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non-player zealot Franchise Player
Joined: 05 Nov 2007 Posts: 21365
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 7:45 pm Post subject: |
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Baron Von Humongous wrote: |
Most movie nerds seem to appreciate the pacing and the rise and fall narrative that feels full of episodic details but is deceptively straightforward. That didn't seem to be the case among critics when it was released, but cinephile opinion seems set on appreciating its story along with the gorgeous visuals.
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How much you make writing movie reviews, Baron? I view it more or less as a 180 comearound for the main character. He began a young lad who was fired up to duel an older man and he "won" that duel. Later, he is in the same social class as the man he once fought and his life is changed by another young lad who is fired up (tho meek and pukey) to send him out of the picture in the same way Barry once wanted an older man out of his picture. Another young man on the come, tho for different desires (marrying one's cousin vs eliminating the louse who's spending your mother's fortune). It's all the things in the middle that make this a spaghettilike path towards the end result, but that's how life goes in a "The coin has been traveling for 22 years to get here and NOW it's HERE," way.
What's yer take on The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford? I consider it to be in a trio with There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men (all 2007). It was a curiously good year for rustic period pieces focused on masculinity, mostly "toxic". Couple of quick strokes are that I appreciate it as a film where Pitt isn't playing a way cool caricature of himself as he too often does (a la Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood). Casey Affleck a better actor than his brother, the subtleties are impressive in the Bob Ford role, tho he hasn't escaped his problematicism like James Franco did by the skin of his teeth (for now, at least). Sam Rockwell great as usual. Can't not notice the interesting use of a great deal of sexual tension between Jesse and Bob. Ebert noticed it, but it's more than obvious after awhile. EG: Robert turns to find that Jesse was staring at him and Jesse tells him, "You're gonna break a lot of hearts." Line has double meaning as he is gifting him the gun Ford uses to kill him. Ford has an obsessive collection of news clippings and memorabilia about James the others tease him about, etc. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL
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EDDIE DONX! |
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Baron Von Humongous Retired Number
Joined: 02 Jul 2015 Posts: 32979
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Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2022 5:46 pm Post subject: |
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Armageddon Time (Gray, 2022): I don't think I love it, but I admire it as one of the great recent film interrogations of the American Dream through racial and class divisions. An open wound of a movie that is unfairly being lumped in with white savior films like Green Book, which AT explicitly critiques.
If I had the means to schedule a double feature, I would pair Gray's Armageddon Time with Claire Denis' Chocolat as sincere, thoughtful, problematic white shame films _________________ Under New Management |
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Baron Von Humongous Retired Number
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2022 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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Stars at Noon: Claire Denis makes her The Departed. _________________ Under New Management |
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numero-ocho Franchise Player
Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 18248 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2022 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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Watched Netflix's remake of All Quiet on the Western Front over the weekend. I thought it was really excellent.
Just finished Ron Howard's Thirteen Lives. I knew the boys would be rescued but still found it very suspenseful but also very uplifting. _________________ "Suck it up. Don't be a baby. Do your job." - Kobe Bryant |
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Robblake Star Player
Joined: 05 Aug 2020 Posts: 1051
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2022 10:08 am Post subject: |
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[quote="numero-ocho"]Watched Netflix's remake of All Quiet on the Western Front over the weekend. I thought it was really excellent.
Just finished Ron Howard's Thirteen Lives. I knew the boys would be rescued but still found it very suspenseful but also very uplifting.[/
Just watched all quiet and was amazed by it. Shows the human psyche being easily disillusioned by made up nationalism and turned into senseless killing. How they are forced into instant survival mode - animalistic- and then try to return to a functional member of society.. seems impossible |
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Baron Von Humongous Retired Number
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2022 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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The New Beverly should do a Clockwork Orange + Edmond double feature some day. _________________ Under New Management |
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Halflife Franchise Player
Joined: 15 Aug 2015 Posts: 17237
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DaMuleRules Retired Number
Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 52727 Location: Making a safety stop at 15 feet.
