Unofficial Tex Murphy

Hey! Am I the only one going to the movies around here?

A couple days ago I went to see HeckBoy II. If any of you guys saw the first HeckBoy, you know that Ron Pearlman's characterization of the the big red dude is the best part. He is so cool. I really like the series, so far, but I'd say the 1st one was better.

Today, I went to see the Eddie Murphy movie Meet Dave. Unfortunately, the 'Dave' character does not exploit Eddie Murphy's true talents. The Dave character was very mechanical and somewhat slow-witted. So if you're expecting Eddie Murphy, you don't really get him.

Last night I saw 'The Savages' with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney. I went there knowing nothing much about it, but from the first 10 minutes I could tell it was directed by a writer/director, simply by the way the story flowed and how it was cut... usually when having a separate director to the writer you would find a lot more irrelevant stuff cut from the film, but of course when you write and direct you develop more of an attachment to every scene you imagine when writing it. Not to say it was bad in that sense or anything, but based on the fact it was written with heart and personal experience you can really develop more of an insight into the frame of mind from which it was written.

Oh, Doc... yeah we watch films... I probably go to the movies about 3 times a week, and hire out flicks on every other day (the video store guy probably knows mote about me than my girlfriend does haha!)... but most of the time I like to absorb rather than critique, hence why I usually only mention seeing a flick if the topic of it is brought up.

On a side note however I recently re-watched the 2 Death Note films. Japanese films based on the Manga series, and they are really well done. As usual the story in convoluted but not too much, enough to be a very intelligent story. I recommend it as part of my Jap movie collection, heh.

-Cub. =o)

P.S. HeckBoy? Are you changing that name or are they doing that caus everywhere else it is HellBoy... unless it is a different film all together?

I don't have the time to go out quite that often... Last movie I saw in the Theater was Hancock...

I do however have Bank Job and College Road Trip here to watch... I've heard both are good movies...

P.S. HeckBoy? Are you changing that name or are they doing that caus everywhere else it is HellBoy... unless it is a different film all together?

I just call it HeckBoy for fun.

Wow I really hated Cloverfield. I wish I had never have seen it.

I am editing this to say how much I hated it X2. I can't get over how much I hated it.

Finally someone who agrees with me... Everyone else here seems to have liked Cloverfield...
Cloverfield gave me such a headache with all the jumping around... I realize that it was suppose to be filmed that way, but I just couldn't stand it...

The ending of Cloverfield was ridiculously unnecessary.

Need I say SPOILERS?

SPOILERS!










It's not that I mind people dying in movies, I just hate it when they do just to end a movie, and when they die so stupidly. I'm not going to give the usual rant such as questioning most of the decisions the characters made in this movie, but I'm just going to yell at the chopper pilot who tried to escape BY GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS THE GODDAMN MONSTER. Surely a seasoned army pilot would figure the best way to escape a dangerous situation is to fly in parallel with it a few meters apart. Never mind going in the opposite direction.

It's just like I Am Legend. I didn't mind him dying, but there was no reason for this particular sacrifice just then. The movie just switched into Ending Mode and the dude threw a grenade out of nowhere to end it all.

It's like a reverse Deus Ex Machina. God doesn't come to solve an impossible situation, he comes to kill the main character in an impossible way. It's becoming a very annoying trend among movie makers. Deus Ex Machina was ridiculed for a reason in the olden days of Greek tragedies, and this new wave sucks for the same reason.

Wow I really hated Cloverfield. I wish I had never have seen it.

Finally someone who agrees with me... Everyone else here seems to have liked Cloverfield...

The ending of Cloverfield was ridiculously unnecessary.

If you would like to see a movie that is in the spirit of Cloverfield, but without all the shortcomings of Cloverfield, check out George Romero's Diary of the Dead.

Like Cloverfield, it is shot in the cinema-verite style, but in Diary of the Dead, the main protagonists are film-students and their camera work is *much* better. Also, the characters respond to the situation in a much more believable way. It doesn't rely on stupid decisions by the characters to drive the plot along. And, of course, the whole package is filmed by a true master of this type of horror, George Romero.

It's everything you wish Cloverfield was, but wasn't. Check it out.

Frank wrote:It's just like I Am Legend. I didn't mind him dying, but there was no reason for this particular sacrifice just then. The movie just switched into Ending Mode and the dude threw a grenade out of nowhere to end it all.

Actually he threw the grenade to save the woman and child he hid in the safe or whatever it was, but there wasn't enough room for him to get in there with them... So he gave her the blood and took care of the beasties...

Yesterday, I saw The Dark Knight and Blade Runner - final cut.

I'll post my comments on Batman in the Dark Knight Review thread.

I watched Blade Runner from the front row on the big screen. The only wat to see this kind of movie IMHO.

I gotta say that I like the director's cut better than the final cut. The final cut had some new scenes that I appreciated, but what bothered me about it was that some of the final cut scenes were too gruesome. Much more so than in the theatrical release of director's cut.

One such notable scene was when Roy kills Tyrell. It was gross and unnecessarily violent. I had to turn away. Another was when Pris attacks Deckard and tries to rip his nose off. I just felt, in general, the final cut was noticeably more violent than the other versions and it was unnecessary - maybe distracting.

It's not that I don't enjoy some good violence now and then, but I prefer the director's cut. Meanwhile, it's been too long (26 years) since I've seen the theatrical release, so I can't remember it well enough to comment.

Ahh, yes, 1982. The year of the Classics.



-Fred

Today, I saw a French film called Roman de gare.

This was sort of like a mystery, perfect crime, perfect murder movie involving a writer, a ghost writer, real-life characters (on whom a novel is based), and all of them threaded together around the apparent murder.

If you don't mind sub-titles (or if you speak French) Dr. Paul says, Five Stars. A great and unusual thriller.

College Road Trip and Welcome Home Rosco Jenkins... Both very funny movies...

Spoilers for Casino Royal


So I think there may be something happening to me in regards to movies with unhappy endings. I didn't used to mind them so much, and maybe I still don't, but there are two films recently that have tried overwhelmingly to set up an unhappy ending.

1. Cloverfield: Which is the worst movie ever made.

2. Casino Royal: Which I didn't even finish.

After seeing Bond on the beach with the woman he loved. And committing himself to leaving the 007 biz. I knew that it wasn't going to end happy for the girl. So instead of torturing myself to the like of a wet rope swung between the sack, I just turned off the movie and imagined what a great life they ended up having together. I feel pretty good about that too. So, pretty good movie. The Travis Cut!

X-Files, I Want to Believe

Boy, I'll tell ya. It was great to be back in the saddle again. I got so excited seeing Mulder and Scully after all this time, I could hardly pay attention! We even get to see Skinner for a little bit. I really like Skinner and was glad that he was on board.

This particular installment of the X-Files movies doesn't require a real stretch to believe. It's not nearly as far-out or as Big as the first movie. So if you want to believe, this is probably a good place to start.

There is a bonus for all you fans who sit patiently through the credits. Something I don't think we've ever seen before...Scully in a two-piece bathing suit. Nice legs, too. In fact, I don't think we've ever seen Scully's legs before this. Does she ever wear a skirt?

Ok, Mulder's in a bathing suit, too. But I didn't really notice.