Rodent's Reviews [Archive] - Page 2

The Rodent

05-31-12, 09:30 AM

Well...

... here it is...

... enjoy!

Review #100:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/Avatar-Teaser-Poster.jpg

The premise, is that Humans have depleted Earth's natural resources and have discovered that there is a moon known as Pandora which houses a rare mineral called Unobtanium within it's geography, and Humans want it due to its monetary value.
What stands in the way are a species of Humanoid creatures known as the Na'vi, a primitive species technologically, but a deeply spiritual Tribe of Warriors nontheless.

Brought into the equation is a disabled Marine called Jake Sully.
His job is to use an incredible technology to remotely/mentally control an organically grown Na'vi 'clone' and, under the watchful eyes of his superiors, who all have differing motives, he must infiltrate the Na'vi Tribe that stands in their way.

When Jake gets in over his head though, his alliances are torn between his duty as a Soldier, his understanding of the importance of scientific research, his allegiance to his own race, and his sympathy and respect for the Na'vi Tribe.

---

Avatar isn't just a normal sci-fi adventure action movie, it contains many, many subtle levels of incredible creativity.

The overall storylines, plot devices and 'little ideas' seen in Avatar have been done many a time before:
Instances are Dances With Wolves and The Last Samurai, and the tearing of alliances for an almost lone warrior and the acceptance into a world he doesn't belong in.
The Matrix and Matrix Revolutions with the technology seen throughout the movie.
The Abyss, and the ideas of Alien technology and organic technology being far grander than computerised and Nuclear 'power'.
Plus there's the alien invasion aspect of the whole thing too.

But what Cameron has intertwined with this outtake on those various plot devices and ideas, is basically a world of pure creation.
Some of the above plot devices and little ideas have also been switched around as a mirror version of what movie-goers are used to. Thumbs up I say!

Ok, some of the plotlines are a little cliche and some of the future references in the first act are extremely transparent and obvious, but the overall finish really couldn't have been an easy job, especially when the finished product is such an absolute gem.

Cameron has done a lot of research into this creation too, he certainly hasn't slacked off.
The term 'Avatar' has many different meanings throughout the various old and new cultures in real life, and even the real life religions spread throughout human history, and Cameron has utilised this.

Cameron has very cleverly incorporated each of these levels and sub-levels mentioned above into the pure meaning of the world he has built, and the sheer story he has created and has wrapped it all up inside, to coin a phrase... a Pandora's Box.

---

The world the audience is thrown into doesn't disappoint either.
It's highly realised, even more so than anything created by Lucas and his Star Wars Saga.
It's 'alien' yes, but highly developed and has an extremely natural feel to it. Along the lines of actually being a believeably real, natural, living world that has evolved over time and actually has an organic history, it's that well put together.

---

The CGI is another strong subject too.
Now I'm a real stickler when CGI is badly used, and I have yet to see the film in the 3D format as, personally, my dodgy eyes don't work with the 3D scam anyway, but Avatar still absolutely blew me away.

I had it in my head before I saw the film, that it was just going to be a Star Wars Episode II lookalike. Basically an expensive flashy cartoon that looks like an expensive flashy cartoon.

Now, you can tell when and where there's CGI used, but... it actually looks real.
Especially when within the human camps and bases and with the human machines.
Anything not human, looks slightly cartoony, but with a realistic edge that I have yet to see in any movie.
Even though there are a few scenes that are obviously designed for 3D glasses, it's still absolutely flawless and has such an originality.

Cameron's love of technology over the years has certainly paid dividends.

Mixing all that with the action scenes really brings the film out too. The action is a touch cliche like some of the first act plot points but it's still extremely well choreographed.
At a few points during the excitement my pulse actually started racing, which is something that CGI action has never done to me before.

---

The acting is also flawless. Most of it is through motion capture and is seen by the audience through CGI Na'vi characters, but even so, the movements and dialogue delivery, the actual real people on screen (when they're actually on screen) are all top notch.
Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Joel David Moore, Michelle Rodriguez (looking hot I might add), Stephen Lang (brilliantly driven), Giovanni Ribisi and Wes Studi are all at their absolute best in their respective roles.
Giovanni Ribisi in particular is only on screen for a relatively short time but he lives with the viewer throughout. Top job!

---

All in all, the odd scene that is blantantly designed solely for the 3D market made me feel a touch alienated, and some of the plot in the first act is incredibly transparent. The one other thing that lets the film down is the recycled creature sound effects, nicked from Jurassic Park.

Even so, Avatar is still one of the best CGI laden movies I have ever seen and is very cleverly written in a way that the audience has to keep an open eye and make discoveries of their own.
It's not perfect, but it's damned close at 96%
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honeykid

05-31-12, 12:35 PM

OMG! It's like you had the chance to sleep with whoever you wanted, but decided to take a dump instead. :facepalm: :D

The Rodent

05-31-12, 01:33 PM

Awww.

You obviously didn't see in it what I saw.

It's all about what you take from the experience, HK ;)

honeykid

05-31-12, 01:37 PM

Oh, I've not seen it. Please. Remember who you're talking to. ;)

Skepsis93

05-31-12, 01:39 PM

:facepalm:

donniedarko

05-31-12, 02:01 PM

:shrug: I didn't like it as much as you Rodent but I thought it was a really good movie

mastermetal777

05-31-12, 02:47 PM

See, that's why I love Avatar. Sure, the central ideas have been done to death, but the world and the characters created to tell the story are original, creative, and mesmerizing all at once. A brilliant review once again, Rodent.

The Rodent

05-31-12, 02:54 PM

Cheers for the replies on Avatar guys. Glad I finally got to #100 anyways. :cool:

You all know how I do my reviews by now, my percentage rating is based neutrally and soully on screenplay, script, dialogue, acting, effects etc etc, regardless of whether I like the movie or not....

... but I have spent the past two and a half hours going over all of my reviews and adding a Rodent's Personal Recommendation to the end of each movie that I've reviewed.

Basically, if I think it's actually a decent film on my own personal level.

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/RodentSupermanRecommendedBMP.jpg
Top Film, One Of My Faves

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/RodentSuperman5050BMP.jpg
Middle Of The Road For Me, Might Watch It Once Every Two Months.

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/RodentSupermanRejectedBMP.jpg
Avoid at all costs. I Pretend It Doesn't Exist.

JayDee

05-31-12, 04:47 PM

Nice to have you back Rodent, that feels like your longest gap between reviews since you got here.

Anyway while I ddin't love it, I enjoyed Avatar (about 8 or 8.5 out of 10) but I've only seen it once and think the score had a lot to do with the experience of seeing it on the big screen in 3D. If I were to watch it on DVD on my TV could see it getting a lower score as it loses out on the spectacle.

The Rodent

05-31-12, 09:37 PM

Cheers JayDee, took me about 7 days altogether to get the wording right. Hopefully I captured what I wanted to, especially with it being a big film and that it was my 100th.

That was my main problem with it too: The 3D scam being utilised with abandonment by Cameron... and screw everyone else who either;
A) Isn't into getting scammed by 3D, or
B) Can't see the 3D because of a disability.
Personally I'm both A and B.

If I could see 3D, I might give it a go a some point, just to see what it's like this time round, but still, Cameron seriously made me feel alienated when some of the 'written soully for 3D' scenes were taking place.

Still a top movie though and packed full of little secrets and metaphors that the viewer needs to have an open eye out for.

honeykid

05-31-12, 10:14 PM

If I could see 3D...
But you can. That's the biggest part of the 3D scam.

Skepsis93

05-31-12, 10:17 PM

If you're gonna use the word solely so much, at least spell it right. :p

The Rodent

05-31-12, 10:31 PM

Cheers Skepsis! :p

HK, my right eye is for depth perception only... I can't focus on anything with it and if I close my left eye (my good eye), the right one doesn't automatically take over like a working eye does.
If I close my good eye, I'm pretty much blind apart from blurred images and flashes of colour that I can see from distance.

But, I'm lucky in a way. Being born this way means I actually still have perfect depth perception if I close my bad right eye.
My brain is able to judge distances without needing use of the bad right eye.

My brain doesn't pick up fake 3D imagery at all, so when I try to look at '3D' films and flat pieces of paper that supposedly have '3D' pictures on them... all I get is a blurry image in my good eye.

Fake 3D doesn't work.
If it did work as well as the Studios and Directors want me to believe, I'd be able to see it with one eye, like the way I have depth perception in real life with one eye.

nebbit

05-31-12, 10:34 PM

akatemple

05-31-12, 10:58 PM

Avatar for me was a movie I am glad I watched but I really doubt I will watch it again, I don't think there is anything wrong with it but just not my cup of tea. Nice review Rodent.

The Rodent

06-03-12, 03:36 PM

Review #101: The Simpsons Movie

http://www.serijala.com/wp-content/uploads/kreso/2009/12/SimpsonsMoviePoster.jpg

Homer Simpson in his usual non-thinking mentality, decides to get himself a new pet. In the process, he poisons Lake Springfield beyond recovery and the EPA decide that Springfield is too polluted to be allowed to live.
When the EPA decide to drop a giant glass Dome over the town, the Simpson family, under fear of being lynched due to Homer's stupid ways, manage to escape and head for Alaska.
Eventually though, guilt gets the better of them and they head home to save their friends.

More of an extended version of the hit TV show, The Simpsons Movie starts out with one ideal, then heads quickly through a sequence of unrelated events and eventually finds it's main story about a third of the way through.
What makes the movie watchable is the similar feel to the TV series in screenplay.

The humour of the TV series is carried over brilliantly too. Coming from the guys who have basically written a squillion episodes anyway I guess that wasn't too hard.
What gives it more substance though is that some of the humour is a little bit more risque in feel and some imagery is seen that probably wouldn't have made it into the family friendly series.
What does let it down though is that anyone not up on the series may feel a bit left out through some of the in-jokes, the movie isn't really universal.

The animation is the main thing about the movie.
Compared to the series, it's far grander, clearer, cleaner and much more colourful and computers have also been brought into play, giving the look of the animation the ocassional Futurama-esk feel.

The voice acting is better than the series too.
All of the cast, well, I say all of the cast, what I mean is the 2 people that voice pretty much ever character involved are at the top of their game.
The dialogue delivery and, simply the overall voices, are all given 1000% by the actors.

What maybe lets the film down is the script. The screenplay is good, as I said, it's the same as the TV series and feels nicely familiar, but the overall script is a bit stale.
With the money that was thrown at the writing department, they could have found something better than just a basic environmental story mixed with typical Simpsons humour.

All in all, a lengthy version of the series but is still a lot of fun and the humour and animation are much crisper than usual.
Still though, I'd only really recommend it for fans of the TV series.
My rating 70%
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mastermetal777

06-03-12, 04:32 PM

Man, I loved the Simpsons movie, though mostly because the show is one of my all-time favorites. It did feel a bit sluggish at times, but the performances were all sublime, and the story was pretty farfetched, just like most of the main series's stories.

donniedarko

06-03-12, 05:57 PM

Avatar is one of those movies I love to watch when I am http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/CommentCrazyGirl/Smileys%20Emotions/Sleepy%20Sick/sick1.gif or it is a http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f11/elvisnatic/Smileys/rain.gif day :love: it :yup:

The sick and rainy day part really applies to me with James Stewart movies. Idk why I just love watching them on those type of days.

The Rodent

06-03-12, 07:15 PM

Review #102: District 9

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d7/District_nine_ver2.jpg/220px-District_nine_ver2.jpg

3 months after an alien ship appears over Johannesburg, humans decide to try to make contact with whoever or whatever is inside it. What they discover are malnutritioned alien beings, living in squalor.
The Government decide to take the aliens (now dubbed 'Prawns' due to their physical appearance) under their wing and set up an area of the city as a concentration camp.
After a short time, the camp becomes a hell hole of crime and scum and an underground criminal element of humans and aliens starts forming. Within this underground movement is an alien project to build extremely powerful weapons.
Eventually, due to the criminal element becoming out of control and 'racial' prejudices from human citizens of Johannesburg, the Prawns are moved to a new 'District 9' away from the city, in the hope that it will stop the racial tensions and cure the problem of crime.

While inside the original District 9, a Government worker is affected at a Genetic level by a kind of 'biological device', he must enlist the help of the Prawn that built it and the Prawn's son, before his humanity is lost forever. What he discovers in the process though, is another side to the apparent 'alien scum' and also another side to humanity, that he didn't realise existed.

District 9 isn't the usual kind of alien sci-fi movie. It incorporates certain elements of real life and sci-fi mixed together.
The film is a little gem when it comes to story building and giving the viewer a journey of discovery, and it's all blanketed by a very familiar backdrop of racial tension in a third world country.
The main piece of this is the relationship between the humans and the aliens, the prejudices seen are a direct parallel with real life human racial tensions.

The movie as a whole is very cleverly put together.
It starts relatively quiet, with a documentary shooting style of following the human policing of the alien visitors, then goes into the usual movie-screenplay-mode that audiences are accustomed to, and gradually the action gets bigger as the movie progresses.

One thing the movie doesn't do is go all stupid at the end either.
I'm talking about the third act not going all silly explosions and action. It still keeps itself relatively low key and relies heavily on action sequences combined with tension and story, that are similar in tone to Black Hawk Down.
It's still exciting though and very well choreographed.

There's even a little cliffhanger at the end too.

The film also makes well with certain elements of drama too. There's a nice little back-and-forth storyline between the main protagonist and the father-and-son 'Prawns' that are trying to help him. They start out hating and mistrusting one another, but find a common ground and a respect between them.
There's also a small sub-plot between the main trio and the various 'factions' of humans too.

What really makes it's mark though is the CGI used throughout, it's extremely well rendered.
Not just the aliens, but the alien machinery.

As for the aliens themselves... they're very well designed and extremely believable. They're actually that well done you can see the emotions they're portraying.

The acting throughout is top notch.
Sharlto Copley as the main protagonist Wikus van de Merwe is brilliantly panic ridden when he realsises what's happening around him.
The supporting cast from, almost, a bunch of unknowns gives the character driven plot some depth too.

All in all, not everyone's cup of tea and it feels like it's lacking something, I'm not quite sure what though but it's definitely lacking something.
Still though, it's entertaining and is certainly an original and unfamiliar (yet still strangely familiar) take on the 'Aliens On Earth' story. Worth a watch if you like sci-fi alien movies that actually have a plot.
My rating 84%
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mastermetal777

06-03-12, 08:10 PM

District 9 was very well done for a low budget film, but I still haven't seen the entire thing. The differing styles of film (documentary to action without a clear transition) throw me off too much to watch it completely. I really enjoyed what I saw though, and I might have to watch it again.

The Rodent

06-03-12, 08:23 PM

Woops. On second reading I noticed I put Antagonist instead of Protagonist.

I'd def give it a watch MM, it's worth a go if you like low-key sci-fi with a story.

The Rodent

06-06-12, 01:09 PM

Review #103: Slither

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/00/Slithermovieposter.jpg/220px-Slithermovieposter.jpg

An alien parasite lands on earth in a small South Carolina town and begins taking over the inhabitants by infecting their brains by entering their bodies.
A small group of survivors must find a way to stop the organism before it gets out of control.

That's really all there is to say, the bog standard, well-used-before-plot is something very familiar with anyone who has seen sci-fi-alien-takeover movies before.
Anybody who has seen any creature feature, from Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers to Tremors will know what to expect from Slither...