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2022 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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You’d think with a decade plus of CGI advancement, the Avatar trailer wouldn’t look like a cheesy video game. _________________ You thought God was an architect, now you know
He’s something like a pipe bomb ready to blow
And everything you built that’s all for show
goes up in flames
In 24 frames
Jason Isbell
Man, do those lyrics resonate right now |
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jodeke Retired Number
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 68149 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
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Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 10:16 am Post subject: |
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Colombiana (2011) staring Zoe Saldaña. She's a kickass assassin out for revenge. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
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non-player zealot Franchise Player
Joined: 05 Nov 2007 Posts: 21365
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Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 4:13 pm Post subject: |
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Anyone ever see The Disaster Artist (2017)? Main two characters are the Franco brothers. It was a small release, but it was mostly lauded by critics and fans. Seth Rogen is minimally in it, but he's easy to ignore. It's the last movie in hella years that made me chuckle pretty good numerous times. I saw it completely cold w/ zero idea what it was about. I found out it was about this now-famed B movie from 2003 called The Room, which was financed by a rich weirdo named Tommy Wiseau. He was a dude who was an acting class flunkee in real life, but had millions to write and star in one of those movies that's so awful, it does a 180 on itself and becomes entertaining because of it. And Wiseau is a really weird cat in reality. James Franco plays him to a tee and the sh is just peculiar and endlessly amusing. I rarely laugh at movies and if I do, it's because something caught me off guard, but that usually takes something like 4-5 years in between instances. I don't just blithely laugh at the obvious things in comedies like Cameron Diaz accidentally using semen as hair gel.
Of course, I first saw this before knowing anything about James Franco's uh...issues. Turned out that he sexually harassed a female minor who was a character in the film and she's still visible in one shot despite being cropped out. He tried to bribe her w/ a bigger role in the movie if she didn't spill the beans on him, but she did. He was lucky to escape Me Too by the skin of his teeth. There was an actors roundtable w/ James and Tom Hanks and others right after that where he was posed a question about movie producers having power to do that kind of thing and it was quite uncomfortable for James. He otherwise explained the movie to Hanks who had yet to see either Disaster Artist or The Room (which itself is a cult classic).
Beyond that, it's a very clever movie and premise and "cute" in a bemusing way. I've got a cynical sense of humor and I enjoyed it. It's worth a look if you haven't. If you don't see it, be sure to see The Room (2003) once in your life, but don't try to research it first or you'll get spoilers galore. People quote lines from it, etc. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL
SEDALE TRIBUTE
EDDIE DONX!
Last edited by non-player zealot on Fri Nov 25, 2022 4:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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non-player zealot Franchise Player
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Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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DaMuleRules wrote: | You’d think with a decade plus of CGI advancement, the Avatar trailer wouldn’t look like a cheesy video game. |
CGI is good for airplane/sky content. Otherwise, blech. Practicals, baby.
Prob w/ CGI is that they don't seem to throw enough money and/or talent into it and then they don't try too hard to make it as seamless as possible w/ reality. It is possible to do being that Jurassic 1 came out in 1993 and accomplished just that. They did the animatronic T. rex and blended in excellent CGI (for that time AND now) into scenes. It looked much better at night than the daytime scenes w/ the brachiosaurs did. For a closeup daytime shot w/ a triceratops, they smartly made an animatronic one. They knew when to use which. It's a game of give and take w/ CGI. It's very suitable for certain things and in certain ways, but there's little push (evidently) to use it in an artistic give/take way in most flicks.
No matter how far CGI should logically progress in quality, it will probably always look fake to the eye or continue to for the foreseeable future. However, even great practicals look inauthentic if you look hard enough, yet there's something to be said for the craft of creating something. EG: An American Werewolf In London. Flick from 1981, yet its practicals are still lauded and they had limitations on showing the critter walk/run. They could only show the front two legs because they had a guy working the levers at the ass end. In the subway scene, they show only a touch of it in a mirror above the victim on the escalator, but it's a celebrated shot. They knew even w/ great practicals for the time to give and take in order to eliminate as much of the visual doubt as they could. W/ CGI they think they have the freedom to do N E thing and then they act that way. Tasteful use is thrown out the window. If they were to use more of a Jurassian perspective w/ practicals and tasteful CGI, both, maybe CGI wouldn't be so reviled. And tho bad CGI is the worst possible scenario, even too much good CGI gets criticized, too, because people don't like seeing a movie w/ 90% CGI even if they paid for it and generally liked the plot. It feels like a copout no matter how good it is at a certain point.
Now excuse me while I go yell at the clouds. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL
SEDALE TRIBUTE
EDDIE DONX! |
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Omar Little Moderator
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90324 Location: Formerly Known As 24
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Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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non-player zealot wrote: | Anyone ever see The Disaster Artist (2017)? Main two characters are the Franco brothers. It was a small release, but it was mostly lauded by critics and fans. Seth Rogen is minimally in it, but he's easy to ignore. It's the last movie in hella years that made me chuckle pretty good numerous times. I saw it completely cold w/ zero idea what it was about. I found out it was about this now-famed B movie from 2003 called The Room, which was financed by a rich weirdo named Tommy Wiseau. He was a dude who was an acting class flunkee in real life, but had millions to write and star in one of those movies that's so awful, it does a 180 on itself and becomes entertaining because of it. And Wiseau is a really weird cat in reality. James Franco plays him to a tee and the sh is just peculiar and endlessly amusing. I rarely laugh at movies and if I do, it's because something caught me off guard, but that usually takes something like 4-5 years in between instances. I don't just blithely laugh at the obvious things in comedies like Cameron Diaz accidentally using semen as hair gel.
