Serious Movie Discussion XLI

[Prefect]

I saw and reviewed The Infiltrator

https://societyreviews.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/the-infiltrator-review/


The Infiltrator is brilliantly acted by everyone involved. The casting choices are amazing and they all fit the roles based on the true story to the tee. The narrative is built on lies and deception which played well when you are in a world where truth build on lies is the only thing that keeps you alive. The banks played a much bigger role in this story but their involvement is minimized until the end when the main players are taken to prison. For a movie that’s runtime was about 110 minutes, you feel that an extra 20 minutes to clean up the plot holes would have greatly benefited the film and led to a much higher rating. The worst thing I can say about The Infiltrator is that it could have been better. The ending felt a bit too ‘Hollywood’ and the script seemed crippled so they could stay true to the book. I do recommend the book also called The Infiltrator written by the real life Robert Mazur, it offers a lot more insight to the story than the film can given the runtime. If you love biopics then you will be entertained and if you’re looking to duck Ghostbusters this weekend, then this is a solid choice as an alternative.

I thought The Infilrator is good like you said. The acting was solid. The plot was good but its one of those stories that you actually find the History channel special more engaging than the Hollywood movie. These guys are professionals. There isn't any drama. This isn't a crazy Ocean's level type of story either. The problem with a story like this is that the story isn't about the characters but about what needed to get done to break into the organization. This movie in my opinion while good and without any glaring faults likely would have been better had it been turned into a miniseries. One of The Wire seasons was dedicated to breaking into a drug ring. Here we have real source material that had someone wanted to, they could have put together an 8-12 episode miniseries covering all the details of the investigation. The movie's conclusion is anti-climatic because all the investigating, tailing, intel, and wire tapping had been cut out of the movie to get it down to an hour and half. What you are left with are the parts they didn't throw out that had some emotional value: wife mad at husband for his undercover job, undercover guys shocked by the brutality of the underworld, and general paranoia about being discovered or followed. All are at this point clichés of undercover cop movies.

 

[Joseph Budden]

Spoiler

lol that was his wife? wow shame on me for not being able to differentiate lol. i guess i was a little thrown off because his convo w the daughter made it seem like he didnt want anyone knowing of it (cheating on his wife)

here's are my questions: if he was indeed working w the demon, why did the shaman go back to the cop's house (when he was encountered by the white lady)?

and what was the whole deal w the zombie? is that what happens to the people that are fully possessed?

Spoiler

I thought the Shaman went back to take pics for the devil (seemed like he had pics of people before and after possession and their death.

The zombie was also an interesting part lol i'm still a bit perplexed by that myself. My initial thought was the devil brought him back, but i'm kind of unsure why. This film definitely is going to need another viewing at some point

 

[Drake]

Just saw Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates. Enjoyed it. Love Adam but he has yet to show any acting range what so ever, hahaha.

Spoiler

The massage scene was soooooo ridiculous

 

[europe1]

Burning Paradise (1994

Warriors Two

The Victim (1980

The Super Inframan (1975

There simply exists to many Hong Kong movies. I haven't seen any of these.

Ogro (aka Operacion Ogro) (1979)

Nor this one!

Hey, since you've seen so many Italian movies, have you seen Day of the Owl with Franco Nero (just a year after Django) and Claudia Cardinale (at her most mesmerizing). It's one of the first Italian movies to explicitely deal with the mafia (even though the word mafia is never mentioned). I was suprised how great it was. Really taut crime film about a police colonel who tries to uprot the mafia only to realize how deeply embeded they are -- and with Cardinale as an impoverished yet proud housewife who is caught in the middle when her husband dissapears, getting threated like shit by the sexist society around her.

It's made by Damiano Damiani too -- right after A Bullet for the General -- so you know it's going to good!

Apollo 13 (1995) 7/10 - It was kind of boring, I knew what was going to happen so their wasn't much suspense for me. It was on TV so I watched it.

You thought it was boring yet rated it a 7/10? I've seen the film yet barely remember anything about it so I guess I thought it was boring too.

The Big Gundown (1966) 8.5/10 - The plot description on IMDB is literally the entire movie. I kept waiting for Lee Van Cleef to realize the truth, and it didn't happen until right before the movie ended. It was still really good though. The baron was a brilliant character. The parts where with Brokston were interesting.

Well it came out in 1966. Maybe they waited so long for the twist because of how original, and therefore unfamilliar it was to the audience. They played it more like a Shamalan twist ending than a plotpoint.

I've never actually seen the other two movies, but man Van Cleef was perfect in that role. It startling how bad he would become towards the end of his carrer in stuff like Gods Gun and Kid Vengence.

And that intro is 100% pure Spaghetti awesome too.

The Jezebels (aka. The Switchblade

Ah man Switcblade sisters is jusy spectacular. Tarantino really nailed it when he discribed Hill as the Howard Hawks of B-pictures. At times it even feels like a parody on those girl gang movies from the 50's. Those three main girls are like the Holy Trinity of bad movie acting. Judged on pure laughability of the acting, Laces performance is probably the second funniest I can think of after the villian in Bloody Pits of Horror.

 

[BeardotheWeirdo]

There simply exists to many Hong Kong movies. I haven't seen any of these.

Blasphemy! I remember the days where I used to have to take an hour bus ride to find the closest store that sold HK movies, and they'd have maybe 200 HK movies tops. The Hunt was fun, but I don't really miss those days. Now with torrents and YouTube it's so easy to watch foreign movies.

Nor this one!

Hey, since you've seen so many Italian movies, have you seen Day of the Owl with Franco Nero (just a year after Django) and Claudia Cardinale (at her most mesmerizing). It's one of the first Italian movies to explicitely deal with the mafia (even though the word mafia is never mentioned). I was suprised how great it was. Really taut crime film about a police colonel who tries to uprot the mafia only to realize how deeply embeded they are -- and with Cardinale as an impoverished yet proud housewife who is caught in the middle when her husband dissapears, getting threated like shit by the sexist society around her.

