Recent Viewings

[Derf]

After several weeks of not being able to watch much of anything (sometimes life just keeps you jumping), I was finally able to watch a few movies.

Vanilla Sky: I had seen at least one list that named this as one of the strangest movies of all time. The strangest thing about it to me was that more people didn't see the "twist" ending coming up Fifth Avenue. It became obvious to me pretty early in the movie where things were heading, and so then I spent most of my viewing time just wishing they'd hurry up and end it. Tom Cruise has done some good acting, but not in this movie. It just came across as one big "I'm super handsome and so whatever I do is good entertainment" fest. This one just didn't work for me.

House of Wax: This was the Vincent Price version. I quite enjoyed it. The story is obvious, but Price's performance is very good. I especially liked the small touches, like the way he limps while running after having been burned. The flip side of the DVD is the 1933 version of the story, which I scanned but did not watch thoroughly. I actually liked some of the effects in this version better than the Price version.

Kung Fu Hustle: I hadn't seen this one, but I had read good things about it here and other places. It's a lot of very silly fun with some impressive CGI work and some good choreography. It never made me laugh out loud, but I did maintain a near constant grin throughout. I could have done without the constant shots of the gay barber's backside, though, but that's just me.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Yes, the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie movie. It has its moments, and overall it is enjoyable. I guess I probably just have that internet nerd disdain of movies starring top Hollywood A-listers, but I thought it could have been better. I actually have liked several of Pitt's movies, and I know he can act. He does add most of the clever moments in the film. Jolie is just not as convincing. I've seen her do better work; heck, I was even one of the ten people who actually enjoyed the Tomb Raider movies. It just seemed like she phones in her performance here. So I've got mixed feelings about this one.

Other movies I've bought but haven't watched:

Fancy Pants
Casanova's Big Night
A Tree of Palme
Meet the Fuccons
The Princess Blade

Plus a few others whose titles have momentarily escaped me.

[RCMerchant]

MEET the FOCCONS? the PRINCESS BLADE? Do you mean MEET the FOCKERS and the PRINCESS BRIDE?
I would LOVE to see the "flip"side of HOUSE of WAX,which would be MYSTERY of  the WAX MUSEUM(1933) with Lionel ATWILL and Fay WRAY.WOW!
I actually like that version better,if only for seeing the underrated Atwill,and a pre-KING KONG,Fay Wray! Is it in the two-tone Technicolor version,or is it in black and white?
This was considered a "lost film",along the lines of LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT(1928) untill the 70's,when a print showed up...a rare bird .I din'nt even know it had been available on DVD or VHS!  Super far-out!

[SaintMort]

I was wondering the same think about Princess Blade...

I personally love Vanilla Sky... I really like basically everything Camereon Crowe does (even Elizabethtown)

And House of Wax is pretty damn good movie; I actually liked the remake (not amazing but it was entertaining) but the Vicent Price version is probably one of my favorite Golden Age horror movies

[Andrew]

I would say that "The Princess Blade" is probably the right title.  It is a title that was recently brought to my attention.  I have been thinking that I should take a gander at it.

[Torgo]

I would say that "The Princess Blade" is probably the right title.  It is a title that was recently brought to my attention.  I have been thinking that I should take a gander at it.

The fight choreaography in the film is done by Donnie Yen but the the thing that killed the movie for me is that the female lead couldn't fight convincingly to sell the movie.

[dean]

I would say that "The Princess Blade" is probably the right title.  It is a title that was recently brought to my attention.  I have been thinking that I should take a gander at it.

The fight choreaography in the film is done by Donnie Yen but the the thing that killed the movie for me is that the female lead couldn't fight convincingly to sell the movie.

Same here, largely forgettable, but overall it actually wasn't too bad, and good to ease the jap-action craving I get everynow and then.

I actually didn't think Vanilla Sky was that strange at all.  But meh.  I liked it enough, but it wasn't anything too fancy.  Love the soundtrack though.  Good use of Radiohead's "Everything in it's right place."

Kung Fu Hustle is great fun.  I still like Shaolin Soccer a touch better, but not by alot, since they're both really good.  The fight scene with the man character and all the peasants is hilarious, plus the 'knife scene' had me in stitches...

