Which films have you seen lately Vol.22 Now with Smell-O-Vision.

[lymond]

2:16

Thank you, this is bliss!

 

[Smellincoffee]

Bronson, 2008. Tom Hardy is Michael Peterson, aka Charlie Bronson, an absolutely violent but weirdly charistmatic serial offender who has spent 30+ years in solitary. The film is framed as Charlie giving a one-man show about his life. Hard to believe Hardy played the thoroughably unlikable Shinzon earlier. And then he played Bane!

Bronson trailer. Cool Hardy.

Very much un-cool Hardy

 

[Birdjaguar]

‘The Hunt for Gollum’ Was Just Announced. It Was on YouTube in 2009.​

When Warner Bros. greenlit a new “Lord of the Rings” movie and a 15-year-old fan film with the same title disappeared, its devotees sprang into action.

In 2009, Chris Bouchard, a recent film school graduate, uploaded his 39-minute “Lord of the Rings” fan film, “The Hunt for Gollum,” to YouTube. At the time, the platform was still, in his words, full of “five-minute videos of people’s cats.”
The site promoted Bouchard’s movie on its homepage, and within 24 hours, he had more than one million views. Today more than 13 million have watched the film, cementing it as a fan favorite.
So it came as a surprise recently when Bouchard received a text from an old friend saying that Warner Bros. had announced a planned addition to its growing “Lord of the Rings” franchise. The name of the movie? “The Hunt for Gollum.”
The studio feature is slated for 2026, and the producers will include Peter Jackson — who directed the 2001-03 trilogy based on the fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien — and his longtime creative partners Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh. Andy Serkis will direct, and will reprise his role from the earlier movies as the mischievous titular creature.

After getting the text, “at first I thought he was pulling my leg,” Bouchard said of his friend. Soon, online articles were embedding the fan film in their coverage of the Warner Bros. announcement, leading younger fans to it for the first time while older ones relived its lo-fi magic.
But by the next morning, Bouchard’s 15-year-old work had disappeared from YouTube. Viewers clicking on the link were shown a message stating, “This video contains content from Warner Bros. Entertainment, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.”

More here:

‘The Hunt for Gollum’ Was Just Announced. It Was on YouTube in 2009.

When Warner Bros. greenlit a new “Lord of the Rings” movie and a 15-year-old fan film with the same title disappeared, its devotees sprang into action.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Gori the Grey]

Do read the more, because it goes on to say that YouTube eventually did put the film back up.

 

[Synobun]

Mean Dreams. 9/10. This is half crime thriller, half coming-of-age romance. It is also Bill Paxton's last major film, if that matters to you. Really great movie that felt like home, which makes sense since it was filmed a few hours away from where I grew up. Excellent aesthetic and atmospheric work. Deserves more attention, though it did well in the indie Canadian space.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Spring Breakers, 2013. Four college hotties go to spring break, funded by a little robbery that three of the hotties committed immediately prior. They all get drunk and wild and wind up in prison, and are then bailed out by a very skeezy white rapper who gives Selena Gomez the willies, so she's put on a bus. (She's one of the aforementioned hotties, in one of her first 'adult' films.) The three remaining girls (The Beautiful Blondes and The Girl With Pink Hair) hang around a bit, but then the rapper gets into a feud with another gangsta wannabe and Pink Hair is shot in the arm. The Beautiful Blondes stick around. Watched this with a friend with no idea of the plot or premise ("It has girls in bikinis, you'll like it") and found it.....interesting, hilarious, and horrifying at the same time.Think I may watch Beezus and Ramona to revisit Selena Gomez in an utterly wholesome role.

Mean Dreams. 9/10. This is half crime thriller, half coming-of-age romance. It is also Bill Paxton's last major film, if that matters to you. Really great movie that felt like home, which makes sense since it was filmed a few hours away from where I grew up. Excellent aesthetic and atmospheric work. Deserves more attention, though it did well in the indie Canadian space.

Will have to look out for it. Really liked Paxton in Twister, Mighty Joe Young, etc. Left us too young.

 

[Kyriakos]

I had once tried to watch this movie. Gave up after 7 minutes - which was still way more than I should have watched.

 

[Synobun]

Freelance. 6/10? I learned the other day that John Cena not only made a rap album once, but it went platinum. I gave a couple songs a listen and they weren't bad either. Anyway, this is a movie with John Cena in it. Also Alison Brie, and the main actor (Juan Pablo Raba) from a Colombian show I watched a few years ago called Wild District. I really liked it and I was curious how he'd maneuver it into breaking into Hollywood. Then I never saw him again, until now. He did a pretty good job, despite it being more of a comedy role than a grizzled action one. The movie, though, felt charmless. Everyone did fine work and it wasn't bad exactly, but it had a strong element of "Why am I here?" during it.