It's made by Damiano Damiani too -- right after A Bullet for the General -- so you know it's going to good!

No, I haven't seen that one, but it sounds good and has a good imdb rating, so I'll see if I can find it. It's funny that you said they never mention the word "mafia" in the film, I had a hard time finding it on IMDB because in English they call the movie "Mafia"... but the movie was never released in North America. Franco Nero, Claudia Cardinale & Damiano Damiani... that's a recipe for success in my books.

Found a copy, I'm downloading it now, hopefully I can find some decent subtitles for it...

I love Claudia Cardinale, I just watched "Don't Make Waves" with Claudia Cardinale and Tony Curtis, I just watched it to see some prime Claudia Cardinale, man she was gorgeous back then, and I'd never seen a Sharon Tate movie either. It was OK, Curtis' character was an idiot, I can't fathom the idea of preferring Tate to Cardinale so I couldn't relate to him

I recently downloaded "How to Kill a Judge" with Nero also, looks good. It was written & directed by Damiani as well.

I watched "Autostop Rosso Sangue, aka HitchHike (1977)" recently also, but forgot to add it to my list. Nero did a convincing job with the acting... and it wasn't an easy role to play, I was impressed. It was a good movie that held my intrigue but it was an ugly movie also, with some very awkward scenes. I enjoyed it quite a bit, even though it was stressful at the same time.

I haven't seen very many Damiano Damiani movies, but I've seen a few, and some of them were really great movies. Bad Cop Chronicles: Confessions of a Police Captain" is one of my favourite movies. The acting and direction wasn't nearly as good as "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" but the story was just as good imo. It takes a deep look at how politicians, mafia, and big business worked together to exploit the system for their own game. The main characters are the police captain and the police's top prosecutor. They know who's doing what but they can't uncover the proof because the politicians are more powerful than them. The prosecutor is an anarchist... It has one of the best endings I've ever seen in a movie...

"Nobody's the Greatest" is the only other Damiano movie I've seen but I have several on my watch-list.

You thought it was boring yet rated it a 7/10? I've seen the film yet barely remember anything about it so I guess I thought it was boring too.

It was a tough one to rate...

The production and acting was good, the story just didn't do much for me so I lost interest halfway through. I was hoping for more outer-space visuals but it was all about the astronauts and the space shuttle... I wanted some stunning visuals but they just weren't there... Should I hold that against the film, or is that my own fault for having unrealistic expectations? I'm not sure, a bit of both probably.

I think part of the reason I didn't care for it was because I wanted something more from the story, and tbh I wasn't really in the mood for that type of movie, I was hoping it would put me to sleep, and it did eventually. I gave it a bonus point to make up for the fact that I just watched it so I could delete it from my PVR.

Well it came out in 1966. Maybe they waited so long for the twist because of how original, and therefore unfamilliar it was to the audience. They played it more like a Shamalan twist ending than a plotpoint.

I've never actually seen the other two movies, but man Van Cleef was perfect in that role. It startling how bad he would become towards the end of his carrer in stuff like Gods Gun and Kid Vengence.

And that intro is 100% pure Spaghetti awesome too.

That makes sense. I'm sure it would've been a surprise had I not known the story.

Also I didn't know Run, Man, Run was the third movie in the trilogy and I watched it before "The Big Gundown" so I knew the truth about Chucho being a good guy.

Apart from the spaghetti westerns about the Mexican revolution is was one of the more political westerns I've seen. I liked the message of the movie a lot. The Great Silence was the movie that really exposed "Bounty Killers" for what they are, but I can see how at the time "The Big Gundown" must've surprised and shocked people.

What did you think of "Day of Anger"?

Ah man Switcblade sisters is jusy spectacular. Tarantino really nailed it when he discribed Hill as the Howard Hawks of B-pictures. At times it even feels like a parody on those girl gang movies from the 50's. Those three main girls are like the Holy Trinity of bad movie acting. Judged on pure laughability of the acting, Laces performance is probably the second funniest I can think of after the villian in Bloody Pits of Horror.

Lace made the movie for me, despite her horrible acting job, she had a certain charm to her. You could tell she was really trying, and she was passionate, she just really sucked as an actor. I probably would've liked "Deadly Prey" more if I hadn't just watched "Switchblade sisters" and "Super-Inframan" a week prior to it.

I liked how in the trailer they introduce Maggie as this super-badass girl who always gets her way (and they're showing footage of her being raped while explaining this)

I might have to check out "Bloody Pits Of Horror" now.

I also watched "4 Days in Napoli" (1962) with Gian Maria Volonte... I liked it a lot, there were no main characters... The army seemed more like a mercenary army than a proper one, it gave a different feel from any other army movie I've seen. It reminded me of "The Battle of Algiers" in many ways, it had a similar feel. Just the way it was filmed with the actual soldiers fighting, in their hometown, next to their wives and children... it really humanized the characters and forced the viewer to think of how the war affects the soldiers' family members. One of the wives was really annoying though. And it was a true story...

 

[Flemmy Stardust]

Was forced to watch this movie called The Boy Next Door a while ago. Was reminded of it today.

It is about J-Lo being stalked and terrorized by this demented, obsessive creep who she originally thought was a likable dude.

Like all these movies, the creep/psycho is able to convince everyone else that he's innocent/charming, all while trying to gain and abuse power to keep the protagonists from letting the truth out. He does things to directly fuck with her, like registering to her class in a conscious effort to make her squirm (she's a teacher, he's just a kid). Throughout the movie his narcissism has him flying just close enough to the sun to not get burned. Eventually he gets too close and has his comeuppance.

Watching this kind of movie, i get frustrated, because i can never relate to how the situation is being handled by the characters. I know there'd be nothing that could stop me...nothing that could be held over my head that would prevent me from exposing such a creep as soon as he crossed the line. That's just if i were the target... If it was someone dear to me in my life, having the protective nature that i do, i would act on that impulse much more swiftly and harshly.

