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Post by slayrrr666 on May 27, 2008 10:01:29 GMT -5
I thought that fourth one with the guy that isn't Christopher Lambert was direct-to-DVD. Even still, wouldn't the first three count since they went to theaters, and you need three for it to count this month? Still seems reasonable for me. |
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on May 27, 2008 13:36:43 GMT -5
I thought that fourth one with the guy that isn't Christopher Lambert was direct-to-DVD. Even still, wouldn't the first three count since they went to theaters, and you need three for it to count this month? Still seems reasonable for me. Absolutely correct. |
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Post by Quorthon on May 27, 2008 14:09:54 GMT -5
Even still, wouldn't the first three count since they went to theaters, and you need three for it to count this month? Still seems reasonable for me. Absolutely correct. I wasn't disagreeing with anything. Just pointing that out. I don't like Highlander without Lambert. |
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Post by Quorthon on May 27, 2008 14:14:36 GMT -5
I thought that fourth one with the guy that isn't Christopher Lambert was direct-to-DVD. The fourth movie, HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME starred Christopher Lambert (Star of The Highlander movies) and Adrian Paul (Star of The Highlander TV series) and did play in theaters. The fourth movie, THE SOURCE only played in theaters outside the U.S. In the U.S. it premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel. Believe me, my wife is a huge Highlander fan, that's why I know this stuff. Oh right, I'd completely forgotten they made one with both Lambert and the wanker. So the other is a fifth movie sans Lambert, then? |
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on May 27, 2008 22:17:53 GMT -5
Right. The fourth one is Lambert and Paul and the fifth one is just Paul. There can be only one.
Not for nothing, but the Highlander tv series is more satisfying than any of the sequels.
THE NAKED GUN: FROM THE FILES OF POLICE SQUAD! (1988)
Hilarious big-screen version of the cult 80's tv series, 'Police Squad', featuring inept cop Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen). Rapid fire jokes and sight gags in the tradition of, and from the makers of, AIRPLANE. Funny stuff.
Dare I say, the NAKED GUN trilogy was probably the last time Nielsen was used to great effect in one of these spoof/parody movies. Everything else he's appeared in after has been a pale imitation and it's a little sadder each time he's cast in another one.
8.5/10
STAR WARS: EPISODE V - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
What kind of STAR WARS fanboy would I be if I didn't watch at least one of these movies during "Franchise" month?
Without a doubt, one of the greatest sequels ever made.
Brings back all the familiar characters and introduces us to such cool new ones as Yoda, Boba Fett and Lando (Mac Daddy of the Galaxy) Calrissian. We even get a glimpse of The Emperor in hologram form.
Also features one of the greatest surprise revelations too. Thank God this was first released in the days before the internet, cause you just know some idiot would've gotten a hold of the script and spoiled it for everyone else at Ain't it Cool News or some other movie message board.
9/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on May 28, 2008 10:21:14 GMT -5
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad-1988
I still call this one of the funniest films of all time, I laugh harder and louder at this one than just about most films out there. Exactly the kind of humor I enjoy, mixes the smart with the stupidity in equal doses and the end result is one that still manages to make my sides hurt. From the wordplay to the puns to the gags and the sheer absuridty, this one still has a power after all these viewings to make me lose my breath laughing, and that is a classic in my book.
9.5/10 (it should've been 10, but I know that there's certain parts that I used to laugh at that now don't affect me like they used to)
Scary Movie 3-2003
To me, think this is the best of the series, since it has that same sort of humor that Naked Gun has. Plus, Neilson returns in a fantastic part that is fully based on what he's done in the past, and can still make me laugh. Fall-down funny at times (the funeral has to be one of the single funniest things in the history of the genre) and the visual puns and gags are just as great. Loses a little, like Naked Gun, to familiarity and to a couple of lame segments that aren't really funny, but I still enjoy this one immensely.
Plus, both of these are a great breaker over all the sleaze I've been watching this week anyway.
9/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on May 29, 2008 1:12:53 GMT -5
STAR WARS: EPISODE VI - RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) Finishes the series in fine form. The epic lightsaber battle between Vader & Luke while The Emperor cackles in the background is one of my favorite sequences in the entire six film saga. That, and the early scenes with Jabba and his goons, make up for some of the slower scenes in the middle. 8/10 RAMBO (2008) Stallone does for Rambo what he did for Rocky, gives us one final story that brings closure to the series. And like ROCKY BALBOA, with RAMBO he delivers a film that's better than all the other sequels that came before it. This is also probably one of the most violent action films starring a mainstream star that's ever been made. I'm talking graphic stuff, bodies ripped in two, decapitations, limbs flying everywhere, buckets of blood. Not for the weak of stomach for sure. Lately I've seen movies where John MacClane, Indiana Jones and John Rambo have all come back to the big screen after a long absence. It's like the Eighties all over again.  7.5/10
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Post by Quorthon on May 29, 2008 9:43:59 GMT -5
Oh, dammit, what was I thinking? I forgot that I watched It's Alive II and It's Alive III this month. Add those in for me. Part II: 5/10 Part III: 6/10 My Quickshot Review of the two. |
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Post by Pulpmariachi on May 29, 2008 15:19:49 GMT -5
The Bourne Ultimatium.
