 2 on the big home theater TV.