 

[Zer]

Blasphemy! I remember the days where I used to have to take an hour bus ride to find the closest store that sold HK movies, and they'd have maybe 200 HK movies tops. The Hunt was fun, but I don't really miss those days. Now with torrents and YouTube it's so easy to watch foreign movies.

No, I haven't seen that one, but it sounds good and has a good imdb rating, so I'll see if I can find it. It's funny that you said they never mention the word "mafia" in the film, I had a hard time finding it on IMDB because in English they call the movie "Mafia"... but the movie was never released in North America. Franco Nero, Claudia Cardinale & Damiano Damiani... that's a recipe for success in my books.

Found a copy, I'm downloading it now, hopefully I can find some decent subtitles for it...

I love Claudia Cardinale, I just watched "Don't Make Waves" with Claudia Cardinale and Tony Curtis, I just watched it to see some prime Claudia Cardinale, man she was gorgeous back then, and I'd never seen a Sharon Tate movie either. It was OK, Curtis' character was an idiot, I can't fathom the idea of preferring Tate to Cardinale so I couldn't relate to him

I recently downloaded "How to Kill a Judge" with Nero also, looks good. It was written & directed by Damiani as well.

I watched "Autostop Rosso Sangue, aka HitchHike (1977)" recently also, but forgot to add it to my list. Nero did a convincing job with the acting... and it wasn't an easy role to play, I was impressed. It was a good movie that held my intrigue but it was an ugly movie also, with some very awkward scenes. I enjoyed it quite a bit, even though it was stressful at the same time.

I haven't seen very many Damiano Damiani movies, but I've seen a few, and some of them were really great movies. Bad Cop Chronicles: Confessions of a Police Captain" is one of my favourite movies. The acting and direction wasn't nearly as good as "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" but the story was just as good imo. It takes a deep look at how politicians, mafia, and big business worked together to exploit the system for their own game. The main characters are the police captain and the police's top prosecutor. They know who's doing what but they can't uncover the proof because the politicians are more powerful than them. The prosecutor is an anarchist... It has one of the best endings I've ever seen in a movie...

"Nobody's the Greatest" is the only other Damiano movie I've seen but I have several on my watch-list.



It was a tough one to rate...

The production and acting was good, the story just didn't do much for me so I lost interest halfway through. I was hoping for more outer-space visuals but it was all about the astronauts and the space shuttle... I wanted some stunning visuals but they just weren't there... Should I hold that against the film, or is that my own fault for having unrealistic expectations? I'm not sure, a bit of both probably.

I think part of the reason I didn't care for it was because I wanted something more from the story, and tbh I wasn't really in the mood for that type of movie, I was hoping it would put me to sleep, and it did eventually. I gave it a bonus point to make up for the fact that I just watched it so I could delete it from my PVR.



That makes sense. I'm sure it would've been a surprise had I not known the story.

Also I didn't know Run, Man, Run was the third movie in the trilogy and I watched it before "The Big Gundown" so I knew the truth about Chucho being a good guy.

Apart from the spaghetti westerns about the Mexican revolution is was one of the more political westerns I've seen. I liked the message of the movie a lot. The Great Silence was the movie that really exposed "Bounty Killers" for what they are, but I can see how at the time "The Big Gundown" must've surprised and shocked people.

What did you think of "Day of Anger"?



Lace made the movie for me, despite her horrible acting job, she had a certain charm to her. You could tell she was really trying, and she was passionate, she just really sucked as an actor. I probably would've liked "Deadly Prey" more if I hadn't just watched "Switchblade sisters" and "Super-Inframan" a week prior to it.

I liked how in the trailer they introduce Maggie as this super-badass girl who always gets her way (and they're showing footage of her being raped while explaining this)

I might have to check out "Bloody Pits Of Horror" now.

I also watched "4 Days in Napoli" (1962) with Gian Maria Volonte... I liked it a lot, there were no main characters... The army seemed more like a mercenary army than a proper one, it gave a different feel from any other army movie I've seen. It reminded me of "The Battle of Algiers" in many ways, it had a similar feel. Just the way it was filmed with the actual soldiers fighting, in their hometown, next to their wives and children... it really humanized the characters and forced the viewer to think of how the war affects the soldiers' family members. One of the wives was really annoying though. And it was a true story...

Speaking of HK movies bro have you seen Beast Cops?

 

[Joseph Budden]

Was forced to watch this movie called The Boy Next Door a while ago. Was reminded of it today.

It is about J-Lo being stalked and terrorized by this demented, obsessive creep who she originally thought was a likable dude.

Like all these movies, the creep/psycho is able to convince everyone else that he's innocent/charming, all while trying to gain and abuse power to keep the protagonists from letting the truth out. He does things to directly fuck with her, like registering to her class in a conscious effort to make her squirm (she's a teacher, he's just a kid). Throughout the movie his narcissism has him flying just close enough to the sun to not get burned. Eventually he gets too close and has his comeuppance.

Watching this kind of movie, i get frustrated, because i can never relate to how the situation is being handled by the characters. I know there'd be nothing that could stop me...nothing that could be held over my head that would prevent me from exposing such a creep as soon as he crossed the line. That's just if i were the target... If it was someone dear to me in my life, having the protective nature that i do, i would act on that impulse much more swiftly and harshly.

But does it have a fap scene when the kid is able to seduce cougar Jlo?

 

[BeardotheWeirdo]

Speaking of HK movies bro have you seen Beast Cops?

No. I've never even heard of it.

I've seen Michael Wong in a few other movies though. Thunderbolt, City Hunter, In the Line of Duty 4, & Royal Warriors. He was really good in Royal Warriors

The director did "Fist of Legend" which is my 2nd favourite Jet Li movie, behind Once Upon a Time in China 4. The fight scenes in Fist of Legend were really well done.

Anthony Wong I've only seen in a few movies, and I can't remember him in those movies.

I much prefer hand-to-hand fighting and swordplay over gun-fight movies but it sounds like a good story and it won a bunch of awards, so I'll give it a whirl.

