inri222

So out of the 24 films he's directed, he has 16 good ones?

No way!

RichC2

I still think Black Hawk Down did a great job of capturing camaraderie in chaos, and it's just a beautifully shot and, for what it was, decently constructed flick.

Hannibal is, to me, hilarious - just a thoroughly entertaining black comedy -- and while I never quite got the love for Gladiator, I wouldn't consider it a bad movie, just not a great one.

So to each their own, I didn't care for his most of his work after American Gangster, which was pedestrian as well. But even with that, any sort of 1:2 or 2:1 ratio doesn't work, especially considering the last decade which brought us one disappointment after another (Body of Lies, Robin Hood, Prometheus, The Counsellor and Exodus were all pretty weak)

JimRochester

Passengers Had a light day due to the holiday so the wife and I went to the movies. I like Chris Pratt. Not a huge Jennifer Lawrence fan but do like her. This was pretty good. It certainly was a good date movie. Tough to find stuff she'll sit through.

Surely a good rental. Decent vehicle for two likeable leads. The climactic action scene was wholly unbelievable. A little sappy at the end. B-

EddieMoney

Ridley's best movies are The Duellists, Blade Runner, Alien, Matchstick Men, The Counselor, and The Martian.

He has some other stuff that is just "okay," i.e. Thelma and Louise, Black Rain, American Gangster

Then we have the excrement, like "Black Hawk Down." Totally chaotic war porn.

inri222

I haven't seen The Martian so I don't know about that one. For me Matchstick Men & The Counselor, which are 2 of his better films, are not on the same level with The Duellists, Blade Runner & Alien.

Pretty much.

I'd call Black Hawk Down "Totally chaotic racist war porn." A bunch of soldiers mowing down hoards of blood thirsty zombies in Somalia.
Hell, Big Daddy & Bub from the Romero films had more humanity than the Somalis in Scott & Bruckheimer's 2.5 hour recruitment film.

JeffTheAlpaca

it is easier to rent them and watch them over two sittings or two days then again every Marvel or comic book movie is almost 3 hours long and nobody has complained except me.

inri222

A Walk Among the Tombstones - 2.5/5

A retired ex-alcoholic cop who's now an unlicensed private investigator, is hired by a drug dealer to find those responsible for the kidnapping and murder of his wife. As he further investigates, he discovers that this is not the first time the perpetrators have done this and it won't be the last. Average crime thriller that starts out promising and then becomes predictable.

OldBoy

The Serpent and the Rainbow...this was really kind of great. Very eerie and that one line, "Don't let them bury me, I'm not dead" has haunted me since I saw a little of this when I was a youngin'. Very nicely done.

Cellar Door

^I mostly remember that, and the bit with the chair and the hammer and nail.

inri222

I want to hear you scream!!!!

EddieMoney

I'd call Black Hawk Down "Totally chaotic racist war porn." A bunch of soldiers mowing down hoards of blood thirsty zombies in Somalia.
Hell, Big Daddy & Bub from the Romero films had more humanity than the Somalis in Scott & Bruckheimer's 2.5 hour recruitment film.[/QUOTE]

Every American death is shown in agonizing, graphic detail. Meanwhile, all the zombie Somalis drop like flies. Yeah, I have to agree that it's racist as fuck.

RichC2

Yeah, when you're doing a battle recreation movie adapted from a book written from the US perspective with that high of a body count (between 300 and 500 Somalians) it tends to come off a little racist. Still one hell of a technical accomplishment.

RichC2

I Am Not A Serial Killer - interesting throw back, low budget mystery/horror movie with Max Records and Christopher Lloyd.

JimRochester

I think any of the war movies written from one perspective paints the enemy as a cardboard cutout. The Japanese perspective hence a Japanese movie on Pearl Harbor was a strike at US aggression and would show the attack from the air bombing the aggressors of the state of Japan. It wasn't so much an ambush or surprise attack as a declaration that didn't get there in time. Even though had it arrived it would have been too soon to avoid the attack. The war genre has never spent a lot of time developing the opposing army characters. Maybe Tora, Tora, Tora and Longest Day were the closest since they were docudramas from a 50/50 perspective. Some expanded on the civilian population and war's effects. But all others take a one sided perspective and add artistic license in order to make it a commercially viable product.

kd5

Watched Full Metal Jacket last evening. An interesting way to follow the life of a marine from boot camp to Vietnam. Holding a 1H draft card to that "war" but ultimately not being drafted because the "war" ended made it hit a little closer to home for me. I'm so glad I didn't have to go. I feel bad for all the soldiers who either lost their minds or their lives in that insanity. A very impactful movie.

inri222

From what I know, unlike the book, the film was edited with a more us vs. them mentality because it wanted to cash in on the rabid patriotism that was around after 9/11. In the book (which the film leaves out) soldiers were critical of why the US was involved, Somali women & children were killed, and Somalis were interviewed and gave their side of the story.

I guess not every war film can be The Thin Red Line, The Battle of Algiers or Platoon.

RichC2

It hit many of the same notes as the book, just wasn't as indepth about it (dissent is implied several times during the first 30 minutes of the movie), same goes for the Somali women and children. Apparently a chunk of that did hit the editing room floor, as is typical of Scott films it seems. They definitely added a little bit of visceral fluff that came from Bruckheimer himself just because it'd look cool, but I guess it has been a while since I've seen the movie and even longer since I read the book. And who knows, maybe I filled in some blanks on my own.

And holy crap what is with the redirects on this forum lately.

TheMovieman

Poltergeist II - 3.0/5
Poltergeist III - 2.75/5

JeffTheAlpaca

Snow Angels on Cinemax.

OldBoy

The Blob (1988)...I always had a soft spot for this one since I first saw it many years ago. Watching it now, this is a pretty good little horror remake. Some gruesome effects. Better creature effects then I remember as well. Yes, a little cheesy, but gruesome and well done. I also always loved Shawnee Smith since this.

JeffTheAlpaca

Love the Coopers on Showtime

Better than what I expected.

Inhumans99

Thumbs up to Oldboy's love of The Blob remake, as I also love this remake.

I have watched a few films on Netflix in the past week or so, and the one I want to mention is the original The Parent Trap with Hayley Mills. A wonderful family film that is worth seeing this weekend (especially if you are staying indoors due to the wet weather).

OldBoy

Unbreakable...this gets better on subsequent viewings, but still hate the headline at the end.

lwhy?

I watched Nerve tonight. I really liked the first two thirds of the movie, but I wasn't a big fan of how it ended. I thought it got a little preachy at the end. 3.25/5

asianxcore

Point Break (1991)
Road House (1989)

Double Feature at a local theater. Shitty crowd but it was great seeing these on the big screen, back to back.