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  • IanFryerIanFryer Posts: 327MI6 Agent
    The first Exterminator film is an old favourite - one of the first movies my folks ever rented on Betamax. Years later, in the mid-1990s I wrote a magazine piece about director James Glickenhouse's Maniac Cop films and he was kind enough to write me a reply completely out of the blue - quite a thrill for a young writer, especially in the pre-e-mail era.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    Eye in the Sky starring Helen Mirren among an excellent ensemble cast.

    It's about the morality of drone warfare. There was another, American, film on this theme some time ago wasn't there? I forget the name.

    Anyway, this is not so much a thriller - although its grip is relentless. Don't expect action scenes with lots of drones whizzing around on the attack. That said, there is one Bond-style gadget, a spy camera, that really should have been in the films a long time ago, I even thought it up myself around the time of Die Another Day, and that's going back a bit. In fact, the director would be good for Bond, he makes it like an action film though there is no action to speak of and the Govt ministers and chain of command is very convincing.

    I say there is no action, it's more coitus interruptus as they have to decide whether to proceed with a drone attack on a terrorist stronghold or not, as various moral issues come into play, not to mention buck passing and the chain of command, as to whether they should proceed - Mirren's character in army uniform the one pressing for it.

    It's more like a courtroom drama, really.

    This is a proper grown up movie for adults, excellent support from Jeremy Northam (looking quite old suddenly and now much more plausible as a movie figure and character actor, in this case playing a Govt minister) and the late Alan Rickman who died soon after but on strong, commanding form here.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,701MI6 Agent
    It's a superb thriller, and on an important topic.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    I would say, something I forgot to add, that in some ways it's not plausible that they would deliberate about the moral ramifications of their action. I mean, if drones kill innocent civilians I can't really believe anyone gets to hear about it anyway. It's a nice idea that there's all this considered approach, but I don't really buy it, esp as the more you find out about the State or rather State-affiliated bodies, the more you find how 'corrupt' they all are, corrupt in the sense that they are supremely adept at the cover up and lack of accountability. Local authorities are very good at this, but so is the NHS and, well, everyone really be it the Met or Surrey Police. Most scandals take a good 30 years to come to a head, if they ever do.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • IanFryerIanFryer Posts: 327MI6 Agent
    I'm going to see Mission: Impossible-Fallout this afternoon. Only problem is I'm really tired after a ten-hour work day plus two hours writing when I got home yesterday. And the seats at my local cinema are very, very comfortable...
  • JTMJTM Posts: 3,027MI6 Agent
    IanFryer wrote:
    I'm going to see Mission: Impossible-Fallout this afternoon. Only problem is I'm really tired after a ten-hour work day plus two hours writing when I got home yesterday. And the seats at my local cinema are very, very comfortable...

    I don’t think you’ll fall asleep during this one Ian, there’s a whole lot going on throughout a whole lot of the movie -{
  • IanFryerIanFryer Posts: 327MI6 Agent
    I have previous. Will invest in a coffee on the way in, just in case!
  • HardyboyHardyboy Posts: 5,882Chief of Staff
    Just saw Fallout myself, and I found it a blast. To quibble, the plot can be hard to catch (make sure you listen to every line of dialogue) and a LOT of the action scenes seem to be inspired by Bond films--specifically, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, A View to a Kill, and The Living Daylights--but it's all done with such slam-bang aplomb that it's hard not to have a good time.

    It's interesting. . .I hated the first, Brian Depalma-directed MI, which I found gave the middle finger to the great old TV series; and I found the second John Woo-directed MI a generic action picture. . .but starting with the third film, the series seems to have found its groove, with the right mix of characters and a sincere appreciation of the series. I wouldn't object to another film.
    Vox clamantis in deserto
  • IanFryerIanFryer Posts: 327MI6 Agent
    I really enjoyed Fallout - and stayed awake despite being really, really tired (long work days, writing and workouts have just about killed me right now).

    One interesting piece of inspiration was from The Godfather - at one point when a character has to decide whether to shoot someone or not (I'm trying to avoid spoilers here) we hear an overhead railway line getting ever louder, a nice tip of the hat to a key scene in Coppola's classic.

    I've quite taken to the first MI film over the years, after being a bit lukewarm about it at first. John Woo's direction of MI:2 is so stylised that I could never think of it as a generic action piece. I genuinely can't think of another film that looks anything like it (apart from shampoo commercials!). I do agree that a head of steam has built up since the third film, though, despite the series receiving no critical support at all. It's been quite amusing watching the critics try to catch up by larding praise on Fallout, much as it deserves it.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    American Made :
    Fun Bio pic, with Tom Cruise, as a pilot working for the
    CIA in the early 80s. Highly recommend.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,701MI6 Agent
    Tom Cruise actually plays a human being in this movie. It's been many years since the last time this happened :D
  • IanFryerIanFryer Posts: 327MI6 Agent
    I've never gotten round to watching My Favourite Year, which I should remedy because it looks like great fun with a background in early television I'm just bound to like.

