As I was watching the end credits I wasnt surprised to see Spielberg credited as producer, as this film is like a darker version of ET, but unlike ET I enjoyed watching this - ET gives me the craps its so sacchrine. Here old ET Go Home is more like the big baddie from CLOVERFIELD, and hes pissed off as hell at USAF for keeping him canned up for 20 years.
The story is about a bunch of 70s kids who whilst making a movie on an old Super 8 film camera for a school contest unwittingly film a train wreck in their sleepy mid west town. The wreck unfortunately is a secret USAF shipment containing thousands of odd Rubix Cube things and one very pissed off alien. As the town gets sealed off by USAF and one of the kids goes missing, its up to the rest of the gang to work out what the hell is going on, and how to get their friend back.
As I said, ETs evil twin from an alternative universe, and entertaining all the same. Big bucks so big production, with lots of CGI whizz bang and boom thrown in for good effect. Definitely a lads and dads film, with some sly references to 70s cliches and some GOONIES style thrills and spills for the kids. The train wreck scene is a real eyefull, and has your head dodging about like a session on a good video game. The kids in the gang are all GOONIES type characters, and its all done with a typical Spielberg fun for all the family outlook....even if the alien is a COLVERFIELD clone with a proper bad temper.
A Three Cheers Keeper, even with the inevitable ET-a-like soppy bits in the script so it gets its "family" rating.
Out on the net in 480p hi(ish) rez PPVRIPs, whiich are very good quality and well worth a download - Oneclickmoviez.com has several versions for example.
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
Day off site today, so it was ''Cabbage Time'' - mobile phone off, ''Do Not Disturb'' on the hotel room door.... and watch a couple of movies recently downloaded (a little sad, but trust me - where I am there's not a great deal else to do).
Anyway..Super 8 Have to say, I was a little disappointed. Good film - yes, good effects - yes, but I was expecting a bit more.... and maybe that was the problem. It's all your bl**dy fault SM!! Could have done with a bit more depth and dare I say a bit more ''darkness''.
Rise of The Planet of The Apes - I thoroughly enjoyed this one, very well made, great effects and a slightly different take on other ''Planet of The Apes'' movies in that it was set in the present rather than the near or distant future. There are a few homages to the original movies, which I thought was a great touch - especially for Sci-Fi geeks like myself
The movie has been mentioned/reviewed already on this thread, but one thing I would add is the acting of Andy Serkis. Not a name people tend to notice on movie credits, but he is one of the best known for ''motion capture acting'' - famed for playing the likes of ''Gollum'' in Lord of The Rings.
Serkis played the part of Caesar in The Rise of The Planet of The Apes, and in my book deserves an Oscar nomination - top performance in the movie. Whilst there is obviously computer generation involved, the information/data required comes from multiple sensors placed over the actor's body - in effect the facial expressions/body language etc. comes from the actor..... they should therefore get the recognition they deserve.
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - We Now Start a New Chapter - Pennod newydd
hmmmm my bad - I just liked Super 8 because it reminded me of GOONIES
Serkis was in The Guardian making the self same argument about motion capture artists work not being recognised as acting and how unfair that is. Gotta say I agree. Im a bit of a Serkis fan, and you can see him clear as day in the expressions Gollum came up with....I saw raw footage of the scene where Gollum is talking to himself as two separate people and Serkis did it all in one take...its spooky to watch the expressions on his face change with each side of Gollums character.
He is excellent in DEATHWATCH - a creepy WW1 horror film where he plays the worst in a platoon of bad apples that get lost on patrol and wander into a trench from hell....quite literally. You can watch it or download it from VeeHD at
Its a bit like the earlier and equally creepy WW2 chiller THE BUNKER, (see further http://veehd.com/video/3718137_The-Bunk ... ONLINE-COM) and is well worth a watch, even if the budget running out means the end is sort of a bit more cut price than the directors wanted - its still a great bit of Brit chiller all the same, and a really clever use of a war horrror genre that I think is much underused...both WW1 film in general and combining horror with war films. I guess Hollydud thinks WW1 is too far in the past to be relevant to the goldfish memory jock kegger crowd.
Ive got the DEATHWATCH DVD and there are a load of cut scenes on it where you wonder why they were cut. Serkis does a long intervew on it as well...he actually took a cut in his fee so the film got finished. Its one of his classic Nasty Andy performances.
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
ahhhhhhhnd another one from the found footage frightener genre, and again its not too bad for a horror flick, even if it is made by a laughably named "Vicious Brothers" (you know in real life they will be two spaggy geeks in baggies and bad hairdos)....
