what are you watching RIGHT NOW.... or somewheres about close to "right now"

Desperado was hacked to pieces by the MPAA when it first came out. The last act was a major casuality, losing much of the action and narrative. But strangely enough, Sony won't release this longer version. If they could give us an unrated 8MM 2 (with pornographic footage edited into the film, no less), then they can give us the unrated Desperado.

Buscemi wrote:Desperado was hacked to pieces by the MPAA when it first came out. The last act was a major casuality, losing much of the action and narrative. But strangely enough, Sony won't release this longer version. If they could give us an unrated 8MM 2 (with pornographic footage edited into the film, no less), then they can give us the unrated Desperado.

yeah, i've read about the edits--but, at the same time, it's easy to make the mistake of assuming the best in projects that were never quite fully realized (Smile, Duke Nukem Forever, etc.).. oftentimes the final product is ultimately released only to result in disappointment



...

and, conversely: http://www.cracked.com/article_15072_10-most-awesome-movies-hollywood-ever-killed.html

My opinions on the ten that Cracked listed:

10. This is a terrible idea. The video game is among the most overrated ever and a film version with a $200 million budget would be just like Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within only with a paper-thin plot. Plus, they've already made the film. It's called Red vs. Blue.

9. I can see it working but then again it would still be a pointless sequel. Plus, Shyamalan is at the point of no return now so we're probably better off that it won't happen.

8. It's Bill Murray or nothing. No Murray, no movie.

7. This should happen with Jason Lee in the lead. No Rock, no Braff, no Pacey from Dawson's Creek, I want Brodie Bruce in the lead! And Ethan Suplee in a supporting role.

6. Morgan Freeman (the rights holder) has canned this project and it's probably for the better. No studio was going to touch it anyway, considering that it's not Beverly Hills Chihuahua or Hancock 2 (yes, they are making Hancock 2).

5. If this would have happened, what would have been the plot? Ninety minutes of gross-out jokes? And who would have played the characters? Jim Carrey won't revisit the film and Jeff Daniels was busy with other projects. And New Line would have wanted a PG-13 and Parker and Stone wouldn't have wanted to do that. This would have never worked.

4. This is a great idea. Too bad that Coppola sold it to a declining MGM rather than a thriving company like Paramount or Sony. Had Coppola been a better businessman, we would have gotten this decade's Blade Runner.

3. This film will never happen. Howard Stern always seems to promise things but then never keeps them (such as his remake to Rock 'n' Roll High School). Plus, the R rating would prohibit the target audience that would find this type of thing funny (8-to-14 year olds).

2. Schwarzenegger + Verhoeven + graphic violence = must-see. Too bad that Schwarzenegger's retired from acting, Verhoeven's not in high demand and the MPAA would hack the film to pieces unless it's animated.

1. This film will also never happen. If it did, the reviews would be terrible and the book's fans would cry blasphemy. Same thing with Catcher In The Rye (even though I think that a film version will happen once Salinger kicks the bucket).

If Will Ferrell even touches Dunces I will kill him and make it look like a suicide, then write a long drawn out suicide note and leave it near the corpse that says that Ferrell is sorry he even attempted to recreate the genius of the movie and he succumbed to the pressure.

I watched Angel earlier. Though most films from the eighties don't need to be remade, this one really does need a remake. I bet that a lot of other people would pay $8.00 to see an action/thriller about an honor student by day/Hollywood hooker by night who hangs out with a transvestite and a ex-cowboy movie star.

One of the best eighties cheesefests with a likeable lead in the sexy (for 1984) Donna Wilkes. I wonder if she ever did anything else?

for those interested, both My Name is Bruce and Chocolate are gonna be released tomorrow on blu-ray (and probably that old format too)

Didn't Chocolate just open?

Buscemi wrote:Didn't Chocolate just open?

it came out this weekend in austin....... i guess it's been out elsewhere for quite some time

Double dose of Hitchcock today.

