Anyone know of any good historical or medievally-themed fantasy (like Lord of the Rings) movies? Or movies inspired by real medieval wars and conflicts?
I haven't seen it myself yet but check out "Black Death" that might interest you, if you are looking for a TV series I recommend "The Pillars of the Earth" the book is loads better but the series is worth watching as well.
Also if you enjoy feudal Japan films check out "13 Assassins" and "Zatoichi".
I watched "The Pillars of the Earth", good series. ;D
Never heard of "Black Death", and yes, I do also like feudal Japan films, so thanks for the recommendations, I'll check them out.
Ladyhawk
If you like anything old school and Japanese, check out anything by Akira Kurosawa.
Hidden Fortress is a must I think~
Thanks, I wasn't familiar with Hidden Fortress before :D
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on August 07, 2012, 04:32:43 AM
Thanks, I wasn't familiar with Hidden Fortress before :D
XD I dunno if that's sarcasm or not. LOL
I'm actually in a really good mood tonight ^-^
Either way, please enjoy the movies!
Don't watch Contagion. I saw that last night via streaming. And booo, it was dull.
It wasn't sarcasm ??? I like Asian movies (and especially Japanese samurai/feudal movies) but am too lazy usually to search for the ones with good subtitles. Apparently George Lucas says that it was an inspiration for his Star wars series, so that's good ;D
I never watched Contagion, and never really intend to. It's right up there with the film 2 and 3 of the Twilight series.
I watched Black Death, it wasn't bad, though there are some clear anti-atheist statements (or more like anti-witch) which might make some rather annoyed. I know I was a bit. Also quite a bit of blood and gore...
(I'm squeamish, and I get easily annoyed, other than that it was a good light horror-flick, way better than the one Nicholas Cage did about a witch-hunter...)
I quite liked Kingdom of Heaven. One of the better movies about the Crusades. And it really shows the folly of religious fanatics to boot.
I enjoyed Rob Roy with Liam Neeson, if you like old Highland type movies.
I've watched both Kingdom of Heaven and Rob Roy before ;D
You guys recommend good movies ;D
Borgia. I liked how it was about the papacy, but had almost nothing to do with catholicism.
Quote from: Genericguy on August 08, 2012, 09:48:59 AM
Borgia. I liked how it was about the papacy, but had almost nothing to do with catholicism.
Los Borgias? I had wanted to watch that one a while ago (Assassin's Creed craze) but didn't find one with English subs online. Someone's uploaded a copy to YouTube in case anyone's interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxVfBysdI0Y (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxVfBysdI0Y)
I haven't seen Los borgias. I guess there is "Borgia", "the Borgias", and "Los Borgias". The first two are tv series. The only one I watched was "Borgia".
Imdb info and trailers:
Borgia - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1736341/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1736341/)
The Borgia - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1582457/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1582457/)
Los Borgias - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482473/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482473/)
Maybe DragonHeart.
Some people really liked it...others hated it...I liked Sean Connery as the dragon ;D
As long as it's not Reign of fire, or whatever that terrible Christian bale movie was x__x;;;
I had watched The Borgias (with Jeremy irons) and found Los Borgias, but didn't know there was a third recent film. Thanks.
Dragonheart...it was ok family film, but sort of Eragon-ish. Not really something I would really consider watching again.
Yeah, didn't like Reign of Fire too much either.
Watch pixar's 'how to train your dragon.'
Quote from: Sweetdeath on August 09, 2012, 01:54:17 AM
Watch pixar's 'how to train your dragon.'
Will do. ;D I'm a fan of Pixar, and I liked 'Brave'. Haven't watched 'How to train your dragon' yet.
Tristan & Isolde
Beowulf
Outlander
The Lion In Winter & Becket 1960s movies with Peter O'Toole
The Elizabeth movies with Cate Blanchet.
Willow
Highlander 1
Robin Hood with Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett was disapointing.
Mongol (2007)
Pathfinder - Vikings and Indians.
I like ye oldy movies, they often don't review well but I watch them anyway. The Eagle, Arthur, Centurion, if it has swords and cool hats I watch it. Even space age people with swords seem reasonable to me.
Tristan & Isolde - haven't watched, will make a note of it
Beowulf - watched. The animation in this one was amazing.
Outlander - watched, didn't like it that much to be honest.
The Lion In Winter & Becket 1960s movies with Peter O'Toole - Watched the Lion In Winter, good movie. Haven't watched Becket yet, thanks for the suggestion.
The Elizabeth movies with Cate Blanchet. - Watched
Willow - Haven't watched this
Highlander 1 - Haven't watched this either
Robin Hood with Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett was disapointing. - I thought it was ok, but I was really watching it more for the music scenes, really.
