What's The Latest Film You Have Seen?

Astronomer · 12-11-2009, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I'm sure there are similar themes that can be found in other stories but The Box is based on a Richard Matheson short story which was originally filmed as a Twilight Zone episode in the mid 80s. As far as I can tell these are the only two filmed versions of this story in existence (according to Wikipedia there is also a radio adaptation).

According to that YouTube link, Black Button is not based on the Matheson story or the Twilight Zone episode. It is simply an original story with a similar premise, it is not inspired by the Matheson story nor is it the original version of the Richard Kelly film.

I know, I was totally not aware of that Twilight Zone episode until I looked into it! Anyway, I just really like the concept of Faustian Bargain and the philosophical debates surrounding it, and that short film was the first piece of fiction I saw of it and thought it'd be worth a watch for anyone interested!

jackhammer · 12-11-2009, 12:43 PM

Watched this for the first time in about 5 years last night and damn it has aged very badly. The first act is decent with them growing up and their overbearing mother but it goes downhill from there.

**Janszoon** · 12-11-2009, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackhammer

Watched this for the first time in about 5 years last night and damn it has aged very badly. The first act is decent with them growing up and their overbearing mother but it goes downhill from there.

I always wanted to see that movie, but I have to say I'm not so sure after this.

Akira · 12-11-2009, 01:12 PM

It's still worth seeing if you haven't already.

jackhammer · 12-11-2009, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I always wanted to see that movie, but I have to say I'm not so sure after this.

It's definitely worth a watch for sure but it does skip over a lot of their more nefarious activities and I was annoyed by the very poor DVD transfer that had constant colour fluctuation.

LoathsomePete · 12-12-2009, 10:57 AM

Saw this last night with the Katherine and enjoyed it immensely. I loved the book as a child and even had the set of toys that Todd McFarlene made way back when. The only thing that I didn't like was the sound track, but it did fit the movie pretty well, just wasn't my thing.

NSW · 12-12-2009, 07:54 PM

The Fourth Kind

**SPOILER ALERT (MAYBE?)**
Ok...so silly me, I thought this movie had actual real footage and interviews in it from an actual doctor who actually interviewed all these people. That was before the movie.
Let me just say that I thought the concept of the movie was a good one. The director actually puts footage of himself in the movie, interviewing the "real" doctor Abby Tyler who supposedly has been investigating these supposed occurrences of alien encounters of the fourth kind. This is where to movie took a wrong turn for me though. Whoever they got to play the "real" Dr. Tyler did a terrible job. It was painfully obvious to me (and I'm fairly gullible sometimes) that she was an actress and not a real person being interviewed on a real subject. This was my biggest disappointment and it really took the scary out of the rest of the movie for me.
Yeah, I ended up googling the movie when I got home, which confirmed that it was a fake. The ultimate in Blair Witchy-ness. The thing is, it really could have been so much more convincing.
So, I was pretty disappointed with this one.

Smile Pinki

This is a short documentary that follows a social worker in India as he looks for children with cleft lip/palate whose families have not been able to afford to have the surgery to fix it. He works for a hospital that is offering free surgeries to these children. I have a special personal interest in cleft lip and palate because I have a friend who was born with both and had to endure numerous surgeries to fix it, and it still bothers him to this day. I got a little upset listening as many parents stood there and told the doctors how sad and scared they were to give birth to "monsters". One father talked about how happy he was to find out he was having a boy, but how sad he was once he was born. Another woman said that she and her child had been kicked out of their home because of the child's facial deformity. Anyway, what started out as a sad and disappointing look at how shallow humanity can be turned into a heart-warming little tale after many of the children got their smiles back, and were able to start going to school, have friends, and become a part of the community. Which was all ruined when my friend told me that it was a crock of ****. He said "Those kids were just being nice to them because there were cameras around. I know how it goes. They just stop using the old insults and start calling you new ones after the surgery." Oh well, it was nice to be all warm and fuzzy for a little while anyway.

simplephysics · 12-13-2009, 02:20 PM

Weird movie, but pretty freakin sweet all things considered. I now know to avoid repressed housewives, puzzle boxes, and freaky homeless people who eat crickets. Parts of this movie were unintentionally hilarious though, when the daughter started playing the the box, all pinhead could do was say 'nooooo, don't do thhhattt.' ?

jackhammer · 12-13-2009, 03:22 PM

The homeless guy is the films director and writer Clive Barker- i'm full of useless trivia. I used to love this when I was younger but some things really jar such as the film being shot in Britain but the actors using American accents and a couple of dodgy effect scenes. The follow on is even more stranger and in it's own way is better and bigger in scope.

Akira · 12-13-2009, 03:28 PM

Another great.

12-11-2009, 12:43 PM	#4722 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	Watched this for the first time in about 5 years last night and damn it has aged very badly. The first act is decent with them growing up and their overbearing mother but it goes downhill from there. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

12-12-2009, 10:57 AM	#4726 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	Saw this last night with the Katherine and enjoyed it immensely. I loved the book as a child and even had the set of toys that Todd McFarlene made way back when. The only thing that I didn't like was the sound track, but it did fit the movie pretty well, just wasn't my thing. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

12-12-2009, 07:54 PM	#4727 (permalink)
NSW Bigger and Better Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Texas girl living in the UK Posts: 2,596	The Fourth Kind SPOILER ALERT (MAYBE?) Ok...so silly me, I thought this movie had actual real footage and interviews in it from an actual doctor who actually interviewed all these people. That was before the movie. Let me just say that I thought the concept of the movie was a good one. The director actually puts footage of himself in the movie, interviewing the "real" doctor Abby Tyler who supposedly has been investigating these supposed occurrences of alien encounters of the fourth kind. This is where to movie took a wrong turn for me though. Whoever they got to play the "real" Dr. Tyler did a terrible job. It was painfully obvious to me (and I'm fairly gullible sometimes) that she was an actress and not a real person being interviewed on a real subject. This was my biggest disappointment and it really took the scary out of the rest of the movie for me. Yeah, I ended up googling the movie when I got home, which confirmed that it was a fake. The ultimate in Blair Witchy-ness. The thing is, it really could have been so much more convincing. So, I was pretty disappointed with this one. Smile Pinki This is a short documentary that follows a social worker in India as he looks for children with cleft lip/palate whose families have not been able to afford to have the surgery to fix it. He works for a hospital that is offering free surgeries to these children. I have a special personal interest in cleft lip and palate because I have a friend who was born with both and had to endure numerous surgeries to fix it, and it still bothers him to this day. I got a little upset listening as many parents stood there and told the doctors how sad and scared they were to give birth to "monsters". One father talked about how happy he was to find out he was having a boy, but how sad he was once he was born. Another woman said that she and her child had been kicked out of their home because of the child's facial deformity. Anyway, what started out as a sad and disappointing look at how shallow humanity can be turned into a heart-warming little tale after many of the children got their smiles back, and were able to start going to school, have friends, and become a part of the community. Which was all ruined when my friend told me that it was a crock of ***. He said "Those kids were just being nice to them because there were cameras around. I know how it goes. They just stop using the old insults and start calling you new ones after the surgery." Oh well, it was nice to be all warm and fuzzy for a little while anyway. __________________ Hi.*

12-13-2009, 03:22 PM	#4729 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	The homeless guy is the films director and writer Clive Barker- i'm full of useless trivia. I used to love this when I was younger but some things really jar such as the film being shot in Britain but the actors using American accents and a couple of dodgy effect scenes. The follow on is even more stranger and in it's own way is better and bigger in scope. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”