Mr and Mrs Smith is a guilty pleasure of mine.  Sure it's very much a 'look at our beautiful cast' movie, but there were some nice moments with the action.  I was dissappointed by the finish though.  It just didn't feel like it ended right.

[Joe the Destroyer]

MEET the FOCCONS? the PRINCESS BLADE? Do you mean MEET the FOCKERS and the PRINCESS BRIDE?
I would LOVE to see the "flip"side of HOUSE of WAX,which would be MYSTERY of  the WAX MUSEUM(1933) with Lionel ATWILL and Fay WRAY.WOW!
I actually like that version better,if only for seeing the underrated Atwill,and a pre-KING KONG,Fay Wray! Is it in the two-tone Technicolor version,or is it in black and white?
This was considered a "lost film",along the lines of LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT(1928) untill the 70's,when a print showed up...a rare bird .I din'nt even know it had been available on DVD or VHS!  Super far-out!

In reference to Meet the Fuccons, it's a Japanese sitcom that's actually a satire on American society, and I believe it's done with dummies or something along those lines.  I've seen it sitting on the shelf at Sun Coast and was temped to pick it up, but don't know exactly how good it is. 

[Derf]

Yes, Meet the Fuccons and The Princess Blade are the Japanese productions others have already identified. I got them during the ADV Valentine's Day sale Andrew posted. The Fuccons uses people wearing mannequin masks (I think). It just looks strange enough to interest me, plus it was only $3 (It's only about 25 minutes of footage). The Princess Blade just looked like it could be fun; I'll have to see.

And for the record, I have owned The Princess Bride for quite a while (it's one of my favorites), and I have no desire whatsoever to see Meet the Fockers  . But I can understand the questions about the similar titles.

[Derf]

I finally got the chance to watch The Fuccons. It is, as Joe the Destroyer said, done with mannequins. I really enjoyed it and will probably be buying other episodes. It's not quite as far out there as, say, South Park, and it's slightly more intelligent than The Simpsons (at least in some ways: the father is a dolt, but not quite to the same degree as Homer). It's budget must be very low; the "actors" rarely move, so you can't call it "animation." It basically looks like something I might do, so of course I like it. The weirdest thing to me is that the storyline involves an American family that moves to Japan to live like the Japanese, but so far, all the mannequins in the show have been white, and the previews show only one Japanese-looking mannequin (a maid). I understand it is satirizing American life, but still. No Japanese in Japan?

[BoyScoutKevin]

If you see "Casanova's Big Night" see it for the actors in it, who have played villains. Of course, not every actor in  this film is playing a villain, but some of the actors in it, who are known for playing the villain, are Basil Rathbone, Arnold Moss, John Carradine, John Hoyt, Hope Emerson, Raymond Burr, Frank Puglia, Paul Cavanagh, Henry Brandon, Nestor Pavia, Douglas Fowley, Skelton Knaggs, Lon Chaney, jr, and an uncredited appearance by Vincent Price. The film also stars Bob Hope and Joan Fontaine. I wonder what ever happened to those two..

[Pilgermann]

I've watched several episodes of the Fuccons show and I never laughed at all.

[Yaddo 42]

I picked up Casanova's Big Night the other week, it's an old favorite from basic cable when AMC and even earlier USA used to show stuff like this all the time.

It's Hope by the numbers, but the cast of familiar makes it better than it has a right to be. Sentimental favorite and a good time passer on rainy afternoons. Got to find a copy of Lousiana Purchase for myself, some of Hope's better stuff in that one.

[Derf]

I've always liked Bob Hope, and I've seen both of the movies I bought, but I am in the process of introducing my daughter to some of my favorites from childhood. She is now a Don Knotts fan and loves the Hope/Crosby Road to... pictures. She also enjoyed the Disney Kurt Russell movies (Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Strongest Man in the World). She doesn't get the Marx Brothers, but then, neither does my wife; she watched one or two of their movies and commented mainly that she never realized just how much Hawkeye from M*A*S*H had ripped off Groucho.

It seems I keep upgrading my technology mainly so I'll have better access to the past. There's gotta be a syndrome or something about this (Oldfartz Syndrome, maybe?).