What have you watched lately?

[jjreason]

Was Machete a Robert Rodriguez directed movie, or only produced? I think it's the character from Spy Kids (which he directed), right?

See, I'm a fan of his directing, but not all of the movies he's put his name on.

EDITED: I see he directed it. Might have to have a look at it then.

[Diabolical]

Machete is, to utilize an old Vynsane word, awfulsome, but intentionally awfulsome. Much like Planet Terror before it, Machete revels in its ridiculousness.
And Danny Trejo is such a bad ass.


Over the past few days I revisited Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
Even though TDK is an amazing film I think BB doesn't get enough credit. I still think TDK is better overall, but BB does the origin story that doesn't make it feel like a chore to sit through (*cough*Spider-man*cough*).

[Rollo Tomassi]

The "This Network" has been showing some awful Sci-Fi movies this week, and they showed Robocop 2 and Robocop 3 this week. If Robocop is a 10 on a scale of 1to10, then Robocop 2 is a 1, and Robocop 3 is a 0.1. Damn thats some atrocious shit.

[Diabolical]

Recently rewatched Dr Horrible. So much fun.
I so want a Captain Hammer t-shirt that doesn't cost $25 + shipping.

Watched They Live for the first time in years and years the other night. If there is a movie that defines the term "Awfulsome," then this is it.
And I know this could be considered blasphemy, but I think this is one movie that could be remade today and it could actually work - but only if they make it a sci-fi/action/comedy. You know, intentionally funny this time.

[Rollo Tomassi]

Recently rewatched Dr Horrible. So much fun.
I so want a Captain Hammer t-shirt that doesn't cost $25 + shipping.

Watched They Live for the first time in years and years the other night. If there is a movie that defines the term "Awfulsome," then this is it.
And I know this could be considered blasphemy, but I think this is one movie that could be remade today and it could actually work - but only if they make it a sci-fi/action/comedy. You know, intentionally funny this time.

I would love for some huge tentpole Summer Film film to just randomly have a 10 minute long fight scene over sunglasses in it. But other than the fight, make no cheeky reference or anything like that to They Live. No clever wink or nothing. Just the fight. Then the film goes on its way as usual. It would be the ultimate pop culture in joke.

[Diabolical]

South Park did a shot for shot remake of that fight once between Timmy and Jimmy.
One of the very few things South Park did that was funny.

[jjreason]

Just re-watched Dark Knight for the first time since the theater (well I have just under an hour left, so nearly watched it - stopped when the kids got home). What a god damned masterpiece this thing is - it's so intense, I'm as engrossed now as I was so many months ago when it was all new.

[anarky]

Oh, so you clearly watched Batman Begins and mixed up the name.

[jjreason]

Nah, Batman begins seemed too much like an "elseworlds" story or something. I liked the confrontation with the Scarecrow, that was really memorable, but too much of the origin seemed off to me.

I'll have to rewatch it - maybe I was in a mood or something. The fact i don't own it on blu-ray is a surprise to be honest, I was looking through my shit to choose what to watch and realized I had both of the new James Bond flicks but only one Nolan Batman. Must address this.

[anarky]

To be fair (and before Diabolical comes in to try to ream me), TDK is an excellent film. It's just a lousy film when your main consideration is it being a Batman film.

Heath Ledger plays an incredible serial killer. But, name and facepaint aside, he couldn't be less like the Joker. They got the "chaos" down, but I can't think of anything he does that's funny. Joker will napalm bomb a crowd of children, but crack a ridiculous joke while doing it. Even Nicholson's Joker was closer to what the character is.

Two-Face is completely wasted. It feels like someone told Nolan to stick him in at the last minute. Killing him also falls into the same trap as most of the original Batman franchise movies.

And I've said before, the ending does quite a bit to ruin the film. "Onoes! Harvey Dent is dead, and people might not like him once they realize he went nuts. He killed cops! We can't let people find out about this. And it's not like there's a crazed serial killer running around in facepaint killing people at random that we can blame it on or anything. Hey! I've got it. You know who's got two thumbs and also is a symbol of hope in the hellhole that is Gotham City? This guy! Tell everyone I did it. Yeah!!"

[jjreason]

Maybe it will come clearer in part III - he may need to be cast in a negative light for some reason before the hard-core porn featuring Ann Hathaway blowing him and moaning while she fingers her own bumhole starts (wait, maybe that was my imagination & not the spoiler notes - I can never keep shit straight).

I do remember what set me off about Part I now - the whole microwave machine to destroy the universe that didn't hurt any people even though we're 90 percent water.... yet it somehow destroyed property like a mother fuck. Maybe I just don't understand enough about microwaves, but I was always of the understanding that plates & cups survive while frogs and babies don't...because the energy boils the water inside the items to heat them up.

[Rollo Tomassi]

Ohmigod. You just ruined Batman Begins for me.

I haven't been posting the recent movies I saw in the theatre. So here goes.

Contagion. Well acted, but came across a little dry. It was good while watching it, but nothing made me keep thinking about it after I left the theatre.

Moneyball. Ironically, I find baseball boring, but I absolutely love baseball movies. This was no different.

Drive. Holy shit, this was an awesome fucking movie. Don't be thinking its like "Fast and Furiuos". This is a small, yet intense character study with some intense driving and violence scenes interspersed. And the violence is VERY VIOLENT. Wanna see Christina Hendricks head blown off with a shotgun? Or see Ryan Gosling literally crush a guys skull open like a pumpkin with his boot? This movie don't shy away from being graphic. Wonderful supporting roles from Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, and Ron Perlmann.

[Diabolical]

Since my last post, these are the most noteworthy things I've watched:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Far better than it should have been. One of the best of the summer.

Red State - Kevin Smith's "horror" flick. Not scary, but it is pretty twisted and unlike anything he's ever done. Too bad he's almost done making movies.

9/11 - The documentary that caught the first plane hitting and followed the firefighters into the hell.

Avatar - For the first time since theaters. Damn, this flick is pretty boring. Looks beautiful though.

Contagion - I loved it, but I thought it lacked something in terms of connecting emotionally with the characters. And it made me want to wash my hands. Repeatedly.

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop - Just OK. Interesting, but not what I expected.

The Walking Dead (Season 1) - Prep for season 2.

Buried - Ryan Reynolds alone in a wooden casket for 90 minutes and somehow it works. Tough to watch if you're even slightly claustrophobic.

[Rollo Tomassi]

In the theatre, I saw Ides of March with Clooney and Ryan Gosling. The moral of the film is if you want to get into politics you can, AS LONG AS YOU THROW EVERYTHING YOU BELIEVE IN THE TRASH.

On TV, I saw the original Taking of Pelham 123. I'd seen the remake with Denzel and Travolta, but never saw the original with Matthau and Robert Shaw. Not bad. Robert Shaw is badass. How he goes out at the end is kinda fucked up.

[jjreason]

Harry Potter part 26. Good ending to a good series of films. I was a might - just a might - disappointed in the movie-version of that single curse word used in the story - they could have done an awful lot more with that. And once again, the CG under Ralph Fiennes nose was distracting.