Mongol (2007) - watched
Pathfinder - Vikings and Indians. - Haven't watched this, curious now in fact about what a movie with Vikings and Indians would be like...
I also like the oldy movies. Now that you mentioned Becket, I thought I'd add "Cromwell" with Richard Harris to this thread in case anyone's interested.
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on August 09, 2012, 05:26:13 PM
Willow - Haven't watched this
I loved it as a kid. If you like films like Ladyhawke, The Dark Crystal, Krull, Labyrinth, Time Bandits, Legend, and Return to Oz, . Then you will probably like it.
Kingdom of Heaven was pretty but historically incorrect in irritating places. Braveheart was decent, but I have no idea of its historical (in)accuracy. Highlander if you wanna go for fiction with swords, if slightly weird... What else is there? The Last Samurai, but that one had that insufferable scientologist in it, I think... There are also some older era themed movies like Alexander and some low budget wastes of time like Beowulf (The one with Lambert)
Quote from: Asmodean on August 09, 2012, 08:46:15 PM
Kingdom of Heaven was pretty but historically incorrect in irritating places.
Don't even get me started, worst experience I have ever had at a cinema.
Quote from: Crow on August 09, 2012, 08:49:06 PM
Quote from: Asmodean on August 09, 2012, 08:46:15 PM
Kingdom of Heaven was pretty but historically incorrect in irritating places.
Don't even get me started, worst experience I have ever had at a cinema.
Shall we have us a good rant or shall we show mercy and spare the unsuspecting HAFers? :D
Quote from: Asmodean on August 09, 2012, 08:46:15 PM
Kingdom of Heaven was pretty but historically incorrect in irritating places. Braveheart was decent, but I have no idea of its historical (in)accuracy. Highlander if you wanna go for fiction with swords, if slightly weird... What else is there? The Last Samurai, but that one had that insufferable scientologist in it, I think... There are also some older era themed movies like Alexander and some low budget wastes of time like Beowulf (The one with Lambert)
I don't really bother with all the historical inaccuracies from movies. I have higher standards for documentaries or docudramas, though.
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi238.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fff40%2Fmaskedstranger2007%2Ficon_popcorn.gif&hash=2f4927368300427c8003461f457af18721ee6775)
(I should've started this thread sooner, so many good movies :D)
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on August 09, 2012, 04:04:37 AM
Quote from: Sweetdeath on August 09, 2012, 01:54:17 AM
Watch pixar's 'how to train your dragon.'
Will do. ;D I'm a fan of Pixar, and I liked 'Brave'. Haven't watched 'How to train your dragon' yet.
Brave was so good :D :D
Just saw "The Hateful Eight", and yes I would recommend it for a Tarantino fan (which I am, weirdly enough since I hate gore). It's a little bit like D'jango 30 years later, and I strongly suspect Samuel L. Jackson put some pressure on Tarantino to write a black bounty hunter movie for him since he was too old to play D'jango. I also suspect that Walton Goggins begged Tarantino for a buddy role with Jackson.
Anyway, it played well for me and even better, all the gore was held off until nearly the very end of the movie and then it was nearly a literal bloodbath, but it is Tarantino. I think it's the humor -- I think that's what over-balances the gore for me.
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on January 13, 2016, 01:08:36 AM
Just saw "The Hateful Eight", and yes I would recommend it for a Tarantino fan (which I am, weirdly enough since I hate gore). It's a little bit like D'jango 30 years later, and I strongly suspect Samuel L. Jackson put some pressure on Tarantino to write a black bounty hunter movie for him since he was too old to play D'jango. I also suspect that Walton Goggins begged Tarantino for a buddy role with Jackson.
Anyway, it played well for me and even better, all the gore was held off until nearly the very end of the movie and then it was nearly a literal bloodbath, but it is Tarantino. I think it's the humor -- I think that's what over-balances the gore for me.
A lot of people seem to think Tarantino is all about gore for some reason when 90% of his films are dialogue, loads of people complained about Kill Bill 2 for that reason but it was by far the better film. I really enjoyed The Hateful Eight wish I could have watched the 70mm version, you can tell from the normal version that would have looked amazing. I really miss the Western set up for movies and apart from the Coen brothers the only director that does them correct are Tarantino.
Quote from: Crow on January 13, 2016, 03:36:48 AM
A lot of people seem to think Tarantino is all about gore for some reason when 90% of his films are dialogue
Probably because dialogue is inevitable, but gore is not so it makes the gore stand out so much more. And he does do serious gore, which makes it even more overwhelming.
