What Emmanuelle Movie Did You Just Watch?

[Matt]

Also, I rewatched Krull.

Fuck me did it aged a lot, but I respect it so much for being original. God I love the 80's. And the Slayers were so badass compared to the typical henchmen of the 80's, the dumb Stormtrooper.

I TRIED watching this again about a year ago. TRIED. Good GOD has it aged badly.
- bad pacing
- cheesy, REALLY cheesy special effects
- a completely meh lead in Ken Marshall
- a potentially cool weapon that isn't even used until the last 5 minutes of the film...and is then rendered uber-lame by the effects.

Seriously, 'Krull' makes 'the Sword and the Sorcerer' look like 'Citizen Kane'. 'Hawk the Slayer' KNOWS it's a low-budget D&D knockoff and has fun with it...'Krull' plays it so seriously that it's rendered ridiculous.

'Krull' DOES have a great score, and Lysette Anthony is an extremely pretty gal. Also, it's fun to see Liam Neeson and Alun Armstrong slumming it up.

[V]

By great score, you mean the bad Wagner imitation by Horner... right?

[Matt]

Yes. Sorry, but I dig it.

eta: you're right, it IS Horner. For some reason I was thinking it was Jerry Goldsmith.

[Abraham Smashington]

Picked up Darkman last week on blu. Watched it this weekend. Still my favorite Raimi superhero flick (yes, even more so than SM2). Liam is hamming it up, Larry Drake is menacing and the "TAKE THE FUCKING ELEPHANT!" line still cracks me up. <3 this flick.

[Matt]

"TAKE THE FUCKING ELEPHANT!" line still cracks me up. <3 this flick.

it's the finger bend on the carnie that gets me every time.

Also, Colin Friels needs more work.

[Ed Hocken]

Don't forget the completely random dancing with a funnel on his head scene.

[Timothy225]

Seriously, 'Krull' makes 'the Sword and the Sorcerer' look like 'Citizen Kane'. 'Hawk the Slayer' KNOWS it's a low-budget D&D knockoff and has fun with it...'Krull' plays it so seriously that it's rendered ridiculous.

The Sword and the Sorcerer. Rocket-launched swords for the win!

[Matt]

The Sword and the Sorcerer. Rocket-launched swords for the win!

It's the best of the bunch. Matt Houston vs Richard Lynch and Richard Moll w/Simon McCorkindale thrown in for good measure. Oh, and the babe.

[Timothy225]

Agreed. And we're still waiting on the sequel, Tales of the Ancient Empire (NSFW-here there be breasteses!), damn it!

[Matt]

that sequel has been in the can for what...over a year now? I'm thinking that it's not a 'quality' production. Also, the obvious lack of Lee Horsley diminishes my enthusiasm for the who am I kidding I can't wait to see this.

[Timothy225]

that sequel has been in the can for what...over a year now? I'm thinking that it's not a 'quality' production.

Shitty CGI, laughable dialogue, actresses with as much range as a Daisy Air Rifle, and Sorbo likely doing this for the write-off.

Not a quality production? You speak MADNESS!

[Ben Thomas]

Good Night, and Good Luck and Frost/Nixon, the latest in my awesome double bills series.

GNaGL is fucking incredible. I was lukewarm on it when I first saw it, but I really got into it this time. Clooney needs to direct again, cos Confessions... is one of my favourite films of the last decade and this is almost inarguably a better film (let's not talk about Leatherheads right now). This is not to downplay everything good that Clooney constructs, but the balls it takes to integrate a 3-4 minute uninterrupted shot of archive court footage into the second half and for it to be the dramatic highpoint in your film really impressed and - I'll say it - enthralled me. This would make a fascinating back-to-back with Network. The cast are all great, but Strathairn is doing some incredible work in this film. What's great about the whole endeavour is that it could so easily have been completely one-sided, but some of the best moments are when Friendly or Murrow are shown as being pigheaded or self-serving. Langella knocks his final scene out of the fucking park in a beautiful way, his speech could serve as a mission statement for anyone running a TV station (minus the bit where he pulls the ballsy show from the prime slot, natch). This is a film that will be discussed for decades in film and journalism classes. Its a damn classy affair. Its also worth saying that the short featurette on the R2 release serves an excellent intro, as it spoils none of the film at all and gives it a specific context that is useful to bear in mind during the film.

Frost/Nixon is the slightly flashier cousin in a way. But my God, Sheen and especially Langella are absolutely fantastic. Its a little too on the nose for me at times (something that Sorkin can just about pull off, but Morgan seems to emphasise the point he wants to make too much), but that is a minor nitpick in an otherwise flawless film. I'd say this could be Howard's best film, if not perhaps just behind Apollo 13. Its not as subtle as GNaGL, nor does it incorporate the documentary aspect as effectively, but Howard deserves credit for pulling together and orchestrating the cast to fit the script and for taking a two-hander play and really opening it up with excellent use of location, space and production design. And it is never boring, not by a long shot.

I'm trying to think of a good capper to make it a trilogy and all I can come up with is Social Network, which I watched very recently. Any thoughts?

[Ed Hocken]

I'd check out the actual Frost/Nixon interview (It's only about 40 minutes as opposed to the hours of actual footage) that got released after Frost/Nixon was in theaters. I hate to say it, but you can really see Nixon's point. Whether that was spin or not, I have no idea.

Or perhaps LIVE FROM BAGHDAD with Michael Keaton and Helena Bottam Carter about CNN reporting from the First Gulf War. Maybe even SHATTERED GLASS, the only movie I like to say where Hayden Christensen ever acted.

[Matt]

Ben: 'All the President's Men' would be a solid capper.

I've yet to see 'Frost/Nixon' (I've heard it's good) but I absolutely LOVE 'Good Night and Good Luck'. I saw that one in a packed theater and it earned some much deserved applause from everyone there. I'd say that it's virtually flawless.

[Ed Hocken]

I loved the hell out of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. My only hangup, and it is a minor one. The almost omniprescent nature of Sam Rockwell's bare ass.

-Edit-

Oh yeah, and THE INSIDER