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Brother From Another Planet (Movie)

LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
edited November 2010 in Strut Central
I was telling someone I really like this movie.
I want to urge everyone to add it to their ques.

But when I went to check the trailer I couldn't believe how bad it looks.




Who has seen it? Do you recommend?

  Comments

  • onetetonetet 1,754 Posts
    I loved this movie when I first saw it 15 years ago or so, and have recommended it to many people since. I should perhaps revisit it before doing so again. in general I do ride for John Sayles into the early 90s, though.

    as an aside, I first heard of the film because I went to high school with The Nephew of The Brother From Another Planet, who's now a talented drummer, often backing celebrities in tv bands. you may have seen him making the funk face in the house band on that INXS reality show, among others.
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    i have tried to watch that flic a couple of times in the past year since i became interested in sayles, but i never make it in very far...

    i'm a big fan of sayles' "lonestar"

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    I've not seen it for years, but I remember liking it, as I did pretty much all those early John Sayles movies.

    I think the fact that it's ostensibly a sci-fi movie makes it look even more low-budget than usual for a Sayles flick.

    Also, although I remember Dee Dee Bridgewater being in it, and Joe Morton of course, I'd forgotten that David Strathairn was the other Man In Black alongside Sayles.
  • BreezBreez 1,706 Posts
    LaserWolf said:
    I was telling someone I really like this movie.
    I want to urge everyone to add it to their ques.

    But when I went to check the trailer I couldn't believe how bad it looks.

    This happens all the time with me. I'll ride hard for a movie for years and when I peep it again, TOTAL GARBAGE. Most of these old jawns just can't stand the test of time.
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    It's no Buckaroo Banzai.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Breez said:
    LaserWolf said:
    I was telling someone I really like this movie.
    I want to urge everyone to add it to their ques.

    But when I went to check the trailer I couldn't believe how bad it looks.

    This happens all the time with me. I'll ride hard for a movie for years and when I peep it again, TOTAL GARBAGE. Most of these old jawns just can't stand the test of time.

    No, no. The movie holds up, watched it last year.

    It is the trailer that is pants.

    I am a Sayles fan. Lonestar is great.

    Sayles tells stories, which I like in a movie. Style, special effects and other gimmicks are wasted on me if there is no story to go along with them.
  • HumanacatHumanacat 177 Posts
    I love this movie. It's got that sci fi meets racial injustice thing going on. It has cornball moments and it certainly isn't for everyone. The scene where he kills the drug dealer in the tower by making him OD and the card trick scene on the subway are my favorites.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Own the VHS/DVD/ and Soundtrack for the Dee Bridgewater joints.

    Argueably the best African American Science Ficton joint out there.

    Pre-gentrified Haarlem.

    Joe Morton kills it w/ a non-speaking role.

    The real - Men In Black motif in full effect.

    Good old dirty NYC flick. I think my DVD has a commentary.

    8.5
  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    batmon said:

    8.5

    "He sat in the death seat!"
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Rockadelic said:
    batmon said:

    8.5

    "He sat in the death seat!"

    Haha...to this day when i go into an old bar that shit makes me think.

    "Space Germs."
  • thursdayalleythursdayalley 87 Posts
    "I've got another trick. I can make all the white people disappear."

    This flick and "Afterhours" shaped my adolescent image of
    NYC. I need to revisit this.
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    LaserWolf said:
    I was telling someone I really like this movie.


    That's all I am? A "someone?" Ha ha! Just playing.

    This scene here is blowing my mind and now I HAVE to see this movie. Thanks for the recommendation, D*n!


  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    White folks dont disappar no mo'.
  • MjukisMjukis 1,675 Posts
    Breez said:
    LaserWolf said:
    I was telling someone I really like this movie.
    I want to urge everyone to add it to their ques.

    But when I went to check the trailer I couldn't believe how bad it looks.

    This happens all the time with me. I'll ride hard for a movie for years and when I peep it again, TOTAL GARBAGE. Most of these old jawns just can't stand the test of time.

    I revisited Down by law, which I remember liking when I first saw it about 14 years ago. Total garbage indeed...

    Will check Brother from another planet, though.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Mjukis said:
    Breez said:
    LaserWolf said:
    I was telling someone I really like this movie.
    I want to urge everyone to add it to their ques.