GRAVE ENCOUNTERS
This one takes the Blair Witch genre and gives it a new spin - a team of "paranormal investigators" making one of those cheezy Discovery Channel type paranormal shows decides to spend a night locked into an abandoned and derelict insane asylum. Early on you see that the crew are not what they seem - they fake stuff, bribe so called witnesses, and employ an actor to play a psychic....all the stuff the real life ones no doubt get up to. Unfortunately for them the asylum is really haunted, and once they get locked in its a battle to ever get back out again.
There are some genuine jump out of your seat shocks, and the ghosts are done really well for one of these low budget jobs, and i liked the cynical premise that a bunch of fakers get the surprise of their lives as a basis for the plot. Yes its another cliched example of a overdone and cliched genre, but I liked it all the same. In a cafe full of stale sandwiches this is amongst the better more tasty dishes.
Worth a watch online ( search for "Grave Encounters" watch online using google) and maybe a temporary download then dump. Fills up an hour and a bit with some thrills and spills.....a keeper? No....but none of these ever are. Still worth a watch tho...one cheer for effort and making me jump a couple of times.
EDIT: - just looked up images of the Vicious Brothers....I was right. Two gawky spag heads with crappy hair. Y get a neener for that...no make that three.
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
Doing the rounds at the mo is a great courtroom historical drama about one of Americas more shadowy periods of judicial history. THE CONSPIRATOR tells the story of Mary Surratt, a boarding house keeper who was caught up on the periphery of the plot to assassinate Lincoln and two others, resulting in her arrest and trial before a hastily convened military tribunal.
And there is its stark relevance to the modern day, and why it works as more than just a historical retelling of a oft forgotten footnote in that black post civil war period - in telling her tale, of how the US government in a fit of fear and thirst for revenge overturned the Constitution they had fought a war for and used a kangaroo military court to try a civilian, it acts as a grim commentary on the hideous ongoing hypocrisy that is Gitmo.
Truly, as is carved in that monument in Washington, history once forgotten repeats its mistakes.
The acting from the A list cast is top notch. James McAvoy is on his Last King Of Scotland best as the unwilling defence lawyer, Danny Huston smugly sinister as the prosecutor who holds all the cards, both ably supported by the female lead Robin Wright who makes Surratt a sympathetic and pathetic character caught up in a battle between motherly love, duty and justice. Critics have taken a swipe at its length and pacing (its 2 hrs long and compelling all the way IMHO) but I guess they prefer the garden gnome whisky tantrums and daddy never loved me Tom Cruise in Few Good Men to this slow waltz to fife and drum in the shadow of the gallows.
Critics be damned - its and excellent film and an essential watch. DVDRIP high quality copies at oneclickmoviez.com and veehd.com as usual and all over the net.
Three cheers all the way and a solid keeper
On an aside the company who made it - The American Film Company - I read is comitted to making well researched historically accurate films about American history as an educational tool to teach history to kids and misinformed adults. They are in the process of making a film about John Brown and his insane terrorist campiagn that kicked off the civil war, and another about Paul Revere which hopefully will counteract the stupidity of Palin and her shots and bells cack. I hope both are of an equal quality to this, especially the Brown film....as I will be an avid viewer and collector of their stuff if they are. The US direly needs this sort of quality historical filmmaking, and the rest of us get the bonus of learning fascinating history as well as being entertained.
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
Even after a good nights sleep Im dog tired....dog sodding tired of Hollydud and its remake fever. When its a remake of some B list DVD bargain bin poop like Dirty Dancing you just are left with a WTF reaction. But when the knobheads turn their leprous hands to greats like Nightmare On Elm Street, which they ruined, or utter groundbreaking classics like the brutal and uncompromising OldBoy, which you just know damn well they will ruin, you gotta start asking serious questions.
One of my favorite horror thrillers is the all time great that is John Carpenters The Thing. It was years ahead of its time, and its special effects set a benchmark that stood for years. Superbly acted and scripted, it dripped fear, paranoia, isolation and desparation from every scene. Yes it was a remake of a 50s classic B movie horror, but it did it well and completely differently. If you have forgotten just how good it was ou can watch it here
Why? Just explain to me why? Is it so frickin hard to make NEW films? If you wanna make a horror flick based in Antarctica why shelve the funding for At The Mountains Of Madness, potentially a great based on a classic HP Lovecraft novella....an Indiana Jones meets The Thing on acid in the bleak tracts of Antarctica....... a real potential stonker of a film?