Question: did you laugh during the hanging scene? Maybe my sense of humor is twisted, but I did -- and maybe 2 or 3 other people in the audience. I sensed the rest of the audience was glaring at us, and I suspect what humor may have been in the scene depends on whether the viewer concentrated on Daisy or on Warren and Mannix.
"Joy", starring Jennifer Lawrence, is a good watch. It's loosely based on the life of Joy Mangano, who invented the self-wringing mop (yes, I know that doesn't sound too exciting), but the value of it is showing how difficult it is to break into that world and become successful. Most would have given up, I think.
The Hateful Eight was a good movie, and I'm generally not a Tarantino fan. :shooty:
I intend to watch Joy when it's out in theaters here. :smilenod:
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on January 13, 2016, 08:16:43 PM
:shooty:
Heh!
Last night I watched, one right after the other:
A Walk in the Woods, with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. Cannot recommend it -- lackluster acting and story, not enough scenery. Which was surprising all things considered.
Mr. Holmes, with Ian McKellen. I had a hard time following the plot of this one at first, in which an elderly and, I think, dying Sherlock Holmes recalls his last case (which was also his first failure), as well as a recent meeting with a Japanese man whose life he unknowingly affected, while also dealing with his unhappy housekeeper and her bright, curious son. And bees, lots of bee talk. I did eventually sort out the tangled plots and enjoyed it.
The Martian, with Matt Damon. Tech was taken down a bit from the book but was still too much for many viewers. I love listening to sciency and techy talk, even if I do only understand one word in (if I'm lucky) 10. A lot of people mention the funny scene of Sean Bean, playing the flight director character, explaining to the PR woman why he named the secret meetings about the rescue "Elrond". For me the funny part was that this woman was in geek central (even the sophisticated and urbane NASA director chimed in with his choice of a LotR name for the meetings) with everyone in the room trying to explain it to her at once, until she finally got fed up and said "I hate you all right now". I enjoyed it, it was oddly funny and moving.
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on January 13, 2016, 09:32:56 AM
Quote from: Crow on January 13, 2016, 03:36:48 AM
A lot of people seem to think Tarantino is all about gore for some reason when 90% of his films are dialogue
Probably because dialogue is inevitable, but gore is not so it makes the gore stand out so much more. And he does do serious gore, which makes it even more overwhelming.
Question: did you laugh during the hanging scene? Maybe my sense of humor is twisted, but I did -- and maybe 2 or 3 other people in the audience. I sensed the rest of the audience was glaring at us, and I suspect what humor may have been in the scene depends on whether the viewer concentrated on Daisy or on Warren and Mannix.
I saw it last week, in 70mm. I'm a Tarantino fan and I liked this one too, but I didn't love it like some of his other movies. The dialogue was good, but not enough to fill the first half, which seemed to drag on for no particular reason. It picked up in the second half, but the narration by Tarantino to lead off that part of the movie felt condescending in some way; why feel the need to spell things out so explicitly rather than trust your audience to pick up on it?
It was beautifully shot though, and the acting was top-notch, as it always is for him. The Kill Bill movies are my favorite, just ahead of Pulp Fiction and then Inglourious Basterds.
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on January 13, 2016, 11:47:42 PM
The Martian, with Matt Damon. Tech was taken down a bit from the book but was still too much for many viewers. I love listening to sciency and techy talk, even if I do only understand one word in (if I'm lucky) 10. A lot of people mention the funny scene of Sean Bean, playing the flight director character, explaining to the PR woman why he named the secret meetings about the rescue "Elrond". For me the funny part was that this woman was in geek central (even the sophisticated and urbane NASA director chimed in with his choice of a LotR name for the meetings) with everyone in the room trying to explain it to her at once, until she finally got fed up and said "I hate you all right now". I enjoyed it, it was oddly funny and moving.
Absolutely loved this movie. I haven't read the book yet, but it's now sitting on my pile of future reads.
Quote from: Firebird on January 14, 2016, 04:15:06 AM
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on January 13, 2016, 11:47:42 PM
The Martian, with Matt Damon. Tech was taken down a bit from the book but was still too much for many viewers. I love listening to sciency and techy talk, even if I do only understand one word in (if I'm lucky) 10. A lot of people mention the funny scene of Sean Bean, playing the flight director character, explaining to the PR woman why he named the secret meetings about the rescue "Elrond". For me the funny part was that this woman was in geek central (even the sophisticated and urbane NASA director chimed in with his choice of a LotR name for the meetings) with everyone in the room trying to explain it to her at once, until she finally got fed up and said "I hate you all right now". I enjoyed it, it was oddly funny and moving.
