h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Last night we watched 'Ravenous' the 1998 Robert Carlyle & Guy Pearce film. I'd seen it once before, when it was a new release, but I was a little 'refreshed' that night after spending it in a pub.

I remember this film recieving varying reviews upon its release, the BBC review gives it (a harsh, in my humble) 2 stars out of 5:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/02/07/ravenous_1998_review.shtml

That reviewers main grumble seems to be the "truly awful, 'hick-styled' music score".

For sure, the music is quirky, odd and somewhat out-of-place, but then so is the film and subject matter, a story of a cannibal in civil war era United States, based loosely on real events.

It's blend of horror, drama and very dark humour is probably a little confusing for people who prefer tidy narratives and fluffy resolutions, but if you're feeling a little experimental, give it a go.

Also, the sets and cinematography are both fantastic, the scene in which the bodies are discovered in the cave and the subsequent chase to the cliff edge being a particular highlight.

It was directed by Antonia Bird who also done the rather enjoyable 'Face', also with Robert Carlyle. (And Damon Albarn, who co-wrote/performed the above mentioned music score)

Me? I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10.

Or three and three fifths of a star out of five.

(Sorry I've waffled on a bit here, this seems to be the only place to talk films on the whole BBC site!)

Gosh, I'd never even heard of that one, and it definitely sounds worth watching. I've added it to my queue.

We also got to watch an under-rated, IMO, horror flick recently. On TV no less (and I found it funny that all the cuss words were bleeped out, but none of the violence edited). We finally got to see "The Burning", a 1980 summer camp slasher flick with effects by the awesome Tom Savini.

It really was your typical teenage slasher flick, but it was creepy enough, and the effects just this side of over-the-top, and we really quite enjoyed it. I was actually squirming a bit, and that almost never happens. 3.5 out of 5 or 7 out of 10 for this one.

I watched Akira Kurosawa's Ran last night, over two hours long (160minutes)
but it didn't feel like it.
I've seen this film years ago but it stood up well to a second viewing.
I think I enjoyed it more this time and appreciated the drama better.

With luck I should make it to see Gran Torino this afternoon.

Saw Gran Torino last week with my lads - a TOTAL Clint Fest if ever there was one. It's got all the grit of Dirty Harry, with some of the humour of Heartbreak Ridge. It reminded me of Pulp Fiction a bit - it's not a "Gangster" movie, but he found himself in a few unlikely situations.

I think this will go down in my top 10 ever films list - probably somewhere near the top.



Bassman

I saw 3 films recently;

Saw II
Saw III
Saw VI

Ace films if you don't know what they are about then you haven't lived yet!!! :D

Discount movie night.

Going to see Gran Torino, Thanks for the recommendation.

I agree with Bassman after seeing Gran Torino yesterday.
He certainly played with some of the themes in his earlier films.
The end wasn't a foregone conclusion either, all in all a film
well worth seeing.

I have to say that I enjoy the whole cinema experience, a hot coffee, that smell that you get when you walk into the screen (screen1, screen2 etc.)
and the anticipation as the lights dim.

Slumdog Millionaire.

Very good. Enjoyed it. I thought the cast were superb.

Later in the week I'm taking myself to go see Watchmen.

Watchmen looks good too but we don't get it until next week.

I wanted to see'my bloody valentine 3D' but i'm not 18,yet.

I haven't heard much about the 3D remake, but the original was big fun. Are under-18s not allowed to see certain films, even with an adult present?

We're definitely going to see Watchmen this weekend, even if we have to stand in line for ages.

Came across The Banquet going cheap so I bought it.
I realised as soon as it started that I'd seen it before.
It's getting so that I've seen most of the films that are in the special
offer category.
It was still worth watching though but I've got to ask,
don't the Chinese like a happy ending?

Last night I rented 'I Served the King of England' A Czech Film.

Of the happy memoires of horrible times genre. Quite pleasant if you're not put off by young women who enjoy sex. Also, there's food in it.

That sounds interesting;
sex and food coupled with anwhile you watch it,
sounds perfect.

I didn't mean to overemphasize the sex part, it's no porno. It's just that there's sex in it but no on-camera shagging.

There's Nazis in it as well. And Communists. It's a light hearted look at human (political) stupidity.

I was reminded a bit of Life is Beautiful which was criticized for trying to make a comedy about the holocaust. The critics missed the point.

Last night I watched Rendition. Not bad, but it did seem to revolve around the evidence of one misdialled number, which seems a little tenuous, even for the CIA. The rest of it was OK.

RF

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Excellent. Great performances from Pitt, Kate Blanchet & Julia Ormond. Sensitively played throughout. I can't see how they could really have made it shorter without making it glib.


Gran Torino

So bad it hurt.

I watched Gran Torino yesterday. I liked it quite a lot - much better than TCCOBB. Definitely the best film I've seen so far at the cinema this year. (Oh, wait...I've only seen 2...) Clint plays Clint, natch, but the story and performances from the two Vietnamese leads were good. 4/5.

On Saturday night I continued HI's education in the Alien canon - remarkably, she'd only seen Alien Resurrection until recently. So we watched Alien 3 (or Alien Cubed, if you prefer) - definitely my favourite of the series.

RF

I'm really surprised people are raving about Gran Torino. I'm a Clint fan, most of the time, but sometimes he goes off in a self-indulgent lather. It's telling that he directed, produced, "acted" and sang the theme tune in this one. Too many scenes were improvs. This works with experienced actors, but with the kids in this film it was painful.

I've got a feeling this is Clint's last film. He's 78 and he spent his own money on a vanity project that neatly summed up his career. We saw "The man with no name", "Dirty Harry" and the sergeant from "Heartbreak Ridge" all acknowledged in here.


*spoiler*



















The ending was good, but seemed to me to be Clint laying to rest the ghosts of all his previous films. In real life, the good guys don't beat the bad guys in a hail of bullets facing insurmountable odds. The message was law & order will prevail. The crucifix pose was pure schtik.

The basic premise of the film was good, but could have been a true classic with a stronger script and some decent supporting actors.

RF, hold down Alt and type 0179. ³