Recent Viewings

[Jac13]

The Crazies did not impress me.  That might be because I fell asleep while watching it at a buddies house.

Sweeney Todd: Picked this up from the library and enjoyed it.  Had a hell of a time understanding what they were saying so I had to turn on the subtitles. I think I need to get my ears checked. I'd also recommend watching the black and white version from 1936.

Blazing Saddles(1974): Hadn't seen it in a while and it was at the library so I picked it up .  If you haven't seen this I'd recommended you watching it at least once. Not PC at all but very funny and crude. It's classic Mel Brooks what do you expect.  

Age of Assassins(1967): This is a Japanese film directed by Kihachi Okamoto. It's a black comedy spy film.  I will in no way try to describe this. I really liked it. Here's a link to a review (spoilers) http://erosplusmassacre.blogspot.com/2007/07/age-of-assassins-okamoto-kihachi-1967.html

Toyman I really like this topic. It's fun to see what everybody is watching and it has reminded me to pick up some movies I had planned to watch but had forgotten about.

[dozymuppet]

Zombieland: fucking funny

[Toyman]

Jac, is that Burton's Sweeney Todd?  I really liked that one too myself.  Musicals are a hard sell on today's audiences (nothing blows up).  Saddles is hysterical given the context of when it came out!  Had to write a paper on it some months back.  It was the first feature film to display farting. True story.

I love these kinds of threads cause it's great way to learn about movies you'd otherwise never know about. 

Really need to check out Zombieland.  Heard many good things about Bill Murray!

[dozymuppet]

Bill Murray is Bill Murray. No surprises there.

[Rex Tyler]

I love Bill Murray (Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers), but in Zombieland I enjoyed Woody's performance more.

[dozymuppet]

I didn't like Broken Flowers much, and I thought Bill Murray's tracksuited shtick was overdone by that stage (see: Tenenbaums). The best thing that film did for me was introduce me to the world of Mulatu Astatke  .

And yeah, Woody in Zombieland was great.

[Rex Tyler]

I didn't like Broken Flowers much, and I thought Bill Murray's tracksuited shtick was overdone by that stage (see: Tenenbaums).

Not to split hairs, but Bill Murray didn't wear a tracksuit in Wes Anderson's Royal Tenenbaums. You're thinking about Chas Tenenbaum (Ben Stiller).

[dozymuppet]

Well how about that? All this time...

[Jac13]

Toyman, yup it was Burton's version. I've always like musicals.  It think it helped that my parents had me watch them as kid, my wife really can't get into them and she didn't watch very many when she was young.  Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Fiddler on the Roof and Paint Your Wagon were some of my favorites.

Saw Zombieland and I have to agree that it is a good movie.  Woody did steal the show.

[Toyman]

I'm actually a pretty big fan of musicals as they are very artsy and somewhat over the top.  That and we don't get any musical shows that come around here much.  Fiddler I saw in school when I was 11 or 12 and didn't get it, but it was all over AMC  some months back and I was finally able to enjoy for it's themes and it's visuals.  Loved the ghost sequence!  Shumakers Phantom is another of my favorites.  Love Butler in that one.  Overall it's very dark and brooding.  Not sure where that feeling was during his Batmans

[Scot Eric]

Saddles is hysterical given the context of when it came out!  Had to write a paper on it some months back.  It was the first feature film to display farting. True story.

I don't think Blazing Saddles needs to have a "given the context of when it came out" disclaimer as far as how funny it is.  It's as funny today as it was 35 years ago -- and there are very, VERY few movies since that come anywhere remotely close to it in terms of laughs.  Actually -- probably one of the only ones that's in the same ball park came out the SAME YEAR by Mister Brooks -- the brilliant Young Frankenstein.

[Toyman]

The big thing is the use of the "N" word.  Brooks overuses it so that folks get tired of it which plays on the fact that at the time people still referred to blacks that way.  Given they still do but now there's "nigger" and "nigga"   .  Honestly neither is really better but the whole joke in Saddles is to mock the unlearned masses clinging to a decadent past. 

As far as timeframe goes I actually sat in on a handful of 18-19 year olds, some caucasian some african american, and neither really understood the joke as they're so used to hearing it day-to-day.

On the other hanmd Young Frankenstien is by far my favorite Brooks film!
"Vood you care fo a roll in ze hay?"

[darthfoley]

Quarantine.   
The Haunting of Molly Hartley   
Deep Blue Sea   
Jaws   
Princess Bride 

[Scot Eric]

The big thing is the use of the "N" word.  Brooks overuses it so that folks get tired of it which plays on the fact that at the time people still referred to blacks that way.  Given they still do but now there's "nigger" and "nigga"   .  Honestly neither is really better but the whole joke in Saddles is to mock the unlearned masses clinging to a decadent past. 

As far as timeframe goes I actually sat in on a handful of 18-19 year olds, some caucasian some african american, and neither really understood the joke as they're so used to hearing it day-to-day.

On the other hanmd Young Frankenstien is by far my favorite Brooks film!
"Vood you care fo a roll in ze hay?"

It's a movie that is amazingly funny and also couldn't be made today.
(I meant Blazing Saddles)

As for the 18 & 19 year olds -- well, that's a bit sad I guess.  But perhaps a movie as "crude" as Blazing Saddles -- is in some ways too sophisticated for today's younger audiences.

[Jac13]

Never watched Blazing Saddles with the younger set but I could see most being bored that is was a western rather than it using the "N" word.  It'll be interesting to see which of Mel Brooks films do stand up to the next generation.

Did let one of my younger co-workers borrow Deliverance. That one still works.

Nine Questions with the men of Sequart

A Sequel Soliloquy: Scot Eric's Top Twelve #2's of All Time

The Golden Age Blog - Flash 11-20!

American Comics: The Illusion of Change

The Golden Age Blog - Flash 1-10!

CriticalMess interviews writer Steve Bryant!

Mess member Jim Beard helms new Batman TV book!!

Nine Questions with Pamela Des Barres

Advanced search