What Emmanuelle Movie Did You Just Watch?

[Ben Thomas]

I'm glad more people will be exposed to Django in the next few years. Its a really fun, iconic kind of film. Accessible, well-made, goofy and surprising. I love that film.

I just saw Horrible Bosses. It would be almost nothing without the chemistry of the leads, but I had enough decent laughs throughout to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm seeing Bridesmaids tomorrow, but this was a really solid comedy for me, with really nice performances from all involved (needed more Farrell). Its easily on par with I Love You, Man or Hot Tub Time Machine. And Aniston gave me wood. Waddaya know?

[Captain Russ]

Mona Lisa.

Bob Hoskins as an ex-con caught between loyalty for the crime boss (Michael fucking Caine) he served time for and a call girl (Not Michael fucking Caine) he chauffeurs.

Hoskins is a raw nerve throughout, culminating in some truly heartbreaking moments when things really begin to go off the rails. And Cathy Tyson's Simone (the call girl who is not Michael fucking Caine) is right there with him the whole time.

Michael fucking Caine is an unmitigated, detached bastard as George's boss, Mortwell.

Hagrid and Lester Freamon figure prominently.

It's a hard nosed love story/crime drama where character motivation is not readily apparent and in some cases is discovered too late to turn back.

A very good little film.

[Ben Thomas]

Considered a bit of a classic over here, though often over-shadowed by The Long Good Friday.

[V]

Watched 'Ronin' again yesterday for shits and gigs.

And still yelled out when DeNiro asks 'What color is the boathouse at Hereford?"

Which one? There are four of them.

Also... both car chases make me wet.

[Nathan]

Need to rewatch that.

[Matt]

Watched 'Ronin' again yesterday for shits and gigs.

And still yelled out when DeNiro asks 'What color is the boathouse at Hereford?"

Which one? There are four of them.

Also... both car chases make me wet.

LOVE this film, and it only gets better and better with repeated viewings.

[Martin]

Captain America

Fuck yeah.

[Martin]

And Ronin is so so so great.

I usually make this part of my double feature with Spartan.

[Ben Thomas]

That's interesting. I wouldn't really put those films together, but its an interesting dichotomy - one so sparing with detail and language, yet pumping with cold, propulsive energy; the other spare with kineticism yet brimming with verbosity and minutiae.

Both of course elevated by Mamet.

[Martin]

And Ben WINS! It's both the contrast and what unites them that makes me watch those together.

[Martin]

I just rewatched Skyline. So so so bad. And just when it starts to be retardedly interesting, it stops.

And that movie should be called: Invincible Aliens: The Exhaustive Search for Human Brains.

[Bobby Bear]

That title would have probably got me in the cinema, Martin.

I watched Super twice yesterday. I wasn't blown away, but it's a very solid flick that looks lovely on Blu and has the guts to pursue a pretty hard concept right to the end of the line. It doesn't cop out when things start getting very murky near the end and Wilson & Page are delightful. Highly recommended, even if the very last scenes felt a little out of place and molly-coddled.

[Ben Thomas]

Fair Game

The first half of this is incredible, the second half merely good. If you don't like Sean Penn the figure, then this film will piss you off. Which is a shame, as he's (unsurprisingly) excellent as a decent, intelligent man fighting the entire system to clear his name. Naomi Watts is also very, very good, but her story is more interesting before she's outed. That said, Watts does a fine job of conveying Plame's strength and resolve and - while not adding much overall - the switch over from Watts to the real Plame at the end doesn't jar one bit, which is the highest compliment you could give Watts' performance.

I will say its easily the most accessible of the 'serious' films that have looked at Iraq and what went on. They lay out the process the CIA analysts went through leading to the declaration of WMD's in a very broad, but authentic fashion. Liman also manages to make scenes of people spouting jargon and procedure not just watchable but riveting. While we're on Liman, he's becoming a very reliable, mid-budget director. His productions are notoriously logistically troublesome and I think he has done re-shoots on most of his major movies, but he hasn't delivered a poor product yet. I'd say on the scale of things, Fair Game is much more Bourne Identity than Mr and Mrs Smith, in terms of quality.

Its no All The President's Men, but it is a very solid thriller with some great performances (Penn dressing down a female journalist in the middle of a meeting was punch the air stuff for me) and an interesting peer behind the curtain of national security.

[Captain Russ]

Does Cindy fuck the Baldwin or not?

[Lisa]

I love Sean Penn - I don't care one whit about his personal life, but as an actor, he's aces. I would love to see this, Ben, thanks for the recommendation!~