 

[Bullitt68]

Been busy as fuck. Haven't posted in forever. I've got a three-day conference starting today, and then after that, I technically don't have any university obligations for the rest of the year. As cool as this conference is going to be, I can't wait for it to be over so I can go back to having free time.

And once this weekend gets here, there's going to be a mega post to end all mega posts.

 

[europe1]

t's funny that you said they never mention the word "mafia" in the film, I had a hard time finding it on IMDB because in English they call the movie "Mafia"...

Day of the Owl is a really weird and nonsensical title (at least in English), but calling it Mafia is just to blunt and on-the-nose for a movie with this kind of theme.


I think I actually had that film on my previous computer before it passed away to that great department store in the sky.

and I'd never seen a Sharon Tate movie either

Well she only made 6 movies before running into Charles Manson and suffered a severe discontinuation of her health. I've only seen Eye of the Devil, where she plays a creepy-twin evil aristocrat-cultist. It's a fairly good movie and Tate is quite adequate in the role (her performance is basically a page out of the Barbara Steele playbook).

I can't fathom the idea of preferring Tate to Cardinale so I couldn't relate to him

Gentlemen prefer Blondes?

Oh who am I kidding... most unrealistic movie ever!

Damiano Damiani

I haven't seen any of his other films -- or any of the other films you've mentioned.

What did you think of "Day of Anger"?

Hehe. In my haste to crank out a response I misread you're initial response. I thought you had written about all three movies in the series -- and forgot that Day of Anger was the Giuliano Gemma/Lee Van Cleef team-up.

I really like Gemma. He has this kinetic, animated persona to himself. When he plays to this -- he's really fun to watch. Like in A Pistol for Ringo, Fort Yuma Gold, Arizona Colt, One Silver Dollar, etc. Even in Tenebre you can feel some of this just by the way he smirks and carries himself.

However, in Day of Anger, he's brutally miscast for the first half. Scotty is supposed to be this downtrodden, meek stableboy. Yet Gemme is just to athletic and square-jawed to ever pull something like this off. It ends up looking quite bizzare really.

So I think the second half works a lot better than the first half. But overall I like it quite a lot. Sea-level Lee Van Cleef is still in his prime with that look in his eye. And it is intresting to see him take a more subtle, villanous approach. He is still this suave, in-control mentor/father-figure character that he also played in For a Few Dollar's More and Death Rides A Horse yet in this story his evolution is more towards the villanous side of the spectrum than the heroic one.

The story wasn't great I guess

Well it wasn't bad. You have the father-figure, team-up dynamic and Gemma and Van Cleef slowly asserting control over that town. And the film overall is just very well made on all fronts. Considering how formulaic many Spaghettis could become Day of Anger isn't that bad.

I might have to check out "Bloody Pits Of Horror" now.

Bloody Pits is a really odd one since the first half is basically a really bad giallo... and then the madness start.Mickey Hargitay goes absolutely bananas with narcissism and delusions of grandeur.

The Battle of Algiers

Speaking of Gillo Pontecorvo, have you ever seen one of his other films, Queimada (also known as Burn!) I think it's right up your alley. It's about an agent who travels to a banana republic in order to orchestrate a revolution on behalf of a corporation do to ensure that they can exploit the land... only for things to go south when the revolutionists develop a mind of their own. It's really great, actually. Marlon Brando stars and considered it his greatest thespian accomplishment (though I'm not sure I agree about that part).

 

[europe1]

City Hunter

This is everything I remember about City Hunter.

Royal Warriors

Huh, yeah he was really good in Royal Warrior's actually as that charming, rather boyish detective. Really good Michelle Yeoh action flick. The movie was really grim and downbeat in excecution though. Like when Wong was callously killed off by being dropped off the top of a parking building, Get Carter style.

Once Upon a Time in China 4

I've only seen the first 3 and was under the impression that the quality quickly plummeted afterwards.

 

[BeardotheWeirdo]

Day of the Owl is a really weird and nonsensical title (at least in English), but calling it Mafia is just to blunt and on-the-nose for a movie with this kind of theme

Yeah, Mafia is way too on the nose. Day of the Owl sounds funny on the surface, but the Owl is a symbol of secrecy, knowledge, and hidden power.

From some symbology website:

The Owl, symbol of the Goddess, represents perfect wisdom. Owls have the ability to see in the dark and fly noiselessly through the skies. They bring messages through dreams. The Owl is the bird of mystical wisdom and ancient knowledge of the powers of the moon.

It's the perfect animal to represent the Mafia, or any "cult/group" working secretly towards their sinister goal. They also like to eat rats/mice...

I did some research into "Skull and Bones" years ago, and apparently they worship a giant owl effigy, I saw an Anthony J. Hilder documentary about it but he seems like the kind of guy who'll say any crazy though that pops into his head. He said several things in the documentary that I know are wrong.

And then there's the hidden owl on the one dollar bill...

Well she only made 6 movies before running into Charles Manson and suffered a severe discontinuation of her health. I've only seen Eye of the Devil, where she plays a creepy-twin evil aristocrat-cultist. It's a fairly good movie and Tate is quite adequate in the role (her performance is basically a page out of the Barbara Steele playbook).

Yeah, I was a big NIN fan when I was a kid, Trent Reznor unwittingly bought the house where the murders happened, and recorded his best album there.

My high school teacher was the son of a famous poet and he made us read Polanski's version of Hamlet. He talked about the murders at his house also. I loved "Chinatown" also.

Hehe. In my haste to crank out a response I misread you're initial response. I thought you had written about all three movies in the series -- and forgot that Day of Anger was the Giuliano Gemma/Lee Van Cleef team-up.

I really like Gemma. He has this kinetic, animated persona to himself. When he plays to this -- he's really fun to watch. Like in A Pistol for Ringo, Fort Yuma Gold, Arizona Colt, One Silver Dollar, etc. Even in Tenebre you can feel some of this just by the way he smirks and carries himself.

