Messages

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The Dirty Harry Films / Re: Dirty Harriet

« on: June 04, 2008, 01:23:05 PM »

Interesting...but I hope it isn't going to be another Resident Evil type deal. But hey, what the heck? I just hope they don't somehow screw this classic up.

My point is there is already a female vigilante film, there's Lara Croft, the Resident Evil movies I mentioned, and countless others. Its "in" these days and I'll probably be taken the wrong way and I don't mean to sound callous, but its been done before and I really dont think they need to do this again just for the hell of it.

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General Discussion / Re: Eastwood in "Death Wish"

« on: April 30, 2008, 07:37:41 PM »

Actually, Harry isn't a vigilante. He's a policeman performing his sworn duty to society. He never fires his gun except when fired on himself, or to protect innocent people. If you want vigilante cops, put Magnum Force on the DVD platter.

True. I'm still trying to coin a name for him. Possibly "enforcer" instead of "vigilante". The term makes the title of the third Dirty Harry movie very appropriate I guess. 

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: The Sylvester Stallone Appreciation Thread

« on: April 30, 2008, 03:20:17 PM »

You guys are right about Cobra, its a lot of fun! I don't like making fun of movies I have though. After seeing Transformers last year I say thats the movie we should be laughing at. But seriously, Cobra is an action classic. One level below classic mind you, but still damn good!

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General Discussion / Re: Eastwood in "Death Wish"

« on: April 30, 2008, 03:06:38 PM »

Clint Eastwood would've been excellent in Death Wish but as I'm a Charles Bronson fan as well I thought he was perfect. Dirty Harry and Death Wish are extremely similar and both characters are vigilantes who aren't afraid to do what needs to be done. So I think everything is fine as it is. I love both films as it is, so I personally see no problems.

Call me insane, but I seem to be the only person on this website that both likes and owns the Death Wish sequels . Correct me if I'm wrong, though!

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The Dirty Harry Films / Re: Dirty Harry vs. The French Connection

« on: April 30, 2008, 11:57:54 AM »

Funny how both of these films are some of my favorites of all time. They're both fine, just different types of movies in a similar setting. Dirty Harry has surreal undertones, as said already, but realistic action and a realistic villain. The French Connection is more documentary style and almost complete realism. Friedkin did a very good of incorporating character development in the story. Once again, they are different cups of coffee.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: What Was The Last DVD You Bought ?

« on: April 30, 2008, 11:45:34 AM »

It was interesting to listen to the commentary on the Manchurian Candidate remake ... they kept saying they couldn't do this and that, because it had been done so well in the original film.

I enjoyed the original, but I haven't seen it in a long time. However, I thought the remake did a good job of re-thinking the material for a post-Cold War world. And the three leads were fantastic.

Yeah, I've returned after a long time (family stuff), but I just have to say after revisiting the board that I liked The Manchurian Candidate remake a lot. The original is great but they're both very good, just different.  Denzel Washington is a very good actor; Training Day and The Siege are proof enough of that IMO. I thought he was superb in this but hard to compare to Sinatra's performance. Again, big difference...

By the way, I bought the Psycho remake yesterday, and I'm wary it might be a pile of manure . Well, any comments on this remake then?

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: What was the last western you watched?

« on: February 09, 2008, 09:23:30 PM »

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) 10/10

Man, how I'm upset that this was a limited theatre release. I would have loved to see this on the big screen! This may be to intellectual and boring for some, but it was the complete opposite for me. It's a talky, slow moving western that's a brilliant character study. It's not a shoot 'em up western by no means. If you're looking for that, I suggest you pass on this. If you've ever seen a Terrence Malick film, this film mirror's his style quite a bit. It's literally poetry in motion. A masterpiece. This should have been nominated for best picture.

Wow, I can't say enough how oustanding this film is! I was engrossed in it while I was watching. You know the ending of the film, yet at the same time, you didn't know what action's these characters were going to take from scene to scene. The tention was very high which I always love.

I agree, excellent film. I liked how the characters were developed and the intellectual aspect was the brilliance of it. This isn't just a western...far from it. Think of it as a perfect character study. You know Robert Ford's plans for James but you were still engrossed and wondering how it would all play out.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: Remakes - Best & Worst

« on: January 25, 2008, 07:26:26 PM »

Best:

Cape Fear (How this ended up on someone's worst list I can't figure out?! Excellent movie IMO.)
Shaft (Am I one of the only people to like this movie here? I personally thought Samuel L. Jackson and Christian Bale did well!)
The Thing
Scarface
Mission: Impossible
A Fistful of Dollars (Absolutely no questions.)
Assault on Precinct 13 (I'm in a rebellious mood right now. I enjoyed both versions.)
Insomnia
The Departed
Heat
Traffic

Worst:

The Pink Panther (Martin is no Sellers!)
House of Wax
The Mummy (CGI overload!)
Godzilla

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: The Sylvester Stallone Appreciation Thread

« on: January 12, 2008, 10:45:53 PM »

I've gotten more into Sylvester Stallone's films recently. One of the best film heroes ever. A very good actor and he has proven it with the excellent Rocky and others as well. I bought the Rocky and Rambo collections for Christmas and watched First Blood again today after viewing all 3 in a row during winter break.