It's one of Cena's weaker roles. There are a couple odd scenes where they spend a long time zooming in on Alison's body, if that's your kind of thing. Substance wise, there isn't really anything here, and even as far as mindless action movies go, it's fairly mediocre. Labelling it a comedy does a lot of heavy lifting. I'm not sure I laughed a single time.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Dune 2 (2024). Extremely well-made movie. There's a lot to like, even watching it on my PC screen. I'm sure it must've been amazing in a theater. But (a) it was 15 hours long, and (b) I kind of struggled to care about the main character. I don't know if it was the actor or the character. I've only ever seen Chalamet in these two Dune movies. So even as I say it must've been amazing in a theater, I think I made the right choice not seeing it in a theater. I think it would've been grueling.

Spoiler :

Clever little bit: Stilgar tells Paul to watch out for centipedes, "not the big ones, the big ones are harmless. But the little ones you have to worry about" and when he says 'little ones' he holds his hands about 2 feet apart.

 

[Synobun]

I really should get around to watching the old Dune. And then the new Dune. And then the new-new Dune. And read the books.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Dune 2 (2024). Extremely well-made movie. There's a lot to like, even watching it on my PC screen. I'm sure it must've been amazing in a theater. But (a) it was 15 hours long, and (b) I kind of struggled to care about the main character. I don't know if it was the actor or the character. I've only ever seen Chalamet in these two Dune movies. So even as I say it must've been amazing in a theater, I think I made the right choice not seeing it in a theater. I think it would've been grueling.

Spoiler :

Clever little bit: Stilgar tells Paul to watch out for centipedes, "not the big ones, the big ones are harmless. But the little ones you have to worry about" and when he says 'little ones' he holds his hands about 2 feet apart.

For $20 I can buy it from Prime in UHD. I can wait.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, 1957. Fun comedy that stars Jane Mansfield as a Hollywood bombshell who makes an ad man a star after she agrees to endorse his product -- but only if he helps her create some drama by pretending to be her new boyfriend, making her old mimbo boyfriend jealous and generating publicity. Tony Randall proved to be a solid comedic actor, and he's not alone. I liked this better than my previous Mansfield title, The Girl Can't Help It -- though that one was enjoyable.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola. OK costume drama. By the last half hour I was waiting for her head to roll. but that wasn't in the script. The biggest wurprise was that her mother, Maria Theresa of Austria, was played by Marianne Faithful! "As Tears Go By." (1964)

 

[bene_legionary]

The Manchurian Candidate was the last film I watched. It was a bit of a surprise in some good ways. Dunno if it was because I was making dinner while I was watching it but I struggled to hear voices while everything else was at normal volume, so a couple times I had to turn the volume way down whenever there was some sort of loud scene with little dialogue going on. Nonetheless, enjoyable.

The first thing I thought of after finishing the movie was, "feels like Shutter Island took a few pages out of this book..." and there are loads of similarities. Was fun to point them out.

Spoiler Similarities – major spoilers for both movies :

The Manchurian Candidate	Shutter Island
Reoccuring dream haunts Ben Marco and others in the troop; dream is about how Shaw killed members of their troop.	Reoccuring dreams haunt Teddy Daniels, especially one of a little girl who claims he killed her.
Ben Marco, Raymond Shaw served in the Korean War.	Teddy Daniels served in the Second World War.
Platoon brainwashed by Communists.	Teddy’s hate for Nazis partly comes from their brainwashing experiments.
Brainwashing makes soldiers believe Shaw was a hero who they all loved.	Teddy conditions himself to believe he’s a hero who has done no wrong.
Shaw gets into a lake in Central Park. There’s a summer house in Long Island by a lake where Shaw meets Jocelyn.	Teddy has a lake house and jumps into that lake.
Global Communist conspiracy creating the perfect assassin who kills without thinking and immediately forgets his killing. > “A normally conditioned American who has been trained to kill, and then to have no memory of having killed. > “Without memory of his deed, he cannot possibly feel guilt. Nor will he, of course, have any reason to fear being caught. > “Having been relieved of those uniquely American symptoms, guilt and fear, he cannot possibly give himself away. > “Our Raymond will remain an outwardly normal, productive, sober and respected member of the community. And I should say, if properly used, entirely police-proof. > “His brain has not only been washed, as they say, it has been dry-cleaned.”	Teddy accuses the US government of experimenting with people at Shutter Island in order to create an army of emotionless soldiers. > “Recreate a man so he doesn’t need sleep, doesn’t feel pain. Or love. Or sympathy. A man who can’t be interrogated because he has no memories to confess.” > “Shows no remorse for his crime because his denial is such that no crime ever took place.”
> “Remember, Raymond, the wires have been pulled.”	> “She could feel it clicking across her skull, just... pulling the wires”
Raymond is a sharpshooter and decorated veteran.	Teddy is a decorated veteran.
Raymond kills his own mother and stepfather, knowing she was behind their acts. (Raymond also kills the love of his life and his father-in-law – her father – on his mother's orders).	Teddy kills his own wife knowing she killed their children.
Raymond opts to commit suicide knowing he was a monster.	Teddy opts for the lobotomy knowing(?) he was a monster.