However, in Day of Anger, he's brutally miscast for the first half. Scotty is supposed to be this downtrodden, meek stableboy. Yet Gemme is just to athletic and square-jawed to ever pull something like this off. It ends up looking quite bizzare really.

So I think the second half works a lot better than the first half. But overall I like it quite a lot. Sea-level Lee Van Cleef is still in his prime with that look in his eye. And it is intresting to see him take a more subtle, villanous approach. He is still this suave, in-control mentor/father-figure character that he also played in For a Few Dollar's More and Death Rides A Horse yet in this story his evolution is more towards the villanous side of the spectrum than the heroic one.

I've seen "A Pistol for Ringo" years ago, but I don't remember it that well, I must've been really tired when I watched it. So, for me I didn't have any expectations of what Gemma should be like. I thought he sold it well, he genuinely came across as an abused soul with very little self-confidence. He was hauling around those shit carts in the dirt, which would weigh about 500lbs probably. He would be built like a tank doing that kind of work... The average life expectancy of a rickshaw driver is thought to be about 45 years, it's brutal work.

I actually preferred the second half. In the first half Lee stands up for the little people (like Scott Mary) and in the second half he shoots Scott's father-figure... That was the point of the movie I suppose, to show how power corrupts and changes people, but that was a bit of a leap. Of course they needed that scene, that was the catalyst that turned Scott against Van Cleef. It just felt a little forced.

There was something about the settings, clothing, acting, and production that really captivated me...

We briefly spoke about soundtracks in westerns in the Shane thread. This was one I forgot about, I hadn't seen the movie but I'd known the soundtrack for years. It would definitely be in my top-ten for Spaghetti Western soundtracks. Riz Ortalani absolutely nailed it. I also loved the music in the big Gundown (forgot to mention that) the song they used for the showdown at the end was brilliant, I already knew it also.I should stop downloading Morricone soundtracks, because they're a huge part of the movie and they take away from it (a little) when you already know all the songs.

Well it wasn't bad. You have the father-figure, team-up dynamic and Gemma and Van Cleef slowly asserting control over that town. And the film overall is just very well made on all fronts. Considering how formulaic many Spaghettis could become Day of Anger isn't that bad.

It was definitely really well made. Beautifully filmed. Those shots of Van Cleef riding through the desert with Scott following him, the scenery was spectacular. You don't usually see that much greenery in the desert.

It was a good story, but nothing special. The script, acting and production is what really made it work, imo. Upon further reflection I may have just been too tired to pick up on all the subtleties of the story. They did a great job of making Scott the outcast, I genuinely felt for his character. It should've made it that much more rewarding when he got his redemption... but he changed so much along the way he was like a different person. And he got his redemption against the man who made him into a man... It brings up conflicting emotions, and really blurs the line between good and bad. It was a simple story on the surface but I think there was a lot more going on there than I picked up on originally.

I threw it on at 2:30 am on a worknight to check the quality, and I ended up staying up all night watching it, I couldn't turn it off... Next time I'll watch it when I'm less tired, and I'll probably enjoy the subtleties of the story more.

Speaking of Gillo Pontecorvo, have you ever seen one of his other films, Queimada (also known as Burn!) I think it's right up your alley. It's about an agent who travels to a banana republic in order to orchestrate a revolution on behalf of a corporation do to ensure that they can exploit the land... only for things to go south when the revolutionists develop a mind of their own. It's really great, actually. Marlon Brando stars and considered it his greatest thespian accomplishment (though I'm not sure I agree about that part).

It's been on my watch-list for years. I recently downloaded Sergio Leone's "The Mercenary" (starring Franco Nero) which came out a year earlier. They're both called "The Mercenary" on IMDB. I'm planning on watching Leone's version later this week. Both movies sound right up my alley.

I have the soundtrack for "Queimada", it's ok. Based on the soundtrack it sounds like a slow movie, lol. Brando said his best acting was in Queimada (according to imdb)... I'm going to d/l it now.

This is everything I remember about City Hunter.

I actually forgot about that scene...

City Hunter was pretty terrible, this scene I liked though

And the girls

And i remember this really tall actor who was doing high kicks and holding his leg practically straight up in the air afterwards. It was a bad-ass scene.It was also kind of surprising seeing the women get beat up so badly. It didn't bother me much in Police Story because May (Jackie's GF) was pretty annoying .

QUOTE="europe1, post: 119131689, member: 255833"]Huh, yeah he was really good in Royal Warrior's actually as that charming, rather boyish detective. Really good Michelle Yeoh action flick. The movie was really grim and downbeat in excecution though. Like when Wong was callously killed off by being dropped off the top of a parking building, Get Carter style.[/QUOTE]

He was, that's one of my favourite Michelle Yeoh movies. Twin Warriors & both Supercop's being the other ones. I was used to Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao movies. That was the first dark HK movie I ever saw, I remember being shocked at how dark it was.

I've only seen the first 3 and was under the impression that the quality quickly plummeted afterwards.

Good call, for some reason I was calling the first one Part IV... Haven't watched or looked at it in many years. Just looked at my VHS shelf and it's the first one I was thinking of... yeah, I still have a VHS shelf tucked away in the corner of a closet in the basement

That's the second or third time I've talked about Once Upon A Time in China 4 on here, and I meant the first one every time, ah well. Now I know

The second one was pretty good, 3 was ok. Once Upon A Time in China and America was meh. They don't really compare to the first one imo. I don't think I've even seen the 4th one.

 

[europe1]

That was the point of the movie I suppose, to show how power corrupts and changes people, but that was a bit of a leap

I don't think it was so much that he changed as a person, it was just that the situation brought out another side in him. That cold-blooded opportunism always existed within him. That's true to life. You can find someone completely amicable and even inspiring when you don't have any conflict of interests, but when issues of loyalty and interests are brought up you might find them putting a bullet in your pa's chest.

So, for me I didn't have any expectations of what Gemma should be like.

