What DVDs should I rent?

[Tinman]

Martin said

Ahah!....THX 1138.....which begat......

Paul LeMot came to our show last year to sign autographs and brought that car.....Burnt toast Very odd man to say the least

[tariesindanrie]

Just saw 'The Prestige'...excellent! Had to watch it twice

Kate

[shari2]

and now for something totally ridiculous.

American Dreamz.
Satire/Parody of American Idol/George Bush/Iraq/Cheney and the proletariat they rule. Dennis Quaid does a positively frightening GWB.
shudder....

[Mark in Vancouver]

I watched The Unknown, and I'm still rolling my eyes. The dynamic is interesting, and it's just interesting enough that I finished the film, but it was hit and miss - and then there's this corny premise about "amnesia gas..."

However, I also rented Children of Men, which was far better - better acting, better direction, more imaginative, better music, lighting and suspense. Not as good as 28 Days Later, but there were some memorable scenes. Michael Caine as the aged hippie was worth the price of admission.

[Dave C]

Yeah, the amnesia gas was a bit of a stretch. I've got a copy of the Host and will get to it when I'm done watching Letters from Iwo Jima. Let you know what I think. I have to say I can't see how it can rise above the Anaconda/Snakes on the Plane type of flick but I'll keep an open mind.

[Mark in Vancouver]

You'll love The HOst. It's just smarter.

[Martin Thoene]

Comparing The Host to Anaconda is like chalk and cheese.

Martin.

[Mark in Vancouver]

He'll see.

[Martin Thoene]

It has vastly superior CG and no John Voight being evil.....how can it fail?

Martin.

[Dave C]

I'll give you the quality CGI & the quick appearance of the fish but other then that I didn't find many redeeming qualities to this movie. It's not the Korean humor, which is something you need to get used to, but I think most was lost in the translation. I just didn't see much to the story beyond a very basic Tremors-like movie... man pours chemicals in river, fish mutates, fish attacks & captures man, man fights back & kills fish. The way the fish moved under the structure of the bridge made me think of Spiderman while the way it "ran" on shore was more like a T Rex. And while that was pretty funny it didn't seem like the film makers could decide if this was a fish or an Olympic gymnast. One thing the movie seemed bent on doing was portraying Americans in a very bad light. I didn't hate the movie but it was pretty cheesy & more like an old Godzilla movie with 2006 graphics. Given the choice I'd watch Alien again.

[Mark in Vancouver]

That's funny. The feedback from the locals to the video woman in town was that it was too much like Godzilla. I didn't find it anything like Godzilla. And I had no trouble with the Korean humour - which, at points, is very funny. I liked that you got to see the monster, but also that you get to see it "with" hundreds of other people. The scene with the little girl trying to run up the back of the sleeping monster was sheer terror/delight, as was the disgorging of the dinner moment.

I was left with several very vivid cinematic moments - the brother walking through the enormous drain system, the creature on the bridge... - that I also took from Alien. Alien is a scary monster movie, and is a very well made film all around. I didn't come to The Host with the same expectation, but I was very happily surprised by it.

And most ironically, maybe, is your comment about the movie being bent on portraying Americans in a very bad light. For one, this coming from you is its own sort of cinematic gold, but more than that, when I watched it, I didn't see this as a central or even peripheral element of the movie. The Korean authorities are easily as bad as the (2?) American characters who make an appearance.

Funny thing, movies... Very subjective stuff. The Host will remain on my favourite recent films list either way. I'm hopeful that like me, you'll wake up tomorrow thinking about the film. For me, it left an impression. Too often films are just not impressive at all.

[Dave C]

And most ironically, maybe, is your comment about the movie being bent on portraying Americans in a very bad light.

Not ironic at all. I have no problem at all with Americans. I do have a problem with their govt au jour.

My goal was not to knock a movie that you liked or try & convince you that you shouldn't like it. And from what I've read on the net it gets very good ratings on IMDB, RottenTomatoes & Metacritic so I'm not suggesting I'm "correct". I just didn't find the story was anything special. I didn't expect to see Alien either. But now that I've compared the two I must go & watch Alien again.

p.s. I had a hard time continuing to watch the Host after the funeral scene. Not going into specifics but the mix of sadness/humor/downright stupidity was too much for me.

[Mark in Vancouver]

p.s. I had a hard time continuing to watch the Host after the funeral scene. Not going into specifics but the mix of sadness/humor/downright stupidity was too much for me.

Now that's Korean humour. You have seen news footage of Koreans in mourning, no? That was Korean black humour, nothing more. Aside from that, I respect your point of view on it. Not for everyone.

But it's "du jour."

[Martin Thoene]

Somehow, I kind of knew that might be your reaction Dave. I think this movie falls into a "love it or..... meh" kind of category. Personally, I'm totally with Mark on it, but it's not Alien.

Alien is one of those movies where brilliant sets and lighting give such an air of the sinister that you really get drawn into the movie. Even though we're on a vast spaceship the atmosphere is claustrophobic and entrapping. I saw it first after reading the book and the imaginings in one's head when reading the story were far scarier than the movie version ever got to be.
That's because it's a well written Sci-fi book.

In my original post after seeing The Host I commented on liking the movement of the creature because it perfectly shows that aquatic creatures have adaptations to their environment that make them clumsy on land so in that respect the monster's movements were quite realistic. The hanging under the bridge, Ninja style flipping from girder to girder movement I found elegant but on further thought maybe it's intention was more Korean humour parodying Ninja type movies?

That first sight of the monster unfurling under the bridge and dropping into the water I found totally Alien like. That was my initial impression of it. I take your point on Tremors(which is a movie I could watch over and over). Certainly the basis of the movie is in the same genre, but there's a whole lot more going on for those who can see.

Martin.

[Dave C]

Certainly the basis of the movie is in the same genre, but there's a whole lot more going on for those who can see.

Do tell. I certainly saw more potential themes in the movie then I stated... man's indifference & negative influence on the environment... a possible connection re: the virus that wasn't a virus to other worldwide threats that weren't true threats... govt cover up of a threat rather then facing it. Stuff like that. But any possible theme was blown away by some of the silliness going on. Like trying to kill what looked like a 15ft fish/reptile by throwing a brick at it, no that doesn't work, try hitting it with a sign... the govt is unable to catch or kill the monster yet it is easily killed using a rifle, a bow & arrow and a few Molotov cocktails... a charging 15ft seemingly 300-400lb fish is stopped/killed by a single man holding a pole. I don't want to argue about the merits of a movie that you obviously liked, but if you're going to suggest that I didn't like it because I'm unable to "see" something in the movie you could at least explain your thinking.