... what makes Slither stand out though is the overall use of humour throughout and the overall screenplay too.
It's along the lines of the tongue-in-cheek humour seen in Eight Legged Freaks (albeit with less slapstick) or even Tremors and the film has made well with the sex and gore that is rarely seen in Bodysnatcher style alien movies too.
Some of the plotlines and storytelling, and in particular the dialogue used, is almost parodying those 1950s B-movies too, but in a respectful way.

The action is also along the same lines as the comedy-horror-FX scenes too. A lot of it contains lashings of situation comedy dialogue and still manages to be exciting and really well choreographed.

The effects though are really what the movie is about. There's more use of practical, slimy and gory effects rather than just going all stupid with CGI.
The overall use of well designed makeup and practical effects make for a fresh feeling modern horror-comedy.
The overall design and use of the creatures too is really well put together. Some of it is squeamish, a lot of it is done using humour too.

The overall acting is pretty cheesey, but it's knowingly cheesey and intentionally written that way and the actors involved must have had masses of fun in the process.
Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Fillion as the main duo of the group of survivors are very engaging and almost make the movie on their own.
Underrated actor Michael Rooker as the main antagonist is absolutely brilliant. He's funny, believable in the role and also quite scary at times too.

All in all, a modern comedy horror that's better written than most, and has masses of respectful nods toward the B-movie genre.
In it's own right though, it's a top movie for anyone who's into the aliens taking over small towns plot.
My rating 88%
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The Rodent

06-07-12, 07:00 PM

Review #104: Wanted

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/98/Wanted_film_poster.jpg/220px-Wanted_film_poster.jpg

Wesley Gibson is down on his luck office worker, his life stinks, his job stinks, his boss hates him and his girlfriend is sleeping with his best friend/co-worker. He suffers from panic attacks and high blood pressure too.
Suddently he's thrown into a fight for survival and a world he's unfamiliar with when a woman called Fox appears and tells him his father was a member of a Secret Society called The Fraternity, who was killed by a rogue assassin, and that he has now become the next target for the same assassin.
Cue lots of fish out of water sequences and stylish training regimes for Wesley so he can stop this assassin and gain the respect of the other members of The Fraternity.

The plot is another pretty well used one for my reviews thread but Wanted makes well with highly stylish action and violence throughout.
The overall feel of the screenplay is pretty well put together in terms of sequence, it doesn't lose the audience in what could have been a complex series of scenes.

There's plenty of humour mixed in too that keeps the audience fixed to the screen, particularly with James McAvoy's character being out of his depth.
Plus there's a little subplot involving human evolution and superhuman skills too which adds a touch of originality to the proceedings.

The action is really what the film is about.
There's lots of CGI used and use of slow motion camera tricks that bring the action almost into it's own genre, in a similar vein to Equilibrium but using slow motion in the same way as The Matrix.
It's highly stylised and very well rendered in the computer department and still manages to be really well choreographed and exciting when there's real life stuff seen on screen.
Some of the scenes involved can be a little brutal too, bordering almost on ultraviolence, but still, it's stylised to the point of not being uncomfortable.

The acting is pretty standard throughout though.
James McAvoy as the main protagonist is the best on show. He's funny, confused, naive and yet still belivable in the role of a newly trained assassin.
Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman are at their usual likable levels. Jolie in particular doing her Mrs Smith thing again.
Terrence Stamp makes a nice appearance too.

What lets the film down though, the overall feel of the film feels like a relatively fresh take on the action movie genre, but it still feels as though I've seen it all before in a host of other movies of the past decade.
Matrix, Equilibrium or even the likes of Jumper.
Basically, stylised CGI slow-mo actioners.

All in all, an enjoyable actioner that's relatively exciting and funny at the same time, but the originality it tries to revel in, just isn't that refreshing and makes the overall finish a pretty bog-standard one.
My rating 68%
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mastermetal777

06-08-12, 10:09 PM

Wanted was pretty good, I thought. It copies a lot of other films in terms of style, but the concept is still original, if only by a tiny bit.

And about your District 9 review. After watching it again (liking it more and more, by the way), I think I know what the film is "lacking," as you so eloquently put it. It's missing a pure "high note." In other words, it's missing that pivotal moment where it's message becomes none the clearer. Either this film is for something or against something (or trying to prove some compromising point), and I feel the film just barely missed that moment. Either way, it was a great film altogether.

The Rodent

06-08-12, 10:31 PM

I wasn't keen on Wanted but I can see the attraction it has to its audience.
I just felt like I'd seen it all before and it made me feel a bit bored tbh.

I think you're right about District 9 though MM, it kind of rambles along through the plots and subplots without much a turning point, any real change of tone or sudden realisation on any kind of plot.
The movie just... is.

There's no real 'high note' as you put it.
I'd still recommend it for anyone who's into low-key sci-fi that actually has a running plot though.

Apparently there's a sequel planned, which, as far as I can tell after seeing the first one, was planned from the very start. I'd be interested to see it too seeing as the overall story of the first one is as good as it is.

The Rodent

06-09-12, 01:59 AM

Review #105: Casino

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d8/Casino_poster.jpg/220px-Casino_poster.jpg

Associate of the Mob, Sam Rothstien is a professional gambler and sports handicapper who is by far and away the best in the business at making or breaking gambling odds in the Bookies.
When the Mob hire him to take care of one of their Casinos in Vegas, he reluctantly but enthusiastically takes the job, unaware that it will eventually be the biggest mistake he'll ever make and will change not just his life, but the lives of those around him too.

Another marvel in film making from the Scorsese-De Niro duo gives the audience a Goodfellas-esk experience that hits all the right notes, even though most of them are downbeat and occasionally uncomfortable ones.

Casino is based on the true story of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal who was hired as Foreman to three Mob owned Casinos in Vegas back in the 1970s and 80s and Scorsese's masterpiece, though with a few of the facts changed, gives the viewer a huge and entertaining bite of the lifestyle witnessed by the real life gamblers, hustlers and Mob Bosses from history.

The entire screenplay, though at times wonderfully uncomfortable with the series' of events, is fantastically written and pieced together.

Though a few facts were changed for the film, it still has the heavy hitting impact of history that are seen in Scorsese's other Mob films.
The whole feeling of historical drama mixed with such fantastically played characters is captured with such realism throughout, that it's very hard to take your eyes off the screen.

De Niro is absolutely top drawer. He goes from a confident gambler to confident Boss, to a scared and panicked marked man with the world on his shoulders within the blink of an eye and his character, obviously being based on a real person, is exceptionally realistic.
Sharon Stone as De Niro's love interest/wife is also at the top of her game. The transformation she undergoes through the movie is by far the best acting I have ever seen from her.

Joe Pesci really steals the show though as De Niro's childhood friend. Based on Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, Pesci throws himself into the role so deeply, he makes the biggest impression outside of his role in Goodfellas. His transformation over the movie's running time is another masterclass in acting as well.

What lets the film down? Actually not a lot, some people may find it less of a nostalgic look at the Gangster Past than Goodfellas is, and many will find it much more hard hitting with the overall drama, violence and downbeat acting involved.

Casino is often compared, unfavourably I might add, to Goodfellas, but throw that thought aside because Casino isn't actually trying to be Goodfellas.
It has a similar truth based story to it, a guy who's good at what he does and gets put into a position of relative power by the Mob which then dangerously falls down around him...

... but it really couldn't be more removed from Scorsese's earlier film.
Casino is top drawer stuff in its own right.

All in all, one of the finest. Give it a go, if you like a night in with a gangster/Mob genre movie, it'll make your evening, guaranteed.
My rating 100%
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nebbit

06-09-12, 06:33 AM

Casino Is a great movie :yup:

hoggy20

06-10-12, 08:42 PM

Some great reviews there pal. keep it up!

mastermetal777

06-15-12, 01:21 AM

You can rarely go wrong with Scorsese, in my opinion. Even his weakest films are highly enjoyable. My favorite film of his is Goodfellas, and my least fave would have to be Raging Bull.

The Rodent

06-16-12, 10:02 AM

Review #106: No Country For Old Men

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8b/No_Country_for_Old_Men_poster.jpg/220px-No_Country_for_Old_Men_poster.jpg

The premise is that in West Texas in the 1980s, a man called Llewelyn Moss stumbles across a bungled drugs deal in the middle of the desert while he's out hunting Pronghorn Antelope.
The area is littered with dead bodies and dead dogs and on searching the area, he finds a half dead man who begs him for water. Next to the dying man is a suitcase filled to the brim with $2m cash.
Llewelyn takes the cash without hesitation and leaves the dying man in the desert. Unwittingly Llewelyn has now become a target of a hitman called Anton Chigurh, a calculating and ice-cold killer and to boot is also a complete psychopath, who has been hired to recover the money.

Another fine piece of filmmaking from the Coen Brothers, this time based on a novel of the same name written by Cormack McCarthy.
No Country For Old Men gives the audience a look at adult themes and violence, exceptional acting and a hard hitting plot that is very rarely seen in Hollywood these days.
Most Hollywood flicks of this type go for action and humour combined, and then tone the whole lot down so that kids can watch. Instead, the Coen Brothers have built a world of adult content and hard faces that is a welcome breath of fresh air in the modern movie world.

The whole movie is pretty low tone and dark in it's themes, there's little to no humour involved throughout (apart from an inept Deputy Sheriff) and a lot of the screenplay is harsh on the viewer's senses.
The main part of No Country is that it's like this knowingly. It's meant to be dirty and grimy, dark and brooding.

The acting is by far though, what the movie is all about.
The ensemble cast really make an impression throughout.
Tommy Lee Jones as the Texas Sheriff Ed Tom Bell is fantastically uncomfortable in trying to figure out the series of disturbing events in his town. Sadly though, he's seen on screen as more of a supporting role in his own little side story.
Josh Brolin is at his moody best as Llewelyn Moss. He has an old soul about him and a quiet yet confident undertone that sets his character apart from most leading characters in films of this type.
Javier Bardem really shines in the role of Anton Chigurh. His quiet, unassuming demeanour is what makes the role so scary. He's like a cross between Norman Bates and something else. The overall character of Chigurh is also brilliantly written with his own twisted set of morals, to the point that you never know exactly what the character is actually going to do next.

Support from Woody Harrelson, Garret Dillahunt, Kelly Macdonald and Barry Corbin really gives the movie some weight.

There's no massive amounts of action through the film, but the little hits of gunplay that occasionally show up and some of the scenes involving Javier Bardem are really well put together and darkly exciting too.

All in all, not for everyone's taste, but definitely worth a watch simply because it's a genuinely well written and brilliantly plotted thriller, and the acting is top notch.
My rating 94%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png.html)

mastermetal777

06-16-12, 10:06 AM

I really love this film, but I think you made a mistake somewhere. I saw the novel of the same name, and there were no pictures, so I wouldn't say it's a comicbook, Rodent. Other than that, another excellent review of an excellent film.

The Rodent

06-16-12, 10:11 AM

Good shout MM, I have adjusted the review.

I tell you what it was, it was Cormack McCarthy's name that threw the word 'Comicbook' into my head while I was writing.

The Rodent

06-19-12, 09:17 AM

Review #107: Blown Away

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Blow_Away_1994_Film_Poster.jpg/220px-Blow_Away_1994_Film_Poster.jpg

When Ryan Gaerity, a Freelance Irish Bomb Terrorist, escapes from his prison in Ireland, he heads for Boston in the US determined for revenge against Lt Jimmy Dove, a bomb disposal expert, who put him in prison in the first place.
In the process, Lt Dove's own dark history from a previous life is brought to the surface, and threatens Dove's relationships, his career and the lives of everyone around him.

Blown Away should hit the right buttons with the talented cast of Jeff Bridges, Forest Whitaker and Tommy Lee Jones, and the talented director Stephen Hopkins (Predator 2, The Ghost And The Darkness, Judgment Night).
Instead, the viewer is treated to a pretty mediocre actioner with a mystery sub-plot behind it.
Though in saying that, the mystery is also quite contrived too and has been seen before many a time.

What the movie is really all about, is character development and screenplay.
The sequence of events from start to finish is really well put together, and the way the writing has built upon the overall group of characters is top notch. It's just a shame about the actual story.

The characters seen throughout are built on really very well and the acting is about as good as it could have been with the weak storylines.
Jeff Bridges (Lt Dove) and Forest Whitaker are at their usual likeable best. Whitaker in particular is a joy to see.

Tommy Lee Jones as Gaerity however, is doing his Two-Face persona. Over the top, almost comical, barely threatening for a villain, and yet still holding the screen pretty well. The big problem is his faux 'Irish' accent. It's awful.

Supporting cast from Suzi Amis, John Finn and Lloyd Bridges (also sporting a dodgy Irish accent) give the movie some more likeable and relatively well written characters.

The action, when it gets going, is also relatively contrived but still manages to be quite exciting, again this is mainly down to the viewer having a connection to the characters involved, rather than the action being well choreographed.

The special effects, when they're used, are quite well put together too. Some of Gaerity's explosive contraptions give the movie it's own little quirk.

All in all, a Marmite movie for moviegoers really. Completely lacking in originality and the acting is touch and go (except for Jeff and Forest), but the screenplay and character development is pretty good. It's still pretty enjoyable overall though.
It's hard to recommend it, I really shouldn't recommend it, but it's still worth a watch, just to see for yourself.
My rating, a mid and confused 50%
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nebbit

06-19-12, 08:58 PM

Thanks Mouse I had forgotten about this movie :goof:

The Rodent

06-21-12, 12:04 PM

I know, I know, another Western from me...

Review #108: The Cowboys

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/62/Cowboys_1972.jpg/220px-Cowboys_1972.jpg

Rancher Wil Andersen manages to lose all of his ranch-hands when they abscond during the Wild West Goldrush of the 1800s.
In desperation, he hires the only hands available, a bunch of local schoolboys, to aid him in a 400 mile cattledrive.
During the trip, Andersen's hard-headed and hard-hearted persona is tested and questioned, and the young wannabe 'cow boys' themselves are thrown into an unknown world of hardship and heart breaking life-lessons.

For a Western that was made toward the end of the 'Western Era', The Cowboys really shines through as a classic.
The overall screenplay, writing, dialogue writing, shooting style and choreography of the finished product are absolutely spell binding.
The relationships between the boys, Nightlinger (Andersen's new right-hand man) and Andersen is felt brilliantly by the audience.

The overall feel of The Cowboys, is a similar coming of age story that has been used many a time before and since, but with the Western setting it gives the storyline a nice flavour.
Plus the overall choreography I mentioned, not just the odd hit of action and peril but particularly with the young boys driving a huge cattle herd across the Big Country, makes the film really stand out.

There's also some nicely placed humour throughout, most of it situational, that makes the viewer keep watching too.

The acting from John Wayne as Andersen, is about his usual moody self. This time round Wayne really seems likable as he comes out of his shell as the film progresses.
It's the gang of youngsters that really make the impression, most are unknowns, even today they're unknowns (apart from Robert Carradine and Stephen R Hudis, both in their feature debuts)... but it's the camaraderie and the overall childishness that turns into manhood that gives the movie some weight. Well played by all too.
Roscoe Lee Brown is good as Nighlinger and Bruce Dern makes a nice appearance as the villain, giving the main group something to put their differences aside for.

All in all, maybe not one of the best Westerns ever made, but certainly fun, full of great acting and also perilous and heartbreaking at times too.
My rating 87%
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nebbit

06-21-12, 08:55 PM

I know, I know, another Western from me...

