TODAY I WATCHED (Movies, TV series) 2014

I love Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green & The Omega Man, but he IS a bad actor, really, really bad!!   

Boris2008 wrote:

Soylent Green & The Omega Man 

Two other great movies of his from that era.

007 wrote:

S.D. wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Planet of the Apes" (1968) - astronauts on a deep space mission crash land on a mysterious planet where apes are the dominant species and humans are treated like dumb animals in this classic slab of sci-fi. Charlton Heston's performance is pure ham and the "shocking" twist ending has been parodied to death but "Apes" is still great fun.

Charlton Heston is a phenomenally bad actor, he makes William Shatner look subtle.

"Damn you all to hell !"  This movie made me a huge Heston fan,bad actor or not. I also was so into the Apes movies when I was a kid (all the toys,cartoon and tv shows,etc.). Loved them then still enjoy them now.

I used to like the Apes TV show too. I have all the apes movies on DVD and I've thought about getting the TV series as well.

007 wrote:

S.D. wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Planet of the Apes" (1968) - astronauts on a deep space mission crash land on a mysterious planet where apes are the dominant species and humans are treated like dumb animals in this classic slab of sci-fi. Charlton Heston's performance is pure ham and the "shocking" twist ending has been parodied to death but "Apes" is still great fun.

Charlton Heston is a phenomenally bad actor, he makes William Shatner look subtle.

"Damn you all to hell !"  This movie made me a huge Heston fan,bad actor or not. I also was so into the Apes movies when I was a kid (all the toys,cartoon and tv shows,etc.). Loved them then still enjoy them now.

Same here, I agree with S.D., but it was hammy fun, and I still like the original film. The sequels were horrid

Problem is uber-conservatives everywhere hail Heston as a great actor because of, well, obvious reasons. Glad we all can agree here he's fantastically bad.

This show is so addictive it's like British crack.

S.D. wrote:

This show is so addictive it's like British crack.

THIS. My wife introduced me to it, I wasn't expecting to be so wrapped up in it. Amazing stuff.

Conan the Barbarian (2011)- Not a perfect movie, but actually enjoyed it

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"(2006) Johnny Depp is back for another round of entertaining nonsense as Capt. Jack Sparrow, battling a crew of fish faced mutants over yet another priceless treasure.

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"(2006) Johnny Depp is back for another round of entertaining nonsense as Capt. Jack Sparrow, battling a crew of fish faced mutants over yet another priceless treasure.

Working your way through the series?

thejokeriv wrote:

Working your way through the series?

Yea, my kids really liked the first one so now they wanna see the rest...

Continuing with the beloved Philip S. Hoffman...

The independent Triple Bogey on a Five Par Hole (1991). Directed by music video alumni Amos Poe. A screenwriter is commissioned to write a script about a group of adolescent orphans sailing the Manhattan bay on their dead parents' yacht. Stylistically this has a neat noir quality to it even alternating between filtered and monochrome shots), and Hoffman's 15 seconds of screen time are enjoyable, but that's all the good I can really say about it. What we have is a movie that lacks any and all central conflict, and taking it even further, it's actually self-aware to boot. Even the narrator blurts this point out at several points. You could call it a character study, but with no central conflict there's no dynamic arc at play, and all we do is witness a group of unlikable teens banter and reminisce about their childhood in passive tones. It's all flat, much ado about zero. Hoffman does a credible job as smart ass punk kid Clutch, although as I said it's a bit part.

Next up is 1992's My New Gun with Diane Lane.

corplhicks wrote:

Continuing with the beloved Philip S. Hoffman...

The independent Triple Bogey on a Five Par Hole (1991). Directed by music video alumni Amos Poe. A screenwriter is commissioned to write a script about a group of adolescent orphans sailing the Manhattan bay on their dead parents' yacht. Stylistically this has a neat noir quality to it even alternating between filtered and monochrome shots), and Hoffman's 15 seconds of screen time are enjoyable, but that's all the good I can really say about it. What we have is a movie that lacks any and all central conflict, and taking it even further, it's actually self-aware to boot. Even the narrator blurts this point out at several points. You could call it a character study, but with no central conflict there's no dynamic arc at play, and all we do is witness a group of unlikable teens banter and reminisce about their childhood in passive tones. It's all flat, much ado about zero. Hoffman does a credible job as smart ass punk kid Clutch, although as I said it's a bit part.

Next up is 1992's My New Gun with Diane Lane.

This is a cool little undertaking you are doing, I'm enjoying reading about it.

My favorite early Hoffman performance is the bumbling town cop in Nobody's Fool (1994).

S.D. wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Continuing with the beloved Philip S. Hoffman...

