What Emmanuelle Movie Did You Just Watch?

[Abraham Smashington]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Best film of the summer, with zero competition. I could go on about it for hours, but it gave me chills pretty much consistently for the final 30 minutes, it moved and excited me and it had really strong writing, while crafting an interesting story, building thematic consistency and being respectful to the original mythology. What really blew me away (apart from that incredible bridge siege) was how the non-verbal communication came across and how they managed to build six or seven really strong, distinct, complete CG creations. Most incredible was the orang-utan - I honestly couldn't believe that wasn't a real creature for most of the runtime. It wasn't photoreal, but the effects work was in service of the script and not the other way around, which is SOOOOO refreshing these days.

So, yeah, I loved this film. May well end up being my favourite genre film of the year.

All of this. I seriously loved the shit outta this flick.


We watched Paul last night. Really fucking liked it. Pegg and Frost killed it. The chemistry between the two definitely helped the flick but Seth Rogan's character was fucking amazing. Had a blast with it.

[Lesley]

All of this. I seriously loved the shit outta this flick.


We watched Paul last night. Really fucking liked it. Pegg and Frost killed it. The chemistry between the two definitely helped the flick but Seth Rogan's character was fucking amazing. Had a blast with it.

"You bet your big fat cock we did."

[Abraham Smashington]

yessssss

[Timothy225]

Hobo With A Shotgun.

WHY THE HELL ISN'T RUTGER HAUER A BIGGER STAR? Seriously, talk about knocking it out of the fuckin' park! Hauer displayed more heart and a genuine sense of empathy in this (the speech in the maternity ward was gold. GOLD.) than in most performance I've seen in the last year or two. Top to bottom, this, THIS is how you do a grindhouse flick! All it needed was dust and scratches on the film stock, and more 70's tunes on the soundtrack, and it would've been hard to guess the flick wasn't made in the mid-seventies. Great performances from top to bottom, wonderful, over-the-top scenes of carnage (that fuckin' bus scene - DAMN). And I'm crushing on Abby!

To quote Lesley: "ZERO TAMPONS!" Rent it, watch it On Demand, Netflix it, swipe a copy from a friend, get some popcorn and a soda/pop/sugar water/malted battery acid and enjoy the fuck outta yourself.

[Captain Russ]

Sad bastard'd it yesterday with a double shot of depressing, shocking films.

First up was Beautiful Boy, starring Michael Sheen and Maria Bello as a couple in a loveless marriage who are also parents of a troubled kid who becomes a mass school shooter. It examined the toll of such an event on the parents through the prism of the media, family and peers. The performances are very strong, the argument in the last third of the film between Bello and Sheen is particularly raw. There are a few missteps in the editing of some scenes that really rob them of their impact, whether the cutting is too abrupt or feels inconsistent in tone (the end to the aforementioned argument is soured by such a misjudgment). Regardless of these mismanagements, the film raises the questions of response and responsibility without any easy answers, but not for lack of insight into the characters.

TL;DR: An uneven verité exercise that will leave you drained.



Next up, was the Danish classic, The Vanishing.

I remember watching the remake some years back (sometimes against my will, having been home sick with a remote lost to the sands of time) and thinking it was ridiculous claptrap.

It comes as no surprise that this was infinitely better, more nuanced, more intriguing in terms of character motivations, the levels of audience knowledge the filmmakers allow at certain intervals that keep them in suspense for a completely different reason than the usual contemporary thriller (where it is all about stopping X event and saving Y or the cliché-strewn revenge picture), and the lack of kowtowing to the machinations of the Hollywood system in delivering a subpar happy ending.

Of course I loved it.

[Ed Hocken]

I've been meaning to see Beautiful Boy which is a great concept.

I also saw Hobo with a Shotgun and that movie is perfect for 15 year old boys. Check out the original Hobo DAVID BRUNT as the guy screaming "WE'RE ALL DIRTY COPS". If you love Punisher: War Zone this is right up your alley.

