Saturday Night at the Movies

[davywavy]

1) The Last Samurai is better than Kill Bill, which is probably the most comparable film I've seen this year. I like much about it - the Japanese Asceticism and discipline, 19th century fashion, and head choppy-off fighting with Ninjas, all done better than Tarantino managed, and with more heart too.
Am I the only one who feels Tarantine to be a one-trick pony whose time has passed?

2) Highlander: Endgame is the fourth or fifth sequel to the well-received 1986 original, and further sodomises what moldering remains of the original can be found. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Not 'so bad it's good'. Just bad. You thought Highlander 2: The Quickening was bad? You ain't seen nothin'.

3) Inseminoid. A classic piece of zero-budget early eighties British sci-fi horror, in which a Cheryl-Baker-out-of-Bucks-Fizz lookalike has a nasty encounter with an Alien Vampire with a Cyber-schlong, and her day doesn't improve much after that. So bad it's good. Considerably better than Highlander: Endgame, to be sure.

Comments

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

Personally I never thought he had his time. He always struck me as a pretentious annoying film-school nerd who should be allowed to write, but never under any circumstances to direct.

[mrmorgoth.livejournal.com]

(found your LJ via Charlotte's friends list) You're not the only one, re Tarintin. I posted a review of Kill Bill a while back at: http://www.livejournal.com/users/mrmorgoth/11772.html

So overall, what did I think? Some good touches, good direction, some wonderful individual scenes but brought down by the excesses of a spoiled director prone to hyperbole. The story of Quentin Tarantino's life it seems.

Overall: 3.5/10

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I agree; ironic postmodernism is soooo 90's, and how he got the budget to make a film based upon it is beyond me (except that people went top see it in their droves). My favourite Tarantino is increaingly Jackie Brown, which is far his most understated work.

Interesting

[applez.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen "Last Samurai" yet, was thinking of missing it, but may go see it now.

Also: no, you aren't alone. I quite enjoyed Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" back in 1994, was annoyed at the lack of much evolution between that film and "Reservoir Dogs" which I viewed afterwards, and was pretty much put off by Tarantino's lack of range by the point of his direction of an ER episode (though Ewan MacGregor was good in it).

Then, as far as 'Kill Bill' was concerned, you can read my own disappointed review here:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/applez/155333.html
You may find this interesting, btw:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F2081EFE355A0C778CDDA80894DC404482

"Land of the rising cliche"

Re: Interesting

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Last Samurai is worth seeing; whislt it *is* Hollywood nonsense (apparently Cruise is planning to make a film set during the Battle of Britain, playing an American who won it for us, which has hackles raised over here, and this is about as historically accurate in that regard), it's also well written, and has convincing performanes from Timothy Spall (one of my favourite actors), and a host of Japanese extras. Very popular in Japan, apparently, which is about as good as praise gets for something like this.

Re: Interesting

[applez.livejournal.com]

Apparently the Japanese are finding the 'noble samurai' depiction kind of nostalgic/novel - they're much more acquainted with the depiction of them as despotic brutes, which is probably more historically-accurate. :-)

[raggedyman.livejournal.com]

1. Nope, your not the only one who thinks the little jerks time has past. Although he wrote some fantastic movies (True Romance, NBK) all his best work was then re-written and filmed by someone else (True Romance, NBK, the second half of Duck Till Dawn).

2. Worse than Highlander 2?! But thats not possible!?!

[wyrdness.livejournal.com]

Worse than Highlander 2?! But thats not possible!?!

If not worse they were certainly trying to go for a tie. Not only did it not have anything that makes a good film, it also had crappy cheap special effects too.

[raggedhalo.livejournal.com]

Kill Bill: pretty good.
Last Samurai: really very good

Beyond that, all is detail.

How goes the capitalisin'?

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I'm clearing the peasants off my land now by burning their pathetic hovels.

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

Endgame, what an awesomely bad film. Not only destroyed the continiuity of the movie series, but also the television series on one fell swoop.

Totally destroyed the shreads of dignity left after The Quickening and The Sorcerer.

Apparently they are filming number 5 in Iceland starting soon!

I blacked out after the first 10 minutes of Inseminoid, the acting was so bad and the sets were sub Dr Who.

[crocodilewings.livejournal.com]

I say this at every opportunity, and eventually someone will hurt me for it.

There Should Have Been Only One!