Frantic (1988)

After 1983 and 1984 (3rd Star Wars and 2nd Indiana Jones) I believe Harrison Ford, tried alot of things to prove that he is a worthy thespian, and this I believe is a very good movie!

Director Roman Polanski having gotten into legal troubles in the States, made States movie in Europe.

It is MY firm believe that this is actually Roman Polanski's love letter to Alfred Hitchcock!!

So I dare say this is the most Hitchcock movie not made by Hitchcock!!

The script, the direction and subject matter, amazingly Hitchcockian!!

American doctor and his wife is in France to attend a conference.

They are making it into a working holiday.

There was a screw up at the airport, and the doctor's wife ended up with the wrong luggage...

The doctor calls the airport to report the screw up, and then takes a shower.

The wife receives a call and went down the lobby... The plot thickens!!

Hitchcock lovers, go watch this. You know you want to...

Oh! I do believe Liam Neeson's Unknown (2011) did copy the first one third of the movie!!

As always, My Two Sen.

The Ninth Gate (1999)

There was alot of buzz around this movie.

Roman Polanski's second venture into the supernatural (the first being Rosemary's Baby (1968)).

Roman Polanski also wrote the script for this movie, based on Arturo Pérez-Reverte's 1993 novel The Club Dumas.

This movie had a budget of $38 million and made $58.4, although, from a box office point of view, it flopped in the States.

While writing the script Polanski envision Johnny Depp as the lead, and in later interview stated that Johnny gave him a very flat delivery, nothing like how he had imagined it...

Interesting movie. It is more like a detective movie rather then a supernatural movie, and have to add, it works!

Revolved around three 300 years old books that supposedly able to call on the Devil himself!!

Also interesting how Polanski depicts the rich in Europe, bored and jaded!!

One other point I like to make here, the transfer to High Def is not the best I have seen. Color looks washed and the movie on the whole was grainy...

Movie itself is very well made.

If you like Roman Polanski, you know what to do.

My Two Sen.

Rain Man (1988)

Probably one of my all time favorite movie.

Dustin Hoffman had won an Oscar for his performance here, and I seriously believe that Tom Cruise and Dustin should have won the award together.

Tom Cruise is very committed to all his roles, I do believe there is and intangible something he put into this character (Charlie Babbitt)!!

If you like action movie, this is NOT a movie for you.

If you like drama and human interest movie, this is definitely one for you.

This movie also lifted the fog on the mental condition known as artistic autism.

One more point of interest about this movie is, the first week box office for the movie was 7 million, nothing to shout about, the second 8 million, the week after that 11 etc, etc. The box office kept growing and grown and the movie stay at the theaters for a long long time. The final box office in 1988 is $172,825,435 which in today's term is $341,552,243.08. Not bad for a movie that had a budget of 25 Million.

I strongly recommend this to people who like drama.

My Two Sen

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)

A guilty indulgence of mine.

The first thing that jumps at me is the video transfer. The movie never looked so good.

As for Audio, well, we only get PCM stereo, so the studio is not putting alot of eggs into this release. I do have to add, beggars cannot be choosers.

This movie has an "Asian Sensibility" to it, and not in anyway condescending.

Alot of flack was given about the character Chiun was played by a white, namely Joel Grey. I personally can think of many more atrocities made in many other movies (Hollywood production). I kinda like Joel Grey as Chiun.

It is a vehicle for Fred Ward to make it as an action hero, unfortunately, it did not happen.

I really like this movie.

It is... unusual, and funny and you actually care for the two main characters.

Oh, note a very young Captain Cathrine Janeway (for the Star Trek fans).

Interestingly, this movie is actually MORE relevant today then it was in the 80s...

I will be watching this again, and again, and again...

My Two Sen.

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky 力王(1991)

This is a weird movie.

I do remember watching it when is was first release.

Having the chance to rewatched this and it is really REALLY violent.