Don't have to apologise to me :nope: I am a big western fan :yup:

The Rodent

06-26-12, 06:32 PM

Review #109: K-PAX

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e4/Kpax.jpg/220px-Kpax.jpg

Robert Porter is a psychiatric patient in a mental hospital, he claims he is an extra-terrestrial, that his real name is 'prot' (pronounced 'prote') and that he comes from a planet called 'K-PAX'.
Dr Mark Powell, the head phsychiatrist dealing with Robert, is amazed and stunned by the complexity of Robert's claims, even to the point that he starts to almost believe them himself.
What makes things stranger, is that Robert has knowledge of things outside of our solar system that is know by only a handful of scientists. Robert also has an incredible mental influence on the other patients of the hospital.
Dr Powell must find out the truth of what or who Robert really is, before a predetermined date, mentioned by prot, arrives.

Based on Gene Brewer's novel of the same name... a mixed reception for K-PAX saw the movie score relatively low on many critic's books.
K-PAX is actually a very well crafted sci-fi mystery-drama that leaves the viewer in a state of disbelief, then throws the audience on the backfoot and makes them believe the strange and wonderful claims of the lead character.

It's all down to the exceptional character writing and overall script that give the movie its weight.

The screenplay is also top drawer. The series of events is incredibly easy to follow, even though some of it could well have gotten overly-complicated, the filmmakers have placed it in such a way that it adds more depth to the overall story rather than confusing the viewer.

Kevin Spacey is at the top of his game as Robert/prot. His familiar monotone voice, usually used when being all 'serious', works fantastically for the character and when he's playing Robert, he changes substantially. He really is two seperate characters in one scene.
Jeff Bridges is at his usual likable best as Dr Powell. His character is also brought to a realism by Bridges and he plays off Spacey fantastically.
With support from Mary McCormack, Alfred Woodard and the brilliant chameleon actor David Patrick Kelly.

All in all, there's not much else to say about K-PAX apart from that it's an underrated experience and certainly worth more than the 41% it got from a certain movie review website.
Though not perfect, it's full of intrigue, great acting and an ending that will leave the viewer philosophically wondering...
My rating 83%
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JayDee

06-26-12, 06:42 PM

With you on that one as well, always enjoyed K-Pax. :yup: Not actually watched it in years though, will need to look it out at some point

The Rodent

06-27-12, 02:09 PM

Special review for my 110th.

Review #110: The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

The Fellowship Of The Ring

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0c/The_Fellowship_Of_The_Ring.jpg/220px-The_Fellowship_Of_The_Ring.jpg

Under the watchful eye of Gandalf The Grey (an incredibly old wizard), Frodo Baggins (a Hobbit from 'The Shire'), comes into possession of a gold coloured magical ring that has been passed down to him as an Heirloom from his Uncle Bilbo.
Gandalf reveals to Frodo that this magical ring is actually The One Ring that was forged by an incredibly powerful Dark Lord called Sauron thousands of years ago. After studying the legends of Sauron, Gandalf learns that the spirit of Sauron lives on in an almost ghostly form, and if he is reunited with this Master Ring, he will cover all of Middle Earth in darkness and evil for eternity.
Frodo immediately steps up to the challenge of taking the Ring to the powerful and wise Elves in a far away land called Rivendell.
But more unexpected adventure awaits, and many revelations will come to light that will take everyone involved in this journey to places that they really wish they weren't going.

Taken from J.R.R Tolkien's magnificent and history making novel, Peter Jackson has encapsulated everything fans would want to see and feel on the journey of Frodo and his friends.
For a start, a lot of the novels contain a great deal of random non-story and read almost like a historical document. Tolkien's books have been whittled down by Jackson and his writers to the bare story and have built an incredible screenplay in the process.
The other thing is the timelines of Tolkien's books. The book of The Fellowship takes place over 20 years or so, but this first film takes place over a few months. Though for on-screen purposes, they had to edit the timelines I guess.

The other thing that the filmmakers have done is built Tolkien's world of magic and history so successfully, it really feels as if the viewer has been transported into Middle Earth.
A lot of it is CG dependent, but it's very well put together, and when combined with the magnificent sets that were built, it really comes to realism.

The main part of the the movie that stands out though, is when the cast are placed in front of the fantastic backdrop of Middle Earth.

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins is mark of absolute genius. He's incredibly believable and captures the sheer essence of the character with such skill, it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role.
Backing him up is the wonderful Sean Astin as Frodo's friend/bodyguard/companion/gardener called Samwise Gamgee, and is another mark of genius. The on-screen chemistry between the two is brilliantly real and Astin is fantastically out of his depth, eventually becoming a stalwart warrior in the series of events.
Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf... in fear of repeating myself... is yet another mark of genius from the filmmakers. McKellen was absolutely born for this role, even though at the time of filming, he hadn't ever read the novels.
Viggo Mortensen as Strider/Aragorn though, isn't quite what I was hoping for. His character has changed substantially in the transition from book to film, but Mortensen carries the rewritten role brilliantly.

Backing them up are Sean Bean as Boromir, Orlando Bloom as the kick-ass Elf Legolas, John Rhys-Davies as the Dwarf Gimli and...
Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan provide a touch of lighthearted comic relief as the Hobbits known as Peregrin 'Pippin' Took and Merriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck respectively.
Plus a gazillion extras and stuntmen as the Orks and Uruk Hai enemies for the main group to battle against.

The overall on-screen chemistry between the main cast is great throughout.

The other thing that gets the audience is the incredible actions scenes that show from time to time. They're exciting and very well choreographed.

All in all, though there are quite a few changes in the book-film transition, including a few changes to characters and even the odd plotline, it's still a fantastic movie and captures pretty much everything a fan would want from the source material. And it works for anyone who hasn't read the books too, it's that good.
My rating 95%
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The Two Towers

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2a/LOTRTTTmovie.jpg/220px-LOTRTTTmovie.jpg

Following on from directly The Fellowship of The Ring, Frodo and Sam are seperated from the rest of the group and find themselves stalked by a strange and upsetting character called Golum. They must protect the Ring from this creature and find a way to destroy the ring at the same time.
Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin have also been seperated from the group and captured by the Uruk Hai. In hot pursuit are Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, determined to save their Hobbit friends from the awful fate that awaits them at the hands of the Uruk Hai.
Again though... more unexpected adventure awaits on the differing paths that our heroes have taken and in the process, it will bring our heroes to the brink of destruction.

Another masterclass in filmmaking... again with more cutting and the editing out of Tolkien's random ramblings and changes to the plot and the characters during the transition, however once again, the filmmakers have still managed to piece together a magnificent story that captures Tolkien's world.

The overall look of the film is more action oriented this time round but the character development involved gives the action a heartfelt excitement.
There's also massive expansion throughout the world of Middle Earth, especially with the extra characters that are seen throughout.
The CG work has also been improved, especially with the creature Golum, he's exceptionally realistic and Andy Serkis made his career in the role (I'll get to him later).

What really makes the movie stand apart from the first, is the action. It's absolutely immense. The audience are treated to a 10,000 strong Uruk Hai army, fighting against Humans and Elves. There's also an army of walking trees for the audience to get excitied over too.
The overall choreography in the action has been ramped up as well.

The acting throughout is as the first, Aragorn's role in the story is expanded and Frodo and Sam's side story makes for quite a dark turn of events and they all hit their roles with perfection.
Bernard Hill makes a welcome show as King Theoden, he's by far one of the best on show.
Karl Urban also makes an impression and the tough and able warrior called Eomer, and Nephew of King Theoden.

Andy Serkis is who steals the show though as Golum. The actor is never actually seen on-screen but the use of motion-capture and Serkis' voiceover in the role, Golum is exceptionally realistic and the CG used is top notch.

All in all, it outweighs the first film by miles with the slightly darker feel and expanded storylines.
But with more plot and character changes during the transition, I feel I must mark it down again like I did the first movie, though it doesn't take too much away.
My rating 96%
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The Return Of The King

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0d/EsdlaIII.jpg/220px-EsdlaIII.jpg

With Frodo and Sam getting closer to the goal of destroying The One Ring, Golum has other plans for the duo, and Sam must figure out what it is that he's up to before it's too late.
Meanwhile Gandalf and Pippin have headed to Minas Tirith, the main human city in a land called Gondor, as Pippin has accidentally discovered Sauron's plans to attack the place in the hope that it will send humans into a state of disrepair. It's up to Gandalf and Pippin to warn and prepare the city for the oncoming onslaught.
King Theoden, along with Eomer is building an army of King Theoden's men and a few allies and are also heading to Minas Tirith to support the war against Sauron.
Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn have taken a seperate path, where Aragorn must either face his destiny, or leave Middle Earth to fall apart around him under the brutality of Sauron.

Once again, the filmmakers have ramped absolutely everthing up for the third installment of LOTR.
Though there's not as many new added lead characters involved, the existing characters are given much more personal expansion in this one, especially with King Theoden and Aragorn... but it's with Frodo and Sam that the real character writing makes an impression as Frodo falls deep into the evilness of The Ring.

What the viewer is given though is a look at a few other various Peoples of Middle Earth, even though many of them are bad guys.

There's also a massive expansion in the action side of things too. The audience are given more huge battles that take up most of the second and third acts of the film... one battle in particular is supposedly close to a half million strong enemy force.

The CG work and choreography is also ramped up again.

The acting throughout is, again, spot on. There's more chemistry this time round (if that was even possible), especially between Mortensen, Bloom and Rhys-Davies.
Elijah Wood and Sean Astin though really steal the show in this third film. Frodo's descent into madness and darkness is exceptionally well played by Wood, and Astin's "Samwise The Brave" is really a show of genuine acting.

All in all, a fitting and satisfactory end to Jackson's trilogy (I say Jackson's trilogy, as it is Jackson's, not Tolkien's). Again though, various changes in character and plot mark it down for me... but it's still an absolutely spell binding movie, a touch more improved than the second movie too and still well deserving of LOTR's title.
My rating 97%
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Because Jackson's LOTR trilogy is quite often classed as one big movie (due mainly to the fact that they were all filmed simultaneously), for the first time in my reviews thread I'm giving a movie series an Overall Rating:

LOTR as a movie Trilogy: 96%
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mastermetal777

06-27-12, 07:35 PM

One of the most exceptional, brilliant, mesmerizing, and - dare I say - fantastic fantasy film series I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing in theaters for each release. I had never heard of or read the books until I saw these films, and I'm proud to say I own the collection of novels in my library.

Also, how could you ignore the amazing performance of Sauruman (not sure of spelling) by Christopher Lee? He was perfect in that role, especially his legendary and commanding voice.

The Rodent

06-27-12, 07:54 PM

I have to say that on a personal level, I would have marked the films down into the 80%-85% margin because of my feelings toward the books. But being non-biased and looking at the way the movies have been put together (as I try to do with all my reviews), I had to be fair and put them up into the 90s.

I'm a stalwart fan of the books, I read them when I was a kid and have read them a couple of times since and though they're pretty boring at times, they far out-class Jackson's movies.

I just wished the filmmakers had kept to the books with a lot of the stuff, instead of changing characters, character traits, even completely changing some of the character storylines and overall plot points too.
I won't go right into the changes in case it spoils the movies for anyone who hasn't read the books seeing as the films are so enjoyable, but I will say... if you haven't read them, do so.

mastermetal777

06-27-12, 08:37 PM

Agreed, but it worked with the movie they were showing, as they wanted to make at least some of the characters more believable as human beings instead of symbolic figures as Tolkien intended them to be in his works (works well for novels, but not so well for films as I've experienced). I realize that they took out a lot. A lot of cuts I understand because Tolkien does have a tendency to ramble in the books. Other cuts made me a little upset, but I'm glad the final product of the film was what it was, and I honestly wouldn't want it any other way.

The Rodent

06-30-12, 04:06 PM

Currently watching this on telly...

Review #111: Edward Scissorhands

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3b/Edwardscissorhandsposter.JPG/220px-Edwardscissorhandsposter.JPG

Avon Lady and homemaker Peg Boggs, in desperate need of cash, decides to go to the house at the end of her street to sell some of her Avon goodies.
The house in question is said to be haunted and, physically the house resembles something out of a Dracula movie.
Entering the dilapidated house after nobody answers the door, she finds a lone man called Edward, dressed in leather and with scissors where his hands should be.
Taking almost a pity on this loner, she takes him to her own home and her family welcome him in as one their own. But circumstances beyond Edward's control see him going from neighbourhood celebrity, to a wanted man and scape-goat, conveniently accused of things he hasn't done.

One of Burton's best movies sees Johnny Depp in the role that threw him into the minds of mainstream movie fans.
The overall movie won't appeal to everyone, but Burton's direction has created a very clever visual movie that uses pastel-colour and non-colour to show the themes of contrasting sides of life, society, prejudice, fear and difference.

The overall screenplay is also very well pieced together. The movie succesfully captures the frustrations of the normal person, and mixes them with naivety of both Edward and the naive mentality of the people that are around him.

The movie also contains a lot of situational humour and fish-out-of-water humour too.
In Burton's usual style, he also mixes into it a gothic undertone at the same time.
There's little to no action involved, but there are a few hits of tension and some wonderfully written emotional scenes too between Depp And Winona Ryder.

The acting is pretty good for the type of film.
Dianne Wiest is very engaging as the homemaker and initial protagonist Peg Boggs.
Winona Ryder is also pretty good as Kim Boggs, Peg's daughter and love interest to Edward. I'm not a fan of Ryder but she hits the role brilliantly. I'd say it's probably one of her best.

Johnny Depp as Edward though, obviously is the stand out role in the movie. His portrayal of the quiet, innocent loner, who looks at the strange new world around him with a wide eyed wonder, is wonderfully real and funny at times too.
It's also the role that brought Depp and Ryder together in real life.

All in all, not a perfect movie, but certainly makes an impression on the viewer with the visuals and the overall love story being so well written.
Burton's gothic touches are also well placed and set the film apart from most other Frankenstein-esk love stories.
My rating 93%
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Gabriella Lynn

06-30-12, 04:09 PM

I love love love that movie!!!! :D

nebbit

06-30-12, 08:06 PM

Nice review Mouse :yup:

JayDee

07-01-12, 04:30 PM

Love Edward Scissorhands! One of my very favourites. :yup: Nice review

The Rodent

07-01-12, 05:58 PM

Cheers guys! Working on another Western at the moment.

I love Westerns.

mastermetal777

07-01-12, 11:19 PM

Excellent. Keep up the good work, Rodent. So far, I agree with the majority of your reviews, except for a few. Particularly, your review of Super 8. I know you try to remain unbiased, but I thought you were a little harsh on it. I thought the film was a great homage to the Spielberg classics, and the child actors, though not perfect (who expects that from child actors, honestly?), they were pretty good in my opinion. Using your rating system, I'd give it an 85% from my end. That's a 4 out of 5 from me.

The Rodent

07-02-12, 09:33 AM

I had to mark Super 8 down, I felt cheated while I was watching it.

After the marketing, I really looked forward to seeing it, especially with Abrams and Spielberg working together I thought it couldn't go wrong...

... but when I saw it, I just felt like it was a poorly 'written' movie. I say 'written' because all they did was use ideas from other movies.
The little actors are probably the best thing about the movie.

mastermetal777

07-02-12, 11:32 AM

Well yeah, they used ideas from other films, but I felt they got the job done really well. I had 50/50 hopes of either enjoying/hating the film, and I was really entertained by the entire thing. In my opinion, with the elements they used from similar films, it feels like a film that pays tribute to the rest, and doesn't try to make something new. I think that's why I like it so much. Not cuz it brought anything new to the table, but because it reminded me of the charm I felt when watching E.T. and the like.

