Is this film worth a watch?

[Chedney Honks]

In which someone posts a film they're curious about and people reply if they like saying if it's worth a watch, in their opinion.

I keep hearing really positive things about Takashi Mike's 13 Assassins. I assumed that a modern martial arts film would probably be crap and I haven't seen any Miike since, hmm, Ichi the Killer.

Worth a watch?

[SteveDave]

These are the "big" films I've never seen-

Top Gun
Rain Man
Pretty Woman
Titanic
Avatar
Scarface
Raging Bull

Should I?

[Sebastian Cobb]

These are the "big" films I've never seen-

Top Gun
Rain Man
Pretty Woman
Titanic
Avatar
Scarface
Raging Bull

Should I?

One or two people seem to be genuinely affronted when they've found out I've never seen Leon.

[mothman]

I've never seen Mamma Mia! but I think I'm on firm moral ground there.

[Chedney Honks]

These are the "big" films I've never seen-

Should I?

Top Gun - excellent, cheesy, ne plus ultra 80s mainstream blockbuster.
Rain Man - not seen it, seems boring, likely problematic now.
Pretty Woman - my wife enjoyed it as a teenager, I said I'd watch it with her.
Titanic - boring family movie romance, neither exciting nor romantic, Oscar fodder.
Avatar - can't remember anything about this film.
Scarface - overly revered by people whose favourite films are Fight Club, Tarantino or The Dark Knight, but it's actually very good in that sleazy Brian de Palma way.
Raging Bull - some incredible scenes but actually quite a boring, po-faced film.

[sevendaughters]

These are the "big" films I've never seen-

Top Gun
Rain Man
Pretty Woman
Titanic
Avatar
Scarface
Raging Bull

Should I?

not seen, inessential but fine, nah, nah, hells nah, sure, why not

[El Unicornio, mang]

These are the "big" films I've never seen-

Top Gun
Rain Man
Pretty Woman
Titanic
Avatar
Scarface
Raging Bull

Should I?

All worth watching, but Raging Bull and Scarface are the only ones I'd say are essential viewing.

[ImmaculateClump]

One or two people seem to be genuinely affronted when they've found out I've never seen Leon.

Haha, yes, I can well imagine a lot of paedos on a gaming forum I go to holding that up as the pinnacle of cinema.

These are the "big" films I've never seen-

Top Gun
Rain Man
Pretty Woman
Titanic
Avatar
Scarface
Raging Bull

Should I?

Scarface is silly fun, and Raging Bull is good, but yes, as Honks says, it's lofty aspirations let it down.
I saw it when I was pretty young but I remember the kitchen sink drama bits of it being the best.
Both definitely worth your time.

Top gun, rain man, and pretty woman. Yeah, again, Honks is on the money, out of that lot, top gun is probably the one to go with and probably the one that's aged the best because it knew how camp and cheesy it was.
I haven't seen the other two.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I like De Palma but can't say I really like Scarface although it's years since I've seen it. It's fucking long.

[zomgmouse]

Raging Bull is really good, definitely watch it. Scarface is worth a watch, some good scenes but the original trumps it. Avatar don't bother unless you're watching it in IMAX 3D, it's basically a tech test. Rain Man is one of those I caught on TV as a teenager and probably need to rewatch.

[chveik]

Rain Man - not seen it, seems boring, likely problematic now.

it sure is, quite the fucked up fillm.

as for 13 Assassins, it's fine, a bit overlong iirc. there are  loads of far superior chambara films to check out first imho. i preferred his Hara-Kiri remake

[Ron Maels Moustache]

One or two people seem to be genuinely affronted when they've found out I've never seen Leon.

Given that it's basically just Besson's wish fulfilment peado fantasy I'd say you'd be fine giving it a swerve. Whatever it's merits as a film(and I do remember parts of it being good) it's always going to be tainted by that undercurrent of creepiness inherent in the main premise.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Given that it's basically just Besson's wish fulfilment peado fantasy I'd say you'd be fine giving it a swerve. Whatever it's merits as a film(and I do remember parts of it being good) it's always going to be tainted by that undercurrent of creepiness inherent in the main premise.

Coincidentally, this is being mentioned currently in the "what non-new films have you watched" thread. In the original script it's not even an undercurrent, it's a full on sexual relationship.

That said, I do think it's a good film. Oldman hamming it up brilliantly as the corrupt detective.

[Dusty Substance]

All worth watching, but Raging Bull and Scarface are the only ones I'd say are essential viewing.

Agreed that these two are the stand-out films but I reckon everyone needs to see Titanic.

Sure, it's been 'memed' to death over the last 25 years but it's easy to forget what a monumental technical achievement it was at the time. The first hour is slow but the second the ship

Spoiler alert

hits the iceberg - most pointless spoiler ever?

[close]

it's a hectic heart-racing chase through the ship's maze-like corridors. Remember, this is from the man who bought us those tense scenes in Aliens and T1/T2 - Cameron knows (knew?) how to make those scenes exciting.