So much so that in the West, this actually has a cult following.

Do understand that this is 90s Hong Kong practical effects, so they seems fake in today's standards.

I think you have to watch this in the context that it is a 90s Hong Kong movie (with chopped limp, scratch your eyes out, pulling ones guts out etc)

No wonder it has a cult following in the West.

Fan Siu Wong (樊少皇) (best know for his baddie role in Ip Man) headlines this movie.

I cannot emphasize enough that this is NOT for everyone.

My Two Sen

Suspiria (1977)

Director Dario Argento... I have only ever watch another movie by him, namely The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971) and both movies are... unique.

Being labelled (overseas anyway) top 50 horror of all time, how can I miss it?

It is very different from movies I am used to watch.

Europeans (he is Italian) has a difference sensibility to movie directing.

Having said that, this is what I term as "gore" horror.

In the vein of... living dead.

But it is not about zombies.

It is about witches.

Going back to my term of, Europeans have a different sensibility to movie making, the approach seems to be, not explaining things. They will show you thing with no explanation and you as a viewer is suppose to just accept it....

In a sense, thinking about it, Shaw Brother's Hex (1980), shares this approach...

The HD transfer is actually gorgeous. Showing off the Dario Argento's vision of primary colours, shamelessly.

We may find this approach old fashion now. But think about it, emphasizing one primary color without awashing the rest of the image.... Not so easy, especially all the "effects" done on the movie, are all practical.

American actress, Jessica Harper, turned down a Woody Allen movie to do this (looking at his troubles now, if may have been a good decision on her part).

What I would say about Suspiria is that you will not forget it once you have watched it.

Not for the faint hearted, that is for sure.

Did I like it?

I think I need a little time to process the movie, still (watch it during the weekends...)

First of a trilogy. May give part 2 and 3 a go, if I can find them.

My Two Sen.

Mrs. Doubtfire 1993

Gosh, this is a bitter sweet viewing of this, I consider one of Robin Williams top movies.

Bitter sweet, because it is really good to see Robin Williams in his top form, and sad because in 2014, there was actually indication that Chris Columbus and Robin Williams was in discussion of a sequel.... And then he (Robin Williams) passed away

Never watched it in the movies.

I believe the first time I watch this movie was on LD...

This movie never looked so good, I always wonder if it is a mistake to go full digital

The film transfer for this movie is really good. Warmth comes to mind.

Also hard to imagine that the kids in this movie are all in the late 30s now.....

Also interesting that I just found out that the British Censor had issue with this movie and had insisted on cutting 3 pieces of dialogue for it to receive a G rating...

Who would have thunk...

Gosh even in High Def, the makeup for Mrs Doubtfire holds up

No wonder it won a academy for Best Makeup

Wow, Robin Williams had a good throwing arm. He threw a lemon at Pierce Brosnan's head, bullseye!!

With that, My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Mar 1 2018, 10:47 PM

The Three Musketeers (1993)

Well, I have not reviewed a 1080p for quite some time now and I find myself surprise, I am writing one now?

Why?

Well, this is probably one of my all time favorite Musketeer movie.

The stars (literally and figuratively) somewhat aligned and the gem of a movie got made.

Who is in it?

Well,

Charlie Sheen - Aramis
Kiefer Sutherland - Athos
Chris O'Donnell (Gosh, were we ever THAT young) - D'Artagnan
Oliver Platt (When he still had a.... waist... ) - Porthos
Tim Curry (Ah... the snake in Eden...) - Cardinal Richelieu
Rebecca De Mornay (*Woof, Woof*) - Countess D'Winter
Gabrielle Anwar (ingénue ) - Queen Anne

All perfect in their role.

Story, rip roaring fun.

Direction, great.

And this is the first time I saw this in HD, the transfer is GREAT! Was done in Technicolor. This runs rings around the The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) transfer hands down.