The Rodent

07-02-12, 11:45 AM

I know what you're saying mate, Super 8 captures the feel that it set out to capture, and does it really very succesfully, Paul is a similar movie, it does the job it set out to do and does it well... I just wasn't expecting Super 8 to be the way it is, hence why I felt cheated.

A recent thread on the forum was Trailer Trolls, I think Super 8 fits that bill perfectly.
The marketing showed a sci-fi adventure movie with a few touches of mystery, a bit of humour and maybe some horror mixed in too... with a strange thing taking over a town with kids at pretty much the center of proceedings.

But when I actually saw the movie and realised they'd made it a simple homage to Spielberg classics's's from the 70s and 80s rather than an original adventure that the trailers made it out to be, it put a huge dampener on it for me.
It's pretty enjoyable for a post pub film if nothing else in on telly, but from a personal viewpoint, it's just not really worth it's weight in paper or the praise it gets.

mastermetal777

07-02-12, 11:49 AM

Well, to each their own. I liked it, you didn't, moving on.

The Rodent

07-02-12, 08:29 PM

Quick change, no western this time, but will get one done soon...

... instead, with the sequel coming soon this year...

Review #112: The Expendables

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/76/Expendablesposter.jpg/220px-Expendablesposter.jpg

A bunch of Mercenaries are hired to take out a South American Dictator, their job is simply an 'in and out hard hitting mission', under the guidance of a local woman called Sandra, who knows the area.
Upon scoping out the mission, Team Leader Barney Ross (Stallone) decides it's too risky and aborts the mission... but Sandra is captured and Ross has his conscience played on by the fact that she was captured due to their involvement with her.
He decides to go back into the warzone, to take out the Dictator, and free the woman he barely knows...

... tagging along, whether he wants them to or not, are his Band Of Mercenary Brothers...

... The Expendables.

A serious throwback to the 80s and 90s musclebound hero genre, from Predator to Die Hard and from pretty much anything with Schwarzenegger to anything starring Stallone himself...
... The Expendables hits hard and fast and has a very simplistic story of morality behind it.

It also contains pretty original character sidelines too, most of them containing morality and conscience tweaking backstory.
The movie then combines action heroes of years gone by with a few modern ones too and gives them some almost comicbook adapted names (Toll Road, Hale Caesar, Yin Yang etc), then throws the whole lot into an explosive no-brainer for pretty much the entire second and third acts.

What makes the movie work, is that it never hides from what it is...

... it's a no-brainer, yes, but at least has that throw-back storyline to it... but it knows it's a no-brainer and it knows it's actually been written that way too.
Stallone has also incorporated some top class acting from a bunch of guys that aren't really known for their acting prowess.
They're all lots of fun and really know their place in the story, and know their places in their roles, and can all punch the bad guy (albeit with an overly used bass sound effect) absolutely brilliantly.
The main thing really though when taking the movie in, is ego.

The Expendables crew consists of Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Randy Couture and Terry Crews with backup from Mickey Rourke and Dolph Lundgren.

Baddies include Eric Roberts, David Zayas, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and Gary Daniels.

Backing up all those heavy hitters are Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger in smaller cameo appearances but both on screen at the same time as Stallone. That's something to see, believe me.

The action is also turned up for fans of the 80s/90s actioner... it's very big, very loud, very OTT, full of cheesey one-liners and quite simply... it knows it is.
It's lots of fun and makes someone in their 30s, like me, reminisce for those days gone by.
The other thing with the action, is that the entire cast suffered injuries while filming, especially Stallone when he came up against Steve Austin. It's very hard hitting.

The sequel that's out this year, though with some bad press recently, hopefully will be as explosive as this one... especially with additional scenes between Arnie, Willis and Stallone and the heavy hitting additions of Van Damme (playing a baddie called Jean Villain, yes, another comicbook name), and Chuck Norris as an Expendable too.

All in all a mixed reception gave The Expendables a low(ish) score, but it never tries to be something that it isn't. It's loud, brash, fun, comicbook and has the nostalgic no-brainer feel about it.
What makes it work... is that it's completely shameless.
My rating 90%
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mastermetal777

07-02-12, 10:27 PM

Is it wrong to say that I'm one of the few guys who didn't like The Expendables? To me, it just didn't interest me as much as I thought it would. It felt like the Pro Bowl (American football all-star game), in that I felt it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. I can enjoy a mindless action shoot-em-up film, but this just had too many action stars for my taste. Plus, I couldn't keep up with the action at all. Moved too fast for me.

donniedarko

07-03-12, 03:09 AM

The Rodent

07-03-12, 08:27 AM

Agreed, the romantic thing was a bit contrived, but the overall blast-em-up feel worked well.
Made me feel like I was back in the 80s again.

honeykid

07-03-12, 02:23 PM

This lost me after about 20 minutes. I'll probably give it another some day, but for what reason I don't yet know.

The Rodent

07-03-12, 02:52 PM

You guys must be too young to remember the 80s musclebound no-brainers.

I can see the disliking for it... but for what it is, it's pretty good.

JayDee

07-03-12, 08:35 PM

Man I really need to watch The Expendables. I honestly have no real idea why I haven't yet. I really fancied it at the cinema but wasn't able to catch it. I was so sure I would like it that I then blind bought it right when it came out pretty much and intended to watch it right away. That didn't quite happen and then I just kind of forgot about it. Will definitely get it watched soon.

mastermetal777

07-04-12, 11:57 AM

Rodent, whenever your done with your latest Western review(s), have you given a proper review of The Artist yet? If so, I'm probably too lazy to search for it amongst the many wonderful reviews you have. If not, try pinging up a review sooner or later, if it's not too much trouble.

The Rodent

07-04-12, 12:14 PM

Not done The Artist yet mate. Will stick it on my list...

Here's a run down of all my reviews so far...

1 Young Guns
2 A Nightmare On Elm Street Remake
3 2012
4 Cowboys And Aliens
5 Cloverfield
6 Leon
7 Dreamcatcher
8 Alien 3 Definitive Version Vs Theatrical Release
9 The 'Burbs
10 Starship Troopers

11 Predator
12 Robocop
13 John Carpenter's The Thing
14 Alien Vs Predator and Aliens Vs Predator Requiem
15 Terminator Franchise (1-4)
16 The Fourth Kind
17 Jurassic Park
18 Pirates Of The Caribbean Original Trilogy (1-3)
19 The Dark Crystal
20 Tremors

21 Paul
22 Full Metal Jacket
23 Demolition Man
24 Dumb And Dumber
25 Ridley Scott's Robin Hood
26 Christopher Reeve Superman Franchise (1-4) And Superman Returns
27 Batman Begins
28 The Dark Knight
29 Ghostbusters
30 Star Wars Franchise (1-6)

31 Critters
32 Matrix Franchise (1-3)
33 Arachnophobia
34 Super 8
35 The Shawshank Redemption
36 The Abyss
37 Troll Hunter
38 John Carpenter's The Fog
39 Dog Soldiers
40 The Shining

41 Indiana Jones Franchise (1-4)
42 Robert Rodriguez' Predators
43 Sam Raimi's Spider Man Franchise (1-3)
44 Rocky Franchise (1-5 And Rocky Balboa)
45 The Lost Boys
46 Evolution
47 Alien Franchise (1-4 Including A Rerun Of Review 8)
48 Jurassic Park Franchise (1-3 Including A Rerun Of Review 17)
49 Gremlins Franchise (1 & 2)
50 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Original Movie)

51 30 Days Of Night
52 From Dusk Till Dawn
53 I, Robot
54 Steven Spielberg's War Of The Worlds
55 Bladerunner
56 Armageddon
57 Signs
58 The Quick And The Dead
59 Ransom
60 The Big Lebowski

61 Ghostbusters Franchise (1 & 2 Including A Rerun Of Review 29)
62 Pitch Black
63 The Day After Tomorrow
64 Independence Day
65 Cat's Eye
66 Equilibrium
67 Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
68 The Karate Kid (Original Movie)
69 Die Hard Franchise (1-4)
70 Poltergeist

71 The Passion Of The Christ
72 Paranormal Activity
73 Paranormal Activity 2
74 Pulp Fiction
75 Critters Franchise (1-4 Including A Rerun Of Review 31)
76 Unforgiven
77 Black Hawk Down
78 The Fly (1986)
79 Lake Placid
80 Back To The Future Franchise (1-3)

81 Lethal Weapon Franchise (1-4)
82 Star Trek Franchise (1-11)
83 Of Mice And Men
84 An American Werewolf In London
85 Predator 2 (Including Reruns of Reviews 11 & 42)
86 Jaws
87 American Pie Original Trilogy
88 Godzilla
89 The Negotiator
90 The Green Mile

91 The Mist
92 Silent Hill
93 Highlander
94 The Goonies
95 Batman
96 Batman Returns
97 I Am Legend
98 Titanic
99 Saving Private Ryan
100 Avatar (100th Review, 150th Movie)

101 The Simpsons Movie
102 District 9
103 Slither
104 Wanted
105 Casino
106 No Country For Old Men
107 Blown Away
108 The Cowboys
109 K-PAX
110 The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

111 Edward Scissorhands
112 The Expendables

The Rodent

07-04-12, 05:29 PM

Review #113: Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5b/Little_shop_of_horrors.jpg/215px-Little_shop_of_horrors.jpg

Seymour Krelborn, a local florist in Mr Mushnik's failing flower business, comes into possession of a strange an unearthly looking little plant that resembles a Venus Fly Trap.
Trying his best to keep the little plant alive, as its oddness seems to draw customers into the shop, he realises a disturbing truth... the plant needs fresh blood to survive.

But as the plant (now dubbed Audrey II, named after Seymour's love interest) gets bigger and bigger, Seymour realises another disturbing truth... it needs more and more blood in each sitting, and then Audrey II finally shows its real intentions and begins to actually talk.

What an absolutely spell binding movie... I'm not a fan of musicals at all, but Little Shop is an immensly well made movie.

It's extremely comicbook in design, from the humour to the horror and to the set design as well.
There's lashings of visual styling and even more lashings of comic styling in the extremely well written musical and dance numbers.

The acting is also top notch.
Comedic and acting genius Rick Moranis as Seymour is brilliantly geeky and nerdy, eventually doing what he can to save the world and the woman he loves. Moranis also shows his worth as a singer.
Ellen Greene is almost unrecognisable as Audrey, Seymours love interest. She's absolutely fantastic, especially her voice.
Steve Martin makes a brilliant turn as Dentist Orin Scrivello, Audrey's sadistic boyfriend and side-villain to the movie.

Support from Vincent Gardenia and cameos from Bill Murray, James Belushi, Christopher Guest and John Candy keep things rolling along nicely.

What really makes its mark on me though, every single time I watch... is the puppetry of Audrey II.
Utilising animatronics and trickery with various camera speeds, the filmmakers have managed to create a genuine character out of something that's made of rubber and wires.
I have yet to see any movie with any kind of animatronics, or even any modern CGI movie that has such a reality about it.
Voiced by the enigmatic Levi Stubbs (R&B Lead Vocalist with Four Tops), Audrey II is by far the best overall 'creature in a feature' I have ever seen.

It's with Audrey II that most of the action comes into play too, and it's very well put together in choreography and puppetry... if a little lacking in actual quantity.

All in all, wonderfully written in story, screenplay and musical numbers... brilliantly choreographed in dance and action... the finest puppetry I have ever seen and is simply just a load of fun to watch.
Undoubtedly a classic.
My rating 100%
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Justin

07-05-12, 03:01 AM

Wow, I haven't watched that in years. Thanks for reminding me.

The Rodent

07-05-12, 05:08 PM

Here's the Western I've been working on...

Review #114: 3:10 To Yuma (2007)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a2/310_to_Yuma_poster.jpg/220px-310_to_Yuma_poster.jpg

Dan Evans, a failing rancher is driving his herd of cattle across the big-country with his two sons... in the process they witnesses a man called Ben Wade and his posse of outlaws robbing a stagecoach.
Dan and his sons are spotted by Wade and end up losing their horses to the posse as well.
While walking back toward the town of Bisbee with a near-dead survivor of the stagecoach robbery, they are met by Bisbee lawmen, where Evans explains that Wade and the posse have actually headed into the town that the lawmen have just come from.
After the succesful but relatively accidental arrest of Ben Wade, the law of the town and owner of the robbed stagecoach decide to get Wade onto the 3:10pm train to Yuma Prison, under the escort of several armed men
Dan Evans sees an opportunity and steps up to the challenge of helping to escort Wade to the train station for a fee of $200, as he needs the money to pay off a debt.

What stands in their way though is Wade's gang of outlaws, who will stop at nothing to free their leader.

For a modern Western, 3:10 is relatively enjoyable, but not without many faults.
A remake of the 1957 film of the same name, this outing feels pretty bare and the ensemble cast feel just like they're going through the motions, awaiting their paychecks at the end of filming.

The screenplay is tip top and the overall action side of things is quite exciting, but other than that the movie feels pretty hollow.

The filmmakers have tried to add little touches of emotional backstory to the proceedings and have tried to build on the little legends of the characters, and there's a little sub-plot of Wade and Evans becoming almost friends and gaining a mutual respect for each others' tenacity as the gunfights are taking place... but mainly it's all a bit of a miss affair.
A lot of it is pretty forgettable too.

There are also a lot of quiet sections in the film. Anyone after a guns-blazing Western may find themselves getting bored at times.

Russell Crowe as Ben Wade is relatively believable as the super-gunfighter and outlaw leader, his overall presence on screen is quite fresh compared to some of his more recent outings in Hollywood.
Christian Bale, for me, wasn't really that good as Dan Evans. He seems to just recite his lines as if he's bored with the whole thing. He never really feels part of proceedings. His screen presence is noticable, but nothing that will live with the viewer for any longer than the film's running time.
Ben Foster as Wade's next-in-charge called Charlie Prince is by far the best of the cast. He's extremely unnerving and very believable.

Support from Peter Fonda, Logan Lerman, Dallas Roberts Allan Tudyk, Kevin Durand and Luke Wilson give the movie a little weight, but still, it feels more of a "let's get these guys onboard for the sake of it" situation.
There is some chemistry on-screen between the leading actors, but it's not enough.

I will say though, the action scenes are really well put together. They're exciting and very well choreographed.

All in all, I'm finding it hard to see why the movie was raved about so much by critics and can't understand why it was given such high reviews ratings.
It's enjoyable in the action stakes, yes, but anyone who's after a plausable storyline or any kind of coherant plot, may be disappointed.
My rating 74%
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mastermetal777

07-05-12, 05:16 PM

Seems like one of those movies to watch on TV when nothing else is on. Mildly entertaining, but only until the next episode of Falling Skies starts (my favorite show that's on right now)

The Rodent

07-05-12, 05:19 PM

That's pretty much the reason I watched it myself MM.

Post pub entertainment when all that's on telly is Freeview Teleshopping.

Powderfinger

07-09-12, 11:22 AM

Post pub entertainment when all that's on telly is Freeview Teleshopping.

Not in Australia however! Most Pubs, Clubs, RSL's have Horse Racing, Greyhound, Trots and a lot of people watch the and bet, also they have replays of famous sporting games, or, last weekend sporting fixtures.

mastermetal777

07-09-12, 01:53 PM

I have another request, Rodent. How about reviewing the Disney/Pixar lineup from Toy Story onward? I know the majority of them are fantastic, but I wanna hear a more objective point of view, since your reviews seem to do that very well.

