Good (or bad) Movies

[nygsem]

Fan of the classic horror films?

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Universal-Classic-Monsters-The-Essential-Collection-Blu-ray/35661/#Review
pre-order now.

"Take a moment and imagine what modern horror would be without Universal Pictures. Without founder Carl Laemmle and his vision for the future of cinema, or his son Carl Laemmle Jr., who inherited the keys to the studio kingdom in 1928, when talkies were rapidly displacing silent films and promising groundbreaking new strides in moviemaking and the movie-going experience. Without early horror pioneers like Tod Browning, James Whale, Karl Freund, George Waggner or Jack Arnold. Without iconic creature actors Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Claude Rains, Lon Chaney, Jr., Elsa Lanchester or Ben Chapman. Without Dracula, the indispensable 1931 classic that left a more lasting mark on vampire movies and lore than any other vampire film before or after (save Nosferatu). Or Frankenstein, which pushed boundaries, shocked audiences and has been received with overwhelming enthusiasm ever since. The Mummy, bold in its atmosphere and unforgettable in its tragic romance. The Invisible Man, which features some of the most astonishing special effects and perhaps one of the most unnerving depictions of mounting madness of the era. The Bride of Frankenstein, a complex, wickedly funny, altogether unpredictable sequel that in many regards surpasses its predecessor. The Wolf Man, a once-chilling character drama that examines the frailty of man and the beast within. Phantom of the Opera, though more a twisted love story than a traditional horror picture, a film that nevertheless caused some theaters to stock smelling salts in in the event that a moviegoer fainted upon the removal of the Phantom's mask. Or Creature from the Black Lagoon, which frightened audiences above the water and below with a scaly monster unlike any they had seen before. Needless to say, modern horror, and really the genre in whole, would be completely different than what we know. "

[LennG]

 A++++. 

I was always a fan of the 'old' horror movies. By today's standards, they are more Saturday morning kiddie shows, but when we were kids they DID scare the living be jee bees out of me. Until we hit the ridiculous ones from the mid 60's that had giant brains and blobs filling our screens, most of the oldies were so well made and for adult audiences.
 
Since I wasn't around for the non talkies like our friend Jim, my movie going started with movies like Creature from the Black Lagoon. Again, by today's standards, that is a silly movie, but I used to hide my eyes when I thought the Creature was going to attack.

But,a s you said, the 'scare' movies of today would be nothing without all those that came before. I still love a Karloff movie, anytime, anywhere.

[LennG]

 Try to get back into the routine again with our weekly Friday nite movie. So last night we watched a movie my 25 year old son said he saw and was good, 'Snow White and the Huntsman'.
 The movie was an action 'very loose' interpretation of the Snow White story, set in olden times, complete with Kings, Queens, sorcery, and even a rag tag bunch of dwarfs. It sort of put elements of the Snow White story intertwined with action sequences and a lot of liberties with the actual story.
 I must say that the movie is really not made for young audiences.. There is really not much blood in the fighting scenes, and no real sex but there was no humor in the movie at all, and my DW said it was just a bit too dark for her liking.
 Overall, I would not recommend it for my own liking, though others may feel differently. it wasn't entirely bad, but just not a good movie for me. maybe it was the 'darkness' of it.
 There were some very good special effects and the two female leads Kristen Stewart and  Charlize Theron tried very hard with little to work with.
 If I were giving stars it would be 2 stars, but if you are into movies like this, you probably could add a star.

[jimv]

As far as old "horror" movies go, I don't agree, Lenny.  The current "horror' movies are the ones that belong on Saturday afternoons.  These current ones are nothing but technicolor gore & blood, etc.  the old originals had real horror because most of it was left to the imagination.  Check out the original 1932 "The Mummy."  As the lab assistant is reading the parchment, you see the mummy begin to come live, open thye eyes & move the hand.  It extends over a period of minutes while the idiot keeps reading.  Then all you see is the paper being taken by a hand & the assistant screaming.  Another example is my favorite "ghost" movie, "The Uninvited."  The scene in the room when the flower just dies is a real shocker.  Sorry, I'll take the old timers any day.

