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Post by coke & comics on Dec 18, 2016 15:44:27 GMT -5
7. A History of Violence (2005)  A few years back, DC came out with a line of noir books under the Vertigo banner. Mostly solid stuff, with a couple real gems. There's so many of them that I haven't gotten around to all of them yet. As far as I can tell, DC was trying to do the same thing 15 years ago and only ended up coming out with two crime-story graphic novels, but they were two of the best graphic novels I've come across, and both ended up being made into great films. The relationship between the films and the comics interests me, as I find I have almost diametrically opposite opinions. The Road to Perdition film expanded on what happened in the book. It made Looney a major character with his own role, played admirably by Paul Newman, although it changed the name for some reason. And added a focus on Jude Law's assassin character. I liked these additions and the film, but the comic feels much more taut, a tightly woven masterpiece of storytelling that the film does not. With A History of Violence, it's the opposite. The comic continues past where the film chooses to end, exploring the legal ramifications of events, with attorneys and plea bargains. And I found it all interesting. But it's hard to argue the final shot of the film isn't perfect. I think it was well-served ending where it did, keeping its focus tightly on the effects of the situation on the family. And, in comparison to the film, Tom's backstory in the comic seems needlessly convoluted. The film was right to keep it simple: he'd been a criminal, then tried to start over. David Cronenberg is a great filmmaker and this is my favorite work of his, though some may call it his least Cronenbergy, with less gross body horror shots. But it explores violence in film as Cronenberg likes to do. It explores the sexual effects of violence, as Cronenberg likes to do. It is perhaps less unique of a film than Videodrome or Naked Lunch (I can think of two things wrong with that title), but it still feels like Cronenberg's masterpiece to me. You won't want to miss tomorrow's entry, I dare say.
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 18, 2016 15:57:37 GMT -5
Dramatically, my only gripe is that Thor goes from a self-centered lout to a self-sacrificing hero a little too fast. Ah, the power of love!!! This is my complaint about an otherwise great film, and one that loses it a lot of points for me. To work, the movie needed to be set over a period of time, but I guess the pacing they wanted insisted the film cover the course of two days. Oh, the agony of being a mortal for an entire weekend! |
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 18, 2016 16:16:49 GMT -5
Dramatically, my only gripe is that Thor goes from a self-centered lout to a self-sacrificing hero a little too fast. Ah, the power of love!!! This is my complaint about an otherwise great film, and one that loses it a lot of points for me. To work, the movie needed to be set over a period of time, but I guess the pacing they wanted insisted the film cover the course of two days. Oh, the agony of being a mortal for an entire weekend! It is a serious flaw, one it shares with this year's Doctor Strange. I loved both movies but that element of time compression bothers me too. Cei-U! I summon the instant wisdom! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2016 17:28:50 GMT -5
Are you ready to rock, because it's the sixth day of Christmas and I give you....  Heavy Metal! I first caught this flick in high school on VHS at a friend's house (no way my folks would have let me watch it at home) and it was what turned me on to Heavy Metal mag. It adapts some of the better known stories to run in the mag's early years and does very well in bringing them to life via animation. The soundtrack is filled with bands that played the soundtrack of my high school years as well. The trailer... There are some obvious reasons why this appealed to the teenage boy that was me, but there was also some great stories and storytelling which is what keeps me coming back even as an old curmudgeon. -M |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 18, 2016 17:38:28 GMT -5
Are you ready to rock, because it's the sixth day of Christmas and I give you.... I never even thought of that one! Great choice, mrp!!! |
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Post by foxley on Dec 18, 2016 17:39:22 GMT -5
7. Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
I consider this 1995 horror film to be a hidden gem. Brayker is a man who carries the last of seven keys, special containers which held the blood of Christ and were scattered across the universe to prevent the forces of evil from taking over. If The Collector gets the last key, the universe will fall into Chaos, and he has been tracking Brayker all the way to a small inn in a nowhere town. And now the final battle for the universe begins... This film has an awesome cast ( Billy Zane, William Sadler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Brenda Bakke, CCH Pounder, Dick Miller, and Thomas Haden Church), all turning in really solid performances. Billy Zane is chilling as the Collector, and William Sadler does an excellent job as the tortured Brayker. The film also has some really interesting ideas behind it; some of which were later used in the TV series Brimstone (which shared members of the creative team).
