Movie/film thread: resurrected

Somehow I missed out an an alternate cut of Alien3 until my last visit to the video pirates.  The dog got replaced in the version I just saw.

And, it looks like I left the theater a little too quickly when I was the second Harold and Kumar flick (yes, I did go see that one on the big screen - I never said I had good taste).  There's a 3 second long item tacked on to the very end of the closing credits that I caught while using these films to give an American Culture lesson to a Chinese friend.

All historical shows have inaccurasies. The Tudors is a good one, as they are few but noticeable.

As do all history courses.  How many "facts" did we learn in school that we later found out were way off the mark.  This could be a thread all by itself.  Start with the legend that The Great Wall of China can be seen from outer space.

Last couple of movies I watched were Kick-Ass (which kicked ass), I Sell the Dead (horror comedy with the dude who played Charlie in Lost; enjoyable), Martin (George Romero's '77 flick about a teenage vampire—or is he?), and I revisited two old favorites: the cerebral, low-budget debut Pi by Darren Aronofsky (probably better known for Requiem for a Dream and, more recently,The Wrestler), and Steven Seagal's excellent Marked for Death. That and Out for Justice were the high point of Seagal's career. He'd never surpass either.

I'm actually going through Seagal's entire 38-movie filmography 'cause if I don't, Seagal might find me and twist my wrist. So far, I'm still in the late '80s—the ol' glory days. But the craptacular straight-to-video schlock of his post-mid-'90s films is rearing its ugly head in the horizon... Why, Steven, why.

I'm also slowly but steadily going through a few TV series. At the moment I'm nearing the end of the first season of "Leave It to Beaver" (thirty-nine episodes, geez) and I just started the third season of "The Office" (U.S. version).

*sigh*

I finished Weeds last night.  Seasons 1 through 5 over the course of two weeks.  I don't use the word "awesome" much, but it was an awesome show.  Well, seasons 1-3 were awesome--laugh out loud moments, great characters, great stories, great super ironic weirdness.  But in Season 4 Nancy starts being unlikeable.  It starts being clear how much crap she is creating, not just responding to.  By Season 5 the whole show has an alarming Days of Our Lives feel.  Still, it was cool.

Just watched Children of Men again, with Clive Owen and Julianne Moore. Fantastic movie, IMHO. And the script was so good, and the cinematography was just amazing. The whole movie is great, but last maybe fifteen minutes just take my breath away. I highly recommend.

Yeah, that battle scene is more realistic and terrifying even than Saving Private Ryan.

And Julianne Moore. 

Latest movie...a 2005 Canadian production called Pontypool. This is a zombie film with a concept so original (and weird) it even threw me off: the entire film takes place inside the radio station of a small Ontario town which has experienced an inexplicable (aren't they always?) zombie outbreak. We experience all the external action via the internal action of the character's emotions inside the radio station. But that's not the half of it!

Without meaning to give any spoilers away, the way the infection spreads in this film is not through biting but through...language.

I won't say more. Not a particularly gory horror film--more of a suspense flick with horror elements, actually--but I sure ain't never done seen nothin' like it before. Recommended for anyone into an unusual twist on the ever-popular zombie/mass infection genre.

Oh, and speaking of zombie films, I just saw the mainstream Hollywood offering on the tale, Zombieland. Good beginning until it bogged down in the middle and never moved again. Could've been so much better.

I loved Zombieland! I thought it was fantastic. The ending was a little irksome, but it made the point. Reminded me of Shaun of the Dead. And that's a compliment.

Hehe. I didn't make it through Shaun of the Dead. Did you catch [REC]?

Zombieland was fun, but Shaun is an awesome work of genius.

Watched the first season of "Breaking Bad".  Thought it would just be way off the charts for the sake of being edgy, but found a lot more to it than that.  The bath tub scene was classic.

I'm a film geek. My favourite genre of film IS zombie films, and I was rather looking forward to Zombieland. However, I was sincerely disappointed. Firstly it wasn't a 'zombie' film, in the sense of meeting the typical 'zombie film' conventions. Secondly, the sub-plot 'love' theme was majorly a wipe out and I was incredibly bored at the point where the film went from starting off as a potentially great film to a lame-ass rom-com. Some great moments though.

Oh and Sean of the Dead rocks. I love Simon Pegg..

"Dollhouse' - Joss Whedon.

Broad generalisation coming up here - warning!!  WHY do Americans kill brilliant shows (Firefly, Dollhouse) and let rubbish run for a gazillion seasons?  LCD denominator factor I guess.   

I'm a film geek. My favourite genre of film IS zombie films, and I was rather looking forward to Zombieland. However, I was sincerely disappointed. Firstly it wasn't a 'zombie' film, in the sense of meeting the typical 'zombie film' conventions.

How so?

It's always interesting to see how the zombies are presented. I've noticed that lately, zombies have gotten quite limber. I think this is a good thing. Seeing them all stumble along Romero-style has run its course. It's much more terrifying to see one running at you full speed with a crazy look on its face. The most menacing zombies I've seen so far were in [REC].

Secondly, the sub-plot 'love' theme was majorly a wipe out and I was incredibly bored at the point where the film went from starting off as a potentially great film to a lame-ass rom-com.

From the moment they met Murray, it all fell apart.

Some great moments though.

Especially in the first ten minutes. What a promising start it had.

"Dollhouse' - Joss Whedon.

Broad generalisation coming up here - warning!!  WHY do Americans kill brilliant shows (Firefly, Dollhouse) and let rubbish run for a gazillion seasons?  LCD denominator factor I guess.   

Intelligent shows take time to sink in.  I hope Whedon learns his lesson and gets someone to finance him for a minimum 3 seasons.  Remember, Buffy got crap ratings at first, too.

I've never seen Firefly, but Dollhouse was amazing.