D'OH! can't believe I missed this one-good call nobodies.. hell yes. Samorai is fantastic too.

I used to have a Netflix account until I realized that the stuff I rented sat around, unwatched, for months until I got the urge. See, I think movies + tv are kind of an impulse thing, something that you have to be in a certain mood to endure. So if I need to laugh, and I've rented a horror movie, I'm back to square one as far as what to watch. And I tried the whole "just copy it and watch it whenever" but I found that I never, ever watched any of the stuff I copied. Pfft. What a waste (at least for me).

Also, on the rare occasion that the movies I held (thru Netflix or straight-up rental house) were actually what I felt like seeing at that moment, 3 times out of 4 the film would be scratched beyond watching. Now THAT'S frustrating.

Sooooooo me + ol' Amazon get along just fine these days. I don't mind spending $$ on my video collection, especially considering I get all that bonus material and the freedom to watch whatever I want whenever I like. It's my only vice, really.

So, I'm putting together a section in my store of DVDs that are 2 for $10. Huge. 1000's of TITLES (not copies). If I bother typing all of the titles up, do you have any interest?

Anyone else that might be interested can also tell me.

Sure! PM me the list (or a link to wherever you post it) and I'll def. check it out.

Now, onto yet another example of the "better late than never", I finally watched:


Scarface - Platinum Edition

What can I say that hasn't been said before? Bottom line: I loved it.
Except that have you noticed that whenever one watches this movie, you instantly start talking like Al Pacino?
"Joo gotta get movin', mang!"

Oh yeah, I also discovered:


Serenity
Damn, this was better than I ever thought it would be. A nice sleeper hit surprise!

That's why I went with the Blockbuster movie pass. It has its downsides: it's a little pricey $27.00 per month; and Blockbuster is really only good for new releases... but when I want to rent a movie I want to rent it now. It's nice to be able to stroll over to the blockbuster and pick up whatever I want whenever I want it.

As for older/classic movies that I miss out on, I sort of prefer to own those anyway.



Serenity was great. Joss Whedon sort of took a risk in making a television-based feature film pretty much exclusively for the fans of Firefly. There was suprisingly little backstory and pandering to non-fans. It was basically a series finale made for the big screen. Great film.

Tonight


Saturday, MULHOLLAND DR.

Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa

found it on youtube. great film.


Pandora's Box by G.W. Pabst

silent film from 1929. very good. lead actress was damn sexy.
it still makes me wonder though how long the films were even during the silent era. "pandora's box" is slightly over 2 hours.

Great movie. If your copy has it, Artem, watch the extra doc about Louise Brooks. She was a firecracker.

Was very surprised how Zodiac was not so much of a shocker than a crime mystery, given that David Fincher of se7ven directed it...it's actually quite a funny film at times, esp. Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery, the boozy journalist. Think of it as an extended CSI episode (110 minutes) without any sexy people, gadgets or computer animated physiology.

Haven't seen it since first run, but the first season or two of Benson were at least chuckle-worthy. Soap was better though.

True. Benson really didn't hit its stride until the 3rd season, really.
Soap went downhill fast about 1/2way thru season 3 (mostly due to 2 factors: Benson leaving for his own show, and Susan Harris leaving as the main writer). Hey, whattyagonnado?

Weeds season 1 and 2 is very good.

And simply put, "Roots" was the best mini-series ever, in TV history.

I had no idea it was this good! (shit, I haven't seen it since I was in grade school)

Have you checked out the TV series, Firefly?
I guess Serenity was based on the series. It ran in 2002, and quickly went off the air. My sister is really into it now.
I'm planning to check it out just so she stops bugging the hell out of me.
...and it's available on DVD!

now this is must see tv. come for the 2002 release, stay for the 1970 version.

sure. even a passing cars fan can appreciate/laugh at the vintage footage.

Immortal
Errmmmmm.... uhmmmmm... yeahhhhhh... Not enough real people, too much CGI - basically, this looked like a video game with some Anime-style plot (which means that anything goes, really). Not bad, not great, but I must admit the 90-odd minutes passed by very quickly. So that's kind of a point in its favor, I guess.

