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SilverWook said:

If we get into Star Wars clones, we could be here all night. 😉

Spending all night talking about Episode II is not what I would consider a productive way to spend my time.

The Person in Question

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Would The Last Starfighter count as a Star Wars knockoff? I’ve heard some people say it is, but I don’t think it’s quite derivative enough to be called one.

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suspiciouscoffee said:

Would The Last Starfighter count as a Star Wars knockoff? I’ve heard some people say it is, but I don’t think it’s quite derivative enough to be called one.

I guess it depends how you define rip-off. I’d say, not really, that falls more into general “inspired by,” but then again so does Battle Beyond the Stars.

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ray_afraid said:

suspiciouscoffee said:

Would The Last Starfighter count as a Star Wars knockoff?

Nah.
Also, Message From Space is awesome.

George seems to think so, since he lifted an entire sequence for ROTJ. 😉

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Where were you in '77?

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suspiciouscoffee said:

Would The Last Starfighter count as a Star Wars knockoff? I’ve heard some people say it is, but I don’t think it’s quite derivative enough to be called one.

Kind of borderline, as it owes a lot to the videogame craze of the early 80’s as a springboard.

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Where were you in '77?

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DominicCobb said:

suspiciouscoffee said:

Would The Last Starfighter count as a Star Wars knockoff? I’ve heard some people say it is, but I don’t think it’s quite derivative enough to be called one.

I guess it depends how you define rip-off. I’d say, not really, that falls more into general “inspired by,” but then again so does Battle Beyond the Stars.

Roger Corman got a lot of mileage out of recycling the FX and the score. It would be a interesting experiment to make a low budget space movie using that footage again and make it look like some lost film from the 80’s.

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Where were you in '77?

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 (Edited)

I think i hear a Fanedit project calling! Ahhhhhhh…?

“Get over violence, madness and death? What else is there?”

Also known as Mr. Liquid Jungle.

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The Bishop’s Wife is kind of a It’s a Wonderful Life knockoff, and it ain’t half bad either. In fact, it’s really quite good.

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Some knockoffs actually get a pass if they’re good or put a spin on things. Friday The 13th was once regarded as a Halloween ripoff, and now it’s an institution.

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Where were you in '77?

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 (Edited)

ray_afraid said:

suspiciouscoffee said:

Would The Last Starfighter count as a Star Wars knockoff?

Nah.
Also, Message From Space is awesome.

Is that the one with the starfish monsters?

Mud- Matthew McConaughey vehicle continues his career resurrection. Hugely atmospheric slice of Southern Gothic with good performances, but a little slow-moving.

Magic Mike- Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum, both in roles tailor-made for them. Soderberg blends his usual intelligent social commentary with a thoroughly familiar, almost cliched storyline to surprising effect. Tatum proves very amicable, and McConaughey has a great time as the sleazebag strip club owner who sells sex and fantasy with a colossal ego. Not exactly subject matter in which I had a vested interest, but interesting.

Killer Joe- Another Matthew McConaughey vehicle, this one from fallen 70s aeuter William Friedkin. At age 78, Friedkin remains ever the provocateur, and the movie pushes the envelope and is anarchic and unruly in the best ways. Sadly, it feels more like a freak show-I watch the black comedy car accident with perverse interest, but the black humor in the more vulgar moments feels very ill-judged, and the characters are kind of repugnant. It’s the kind of thing you with with interest but not necessarily involvement, at least it was for me. Great performances though, McConaughey’s charisma is twisted into something darker and more malevolent. Shot digitally, Caleb Deschanel is a superb DOP, and the film is stunning looking, but doesn’t quite have the atmosphere of Mud, even if it’s more lurid. Maybe the baking heat is just an easier thing to convey on grainy celluloid than on crisp digital. I still think the grainy 16mm of Hooper’s original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the closest I’ve ever come to smelling a movie. Speaking of which…

The Devil’s Rejects- Rob Zombie’s sadistic throwback to the 70s horror movies he loves has it down stylistically. None of the trendy and shiny cinematography, annoying digital FX, and rapid-fire editing of newer remakes, it’s shot on grainy Super 16 with a 70s southern rock soundtrack. The whole movie is cast with exploitation icons and feels wonderfully ragged and dirty. Sadly, Zombie doesn’t appear to have absorbed any of the underlying social context of the movies he loves, so his homage feels empty, just a parade of stylized sadism with no center. You could argue there’s a subtext of becoming monstrous fighting monsters, but it’s awful thin. The cast are all having a sleazy great time though, a terrifying Sid Haig, a gleefully profane Bill Mosley, and a hilariously redneck William Forsythe as an Elvis-loving sheriff. “I’m sure your knowledge of bullshit is limitless!”

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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Imitation of Life (1959)

As I said earlier, last year I watched around 300 movies. I laughed a lot, teared up a little, was inspired constantly. But, not one of them made me cry. Not one.

I sobbed my eyes out for five minutes after watching this.

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That would be like calling Jabberwocky a Python film. (It has been advertised as such in the past.) Terry Gilliam’s 1984 would be more precise.

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Where were you in '77?

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SilverWook said:

That would be like calling Jabberwocky a Python film. (It has been advertised as such in the past.) Terry Gilliam’s 1984 would be more precise.

I was going to say that, but then thought he may ask who Terry Gilliam is, so I figured this way would be easier for all parties, if a bit less apt a description.

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suspiciouscoffee said:

SilverWook said:

That would be like calling Jabberwocky a Python film. (It has been advertised as such in the past.) Terry Gilliam’s 1984 would be more precise.

I was going to say that, but then thought he may ask who Terry Gilliam is, so I figured this way would be easier for all parties, if a bit less apt a description.

Good point!

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Collipso said:

suspiciouscoffee said:

Collipso said:

suspiciouscoffee said:

Brazil (1985) - 4.5/5

The Hidden Fortress (1958) - 5/5

Could you tell me a little bit more about Brazil?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh… Monty Python’s 1984? Yeah, I’ll go with that.

Does that have anything to do with George Orwell’s 1984 novel? Thanks, by the way!

Yeah, that what I was saying. It’s not actually an adaptation or anything, but shares antitotalitarian themes.

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Dunkirk. Just blew me away.

I give this Masterpiece a 5 out of 5.

“Get over violence, madness and death? What else is there?”

Also known as Mr. Liquid Jungle.

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paja said:

Dunkirk. Just blew me away.

I give this Masterpiece a 5 out of 5.

I disagree a lot here. What gripped you throughout and made it stand out so much?

I thought it was incredibly disappointing. Paper thin characters and odd narrative structural choices that didn’t benefit the film. For liking Nolan’s movies as much as I do, I was pretty surprised with my reaction to Dunkirk.

Return of the Jedi: Remastered

Lord of the Rings: The Darth Rush Definitives

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The Adventures of Don Juan (1948)
Another excellent Errol Flynn swashbuckler. He reforms his ways, slightly.