The Rodent

07-09-12, 07:46 PM

Well, my next review is #115... what I can do... is a standard review for #115, then 116-120 I'll go for a Pixar Marathon.

The Rodent

07-10-12, 03:09 PM

Review #115: Trainspotting

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/Trainspotting_ver2.jpg

Mark Renton is a heroin addict, so are most of his friends.
He has a loving family, but the circles he hangs around in just get him into more and more trouble.
After a particularly bad dose of heroin, Renton has small dreams of getting off the drugs and making a clean break.
Seeing an opportunity for a new start, Renton makes his plans... and hopes to God it works out... so he can Choose Life.

But his dark past and his 'friends' are bound to follow him, whether he still wants them as 'friends', or not.

One of the most famous British movies of all time and also one of the most successful, made legends out of the lead cast.
The screenplay, dialogue and plot are hard to watch at times ue to the way the filmmakers show the harsh sides of life, and the film borders on surreal from time to time too.
What Danny Boyle (Directing), Irvine Welsh (Writing) and John Hodge (Producing) have built though, is an incredibly realistic, funny, heartwarming, inspiring... yet disturbing and heartbreaking story of modern youth (well, youth of the mid 1990s).

The film is all about the characters and the story and the concequences involved in the subject matters... rather than just being all out drug taking and swearing.
Trainspotting cleverly builds up the character association to the audience using humour and real life situations and human behaviour, then gives you a big slap across the face with the realism of the events that unfold on-screen.
It can get uncomfortable to watch... but emotionally rather than just gross out.

The actors involved made their careers with the movie and are all at the top of their game.
Ewan McGregor as Renton is extremely natural in the role. His cheeky persona really shines through and the scenes involving some of the nastier subject matters are an acting triumph.
Ewen Bremner stars as 'Spud' Murphy, Renton's best friend. More of a comic relief character but Bremner's natural nerdiness almost steals the show. Especially when he's been up to no good.
Backing them up are Jonny Lee Miller as 'Sick Boy', Kelly Macdonald as Renton's 'girlfriend' called Diane and the brilliant Kevin McKidd as Tommy.

Robert Carlyle as psychopath Francis 'Franco' Begbie steals the show though. He's by far one of the most memorable characters in any movie, let alone Trainspotting. He goes from a funny Jack-The-Lad character to something incredibly unstable within a heartbeat. He makes a seriously lasting impression on the viewer.

All in all, the low budget filmmaking, cast of genuine characters and genius actors and a screenplay that rivals any big budget flick make the movie a must see, even for those who aren't fans of gritty and disturbing subject matters.
Trainspotting went down in history at time of release, a lot of it was down to controversy but, quite rightly, it has stayed in the history books for over 15 years, simply due to being a very well made movie.
My rating 98%
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JayDee

07-10-12, 08:15 PM

Got 3:10 to Yuma on DVD but never got round to watching it. I do really like the original though, one of the few westerns so far that I really like/love.

Little Shop of Horrors is such a fun film. :yup: Did you just watch it on TV a few nights back? I caught a stretch of it in the background. Just love Steve Martin's role in it. :D

Oh and what the hell ever happened to Rick Moranis? He was great, but I imagine I've not seen him in anything for like 15-20 years.

EDIT - Just checked and found out he actually retired from acting back in 1997. After his wife died six years previously he decided to stop acting to take care of his kids.

The Rodent

07-11-12, 10:04 AM

Yeah I watched Little Shop on TV a few ngihts ago... made me think "That needs reviewing" lol!

Yeah Moranis retired... there were rumours he was going to do one last movie with Ghostbusters 3... but that's all speculation.

The Rodent

07-11-12, 07:56 PM

Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon

Review #116 (1st of 5): A Bug's Life

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2c/Bugslifeposter.jpg/220px-Bugslifeposter.jpg

A colony of Ants lives in fear of a marauding band of vicious Grasshoppers. Every season, the Ants gather food and supplies and give most of it away to the Grasshopper gang as a peace offering.
Due to the inventions of and Ant called 'Flik', this season's supplies end up washed away in an accident and Flik is seen as more of a hinderance to the colony's survival.
Hopper, the leader of the Grasshoppers, grants the colony more time to regather more supplies, but demands twice as much in the peace offering as compensation, or the colony will pay the concequences.
Flik takes it upon himself to find a group of Warrior Bugs to fight off the Grasshoppers if the plan to gather food fails.
But what he finds isn't quite what he was expecting. Can he save the day?

Disney-Pixar's second release was well over 10 years in development. In incorporates many seen-before-ideas, Seven Samurai and The Ant And The Grasshopper being the official inspirations to the movie.
When watching events unfold though, The Three Amigos comes to mind too.

What the filmmakers have created though, is a highly original world filled with many inventive ideas and touches of Toy-Story-esk 'world appropriate' humour and creations.
The movie as a whole has a pretty linear screenplay and will appeal more to kids rather than the more sophisticated moviegoer, but adults will still get a kick from the tongue-in-cheek originality of the 'never thought of that' moments of humour and scene settings.
Some of the little moments of peril will also keep adults interested and the kids excited.

The animation is also top notch. After near 15 years, it still holds up against most modern computer-generated animation.
It's colourful, bright, very original and keeps everyone watching, fixed to the screen with the viewer friendly look of the settings.

The voicecasting is also bang on the money.
Dave Foley, Denis Leary, Roddy McDowell, Holly Hunter, David Hyde Pierce and Kevin Spacey are just some of the Hollywood heavyweights that are all on top form.

All in all, for Disney-Pixar's second only movie of its kind, it's absolutely top notch, especially with the 'world appropriate' humour.
It's also a lot of fun for anyone who's simply after a nice hour or so of colourful user friendly animation.
My rating 91%
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The Rodent

07-11-12, 09:41 PM

Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon

Review #117 (2nd of 5): Cars

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/34/Cars_2006.jpg/220px-Cars_2006.jpg

Lightning McQueen, a rookie racecar, desperate to practice for his first championship race, ends up in an accident and ruins the roadway in a middle-of-nowhere town called Radiator Springs, in the desert.
McQueen is given community service (charged with fixing the road) by the law of the town for his mischief and he rushes the job so he can practice for his next race... but because of his lack of enthusiasm for the job, he is ordered to do it again.
In the process, he learns the value of friendship as he becomes known around the town and even finds love.
When his time comes to leave the town and go for his all-important race... he quickly and carelessly throws his new friendships aside... but life lessons that he'll never forget are waiting just around the corner.

Not one of Pixar's best.
A very bland story of morality, caked in flashy animation give the audience a pretty linear and predictable turn of events.
The screenplay is at quite a loss too. It's not conventional, which should make it stand out from the crowd, but sadly, it's just as lost as the well-used plotlines.
Think of it as a cross between Doc Hollywood and The Colour Of Money and you're getting there.

The movie is definitely more for the kids, especially with the flashy CGI... there's very, very little for the older generation to get enthusiastic about.
Even Pixar's famous situational-tongue-in-cheek humour misses its mark more than once.
It just feels as if the writers had better things on their minds.

The voice acting is probably the best part of the whole film really, but it's still extremely forgettable.
Owen Wilson as our main car Lightning McQueen is ok. He delivers an apt performance for the poor script he's been given.
Hollywood Stars Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin and Michael Keaton do very little to lift the poor dialogue, though they do their best.

Paul Newman shines through though as Doc Hudson, a new found mentor to Owen's Lghtning McQueen.

As for the CGI, even with the technology of the computers being ramped up for the movie, it feels very samey and has had little effect on the finished product. It's hard to see where all the improvements were made to the tech.

All in all, close to being Pixar's biggest fail, the sequel, Cars 2, took that spot but this first movie is very close.
Enjoyable for kids and anyone who prefers flash with no bang... anyone else will be disappointed by the lack of the imagination and originality that made Pixar famous.
My rating 38%
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rauldc14

07-11-12, 10:22 PM

Looking to see Ratatouille, Up, and Wall E next. No pressure lol

The Rodent

07-11-12, 10:26 PM

Aww... Wall E is on the list, but, not to spoil things... I've got two others lined up.
Ratatouille didn't even cross my mind and I haven't seen Up yet either :o

The Rodent

07-11-12, 11:03 PM

Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon

Review #118 (3rd of 5): Monsters Inc.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/14/Movie_poster_monsters_inc_2.JPG/220px-Movie_poster_monsters_inc_2.JPG

James P. "Sulley" Sullivan and Michael "Mike" Wazowski are two Monsters who work together at a Power Plant that harvests childrens' screams as energy.
Using 'portal' doors that allow access to childrens' closets at night, they are able to use childrens' fear of Closet Monsters and scare them into screaming. That energy is then used to power the city of Monstropolis.
But when Sully discovers one of the Portals has been left unattended, he responsibly checks it out... unwittingly and unwillingly bringing a little girl from her own world back with him, into the Monsters' world.
Can Sully and his best pal Mike find a way to return her safely?
Or will their efforts to right the wrong bring them into a situation that they really didn't want to be in?

One of the most universally entertaining movies from Pixar this time round.
Monsters Inc is exceptionally well made.

The movie incorporates highly original storytelling and fish-out-of-water gags with an incredibly imaginative plot... then throws the whole lot into a world of pure creation and imagination. Pixar's 'world appropriate' humour is absolutely rife throughout the film too, and it doesn't miss a beat, not once.
Some of the little plot turns and role reversals between kids and monsters is also a nice little touch.

From the initial conception to getting it onto screen, took 7 years, and you can really see where the time was spent in the Creative Department.

The CG work is really exceptional this time round too. It's bright and colourful, like all of Pixar's work... but it's the fine details that make it stand out from the other Pixar movies. Especially Sully, his 'fur' is awesome.

What makes the movie really stand out are the voice cast.
Comedy geniuses John Goodman and Billy Crystal as Sully and Mike (respectively) are by far the finest voiceover tag-team ever put to animation. Their natural comedic timing is rivalled only by their understanding of dramatic and emotional voice acting. They're very good indeed.
Mary Gibbs (the daughter of one of the filmmakers) as the little girl, affectionately dubbed 'Boo' is a work of genius from the filmmakers too.
With Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Tilly, Frank Oz, John Ratzenberger, Bonnie Hunt and James Coburn adding much, much more to the extremely well written roles throughout, it lifts the movie to even greater heights.

The action scenes are also something that's top drawer. It'll get younger audiences excited and... I, as an adult, actually got quite into it too. It's wonderfully playful and very well put together.

All in all, one of the finest animated films I've seen. Highly creative and playful and will appeal to all ages from beginning to end. It's also laugh out loud funny at times, which is something not every Pixar film has.
My rating 100%
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Flimmaker1473

07-11-12, 11:05 PM

A shame you didn't like Cars.

Monsters Inc was a really good Pixar film. Not as good as the Toy Story films, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo or Wall-E. But good.

The Rodent

07-11-12, 11:47 PM

Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon

Review #119 (4th of 5): WALL-E

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c2/WALL-Eposter.jpg/220px-WALL-Eposter.jpg

Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth Class, also known as WALL-E, is a little robot who works on a deserted planet Earth, around 700 years from present day.
Day after day, he heads into the nearby ruined city and gathers litter and garbage into neat piles.
When an extremely high tech robot appears in the city and starts conducting mysterious searches through the rubble, WALL-E falls in love...

...but his affections for this sleek new fem-bot will take him on a journey that will change the course of not just his existence, but the lives of everyone and everything he comes into contact with.

What an amazing movie.
WALL-E encapsulates everything that's magical about cinema and turns up the charm to heights I never thought possible.

The story is pretty simplistic, but Pixar have captured an extremely wonderful balance of innocence, humour, peril, cuteness and sheer joy with this movie.
Some of the wonderfully concieved 'artistic' visuals in the film had me smiling too. It's a very beautiful movie to watch.
Again, Pixar's signature situation 'world appropriate' humour is used throughout, but it's the sights and especially the sounds of the movie that make the biggest impression.

The lead characters, not just WALL-E, but all of them, actually say very little but bleeps, bloops and electronic buzzes and are animated with such a magnificent style, that you really believe in the personalities that you're witnessing on screen.

A lot of the personalities seen are also very funny at times. Anyone who has seen the film will know what I mean when I say: M-O, the Obsessive Compulsive Micro Obliterator.

Most of the movie's first act requires a touch of imagination by the viewer, which gives the film a whole new depth in audience connection.

The movie does suffer a small amount when the human characters are introduced, but not by a lot. They're still as likeable as their robotic counterparts and are nicely rendered by the computer imagery. The world created for the third act is also wonderfully playful and even has touches of satirical imagery to it too.

There's not a great deal to say about the voiceover work but Jeff Garlin as Captain B McCrea stands out.
MacInTalk as the ship's autopilot 'Auto' is, strangely, another standout role too.
Sound effects Wizard Ben Burtt is the voice of WALL-E and he's exceptionally good.

Most of the action takes place in the third act, and when it gets going, it doesn't disappoint. There were even a few moments that had me on the edge of my seat.

All in all, a magical experience to see and hear and is by far and away Pixar's best work. Not only is it heartwarming, but also heartbreaking, and...
... it's very funny in places too and will, I guarantee, melt even the hardiest of hearts.
My rating 101%
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Sexy Celebrity

07-12-12, 01:01 AM

Review #115: Trainspotting

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/Trainspotting_ver2.jpg

Loved this movie! Glad you liked it.

mastermetal777

07-12-12, 02:49 AM

Nice reviews of Pixar films, Rodent.

A Bug's Life - very fun and bright film filled to the brim with originality.

Cars - This and Cars 2 are definitely Pixar's low points. They're all flash, no substance, and the story isn't even all that impressive. I'd only recommend this film for young children.

Monsters Inc. - My personal favorite next to The Incredibles. Very funny and one of the few movies that really made me tear up.

Wall-E - Okay, okay, maybe I find this film very charming, looking back on it now.

Once again, great job, Rodent. Can't wait to see what you chose as the 5th Pixar review. And you should view Up when you get the chance. In my opinion, Pixar's absolute best since the Toy Story trilogy.

akatemple

07-12-12, 03:22 AM

I am not that big of a Pixar fan, but I am really happy with your Trainspotting review, I couldn't agree with you more.

JayDee

07-12-12, 08:07 AM

Nice Pixar reviews so far Rodent. :up: I agree with how you've ranked them, even if I'd have rated Cars higher than you did.

Both Monsters Inc and Wall-e made my top 100 list. In fact Wall-e made it all the way to #7 and could see it rise over time. It's just a beautiful, magical movie. I really didn't think Pixar could ever top the wonderful Toy Story trilogy but I think Wall-e did it. Oh yeah and little M-O is terrific! :D

Although if you're taking requests I've got one - slow down a bit! :D I'll never catch you up at this rate. In terms of my larger, extended reviews I'm only at 65 reviews. So if you could take it down a notch to about one review a month I'll be within touching distance round about Christmas perhaps! :D

The Rodent

07-12-12, 12:12 PM

Cheers guys! Will get the 5th done today.
So far out of my picks I've done the most original, one of the worst, most imaginative, most beautiful, and the 5th will be... most _

:D

The Rodent

07-12-12, 01:02 PM

Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon

Review #120 (5th of 5): The Incredibles

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e0/Tiposter.jpg/220px-Tiposter.jpg

In a world where Superheroes (known as "Supers") exist but have been barred from using their powers, the Parr family have been forced into living a relatively normal life in the city of Metroville, with their true identities hidden from the world outside.
The father, Bob, goes to work in a pretty dead-end job but dreams of using his powers once again.
When a certain turn of events unfold in front of him at work, he shows his powers and his temper and loses his job... but more unexpected adventure awaits around the corner that will bring him and his entire family of Supers out of retirement... to save the world one last time.