    Kelly's Heroes is an old favourite I watched not long ago. Always loved it, though Eastwood always said that the studio cut a lot of material out of the film whch would have made it a more meaningful anti-war piece in the manner of MASH.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Agreed, I love Kelly's Heroes, a classic -{
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • IanFryerIanFryer Posts: 327MI6 Agent
    Gymkata wrote:
    To be clear, we enjoyed KELLY'S HEROES. I had some issues with the fundamental morality of what they were doing, but I didn't let that get in the way of my enjoyment of the film. It's pretty entertaining overall. I personally prefer WHERE EAGLES DARE when it comes to the Eastwood WW2 films (also directed by Brian G. Hutton), but this is a good one.

    Oh yes, the amorality (or even immorality) is key to the plot. Looting by civilians is punishable by death, their commanding officer has disappeared off with a yacht, but the much put-upon ordinary soldiers are somewhere in the middle, risking their lives on the front-line for standard army pay.

    The comedy comes from the disconnection of the upper ranks from the fighting men, as well as the larcenous nature of almost everyone in the film, but the film would have been much more powerful had it been made clear that this was not 'nazi gold', but, as you say, gold stolen from the victims of the nazis.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Given the horror of the battle field and the
    Industrial death camps, .... I can forgive a little
    Bit of a heist. :)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,701MI6 Agent
    The spy who dumped me

    I don't think this movie was very funny. There were few people in the audience and none of them were with me, but I still think it was rarely funny. And is that much and brutal violence really fitting in a comedy?

    But in spite of this the movie was pretty good :o
    Why? The plot was good, really. The fight scenes and action scenes were also good. I actually think this would have been a better movie if they had made it as a spy thriller with some (hopefully better) humour.

    Sam Heughan plays a MI6 agent here. He even has Bondian hair and a tux in the last part of the movie. He is also convincing i the action scenes. Based on this movie he could be a good future James Bond. If he was 5-10 years younger I'd even go as far as to say Sam Heughan would be my favourite!
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,907MI6 Agent
    Gymkata wrote:
    To be clear, we enjoyed KELLY'S HEROES. I had some issues with the fundamental morality of what they were doing, but I didn't let that get in the way of my enjoyment of the film.
    did you see The Monuments Men, which deals with similar issues in a more responsible way, returning stolen Nazi art to its rightful owners? certainly had a damn fine cast
  • HardyboyHardyboy Posts: 5,882Chief of Staff
    did you see The Monuments Men, which deals with similar issues in a more responsible way, returning stolen Nazi art to its rightful owners? certainly had a damn fine cast

    I've seen it. Fine cast indeed, but a damn crashing bore of a movie.
    Vox clamantis in deserto
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Just watched Kelly's Heroes on itv4 {[]
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    In the mood for a classic, so I'm watching " The Italian Job " ( The original, not the re-make ) ;)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • IanFryerIanFryer Posts: 327MI6 Agent
    Just got back from seeing Ant Man and The Wasp. Terrific fun - Marvel are really going for laughs these days.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    The Meg ;
    Not a great movie, bit it is an enjoyable one -{
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    Mission Impossible: Fallout on its last day for the moment at the BFI Imax Waterloo. I sat on the back row, on the left, imo the best seat as further down is a bit overwhelming.

    I liked it, but not as much as most everyone else seems to have done.

    I was begrudgingly entertained, I mean the action is very exciting and on your seat, impressive stuff. But it's also not credible or really believable, I mean driving a bike at high speed against opposing traffic in rush hour, or skipping the red lights at high speed repeatedly, y'know... I realise I may be missing the point here, like the middle-aged guy who went to see The Spy Who Loved Me and snorted: 'An underwater car? Rubbish!' but there you go. I suppose the whole comic book thing has altered the mean for what action scenes require these days.

    The other begrudging part is that you find yourself thinking, wow, that should have been in a Bond movie. I mean, the London set piece with St Paul's is terrific, yet all the London settings in recent Bonds and they came up with nothing as good as that. You do get the feeling the point of the MI films from the beginning was to ****-a-snoop at Bond and say, hey, we can do better! Which is a fair point, but you sort of have divided loyalties. What's more, some of these MI films really are just based around the two big set pieces and the rest is just pure McGuffin.

    That said, even the main villain in MI is very much like the modern Blofeld and is in exactly the same situation as we left Blofeld at the end of Spectre. It is hard to say what the Bond series would do about that one, and I think in some ways his organisation, though explained by a lot of yadda yadda yadda at the opening, works better than Quantum/Solace and is more ominous. What's more if I recall, Spectre came out a year before the last MI and now the next MI is out, so a) They have not wasted any time and b) They are knocking them out at the rate of Bonds of yore. Plus, this latest one follows on from the last film, so you get the sense of some future planning, unlike with Bonds which hey! get in a new script, new director, oh hello they've walked.

