Movie Thread

[Haelian]

That post gets a big WTF from me.

L.A. Confidential was based on a James Ellroy novel. It was based in the 1950s and focused initially around a mass murder at a diner/coffee shop. It was actually the 3rd of 4 noirish novels Ellroy wrote that were set in Los Angeles.

The Black Dahlia was also based on a James Ellroy novel, of the same name that was written before L.A. Confidential. However, it was based in the 1940s and focused entirely around the murder of Elizabeth Short after some initial exposition to set up the Aaron Eckhart/Josh Hartnett characters and their relationship.


So in summary, both are based on Ellroy novels. The Black Dahlia was written earlier by Ellroy and adapted into film later (2006). L.A. Confidential was written later by Ellroy and adapted into film earlier (1997). Get your facts straight. While both are essentially crime thrillers and deal with some similar themes they are not the same idea repeated twice.

Sorry, guess I was off. Read a review off of Google movies there that claimed they were the same novel, and IMDb didn't explain otherwise really.

[dietvanillapepsi]

Well, despite not knowing your LA lore, you still get props for Battletoads. 8)

Anyway, this topic interested me because I saw The Protector this weekend. I didn't think Tony Jaa could kick more booty than in Ong Bak but he did; he really did. There were a ton of very nice extended fight sequences that were not chopped-up, close-up messes like in many of the American MTV-like action films of late. As a bonus, you also get a humorous cameo when he's in the airport.

A few months ago I was thinking of buying the DVD but then I heard it was coming to the big screen so I waited. For the purists, be warned: This movie is dubbed. On the plus side, anyone who has heard Tony's real voice, that might not be a bad thing. Also, you get to focus more on the action rather than missing something amazing just because you were too busy reading the bottom of the screen.

I'm looking forward to School for Scoundrels in the coming weeks. And The Fountain looks very interesting. I just hope the actual movie doesn't let us down after such a really good looking trailer.

As for movies in general, new and old, I recently bought a copy of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. That movie touched me very personally and was about as perfect as I could imagine a movie to get.

[Dustybrown]

As for movies in general, new and old, I recently bought a copy of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. That movie touched me very personally and was about as perfect as I could imagine a movie to get.

I love that movie for the twist I really didn't see coming. I suppose I should have in hindsight, but it was one of the few times in cinema that I actually gasped out loud when I realised what had happened. I think it's a really nice film though, been a while since I watched it. The end of his "dream" is beautiful, I think.

[Haelian]

Well, despite not knowing your LA lore, you still get props for Battletoads. 8)

Hells yeah, I plan on getting a tatoo similar to my avatar when I have the money.

Eternal Sunshine was definitely great, it's surprising how confusing it can be just until the end, but still manage to come together. Even better than Fight Club did really. Kind of bothered me how the employees for the memory-wiping company there got into his apartment some how and just started erasing away (unless I'm forgetting a part where he gave them a key).

I just bought the Evil Dead Trilogy. Marathons will ensue.

[Talus]

Last week, Gridiron Gang was at the top of the box office. I didn't check it out. The more I think about it, The Black Dahlia seems more disjointed. The other thing that was working against Dahlia was the R rating and believe it or not, the advertising in my opinion. On the radio and television ads they mention the murdered girl was cut in half and sliced ear to ear. That doesn't sound tremendously uplifting. On the other hand it could entice people with a morbid curiousity; these are the kind of people that rubberneck extensively at car crashes on the highways.

This week looks pretty interesting but nothing coming out with be over $30M in my opinion, but I do think Jackass Number Two will be tops of the box office. I'm on the fence about seeing it, to me it just seems like a chance to cash in for these guys, but the rumor is that it's jackassier than the first one. Then there's Flyboys, All The King's Men, and Fearless.

This week's releases:
Jackass: Number Two. Still not sure if I want to see this, even though practically every channel on my cable system has been spamming spots for it. The shark fishing bit looks pretty promising along with the Johnny Knoxville/bull encounter. I guess I'll wait and see. I still think it will be on top of the box office this weekend.
All the King's Men. I like Sean Penn, but he's a pretty polarizing actor, i.e. you either love him or hate him. This is getting an Oscar push but I don't know if a remake of another film ever won anything. If it has one thing going for it though, it's a great cast (Penn, Anthony Hopkins, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, James Gandolfini, etc).
Flyboys. It's got action, it's got a romantic aspect, it's got Americans bailing out the French, but what it doesn't have is a big star attached to put people's butts in seats. I will probably see this though.
Fearless. Apparently it's Jet Li's last martial arts film. His next steps will be in romantic comedies? Who knows, I guess we'll have to wait and see. It's also apparently excellent and has one thing a lot of martial arts movies don't have - a strong plot. I'm sure there will be a lot of takers, this will probably be in 2nd place this weekend to Jackass: Number Two (or vice versa?).

[SephYuyX]

Saw Fearless last night, it was pretty good.

Spoilers I guess.


I was really surprized at the role he took on in the beginning, a really arrogant guy, this surprized me more then when he was a masked super hero in Black Mask >.> so was kind of odd to see him like that.

The story was pretty good, good amount of action as well. The movie didnt suck, but it was far from legendary, it was just good. The ending was kinda wierd though, but ended well.

[Ohemgee]

This week: Poseidon (I MUST GET A GUN AFTER THIS), and the protector (amazing fight scenes, shitty story to follow)