Once again, Pixar have hit every nail right on the head.
Tapping into the spat of Superhero movies of the 2000s, they've created a relatively seen-before set of characters and events, but it's the classic nature and nostalgic feel of the movie mixed with top writing that brings out the excitement.

There's also lashing of situation comedy and that famous Pixar 'world appropriate' humour throughout the movie. With it being the superhero genre, it gives the humour much more of an explosive and loud-fun element compared to other Pixar movies.

The screenplay and overall writing, including dialogue are also bang on the money.
It's very well pieced together... you actually feel as if you know who these characters are, even after barely 10 minutes of running time. The audience connection is tip top.

The filmmakers have also had the great idea of giving the movie an Avengers/Justice League feel with the main family too: All with differing powers and differing personalities, all having to band together to save the day.
It adds such a fresh feel to the proceedings and the action.

The Incredibles though is really about the exciting action scenes and showing of the various powers of our Heroes. It's by far and away Pixar's most exciting movie. With the wonderfully colourful animation and the CGI itself being remarkably well rendered, it gives the more pacey scenes much more depth.
It's also brilliantly put together in 'choreography' terms too.

Piecing all of those things together and getting the final product to be as good as this, really couldn't have been easy... but Pixar's team of Superheroes managed it really very well.

The voicecasting is also a work of genius.
Craig T Nelson as Bob Parr/'Mr Incredible'.
Holly Hunter as Helen Parr/'Elastigirl'.
Spencer Fox as Dashiell Parr/'Dash'.
Sarah Vowell as Violet Parr.
Samuel L Jackson makes a nice appearance as Frozone, Mr Incredible's best pal. His natural loud persona gives the role an extra depth of humour and he plays off Nelson brilliantly.
Jason Lee steals the show though as antagonist Syndrome (real name Buddy). He extremely inept but actually gives the audience the threat of danger needed to keep the story going.

All actors involved though, whether it's the action scenes, the humour or some of the more emotional dramatic scenes... manage to hit their marks every time.

All in all, not Pixar's best work, but it's certainly the most exciting and has little dramatic scenes thrown in for good measure too.
Combining elements from many different seen-before-ideas and turning up the heat, The Incredibles is the kind of movie that is perfect for getting the whole family together on a Saturday night. It's simply lots of fun.
My rating 97%
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mastermetal777

07-12-12, 01:08 PM

I love The Incredibles. It's my absolute favorite Pixar film to date. It's definitely Pixar's most entertaining film, and it's about superheroes, one of my favorite subjects ever. Well done once again, Rodent.

The Rodent

07-12-12, 01:18 PM

Cheers matey!
Out of the usual ones I could have done... namely the 3 Toy Story movies, I decided to go with my gut and go for the ones that maybe people aren't fed up of hearing about all the time...

... and have a mix of differing elements in each review like I said in my last post...
Original: A Bug's Life
Bad: Cars
Creative: Monsters Inc.
Beautiful: WALL-E
Exciting: The Incredibles

Hope I got what I was after though :)

rauldc14

07-12-12, 01:24 PM

Wall E is great. The only pixar i put above it is Finding Nemo for sure. And then I really like Ratatouille and Up

rauldc14

07-12-12, 01:25 PM

I would like to suggest the next 5........best picture winners!:p

The Rodent

07-12-12, 01:30 PM

Noooo! I'm tired... so very very tired.

5 reviews in the space of 17 hours. :sleep:

JayDee

07-12-12, 01:31 PM

I've got to say I've never quite gotten the appeal of The Incredibles. Not sure what it is exactly but it's just never done it for me the way most of Pixar's work does.

The Rodent

07-12-12, 01:37 PM

Maybe it's the more real settings of the genre?
Most Pixar stuff is ants, robots, rats, toys... basically things that shouldn't have personalities and it gives the other movies more of a fantasy edge.

Incredibles has a real world element with the human lead roles based in a human city etc. Maybe that takes away from the fantasy element?

mastermetal777

07-12-12, 01:50 PM

Maybe that's why Brave is doing mostly okay in the critical department? There are real humans in it, even though it is a fantasy setting. Maybe people just wanna see a little more creativity from Pixar instead of relying on humans and...cars (seriously, Pixar, WHY?).

rauldc14

07-12-12, 01:51 PM

Just as a random question does anyone know if Pixar has another movie in the works after Brave?

The Rodent

07-12-12, 01:51 PM

They're doing a spinoff from Cars now too... imaginatively called Planes.

Jimbo And The Jetsets anyone?

mastermetal777

07-12-12, 01:54 PM

They're working on a prequel to Monsters, Inc called Monsters University. It's basically supposed to be like how Sully and Mike meet up in college and become best friends.

The Rodent

07-12-12, 02:07 PM

Monsters University could be interesting... as long as they keep the comedy going. Monsters Inc. is certainly the funniest of all the movies.

JayDee

07-12-12, 02:27 PM

Just as a random question does anyone know if Pixar has another movie in the works after Brave?

Along with Monsters University they are also working on The Good Dinosaur which tells of a world where dinosaurs never became extinict. There are also two untitled films which are a few years off; one is centred around the Mexican Day of the Dead and the other is The Untitled Pixar Movie that Takes You Inside the Mind.

Little is known about it exceptthat's it an "inventive new film will take you to a place that everyone knows, but no one has ever seen: the world inside the human mind" and that it "takes place inside of a girl’s mind and it is about her emotions as characters, and that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen."

The Rodent

07-18-12, 02:59 PM

Review #121: Gladiator

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8d/Gladiator_ver1.jpg/220px-Gladiator_ver1.jpg

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, instead of allowing his son Commodus to take the throne when he dies, he is giving the position to a powerful Roman General called Maximus Decimus Meridius.
Upon learning of his father's 'treachery', Commodus murders his own father before word gets out that Maximus is to be the successor to the throne.
Commodus then takes the throne and orders the execution of Maximus and his family, but Maximus actually ends up in the hands of North African slave traders.
There, he is thrown into the harsh world of slavery and Gladiatorial combat...

... but Maximus' natural fighting prowess (through being a successful Army General) shine through and make a celebrity of him in the brutal circles of Gladiators and slaves, which will eventually lead him and his band of Gladiator Brothers to the Colosseum...

... for the ultimate battle of wits, skill and sharpened steel.

Ridley Scott's epic historical, even though several Historians were hired to aid in writing the movie, is far from accurate when telling the true events of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Even many of the names included in the movie are also wrongly depicted throughout.
They have taken many elements of past inaccurate movies and books and added their own little twists and turns and have created the typical Hollywood flash and bang, awe inspiring popcorn flick.
It's very similar in accuracy as the other Ridley/Crowe collaberation, Robin Hood.
Gladiator however, is far better than Robin Hood, even though both contain the same mistakes and inaccuracies.

A lot of the changes to history are actually down to Scott saying that the truth is more weird and is actually less believeable than some of the liberties they took.

What Gladiator revels in though, is sheer scope of the story, breathtaking scenery and incredibly exciting battles.

The movie starts out with a bang, then goes relatively quiet and tells the story first, then does the usual screenplay thing of getting larger and larger in the action stakes as the movie progresses.
The story itself though, doesn't take a backseat to the action either. Instead, it adds more plotlines and a different depth to the storytelling and gives the viewer an incredibly strong connection to all of the characters seen throughout, including even the smaller supporting roles.

There's a number of CG shots contained throughout, especially in the third act of the film as the action and battles get larger. It also contains incredible detail for accuracy.
The Colosseum really is one of movie history's greatest scenes.

The acting is also some of the best you'll ever see in a movie of this type.
Russell Crowe as Maximus is obviously the standout role. The tortured hero made it to #6 in my Top 20 Heroes. Being honest, Crowe is probably at his best.
Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus is another top piece of acting. His spoilt brat and smarmy persona really shines through and makes a villain to really despise.
Djimon Hounsou makes a nice appearance as Juba, Maximus' new best pal.

Oliver Reed really makes the biggest impression though as Antonius Proximo, the owner of the Gladiators (including Maximus). In his final role (Reed died during production), he makes the viewer hate him, then love him, then adore him with his tales of his own past and the stories he tells of his own inner torment and even enlightenment. He's very good.

Support comes from Connie Nielsen, Ralph Moller, Tommy Flanagan, Derek Jacobi, David Schofield and the wonderful Richard Harris.

The overall action side of things though, as I said, is top drawer and the choreography is exceptionally good.
Most of it is live action with the odd backdrop of CGI and the whole lot is combined perfectly.
The last few battles are also very exciting too.

All in all, the best Roman Epic to be put to screen. Though seriously inaccurate, it's still very well written and exciting and the choreography is brilliant... and quite rightly, won 48 of the 119 Awards it was nominated for.
My rating 98%
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The Rodent

07-20-12, 12:06 PM

Review #27: Batman Begins.

At first, I was extremely dubious about a reboot of the Batman franchise. After the debacle of Schumacher’s attempts I really thought the franchise in the movie world was dead and buried.

Christopher Nolan really has proved me wrong.

Batman Begins is literally that, how he becomes the Bat. Borrowing from the source material (the comics) and some of Burton’s Batman too, mixing in a few new things and an updated selection of Bat-Gadgets on the Utility-Belt, Batman Begins really hits the nail on the head on how to make a super-hero movie.

It revolves around Bruce Wayne’s parents being murdered and the subsequent slump of self-pity and depression he falls into over the following years.
After a soul-searching trek-of-the-world and studying various martial arts forms and getting into trouble with the law in various countries, he comes across an Illuminati who call themselves The League Of Shadows.
He’s trained in their forms of fighting and secrecy and eventually returns to Gotham City with the full intent of using his new found mentality and skills to strike fear into those who prey on the fearful.
Awaiting him though, are forces he cannot comprehend.

The movie is very well shot.
The Gothic feel of past Batman movies has been dropped slightly, it’s more brooding and moody than being Gothic.

The action feels a little held back but when it gets going, it really goes well. The filmmakers had the sense to make the action ‘just enough’ rather than going into the first movie with all guns blazing. It’s very cleverly put together.

The acting also is fantastic.
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman is a brilliant choice. Some people say he’s a little too gruff when speaking his lines as Batman but I think he does the job well. He plays his naivety well at the beginning too. Bale took the physically demanding role so seriously, he bulked up his muscle mass too much and ended up having to actually lose some weight before they could fit the Bat-Suit.
Michael Caine as Wayne’s Butler, Alfred, is a perfect choice. He’s warm, funny, engaging and down to earth and is tough when needed. Alfred’s character this time round is more human too. He doesn’t beat around the bush when telling Bruce the truth. Caine is fantastic.
Gary Oldman as Detective Gordon is a marvel. He looks and acts like he’s jumped directly from the page of the comic book. Absolutely brilliant.

The only thing that lets the movie down is Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes (Bruce’s long time friend). She’s only on screen for a short time but you feel she’s just an add on, even when the character is placed in jeopardy. Holmes gives an apt performance, but Holmes herself just feels out of place.
As too is Cillian Murphy. Like Holmes, he plays the character well, you just feel as though another actor could have done it better.

The little cliff-hanger at the end between Batpants and Gordon really makes you yearn to watch the sequel.

All in all a near perfect starter for a super-hero franchise.
My rating 90%
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Review #28: The Dark Knight.

This movie is the defining point of the franchise so far.

It’s based around The Joker and his unbending need for destruction. He’s been hired by the various mob bosses of Gotham to take out Batman. The Bat has basically destroyed their businesses and had most of their employees locked away.

The mob didn’t count on how incredibly dangerous and unhinged The Joker turns out to be. In the words of Alfred: "Some men just want to watch the world burn."

Again, the movie is shot perfectly, this time round they used IMAX cameras to give the screen a depth to it. It looks beautiful and detailed.

The broody feel of the first movie is still there, though it’s toned down slightly. The movie feels more open to the visual aspect of a real city.

The expansion of certain characters is worked on, especially Gordon. You see how he goes from being a standard cop to the 'Commissioner Gordon' we all know and love.
As too is Alfred, though it’s brief, there is a small insight to his background.
The writing is fantastically put together.

The Joker’s evil twist on literally pitting everyone against everyone is an absolute masterclass in how to write a real villain.

The way The Joker destroys Harvey Dent at a personal level is very well conceived.

As for the acting…
Star turns again from Bale, Oldman and Caine. Katie Holmes is replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal, a wise move.
There’s a wonderful turn from Aaron Eckhart too, who acts both of his roles absolutely perfectly as ‘Gotham’s White Knight’ Harvey Dent.

Now, The Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger is something I was dubious about before I saw the movie.
Everyone was raving about his part in the movie and I couldn’t help but think, "It’s only because he died not long after making it". I was never a fan of Ledger or his movies, to be honest, I thought he was a mediocre actor at best.

After seeing the film, I hold my hands up now.

I was wrong.

Heath Ledger, who made it to #2 in my top 40 Villains, is by far the best thing in the movie.

Ledger spent a month in isolation in a hotel room with the script, just acting out the role before shooting even began.

You can tell too. He’s seriously uneasy to watch though at times he’s funny too.
The humour is more of a dark, black humour than the comic-book-Cesar Romero-Nicholson humour that we’re all used to.

Ledger’s portrayal of a hyperactive, giggling psychopath is almost primordial and is very disturbing. Especially his eyes and the little ‘ticks’ he occasionally shows.

As ledger, he’s completely unrecognisable. He is The Joker.

All in all, better than the first and even if Batman isn’t your thing, it’s worth watching for Ledger’s performance.
My rating 95%
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Review #122: The Dark Knight Rises

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/83/Dark_knight_rises_poster.jpg/220px-Dark_knight_rises_poster.jpg
Bruce Wayne, still suffering after the aftermath of TDK, has locked himself away from public eye for near a decade. He doesn't socialise, nor does he have a life.
His existence is based around regret and remorse and the inability to move on from the past.
When a new and more deadly enemy of Gotham surfaces, he is called into action by the people he respects more than anyone else... and in the process he hopes to gain closure on his Ghosts... and makes a few new allies as well.

The third and final Nolan Bat sees an incredibly detailed screenplay brought together with awesome action and an almost perfect story arc. Some scenes are hard to watch, it's the first real beating that the viewer sees the Bat take.

The movie does have faults, but not many. The main thing is that it's not exactly universal. If you haven't seen the first two... don't bother with this one until you have.

The other thing, is the overly used action shots in TDKR's trailers. The movie actually isn't an all out guns blazing blast-em-up from beginning to end. There are a number of plot setups and quieter scenes throughout that give the entire film and some wonderfully playful plot twists throughout... that give a completely different edge over it's predecessors.
Ignore the trailers, they give completely the wrong impression.

The filmmakers have actually managed the impossible task of finishing a movie series properly. There are some things within the storytelling that some viewers and Batfans won't like, but as you watch the film, you can't help but be swept up the the sheer excitment of witnessing the climax of Batman's story.

The ending is also extremely heart-pounding, it wraps up the trilogy perfectly and is brilliantly concieved.
My heart is still racing now, the movie ended about half an hour ago.

