Non-Fortean Films

[GNC]

It says a lot that Aykroyd's original script for Ghostbusters need a LOT of rewriting. Leave him to his own devices and you get Nothing But Trouble, which is completely baffling.

 

[Swifty]

It says a lot that Aykroyd's original script for Ghostbusters need a LOT of rewriting. Leave him to his own devices and you get Nothing But Trouble, which is completely baffling.

It was a strange experience watching Nothing But Trouble .. Ackroyd's acting performance was fun, the camera work by Oscar winner Dean Cundy was good, Spielberg's favourite production designer also had his bite of a $45 million budget so the film looked great, toss in John Candy and Demi Moore because, frankly, they could afford her and because the cocaine at that particular meeting was really great .. and it was still a bit shit .. apparently Chevy Chase was an arsehole throughout production.

 

[GNC]

It was a strange experience watching Nothing But Trouble .. Ackroyd's acting performance was fun, the camera work by Oscar winner Dean Cundy was good, Spielberg's favourite production designer also had his bite of a $45 million budget so the film looked great, toss in John Candy and Demi Moore because, frankly, they could afford her and because the cocaine at that particular meeting was really great .. and it was still a bit shit .. apparently Chevy Chase was an arsehole throughout production.

Apparently Chevy Chase is an arsehole in any production. But Nothing But Trouble was a major flop, though for some reason some people are fascinated by it, it's like an optical illusion that somehow reveals itself after a lot of confused staring at it to be weird but a bit shit (as you say!).

 

[Ogdred Weary]

It was a strange experience watching Nothing But Trouble .. Ackroyd's acting performance was fun, the camera work by Oscar winner Dean Cundy was good, Spielberg's favourite production designer also had his bite of a $45 million budget so the film looked great, toss in John Candy and Demi Moore because, frankly, they could afford her and because the cocaine at that particular meeting was really great .. and it was still a bit shit .. apparently Chevy Chase was an arsehole throughout production.

I watched it for the first time a year or two ago, I'd never heard of it before but various podcasts and review sites mentioned how bizarre and bad it was and so I was curious. It's a horror comedy without much horror and very little comedy, tonally it's all over the place, it feels a little like an adult Goonies at some points, its "interesting" but not really entertaining.

 

[Swifty]

I watched it for the first time a year or two ago, I'd never heard of it before but various podcasts and review sites mentioned how bizarre and bad it was and so I was curious. It's a horror comedy without much horror and very little comedy, tonally it's all over the place, it feels a little like an adult Goonies at some points, its "interesting" but not really entertaining.

A far superior 'Dan Ackroyd being crazy in a cul de sac' film was/is 'Neighbours' also starring John Belushi, another comedy sort of horror film .. I don't know who where's seen that put I'll post a link to the full movie here if I can find it. Neighbours is ace.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

Neighbours is ace.

Everybody needs good ones.

 

[GNC]

A far superior 'Dan Ackroyd being crazy in a cul de sac' film was/is 'Neighbours' also starring John Belushi, another comedy sort of horror film .. I don't know who where's seen that put I'll post a link to the full movie here if I can find it. Neighbours is ace.

I still have "Did you psychically will the towel to fall?" pop into my head every so often...

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Just finished watching Romulus v Remus aka The First King / Il Primo Re.

Set in the 8th century BC, this is an astonishingly brutal dramatisation of how a small band of warriors, led by shepherd brothers, managed to unite warring tribes and found the city of Rome and, ultimately, one of the greatest empires in the history of humanity.
This is very far removed from Hollywoodised accounts of Spartacus et al. With filth, squalor, savagery and gore aplenty, it has a gritty air of brutal authenticity throughout. The dialogue is in old Latin, with (delightfully) a few phrases in Proto-Indo-European. This provides a thrilling sense of linguistic history, whenever you experience a glimmer of recognition of words and phrases not spoken for perhaps 3,000 years.
It's just over two hours long, but the time just flew past.
Highly recommended. Available now on Prime Video.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_King:_Birth_of_an_Empire

 

[TangletwigsDeux]

Just finished watching Romulus v Remus aka The First King / Il Primo Re.

