[Jaspersharpe]

Got around to seeing Drive the other day. Awesome. Hope it wins some Oscars. Soundtrack immense. Style level off the charts.

It'll have a job as I think it's only been nominated for one. Which is a joke.

[lagerstarfish]

Aliens vs Cowboys...

Surprisingly alright.. I was expecting a banal/pointless daft wikiwikiWildWildWest style mindless mashup. But it was alright... Even MrsTT managed to stay awake and express moderate interest....

That was better than sex

[tomtom]

I had to wear my Daniel Craig mask..

[Falling Down]

Rampart looks good.  Screenplay by James Ellroy and a leading role from Woody Harrelson.

[Jaspersharpe]

Yeah seeing that performance it's difficult to believe he's the same guy who got famous playing the dopey bartender in Cheers.

[Falling Down]

Yeah.  He's an enigma and a real quality actor.  His role in No Country for Old Men was terrifying. It'll be interesting also to see a film actually written by Ellroy who writes in a very cinematic style anyway as opposed to watching an adaption of one his novels.

[Jaspersharpe]

Having thought more about what I said on the previous page I've realised that it wasn't that I was too pissed or missing something about the ending. It just is how it is. A character study where the plot is of secondary importance.

Good film.

[moose]

Yeah seeing that performance it's difficult to believe he's the same guy who got famous playing the dopey bartender in Cheers.

True, but whilst playing the bartender naif he was reportedly massively over-indulging in drugs and groupies and his dad was in jail for being a contract killer! So, although his performance in Cheers was so naturalistic you couldn't believe he wasn't just playing himself, in retrospect it was probably the least characteristic role he ever had.

[TobyD]

Aliens vs Cowboys...
Surprisingly alright..

  not the godawful cheese fest the title implies.

I recently saw Transporter, having discounted watching any of those movies for years on the grounds that they looked shit, and actually really liked that too. I am reliably informed that the sequels are a bit more on the side of being worthless dross?

[tomtom]

Aliens vs Cowboys...
Surprisingly alright..

  not the godawful cheese fest the title implies.

I recently saw Transporter, having discounted watching any of those movies for years on the grounds that they looked shit, and actually really liked that too. I am reliably informed that the sequels are a bit more on the side of being worthless dross?

They're more of the same... a bit dafter - but they are a little tongue in cheek so generally watchable....
I'd rank them as not worth getting out on DVD etc.., but if they were on and nothing else was, not too bad... 

[Jaspersharpe]

Yeah seeing that performance it's difficult to believe he's the same guy who got famous playing the dopey bartender in Cheers.

True, but whilst playing the bartender naif he was reportedly massively over-indulging in drugs and groupies and his dad was in jail for being a contract killer! So, although his performance in Cheers was so naturalistic you couldn't believe he wasn't just playing himself, in retrospect it was probably the least characteristic role he ever had.

Ha! Didn't know that. 

[moose]

Interesting interview with him here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/feb/17/woody-harrelson-my-father-contract-killer-rampart

[Adam Lincoln]

The rum diary. Don't bother. Utter rubbish. Worst film I have watched in years.

[Falling Down]

Interesting interview with him here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/feb/17/woody-harrelson-my-father-contract-killer-rampart

Good stuff. Now I definately want to see the film.

[psychomansam]

The rum diary. Don't bother. Utter rubbish. Worst film I have watched in years.

Disagree. Great story, and while I'm sure the book is better, the film is excellent.

[Jaspersharpe]

I'd also forgotten about Harrelson's role in Zombieland before reading that article.

[SA Chris]

I thought he was great as the cowboy in Toy Story.





(sorry)

[moose]

One of my favourite Harrelson roles was in The Walker where he played a fixture of Washington society who acts as "gay best friend" for politicians wives and gets involved in a murder scandal.  It's like American Gigalo decades on and Harrelson gives a lovely mannered performance as a crusty, shallow queen. 

I'm really looking forward to Rampart though - just because it sounds like a film version of The Shield.  The real-life basis for the story is incredible.  The LA police were mixed up in all the Biggie / Tupac business as they reportedly earned money on the side providing security for the gangs (Bloods, Crips etc).  Another filmic link is that the central shootout in Heat is supposedly based on an incident where some Rampart cops went rogue and held up a bank.  They were so heavily armed and armoured that the outgunned police response had to go to a gun shop and commandeer heavier weapons.

[slackline]

 



Natural Born Killers is brilliant, might have to go and get a copy to watch again as its been a few years.

[magpie]

I'm going to add Rampart to my to watch list, I love Woody.

[Duma]

The Baader Meinhof Complex is on iplayer at the moment:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01cr94k/The_Baader_Meinhof_Complex/

Worth seeing if you've not already. I really enjoyed it.

[moose]

Saw 'We Need to Talk About Kevin" last night. Superb.  Everything about it - the imagery, sound, performances, structure - felt absolutely pitch perfect.  It is one of those rare films where I watched it with a dawning sense that "This. Is . Very . Special". 

I still feel faintly rattled.  I have not felt that for a very long time. 

Admittedly it's not always the greatest films that arouse that feeling.  More those where every aspect fits and is obviously the result of a clearly held creative conviction.  As a digression, another example for me is Mean Streets; it's perhaps not Scorcese's most complete film, but it perhaps refelects best its creator's personal obsessions: rock'n'roll and Catholic imagery.  Some of Tarantino's films too.  Watch Reservoir Dogs, forget that its Director is a bit of a prick and has made some duffers; the mise-en-scene is beautiful and somehow complements the brutality and pop culture banality perfectly.

Any way, back to "We Need to Talk About Kevin".  It's one of the few films where I'm glad I didn't see it at the cinema.  The sound design is incredible - lots of liquid splats and masticating - and I found it rather disturbing.  I think it might have been a bit overwhelming in full, ultra-loud Dolby surroundsound.

[Jaspersharpe]

We watched Midnight in Paris last night and really enjoyed it. Think it helped that neither of us knew anything about it other than it was a Woody Allen film with Owen Wilson in it so the plot all came as a complete surprise.

Really well done with fantastic little touches everywhere and Wilson was actually really good. Probably because "confused, slightly pissed, head in the clouds bloke" comes pretty easily to him but still.....

[Jaspersharpe]

This looks rather good:

http://www.dustinputman.com/reviews/c/12_chronicle.htm

[Plattsy]