The Official Movie Discussion Thread

[brashleyholland]

One of my favourite films of all time is The Cannonball Run II. Twice this week I have explained the premise of this film to different people, and neither believed that it was an actual film. In fact now that I think about it, I had the same problem again a few weeks ago as well.

 

How hard is it to believe that there's an 80's movie about a car race across America starring Burt Reynolds, Jackie Chan, the guy who played Jaws, Frank Sinatra, Dom DeLuise, Tony Danza, Sammy Davis Jnr, Cheech Marin, the voice of Frank Welker (Megatron/Starscream), Dean Martin, the chick who played Daisy Duke, Marilu Henner, Jamie Farr, Shirley Maclain, Telly 'Kojack' Savalas, Joe Theismann and the Orangutan from Any Which Way But Loose/Any Which Way You Can?

[moon_lit_tears]

Cannonball run II fantastic movie. Its one of the few VHS movies I still have!

[BurningHamster]

One of my favourite films of all time is The Cannonball Run II. Twice this week I have explained the premise of this film to different people, and neither believed that it was an actual film. In fact now that I think about it, I had the same problem again a few weeks ago as well.

 

How hard is it to believe that there's an 80's movie about a car race across America starring Burt Reynolds, Jackie Chan, the guy who played Jaws, Frank Sinatra, Dom DeLuise, Tony Danza, Sammy Davis Jnr, Cheech Marin, the voice of Frank Welker (Megatron/Starscream), Dean Martin, the chick who played Daisy Duke, Marilu Henner, Jamie Farr, Shirley Maclain, Telly 'Kojack' Savalas, Joe Theismann and the Orangutan from Any Which Way But Loose/Any Which Way You Can?

 

Man, that is a sad indictment of the world we live in now, people seem to have a very narrow view of what movies are or what they can be. Cannonball Run II, while I have not seen it in ages, was awesome. The casting alone was like some drunk guys with a ton of money were just sitting around saying "you know who we should get? Sinatra, that hot girl from Dukes of Hazzard and a monkey".

[brashleyholland]

Man, that is a sad indictment of the world we live in now, people seem to have a very narrow view of what movies are or what they can be. Cannonball Run II, while I have not seen it in ages, was awesome. The casting alone was like some drunk guys with a ton of money were just sitting around saying "you know who we should get? Sinatra, that hot girl from Dukes of Hazzard and a monkey".

 

I'm willing to bet my life that that's EXACTLY how it happened.

[BHK1978]

One of my favourite films of all time is The Cannonball Run II. Twice this week I have explained the premise of this film to different people, and neither believed that it was an actual film. In fact now that I think about it, I had the same problem again a few weeks ago as well.

 

How hard is it to believe that there's an 80's movie about a car race across America starring Burt Reynolds, Jackie Chan, the guy who played Jaws, Frank Sinatra, Dom DeLuise, Tony Danza, Sammy Davis Jnr, Cheech Marin, the voice of Frank Welker (Megatron/Starscream), Dean Martin, the chick who played Daisy Duke, Marilu Henner, Jamie Farr, Shirley Maclain, Telly 'Kojack' Savalas, Joe Theismann and the Orangutan from Any Which Way But Loose/Any Which Way You Can?

 

I never saw that but it sounds a lot like It's a Mad Mad Mad World.

 

 

Also, I wanted to move this over here where it is more on topic.

 

And the people upthread trying to say Will Smith isn't much of an actor need to get a grip too. Tell that to his accountants. You ask any of your indy darlings what they'd give for the ability to turn a weak ass script like Wild Wild West into a 200+ million worldwide gross and see what they say. Seven Pounds was awesome, I dunt care what you say.[/Quote]

 

Once again that is not my point. My point is Will Smith is a movie star there is no debating that. What I am saying is he is not a great actor, one can be both a movie star and a great actor (Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington.) while others are just movie stars.

 

People just seem to like Will Smith and that is why he is a bankable star. If you put him in a movie people are more apt to see it because of who he is and not because they are going to said movie to see good acting.

 

And Remi, your Wild Wild West example is .... I am not sure. Should I say that film was a monumental con job or should I say your average audience is made up of 99% idiots? Not sure how much credit Will Smith deserves for that. Probably a punch in the face from everyone who saw that film.

 

This, it is very rare that you see a blockbuster that is actually good script wise (Godfather I and II, Star Wars are some that I can think of that did great at the box office and had great scripts.). People went to Wild Wild West because they like Will Smith and they wanted to see crap being blown up. So of course it was going to do great at the box office.

 

Just because a moive is a hit does not mean it is any good, I mean look at the money that the Transformer movies make, nobody can tell me with a straight face that those moives are any good.

[moon_lit_tears]

Just watched The Lorax.

 

Squeeeee!

[lazorbeak]

Kudos for moving this off the WWE thread.

 

Also, I wanted to move this over here where it is more on topic.