This is a great pull-quote from Slant Magazine's review of Titanic:

"The film's second half is an unparalleled blitz of organized, systematic destruction, a Griffith-like montage of crosscutting effects sequences (farmed out to nearly every graphics house extant to varying results, some ridiculous, others jaw-dropping CGI-enhanced verité)."

Do your best to ignore and forget all the millions of spoofs and pastiches of Titanic, put aside four hours, get in some snacks/beers/weed/whatevs and watch it on the biggest screen you can find. It's a great film.

[Smeraldina Rima]

Rain Man is worth seeing to complete the Dustin Hoffman passenger leaving trilogy:







Eric Rohmer's Comédies et Proverbes

    1981 La Femme de l'aviateur (The Aviator's Wife) — "It is impossible to think about nothing."
    1982 Le Beau mariage (A Good Marriage) — "Can anyone refrain from building castles in Spain?"
    1983 Pauline à la plage (Pauline at the Beach) — "He who talks too much will hurt himself."
    1984 Les nuits de la pleine lune (Full Moon in Paris) — "He who has two women loses his soul, he who has two houses loses his mind."
    1986 Le Rayon vert (The Green Ray [UK] / Summer [North America]) — "Ah, for the days/that set our hearts ablaze,"
    1987 L'Ami de mon amie (My Girlfriend's Boyfriend/Boyfriends and Girlfriends) — "My friends' friends are my friends."

I've seen the last two. What about the first four?

Was also wondering about the last two Moral Tales:

     1970 #5 Le Genou de Claire (Claire's Knee)
     1972 #6 L'Amour l'après-midi (Love in the Afternoon/Chloe in the Afternoon)

They're all on Mubi.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Pauline at the Beach is pretty good, very French farce, found the bits with the 15 year old up to sexual shenanigans a bit much but it's a French film so...

[shagatha crustie]

Agreed that these two are the stand-out films but I reckon everyone needs to see Titanic...

Yes, agreed. I think it's a brilliant film. Re: the first half being slow, I think it serves perfectly to build to the main event.

[greenman]

In which someone posts a film they're curious about and people reply if they like saying if it's worth a watch, in their opinion.

I keep hearing really positive things about Takashi Mike's 13 Assassins. I assumed that a modern martial arts film would probably be crap and I haven't seen any Miike since, hmm, Ichi the Killer.

Worth a watch?

Yep definitely, good case of someone like Miike doing a more mainstream film but still retaining a lot of his original character, villain shifts from baddie into absolute monster and samurai more than just standard glorying in honour, very good action wise as well with about half an hour or more of mayhem at the end.

[zomgmouse]

Was also wondering about the last two Moral Tales:

     1970 #5 Le Genou de Claire (Claire's Knee)
     1972 #6 L'Amour l'après-midi (Love in the Afternoon/Chloe in the Afternoon)

They're all on Mubi.

Claire's Knee is my favourite of the lot, Love in the Afternoon second or third - I'd say yes.

[Midas]

Titanic is one of many dubious films about a dissatisfied toff restoring their vitality by havin it large wiv da plebs. If you view it as a vampire flick it's quite good tho.

[Chedney Honks]

Yep definitely, good case of someone like Miike doing a more mainstream film but still retaining a lot of his original character

Cheers for that, and to chveik. I'll get it ordered.

As for Rohmer, I planned to start a thread about him at some point but need to watch a few more. Everything I've seen is quite similar but I really like his stuff, and it's definitely worth watching. Basically, they're all about good looking middle class French people pontificating and having it off with each other but there's something very dreamy and ethereal and weightless about the atmosphere. Even when they're sad or whatever, it doesn't really matter because their problems seem so much like a playful pastime. Hard to describe and maybe a simplification but I feel happy and relaxed watching his films. At ease, perhaps.

[sevendaughters]

Given that it's basically just Besson's wish fulfilment peado fantasy I'd say you'd be fine giving it a swerve. Whatever it's merits as a film(and I do remember parts of it being good) it's always going to be tainted by that undercurrent of creepiness inherent in the main premise.

it's one of the films I teach at work; some years students absolutely refuse to see beyond what it is in the text and say that it is just nice. some years they're creeped out like hell. some interesting material about focus groups in US and focus groups in France who saw the film completely differently (US reaction more toward the paed, French more toward universal niceness and selflessness) genuinely controversial week, every year, highlight of the job. i honestly don't know what i think of it. some of the action scenes are incredible.

[chveik]

Eric Rohmer's Comédies et Proverbes

    1981 La Femme de l'aviateur (The Aviator's Wife) — "It is impossible to think about nothing."
    1982 Le Beau mariage (A Good Marriage) — "Can anyone refrain from building castles in Spain?"
    1983 Pauline à la plage (Pauline at the Beach) — "He who talks too much will hurt himself."
    1984 Les nuits de la pleine lune (Full Moon in Paris) — "He who has two women loses his soul, he who has two houses loses his mind."
    1986 Le Rayon vert (The Green Ray [UK] / Summer [North America]) — "Ah, for the days/that set our hearts ablaze,"
    1987 L'Ami de mon amie (My Girlfriend's Boyfriend/Boyfriends and Girlfriends) — "My friends' friends are my friends."