    But when I went to check the trailer I couldn't believe how bad it looks.

    This happens all the time with me. I'll ride hard for a movie for years and when I peep it again, TOTAL GARBAGE. Most of these old jawns just can't stand the test of time.

    I revisited Down by law, which I remember liking when I first saw it about 14 years ago. Total garbage indeed...

    Will check Brother from another planet, though.

    DBL I think is a Jim Jarmisch movie, not Sayles.
    But it was another 80s cult film that was more about story and people than fast moving entertainment.

    AS long as we are talking about 80s cult films, just saw Diva again, fucking great movie.



    Opening scene is a 5 min aria. Not many hollywood films would attempt that.
    Don't worry folks, that is the only opera in the movie, though we hear it a few more times, and there is a long walking along the Seine scene to Erik Satie style piano. Don't let the classical music scare you away from this movie.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Herm said:
    LaserWolf said:
    I was telling someone I really like this movie.


    That's all I am? A "someone?" Ha ha! Just playing.

    Was hoping you would see this. Do check it.

    Had a great Arizona trip (state moto: Arizona it's where you want to be-heading.), sorry couldn't get free for more of a visit.
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    Be-heading! Hilarious!!
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    One of the great enigmas of American cinema has been Sayles rise and then slow, but steady decline. If you look at his moviemaking from "The Seacaucus Seven" up through "Lone Star," it's really one of the most remarkable set of films by any American independent director. Someone like Soderbergh makes splashier films, but not necessarily better ones. I saw Sayles as someone who had an Altman-like gift for multiple narratives and a special touch for issues of class, gender and race.

    But after "Lone Star," it really all began to fall off and I'm not sure why. He became more didactic in his politics and his storytelling also seemed to suffer.
  • onetetonetet 1,754 Posts
    mannybolone said:
    One of the great enigmas of American cinema has been Sayles rise and then slow, but steady decline. If you look at his moviemaking from "The Seacaucus Seven" up through "Lone Star," it's really one of the most remarkable set of films by any American independent director. Someone like Soderbergh makes splashier films, but not necessarily better ones. I saw Sayles as someone who had an Altman-like gift for multiple narratives and a special touch for issues of class, gender and race.

    But after "Lone Star," it really all began to fall off and I'm not sure why. He became more didactic in his politics and his storytelling also seemed to suffer.

    yeah, those are some astute thoughts and it's a bit sad. a new film from him used to be an anticipated event for me, and now they sometimes come and go without me even noticing (nor feeling like I've missed much). some of the same criticisms you voiced above might also be said of Ken Loach, although Loach has held down his particular niche longer and with greater consistency.

    anyway, maybe Sayles has an Altman-level rebirth on the horizon, who knows.

    also, on my lunch break I went to rent Brother From Another Planet, and it was checked out. breez and erewhon, I'm looking at you!
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I think the last one I saw was the one that took place in Mexico and was mostly in Spanish (also English and Indios). I always thought of the title as Men With Guns, but that is not it. Anyway, pretty good movie, but not as good as Lonestar or BFAP.
  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    LaserWolf said:
    I always thought of the title as Men With Guns, but that is not it. Anyway, pretty good movie, but not as good as Lonestar or BFAP.

    You sure? http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Men-with-Guns/60030204?strackid=7db7bd8855d9f9d7_0_srl&strkid=1753770120_0_0&trkid=438381#height1835
  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    Well, he's the screenwriter for Jurassic Park IV that's coming out soon, so he may be on the upswing again.

    Sort of full circle from writing 'Piranha'.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Thats the one.

    I think he has always worked as a Hollywood fixer. Making crappy scripts filmable, and doing scripts to order.
  • onetetonetet 1,754 Posts
    Inspired by this thread, I rewatched this last night, and thought it holds up well. The performances of supporting players are broad and cartoony at times, but it works because everyone's on the same page. In other words, everyone working on this seemed to get what kind of tone Sayles was going for -- remarkable given the fine line it walks between drama and comedy, not to mention the sci-fi elements.

    I don't think anyone's mentioned that this seems to be Ernest Dickerson's first credit as cinematographer for a theatrical release, preceding even She's Gotta Have It. He'd already worked with Spike on Joe's..., but I don't believe that was nationally distributed.
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