Beautiful production, coupled with a beautiful transfer. Can one fall in love with a movie, a second time??

Please do not even get me started on the terrible The Three Musketeers (2011)...

There is hope that we may see The Jungle Book (1994) (Jason Scott Lee), finally making an appearance on bluray/HD yet.

I humble submit to you, my two sen.

Great review, as for thunderdome... believe what you read...

Been busy

Have not had time to get around to these...

Sorry

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Am re-watching all the Mission Impossibles in 4K.

This movie never looked so good.

Let's recap

This movie was made

1) B4 Sept 11
2) Tamagotchi was the rage.
3) U2 was the BOMB (Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen did a remixed of the Mission: Impossible theme song)
4) Tom Cruise was 34yo
5) Emilio Estevez was a thing
6) Hong Kong was still generating income for England
7) Pierce Brosnan had just revived James Bond (Goldeneye (1995))
8) The Bourne Identity (2002) was 6 years away.
9) IBM computer Deep Blue becomes the first computer to win a game of chess against a reigning (human) chess champion, Gary Kasparov.
10) Smartphones was not a thing yet

Fun to revisit after watching Mission Impossible 6 to see how far the franchise had grown.

Supposedly, there were complains about the storyline being complicated.

It was never an issue for me and have to add, I enjoyed the movie the first time I watched it (in a cinema) and also this revisit.

What I can vaguely remember additionally to this movie is Tom Cruise had to goto the head of Paramount, to request for the additional 10 Million to film the end bit with the train and the helicopter, and I for one am glad he did that.

The result, and pretty profitable franchise for Paramount.

My Two Sen.

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Aug 4 2018, 10:40 PM

Suddenly feel like singing "Those Were The Days" by Mary Hopkin...

Mission: Impossible II (2000)

Re-watched this on 4K recently.

Take away from the movie

1) Johnny Woo was a thing in Hollywood
2) Everyone just celebrated the new Millenium (which technically start at the 2001)
3) Tom Cruise, without discussing with Johnny Woo, leaped from one peak to the next, almost causing Johnyy to pass a stone (almost at the beginning of the movie).
4) Thandie Newton was a precursor to Zoe Saldana.
5) Bush vs Gore
6) Can you say flying doves?
7) Everyone was concern about Y2K, b4 this (remember Y2K?).
8) Slow-mo...
9) Handphone started to become a thing
10) Dougray Scott gave out on the Wolverine role, because the shooting of this movie ran long.

Probably the least favorite Mission Impossible to date.

Found the script to be on the weak side (storytelling wise).

Fan of Johnny Woo loved this.

So much so, it made more money compared with the first!!!

Who would have thunk.

Metallica's I Disappear, kicked ass.

Visually, good (seriously, good 4K transfer)!

Sonic-ally, sound.

My Two Sen

P.s. Please note that this would be my last Mission Impossible review here, the rest can be found at What 1080p Movie did You Watch Today ?

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Aug 7 2018, 01:51 PM

Well, if you want to go THERE...

VCD which was never "international" and was a format only accepted in Asia and Japan.

DVD was NOT a thing yet

Remember a thingie called, a pager??? (Hutchinson anyone??)

Wow, thank you very much for that bit of trivia

What about it?

Is it considered pre 2000?

Is it good?

If you can be more specific.

The Camp on Blood Island (1958)

A 1958 British World War II film, directed by Val Guest for Hammer Film Productions and starring André Morell, Carl Möhner, Edward Underdown and Walter Fitzgerald.

The film is set in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Japanese-occupied British Malaya and deals with the brutal, sadistic treatment of Allied prisoners by their captors. On its release, the film was promoted with the tag line "Jap War Crimes Exposed!", alongside a quote from Lord Russell of Liverpool, "We may forgive, but we must never forget", and an image of a Japanese soldier wielding a samurai sword.

