What DVD have you just watched?

Mr Underhill posted:

Hi Kevin,

I have to say that this is a film that a HATE with a passion. Prefer the Howard Hawks original.

M

Hi M

I love the Hawks version too, and like you I hated this film when I first saw it back in the 1980s, I thought it too long, too violent and rsther shallow and overblown. However I have since changed my views after rewatching a few times.

Must rewatch the 1932 Hawks/Muni version too.

Haim Ronen posted:

Contemporary Danish politics. First two episodes of season 1, quite good.

Haim, I love this series, and it gets better - and Season Two is teriffic (although it goes slightly off the boil on Season Three).

Damn it, you're right ....I haven't rewatched it since I first saw it in the 1980s ......perhaps I should give it another shot.

M

Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film, which used different characters to tell (often contradictory) stories of the same incident, helped propel its director (and Japanese cinema in general) onto a world stage. Its use of light to create a sense of ambiguity, minimalist sets à la Dreyer and its editing/intercutting were massively influential.

As always, this BFI transfer is beautifully done.

He Never Died

Gritty Horror Noir. I looked through the usual avalanche of mediocrity on Netflix, having finished Stranger Things - which I did enjoy and recommend, when I noticed this. I found it immensely watchable. Beautifully off beat with a very thorough anti-hero. In some ways reminded me of Let the Right One In, not as good, but to be in the same ball park will enable you to know whether this will appeal to you.

M 

The Hobbit Trilogy

Decided to give this another run, in their extended editions on bluray. No luck - still find them bland and uninspired. 

EJ

Not a patch on LOTR.

BigH47 posted:

Not a patch on LOTR.

I agree - find The Hobbit trilogy fun but not a patch on LotR - though to be frank the source material wasn't as deep either... might have been better if Peter Jackson has been restricted to 2 movies; would have been interesting to see Guillermo del Toro's take on the story too.  

Anyway as a result of the 3 movie decision it was a case of the LotR movies it was a case of what can we strip out, vs the Hobbit how do we bulk this story up.

BigH47 posted:

Not a patch on LOTR.

Agreed, and drifts away from the original to a large degree but to be fair the Hobbit was a bedside story for his kids and the LOTR something else entirely.  I've loved both since I was a child and read them many many times; without the Hobbit there would be no LOTR and in many ways it is the start of the story.  I can't imagine any of his other books will make it to film but  I enjoyed both that did, even the Hobbit with all its changes.

I can only think that splitting the Hobbit Trilogy across two films was a commercial decision to exploit the franchise. Readers of the books will know that The Hobbit was a good book but fairly light in content and depth. LOTR in contrast was immense. Put another way The Hobbit was a hill in the shadow of a LOTR mountain.  Squeezing the essentials of the latter into three long films was still tight. Spreading out the former across two long films was only achieved by introducing a lot of unoriginal and meaningless 'filler'.  

To save the failing orphanage he runs in India, Danish transplant Jacob Petersen (Mads Mikkelsen) returns to his homeland to meet a self-indulgent businessman named Jørgen who's offered a generous donation -- and represents everything the noble-minded Jacob abhors. Complicating matters further are the unusual strings Jørgen has attached to his so-called gift.

From the big Pink Floyd box, the Blu-ray for the 1969 Dramaris/ation set. An absoltely superb 1 hour 40 mins of viewing, with the Zappa appearance a standout. Tracks as follows:

Forum Musiques, Paris, France, 22 January 1969 – 19:25

1. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
2. David Gilmour interview
3. "A Saucerful of Secrets"

‘The Man’ and ‘The Journey’: Royal Festival Hall, London, rehearsal, April 14, 1969 (filmed by Anthony Stern) – 14:05

1. "Afternoon" ("Biding My Time")
2. "The Beginning" ("Green is the Colour")
3. "Cymbaline"
4. "Beset by Creatures of the Deep" ("Careful with That Axe, Eugene")
5. "The End of the Beginning" ("A Saucerful of Secrets")

Essencer Pop & Blues Festival, Essen, Germany, October 11, 1969 – 19:14

1. "Careful With That Axe, Eugene"
2. "A Saucerful of Secrets"

Music Power & European Music Revolution, Festival Actuel Amougies Mont de L'Enclus, Belgium, 25 October 1969 – 39:19

1. "Green is the Colour"
2. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"
3. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
4. "Interstellar Overdrive" (with Frank Zappa)

Black Mass (2015). I stumbled across this one recently on HBO and from the onset I could tell it would be a film that demanded close attention, always a big plus for me. Great cast. great acting, and great attention to historical detail in times ranging from 1975 through the culmination in 2011. On one hand you can see where the film is heading, but on the other you want to cull out all the nuances leading to that ultimate end. If you enjoyed "The Departed" this will be right in your wheelhouse.