First off I have to say I loved all three movies; but First Blood is very different from Rambo: First Blood Part II or Rambo III. The story in the original is very well done and there are action moments, but I noticed it took the Kill Bill Vol. 2 approach; more emphasis on dialogue than action. Notice also the body count is far lower, as in the 2nd volume of the Kill Bill movies (whereas the 1st one went over the top with action and Uma Thurman's blowout fight sequence at the end. The body count was in the hundreds!). In First Blood there is one death; the next two have (very cool IMO. I love action movies! ) hundreds of people dying. I have to admit I like all three equally, the original just stands out. The dialogue at the end of the original was especially good. Stallone delivered it spot on.

I also really like the next two Rambo movies, but mainly for the hugely fun action scenes. Sly kicks some serious ass with an automatic rifle . So personally I'm looking forward to the next Rambo movie, but I wonder what they will emphasize on; dialogue or action? Guess we'll all find out.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: What Was The Last DVD You Bought ?

« on: December 25, 2007, 09:48:51 PM »

Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
Falling Down
Basic
The Missing
Mystic River
Kelly's Heroes
The Rock
Die Hard 8 Disc Collection


Raided the Best Buy DVD section last weekend!   Christmas cash and stuff.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: What Was The Last DVD You Bought ?

« on: December 16, 2007, 07:02:17 PM »

Bought Get Shorty, Easy Rider, and Lonesome Dove yesterday.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: Movies I have watched this week

« on: December 15, 2007, 11:15:37 PM »

@ paul muni:    Not often I see Goldeneye get rated that low.

I wasn't giving it a bad review; I really like the film and didn't mean to come across that way. I would've given it an 8 or higher but I was comparing it to the other Bond films before it, which I like better. It was very hard to rate as I said and I actually thought Sean Bean was one of the best villains yet. 

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: The Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year Thread!

« on: December 14, 2007, 07:20:09 PM »

This Christmas is going to be pretty cool.

So Happy Holidays, everybody!   

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: Movies I have watched this week

« on: December 12, 2007, 07:37:16 PM »

Goldeneye (7.5/10)

The Bond films are difficult to rate on a "1 to 10" scale since they are all so different. Eras, styles, and the actors playing 007 change a lot over the years. I rewatched Goldeneye last night as I did for On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Pierce Brosnan plays Bond well, but not as effectively as Roger Moore or Sean Connery (the best IMO).

Bond is sent out on a mission to infiltrate a Russian headquarters and supposedly loses his M16 ally, Trevallion (Sean Bean), in the process. Nine years later he discovers that his former partner has survived and gone rogue. He now plans to destroy Trevallion and his plans for using a satellite dish as a nuclear weapon.

This recent entry in the series is engaging, well acted and action packed. The best parts about this one are some very good characters, including of course James Bond, a nerdy computer programmer, and a cool villain. Again a better film when I watched it again. Not one of my personal favorites of the Bond series, but still good escapist fun.

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Movie Night / Re: Movie night

« on: December 06, 2007, 11:14:39 PM »

I'll be watching since I love Magnum Force. Count me in.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: Movies I have watched this week

« on: December 04, 2007, 01:59:05 PM »

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)  8/10

After buying all four James Bond collections some time ago, I didn't much care for this on first viewing. I thought it was a good ride but I came in not wanting to like George Lazenby as Bond (my dad didn't like him either). Later I just decided to watch it again. I usually like movies better on second viewing and this was no exception. I really enjoyed myself and Lazenby actually handled the role very well (blasphemy I know!  ). And Telly Savalas was very convincing in the role of the villain, Blofeld. My favorite Blofeld role is still Donald Pleasance in You Only Live Twice, but Savalas is now my second fav.

Overall I think this a decent Bond entry. Not the very top of the series but still good. Wonder who else here watches Bond...

17

General Discussion / Re: Favorite Eastwood/Siegel Film.

« on: December 02, 2007, 09:11:04 PM »

Dirty Harry is the most "fun" of the bunch.  It's escapism entertainment.

The Beguiled may be the most well-made.

I was flipping through the book "Interviews with Clint Eastwood" or something, and from an interview before Dirty Harry came out, Eastwood said straight up he didn't think it was the best film he'd done with Siegel, but that he had a good feeling about it and he was anxious to see the cut.

Dirty Harry is a lot more than just "fun" in my opinion. Besides it being very well done and well acted by Eastwood and Andrew Robinson, the film has some of the best choreography I've ever seen. From the opening shot of the sniper to Harry killing the two bank robbers, its much more than simple entertainment. Any movie can be fun, but this is an expression of pure talent by everyone involved. Not to mention its my favorite film of the bunch. It may be fantasy, but that really doesn't matter.

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Clint Eastwood Westerns / Re: WHY FFOD IS MY FAVE.

« on: December 01, 2007, 07:20:08 PM »

The entire Dollars series is excellent, but it gets me when I constantly hear that A Fistful of Dollars is the "weakest" of the trilogy. In my opinion, it is the most significant because it jumpstarted Eastwood's career, and as another person here said, he owns this film. His show and his alone. Gian Maria Volonte is good but thats beside the point.

Definitely not the weakest, but in many ways the best.

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General Discussion / Re: In The Line Of Fire vs. Absolute Power?

« on: November 27, 2007, 02:27:48 PM »

Both are excellent films, so I'm neutral. The films themselves are in fact very different. Yet In the Line of Fire is Oscar worthy and phenominal is every way. Absolute Power is is very well done and I like it a lot as well. So I just can't decide which is better...

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: Christmas Movie Night

« on: November 27, 2007, 12:49:21 AM »

Lethal Weapon; yes! Excellent movie. How about the Rambo series as well? Love those too.