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Last seen...

I watched Contagion yesterday. I was hoping it would put my wife off of the idea of international travel in these times of economic belt-tightening. Whilst it has put her off of eating pig and bat-hybrid kebabs, I don't think my plan worked, and she's already talking about wanting to visit Hong Kong sometime soon... damn my plans. I am like Dick Dastardly with these ill-thought-out schemes... Anyway, I give it a 7/10. It made me paranoid, not Outbreak paranoid, but as paranoid as that time I drank some tea made from mushrooms and sat down to watch The Ring.
 
The Andromeda Strain

If you liked Outbreak, you should check out The Andromeda Strain. Both the book and the movie are very good. As with so many genres, Crichton was the first, or at least the first to make it mainstream.

Leonardo Noto
 
^ Lmao.

The Princess Bride. 5 big shiny gold stars.
Johnny English. 'You have met your matchstick.' Has one or two laughs and it's always nice to see Daniel Kaluuya, especially after his performance in Black Mirror.
 
Hunger Games. Liked it quite a bit. Wouldn't have hurt if they'd dared make it a little harsher (if you haven't read the book, the "hunger" part of the title is mostly conjecture), but on a whole, a fair adaptation that doesn't entirely skimp on the vinegar and a brilliant performance by Jennifer Lawrence. Doesn't hurt to have an action movie with a female lead, for once, either. :star4:

Of course, some people are pissed off that the black characters were played by black actors, but some people deserve to be pissed off.
 
beer good said:
Hunger Games. Liked it quite a bit. Wouldn't have hurt if they'd dared make it a little harsher (if you haven't read the book, the "hunger" part of the title is mostly conjecture), but on a whole, a fair adaptation that doesn't entirely skimp on the vinegar and a brilliant performance by Jennifer Lawrence. Doesn't hurt to have an action movie with a female lead, for once, either. :star4:

Of course, some people are pissed off that the black characters were played by black actors, but some people deserve to be pissed off.
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Man, there are two things in this world I hate. People who are intolerant of other cultures and ethnic groups...... and white people. :lol:

TOTALLY JUST KIDDING!!
 
The Thing (2011) - 6.5/10. Good in start and end parts, a bit meh in the middle part, due to similarities with the film it's both a prequel to and kind of remake also... worth a watch though, I think anyway.
 
Psychiatry/Psychology Movies

A few great psychiatry/psychology-themed movies that I've seen recently:

1. King of California--Michael Douglas. Bipolar Disorder. :star5:

2. K-Pax--Kevin Spacey. Real Extraterrestrial vs. Delusional Disorder. :star5:

3. The Changling--Angelina Jolie. Abuse of Psychiatric Power by the State/Serial Killer. :star5:

Leonardo Noto
 
Leonardo Noto said:
If you liked Outbreak, you should check out The Andromeda Strain. Both the book and the movie are very good. As with so many genres, Crichton was the first, or at least the first to make it mainstream.
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Coma's another good Crichton flick, although I can't say how well it's aged.

Fired up the extended edition of The Legend of 1900 on Youtube today, and got what I hoped for if not a little more. Tim Roth was serviceable as the virtuoso pianist who's never stepped on land, spending his youth on a cruise liner, but he was the only average link in an otherwise bountiful film of fantasy, sadness, and great sensuousness. Even if the film was overlooked in the 90s, I see the piano duel has racked up thousands of viewers online; anyone who'd like to see a masterclass in crafting a cinematic sequence should see that scene.

The Legend Of 1900 Duel Scene HD - YouTube
 
Warrigal said:
Fired up the extended edition of The Legend of 1900 on Youtube today, and got what I hoped for if not a little more. Tim Roth was serviceable as the virtuoso pianist who's never stepped on land, spending his youth on a cruise liner, but he was the only average link in an otherwise bountiful film of fantasy, sadness, and great sensuousness. Even if the film was overlooked in the 90s, I see the piano duel has racked up thousands of viewers online; anyone who'd like to see a masterclass in crafting a cinematic sequence should see that scene.
Click to expand...