Leon Morin, pretre


Le Doulos

both films by Jean-Pierre Melville. both films are very very good. Belmondo is amazing. i'm really glad i discovered Melville for myself.

oh! and i just realized that Melville was in "breathless"!

The premise of this movie was great, and most of the elaborate set design with fake/evolved brand names on absolutely everything was very effective too. It fell apart a bit near the end, but it's a fun ride.

Zodiac

Hella good movie. Even though I knew they never caught the Zodiac, I was still rooting for Jake's character to catch him.
See this movie!

OTM. Love the premise. Skip the love story.
"I'm Secretary of State, brought to you by Carl's Jr."

And skip the pseudo action sequence with the phallic monster trucks and flame thrower.

Laura (1944)
Watched it on recommendation and wasn't disappointed.

who's the director?

Hitchcock. (check for the Twin Peaks influences)

Otto Preminger
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037008/

You're thinking of Rebecca Aggy.

let me give a smart recommendation instead of relying on my horrible memory.


Talk about your dysfunctional families! Henry II, his wife Eleanor, and his three sons bitch, insult each other and scheme against each other to gain control of the royal properties. Not only containing a juicy Oscar-winning performance by Hepburn, but some of the nastiest most literate disses this side of Shakespeare. Also watch for pre-James Bond Timothy Dalton as pretty-boy Philip II of France.

some choice lines courtesy of imdb...

[to Prince John]
Prince Geoffrey: If you're a prince, there's hope for every ape in Africa.

Henry II: I'm villifying you for God's sake - pay attention!

Henry II: Now see here, boy...
Philip II: I am a king - I am no man's "boy"!
Henry II: A king? Because you put your ass on purple cushions?

Eleanor: Did you ever love me?
Henry II: No
Eleanor: Good. That will make this pleasanter.

Upon seeing his wife after she arrives for Christmas Court]
Henry II: HA! What shall we hang... the holly, or each other?

AND SHE'S GOT A GREAT ASS!!!

Holy hell, Henry Rollins really took quite a beating.

Renaissance

Wow!
No, really: WOW!

His greatest film role.

Things I've seen recently:



Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit
King Kong (2005)
Punk:Attitude
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Inside Man

City of God by Fernando Meirelles

pretty good. does anyone know if "city of men" is worth watching?

children of men is!

you guy's talk a lot about that movie here. i'll see if i can find it anywhere.

City of Men was decent, but not nearly as good as the movie. Worth a rental.

Salavtore Giuliano by Francesco Rosi

film about sicilian mafia and how they're all connected with the government and such. it was rather boring and disappoiting, because i really liked "hands over the city" which is done in a similar social realism style as this film.

Agree, glad it was on the TV and I didn't pay for it. City of God is white hot though.

300
Bad points: Dialogue, lotsa fighting in place of plot
Good points: Photography, choreography, casting, and I must admit I was riveted the entire time. Coooool flick.




Hot Fuzz
Bad points: none.
Good points: Best dialogue I've heard in months. Killer action sequences. Flat-out hilarious. Genius, even. These guys rock!

I just bought 300 and Hot Fuzz today's ago. I loved Hot Fuzz, but I thought that it did get a little slow in the middle. The last half hour was completely brilliant though. I haven't watched 300 yet. I'll have to see it this weekend.

awesome

Given the dialogue, I think lotsa fighting in place of plot should be in the good points section

Good point!

I just watched the "Fighting Sullivans" again, for the 2nd or 3rd time in years. Man oh man, what a great war movie, so to speak. Films like that can really remind stupid people what fucking war is all about.

Thomas Mitchell = greatest character actor of all time? Maybe.

They could at least name an award after him.

"Broken Arrow" is one of the best 'westerns' ever made. I'm embarrassed that it took em this long to finally see it.

Definitely look it up, and see it. Jimmy Stewart portrays real-life Tom jeffords, a real American hero who actually met Cochise in person, and helped set up a peace accord that Cochise actually enforced. Awesome stuff.

I watched these two on Saturday.
Aftershock nailed it.
Rent 300
Buy Hot Fuzz!

i developed a serious addiction to this movie over the wkend. this happens to me every time i rent it. problem is, i finally burned it and now my future is seriously threatened.

best thing Curtis Hanson ever did. I need to watch it again too.