Of course, I first saw this before knowing anything about James Franco's uh...issues. Turned out that he sexually harassed a female minor who was a character in the film and she's still visible in one shot despite being cropped out. He tried to bribe her w/ a bigger role in the movie if she didn't spill the beans on him, but she did. He was lucky to escape Me Too by the skin of his teeth. There was an actors roundtable w/ James and Tom Hanks and others right after that where he was posed a question about movie producers having power to do that kind of thing and it was quite uncomfortable for James. He otherwise explained the movie to Hanks who had yet to see either Disaster Artist or The Room (which itself is a cult classic).
Beyond that, it's a very clever movie and premise and "cute" in a bemusing way. I've got a cynical sense of humor and I enjoyed it. It's worth a look if you haven't. If you don't see it, be sure to see The Room (2003) once in your life, but don't try to research it first or you'll get spoilers galore. People quote lines from it, etc. |
You lost me at James Franco and Seth Rogan. _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel |
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non-player zealot Franchise Player
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 1:34 pm Post subject: |
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Omar Little wrote: |
You lost me at James Franco and Seth Rogan. |
It's a funny movie, trust, and the premise and movie it was based on would've been feelgood to this day if not for J Franco screwing that up. It is surprising how much good will the flick got with a scandal that wasn't even successfully covered up. Hear you on Rogen, he's universally reviled, but he's in there for no appreciable reason and doesn't try to be funny (Spielberg put him in Lincoln, remember, and it was actually possible to ignore him). By the way, they parted friendship on the DA scandal, but Seth, of course, was holding on til the last possible moment. He's the kind of slime that is on the rung under the James Francos in Hollywood.
RE: James Franco, I had the benefit of knowing zilch about his issues before seeing Disaster Artist. Or zilch in a real sense. When DA came out circa 2017/18, I knew him as "Dude From 127 Hours" and was between ignorant and indifferent about him in any other context up to that time. I recall a few late night style jokes about his business, but didn't know the sh was THAT dire. Then he apparently did the same sh again on the DA set and did damage to his own "passion project" (ahem) in Baron parlance. How he didn't get MeToo'd as totally as some others is beyond me (the timing of this release vs MeToo blowing up may have helped him), but the actor's roundtable w/ Hanks and him is yikes, man. It's on YT. Of course, James himself is posed a question about sexual harassment on set and he whiteknuckles it. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL
SEDALE TRIBUTE
EDDIE DONX! |
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C M B Franchise Player
Joined: 15 Nov 2006 Posts: 19885 Location: Prarie & Manchester, high above the western sideline
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dont_be_a_wuss Franchise Player
Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 21606
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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non-player zealot wrote: | Anyone ever see The Disaster Artist (2017)? Main two characters are the Franco brothers. It was a small release, but it was mostly lauded by critics and fans. Seth Rogen is minimally in it, but he's easy to ignore. It's the last movie in hella years that made me chuckle pretty good numerous times. I saw it completely cold w/ zero idea what it was about. I found out it was about this now-famed B movie from 2003 called The Room, which was financed by a rich weirdo named Tommy Wiseau. He was a dude who was an acting class flunkee in real life, but had millions to write and star in one of those movies that's so awful, it does a 180 on itself and becomes entertaining because of it. And Wiseau is a really weird cat in reality. James Franco plays him to a tee and the sh is just peculiar and endlessly amusing. I rarely laugh at movies and if I do, it's because something caught me off guard, but that usually takes something like 4-5 years in between instances. I don't just blithely laugh at the obvious things in comedies like Cameron Diaz accidentally using semen as hair gel.
Of course, I first saw this before knowing anything about James Franco's uh...issues. Turned out that he sexually harassed a female minor who was a character in the film and she's still visible in one shot despite being cropped out. He tried to bribe her w/ a bigger role in the movie if she didn't spill the beans on him, but she did. He was lucky to escape Me Too by the skin of his teeth. There was an actors roundtable w/ James and Tom Hanks and others right after that where he was posed a question about movie producers having power to do that kind of thing and it was quite uncomfortable for James. He otherwise explained the movie to Hanks who had yet to see either Disaster Artist or The Room (which itself is a cult classic).