Set in the 8th century BC, this is an astonishingly brutal dramatisation of how a small band of warriors, led by shepherd brothers, managed to unite warring tribes and found the city of Rome and, ultimately, one of the greatest empires in the history of humanity.
This is very far removed from Hollywoodised accounts of Spartacus et al. With filth, squalor, savagery and gore aplenty, it has a gritty air of brutal authenticity throughout. The dialogue is in old Latin, with (delightfully) a few phrases in Proto-Indo-European. This provides a thrilling sense of linguistic history, whenever you experience a glimmer of recognition of words and phrases not spoken for perhaps 3,000 years.
It's just over two hours long, but the time just flew past.
Highly recommended. Available now on Prime Video.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_King:_Birth_of_an_Empire

Getting compared to Valhalla Rising,which I love, gets it a slot on my list. Cheers for the heads up.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

The Dream Team 1989, four psychiatric patients are taken out of their institution for an afternoon trip a baseball game by their psychiatrist who promptly gets hospitalised by corrupt cops who are then intent on offing him as he's just witnessed them murdering another officer. Said team are bloke who thinks he's Jesus and/or God, a mostly non-verbal guy who simply parrots lines from TV and loves food, a guy who thinks he's a Doctor/Psychiatrist and Michael Keaton who is seemingly just generally "crazy" has had various delusions and violent episodes.

It's a comedy that I guess wouldn't get made today or would be far more defiantly bad taste and gallows humour. It's watchable but not especially funny, the character of the Jesus Guy is a little inconsistent, and beyond claiming to be The Lord and quoting the Bible there's not a lot going on, he's pretty sweary and informal the rest of the time. Christopher Lloyd is effective and affective as Mr Doctor and Keaton just seems to be there to be "relatable good looking protagonist guy". Needless to say, they begin to work as a team and (sort of) come to terms with their psychosis to some extent, wrapping up everything the way only an 80s film could. It's Ok.

 

[Naughty_Felid]

Sweet Country (2017)

An Australian film set in Northern Territory following WW1 is a story of the bleak realities of a young white colony that sits on a much more ancient nation. Based on a true account of an Aboriginal farmhand and the events that follow him after he tries to protect his family.

The film uses the scenery to stunning effect - It's breathtaking, harsh, spartan, the heat seeps through the screen. Starring Sam Neil and Bryan Brown who are both brilliant, the best performances are by the indigenous actors. Hamilton Morris and Natassia Gorey-Furber are superb as husband and wife Sam and Lizzie, as are Gibson John and the Doolan Twins as Archie and Philomac. It's their perplexity with the white world they now live in. They continually try to interpret how to act and behave as to not antagonize their white bosses. They can never relax and are traded or lent between their white masters at the drop of a hat. Each time they have to try and gauge how this transaction will affect them - a constant state of anxiety.

The film is set almost a hundred years after the abolition of slavery yet very little seems to have changed. There is also Sam and Lizzie's frankly dangerous encounter with the people who live beyond the reach of the white people. Sam and Lizzie are trapped between their own unfettered people and the white world - they now don't belong to either.

Some have criticized the low key action scenes but I think they reflect the heat and the pace of the landscape. Everything is difficult under the sun and I found the two main action scenes were short, effective, and brutal.

It's not all doom and gloom, Gibson John and Sam Neil both bring a sense of typically Australian humor to the film (Yes Neil is a Kiwi but the humor is pretty similar).

Absorbing, you won't notice the time go by and well worth a watch 9 out of 10.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

Another nail in the coffin of cinemas:

https://me.ign.com/en/movies/179770/news/wb-announces-entire-2021-movie-line-up-coming-to-hbo-max

Warner Bros to simultaneously debut their whole 2021 slate in theatres and on HBO Max.

 

[gordonrutter]

Another nail in the coffin of cinemas:

https://me.ign.com/en/movies/179770/news/wb-announces-entire-2021-movie-line-up-coming-to-hbo-max

Warner Bros to simultaneously debut their whole 2021 slate in theatres and on HBO Max.

