What Emmanuelle Movie Did You Just Watch?

[Martin]

What a waste of time that movie was. Definite lack of boobage.

[Captain Russ]

Yeah.

Seeing a boozed up/coked out Schimmer get demolished was pretty incredible though.

[Captain Russ]

Seeking a Friend For the End of the World.

The story's been done before (arguably better) in Last Night, but the chemistry between Carrel and Knightley is pretty good and they both turn in solid performances. Knightley is especially good at the sour face/rapid eyed sad babby look, and the cameos each do their part in service to the story.

Having said that, some cuts are bizarre and the tone is rather schizophrenic as a result. The result better served the whole companionship-amidst-chaos concept I suppose and it works more often than it fails, but it was still odd. Especially in the bunker scene.

I enjoyed it quite a bit, fade-to-white armageddon and all.

[Matt]

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

This is the goods. I'm gonna lower your expectations a bit and tell you now that it's not side-splitting funny, though. This is one of those movies that gives you a grin right away, keeps you at a near constant state of giggling, and then unloads on you with 7-8 really, really hard laughs.

Everyone is really good in this, although Olga and Abbie are really only given minor underwritten cameos (a joke within the film). The ones who really walk away triumphantly are Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, and Woody Harrelson.

Walken: He might get an Oscar nom for this, especially for his scene when he takes off his cravat for Woody Harrelson. Even though he's not the main character, in many ways he's the heart and soul of the film. His presence helps provide grounding to the lunacy that starts to build...and build. And good GOD is he funny. I won't spoil anything but he generated the hardest laughs in my fairly full theater.

Rockwell: He's at his most Rockwellian here. Picture the guy that he played in MATCHSTICK MEN ratcheted up to 11. He's the tarbaby that attracts everyone around him, sucking them into his lunacy. Walken generates the biggest laughs, but Rockwell is the one that keeps you giggling throughout the movie.

Harrelson: Simply awesome as the 'bad guy'. This is easily my favorite performance of his. I want to see a buddy picture with him and Rockwell in the future; they play really, really well of of each other, especially in the climax.

Farrell's good too, but his job is to kinda by the audience proxy. As such, he has to be more realistically grounded than everyone else so that his reactions can more adequately mirror the audience reactions. He's great, but he's not as out there as he was in IN BRUGES.

Tom Waits is good in his extended cameo. His role is more serious, and he nails it in terms of tone and delivery.

GREAT film. The wife and I loved it, and the theater really dug it as well. Very funny and very bloody.

[Anderson]

If CITIZEN X had been given a theatrical release, i honestly think he would have earned an Academy Award nom for it. Hell, Donald Sutherland and Max Von Sydow might have earned Best Supporting Actor noms. That's one of the single best movies that HBO ever made.

But, it's playing back into what I said. You can't go full retard and you can't go full supportive. If you do that, you get nominated but never win.

Hell, Angels in America and Wit could've both dominated at the Oscars...had HBO actually given them theatrical releases. American Splendor got a limited release and pulled in a ton of nominations and wins.

[Matt]

EVERYTHING OR NOTHING, that new documentary on the Bond films.

Really interesting and well made. Of interest:
- Connery REALLY has a grudge against the Broccolis. He didn't participate in the documentary, but everyone else is really candid about his loathing of Cubby Broccoli.
- Lazenby is awesome. His story about how he bullshitted his way into the part is really entertaining. He's also really candid about how stupid he was to walk away from the role, going into great detail about the poor advice he received from friends and management.
- Moore is a gentleman, through and through
- Dalton is great in the interview, going into what his take was and why it didn't work. Like Lazenby, he's very candid and insightful.
- Brosnan is a scream, having great fun talking about how he almost got the part in the 80s and about how GOLDENEYE is the only film of his that he remembers (the rest are a blur and he laughs them off)

Worth checking out.

[Ari]

I finally watched the new Spider-Man and I was surprised I liked it so much. If this had been the only Sipdey film ever made, I think a lot more people would have really dug it. Emma Stone has become second to THE PORTMAN. MOAR MINI-SKIRTS!!!

[Anderson]

EVERYTHING OR NOTHING, that new documentary on the Bond films.

Really interesting and well made. Of interest:
- Connery REALLY has a grudge against the Broccolis. He didn't participate in the documentary, but everyone else is really candid about his loathing of Cubby Broccoli.
- Lazenby is awesome. His story about how he bullshitted his way into the part is really entertaining. He's also really candid about how stupid he was to walk away from the role, going into great detail about the poor advice he received from friends and management.
- Moore is a gentleman, through and through
- Dalton is great in the interview, going into what his take was and why it didn't work. Like Lazenby, he's very candid and insightful.
- Brosnan is a scream, having great fun talking about how he almost got the part in the 80s and about how GOLDENEYE is the only film of his that he remembers (the rest are a blur and he laughs them off)

Worth checking out.

I've been pushing that movie on Bond fans I know. It's a solid doc, even though the Broccolis are fighting its inclusion on the Skyfall Blu-Ray for next year.

[Matt]

I was surprised at the language and the nudity (quite a few flashes, especially when they talk about the Maurice Binder segments) in there.

[Anderson]

I was surprised at the language and the nudity (quite a few flashes, especially when they talk about the Maurice Binder segments) in there.

It was made outside of the Broccolis direct involvement, but with their materials. In the end, the family saw the final cut and lots of hand wringing took place.

I wish they would give it a proper release and quit this weird rollout for it. I know that VOD and shit like EPIX is the future, but they need to make it available other ways.

[Matt]

I was also surprised that they got access to the footage from NSNA (probably trailer only footage).

What I want now: a biopic of George Lazenby. I bet it would be a really fun movie, as he seems to have led a really colorful life. I love his comments about 'getting laid a lot' while he was Bond. I also loved his laugh when he recounts that the Broccolis were concerned that he used to be a male model and 'sent a girl to his place' to ensure that he was straight.

[Matt]

So, the wife unit and I are working our way through the Bond films in order.

Monday: DR. NO.

Good but not great. The pace is too slow and the action sequences a bit too infrequent. Dr. No is sadly underused and thus becomes a meh villain. That's a shame, as he's acted beautifully and has tremendous presence.

It's a formative film: let's see what works...what are our strengths and what are our weaknesses?

Tuesday: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

Well, they took the lessons from the first film and applied them here. The pacing is better and the villains are stronger. The plot is lean and mean, and the overall throughline through the movie is much smoother (a miracle, considering the re-writes). The action sequences are taken up a notch and the violence, especially in the train fight, is much more realistic. Connery has fully settled into the role at this point and carries it off beautifully. GREAT film.

[FilmNerdJamie]

Connery era failed to live up to From Russia with Love villain-wise. Two films in and they peaked with writing/execution, villains, supporting cast, etc. Everything went downhill from here.

[Matt]

GOLDFINGER:

It's very good, but the over-the-top elements are juuuuuust starting to creep in and render the film slightly ridiculous. Other observations:
- Connery has the role down pat now and he's running with it, turning on the charm like nobody's business.
- The increased budget really helps to give the film some real scope. It FEELS big, compared to the prior two entries. More worldly, if you will.
- The theme song is great.

As an aside: my wife, who hasn't seen ANY of these films in over 20 years, is comparing everything to FRWL now. She is totally smitten with that film. She has good taste.

[Captain Russ]

You're ahead of the Thanksgiving schedule.

Watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and In Bruges last night for no reason other than having a case of the "why nots" and anticipating the 7 Crazypants movie this weekend.

What a terrible evening that was.




















Not.