I've seen the last two. What about the first four?

Was also wondering about the last two Moral Tales:

     1970 #5 Le Genou de Claire (Claire's Knee)
     1972 #6 L'Amour l'après-midi (Love in the Afternoon/Chloe in the Afternoon)

They're all on Mubi.

The Aviator's Wife is really good, Full Moon in Paris is worth a watch for Pascale Ogier's performance. not that keen on the two others, although they're deffo watchable.

Love in the Afternoon is one of his best. as for Claire's Knee, the main protagonist being such a creep makes it difficult to enjoy at times, it's still a good film though.

Rohmer is comfort viewing for me.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Rohmer is comfort viewing for me.

That's how I feel about them. Quatre aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle and L'Ami de mon amie (both 1987) are my two faves. Always liked the location for the latter, Cergy-Pontoise, new town which has a interesting utopian quality to it, perfectly fits with the characters.

[Smeraldina Rima]

Thanks. That seems like a recommendation for everything except A Good Marriage which I wanted to watch anyway since I liked Béatrice Romand in An Autumn Tale and the concept looked interesting:

Art student Sabine tires of her free and easy single lifestyle and decides she wants to get married. At a wedding reception she meets the suitable and dashing Edmond (thanks to matchmaker friend Clarisse), and engineers a romance for the most part in her own head, as he is not exactly on board.

I figured The Sign of Leo and the short films would all be worth a watch. Wasn't sure whether I'd enjoyed (or got the point of) My Girlfriend's Boyfriend and My Summer with Des.

Would appreciate a thread if you were thinking of one, CH - I'd remembered you watched a lot of them a while ago, zomgmouse.

[shagatha crustie]

Rohmer is comfort viewing for me.

Me too. When I inevitably feel listless and miserable at some point in the summer I'll stick on The Green Ray.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Is BASEketball worth a watch? I'm not expecting much from it bar a dumb but fun comedy, but have seen a mixture of reviews and though some are very positive some have been of the "Yeesh, this hasn't aged well" variety.

[A Hat Like That]

Yep definitely, good case of someone like Miike doing a more mainstream film but still retaining a lot of his original character, villain shifts from baddie into absolute monster and samurai more than just standard glorying in honour, very good action wise as well with about half an hour or more of mayhem at the end.

Yeah, found it quite slow at first but its a solid watch. Then it all kicks off and its 45 minutes of absolute carnage.

[Shit Good Nose]

Is BASEketball worth a watch? I'm not expecting much from it bar a dumb but fun comedy, but have seen a mixture of reviews and though some are very positive some have been of the "Yeesh, this hasn't aged well" variety.

I think it's still brilliant.  You've got David Zucker directing and Trey and Matt pretty much rewriting the entire script (albeit completely uncredited).  I know Trey in particular isn't keen on it but acknowledges how much he learnt about directing from Zucker (and realising that basically everything he did from a technical directing point of view on Cannibal and Orgazmo was wrong), but it really is brilliant stupid fun.  Yes, of course there's going to be stuff that is a bit wrong seen through the glasses of 2020/21, but that is going to be the case with almost every film ever made prior to about 2010.  Ask yourself this - is there stuff in Airplane, Top Secret and Police Squad/the Naked Gun films that's a bit rum now? (rhetorical). And do you still like those?

It particularly clicks with me as I have zero interest in sport and actively hate football, tennis and cricket, and it just highlights the stupidities of it all.

It's the best film Trey Parker never directed, and it easily sits proudly with Zucker's best

[Small Man Big Horse]

I think it's still brilliant.  You've got David Zucker directing and Trey and Matt pretty much rewriting the entire script (albeit completely uncredited).  I know Trey in particular isn't keen on it but acknowledges how much he learnt about directing from Zucker (and realising that basically everything he did from a technical directing point of view on Cannibal and Orgazmo was wrong), but it really is brilliant stupid fun.  Yes, of course there's going to be stuff that is a bit wrong seen through the glasses of 2020/21, but that is going to be the case with almost every film ever made prior to about 2010.  Ask yourself this - is there stuff in Airplane, Top Secret and Police Squad/the Naked Gun films that's a bit rum now? (rhetorical). And do you still like those?

It particularly clicks with me as I have zero interest in sport and actively hate football, tennis and cricket, and it just highlights the stupidities of it all.

It's the best film Trey Parker never directed, and it easily sits proudly with Zucker's best

Cool, thanks for that, I've a particularly busy day work wise so will be in the mood for something easy and simple to watch later, and so shall give it a go and report back.