I’ve not been to a cinema for a long time. Hours of adverts, people talking through the film, cleaners coming in and hassling me before the credits have even finished. I’ve got a stupid size TV and a full Atmos set up at home and the popcorn is cheaper.
Happy to go to a cinema but they need to offer me a better experience to entice me there. Also a blu ray with its extras that I can watch multiple times costs pretty much the same as a cinema ticket now.

And as for cinemas where they will bring a drink to where you are sitting - not a chance, I don’t want people wandering back and forth in front of me as I’m trying to immerse myself in the film.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

I’ve not been to a cinema for a long time. Hours of adverts, people talking through the film, cleaners coming in and hassling me before the credits have even finished. I’ve got a stupid size TV and a full Atmos set up at home and the popcorn is cheaper.
Happy to go to a cinema but they need to offer me a better experience to entice me there. Also a blu ray with its extras that I can watch multiple times costs pretty much the same as a cinema ticket now.

And as for cinemas where they will bring a drink to where you are sitting - not a chance, I don’t want people wandering back and forth in front of me as I’m trying to immerse myself in the film.

You're in Edinburgh? You must have some decent independents, which tend to be more pleasant and cheaper in my experience.

 

[GNC]

I agree selfish cinemagoers can spoil the experience, but there's nothing quite like seeing a film with an appreciative audience. Watching the Marx Bros.' Duck Soup with a crowd who were loving every joke was a wonderful time for me. Not a comedy, but watching Goldeneye with the audience laughing at it because they were loving how ridiculous it was - and the film seemed to be in on the joke - was a great time too.

 

[Spookdaddy]

You're in Edinburgh? You must have some decent independents, which tend to be more pleasant and cheaper in my experience.

The Dominion, on Newbattle Terrace.

It's how cinema's should be.

I hope it survives the current unpleasantness. If not, I will miss it so - and I don't even live in Edinburgh.

In fact I had an odd experience at the Dominion the first time I ever went. As soon as I walked in I felt a real sense of familiarity. Oh, right, yes - I thought - it's this place, of course I've been before...lots of times.

I spent most of the movie slightly distracted having realised after about ten minutes that actually no, I'd never been before.

...And as for cinemas where they will bring a drink to where you are sitting...

They do at the Dominion. My occasional Sunday night treat when I'm working in Edinburgh.

 

[gordonrutter]

The Dominion, on Newbattle Terrace.

It's how cinema's should be.

I hope it survives the current unpleasantness. If not, I will miss it so - and I don't even live in Edinburgh.

In fact I had an odd experience at the Dominion the first time I ever went. As soon as I walked in I felt a real sense of familiarity. Oh, right, yes - I thought - it's this place, of course I've been before...lots of times.

I spent most of the movie slightly distracted having realised after about ten minutes that actually no, I'd never been before.



They do at the Dominion. My occasional Sunday night treat when I'm working in Edinburgh.

Yes and I’m afraid it was The Dominion I was specifically thinking of as I wrote that. It used to be fine before they started doing that.

 

[Spookdaddy]

Yes and I’m afraid it was The Dominion I was specifically thinking of as I wrote that. It used to be fine before they started doing that.

They don't do it during the movie - at least not since I've been going. You have to order by a set time - no more service once the film has started.

 

[gordonrutter]

They don't do it during the movie - at least not since I've been going. You have to order by a set time - no more service once the film has started.

Last time I was there it was happening during the movie, not been back since.

 

[Spookdaddy]

Last time I was there it was happening during the movie, not been back since.

That's nuts. Wouldn't be able to cope with that - however much I liked the place.

 

[Analogue Boy]

Another nail in the coffin of cinemas:

https://me.ign.com/en/movies/179770/news/wb-announces-entire-2021-movie-line-up-coming-to-hbo-max

Warner Bros to simultaneously debut their whole 2021 slate in theatres and on HBO Max.

I can’t see how this line up can compete with 480p porn, let alone catch up old movies.

 

[Swifty]

The last time I went to see a film at a cinema was the Evil Dead remake. It was playing in Cromer but our cinema's too nice, any Evil Dead film has to be seen in a run down dive with broken seats and a ticket seller with love bites on her neck. We found The Hollywood, an independent cinema in Norwich that had/has seen better days. As I test I asked the woman behind the ticket desk if they had any promotional stuff for the film and she laughed at me so I knew I'd found the right cinema. I think she was drunk ..