I forgot to add that Gemma was the only bright-spot in Sergio Corbucci's unbelievably abysmal The Whte, The Yellow, and the Black. Despite also starring Elia Wallach and Tomas Milan it's so bad that it's made me think less of Corbucci ever since seeing it.

He was hauling around those shit carts in the dirt, which would weigh about 500lbs probably. He would be built like a tank doing that kind of work...

I'm not sure about that. A lot of impovrished folk who do backbreaking manual labor tend to be small-built and wiry. Think the villagers in Seven Samurai's, for instance. Plus, considering how much they hated him, I don't think the townspeople feed him very well.

But the thing is -- it's not that he is big-bodied, it's that he is toned and muscular. You only get that sort of built from athletics, not hauling around a bunch of shit all day.

There was something about the settings, clothing, acting, and production that really captivated me...

Yeah the production values are really great. As well as the cinemotography, pacing, and all of that other stuff. It's definitively a well put-togheter film.

We briefly spoke about soundtracks in westerns in the Shane thread. This was one I forgot about, I hadn't seen the movie but I'd known the soundtrack for years. It would definitely be in my top-ten for Spaghetti Western soundtracks. Riz Ortalani absolutely nailed it.

While I think it's a soundtrack that works really well in tandem with the film, I don't honestly find it that sonorous on it's own.

While responding to this quote -- I tried formulating a top 10 spaghetti soundtracks of my own. It failed miserably. There are just so many perfect ones that it becomes impossible to rank them. Morrocone has to many masterpieces for such a crude list.

Have you ever seen Kill the Wicked? It was one of those Z-grade Spaghetti's that I remember thinking had a really good main theme, though a rather corny one. The film itself was quite terrible though. One of those films that tried being atmospheric and gothic but just ended up feeling slow and trudging.

It brings up conflicting emotions, and really blurs the line between good and bad. It was a simple story on the surface but I think there was a lot more going on there than I picked up on originally.

You know... it does actually feel like a rather stock American B-western story. Unguided youth finds cool father figure that turns out evil and he has to make a stand against him. It's the Spaghetti moral ambiguity that gives the film it's identity. You're never sure about how Lee Van Cleef would react until the very end. In an American western the borders between good and evil would have been demarcated much clearer for the audience, while Day of Anger only shows the true depths of Van Cleef's callousness when he's finally forced into a corner and has to make a tough decision.

Sergio Leone's "The Mercenary

I've never actually seen that one.

Based on the soundtrack it sounds like a slow movie

It's not really slow. Episodic and scattered is more it's nature, really. That said, I have to say, the craftsmanship in Queimada deserves a discussion all of it's own. It has this really weird quality -- where I kept thinking that on a textbook level it should be considered rather bad and shoddy. However. in practice, the film works really well in the way it's going about it's buisness.

Twin Warriors

You mean Tai-Chi? I watched that when I was like 10 and it was the most impressive thing I've ever seen. The story about those two brothers drifiting towards good and evil was the height of drama at that age. I had completely forgotten the title though -- and whom starred in it -- and only rediscovered it about 13 years after that. It was quite a nostalgic moment rewatching it. Really good early Jet Li film. That said, Michelle doesn't really add much to the procedings I feel. It's not really strong on the Yeoh factor.

both Supercop's being the other ones.

Two Supercop movies? Are you referring to Police Story 3 and Once A Cop? Michelle is awesome in Police Story 3 and goes fist-to-kick with Jackie Chan for the entire runtime. Once A Cop I found rather average. An alright but rather typical HK-action flick. Jackie Chan's cameo in the movie was completely pointless though.

Ever seen Yes, Madam? It's another Michelle Yeoh flick where she teams-up with Cynthia Rothrock. Their fights in that film are downright spectacular -- their best work. However, unfortunately, the majority of the plotline focuses on 3 annoying and unfunny side characters. Had it been a buddy-cop movie between Yeoh and Rothrock it would have been an action classic.

yeah, I still have a VHS shelf tucked away in the corner of a closet in the basement

I miss the organic feel that VHS's used to have. The loading-noises and the slight blurring in the beginning of every tape.

Apart from Bruce Lee movies, kung-fu films (from Hong Kong) didn't get good until the 80's

That is... incorrect. Plenty of awesome Shaw Brother's productions by filmmakers like King Hu, Chang Cheh and Lau Kar-Leung.

And your racism towards weapons-based martial arts is holding you back, bro. Plenty of amazing films in that category. My favorite Kung Fu film is probably The Right Diagram Pole Fighter and that's 90 minutes of a couple of guys swinging poles around.

 

[Flemmy Stardust]

It's only right that i make my 14,800th post in my home base.

 

[ufcfan4]

Was forced to watch this movie called The Boy Next Door a while ago. Was reminded of it today.

It is about J-Lo being stalked and terrorized by this demented, obsessive creep who she originally thought was a likable dude.

Like all these movies, the creep/psycho is able to convince everyone else that he's innocent/charming, all while trying to gain and abuse power to keep the protagonists from letting the truth out. He does things to directly fuck with her, like registering to her class in a conscious effort to make her squirm (she's a teacher, he's just a kid). Throughout the movie his narcissism has him flying just close enough to the sun to not get burned. Eventually he gets too close and has his comeuppance.

Watching this kind of movie, i get frustrated, because i can never relate to how the situation is being handled by the characters. I know there'd be nothing that could stop me...nothing that could be held over my head that would prevent me from exposing such a creep as soon as he crossed the line. That's just if i were the target... If it was someone dear to me in my life, having the protective nature that i do, i would act on that impulse much more swiftly and harshly.

I remember seeing the tv spots and it just looked like melodramatic drivel. It's weird to me that Lopez gets caught up in these roles when, on the basis of films earlier in her career like Selena and Out of Sight, she clearly has ability as an actress.

There was some dumbass line from the TV spot that I'm trying to remember now- where Lopez tells the young creep to leave and he's like, "I can't leave. I live next door." That's not exactly it lol but it was like that.