The independent Triple Bogey on a Five Par Hole (1991). Directed by music video alumni Amos Poe. A screenwriter is commissioned to write a script about a group of adolescent orphans sailing the Manhattan bay on their dead parents' yacht. Stylistically this has a neat noir quality to it even alternating between filtered and monochrome shots), and Hoffman's 15 seconds of screen time are enjoyable, but that's all the good I can really say about it. What we have is a movie that lacks any and all central conflict, and taking it even further, it's actually self-aware to boot. Even the narrator blurts this point out at several points. You could call it a character study, but with no central conflict there's no dynamic arc at play, and all we do is witness a group of unlikable teens banter and reminisce about their childhood in passive tones. It's all flat, much ado about zero. Hoffman does a credible job as smart ass punk kid Clutch, although as I said it's a bit part.

Next up is 1992's My New Gun with Diane Lane.

This is a cool little undertaking you are doing, I'm enjoying reading about it.  

My favorite early Hoffman performance is the bumbling town cop in Nobody's Fool (1994).  

Cool, thanks. It's fun; unfortunately I have a some crap to wade through lol. Thinking about skipping Patch Adams...

Hoffman continued...

My New Gun (1992). This is an especially odd script with earnest yet shaky direction. Yuppie husband (Decker from Star Trek 1!) buys a gun for his wife (Diane Lane) who allows it to fall into the hands of an awkward yet handsome neighbor (Mike from Phantasm 2!) and chaos, well kinda chaos, ensues. What starts off as a low-key comedy (think a straight-forward David Lynch) with some fun moments goes to pot halfway through when it seems the screenplay was replaced with on-the-fly plotting where nothing really happens. Uneven, lots of awkward moments, and a horrible rock/jazz score make this a rather underwhelming mess. As much as I love love love Lane--one of the most beautiful actresses of the past three decades--she's given a rather one-dimensional sketch to deal with, and her lines are mostly stuttering and stupid. Too bad. Anyway, Phil has, again, a small role of less than a minute, but is given some proper direction and delivers lines well with proto-Dusty mannerisms (read: stoner). Ironically, the first line he shouts deals with the ongoing heavy weather: "IT'S A f*cking TYPHOON!!!" Which of course is like foreshadowing his role in Twister. Here his role is the handsome neighbor's co-worker, Chris, at a steakhouse who ends up getting shot (most likely dead too but it's never made obvious). He plays wounded very convincingly.

Next up: Leap of Faith, same year, a Steve Martin vehicle.

AM Raw

Philip Seymour Hoffman part 3...

Leap of Faith (1992) with Steve Martin, Debra Winger, Liam Neeson, Lolita Davidovich, Luke Haas, and Meat Loaf. Think I may have actually struck silver with this one. Martin plays it straight as a con evangelist being forced to perform his tent revival in a small farming town after one of his semis blows a gasket. Debra Winger plays his assistant, Neeson plays the skeptical sheriff and Winger's love interest, Davidovich plays a waitress that Martin takes a shine to, Haas plays her disabled brother/son (?), and Meat Loaf plays the bus driver (very well, might I add). The first two acts of this film are brilliant by illuminating the different methods and intricacies employed by con evangelists back in the day, and Martin channels everyone from Popoff to Falwell with slick, scene-stealing charisma. The story is engaging and the dialogue is credible, despite some pedestrian direction. Unfortunately the train derails at the third act as convention sets in with a heavy hand. The biggest missteps the movie makes here [SPOILER ALERT] are in allowing the miracles to actually happen--Haas walks and the town, struggling with an endless drought, receives rain [/SPOILER ALERT]. The result is sentimental hogwash that comes close to made-for-TV material with zero resonance. That and the movie doesn't really end as Martin's arc deflates too soon with little regards for a proper denouement or catharsis. Otherwise, he's a hoot to watch on the stage and comes out strong in his more dramatic moments, while Winger once again plays things natural (I think she could be my favorite actress of the era). The whole movie was a pleasant surprise, recommended.

Enough of that, what of Hoffman? Well, his role is expanded here to some degree over the past couple titles...but not much. Once again he plays, well, Dusty from Twister, this time part of Martin's motley crew. He's physically featured throughout the film but with little dialogue and in very quick shots. He does get in a block of talk during the third act, and he does good, but it's the same type of persona. It may be fun, but if Sean Penn had ended up playing Spicoli in every movie the edge would have been worn off. Looking forward to future roles with more variation and range in character.

Next up is Scent of a Woman.

"Birth of the Living Dead" (2013) - documentary about the making of George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" and how it went on to redefine the expectations for horror films and independent movie making. A little dry in spots, but mostly entertaining.

Fat Freddy wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Working your way through the series?

Yea, my kids really liked the first one so now they wanna see the rest...

They are all enjoyable in their own way - not the "greatest" movies of all time, but lots of fun.

Last Night: That Metal Show

How many documentaries are there on Night Of The Living Dead?  BTW the two or three that I've seen have all been great.  