The funniest musical comedy since Spinal Tap. Warm and brilliant comedy about two Kiwi musicians adrift in NYC. Banging tunes too ("Ladies of The World", "Inner City Pressure", "Bowie's In Space", "Fou de Fa Fa", etc).

joerand posted:

. If you enjoyed "The Departed" this will be right in your wheelhouse.

I hope that you got a chance to watch the original Honk Kong film (which is much better) that the Departed was inspired by (putting it mildly, a proper term would be 'copied'):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSeDiGRFVUk

By the way, one of the two main characters in the film has a gorgeous sound system.

Haim Ronen posted:

joerand posted:

. If you enjoyed "The Departed" this will be right in your wheelhouse.

I hope that you got a chance to watch the original Honk Kong film (which is much better) that the Departed was inspired by (putting it mildly, a proper term would be 'copied'):

Funny you mention the original Hong Kong film. I just had a discussion this afternoon with my son who loved both 'Black Mass' and 'The Departed'. He didn't believe me that both films were based on the same Whitey Bulger character, Black Mass more accurate and The Departed more fictionalized and a rip-off of an Asian movie. He did some googling and eventually conceded.

Speaking of Asian movie rip-offs, 'The Magnificent Seven' has just been remade. The list of American films that are copies, or strongly influenced by Asian movies is long, recently there's Jackie Chan, Quentin Tarantino, and others. Maybe not so much ripping-off the Asian originals as paying them homage and bringing some great plots to a Western audience.

It seems that mainstream Hollywood these days is increasingly reliant on 'safe' remakes and sequels to pad their coffers while there is a distinct lack of daring originality. Too much money in the Hollywood machine and too much fluffy, formulaic dross to sort out as far as I'm concerned. Take a great Asian original that I'd otherwise be ignorant of and remake it for the West? That's far better for me than the fifth franchise installment of 'The Terminator'.

Happy Christmas!

Absolutely glorious.

I've a feeling this one will appeal to most on the forum...

Just watched Deadpool.  What a really silly and enjoyable film, loved the "adultness".  Bonus was having Morenna Baccarin in it. 

JamieWednesday posted:

Absolutely glorious.

I've a feeling this one will appeal to most on the forum...

Genesis? The Cure? Spandau freakin' Ballet? The Jam? The soundtrack sounds absolutely horrific  J. Are you sure anyone would like it?

\

Well below my expectations.

Kevin-W posted:

JamieWednesday posted:

Absolutely glorious.

I've a feeling this one will appeal to most on the forum...

Genesis? The Cure? Spandau freakin' Ballet? The Jam? The soundtrack sounds absolutely horrific  J. Are you sure anyone would like it?

I absolutely love The Cure.

TBH I can't remember Genesis in it. I'll listen out next time...

The others appear as inspiration for the titular band's Lennon/McCartney type relationship (and fashion sense!)

It's funny and charming all the way through with dashes of pathos added. In the main though it serves well as a wish fulfilment movie for all us wannabe songsters...

This touching and realistic movie is quietly dedicated to jazz pianist Bud Powell and saxophonist Lester Young (both expatriates who lived in Paris) on whose life the character of "Dale Turner," the saxophonist, is based. The character of Dale Turner, a jazzman in his last days, is played by Dexter Gordon, a jazzman soon to die of throat cancer. Dexter Gordon, a real-life expatriate jazzman who spent much of his playing years in Denmark, deservedly received an academy award nomination for his moving portrayal based on not only a real life story but people and settings with which he was personally familiar. In many ways it is the story of all three musicians, Gordon, Powell and Young. But even more it is based on a fine book on the life of Bud Powell by the young Frenchman who befriended him. 

This is a great watch even if you don't like Jazz it may change your mind.