Shit line. Shit delivery.

 

[BeardotheWeirdo]

I don't think it was so much that he changed as a person, it was just that the situation brought out another side in him. That cold-blooded opportunism always existed within him. That's true to life. You can find someone completely amicable and even inspiring when you don't have any conflict of interests, but when issues of loyalty and interests are brought up you might find them putting a bullet in your pa's chest.

True, I guess the way he took a shine to Scott made him appear nicer than he was. He was still cold to the boy but he sort of took him under his wing after he met him. After that he was fairly hard on the boy though, he treated him more like a friend after he turned Scott into a man.

I forgot to add that Gemma was the only bright-spot in Sergio Corbucci's unbelievably abysmal The Whte, The Yellow, and the Black. Despite also starring Elia Wallach and Tomas Milan it's so bad that it's made me think less of Corbucci ever since seeing it.

Have you ever seen the movie "Burn Hollywood Burn" aka "An Alan Smithee film". In my quest to see every Jackie Chan movie I hunted it down and it was basically the story of a writer/director. The studio changes his script and forces him to use actors he doesn't like. His whole movie turns into a disaster and he takes his name off it.

I know nothing about "The White, Yellow, and the Black" but sometimes their are factors outside of the directors control that can ruin his movie for him.

Jay Sherman always had that problem on "The Critic" too.

I'm not sure about that. A lot of impovrished folk who do backbreaking manual labor tend to be small-built and wiry. Think the villagers in Seven Samurai's, for instance. Plus, considering how much they hated him, I don't think the townspeople feed him very well.

But the thing is -- it's not that he is big-bodied, it's that he is toned and muscular. You only get that sort of built from athletics, not hauling around a bunch of shit all day.

I suppose that's true. Japanese people are just like that though. I had a good friend who was half-Japanese and he could benchpress 300lbs when he was 16, he was a beast but he couldn't put on any muscle mass no matter how hard he tried. He even started taking creatine and it didn't help.

And some people are just natural genetic beasts.

While I think it's a soundtrack that works really well in tandem with the film, I don't honestly find it that sonorous on it's own.

While responding to this quote -- I tried formulating a top 10 spaghetti soundtracks of my own. It failed miserably. There are just so many perfect ones that it becomes impossible to rank them. Morrocone has to many masterpieces for such a crude list.

That surprises me. I love the title track. It worked well in Kill Bill also.

I just checked discogs.com and they have 1020 Ennio Morricone albums listed, including compilations with him on them. I've never seen any artists with close to that many albums. There aren't many record labels that have released over 1000 records, let alone artists. He's done hundreds of soundtracks. I could probably compile a list but I know there's tons of his themes that I've never heard before.

Have you ever seen Kill the Wicked? It was one of those Z-grade Spaghetti's that I remember thinking had a really good main theme, though a rather corny one. The film itself was quite terrible though. One of those films that tried being atmospheric and gothic but just ended up feeling slow and trudging.

Nope, never heard of it.

That the song? It's good. I prefer instrumentals. The ballad of Hank McCain and Django are the only two Italian movie themes (with vocals) that I like, and are coming to mind right now.

You know... it does actually feel like a rather stock American B-western story. Unguided youth finds cool father figure that turns out evil and he has to make a stand against him. It's the Spaghetti moral ambiguity that gives the film it's identity. You're never sure about how Lee Van Cleef would react until the very end. In an American western the borders between good and evil would have been demarcated much clearer for the audience, while Day of Anger only shows the true depths of Van Cleef's callousness when he's finally forced into a corner and has to make a tough decision.

Yeah, I agree. It was reading between the lines that made it interesting. I knew from the description that Scott confronts Lee at the end of the movie. But up until he shot Scott's father-figure, it seemed so unlikely... and often those descriptions are wrong so it still was a little surprising when they finally had their duel at the end.

Lee was corrupted by the power he received from exacting his revenge.

It's not really slow. Episodic and scattered is more it's nature, really. That said, I have to say, the craftsmanship in Queimada deserves a discussion all of it's own. It has this really weird quality -- where I kept thinking that on a textbook level it should be considered rather bad and shoddy. However. in practice, the film works really well in the way it's going about it's buisness.

I don't mind slow as long as the story and cinematography's good. I just noticed there wasn't much dramatic, suspenseful or high-energy music on the soundtrack.

It`s got a 7.5/10 rating on imdb & a metacritic score of 72/100. It sounds very political, and the story is still relevant today. The USA armed the Taliban and paid for it later, as an example. It's a delicate balance.

I watched "Where the Green Ants Dream" by Werner Herzog not too long ago, and sounds like it might cover some of the same elements. The main character is a representative from a big corporation, trying to convince an aboriginal African tribe to sell the land to the company... but the aboriginals have no need or desire for money. The whole movie is about the cultural disconnect between the two parties and how it affects negotiations. They might as well have been from different planets.

You mean Tai-Chi? I watched that when I was like 10 and it was the most impressive thing I've ever seen. The story about those two brothers drifiting towards good and evil was the height of drama at that age. I had completely forgotten the title though -- and whom starred in it -- and only rediscovered it about 13 years after that. It was quite a nostalgic moment rewatching it. Really good early Jet Li film. That said, Michelle doesn't really add much to the procedings I feel. It's not really strong on the Yeoh factor.

Yes, before the days of imdb it was a nightmare. Sometimes I would buy an imported $30 HK VHS version of a movie I already had, or that I could buy for $10 under it's American name... The descriptions were in Chinese and the names were different, if you didn't recognize the picture sometimes you'd screw yourself out of $30

It's called Twin Warriors over here. They probably thought the name Tai-Chi would sound too "fruity" to western audiences

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The first Jet Li movie I ever saw was "Black Mask", at the time it was the worst movie I'd ever seen. I hated it. I avoided Jet Li for a while. One day (after seeing Yeoh in Supercop) I bought this movie, solely for Michelle Yeoh, and was blown away by it. I hated wire-trick movies at the time, but this one changed my opinions on them, and on Jet Li.