 

Once again that is not my point. My point is Will Smith is a movie star there is no debating that. What I am saying is he is not a great actor, one can be both a movie star and a great actor (Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington.) while others are just movie stars.

 

People just seem to like Will Smith and that is why he is a bankable star. If you put him in a movie people are more apt to see it because of who he is and not because they are going to said movie to see good acting.

 

You guys know Will Smith's career didn't end in 1997, right? I mean while I doubt most people would put him on a "greatest living actors" list, he's actually developed into a pretty solid actor in the past decade, as evidenced by his two best actor oscar nominations (for Ali and Pursuit of Happiness).

 

I mean yes, no question he was just a "movie star" when Wild Wild West came out, but to imply that he's not a "real" actor is ignoring the fact that he's shown tremendous improvement and has grown into a very good actor, which is particularly respectable when you consider he'd still be a multi-millionaire even if he never improved as an actor: just look at Harrison Ford.

 

I really don't buy the "oh film acting is so easy" argument, really, having done some film and significantly more stage acting. You can "cheat" stage acting, giving maybe a handful of genuine moments of human connection interspersed over 2 hours where you're moving from place to place and delivering lines because you're supposed to- there's a lot of big broad body movements to make sure everyone can hear and see you, and it can be very disconnected and unnatural. The camera doesn't let you get away with being that lazy: you have to have real human reactions in every scene (if it's a good production) and it can be incredibly draining emotionally to constantly hit those highs and lows- it's why a guy like Daniel Day Lewis took an extended break from the business.

[Jaysin]

So I'm watching this movie on Netflix called Assassination Games. It has Jean Claude Van Damme.

 

I read that it got mixed to positive reviews. I went in expecting a mindless action movie, which I'm a huge fan of honestly, but this is actually got a good story going. Glad I decided to watch it.

[brashleyholland]

<p>Just got back from a preview screening of The Cabin in the Woods. It was a really nice surprise; a decent horror-type movie that isn't just torture-porn or a by the numbers slasher flick. </p><p> </p><p>

Some good jumps, loads of laughs and a 'different' story than what we're used to with 'teens in a remote cabin' movies. Personally I've become jaded with recent horror films, so it was great to come out of the screening buzzing about what I'd just saw. </p><p> </p><p>

Can't really say much else about it without spoiling - suffice to say that the trailer gives *nothing* away and this is not the kind of movie you'll be expecting! Go watch!</p>

[bigtplaystew]

Just saw "The Innkeepers" which came out of nowhere and ended up being great so I'm gonna give "Cabin in the Woods" a try. Two decent horror movies ina matter of months is unheard of these days.

[1234]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="brashleyholland" data-cite="brashleyholland" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25823" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Just got back from a preview screening of The Cabin in the Woods. It was a really nice surprise; a decent horror-type movie that isn't just torture-porn or a by the numbers slasher flick. <p> </p><p> Some good jumps, loads of laughs and a 'different' story than what we're used to with 'teens in a remote cabin' movies. Personally I've become jaded with recent horror films, so it was great to come out of the screening buzzing about what I'd just saw. </p><p> </p><p> Can't really say much else about it without spoiling - suffice to say that the trailer gives *nothing* away and this is not the kind of movie you'll be expecting! Go watch!</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> It's not a horror film, but for a fun twist on the 'teens go camping' story I highly recommend 'Tucker & Dale vs. Evil'.</p><p> </p><p> I would recommend not watching the trailer though, as it is pretty much a summarry of the entire film (I hate it when trailers do that <img alt=":(" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />).</p>

[brashleyholland]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="1234" data-cite="1234" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25823" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>It's not a horror film, but for a fun twist on the 'teens go camping' story I highly recommend 'Tucker & Dale vs. Evil'.<p> </p><p> I would recommend not watching the trailer though, as it is pretty much a summarry of the entire film (I hate it when trailers do that <img alt=":(" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />).</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Yeah, saw that last year actually, thought it was hilarious.</p>

[bigtplaystew]

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Lady-...led-32147.html

 

Rodriguez Jeritrolls his fanbase and signs commercial juggernaut LAdy Gaga to appear in Machete 2 lol. Love it.

[brashleyholland]

Christopher Eccleston is going to be the bad guy in Thor 2. Malekith The Accursed, whoever that is. I was never a fan of the Thor comics and haven't heard of the character before. Eccleston is a damn good actor though.

[brashleyholland]

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Lady-...led-32147.html

 

Rodriguez Jeritrolls his fanbase and signs commercial juggernaut LAdy Gaga to appear in Machete 2 lol. Love it.

 

Loving this. Presumably she'll be a terrible, hammy actress - which is kinda the point of Machette, right? Can't wait.

[bigtplaystew]

I just love that his hipster fanbase now has to choose: do we continue to praise Rodiguez for his low budget "quality" or do we hate on him for bringing in Gaga? lol @ hipsters

 

 

 

Either way Gaga's very dramatic as a performer and I think as BH said it's actually a decent role for her. I bet you $10 she's in it for less than 10 minutes.