[LennG]

 I'm sorry you feel that way Jim. yes the old horror movies were great but today they wouldn't scare anyone, including myself. Do you really think a guy covering up his face with a cape and looking into his eyes is scary today?. Maybe for you but not for the masses including myself. As I said, yes, when i was a kid, I was scared because we didn't know any better.
 Plus, not all horror movies, or scary movies are blood and gore as you think. Movies like the Blair Witch Project just scared the hell out of me and there wasn't one scene of blood, gore, no one shown getting killed but it was one scary movie.
 And a movie like Psycho, where there was some blood although it was chocolate syrup) and knifing, was 10x more scary than any Mummy movie.
 Movies like Jaws, where there was also a small amount of 'blood and gore' as you say, was one of the scariest movies ever. And the movie voted the #1 horror movie of all time had NO blood and gore but a great story and a terrifying plot, The Exorcist.
 If you think the early horror movies were scary, OK, maybe when we were kids, but today's good horror movies that are well beyond blood and gore, are truly 10x more scary than anything from the early days of movies.

[jimv]

Lenny, you obviously misread my post or I didn't say it the right way.  I wasnm't saying that they were scarier then  I'll just let it go.

[LennG]

 I watched this excellent movie last nite from TCM. "The Wrong Box", a British sort of Black Comedy. It was made in 1966 and one of the writers was Larry Gelbert, the man behind most of the MASH shows.
 I had never seen this movie and found it thoroughly enjoyable, with an outstanding British cast including Sir Ralph Richardson, John Mills, Michael Caine,  Dudley Moore, Peter Cook and just a terrific piece by Peter Sellers that had me laughing out loud.

 Plot wise it really doesn't matter, as it was sort of a screwball comedy about two old gents trying to outlive the other to collect a bunch of money that was left to the last surviving member of a group.

 A very good watch.

[nygsem]

Thanks for the recommendation Lenn, sounds like my cup of tea.  I'll definitely keep an eye out for it.

[drakew]

Saw the new renditiuon of Red Riding Hood, great photography, and suspense liken to the old timey thrillers....

[LennG]

 Last nite we sat down to watch one of the summer's biggest movies, 'The Avengers'.

First off, I have to say that I am not a big fan of all these Action hero type movies. I loved the Batman movies, liked a lot the Spiderman ones, but after that, I don't think there was another that I liked even a little. I was one of the few that didn't care for the Ironman movies when everyone in the world was loving it.
 That said, The Avengers just didn't do much for me. I did say to my DW that a movie like this should be seen on the big screen and probably loses a lot watching on a TV, but overall, I found the movie talkie, a bit boring, and I really didn't understand much of the plot.
 I will say, that once the fighting and action sequences got started the movie was alive and very good, but that took well over 1 1/2 hours to get underway. Sure there were little skirmishes along the way, but to be honest, I even dozed off a bit during the first hour.

 I'm sure that many will think this movie was great, and they already have the scene set for Avengers 2
but overall, this flix didn't impress me.

I will say that Robert Downey Jr (Ironman) had some good lines in the movie which were quite humorous.

The movie is good for most ages, but there is a lot of killings which might be disturbing for any chid under 10.

[5bass]

Watched Facing Giants last night movie is football/religion related me and my son loved it.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW

[jimv]

I watched "Prometheus" yesterday.  I found it a little confusing at times.  I didn't understand the very beginning at all.  There's an alternate opening that I'll check out today.  There's also an alternate ending that I'll also check out.  It's a prequel to "Alien" but not nearly as good.

[LennG]

 It got a horrible write up and made less money than Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

Why the need to try and add on or no w prequel some great movies is beyond me.

I give you lots of credit big guy, I wouldn't even give it a try.

[jimv]

Yesterday, I watched "No Country for Old Men."  I really like Tommy Lee Jones & he was good in this flick.  But, the ending was ambiguous & unsatisfying.

Today I watched "Total Recall."  Typical Schwarzenegger film if you like that kind of thing.  Anmd, I do!

[LennG]

 The ending of No Country For Old Men has left many movie goers as puzzled as a Space Odyssey did.
 
I remember discussing it many times after I saw the movie, and like you, I was very disappointed in that ending. VERY