From its powerful opening sequence of a man being forced to dig his own grave before being shot dead, an intertitle follows, stating "this is not just a story - it is based on brutal truth", The Camp on Blood Island is noted for a depiction of human cruelty and brutality which was unusually graphic for a film of its time. It received some contemporary allegations of going beyond the bounds of the acceptable and necessary into gratuitous sensationalism.

The film was allegedly based on a true story which Hammer executive Anthony Nelson Keys heard from a friend who had been a prisoner of the Japanese. Keys in turn told the story to colleague Michael Carreras who commissioned John Manchip White to write a script. Finance was provided as part of a co-production deal with Columbia Pictures and shooting began at Bray Studios on 14 July 1957.

The film was very successful at the box office, being one of the most popular British movies of the year, despite sometimes hostile reviews.[

The novelisation of the script sold over two million copies and has been described as "arguably the most successful piece of merchandise ever licensed by Hammer."

(excerpt from Wikipedia)

The Camp on Blood Island (1958)

Many of you, would know that war movies are not my cup of tea.

Alot have been said about

Saving Private Ryan (1998)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Dunkirk (2018)

You will notice the above list are all based on WWII, seen by many as the last "good" war (as in the good sides and bad sides are clearly defined). On that note who am I to state what "good" is?

This is the FIRST time I watched this movie. And the only reason I did it is because it is a Hammer Production.

Apparently, this movie had been banned on English TV for a very long time.

Those familiar with Shaw Brothers movie will NOT be shocked by this movie.

A lot of brutality is depicted here.

Interestingly this movie is based in Malaya (before it became Malaysia).

And the Japanese brutality depicted.... is actually very similar to the stories you hear from the older generation in Malaysia, that lived through WWII/Japanese occupation.

I may be wrong, and have to add, this is the first WWII/Japanese occupation English movie production, that told the brutality of the Japanese/Taiwanese army did during their occupation years, from the prospective of the English!!...

English critics were supposedly not kind to the movie when it was released.

Surprisingly, the English audience flocked to see it, making it the most profitable English movie, for the year.

The critics main concern were that the movie was exploitative rather than an honest telling of what actually happened.

Watch it, and judge for yourself.

My Two Sen

P.S. one of the leads here is actually also on The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) (which is why to date Melaka does not have a train station, the track were taken away to help build that damn thing....)

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Nov 28 2018, 01:38 PM

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Readers of this thread would probably know I am an Alfred Hitchcock fan.

Right off the bat, this is NOT one of his works.

This movie is an old school did he/ did he not murder trial movie.

It also illustrates how important s good script is.

And by Jove, does it have a GOOD script.

Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester and Norma Varden (a bit part) showed us, how it is done.

And the ending, oh my goodness, the ending.

You as a viewer forms your opinion (based on information provided) has to do SO MANY double take, I am surprise I do not have whiplash after this movie...

I enjoyed this immensely

My Two Sen

Okay...

I came across something... interesting.

A fan of Star Wars, restored Star Wars to HD and UHD, without the 1997 and 2004 George Lucas sanctioned color correction/effects correction/scenes added to make the prequel more connected.

So, since the years I had stated, the original version of Star Wars, and I mean the 1977 theatrical release were never released on HD, until now!!

The said.... passionate fan, found/had access to a good 35mm print of the said movie and went ahead to scan each individual frame and removed scratch and dust from the scan, and than release the "pristine" HD version of untempered Star Wars, on a Star Wars fan forums, for free.

And I got to view it this week and I have to admit, there is a "purity" to it, in it's original form, in HD.

Nostalgic, for sure and don't even get me started on who shot whom first.

I did not even think, I just sat down, switched it on and enjoyed.

In full HD format.

For the purist, this does not have a sense surround mix, because the sense surround mix was not on the 35mm print, still that did not impede my viewing pleasure (if memory serves, I don't believe the LaserDisc version had sense surround).

Well, bring on Empire and Return?

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jan 7 2019, 08:25 AM