[Bobby Bear]

SQUEEEE!!! You're totally one of my people, Bobby! I LOVE "For Your Consideration"! The scene where Fred Willard interviews Catherine O'Hara outside her house the morning after the Oscars are announced is possibly one of the funniest things I've ever seen. "Come inside, I have all this food!" "Go see French!"

No matter how many times I could say how great it is to have you back, Soul Sister, it would never be enough. The mere thought of Harry Shearer throwing the "gang signs" and doing that awkward hip-hop stance/dance combo on the T.R.L. style show cracks me up.

Super.

A sobering, gut punch of a film. Really liked it a lot. The ending is one of the most bittersweet I can think of.

Do you mean the post-mansion resolution as well as the climactic battle? The final scenes after all the chaos had wrapped up were the only bits of the film which didn't work for me. It felt like someone other than Gunn decided they knew a better way to end his film so they distracted him and edited their cut while he wasn't looking. Namely, the stuff with Liv Tyler's character wasn't established well enough at the beginning for it to carry any real weight.

This is in no way an assault on this great movie which I love openly. Shucks, it's the first film I've watched twice on the same day in a very long time. Just think a different ending could have turned this 4 star flick into a 5.

Watched The Other Guys this morning.

Very disappointing. I probably sound like a broken record as far as contemporary comedies go, but this just seemed like another example of a film that ladles lazy, puerile humour onto a lightweight script and expects our sides to betray their purpose.

Tonally, the film is interesting. There are moments when it pushes into the same kind of quirky Anchorman territory, but it never recaptures that success, save for maybe the stuff with the vagrants and a few other brief moments. Rather than let the ridiculousness of the situations bring the laughs, everything is presented as though it's a punchline. Not necessarily a bad thing if you've got an Airplane! style hit-rate, but this doesn't even come close to that.

To top it off, most everything is mined dry of laughs. And I mean "dry." As in "high and." On more than one occasion, I was actually frustrated when scenes refused to end, regurgitating the "it's not over... oh wait, it is" joke then offering up another riff on the family car/emasculation/tampon insult. Must try harder.

[Ed Hocken]

I've said it before but the problem with The Other Guys is that it runs way too long.

[Bobby Bear]

I actually almost turned it over about half an hour before the end, Ed. However, the promise of an explosive finish with The Punisher wasn't wholly delivered, only increasing my frustration.

I have to say though, everyone, you've collectively brought me from not caring about Apes to actively wanting to see it. To alleviate my cynical assessment of The Other Guys, I was going to say "I didn't give a monkeys about it before, but now I want to see it", but I thought that would be too terrible even by my quip "standards."

[Abraham Smashington]

I love The Other Guys.

"smells like a bunch of old homeless dudes had an orgy in here"

Wahlberg makes the film for me.

[Ed Hocken]

Also I saw The Devil's Double, despite the material and Dominic Cooper's work. The movie was generic and a rental at best. Real shame, cuz the story deserved a lot more.

[PHEDG]

30 Minutes or Less. Ansari and McBride stole the show. I had fun.

[Anderson]

30 Minutes or Less. Ansari and McBride stole the show. I had fun.

Ansari almost carried the movie on his back. Eisenberg, Pena, Ward and McBride were good...but nobody could keep up with Ansari.

[Ben Thomas]

Excellent double bill of Showdown in Little Tokyo and Death Wish 3.

Showdown nearly gives Top Gun a run for its money in the gayness stakes. Also, surely one of the shortest feature films I've ever seen. Still, time cannot wither its beauty.

Death Wish 3 is just all kinds of fun. The final 20 minutes or so are absolutely ridiculous. One of my favourite Bronson films and easily the best Death Wish film.

[Martin]

Excellent double bill of Showdown in Little Tokyo and Death Wish 3.

Showdown nearly gives Top Gun a run for its money in the gayness stakes. Also, surely one of the shortest feature films I've ever seen. Still, time cannot wither its beauty.
.

That movie are #2 and 3 on my gay manly movie. #1 is still the reigning champion, Commando.

Showdown also has the great Gerald Okamura in it. And naked sushi!

A classic. Nice combo Ben.