The 39 Steps- The best one we've watched so far. Terrifically entertaining, wonderfully acted and the story flowed so well. Hannay is such a great protagonist. Loved it. 9/10

Young and Innocent- This one bored me quite a bit. I couldn't really get into it. I didn't connect with the characters. I kinda felt myself just wanting the story to end. It was well made, but it just wasn't for me. The weakest that I've had to watch so far. 6/10.

I'd probably agree with those ratings Geez, The 39 Steps is a masterpiece, while The Young And The Innocent is one of my least fave Hitch movies. Probably around the same level as The Trouble With Harry. Glad to see you're still inclined to see more though, wish such classes existed over here, just so that I can discuss the movies even if I have watched them.

Lately, I've been watching these inappropriate soundtrack segments.

What should become the official Fantaverse fanfare and lineup.



And I could watch this one on a loop.

I also got the whole list of films tonight (teacher finally photocopied the syllabus). Here's what I have to look forward to:

Blackmail- 7/10
Sabotage- 7.5/10
The 39 Steps- 9/10
Young and Innocent- 6/10
Shadow of a Doubt
Spellbound
Notorious
Strangers on a Train
Rear Window
Vertigo
North by Northwest (that will be a great 3 week set, the three I'm most excited for)
Psycho (which I have seen)
The Birds (I've also seen)
Frenzy
Family Plot

Strangers On A Train should be added to that list of great movies, it is easily as good as those you have highlighted. Pity you don't get to watch Rope, my own personal favourite. Although I think you may have already watched it? Would be good to discuss in class even so. And I thought you were going to get the chance to see the rest of The Lodger?

I could see the rest of the lodger if I go watch it in the library, which I had to do for 39 Steps today. And yes, I have seen Rope. I loved it. We watched it in my Elements of Film class last year. Had to write a paper on it.

Charlie Bartlett.. decent direction, the primary cast was great (with glaring exceptions being Kat Dennings and the guy who played the bully), a fun idea for a story......... but horrible execution in terms of writing.. the movie is at its best when blatantly stealing from Rushmore and Harold & Maude (yes, in the latter's case, it was presented as homage--but, when i rob a bank, they still take me to jail even if i scream "Attica!", refer to myself as "the inside man," and constantly quote Airheads).. the movie was intriguing until Charlie became popular simply by selling speed to everybody.. sure, it might work in theory (although most drug-dealers i know aren't the type of people you would want in your home), but i feel like they wanted to focus on his charm and intellect.. you could argue the point that charlie continues his therapy sessions even after he stops selling the drugs--but have you ever met anybody who wants to hang out with their therapist in a social situation? it's like Gustin Nash wasn't capable of writing the scenes where Charlie actually proves why the audience (or his classmates) should have any legitimate reason for liking him--so they just slapped together a montage and otherwise just kinda skipped that part of the story..

They kind of did prove why they liked him...he was their pusherman (to reference the Curtis Mayfield song from the soundtrack)!

If you've got the connections to give the other kids drugs or alcohol easily without consequences, the road to popularity is a smooth one. You become The White Mack.

FINALLY saw Amelie - loved it of course. It was perhaps the most perfect movie for me to see after my long day at work yesterday, I loved the riddle of the man in the phone booth. Probably one of the best love stories I have seen in a very long time

Yay another convert. Soon all will follow the religion of Amelie. We meet every other Wednesday at the cafe.

The brilliant Amelie makes me realise how difficult it is to make an uplifting film without getting too sentimental and ruining the moment. You can write-off all rom-coms, for example. Slumdog was uplifting but I didn't like the ending that much, to be frank. I much preferred the understated The Visitor.

Watched Speed Racer yesterday, and I thought it was pretty good fun.

There is no way I will be able to remember every movie I watched since the last time I was on here. Here are a few of them:

Gran Torino (8/10): Seemed like an extremely fake movie at the beginning, but becomes totally believable after the first half hour.