The action is based mainly around the third act and a little of the second act but it's very well put together. It edges more towrd the fantastical side of the Batman Comics but still has the brilliant real world flavour of the first two movies.
It's also highly exciting and very, very explosive.

Not much to say about the acting that hasn't been said in my other two reviews of Nolan's Bat.

Tom Hardy however, is fabulous as Bane. He's not just a piece of meat to give Batman a kicking. He's like a cross between a bulldozer and The Joker and Hardy is absolutely fantastic in the role. His voice is a little hard to get used to at first, but after he recites a few lines, you get used to it.

All in all... the finest end to a movie series I have yet to see. History has been made.
I even shed a few tears at the end through sheer joy, and the privilege of seeing the best Bat Series put to screen getting the ending it deserved.
My rating 98%
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Critics

07-22-12, 03:19 PM

I strongly agree with your reviews of the TDKR. Tom Hardy did an amazing job as Bane.

The Rodent

07-28-12, 03:44 PM

Review #123: King Kong

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6a/Kingkong_bigfinal1.jpg/220px-Kingkong_bigfinal1.jpg

Carl Denham, a failing movie director on the brink of losing his job and career, dupes a ship's crew and its Captain, a bunch of friends and a blonde waif called Ann Darrow into following him to a mysterious unexplored island to make what he thinks will be the biggest Blockbuster movie in history.
When they get there though, all they find is pain and death and a lost world of primitive humans and dinosaurs... and a giant gorilla called Kong.

Seeing it as a chance for fame, the group decide to capture Kong, and market him in America as the Eighth Wonder Of The World.

Peter Jackson's remake of the 1933 classic is basically that, a remake. It has many, many new things throughout and a few extra plot points for the main groupo of characters, new creatures, magnificent scenery and many respectful nods toward the 1933 original.

What makes Jackson's movie stand out from it's predecessor, are the effects and the action.
The whole movie is pretty much an engine for CGI capabilities. A lot of the time, the storytelling takes a back-seat for the CG action scenes, but still, when the story and plot are actually used, it adds a massive depth to the movie that isn't seen in any other CGI laden movie that is based on this scale.

Some of the action sequences are a bit OTT though, especially the Apatosaur Stampede sequence.
The classic showdown rumble between Kong and the Vastatosuarus Rex is edge of the seat stuff though.

The overall writing is also pretty good. You actually have a connection to the characters seen and especially to Kong and his relationship with Ann.
A lot of the emotional connection with the characters is made through little hits of humour and really great acting, especially from Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow.

Think of it as a well written exploitation film for CG Imagery, albeit with a budget... lots of nicely rounded characters being thrown into as many exciting action sequences as possible.
Some of the sequences are also quite disturbing too, especially if any of the viewers have phobias about creepy crawlies.

The CGI is also tip top. There's an element of cartooniness to it, and you get the impression that it's mostly green-screen apart from the odd prop or two.
Kong however is exceptionally well rendered.
As too are the other larger creatures seen on Skull Island. It's one of the few CG movies that makes me feel a bit nervous while watching these monsters do their thing.

Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow is about the best on show out of the humans. She's very good at the little-lost-girl thing and really holds the movie together when she's alone with Kong. Very well played.
Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll is also good. Watt's love interest and a kind of 'hero' for Watts' damsel in distress.
Jack Black makes a really nice presence as Carl Denham though. He's not doing his zany comedy thing for once... he has a humour about him for sure, but Black is actually acting for a change.

Backing them up are Thomas Kretschmann, Jamie Bell, Evan Parke, Kyle Chandler and Andy Serkis as Lumpy The Chef.

Serkis also plays Kong... and he's exceptional. Serkis has become a bit of a stigma these days because he's the go to guy for Motion Capture... but in King Kong he's really very good. Not as good as he was in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, but his work with Kong gives the character such a brilliant personality... it makes the film.

The major problem with the movie, is that it doesn't translate to small screen very well. I saw it at the cinema at time of release and it's much better suited to a big screen.

All in all, occasional OTT action scenes, lashings of well rendered CGI, top acting, nicely written in terms of the extra plot devices.
May not reach the heights of 'Classic' like the original did, but still a movie that will live with the viewer for a while after watching.
My rating 87%
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The Rodent

08-01-12, 10:15 AM

Review #124: Mortal Kombat

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fb/Mortal_Kombat_poster.jpg

Chan Kang, brother of Liu Kang, is killed by a powerful sorceror called Shang Tsung while fighting for Earth's survival in an ancient fighting Tournament.
Seeing Chan's death in a dream, Liu Kang vows revenge and enters the Tournament, against the wishes of his uncle.
Tagging along are Sonia Blade, a head-strong and overly proud U.S Special Forces Officer who is also after revenge for the murder of her partner... and a stuck-up Hollywood martial arts actor called Johnny Cage, who has been branded as a fake by the press and is out to prove the world wrong about his fighting prowess.

What the three amigos aren't counting on though, is that the Tournament revolves around the end of our world if they fail to win... and all three of them will face certain death at the hands of their seemingly invincible opponents.

Under the guidance of a powerful Thunder God called Raiden, the trio set about to face their destinies, face their own fears and face their own destruction... in Mortal Kombat.

Paul WS Anderson's second movie brings audiences of the much loved videogame a taste of chop socky martial arts mixed with brilliantly choreographed fight scenes, a story that could have been written by a 5 year old... and really terrible acting.

The highly simplistic story manages to piece together the inevitable fight scenes between the various disparate characters and gives the audience exactly what they wanted... live action fights between their beloved videogame characters.

That's about it really as far as story goes, but what MK is all about is the fights.
They're loud, proud, sound effects have the bass turned up to 11 and they're extremely well choreographed.
Stunt actor Robin Shou, who plays Liu Kang, actually rated his own fights by 'breakability': Depending on how many bones he broke depends on whether he liked the way the fight went.
That's pretty much how the action is throughout. It's pretty hard hitting at times.

The movie contains a number of CG shots too, particularly with the powers that some of the characters possess and with the character called Reptile... they're well rendered but not perfect. Even back then, when CGI was relatively new, they impressed the audience but weren't raved about hugely.

Robin Shou as Liu Kang is ok, he's more there for the fight scenes though.
Christopher Lambert is seriously miscast as Lord Raiden. He does the job well, but just feels incredibly out of place.
Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa is the best on show as Shang Tsung. As always with Tagawa, he's professional and gives an apt performance in the fight scenes. He has an air of cheesiness about him, but it feels intentional with Tagawa. With the others, it's because they can't act.

Backing them up with lots of woodeness are Linden Ashby as Johnny Cage, Bridgette Wilson as Sonia Blade, the late Trevor Goddard as Kano and Talisa Soto as Princess Kitana.

The movie also contains a number of plotline references to the entire Mortal Kombat game series. The first film isn't based on the first game, it's more of a modge between the first and second games.
MK fans will notice, anyone else probably won't care though.

All in all, for a videogame-movie crossover, it's pretty good... certainly better than it's competition Street Fighter.
There's lots of action and the cheesy/wooden acting is kept short and sweet. The story and plot won't impress, but the awesome fight scenes and thumping soundtrack will certainly keep any martial arts fan and fan of the games, glued to the screen from start to end.
My rating 65%
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Masterman

08-01-12, 11:12 AM

"Get over here"

nebbit

08-01-12, 08:10 PM

Not a big fan of this movie :nope: nice review :)

The Rodent

08-01-12, 08:13 PM

:D

I was a fan when I was younger. It's just a meh film to me now. Makes me realise how bad my taste in film was.

The Rodent

08-02-12, 06:50 PM

Review #125: Appaloosa

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cc/Appaloosaposter08.jpg/220px-Appaloosaposter08.jpg

Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, two experienced lawmen are brought into the town of Appaloosa, to clean up the place from a hard-handed rancher called Randall Bragg and his band of gunslingers.
Upon near completion of their task, things go wrong for the two lawmen and Virgil's new ladyfriend Allie gets kidnapped, and Bragg is rescued from the noose by his men.
It's up to Virgil and Everett to clean up this mess and return order to Appaloosa, once and for all.

For what could have been an action packed Western, Appaloosa is actually a rather quiet set of affairs with only the odd hit of gunplay and excitement.
The movie is based mainly around the relationship between Virgil, Allie and Everett.
Everything else comes in second to the trio of lead characters.

When the action gets going, it's short, but not really very sweet, sadly. There are some pretty nice little twists and turns that lead to the more exciting scenes, but there's not enough to keep an action fan interested.

The screenplay, plot and overall story however, are absolutely tip top. The rounded character writing and air of history that's built around the main duo of Virgil and Everett is also very well put together. Sadly, that's about it.

Some of the dialogue is a little contrived though. Occasionally it borders cringe-worthy.

Ed Harris (who also directed) as Virgil Cole, is very well placed in the film. He's believable and plays the mildly funny role perfectly.
Viggo Mortensen as Everett Hitch is also perfectly placed in the 'quiet Western' setting. His on screen chemistry with Harris is brilliant though.

Jeremy Irons as Randall Bragg is ok, but nothing that really stands out and his Irish accent is abysmal. He's barely threatening either for a bad guy.
Renee Zellweger as love interest Allie French, however, is seriously out of place. The character of Allie is well written, it's Zellweger that's the big mistake. I didn't realise botox was invented back in the 1800s, let alone so much that a person's face could be distorted in such a way... it puts a dampener on pretty much any facial expression she tries to express. Her acting is also lacklustre.

All in all, one of the most forgettable modern Westerns and really not worth the time to watch unless you're after a relatively well written screenplay and a couple of good lead actors. It's dull in tone and lacking in excitement and tension.
My rating 38%
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nebbit

08-02-12, 08:36 PM

I like westerns but may give this a miss after reading your great review :yup:

The Rodent

08-02-12, 09:36 PM

I watched it while writing the review. Saw it a few months back and forgot all about it until now.
Really poor for a Western.

The Rodent

08-05-12, 03:47 PM

Review #126: Legend

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/98/Legendposter.jpg/220px-Legendposter.jpg

A demonic creature known only as 'Darkness', rules his kingdom with an iron fist. When he senses the presence of two Unicorns, he makes it his mission to kill them and take their power so he can turn the Universe into a world of darkness and evil forever... and by kidnapping Princess Lili and forcing her into marriage, he will become King of all that he surveys.

Standing in his way though, is a young forest dweller, friend of the Princess and reluctant Hero called 'Jack o'the green'.
With help of some mystical creatures and a few disparate friends, Jack goes on the adventure to end all adventures.

What a lovely movie. It contains pretty much everything a fan of magical lands would want.
There are elements of darker fairytales throughout and some of the imagery isn't for kids, but the imagination that went into the world the viewer is seeing is absolutely brilliant.
Some of the scenes are a little cheesy, and some of the dialogue, particularly between Jack and Lili is full of cheese and cod-mysticism. What makes it work though, is that it is really knowing of what it is.

Some of the screenplay however isn't perfect and a lot of it is very simplistic. The overall story has also been done many a time before. Again though, what makes it work is the world that has been created around the story.
There are also some lovely little hits of humour throughout too and the darker side of the story is very, very well concieved.
Think of the film as a cross between LOTR, The Dark Crystal and pretty much any fantasy film that has Little People wearing funny suits and prosthetic makeup.

Talking of makeup, the effects really are top notch.
Costumes, makeup, overall practical effects are an absolute wonder to watch, especially Lord Darkness himself.
Effects wizard Rob Bottin and his crew really go all out on the movie. Next to Robocop and The Thing, it's one of Bottin's best.

Tom Cruise (sporting some wonderfully wonky teeth) plays Jack. His reluctant hero is certainly one of Cruise's most likeable characters. At one point, a different actor was cast but Tom was chosen due to his small stature.
Mia Sara is perfectly cast as Princess Lili. She's sweet, innocent and carries the darker scenes fantastically too.

Backing them up are David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbart and Robert Picardo, and they're all on top form.

Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show and Stephen King's It as Pennywise The Dancing Clown) as Darkness however, is by far the standout actor on show. Not just because of the makeup and prosthetics, it's Curry himself that really stands out... or at least, Curry himself doesn't stand out.
He's absolutely unrecognisable. He really is the character and Curry's natural theatricality lives with the viewer even when he's not on screen.

All in all, a couple of miss-hits during the running time, mainly in the legend of the world that Ridley Scott has tried to create... but as a whole it's one of the most enjoyable 'fantasy world' movies going and the acting and effects all round are wonderful.
My rating 91%
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JayDee

08-05-12, 08:32 PM

Nice review Rodent. :up: I assume you just watched that on Film4 yeah? Didn't watch it but did tape it. Seen bits of it a couple of times but never the whole thing

The Rodent

08-06-12, 01:45 AM

Lol yes mate, was writing while I was watching. Seen it a few times then when it was on I thought 'review time!'

The Rodent

08-08-12, 07:37 PM

Currently watching this on telly... yes, another review while I'm watching. :)

Review #127: Dead Calm

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d0/Deadcalmposter.jpg/220px-Deadcalmposter.jpg

John Ingram and his wife Rae take some time away from their troubled lives after their son is killed in a car accident.
Taking a boat out into the open seas, they hope to just get away from it all and relax so they can return to their lives refreshed.
While out on the ocean, they come across a ship adrift and a loan sailer called Hughie, rowing a dinghy toward them. When they take this sailer aboard, he tells them that his ship is sinking, that his friends on board his ship have died of food poisoning and that he has been adrift for a while.
John and Rae are curious and a little dubious about Hughie's claims and soon their worst nighmares are realised when Hughie takes Rae captive and leaves John adrift in the open ocean.

A low budget movie based very loosely on Charles Williams' book of the same name, Dead Calm delivers a very quiet and unsettling turn of events backed up by some great acting.

The screenplay is a little too quiet at times but the overall feel of the film is extremely well pieced together and cleverly builds up the character driven plot brilliantly.
Having the film broken into two seperate plots as well (Rae and Hughie on the ship and John left adrift at sea), gives it a different feel to most films of its type.

It's this character build up that makes the small action/exciting scenes more impacting too as the viewer has a really strong connection to the characters.

There's little in the way of effects, but the technicalities the filmmakers must have faced while filming in the open sea really don't show in the finished product, it's that well shot and put together.

Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman as John and Rae are brilliantly cast. At first you feel that Neill is a bit too old to be cast as the hubby of Kidman, but their natural on screen chemistry makes up for that. They're extremely good in their respective roles.

Billy Zane however is the stand out role. He goes from a cool and calm normal guy to an over excited nutcase within a heartbeat and constantly puts the viewer on edge. Probably Zane's best role to date.

All in all, quiet most of the time and not the finest kidnap/psycho movie going... but still a very effective thriller in the places that thrillers need to be effective... and the character driven plot delivers on almost every level.
The chemistry on screen between the three main actors is also top notch.
My rating 92%
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The Rodent

08-11-12, 04:35 PM

Review #128: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7d/Curious_case_of_benjamin_button_ver3.jpg/220px-Curious_case_of_benjamin_button_ver3.jpg

In 2005, an elderly woman on her deathbed, asks her daughter to read the short story of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button to her, before she passes on.
Cutting to the story, the movie follows the short story with Benjamin Button's voiceover, narrating the various turns of events.
Button was born in 1918, and has the physical appearance of a very small but extremely old man... and as he ages, his body gets more youthful and stronger.

It's a strange movie this one, but still, very interesting and captures the viewer's imagination wonderfully.

Flitting occasionally between the story and the elderly lady on her deathbed, it follows the difficulties that Benjamin faces with his condition and is basically a story of morality, mortality, life lessons and plays out very much like a Biopic... except that it's a fantasy based in a real timeline.