 

[Fippy]

I really should get around to watching the old Dune. And then the new Dune. And then the new-new Dune. And read the books.

I had lots of fun playing the old Dune PC game.
Totally retro ofc..but delivers the story well.

 

[Kaitzilla]

Lol. Saw Madame Web last night. It is a bad movie but strangely watchable. I find Dakota very attractive but I don’t think she has the chops to elevate a mess of a script and character. She was miscast but this “superhero” character is kinda lame. The villain is laughably bad. It is basically a glorified B movie Still, I was able to get through it fine probably cause it is intentionally and unintentionally funny and I can watch Dakota kneading dough. I think a little wine helped too lol.

A lot of wine helps too.

I kept thinking they badly dubbed the villain in Madame Web, but couldn't figure out why.
It wasn't a Hong Kong action movie!

I've checked the internet to make sure I'm not crazy, and in this one case yes.

Spoiler Movie Spoilers a bit :

Was Madame Web's Ezekiel Voice Dubbed? | Comic Book Club

If you've seen Madame Web, you're probably wondering if Tahar Rahim's Madame Web Ezekiel voice was dubbed. We've got your answer.

comicbookclublive.com

But the one question that’s driving everyone over the edge is: Was Madame Web‘s Ezekiel voice dubbed?

Specifically, what exactly was going on with the character of Ezekiel Sims, played by Tahar Rahim? Why does what he’s saying barely ever seem to match what his lips are doing? And it often sounds like it’s coming from another room? The reason is pretty simple, and it’s all because of a not-so-dirty not-so-secret called ADR...

 

[lymond]

A lot of wine helps too.

I kept thinking they badly dubbed the villain in Madame Web, but couldn't figure out why.
It wasn't a Hong Kong action movie!

I've checked the internet to make sure I'm not crazy, and in this one case yes.

Spoiler Movie Spoilers a bit :

Was Madame Web's Ezekiel Voice Dubbed? | Comic Book Club

If you've seen Madame Web, you're probably wondering if Tahar Rahim's Madame Web Ezekiel voice was dubbed. We've got your answer.

comicbookclublive.com

That is interesting. The voice thing was a big problem with his character. Ofc, the script did not help either. I've seen Rahim in Napoleon and The Looming Tower as well, and he was perfectly fine in both, as well as speaking perfect English.

 

[EgonSpengler]

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
The Wolverine (2013)
Logan (2017)

Has there been another trilogy where the movies improved as much as Hugh Jackman's Wolverine movies? The first film stank, the second film was a'ight, and the third film kicked [frogging] [booty].

I also watched them in reverse order, but I really don't think that mattered. So go ahead and watch Logan if you haven't watched any of these yet. It's not really a superhero movie. It's more of a violent, sci-fi Western. You know the story: The old gunfighter, just wants to be left alone, forced to come out of retirement and kick some one last time, 'cause some mother[lovers] won't stop until somebody stops 'em. One of the only superhero movies I'd recommend to the most eye-rolling-est superhero skeptic. (Seriously, though, it's really violent. Not funny-violent, either. If that's not your bag, no shame in moving along.)

 

[lymond]

I actually liked all the Wolverine movies, but no question that Logan is in a class by itself.


One really cool thing about him that I wished the early movies focused more on is that he was around 150 years old. The historical stuff was fascinating but just blips in the films.

 

[Smellincoffee]

The Imitation Game, 2014. Tempted to watch it because Alan Turing is the father of computing, and I'm an IT geek; sold because Matthew Goode was involved and I've been a fan of his since Chasing Liberty and Imagine Me and You. Icing on the cake: Allen Leech, who played Tom/Mr Branson in Downton Abbey, is a supporting character. Alan Turing beats the Engima machine but commits suicide after being persecuted for homosexuality.