Me and the Mrs came back the next day, the theatre was empty apart from one other bloke who looked homeless and was asleep so I was able to smoke during the film. We'd also smuggled a small bottle of brandy in, someone I wouldn't normally do but I could sense this would probably be my last genuine old school cinema night. The film was great.

I've never been a fan of sterile multiplex cinemas, they've got no soul and the noisy people others here have already mentioned. They hardly ever play independent films but paint by numbers crap like The Fast And The Furious and Transformers series instead. I'll be as happy to see multiplex chains die out as I was watching all the Blockbuster Video stores close down. Bring back the independents!.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I’ve not been to a cinema for a long time. Hours of adverts, people talking through the film, cleaners coming in and hassling me before the credits have even finished. I’ve got a stupid size TV and a full Atmos set up at home and the popcorn is cheaper.
Happy to go to a cinema but they need to offer me a better experience to entice me there. Also a blu ray with its extras that I can watch multiple times costs pretty much the same as a cinema ticket now.

And as for cinemas where they will bring a drink to where you are sitting - not a chance, I don’t want people wandering back and forth in front of me as I’m trying to immerse myself in the film.

I haven't been for ages now. The last time was with a friend to see Blade Runner 2049. We had to see it on a big screen for full effect.
We both came out with full bladders and aching bums.
Much nicer to sit at home in front of the TV.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

I can’t see how this line up can compete with 480p porn, let alone catch up old movies.

WW84 would likely gross 1bn+, the previous one was 800M+. No idea how the others would do, I presume Dune would be a costly flop. Perhaps Space Jam 2 as well, I mean fucking Space Jam 2?

 

[Ogdred Weary]

We both came out with full bladders and aching bums.

 

[Analogue Boy]

I once took a date to see Fitzcarraldo at Camden Town.
Turned out nicely.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

Wolf Walkers, Irish animation based on folklore and set in 17thC Kilkenny. A "wolf walker" is a human by day and their spirit enters/creates a wolf form when they sleep at night. Rendered in a stylised 2D format the animation doesn't have the technical prowess one associates with contemporary feature length animations by Pixar et al but has much energy of it's own as well as some of the charm of traditional 2D.

Robyn Goodfellow (see what they did there?) is the daughter of an English hunter who has been hired to rid the town of wolves in the surrounding countryside. Whilst sneaking out to do some hunting herself, she encounters another girl who is a wolf walker, the mother is missing in wolf form, as she is searching for new home for their pack, the Lord Protector having sworn to rid the land of wolves to instil Christian, and of course, colonial, order. The hunter is voiced by Sean Bean and his daughter has a similar Northern English accent (Yorkshire?) though somewhat posher sounding, it's a little odd that in an Irish set, Irish animation, three of the two principle characters is English. Colonialism is addressed somewhat obliquely and the villainous Lord Protector is portrayed as a principled, if brutal and wrong, Man of God, rather than avaricious or venal.

Would recommend to anyone who likes animation.

 

[Yithian]

Disney is working on Lightyear, an 'origin story' for the actual character on which the toy in Toy Story is supposedly based.

It could, perhaps, be good, but--people--new ideas!

 

[Yithian]

I once took a date to see Fitzcarraldo at Camden Town.
Turned out nicely.

All that tension from Kinski glaring at people would give me the horn.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

Disney is working on Lightyear, an 'origin story' for the actual character on which the toy in Toy Story is supposedly based.

It could, perhaps, be good, but--people--new ideas!

I just came here to post about this abomination.

Ever wondered about the origins of a fictional character that is a toy? Me neither.

https://www.ign.com/articles/pixar-announces-lightyear-starring-chris-evans

"At first glance you might think, 'Well, this is a Toy Story film. Well, not so fast. See, back when we created the very first Toy Story, we designed Buzz Lightyear with the idea that he was a toy based on some really cool character from an epic, blockbuster film. Well, all these years later we decided it’s time to make that film."

That's not even the serpent eating it's own tail, it's more like the tail eating the tail or something. Arsehole eating its own arse?

May God have mercy on us all.