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Gullscorer
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Post by Gullscorer »

This latest re-make of Ben-Hur is not the worst film I've seen, but it still fails miserably:
[youtube]gLJdzky63BA[/youtube]
'There are a number of things missing from the new movie 'Ben-Hur': Quintus Arrius, functioning tripods, a discernible point, but nothing perhaps so notable as the words 'A Tale of the Christ'.
That subtitle graced Lew Wallace's 1880 novel and many of the film and television adaptations that have followed, signaling that the story of Judah Ben-Hur is also a stealth account of Jesus' life and ministry. One Jewish man suffers gallantly but ultimately triumphs over slavery and injustice, and so, in a parallel chain of events, does another, only this time with crucifixion rather than chariot racing as the blood sport of choice, and with a message of divine forgiveness in lieu of mortal revenge.
It's not entirely surprising that Timur Bekmambetov's movie doesn't include the subtitle (we should perhaps be grateful it isn't called 'Ben-Hur: Dawn of Justice'). But it feels curious nonetheless, insofar as Jesus actually has a fairly robust role this time around. Certainly he's a much more emphatic presence here than he was in William Wyler's Oscar-winning 1959 epic, which treated the Messiah as a strictly peripheral figure (played by an uncredited Claude Heater) who kept his face hidden even when he and Charlton Heston's Judah have their fateful reunion on the road to Calvary.
In the new 'Ben-Hur', by contrast, Jesus is played by a hunky Brazilian actor named Rodrigo Santoro, who receives third billing after his costars Jack Huston (Ben-Hur) and Toby Kebbell (Messala), as though completing some sort of above-the-title trinity. Santoro's Jesus randomly pops up in scenes like a veritable Christ-in-the-box, at one point even doing some carpentry as he lectures Judah with a mouthful of New Testament platitudes. His declaration of 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do' is so sweeping and powerful that (spoiler alert!) Messala not only survives in this retelling but winds up burying the hatchet with Judah, at which point the two ride their white horses into one of the most ludicrous feel-good endings in recent memory.
'
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/mo ... story.html

The William Wyler / Charlton Heston version of Ben-Hur (1959) remains the best:
[youtube]fWvQ7UcBfMQ[/youtube]
Last edited by Gullscorer on 12 Jan 2017, 20:58, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by EmetEdadsBeard »

The Martian made a promising start, bit far fetched but watchable.

Then he deliberately punctured his spacesuit to get thrust towards his rescuers without his blood instantly boiling and his head exploding.........it then became yet another ordinary nowt to write home about film............ :-/
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Post by Trojan 67 »



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Post by ferrarilover »

I, Daniel Blake.

You know me, what I know about the Job Centre and the benefits system could fill a book roughly the same size as one featuring all the sensible things Donald Trump has said this year. However, even for a Bourgeois type, I really enjoyed the disquieting nature of this film's central message.

If you fancy a relatively short trip through the looking glass and into a world which you'll never actually have to experience, check this out. It'll won no Oscars, but that doesn't make it a waste of your time.

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Post by Colorado Gull »

Bridge of spies. Good film.
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Post by ferrarilover »

Been meaning to watch that for, well, however many months it's been since it was released. Pleased to hear it's worth it.

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Post by EmetEdadsBeard »

Grimsby. Very funny, even Mrs beard was laughing. :lol:
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Post by Gullscorer »

I recently saw 'The Martian'. It was OK, but it reminded me of a film from the 1960s which was just as entertaining: 'Robinson Crusoe on Mars'. That film, believe it or not, was (it actually said so in the credits) based on a story by Daniel Defoe..!!

Which brings me to a more recent film, 'I, Ken Loach'. Like most such films, it is undoubtedly very worthy, but struggles to break out of its straightjacket of worthiness and achieve true greatness as a piece of moviemaking. In Loach's case this is probably because he is more of a cinematic polemicist than a true film director. Which is not to say that many of his films have not been excellent, from 'I, Kes' to 'I, The Spirit of '45'. But only two films, as I remember, have achieved true greatness from worthy beginnings; in fact, one of them was actually a television series, 'I, Claudius'. The other was, as you will have guessed, 'I, Gandhi'.

Now, I'm looking forward to seeing 'I, Snowden', 'I, Jason Bourne', and 'I, Ben-Hur' (the re-make)..
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Post by ferrarilover »

GI, Joe.

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Post by EmetEdadsBeard »

Watched 'The 33', having followed the original incident like many of us did.
I expected something that followed the unfolding story closely, but instead it's virtually a work of fiction based around a true event. Many of the ' incidents' quite simply didn't happen (the one that springs to mind is the miner who when rescued was met by both his wife and mistress who knew nothing of each other, yet in the film they are warring before he goes underground and live opposite each other!)
Also no footage of the miner who apparently spent his days waiting to be rescued running around the tunnels, and incredibly at least one of them started to mine for gold while trapped!

Disappointing, but still watchable nonetheless 6/10
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Post by Gullscorer »

Agreed. Watchable, but disappointing. If the original incident had not occurred, the film would have struggled to get made, and would probably have gone straight to DVD.

Here's one which won't disappoint. I was never that keen on musicals, always thought they were too theatrical. I did enjoy a few ('South Pacific' comes to mind), but I always preferred action (The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Wages of Fear), adventure (The Searchers, Forbidden Planet), high drama (Bicycle Thieves, Citizen Kane), and the occasional romance (Romeo and Juliet, Picnic, The World of Suzie Wong). The examples I've given are all from the golden age of cinema. With a few exceptions, they don't seem to make 'em like that any more. Well, here's one of those exceptions. It's a musical, but it's also an excellent film:
Trailer:
Featurette:

I've only now discovered this film which was made over 30 years ago. It's great:
[youtube]QX2vKgFV6pk[/youtube]
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