Nice to see someone else who likes this movie! It's one of those rare cases where the movie is actually longer than the original novel, but it works surpisingly well. And that duel scene is great.

I watched:
My Week With Marilyn. Yeah, I agree with Anamnesis; Williams is brilliant, but the story is meh, and there's a distinct undertone of "Marilyn Monroe was a tragic victim but at least *I* learned something!" Weak :star3:

Candy Von Dewd. Very very low-budget attempt at making a modern-day Barbarella, about a bunch of astronauts scouring the stars for fertile women. Could have used the charm of American Astronaut. And a script. And direction. And editing. And... well, everything. Awful, but at least the set design has a certain demented... nah, it sucks. :star1:

Wuthering Heights. The 2011 version. I really liked Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank the other year. Here she applies the same basic realist style to Wuthering Heights; Catherine and Heathcliffe are teenagers, the heath is cold, wet and windy, the dialogue is spare, everything hard and violent and impossible (even more so since Arnold took the description of Heathcliffe as "dark" and cast him with a black actor). It's a well-needed harsh take on a story often presented as straight-up romance... but it probably still helps if you're interested in the story to begin with. :star4:, barely.
 
Warrigal said:

Fired up the extended edition of The Legend of 1900 on Youtube today, and got what I hoped for if not a little more. Tim Roth was serviceable as the virtuoso pianist who's never stepped on land, spending his youth on a cruise liner, but he was the only average link in an otherwise bountiful film of fantasy, sadness, and great sensuousness. Even if the film was overlooked in the 90s, I see the piano duel has racked up thousands of viewers online; anyone who'd like to see a masterclass in crafting a cinematic sequence should see that scene.
Click to expand...


I love The Legend of 1900, and hardly anyone I know has ever seen it. It's such a nice film, soaked in sentiment definitely, but with just enough edge and story to keep it from drowning in such. That duel scene is great.
 
Will said:
I love The Legend of 1900, and hardly anyone I know has ever seen it. It's such a nice film, soaked in sentiment definitely, but with just enough edge and story to keep it from drowning in such. That duel scene is great.
Click to expand...

beer good said:
Nice to see someone else who likes this movie! It's one of those rare cases where the movie is actually longer than the original novel, but it works surpisingly well. And that duel scene is great.
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At least we're not alone in cherishing this overlooked gem, but there's potential for reviving its reputation online through a viral campaign of sorts. The 2,000,000+ views for the duel scene on Youtube isn't a bad start.

Emotional restraint isn't Tornatore's strong suit, but the director's cuts of his films show he doesn't solely have a rose-tinted view on things. I remember Miramax cutting a scene from Cinema Paradiso, in which the hero (then still a boy) loses his virginity to a prostitute. Then there's the sex trafficking and scenes of abuse in his more recent The Unknown Woman, which is a beguilingly dark thriller that also hasn't gained much recognition.
 
The Skin I Live In ~ Almodovar channels Cronenberg in this slick arthouse shocker. :star4:

The Dead(2010) ~ zombie movie set in West Africa. Visually striking. :star3:
 
Coma, huh?

I've actually never heard of Coma, and I'm the biggest Crichton fan ever (also the biggest Crichton wannabe ever!). I'll definitely have to check it out. I just picked up J. Edgar for my weekly Johnny Walker and a movie night. Will let everyone know how it is tomorrow.
 
Will said:
I love The Legend of 1900, and hardly anyone I know has ever seen it. It's such a nice film, soaked in sentiment definitely, but with just enough edge and story to keep it from drowning in such. That duel scene is great.
Click to expand...

I seen it, but it's been so long that I confess I don't remember much beyond the fact that he never left the boat if I'm not mistaken. I think I remember that I liked it.
 
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