The Silver Screen

[DMoness]

oh one movie i got bored in the cinema
The scorpion king , god was that awful

[Don Alexander]

oh one movie i got bored in the cinema
The scorpion king , god was that awful

Einspruch, euer Ehren!!!

I liked it a lot. ;) Well, each to his own taste.

[midgetshrimp]

Plan 9 From Outer Space - so bad it's good.

Already called it.

[Aren]

Manos: Hands of Fate.

</thread>( Thats my job sorry ;) : Bear )

[Bear]

My vote for worst movie ever goes too... *Insert drumroll here* Absolutely anything thats been within 10 feet of Uwe Boll.

[Scaramouche]

My vote for worst movie ever goes too... *Insert drumroll here* Absolutely anything thats been within 10 feet of Uwe Boll.

The Dungeon Siege movie wasn't too bad, for Uwe Boll.

[Dirty n Evil]

It's already been established that I'm one of the older fans on these boards, so I will awe and wow several of you by saying that I remember going to see Star Wars in the theater when I was 4. Yeah, I'm that old.

But Labyrinth... I was 13 when I saw that movie, and Jennifer Connelly was my first serious on-screen crush. :oops: Then of course she developed even more as a young lady (even if her choice in movie rolls didn't improve), and she quite nearly became my ideal image of beauty. Not until she lost that obscene amount of weight for A Brilliant Mind did I lose my raging crush for her. When I was younger, and hockey was pretty much my life, I used to say that I would give up hockey for Jennifer Connelly. All I'd ask her to give up were her cigarettes.

[Retiarius]

I’m not even going to try to list my favorite movies or shows. Seen too many and don’t want to take the time. I’ve seen many of the ones mentioned here and those I’ve actually seen I agree are good. (I except most horror movies simply because I’ve been a wargamer and RPGer too long, I spend too much time in a horror movie thinking of nasty ways to kill the critters.) Instead, I’ll mention few too many things about the ones I grew up with:

Star Wars was a movie series I first encountered as a teenager in the form of a modest paperback novel of that title, written by George Lucas. The cover said, “Soon to be a major motion picture.” (“Soon” was about six months.) I read it, and while it was clearly not “hard” science fiction or stunningly good writing, even to me at that age, it was fun space opera. (To me, classics and “mental popcorn” both have their place: one is for making you think and the other for fun.) I thought, “It might be a pretty good movie.” Somewhere, in a galaxy far, far away, I was given the award for Biggest Understatement Ever.

No, it’s not science fiction and it never will be. What George Lucas knows of physics can comfortably be printed in 18-point type, folded up and fit in a thimble, with room left for what he knows of tactics and technology. Never mind that our modern jets can engage targets at way, WAY longer ranges than X-Wings and TIE fighters (yeah, I know he used World War II aerial combat as his model—not a good choice, even if it “looked cool”). Never mind that they ignore what their technology could actually do if they thought about it. (One of my early ideas was to install droid brains into proton torpedoes and program them with a map of the Death Star, bring the squadrons just inside the station’s defensive shields and launch them all in one massive salvo. “Go find the thermal port, boys!” Less dramatic but way more effective.) Never mind that the guns on the stern of an Imperial Star Destroyer (Victory class for you nitpickers) haven't the range to hit a target over its bow. Never mind that an AK-47 is probably a more effective weapon than any of the blasters depicted. And the Imperials ignored even the first rule of fortification when they set up in the Endor system that goes back to at least Roman times: when you make a fortress, you remove all the cover around it so enemies can’t sneak up on it. Basic stuff!

Yet, despite all that, Star Wars is, well, fun. You have to turn off most of your brain when watching it, yes. But I grew up with it and I still have a soft spot for it. It’s no mistake that the only MMORPG that I was ever convinced to play (and only because someone bought it for me) is Star Wars Galaxies, and I’m still playing it after four years this month, despite the screwup and botches (which have largely gone away). My signature graphic on this forum is made from a screenshot from that game, in fact. (No, I’m in no rush to try the new Bioware one, the Old Republic era interests me less; I don’t have the time or money to play two MMORPGs and I’m not tossing my time investment in Galaxies to play another.)

Star Trek? I actually managed to see an episode of the original series when it first aired, the second-to-the-last one, “All Our Yesterdays”. Back in the day, I could identify every episode by seeing part of the teaser. In elementary school, we’d get business-card sized punch cards for our school lunches and I’d draw a scene from an episode on the back. (It’d never be a scene that had people in it because I couldn’t draw people.) Gene Roddenberry didn’t really know how to do science fiction but he pretty much admitted that up front, calling it “futuristic drama”.

I don’t get into all the comparison wars: Star Trek is better than Star Wars, Next Generation is better than original series, Kirk is better than Picard, “first” trilogy is better than “second”, that sort of thing. They are all good for their own reasons.