[bigtplaystew]

The Expendables 2 is so full of win that I can't take it. I'm off to go smoke a cigar, drink some scotch, and use foul language.

[crownsy]

saw the bourne legacy tonight. thought it was a good moive but see white for spoilerish thoughts.

 

 

I didn't like the "our super espionage agents are former moron level IQ soldiers recruited by corrupt U.S army officers that the CIA addicted to drugs that make em SUPPPAHHH SMMMART. and if they stop taking the pills, they'll become all DUUUURRR again so as you can see our plots air tight" storyline.

 

I also hated that they retconed bourne into a drug addict, but he doesn't need the pills anymore because he "weened himself off them"

 

 

I get they wanted to do a twist on the "super agent forgets his memory" aspect of bourne, but I enjoyed the bourne films because they were tense action thrillers but somewhat based on the premise of "I am extremly well trained, but am incredibly out manned by the US government, but despite that I will work to regain my past/ expose the awfulness of this program."

 

Sure he's not doing it for anything other than revenge/ personal satisfaction in exposing the program that wronged him, but he could easily run and hide again, and forget about marie. instead he makes a choice to confront the CIA.

 

 

This movie changes the premise to "I'm actually a mentally handicapped person, and my abilities come from drugs. My motivation is to secure my next high so i don't regress to my former self without being dependent on the government for my fix."

 

Cross has no redeeming qualities (as of yet, im sure we'll develop those over this expected trilogy). He is perfectly ready to abandon/kill the female protagonist when she can't hook him up like a street dealer, and only keeps her around when she tells him she can get him another fix.

 

His motivation for opposing the program is just because he's tired of doing the U.S's dirty work to get high. He wants to get high off a supply with no attachments/ become perma high.

 

 

That could make for a good movie trilogy, but it's not a "bourne legacy". It's some new sort of movie with a new message about how the U.S government exploits the mentally handicapped through drug addiction.

[bigtplaystew]

Semi spoilerish Bourne thoughts in white:

 

 

I saw it and I didn't think of it the way you did, but your insights at first made me giggle a little bit then I realized, "OMG he's not joking." And you're 100% right when you think about it. This REALLY is a movie about a self-important drug addict.

 

Treating it like a dumb action movie, I liked it. I was slightly disappointed by it because I had just seen Expendables 2. But I liked Bourne Legacy, just thought the plot was dumb. The theme of advertising this movie is that "you think you know the REAL story?" type crap and in the end, the "real story" was just dumb. Performances were fine though. Renner's a believable badass. The actiony stuff is great though and right in line with the rest of the series.

[BHK1978]

I am shocked that nobody on this site has brought up the fact that there is now going to be an Episode Seven for Star Wars. I am not sure how I feel about it not that Disney has taken it over, I just hope that whatever they come up with is better than Episode One, which really is not a hard thing to do.

[bigtplaystew]

I'm kind of happy about it lol. I like star wars.

 

Is Lucas directing them? I think he shouldn't. I'm fine with him writing and producing. And obviously he'll have a ton of say in the overall look and feel of the films. But I would love to see a good young director take the helm to make a star wars film. I think all 3 prequels would have been great if they'd had a better director really moving those stories along a little better.

 

I wonder what direction they'll go with story wise. Is it going to be way after episodes 4-6 with all new characters? Or if it's Episode 7-9 do we get a definitive post-Return Luke story? I would think that makes the most sense. But then that begs the question, do they film some of the books or do they crap all over the pretty strictly followed cannon?

[lazorbeak]

Is Lucas directing them? I think he shouldn't. I'm fine with him writing and producing. And obviously he'll have a ton of say in the overall look and feel of the films. But I would love to see a good young director take the helm to make a star wars film. I think all 3 prequels would have been great if they'd had a better director really moving those stories along a little better.

 

I don't know about that. Lucas' scripts were pretty awful, too.

[Jaysin]

I really don't understand the backlash Disney is getting. People freaked when Disney bought Marvel, and did anything really significant change about Marvel? Not that I saw.

[bigtplaystew]

I don't know about that. Lucas' scripts were pretty awful, too.

 

The stories are good. Ever read the novelizations? Episode 1 is still bland and boring, that one there's no excuse for. But two and Three are great stories. Especially three. When those stories were paced better and fleshed out in the right areas, they were a lot more enjoyable.

 

With the right people at the helm they could have streamlined that crap and changed the cheesy dialogue into something more simple and efficient.

 

If those movies were more fun and less dumb crap they'd be great. They were bogged down by silliness, and also by some poor decisions by Lucas if you ask me.

 

A future trilogy with different directors is very exciting as a star wars fan. If Lucas was directing them, I'd not care. You can't get excited about a Lucas directed film anymore it's simply an exercise in frustration. But without him, I have hope that i can get three fun films out of this.

[Jaysin]

The only parts of Episode 1 I really liked were Qui Gonn and Maul. I still hate that neither one made it past that Episode movie wise. I know Maul came back all robotic like in a comic or something.