My New Gun always takes me back to just after I graduated from college, was single, sharing a townhouse with two friends, and having endless time to rent every movie the local video shop had.  Haven't seen it in forever but I remember really liking it.  Of course I was a big James Legros fan too.  Thank you Phantasm II.  And having nothing to do with anything movie trivia - I was recently told that Legros' performance in another indie fave of mine Living In Oblivion was not based on Brad Pitt but rather John Cusack.  

Never knew Hoffman was in all this stuff I've seen.  My first notice of him was Twister.  Awesome that he was able to get away from playing that character, great as it was.

Stone Cold
The first third of this was pretty killer.  I dug the set-up and characters.  The last third is so over the top it got ridiculous.  To Commando like levels.  Fun but crazy with the mayhem.

Pet Semetary
Funny how things can change in the 20+ years since I had last watched this.  I still enjoyed it but being a parent makes some of the stuff very uncomfortable.  I used to think the daughter being shipped off to the grandparents was a cop out but now I was glad to see it given what was to come.  Really could have done without the neck chomping and the immolation.  I still think the title song is my favorite Ramones song of all time (and really it's from my favorite Ramones record too).

jstate wrote:

How many documentaries are there on Night Of The Living Dead?  BTW the two or three that I've seen have all been great.  

My New Gun always takes me back to just after I graduated from college, was single, sharing a townhouse with two friends, and having endless time to rent every movie the local video shop had.  Haven't seen it in forever but I remember really liking it.  Of course I was a big James Legros fan too.  Thank you Phantasm II.  And having nothing to do with anything movie trivia - I was recently told that Legros' performance in another indie fave of mine Living In Oblivion was not based on Brad Pitt but rather John Cusack.

Legros was good in MNG, effectively merging creepy and enigmatic with a touch of humor. Reminded me of several awkward acquaintances in my life. If you want to see the movie again it is available (legally) online for streaming: http://watchmovies.to/movies/50350-my-new-gun

Day Of The Dead (1985) - third in George Romero's Living Dead series. This one has the dead running rampant throughout the world while a handful of military men and civilian scientists live underground looking for the cause/cure to the epidemic. Loud,vulgar,combative arguments abound before we get to any real zombie mayhem. I don't think this one was as well received as the earlier dead films but it's still enjoyable nonetheless. Greg Nicotero (producer and special effects supervisor for the Walking Dead) worked on and appeared in this film.

Slugs (1988) - another horror movie with nature gone wild and blowing up in mankind's face. This time it's slugs mutated by toxic waste that have acquired a taste for flesh. Poorly acted but some decent gore,including worms exploding from a guy's face.

007 wrote:

Day Of The Dead (1985) - third in George Romero's Living Dead series. This one has the dead running rampant throughout the world while a handful of military men and civilian scientists live underground looking for the cause/cure to the epidemic. Loud,vulgar,combative arguments abound before we get to any real zombie mayhem. I don't think this one was as well received as the earlier dead films but it's still enjoyable nonetheless. Greg Nicotero (producer and special effects supervisor for the Walking Dead) worked on and appeared in this film.

Slugs (1988) - another horror movie with nature gone wild and blowing up in mankind's face. This time it's slugs mutated by toxic waste that have acquired a taste for flesh. Poorly acted but some decent gore,including worms exploding from a guy's face.

The OTT bickering is what marred Day of the Dead, which worked well otherwise, especially in the mythology department. The gore was just...I don't know, it still turns my stomach to this day. I have yet to see a more realistically graphic movie nasty. Maybe Dead Alive. Savini really outdid himself on that one.

Slugs was one boring movie lol.

corplhicks wrote:

007 wrote:

Day Of The Dead (1985) - third in George Romero's Living Dead series. This one has the dead running rampant throughout the world while a handful of military men and civilian scientists live underground looking for the cause/cure to the epidemic. Loud,vulgar,combative arguments abound before we get to any real zombie mayhem. I don't think this one was as well received as the earlier dead films but it's still enjoyable nonetheless. Greg Nicotero (producer and special effects supervisor for the Walking Dead) worked on and appeared in this film.

Slugs (1988) - another horror movie with nature gone wild and blowing up in mankind's face. This time it's slugs mutated by toxic waste that have acquired a taste for flesh. Poorly acted but some decent gore,including worms exploding from a guy's face.

The OTT bickering is what marred Day of the Dead, which worked well otherwise, especially in the mythology department. The gore was just...I don't know, it still turns my stomach to this day. I have yet to see a more realistically graphic movie nasty. Maybe Dead Alive. Savini really outdid himself on that one.

Slugs was one boring movie lol.

I love Day Of The Dead. "Choke on 'em!!!!" It's pretty gory but trust me Cpl. Hicks, I've seen much, much worse.