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 18, 2016 20:20:21 GMT -5
Are you ready to rock, because it's the sixth day of Christmas and I give you.... Heavy Metal! I first caught this flick in high school on VHS at a friend's house (no way my folks would have let me watch it at home) and it was what turned me on to Heavy Metal mag. It adapts some of the better known stories to run in the mag's early years and does very well in bringing them to life via animation. The soundtrack is filled with bands that played the soundtrack of my high school years as well. The trailer... There are some obvious reasons why this appealed to the teenage boy that was me, but there was also some great stories and storytelling which is what keeps me coming back even as an old curmudgeon. -M Almost included this, but opted for another. It does adapt a few of the major stories from the magazine (Den, Captain Sternn, So Beautiful, So Dangerous); but, what it didn't adapt is even more interesting. The filmmakers wanted Moebius; specifically, The Long Tomorrow and Arzach. moebius said "no." So, they did it anyway; sort of. The Long Tomorrow morphed into Harry Canyon, weher the hero went from a detective to a cab driver, caught up in a noir story. Arzach, the dialogueless warrior who wanders a bizarre landscape, on the back of his pre-historic bird became Tarna, a dialogueless warrior who wanders a bizarre landscape on her pre-historic bird. It features involvement fromnot only the creators; but others who graced the pages of Metal Hurlant and Heavy Metal, like Howard Chaykin and Juan Giminez. Personally, I wish they had dropped the underwhelming So beautiful and included some Druillet or Caza. Had they produced it a bit later, Cody Starbuck would have been a likely subject, or Bilal's Carnival of the Immortals. |
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Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
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Post by Crimebuster on Dec 18, 2016 20:44:36 GMT -5
7. The Dark Knight
I'll expect we'll be seeing a lot of this one, and for good reason. It's close to the best superhero movie ever made - at least in the discussion - and Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker is every bit as great as people say. I might quibble and say that it's a tetch too long, like many of Christopher Nolan's films, but getting too much of something great is a minor complaint.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 18, 2016 20:58:59 GMT -5
I actually didn't like Heath Ledger's Joker.. he wasn't crazy enough.. I know I'm in the minority, but I liked the other two 'Dark Knight' movies better. 7. Teen Titans  DC may have abandoned the Wolfman/Perez Titans, but this cartoon actually did a pretty decent job with them. They even sorta tried to do the Judas Contract. It's hard to picture now that they've made it into a joke, but back in the day it was actually a darn good super hero cartoon. |
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 18, 2016 21:14:12 GMT -5
7. The Dark KnightI'll expect we'll be seeing a lot of this one, and for good reason. It's close to the best superhero movie ever made - at least in the discussion - and Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker is every bit as great as people say. I might quibble and say that it's a tetch too long, like many of Christopher Nolan's films, but getting too much of something great is a minor complaint. I'd be curious if you're correct. It was my #11 pick. But that's only two so far. It's popular amongst the mainstream, but I'm not sure it appeals as much to this group. I'm expecting to see Adam West Batman show up more. We'll see. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Dec 18, 2016 21:26:50 GMT -5
#7: Dick Tracy (1990)  My number 7 pick is Warren Beatty's adaptation of Chester Gould's Dick Tracy. One of the things I love about this film is that it really does look like a four-colour comic book come to life on the screen. Beatty is brilliant as Detective Tracy himself, and his love of the character certainly shines through, while Madonna sizzles as Breathless Mahoney. But really, the scene stealers in this film are Tracy's gallery of grotesques – "Big Boy" Caprice, Flattop, Mumbles, Pruneface and 88 Keys...they're all here in lurid detail. Thankfully, the film never really takes itself 100% seriously and that's one of its strengths. The players know that this is absurd, but there's a glorious enthusiasm for the absurdity from the cast that comes shining through in their performances. I read somewhere that the film primarily used a red, green, blue and yellow colour scheme in its set design and costuming, to better reflect the old comic printing process. I think I'm right in saying that the Tracy newspaper strips were actually printed in black & white, but certainly subsequent comic book reprints of those strips were in colour and I suspect that this is how Beatty experienced them as a kid. For the life of me, I can't fathom why this movie did as badly at the box office as it did. Much as I enjoyed Tim Burton's 1989 block buster take on Batman, for me, Dick Tracy is the superior film.
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 18, 2016 21:29:24 GMT -5
I'm really shocked that Dick Tracy has gotten this much love.
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 18, 2016 21:30:08 GMT -5
It's been decades since I watched Dick Tracy. I recall it fondly but not well. Definitely due for a rewatch.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,199
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Post by Confessor on Dec 18, 2016 22:10:15 GMT -5
Are you ready to rock, because it's the sixth day of Christmas and I give you.... I never even thought of that one! Great choice, mrp!!! I thought of it, but it didn't make my Top 12. Great to see it getting some love here. It's a weird but wonderful piece of animation. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2016 22:13:51 GMT -5
I'm really shocked that Dick Tracy has gotten this much love. Well as much as a girl might love Dick too, it's a miss on my list. Somehow I was never really piqued enough to see the film, although I liked Madonna's music at the time. |
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