Taken (8/10): The best (new) pure action movie I've seen in a while. Cheesy and unrealistic, but what action movie isn't?

Die Hard (9.5/10): I haven't seen but bits and pieces of it since I was a kid. The best action movie I think I've ever seen.

Death Race (6/10): Pleasant surprise... That is all.

Step Brothers (5/10): The best part was Richard Jenkins.

Pulp Fiction (9/10): I still think they could have gone without that gay male rape scene.

Ride with the Devil (5/10): Meh.

AI (6/10): Decent, but it seems to me that you could honor Stanley Kubrick with something a little better than that.

Wanted (6/10): Wasn't worth the hype, but decent. You would hope for a better ending.

Full Metal Jacket (6/10): Still should have had a better ending.

City of Ember (6.5/10): Pleasant surprise again.

Max Payne (3/10): Sucked... All I heard half the movie was Jackie from That 70's Show trying to be a badass. I know I would be threatened. Marky Mark really struck out in 2008. Also, was that REALLY Chris O'Donnell?

Mirrors (4/10): Seen it before with a million different movies. These Japanese remakes are getting old quickly.

Swing Vote (4/10): Would have been a 6 if I knew the outcome.

Lakeview Terrace (4/10): Ehhhh.

Hitchcock
The Man the Knew too Much (6/10):
Rear Window (6/10):
Vertigo (7/10)

Yes that was Chris O'Donnell, in for the paycheck.

And I thought that Swing Vote was watchable for the cast and the fact that they had such an open ending. Otherwise, the film is just Kevin Costner's vanity project to show off his political beliefs (had they tied things together, Kelsey Grammer's character probably would have won since Costner tends to lean conservative in his politics).

Meanwhile, I've watched these films lately:

Avenging Angel- the replacement for Donna Wilkes wasn't a very good actress (For more of her "acting", watch Saw IV and Saw V. Or better, don't.) and the last third of the film is absolutely ridiculous, but the film still isn't half-bad. But it's not the original by a long shot.

Flash Gordon- this is how camp should be done. A film that's made solely for entertainment purposes but also a film that respects its characters, its story and its audience. Plus, Ornelia Muti was a babe in it.

Female Trouble- John Waters' follow-up to Pink Flamingos. Just as disgusting but not as good this time around. But it's a John Waters/Divine teaming and you can't go wrong with those two.

Near Dark- the original Twilight, but with the roles reversed (a human male falls in love with a female vampire here) and featuring more horror than romance. Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen are great here and Kathryn Bigelow successfully shows that women can direct action. (She continued to prove that with Point Break, Strange Days and K-19: The Widowmaker. Hopefully The Hurt Locker gets a release this year especially with all the good things I've read about it.)

Chocolate was sweet. (pun semi-intended). Not quite as awesome as Ong-Bak or The Protector, but definitely a step closer to being a real movie--you know, with a plot and all that jazz.. in a way, it was reminiscent of Sister Street Fighter.. you know, where you're watching it, and it's cool, but you're like "why isn't this about Sonny Chiba (or, in this case, Tony Jaa)?".. great choreography, as usual.. amazing stunts..

essentially, this is what Rain Man should've been...... the protagonist is an idiot-savant autistic who learns complex tasks simply through watching them.. it's hilarious to see her learn fighting by watching Tony Jaa movies.. if only Tom Cruise had thought to think Muay-Thai fighting instead of card counting.............

I thought Chocolate sounded great and I still want to see it even though it was a turd in terms of the actual game. Good to know that it is good N-Span. I heard that it was showing in Austin. You should have taken about 399 friends to see it so I could have gottern some PTA out of it. LOL

I watch Phantasm earlier. The Tall Man is an awesome villain. And the DVD (the MGM release that is, not sure about Anchor Bay's newer release) has an introduction by Angus Scrimm about playing The Tall Man and how he didn't expect to become a famous horror character (in fact, he first thought he would be playing an illegal immigrant in a social drama).