After three months of deliberation, Universal Pictures, the studio that gave del Toro money for pre-production creature designs, At the Mountains of Madness has remained unwilling to give the director a greenlight, citing concerns over the film’s budget and likely R rating. On Monday, del Toro withdrew from the negotiations, and that night at ten-thirty he sent me a short, mournful e-mail: "Madness has gone dark. The ‘R’ did us in."
Del Toro had told me that he would not compromise on the film’s rating, even though a film rated PG-13 would have a much easier time attracting a mass audience. “Madness,” as he imagined it, would not be particularly gory, but he insisted that he needed the artistic freedom “to make it really, really uncomfortable and nasty.” Del Toro had hoped that a greenlight for “Madness” would mark a new golden age for horror films.
Sorry mate....we are going with a shitty remake of The Thing instead. Its set in Antartica after all! And this way we save on having to get someone to write a new script, or use any imagination. Winning!!!!!
Another example. Hollydud shelved making RED SONJIA (yes sort of a remake but not really) to remake CONAN. Like the original Arnie one was a dud? I think not. Conan was a classic sand and sandals epic....great villains, great plot, and Arnie classic vun liners all the vay. The original Red Sonjia was cackola only saved by the foxy goth villainess and a cameo appearance by Arnie...so remaking that makes more sense. But what am I thinking.....Hollydud...sense....not two words for the same sentence.
MV5BMTU2OTQ3MjUwNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzA3MTA4MQ@@._V1._SY317_CR0,0,214,317_.jpg (19.77 KiB) Viewed 485 times
ARE YOU INSANE?????? Every lad and dad would pack the isles to see her in skimpy chainmail.....but no....lets remake Conan with a soap dodger dreddy who is as imposing as one of Arnies arms....that makes sense! Winning!!!!!
Im sick to the back teeth of this, and surely cant be alone.....or am I?
Has the film watching world got so complacent and goldfish memoried we are doomed to a fast food diet of shabby remakes and cack like Mr Poppers Penguins and Marley & Me 2: The Puppy Years?
Marley & Me 2: The Puppy Years...think Im kidding....nahhh. Its there, out on the net in all its stinky glory, served up puke warm to a panty wtter audience of awwwwwws. They should have just retitled it "How to piss 125 million dollars up a wall on another shitty dog flick".
And they wonder why piracy is so popular and cinemas are empty.
Sod it....Im off to watch a few episodes of The Drunk And On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour (the latest Trailer Park Boys spin off) as it will make more sense that this and wash the stink of labrador off my eyeballs.....that or Clamlappers 15 - Bangkok Caviar Feast.
Last edited by sandman67 on Wed Aug 17, 2011 12:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
Uuugghh! Talking of iconic films that shouldn't ever, ever be touched it doesn't come much more do not touch than this. THE most iconic film in it's genre, a bonafida classic.
Dunno if you enjoy Manga SM, but if you do, this may make you spontaneously combust.
If you fancy a bit of a chuckle then I recc you wrap your eyes around the British black comedy THE DRUMMOND WILL
This Arsenic & Old Lace style indy film, shot in black and white as a tribute to those old timers, concerns two brothers- one a cynical city trader, the other an optimistic go lucky loafer - who on their fathers death inherit his crumbling old cottage in a back of beyond village full of distictly odd village types. When they return to the house to find an old codger trying to steal a bag of money from the house they inadvertantly set in train a domino like string of mishaps and deaths, and one by one the villagers meet sticky ends, usually with the lads involved in the mess.
Its a good chuckle, and the interplay between the two brothers raises the odd laugh out loud moment in the same way that DEATH AT A FUNERAL did. The mad as cheese villagers add to the surreal plotline, each one seemingly drawn from a LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN nightmare. Its very dry, very british, and well worth a watch.
Out and about at the usual places and on torrent in lovely crisp DVDRIP format
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
BaaBaa. wrote:New Total Recall coming out SM, also rumours of a Bladerunner!
*Cringes*
Sir Ridley Scott to make new Blade Runner
Sir Ridley Scott, the British film director, is to make a new version of his seminal 1982 science fiction movie "Blade Runner."
The classic film, set in 2019 Los Angeles, starred Harrison Ford as a police officer hunting genetically engineered robots called replicants. Its vision of a dystopian future was influential on many later films.
It was unclear whether the new film would be a sequel or a prequel, the entertainment industry website Deadline reported.
Also unclear was whether Ford would have any involvement. The new film would not be expected to begin shooting until 2013 and be in cinemas in 2014.