Beyond that, it's a very clever movie and premise and "cute" in a bemusing way. I've got a cynical sense of humor and I enjoyed it. It's worth a look if you haven't. If you don't see it, be sure to see The Room (2003) once in your life, but don't try to research it first or you'll get spoilers galore. People quote lines from it, etc. |
It’s a great movie! Especially if you know about “The Room”.
Seth Roger was talking about the making of it in an interview. James Franco played the protagonist in addition to directing, so he would stay in character while directing and it was one of the funniest movie sets of all time. I wish I could’ve been there. |
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Baron Von Humongous Retired Number
Joined: 02 Jul 2015 Posts: 32979
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 3:10 am Post subject: |
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Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a good movie, but being ranked today in the BFI Sight & Sound poll as the thirtieth best movie of all time is ridiculous.
Cholodenko's High Art (1998) is an equal, if not superior, movie about a doomed lesbian romance and no one (unjustly) even remembers it.
The Handmaiden >> Portrait of a Lady on Fire _________________ Under New Management
Last edited by Baron Von Humongous on Fri Dec 02, 2022 4:02 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Baron Von Humongous Retired Number
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 3:30 am Post subject: |
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James Gray is an incredible comic talent. I hope PTA casts Gray in his next movie. _________________ Under New Management |
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Baron Von Humongous Retired Number
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 3:59 am Post subject: |
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Quote: | CAHIERS DU CINÉMA, TOP 10 2022
1 PACIFICTION, Serra
2 LICORICE PIZZA, Anderson
3 NOPE, Peele
4 EO, Skolimowski
5 WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY, Hamaguchi
6 SATURN BOWLING, Mazuy
7 APOLLO 10 1/2, Linklater
8 INTRODUCTION, Hong
9 NOBODY'S HERO, Guiraudie
10 WHO'S STOPPING US, Trueba |
_________________ Under New Management |
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jodeke Retired Number
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 68149 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2022 11:57 am Post subject: |
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EMANCIPATION is a movie I found difficult to watch. Based on a true story. This is the history some don't want to be taught in schools. It's a part of history and should be taught. Will Smith played the lead role. It may resurect his career. Whipped Peter /// Gordon was his Christian name. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Last edited by jodeke on Sat Dec 10, 2022 2:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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jodeke Retired Number
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 68149 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2022 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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Detective Knight: Redemption. Bruce Willis just wasn't Bruce Willis. He didn't speak until 24 minutes or so into the film. To me the onset of aphasia was evident. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
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dont_be_a_wuss Franchise Player
Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 21606
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2022 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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I just watched an old film called Gladiator (1992) not the Russel Crowe flick. Its about underground boxing. When I was a kid I definitely thought the lead was Jean Claude van Dam. Not sure if its mandala effect. |
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non-player zealot Franchise Player
Joined: 05 Nov 2007 Posts: 21365
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2022 7:40 pm Post subject: |
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dont_be_a_wuss wrote: | I just watched an old film called Gladiator (1992) not the Russel Crowe flick. Its about underground boxing. When I was a kid I definitely thought the lead was Jean Claude van Dam. Not sure if its mandala effect. |
Sounds vaguely familiar now that I see Cuba, Jr. was in it. Don't think I've seen it, tho. I did see the 1992 boxing related flick Diggstown (Gossett, James Woods, Bruce Dern). If Gladiator was a worse movie than that, it would've had to be REALLY bad. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL
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jodeke Retired Number
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 68149 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2022 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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non-player zealot wrote: | dont_be_a_wuss wrote: | I just watched an old film called Gladiator (1992) not the Russel Crowe flick. Its about underground boxing. When I was a kid I definitely thought the lead was Jean Claude van Dam. Not sure if its mandala effect. |
Sounds vaguely familiar now that I see Cuba, Jr. was in it. Don't think I've seen it, tho. I did see the 1992 boxing related flick Diggstown (Gossett, James Woods, Bruce Dern). If Gladiator was a worse movie than that, it would've had to be REALLY bad. |
I watched Gladiator (1992) It kept my attention from the beginning to the end. Good movie. From 1 to 10 I give it 8. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
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Omar Little Moderator
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90324 Location: Formerly Known As 24
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2022 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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I feel like Jod’s film review scale is from 7 to 8. _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel |
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jodeke Retired Number
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 68149 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2022 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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Omar Little wrote: | I feel like Jod’s film review scale is from 7 to 8. |
IA I'm no Siskel and Ebert. My tastes are somewhat skewed. Did you watch Gladiator 1992? If so what's your rating? EDITED _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
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