Absolutely loved this movie. I haven't read the book yet, but it's now sitting on my pile of future reads.
Saw the movie then read the book. Both highly recommended.
The Danish Girl. I was going to say a lot about this but did not want to spoil it for anyone. Emotional and a bit syrupy at times but involving and thought-provoking. Would recommend.
Quote from: Firebird on January 14, 2016, 04:15:06 AM
but the narration by Tarantino to lead off that part of the movie felt condescending in some way; why feel the need to spell things out so explicitly rather than trust your audience to pick up on it?
I thought that was Tarantino's voice. My big problem with the narration is that he just doesn't have the voice for it -- too high and thin. If he was going to insert a narrator here and there, he needed someone with a huskier voice. Sam Elliott, for instance.
Quote from: re The MartianAbsolutely loved this movie. I haven't read the book yet, but it's now sitting on my pile of future reads.
Bump the book up on your TBR pile, it's fantastic.
Watched The Revenant this evening. Act 1 is the setting, act 2 is Bear Grylls the movie, and act 3 is a typical revenge film squeezed into an act. Cinematography is fantastic and the acting very good. Not worth the praise it has been getting especially compared to The Danish Girl or Brooklyn but well worth the watch.
Quote from: Essie Mae on January 15, 2016, 12:13:10 AM
The Danish Girl. I was going to say a lot about this but did not want to spoil it for anyone. Emotional and a bit syrupy at times but involving and thought-provoking. Would recommend.
Watched this today. Would also recommend.
Recently I've watched the following three movies.
1) Martian
2) Intern
3) Tumbledown
I enjoyed the Martian quite a bit and thought it was visually appealing. I liked Matt Damon's character, but had expected the movie to be better than it was. I would have preferred more of Damon and his character dealing with being the first earthling left alone on a planet and how to not only survive, but cope with the ultimate isolation.
I also thought the ending was a bit of a stretch, and that's were the movie lost me as it got more Hollywood (Can't simply rescue the castaway, they have to make it a bigger than life probably statistically impossible rescue)
But this is definitely worth watching on the big-screen.
Intern...well, it's a cute movie. If you know the plot you can probably figure out how it's going to end...Widowed, retiree (Dinero) goes to work as an intern for a successful business woman running a fashion web-site.
This was okay, but I watched it at home, and would not recommend going to see it at the theatre. (I was bored through parts of it)
I liked Tumbledown a lot, especially Rebecca Hall's performance as the widower of a small town musician who came out with one great album that has the world reeling over.
She makes the movie in my opinion, and I enjoyed every minute of her on screen. Jason Sudeikis (Of SNL fame) plays a professor who comes out to meet with her so he can write a book about her late husband, and the impact his one great album has had on not only other people, but himself. I thought Jason played the part well,...bit of a surprise actually.
There's a great line in this movie that stuck with me: Rebecca Hall's character is standing on the shore of a frozen lake with Jason Sudeikis's character, and she say's, "I like living in a place like this where you have to earn your seasons". (Something close to that)
Would recombined this movie for a date night, whether at the movies or at home.
(Rebecca Hall reminds me of a younger Olivia Williams, another lovely British actor)
Just watched Deadpool and I really like it.
Happily violent and suitably dirty for it's lead character.
Recommended if you want a funny movie that isn't too serious.
We netflixed "An Honest Liar" last night, a documentary about James Randi, the magician who's also made a career out of calling out and revealing con artists and fraudsters like Uri Geller. Really fascinating and surprisingly raw.
Quote from: Firebird on February 16, 2016, 11:23:30 PM
We netflixed "An Honest Liar" last night, a documentary about James Randi, the magician who's also made a career out of calling out and revealing con artists and fraudsters like Uri Geller. Really fascinating and surprisingly raw.
Seen that. Very good.
Just seen Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.
I gotta say it was very, very good.
I'm normally a bit 'Meh!' about action flicks (blah, blah, car chase, blah, blah, shooting, blah, blah, love interest...) but this one did everything intelligently and with panache - without taking itself too seriously. Best of the generally decent M:I franchise IMO.
9/10. Would've given it 10 but there was one too many Cruise look-how-handsome-I-am sidelong glances.
Quote from: Tank on February 17, 2016, 08:20:59 AM
Quote from: Firebird on February 16, 2016, 11:23:30 PM
We netflixed "An Honest Liar" last night, a documentary about James Randi, the magician who's also made a career out of calling out and revealing con artists and fraudsters like Uri Geller. Really fascinating and surprisingly raw.
Seen that. Very good.
Seconded.