Producer Andrew Kosove told the Los Angeles Times: "Everything Ridley does as a filmmaker is fresh. I believe he sees an opportunity to create something that's wholly original from the first Blade Runner." Mr Kosove suggested that everything in the film would be "fresh," indicating that Ford may not reprise his role as disillusioned retired LAPD officer Rick Deckard.
The original film cost $28 million to make and failed to become a blockbuster, grossing only $32 million. It also divided critics but later became a cult classic.
Leave the bloody thing alone...... The Director's Cut, The Final Cut, The Remake.... I guess the one glimmer of hope is that it's Ridley Scott (clutching at straws).
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - We Now Start a New Chapter - Pennod newydd
The only way this stops is when the filmgoing audience sends a clear message to the makers and these monstrosities start tanking at the cinema and on DVD sales. I dont see that happening any time soon. I just find the fact that Ridley Scott can even think of "re-imagining" Bladerunner jawdropping. Even though he is the master of the Directors cut and re-editing how in hell does he think he can do any justice to what is seen as a masterpiece of filmmaking years ahead of its time? IMHO the re-edits just got worse and worse - I liked the film noir style narration of the original and when they dropped it on subsequent recuts it suffered as a result. Changing the end (on one cut) completely ruined the film. Lesson - leave it alone unless, like Kingdom Of Heaven, theres a damn good reason to make the changes. And NEVER remake a classic. How do you add on to Bladerunner? Its a closed loop plotline....
How in hell do they think they can remake AKIRA as a western film? Its all about dystopian Japanese culture and social attitudes set into the national psyche post Hiroshima. So shifting it to New York and casting a crew of catwalk gimps from teen panty wetter films is gonna make it in any way relevant? Or do they just think its gonna be Matrix with motorbikes?
And as I flagged up above....why shelve funding for At The Mountains Of Madness, which potentially could be a massive crowd drawer given the fanbase for HP Lovecraft films, an Antarctic expedition horror flick just so the same damn studio can take the lazy option and remake a classic horror thriller, The Thing, which is a horror film about an Antarctic expedition base? Remake a classic, and by the look of it completely screw it up, rather than make a completely new film?
If I was a published film critic I would continually slate these remakes just on the hope it in some small way damage the audience figures. As is I can only hit them in their wallets by indulging in a wee bit of piracy and encouraging it in others.
I can see Hollydud becoming an ever more irrelevant feature in quality filmmaking, with the smaller indy circuit and foreign film becoming a real leading force in the industry. Smaller non Hollydud films that push the envelope like the upcoming 4TH REICH, IRON SKIES, OUTPOST 2, STONES WAR and ones already released like the excellent NOROI and TROLL HUNTER will always hit home and find a solid base of fans, leaving the sad sacks in LA to constantly bash themselves off to remake after remake. Till they learn their lessons occasional flashes in the pan like the upcoming IMMORTALS is the best we can hope for.
Jeez..... im a full on film geek.
Anyway, lets find some inner peace and love with KUNG FU PANDA 2
There were two reasons I liked the first film....it has Jack Black in it and the animation was beautifully done. Even though this one panders to the crappy Hollydud 3D craze with unneccesary bits of "barrel in your face" those two factors hold true....number 2 is as good as the first, and just as lovely to behold.
Number 2 is sort of the origins story for Po...how he came to be the adopted son of a noodle stall owning duck. A wicked foe - in this case a badass kung fu peacock lord - had his parents and village chopped after a soothsayer predicted his downfall at the hands of a black and white warrior....so its bye bye pandas. After years in exile the peacock returns, dragging along an army of wolves and a few big bad cannons, and so its down to Po and the Furious Five to save the day.
Its a great bit of eyecandy, and theres a few good feelgood messages in there to boot, along with some laughs and thrills n spills. Definitely a watch with the kids on the sofa on an afternoon, or if you are like me (a sadass cartoon fan) with a marley and the cat.
Out and about in good quality DVDSCREENER copies at all the usual places. This version is variously tagged DVDSCREENER, DVDRIP and R6 COPY
Last edited by sandman67 on Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
unfortunately the theatrical cuts that are about are the US ones where the panty wetter censors cut some of the violence out....our UK version was better but its nigh impossible to find.
of the recuts the "Final Cut", the only one Scott had control of, is the best. Its a version without the narrative voiceoverm and with a lot of the cut scenes put back in. That can be found here
you might also wish to take a look at a Korean BlareRunner a like called NATURAL CITY....I love it. Great film, lovely visuals, and a corking storyline - sort of a Korean take on the BladeRunner story.