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Post by Bartwald on May 29, 2008 16:14:50 GMT -5
DEATH WISH (1974) After his wife is killed and daughter raped, Charles Bronson goes vigilante on thugs and muggers. A more realistic version of a Batman-style revenge fantasy. No superheroics, just a normal guy who gets pushed too far. 7/10 Just saw Death Wish and Death Wish II. Good films, both of them. It's always interesting to see what scriptwriters come up with to follow a successful formula in a similar but not-quite-the-same way. In my opinion, they did it pretty well in case of Death Wish II: again, there's an assault on Paul Kersey's daughter (and his housemaid - did you notice how nobody bothers to tell us what happened to the latter?), but this time he knows exactly who to hunt down, so his mission is a bit different than what he was doing in the original (ie. randomly killing the muggers). Part I is, however, the better of the two, as it shows how difficult it was for Kersey to become a vigilante (the shaking hands, the nausea - some good acting from Bronson here). Then again, Part II includes really disturbing moments, especially when we see what happens to Kersey's daughter. I: 8/10, II: 7/10 And one more James Bond movie this month: Die Another Day. I still think this one's underrated, even if some CGI effects are not that good (the surfing Bond!) and the finale isn't as good as the first hour (a common thing in the series). I especially liked the darker than usual mood in the beginning, and the casting of Bond girls (still can't decide whether it's Halle Berry or Rosamunde Pike who's sexier here). Brosnan again feels perfectly comfortable as Bond - his checking in at the hotel while wearing soaked pyjamas is a riot! 8/10 |
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Post by ZapRowsdower on May 30, 2008 2:17:52 GMT -5
The Karate Kid (1984, John G. Avildsen)
The director of Rocky does another underdog tale in one of the films that defined the 80's. Who doesn't remember when this was one of the coolest movies ever? Who, after this film's release, could not recognize the face of Pat Morita? How does someone as big as Ralph Macchio once was slip into obscurity like that? Well, having gone back to this childhood favorite, I gotta stay there's still much to appreciate. Robert Mark Kamen's screenplay offers us characters we can empathize with, and an antagonist we can despise. Mr. Miyagi is one of the greatest film mentors of all time. My one complaint is its lack of epilogue - in a film like this, I think the audience deserves to know what happens after the tournament, and I'm not talking about the Karate Kid 2 and 3... or especially throwing Hilary Swank into the mix. Yeesh. 8/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on May 30, 2008 10:53:33 GMT -5
Highlander III: The Sorcerer-1994
After traveling to Japan, Conor MacLeod finds himself in a struggle with a powerful enemy of the past.
Still not sure what entirely happened (I knew I should've followed Heiney's advice and seen the first one, but this one was on instead) but still, I don't need much of a plot when there's a bunch of action in my face, and for that, I came out feeling rather entertained. The first fight in the caves is nicely done if too short, and the final one inside the factory is awesome. One of the best non-Hong Kong ones I've seen, and there's others spread throughout which makes me happy. Had I known more about the plot, I might've enjoyed this one a little more, but minor quibble.
7.5/10
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Post by Bartwald on May 30, 2008 14:39:18 GMT -5
Today I saw two movies that I thought have nothing in common - but I found out they do! These were: the last (for now!) Dirty Harry movie, The Dead Pool, and Rush Hour 3.
Things in common? Both feature a similar pairing of an American and Chinese cop, both are the weakest parts in their franchises, aaand - useless trivia alert! - both sport a moment in which the characters are watching a movie recently mentioned in this very thread (Harry Callahan sees a bit from It's Alive III and is told it's an excerpt from a movie directed by one of the suspects, while Chris Tucker's James Carter watches Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom and imagines he's Short Round to Jackie Chan's Inspector Lee... or something).
The Dead Pool is spoilt by a stupid toy car chase and by a rather uninteresting villain. Jim Carrey singing "Welcome to the Jungle" wasn't that great a moment, either. Still, Eastwood's still in fine form and Patricia Clarkson makes a good Sondra Locke substitute. Some set pieces are pretty good, but as a whole it's no match to the previous efforts in the series. 6/10
Rush Hour 3 is a bit annoying at the start (too many unfunny Tucker's solo gags), but as the action gets thicker and quicker the whole thing becomes tolerable. Roman Polanski's cameo was funny and the Eiffel Tower finale even managed to be tense at moments. I expected something more, though. 5/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on May 31, 2008 10:49:58 GMT -5
The Dead Pool is spoilt by a stupid toy car chase and by a rather uninteresting villain. Jim Carrey singing "Welcome to the Jungle" wasn't that great a moment, either. Still, Eastwood's still in fine form and Patricia Clarkson makes a good Sondra Locke substitute. Some set pieces are pretty good, but as a whole it's no match to the previous efforts in the series. 6/10 The car chase is one of the best parts to that one, I agree, but I thought the film as a whole was a lot better. It's one of the few entries that's actually based on action and not a police procedural, which I enjoy more. It's one of the better entries. |
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Post by Bartwald on May 31, 2008 13:42:38 GMT -5
I liked the pacing and most of the action scenes in The Dead Pool, too, but it could be much better in my opinion if it could combine action AND an intriguing plot - and the whodunnit portion of it was quite poor, I guess you'd agree with that?
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