What Emmanuelle Movie Did You Just Watch?

[Matt]

Don't forget Clancy Brown, Martin. He was GREAT in that one.

[Martin]

Hell yeah. With a killer stache as well!

Also, directed by Martin Campbell...

[Timothy225]

Cast a Deadly Spell

How did this movie eluded me for so long? How a noir detective story set in 40's, where magic is common and demons are real, have slipped under my radar? Fred Ward as a detective named Lovecraft who has to retreive the Necronomicon for a rich man? How can it go wrong? It doesn't.

Fun little movie. Short on budget (it's a 1990's HBO), but really well intentioned.

YES.

Don't forget Clancy Brown, Martin. He was GREAT in that one.

YES.

Hell yeah. With a killer stache as well!

Also, directed by Martin Campbell...

YES!

[Ben Thomas]

Guys, you're jamming me up here - my christmas list doth floweth over.

[Ben Thomas]

Jack Reacher

With only End of Watch and Django yet to be seen... this is arguably my favourite film of 2012. Not the best, per se, but my favourite.

As lean and muscular as it's lead, there's simply no fat on this thing. Any time you think you're watching a bullshit, extraneous scene, five minutes later it gets twisted and folded into the main narrative. Cruise is the man in this. I've never read any of the Lee Child books (fun fact: the author came up with his pseudonym at the entrance to my parents' local Asda store) and I get, based on the physical description, how the books' fans could be pissed off with his casting. But he nails the balls to the wall attitude and even when surrounded by younger, fitter guys, you never question that he could pwn each and every one of them - and he does. Frequently. And I have to say, Rosamund Pike was a nice choice for the female lead. I don't know where her cleavage has suddenly come from, but it should have got a supporting credit of its own. She didn't annoy me as these types of role often can and she has a couple of really nice scenes all to herself.

But, even with Cruise on producer duties, this is McQuarrie's film. As propulsive as the pacing is, he takes his time letting the narrative unfold. We know from the opening scene what it takes the lead characters half the film to figure out, allowing him to make them finding out all the more believable. The script is peppered with tough, juicy dialogue and the set-pieces push the boundary of a 12 certificate further than I've ever seen. The BBFC apparently cut a few seconds to give the studio the certificate they wanted, but make no mistake - this is an adult movie, brutal and unrelenting, without being gratuitous.

The film as a whole just did not put a foot wrong, with the minor exception of a blow to the head that would have likely killed Reacher, but just stuns him for a few seconds. That's a minor quibble though. Funny, smart and packed with enough testosterone to make me question my gender, this is genre filmmaking of the highest order in my opinion. If Cruise is smart, he'll close out the Mission: Impossible series with one final entry and make this his go-to franchise. He looks remarkable for a man in his fifties, but his days of jumping off high buildings are coming to an end. I'd buy him knocking punks into the hospital for another ten years, based on this evidence and a few lines on his face will only add gravitas to the character.

Roll on Django.

[Martin]

Nice! Can't wait for Django as well, but Jack Reacher went from "why the fuck should I care about this?" to a future must-see.

[Timothy225]

So stoked for Django, and now Ben's convinced me to give Jack Reacher a try.

[Ben Thomas]

Actually, if there's a nitpick it's that Herzog isn't in it enough. But thinking about it, he's in it just enough to give off the requisite menace and mystery. To say any more would spoil it.

[Ben Thomas]

I'm not surprised they pulled the premiere either. I wouldn't be surprised if they put the film's US release back entirely. The opening scene is chilling and prescient, given the last week's event.

[Anderson]

I'm not surprised they pulled the premiere either. I wouldn't be surprised if they put the film's US release back entirely. The opening scene is chilling and prescient, given the last week's event.

They're not going to push back any of the release dates. It's end of the year and too much other shit is lined up.

[Matt]

Great review, Ben. You just guaranteed that my wife and I will see this in the theater.

[Abraham Smashington]

Total Recall (remake) - You know, this wasn't half bad. If you divorce yourself from the Ahnold verison it may actually be pretty good. That being said, the star of this movie is the amazing production design. This is one of the best "futures" I've seen in a flick in ages. I like my future dirty, and this is perfect. Colin is pretty badass as is Beckensale. Biel was passable but I didn't really give a shit about her. Cranston is mostly wasted and his Cohaggen is nowhere near as slimy as Roddy in the original.

I recommend it if you want to see some killer action scenes along with a pretty fucking amazing future view. I still love the original, but this one was worth a watch.

[Anderson]

Total Recall (remake) - You know, this wasn't half bad. If you divorce yourself from the Ahnold verison it may actually be pretty good. That being said, the star of this movie is the amazing production design. This is one of the best "futures" I've seen in a flick in ages. I like my future dirty, and this is perfect. Colin is pretty badass as is Beckensale. Biel was passable but I didn't really give a shit about her. Cranston is mostly wasted and his Cohaggen is nowhere near as slimy as Roddy in the original.

I recommend it if you want to see some killer action scenes along with a pretty fucking amazing future view. I still love the original, but this one was worth a watch.

Rerb and I almost totally agree again. I expect to see a Surprise Oscar nom get tossed its way for the set/production design. It's still in the running for it and the usual technicals.

[Ben Thomas]

It was ok, but it didn't do anything interesting with the ideas - it was too busy moving to the next set piece. As such, yeah it's passable, but completely hollow. As ridiculous as the Arnold version is, it is at least (along with Predator and maybe T2) the Arnie film that has some depth. At the end of the day, as not-terrible as it is, it's still only the second-best Total Recall film. Beckinsale was legitimately great though - actually the best performance I've seen from her, or at least the most enjoyable.

[Abraham Smashington]

The set/production design was fucking ACES. I wanted the movie to be longer just so I could hang out in that world.