Enough about that.

Lord of the Rings movies: Being an elder geek, I had, of course, read the books decades before. A younger brother of mine complained about them. I told something like him, “Yes, Peter Jackson did leave out stuff and change other stuff. No, the movies aren’t perfect. But no one could have done better.” And at least the elves don’t speak like stereotypical Gestapo officers, like they did in the Rankin-Bass (a.k.a. Smelly Fish) version of The Hobbit. ’Nuff said.

The Princess Bride: I was already long an adult when I first read the book, and it has a lot of stuff that couldn’t go into the movie. I liked both a lot, although I prefer the book because there’s more to it (The Zoo of Death simply couldn’t be fit into the movie). Still, even when I first read the book, I knew that if William Goldberg ever managed to make it a movie, only one person could play Fezzik, and he did. Andre the Giant was practically born to play that role, never mind that I care nothing about professional wrestling (I’d only watch it long enough to grab the remote and change the channel). He was perfect for not only the size, but because of his disposition: if he’d been born Turkish instead of French, he’d BE Fezzik. I’m glad he was alive for the role.

OK, this is way too big a post so I’m going to stop now.

[Bear]

The Grand Elder Geek has appeared! Quick! Someone track him before he manages to disapear again!

[Azrael]

This is one of those subjects that gives me a serious case of the "yeah, but"s. I will not bore the lot of you with a list of movies I like and enjoy. However here are a couple that bear mentioning in my opinion:


I did not see anything about anime being declared verboten, so my favorite is and will always be Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Ever since I saw my friend's elder sibling's bootleg copy it firmly cemented me as a Miyazaki fan and an anime fan in general. Which then lead me to the likes of Yojimbo and Kurosawa. Perhaps interestingly, I actually saw this film before I saw A Fist Full of Dollars, I hear it's generally the other way around but that's neither here nor there. A movie of more recent vintage that I enjoyed was Pan's Labyrinth. An awesome movie and a most enjoyable watch made only slightly less so by a friends whining about the subtitles .


As to the bad my vote for worst movie ever would have to be Hardware. A poorly conceived movie, poorly acted and poorly filmed. And honourable mention would have to go to Red Sonja.

[MrBishop]

MOVIE REVIEW

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Just took the kids to see this movie on Sunday, and I must say that I enjoyed it more than they did 

Much like many cartoons/kids movies being released as of late, the majority of the sight gags, and one-liners are not now, nor are they expectedt o be, aimed at kids. The kidlets will appreciate the music, and the flashy colours, but for the real humour in this movie (and it’s predecessors), you have to catch the irony/call outs and you can’t do that unless you actually ‘get’ the historical references.

In either case, I did NOT find it funnier than the first movie, but I did find it AS funny. Both movies got me several good laughs and at least one occasion of me spewing my soft-drink (coke) at MACH4 towards the movie screen. The sound is great; the jokes are sublime etc etc…

What I can’t understand is why their primary characters are often ignored when I ask people about their fav. characters. I personally am mad about the Penguins (Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private. I’m also a fan of Prince Julian and the Two British Monkeys.

If you’re like me, you’ll find that they all have a larger role in this movie…kudos.

I recommend the movie to all people with kids…and especially those of us who are still young at heart.

[Don Alexander]

"Private will probably not make it." :lol:

But far and away the best sequence in the first part is where the penguins finally do reach Antarctica... That was a MACH4 moment.

[DMoness]

"Private will probably not make it." :lol:

But far and away the best sequence in the first part is where the penguins finally do reach Antarctica... That was a MACH4 moment.

Well this sucks. (best part of the whole movie)


Btw movie letdown (i will get killed for this) 300 , not that it is bad , it is just not as good as it is hyped

[Don Alexander]

@DMoness: There's a pit and a kick to deliver you into it with your name on it, reserved just for you. :twisted:

@Teacher2B: This is a pretty prevalent opinion. The movie really appeals to the masses. The guys get blood, gore, bullettime and an oracle, the girls get Gerald Butler's abs (and a lot more).

PS.: You might check your quote thingy there...

[midgetshrimp]

I recommend the movie to all people with kids…and especially those of us who are still young at heart.

Ah! Love Madagascar! I saw it again on TV last night. And in 2005 I went to the cinema to see Madagascar with my friends...and we were all around 20...no kids. I love kid films!

I saw Madagascar at a place called Chubby's... or Chunky's, I can never remember which. Anyway, the place is awesome. It's not like a regular theater. It's dinner and a movie, in class. Tables are set up all over the place (it's tiered so you can still see) and every chair is a seat from a Lincoln Continental. The food was really good too. I think I got a Buffalo Chicken wrap.

And speaking of cool places to watch movies, who here knows where a drive-in still exists? There's one a couple towns over from my home, and even my dad doesn't know of any other ones in the New England area. And he would know.