I barely remember Michelle Yeoh in it, she had one cool fight scene on top of tables at a restaurant I remember, but mostly the two brothers made the film.

Two Supercop movies? Are you referring to Police Story 3 and Once A Cop? Michelle is awesome in Police Story 3 and goes fist-to-kick with Jackie Chan for the entire runtime. Once A Cop I found rather average. An alright but rather typical HK-action flick. Jackie Chan's cameo in the movie was completely pointless though.

This is what I was talking about before. Things got all messed up in North America. There were several Jackie chan movies that their North American movies deemed wouldn't work in North America, later after Jackie's triumphant success they decided to release some of his older movies, thatthey had previously rejected and everything became a mess.

For example, Police Story came out here, then they skipped Police Story 2, so they released part 3 as "Supercop" since there was no part 2 in America it made no sense to make it a trilogy. Later they released Michelle Yeoh's Supercop, which they had to call Supercop 2 since Police Story 3 was already called Supercop.

To play off the success of Operation Condor in North America, "The Armour of the Gods" which wasn't released in North America at the time, came out as "Operation Condor 2: The Armour of the Gods"... so part 2 was filmed in 1986 while part 1 was filmed 5 years later, in 1991... confused yet?

Often different distributors would change the name so you'd see the same movie with three different names and covers on the boxes. When I went to Scotland on vacation I noticed they had a much bigger selection of HK Kung-fu films as well, which surprised me.

A bunch of Jackie movies were never released here on VHS. Several I bought in the UK, then got a guy at my moms work to convert them to VHS (from PAL) for me. Those were the days, the wait really made the movie seem that much more special though. It's too easy nowadays. It's hard not to take them for granted sometimes.

I liked Once Upon A Cop (aka Supercop 2), I read the small print but it was still disappointing to see Jackie's cameo was so short and pointless. Her partner in the movie David (played by Rongguang Yu) did a really good job, he has some great kicks and I'd never seen him before. The story was darker than almost every Jackie Chan movie (except for Crime Story and The Prisoner)

Michelle had some solid stunts in that movie. In one scene she jumps from a roof top onto a cherrypicker. She messed up, broke her rib on the cherry picker and fell 18 stories. She was fearless back then. It doesn't compare to Supercop 1 (aka police story 3) but it was a solid 6/10 imo.

I just noticed on imdb that Michelle Yeoh plays the Judo instructor in Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars. I've seen that movie at least 3 times and I've never noticed.

Ever seen Yes, Madam? It's another Michelle Yeoh flick where she teams-up with Cynthia Rothrock. Their fights in that film are downright spectacular -- their best work. However, unfortunately, the majority of the plotline focuses on 3 annoying and unfunny side characters. Had it been a buddy-cop movie between Yeoh and Rothrock it would have been an action classic.

No, but thank you for asking. I've been wanting to know what that movie's called for close to 20 years now. As soon as i saw the pic on imdb I recognized it.

I've seen clips of it on this VHS compilation. It shows clips from all best of HK kung fu movies, and has interviews with the actors and stuff. They clips of two good clips of Cynthia Rothrock movies, one from "Righting Wrongs" (epic movie) and the other one I never knew what it was from until now....

Rothrock looked amazing in some movies, and in other she looked like a total amateur in her fight scenes. That documentary exposed me to the importance of good directing. Jackie Chan's my stunts took it even further, that's an interesting video too, my cousin in Scotland bought two copies by mistake and gave me one.

I miss the organic feel that VHS's used to have. The loading-noises and the slight blurring in the beginning of every tape.

So did I, then I watched "Back to The Future 2" on VHS in the winter... Maybe I just need a new VCR, it couldn't get the tracking right and was a total mess. It's not a bootleg VHS either, and I'd only watched it once before. Pretty sure it's my VCR. I have three and they all suck, I got given a fourth one last year, I'll have to check it out.

That is... incorrect. Plenty of awesome Shaw Brother's productions by filmmakers like King Hu, Chang Cheh and Lau Kar-Leung.

And your racism towards weapons-based martial arts is holding you back, bro. Plenty of amazing films in that category. My favorite Kung Fu film is probably The Right Diagram Pole Fighter and that's 90 minutes of a couple of guys swinging poles around.

Fair enough, I should've worded it better. There are good HK KF movies from before the 80's, but none of them (imo) can hold a candle to Police Story or the Project A movies that came out in the 80's. Jackie took kung-fu films to a whole new level with his big stunts, extremely creative fight choreography, and his use of everyday objects in his fights... and the car chases.

Knockabout, Magnificent Butcher, Encounter of the Spooky Kind, The Odd Couple, and Ol' Dirty Kung Fu are all examples of 70's HK kung-fu films that I liked a lot.

It's not like I'm opposed to pole-fighting movies or gun-fight movies, I just rarely go out of my way to see them, and usually don't enjoy them as much. I've seen some bits and pieces of Chow-Yun-Fat films and some of those gun-play scenes are badass.

 

[Tycho- Taylor's Version]

I feel like The Nice Guys had so many of the right ingredients to be funny and enjoyable, but sadly it wasn't much of either.

Maybe the sequel?

 

[ufcfan4]

Been busy as fuck. Haven't posted in forever. I've got a three-day conference starting today, and then after that, I technically don't have any university obligations for the rest of the year. As cool as this conference is going to be, I can't wait for it to be over so I can go back to having free time.

And once this weekend gets here, there's going to be a mega post to end all mega posts.

Enjoy the conference! Looking forward to the mega post.

 

[ufcfan4]

I feel like The Nice Guys had so many of the right ingredients to be funny and enjoyable, but sadly it wasn't much of either.

Maybe the sequel?

If there is a sequel. Film was a flop, no?

I liked it. There was some really funny stuff, particularly from Gosling. I guess the mixing of genres was a bit jarring at times and I think the film definitely lost steam in the latter portions- around the point after which Basinger comes into play- but overall it was entertaining.