Latest Movie That You Watched!

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Steffen

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2015
2,233
12,800
Halloween was actually Carpenter's third film. Dark Star and Assault on Precinct 13 were his first two. Dark Star is pretty crappy but does have it's funny moments (not sure they were intentional though). Assault on Precinct 13 is brilliant. It's one of Quinten Tarantino's favorite films.
Thanks for mentioning these films Swifty. I'll check them out.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
The Paperboy. You were right kingricefan

I liked it. It sure did take a sudden turn half way through. Didn't see that coming. I think Macy Gray stole the movie...and Nicole Kidman.
Macy Gray is a delight in this film. I am not a fan of ice queen Kidman but she really had my jaw on the floor here- she really 'went' for it and didn't falter. Who knew someone from Down Under could capture the atypical 'poor southern white trash'? Everybody slayed their roles in this film, no doubt about it.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
Not a movie, but...please make sure she knows who Bob Seeger is.
....who the hell is Bob SEEGER????....ya mean Seger?....
MI0003795938.jpg
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
Saw this when it came out. I worked in a theater that was showing it. It's fantastic. I highly recommend it. NOT the lousy remake.

I thought the remake was okay, just nothing special. It seems it's one of the few remakes of his work that Carpenter likes. I asked him what he thought about The Thing remake (it's actually a prequel, but it was marketed as a remake) and he said 'No comment', so I assume he was not happy with it.

The blu-ray of Assault is real good. With two separate commentary tracks from both Carpenter and Tommy Lee Wallace (later director of the IT mini-series), who did sound effects and art direction. Wallace worked with Carpenter from Dark Star to Big Trouble in Little China - seems a very relaxed, nice guy just like Carpenter.
Also there are loads of other extras, but there is nothing really about why they chose 13 as the number in the title, why is it Precinct 13?
If you look closely at the exterior of the police station (the exterior was a real police station, as I recall, but not in use anymore), it says: 'Anderson Police Station Division 14'.
I suppose they made it 13, because it's more ominous. And they were unlucky to be there with so few people, when the man came in who was pursued by the street gang. But that's a guess - you can have loads of extras and still a question like that is not answered.

I really love the film. It's one of Carpenter's best and sets the tone of many of his later films. The only minor complaint I would have is that you can tell quite clearly the interior of the police station is on a sound stage. There is no sound at all coming from outside - no traffic, no street noises, no birds. When members of the gang climb through the window later in the film, they are against a background of black, where you would expect to see street lights or trees.
It's a minor complaint, that always slightly bugs me about the movie. But it was a low budget movie of course, and they were still learning about film really when making it. It's also possible it's a conscious choice, to give the police station more of an isolated feel, but I'm not sure about that.
 

Tery

Say hello to my fishy buddy
Moderator
Apr 12, 2006
15,304
44,712
Bremerton, Washington, United States
I thought the remake was okay, just nothing special. It seems it's one of the few remakes of his work that Carpenter likes. I asked him what he thought about The Thing remake (it's actually a prequel, but it was marketed as a remake) and he said 'No comment', so I assume he was not happy with it.

The blu-ray of Assault is real good. With two separate commentary tracks from both Carpenter and Tommy Lee Wallace (later director of the IT mini-series), who did sound effects and art direction. Wallace worked with Carpenter from Dark Star to Big Trouble in Little China - seems a very relaxed, nice guy just like Carpenter.
Also there are loads of other extras, but there is nothing really about why they chose 13 as the number in the title, why is it Precinct 13?
If you look closely at the exterior of the police station (the exterior was a real police station, as I recall, but not in use anymore), it says: 'Anderson Police Station Division 14'.
I suppose they made it 13, because it's more ominous. And they were unlucky to be there with so few people, when the man came in who was pursued by the street gang. But that's a guess - you can have loads of extras and still a question like that is not answered.

I really love the film. It's one of Carpenter's best and sets the tone of many of his later films. The only minor complaint I would have is that you can tell quite clearly the interior of the police station is on a sound stage. There is no sound at all coming from outside - no traffic, no street noises, no birds. When members of the gang climb through the window later in the film, they are against a background of black, where you would expect to see street lights or trees.
It's a minor complaint, that always slightly bugs me about the movie. But it was a low budget movie of course, and they were still learning about film really when making it. It's also possible it's a conscious choice, to give the police station more of an isolated feel, but I'm not sure about that.

If you read Danse Macabre, you may remember SK mentioning mining for nuggets in films. The first I saw of AOP13 was when my manager grabbed me from the concession stand with, "You have to see this scene..." and shoved me inside the auditorium doors. It was the scene
where the little girl gets shot.
I was stunned and had such a visceral reaction. The rest of the movie is superb but that scene -- man! What a nugget!
 

Steffen

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2015
2,233
12,800
Sitting in the cinema right now for a noon showing of The Nun. I'm one of three people here, which is great.

Okay, so.. The Nun.

I'm afraid the Conjuring series has hit its first bump in the road. James Wan and Gary Dauberman put together a script with all the right elements to service the franchise's most visually appealing and visceral character yet: a 1950s setting in Romania, a ruined abbey in the middle of a creepy forest, Vatican investigators, and the kick-@ss demon Valak. This should have been a great homage to the Hammer films of old: the cinematography and atmosphere certainly suggests that at the beginning. Unfortunately, director Corin Hardy fails to elevate the material beyond a quick succession/overload of gimmicks. Valak is over-exposed and wasted here. Another strength of this series is the connection with the human characters. This element is woefully absent: Demian Bechir is wasted potential, Jonas Bloquet's character is a walking cliche with silly dialogue, Taissa Farmiga comes out the best here but that's not saying much within the context of the larger story. The most enjoyable thing about this for me was the film's book-ends connecting it to the Warrens.

This is not a bad film but it's definitely the least of the series, coming in behind the first Annabelle film (which was a decent if merely adequate offering). A pity, because I love me my scary cinematic demons. I'm sure there'll be a second outing for Valak if the Box Office wills it, and I hope they go with a better director to bring out the potential of this character.
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
If you read Danse Macabre, you may remember SK mentioning mining for nuggets in films. The first I saw of AOP13 was when my manager grabbed me from the concession stand with, "You have to see this scene..." and shoved me inside the auditorium doors. It was the scene
where the little girl gets shot.
I was stunned and had such a visceral reaction. The rest of the movie is superb but that scene -- man! What a nugget!

Violence against children is still not something you see a lot in films. It's something that most people aren't comfortable with looking at. What I remember from the commentary is they hadn't put a lot of thought into that, they just kind of went with it. Still I feel the violence of the scene is justified in the sense that it sets up the main conflict, when the father retaliates against the street gang.

Did you work in a theatre in the US or UK? Because when you were in the US it can't have been very crowded. According to the blu-ray extras the film didn't do very well in the States, it was only when it came to Europe and the UK that it became a hit there, but not in the US.

Apart from Halloween a lot of Carpenter's films weren't big hits. That was why Carpenter was fired from doing Firestarter, which he was gonna do after The Thing. His films all became culthits over time.
I didn't see all Carpenter films in the theatre, because I was too young to catch some of them. But I saw Big Trouble in Little China (still one of my favourites), Prince of Darkness, They Live, In the Mouth of Madness, Escape from LA in the theatre. And usually there were few people and they played the smaller auditoriums.