    I mean, with the gap he's had, Craig could have done lots of stuff, but we've had a stage performance and an extended cameo in that heist movie. He seemed busier before he was Bond, with stuff like Layer Cake and Enduring Love.

    For all that, I find the MI films of late entertaining but ersatz. There is a hollowness there, a lack of warmth. The most moving moment involved a French police woman.

    I could have watched Vanessa Kirby (the White Widow) get up to mischief for the full duration and have been just as entertained! I suppose she's a follow on from the Vanessa Redgrave character in the first film.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Ocean's Eight.
    I do enjoy a good Heist movie, and Ocean's Eight delivers, all the usual twists we expect from a film like this, so
    no surprises, but great fun.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • IanFryerIanFryer Posts: 327MI6 Agent
    The Meg - not my choice, but we're on holiday and there's only that and Ant Man and The Wasp on at the local flea-pit. The former film is terrific fun with an especially enjoyable score that brings back memories of great old TV themes like Mission: Impossible and UFO.

    The Meg is rather less enjoyable - it's a big, dumb summer action movie, but the plot is terribly contrived, acting and dialogue second-rate and it seems to last forever. It's watchable, but nothing like as exciting or funny as it thinks it is. Jason Statham needs better material.
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,701MI6 Agent
    The girl with the dragon tattoo (2011) directed by David Fincher

    It pains me to compare this movie to The Snowman. Both are movies based on popular Nordic crime novels directed by very good directors. Both are Hollywood productions shot in the country the books comes from, but this movie is everything The Snowman should have been.

    There is of course the big issues like letting the story make sense and creating tension. Dragon Tattoo did it well, The Snowman forgot to do it. There are also the smaller choices. Michael Fassbender didn't even brother to read the book. I'll bet Daniel Craig did. In the Snowman the made the odd choice of removing local colour. The police cars were marked "Police" and not "Politi", names and places were prounounced in English, not Norwegian, even the name of the central character. In Dragon Tattoo all names are pronounced in Swedish (and pretty well). Everyone speaks with a slight Swedish accent, the only exeption being Daniel Craig. Why? He seems to speak American English well enough.
    In spite of this I think Craig did a fine job. The movie is really well made and deserved to be more successfull.
  • Mr SnowMr Snow Station "J" JamaicaPosts: 1,736MI6 Agent
    It was pretty successful Number24. Unsure why it wasn't more so. Maybe because it was made only 2 years after the original?

    Regardless, I really enjoyed it and as you say Craig played the part of Blomkvist very well. Not once did I think of him as James Bond when watching the film. I did however enjoy the Swedish version more. I guess I knew how it ended when the American version came out. Still they were both an excellent watch and both Noomi Rapace and Rooney Mara were brilliant as Lisbeth Salander - my new favourite heroine. :)

    If you haven't seen it yet, 'The Girl Who Played with Fire' (the second in the trilogy) is also excellent. Once I finish reading 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest' I'll watch the film and give a quick review. -{
    "Everyone knows rock n' roll attained perfection in 1974; It's a scientific fact". - Homer J Simpson
  • IanFryerIanFryer Posts: 327MI6 Agent
    OGG007 wrote:
    It was pretty successful Number24. Unsure why it wasn't more so. Maybe because it was made only 2 years after the original?

    -{

    I gather the film took a fairly respectable amount of money, but director David Fincher's working methods were so time-consuming and expensive that it was very expensive to make and didn't make enough money for a sequel to be thought worthwhile. There was talk of a follow-up for some time with a different director but it came to nothing.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    American Gangster :
    Brilliant Movie, with a fantastic cast, Denzel Washington , Russell Crowe , Chiwetel Ejiofor and
    Josh Brolin.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Mr SnowMr Snow Station "J" JamaicaPosts: 1,736MI6 Agent
    IanFryer wrote:
    OGG007 wrote:
    It was pretty successful Number24. Unsure why it wasn't more so. Maybe because it was made only 2 years after the original?

    -{

    I gather the film took a fairly respectable amount of money, but director David Fincher's working methods were so time-consuming and expensive that it was very expensive to make and didn't make enough money for a sequel to be thought worthwhile. There was talk of a follow-up for some time with a different director but it came to nothing.

    There will be a follow up called 'The Girl in the Spider's Web' that will be released later this year in Sweden in late October and in the US early November. The film is directed by Fede Alvarez and Claire Foy takes on the role of Lisbeth Salander.
    "Everyone knows rock n' roll attained perfection in 1974; It's a scientific fact". - Homer J Simpson
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