Some of the occasional scenes can be a little uncomfortable, particularly when 12 year old Benjamin has his heart captured by a young girl. Being that he looks like an 80 year old man makes it feel a little odd, for want of a better word.

The overall screenplay is spot on though. It doesn't confuse the viewer with what could have been made extremely complicated.
A lot of the plot and story have also been done many a time before. It's a shame the filmmakers removed the movie from the book as much as they did. If they had kept to the book a little more, they would probably have made a better movie overall.

There is one small exciting scene contained when Button goes to War in 1941. It's a well shot scene, if very short lived.

The acting is great though and really makes the film what it is. There are a number of actors playing the two main roles of Benjamin and Daisy, including Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

Peter Donald Badalamenti II, Tom Everett, Spencer Daniels and Chandler Canterbury also play Button.
Madison Beaty and Elle Fanning play Daisy at various ages too.

Brad Pitt's voiceover is used throughout though, and is used whenever Benjamin speaks.

Supporting cast from Taraji P Henson, Jason Flemyng, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Jared Harris, Tilda Swinton and Elias Koteas.

All in all, a quiet, unassuming movie with very little going on, but the acting, writing and Fincher's direction are fanatastic.
Often compared unfavourable to Forrest Gump, I'd say that even though it's far from perfect, give it a go simply for the well shot movie it is.
My rating 83%
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JayDee

08-11-12, 08:20 PM

Not seen Dead Calm but taped it a while back and do quite fancy it. And I've always liked Sam Neill.

And still never got round to Benny Button - some day.

The Rodent

08-11-12, 08:25 PM

Dead Calm is a great film. Low budget but doesn't look it or feel it. A must see for anyone who hasn't.

Button isn't my sort of film really, but I'd still rank it as a good movie with the way it's been shot. Fincher's direction and the production are really good, shame about the changed plot in the book-movie transition though.

The Rodent

08-12-12, 06:01 PM

Review #129: Top Gun

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/46/Top_Gun_Movie.jpg/220px-Top_Gun_Movie.jpg

Loose-cannon fighterpilot Lt Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his co-pilot Ltjg Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw are part of an interception mission over the Indian Ocean when one of their fellow pilots loses his calm and panics. Maverick and Goose guide the panic stricken fighterpilot home and find themselves in an elite training programme for their actions, though not without a good rollocking for disobeying orders to leave the pilot behind.

At the programme, their apparent iron-nerves will be tested along with a handful of other arrogant pilots, enemies will be made and friendships will be tested, love lives will be made and broken and all involved will compete to become number 1 in the elite training programme...

... to become Top Gun.

Lots of cheesey dialogue and pearly white toothy smiles, perfect hair and homo-erotic scenes captured the hearts and minds of teenaged girls and adolescent boys at time of release.
The movie is basically an engine for high octane aerial battles and dog fights, with the story coming in second.

There's also lashings of subtle and not-so-subtle homo-erotic scenes throughout, from topless men's beach volleyball, to guys sitting around in perfectly ironed uniforms with their arms around each other's shoulders, smiling profusely as they do so.

There is a story there to an extent, Maverick's father being a Top Gun with Maverick feeling pressure to be like him, the love story thrown in for Maverick and some tragedy to keep the viewer fixed to the screen.
It's not perfectly written either, it's pretty simplistic and written to give the movie at least some substance.

What makes the movie is a combination of character writing and action scenes.
The action is highly exciting and the well written characters make for even more emotional content during the training fights and especially when tragedy hits.
The audience-character connection is very well put together.

Tom Cruise as Maverick is the typical handsome Hero with a sharp wit and even sharper attitude.
Anthony Edwards as Goose is probably the best on show to be honest. He's funny, engaging, full of charisma and hits the role with more than just a pearly white smile.
Kelly McGillis is a bit out of place as Maverick's new squeeze. She plays the role well, but she just feels a bit old for a babyfaced Cruise.
Val Kilmer makes a good appearance as Maverick's nemesis in the programme. He too though is more about teeth and hair, but his character is well written to give Cruise something to play off.

Backup from Meg Ryan, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside and James Tolkan.

Adding to all that is a thumping 80s soundtrack and power ballad 'Take My Breath Away' to give the love scenes and aerial dog fights some more clout.

All in all, definitely one for the ladies with the eye candy on show, those after action will be pleased too...
... but anyone who likes movies with a more rounded finish overall will probably get a little bored and may even find themselves smiling sarcastically at the incredibly cheesey and sometimes cringeworthy scenes that show up on more than one occasion.
My rating 71%
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The Rodent

08-12-12, 11:15 PM

Special Review for #130 and in keeping with my last review of a Tom Cruise movie...

Review #130: Mission: Impossible Franchise, M:I, M:I-2, M:I-3, M:I- Ghost Protocol

Mission: Impossible

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e1/MissionImpossiblePoster.jpg/220px-MissionImpossiblePoster.jpg

Jim Phelps and his team are set the task of recovering a stolen disc containing the identities of IMF's Secret Agents ('IMF' is Impossible Mission Force).
After a botched attempt at recovery, Phelps and his team are ambushed by another team and only two survivors remain, Frontman Ethan Hunt and Phelps' Wife, Claire.
There was evidence that a mole was part of the team and IMF immediately declare Mission Frontman Ethan as the mole and make him #1 on their hitlist.
Ethan and Claire must do everthing they can...

... to discover the true identity of the traitor, clear their names and recover the disc that could finish off IMF forever.

Keeping relatively true to the original series, MI gives the audience an almost perfect reboot of the franchise.
Brian De Palma's direction is absolutely fantastic and the overall writing, though with the odd controversial rewritten character, is absolutely bang on the money.
The plot is relatively complex, when I first watched, I was about 14 years old and was completely lost, but it's still a rip roaring spy movie in terms of actual storytelling. Which is something that most action spy movies are lacking to be honest.

The action is also brilliant. It starts out relatively small and gets progressively larger as the movie goes on... until the climax in which one the most exciting scenes in movie history takes place.
It's also wonderfully choreographed.

The acting is also great.
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt is the perfect Secret Agent. He's handsome, smart and knows how to give a bad guy a run for his money.
Jon Voight as Jim Phelps was, and still is, controversial. His character was rewritten by the filmmakers, but it actually adds to the tension and emotion of the movie and Voight is fantastic.
Emmanuelle Beart as Claire Phelps is a mark of genius. She's beautiful, naive and still has an air of intelligence about her. Her acting is spot on too.

Backed up by an ensemble cast of Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Emilio Estevez and Henry Czerny.

All in all, not the best of the MI movies, but certainly a benchmark for the series. Very well written in terms of story and plot... and the action, though not as explosive as many fans would like, is still exciting especially when that MI music gets going.
My rating 89%

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Mission: Impossible - 2

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Mission_Impossible_II.jpg

Rogue IMF Agent Sean Ambrose has got his hands on a powerful viral weapon called Chimera, and also has the cure. His plans are to release the virus and hold the world at ransom for the cure and make billions for himself in the process.
Ethan Hunt and his team are called into action to stop him...

... and whether he wants to or not, must threaten the lives of the people closest to him, to get the job done.

Much more explosive sequel to the already exciting first film.
MI2 was given to director John Woo and his team of wizards, and the results are spectacular visually.
The overall storyline and plot aren't as well pieced together as the first movie, but there is a love story going on for our main man Ethan.
The basic premise of the film has been done time and time again, bad guy with a viral weapon and needs to be stopped, but Woo's direction is brilliant, especially when the story is mixed into his typical fists and guns out action.

The action is fantastic. It's like a martial arts meets James Bond meets John Woo slow-motion and high octane motorbike chases.
It's also brilliantly choreographed and gets the viewer on the edge of their seats.

The acting is about the same in this one.
We're treated to Thandie Newton this time round as the Hero's squeeze and she's almost perfect in the role. Her initial role of catburglar isn't really fitting for the actress though.

Dougray Scott makes a nice appearance as the main antagonist though. He's believable and has fun with the script.
Ving Rhames is also utilised more in this one and he hits the role perfectly.

All in all, visually brilliant, but the story needed a bit more complexity rather than the gimmick of a love interest.
Even though, I'd rate MI2 as an improvement over the first, simply because of the highly exciting scenes that make the slightly lacking storyline work so well.
My rating 91%
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Mission: Impossible - 3

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4c/Mi_III.jpg/220px-Mi_III.jpg

Black Market Dealer Owen Davian is being watched by IMF as he has a mysterious object known as "The Rabbit's Foot", a possible deadly virus.
Whatever this object actually is, it is obviously highly dangerous if Davian has it up for sale, and Ethan Hunt and his team are called into action to recover the item, and bring Davian in for interrogation...

... but Ethan's new Wife is brought into play when Davian shows himself to be more skilled in escape than they realised.

This time JJ Abrams makes his feature film debut as director and he really nails it... right down to the smallest details.

The movie is even more explosive this time round and the story hasn't taken second place either.
It's not as complex as the first, but it's still full of little twists and turns and the overall writing is absolutely top notch, especially the character writing and the audience connection to the characters.

What makes MI3 stand out though, is that it doesn't lose the viewer like the first one did. It's that well pieced together.

The action is also highly exciting. There's more real world based action going on with the odd hit of fantasy based choreography too, which gives it an edge over the second movie in terms of excitement. With the character connection the audience has, it makes it even better.

This time round the audience has Ethan's new wife in the form of Michelle Monaghan and she's absolutely perfect as the lost girl who finds an inner strength when the going gets tough.

It's Philip Seymour Hoffman as antagonist Owen Davian who steals the show though. He's highly threatening and very believable as a baddie.
Hoffman at one point has to eminate Cruise's performance due to the 'rubber mask thing' that MI is famous for and he's absolutely spot on.

All in all, another improvement in the franchise. More action, more story, more enigmatic direction and one of my favourite action films going.
My rating 96%
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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b5/Mission_impossible_ghost_protocol.jpg/220px-Mission_impossible_ghost_protocol.jpg

During a routine mission, one of IMF's Agents is killed in the field and a file containing Russian Nuclear Launch Codes ends up going missing.
The team behind the botched mission call in Ethan Hunt to take control of their mistake in the hope they can fix this rather big problem.
However, after their mission takes another turn for the worse, Ethan and the team are labelled as Terrorists and IMF is shut down by the President Of The United States.
Ethan and the team must get their acts together and go Rogue, in order to recover the Codes, find the real Terrorists...

... and stop the entire world from entering into a Nuclear War.

Brad Bird takes the helm for this installment and it's not as explosive as its predecessors.
It is however, very exciting in terms of story rather than just exciting in terms of action. The Nuclear War threat is the main thing in this one and the stakes have never been higher for our Hero... and the writers really nail the importance of this story.
There'a also nice little twists and turns in terms of character development too which was slightly lacking in the previous three movies.

The action, as I said, isn't as big and brash in this one, but is utilised as needed and some of the scenes involving Ethan having to sneak around various Government buildings are toe-curling in terms of tension.

There's also a little more humour in this one with the presence of Simon Pegg. It adds a more universal feel to the film and makes for a few, almost slapstick laughs.

The acting this time round has been finely tuned with Cruise. He's very good as the Agent gone Rogue.
Jeremy Renner makes a fantastic appearance as William Brandt... an IMF Analyst who is more than he seems.

Simon Pegg, as I said, makes a great show as Benji. A newly qualified Field Agent and stalwart pal of Ethan.

There's not much of a show from the bad guys this time round... they're more mysterious than anything else, but it adds to the flavour of the secrecy of their mission.

All in all, a step back in terms of action, but the story makes up for that and gives the action scenes more of an impact when they happen. It's also by far the most universal in terms of audience connection due to the humour involved.
My rating, the same as MI3 at 96%

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png.html)

mastermetal777

08-13-12, 03:19 PM

Never cared much for Benjamin Button. Just never caught my interest for longer than the first third of the film (never completely finished it). The Mission: Impossible series is definitely worth watching for any action junkie out there, myself included.

lundy1026

08-13-12, 04:00 PM

You should finnish watching it, mastermetal, it's quite a masterpiece once you've let the whole thing sink in once its over. I agree it is long and there are some slow parts in the middle, but it's really quite emotional once you get over the middle hump on the movie. If you ever find yourself bored on a rainy day, give it a chance because the ending just may change your mind. :)

The Rodent

08-23-12, 03:16 AM

Had a recount of my reviews... done more than I thought.
I thought Review #100: Avatar was my 150th movie... turns out it was my 154th.
Anyhoo, here's the updated list...

1- Young Guns
2- A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010 Remake)
3- 2012
4- Cowboys And Aliens
5- Cloverfield
6- Leon
7- Dreamcatcher
8- Alien 3 Definitive Version Vs Theatrical Release
9- The 'Burbs
10- Starship Troopers [11]

11- Predator
12- Robocop
13- John Carpenter's The Thing
14- Alien Vs Predator and Aliens Vs Predator Requiem
15- Terminator Foursome (1-4)
16- The Fourth Kind
17- Jurassic Park
18- Pirates Of The Caribbean Original Trilogy (1-3)
19- The Dark Crystal
20- Tremors [27]

21- Paul
22- Full Metal Jacket
23- Demolition Man
24- Dumb And Dumber
25- Ridley Scott's Robin Hood
26- Christopher Reeve Superman Foursome (1-4) And Superman Returns
27- Batman Begins
28- The Dark Knight
29- Ghostbusters
30- Star Wars Franchise (1-6) [46]

31- Critters
32- The Matrix Trilogy (1-3)
33- Arachnophobia
34- Super 8
35- The Shawshank Redemption
36- The Abyss
37- Troll Hunter
38- John Carpenter's The Fog
39- Dog Soldiers
40- The Shining [58]

41- Indiana Jones Foursome (1-4)
42- Robert Rodriguez' Predators
43- Sam Raimi's Spider Man Trilogy (1-3)
44- Rocky Franchise (1-6)
45- The Lost Boys
46- Evolution
47- Alien Foursome (1-4 Includes A Rerun Of Review #8)
48- Jurassic Park Trilogy (1-3 Includes A Rerun Of Review #17)
49- Gremlins Duo (1 & 2)
50- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Original Movie) [82]

51- 30 Days Of Night
52- From Dusk Till Dawn
53- I, Robot
54- Steven Spielberg's War Of The Worlds
55- Bladerunner
56- Armageddon
57- Signs
58- The Quick And The Dead
59- Ransom
60- The Big Lebowski [92]

61- Ghostbusters Duo (1 & 2 Includes A Rerun Of Review #29)
62- Pitch Black
63- The Day After Tomorrow
64- Independence Day
65- Cat's Eye
66- Equilibrium
67- Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
68- The Karate Kid (Original Movie) [100]
69- Die Hard Franchise (1-4)
70- Poltergeist [105]

71- The Passion Of The Christ
72- Paranormal Activity
73- Paranormal Activity 2
74- Pulp Fiction
75- Critters Foursome (1-4 Includes A Rerun Of Review #31)
76- Unforgiven
77- Black Hawk Down
78- The Fly (1986 Remake)
79- Lake Placid
80- Back To The Future Trilogy (1-3) [119]

81- Lethal Weapon Foursome (1-4)
82- Star Trek Franchise (1-11)
83- Of Mice And Men
84- An American Werewolf In London
85- Predator 2 (Includes A Rerun of Reviews #11 & #42)
86- Jaws
87- American Pie Original Trilogy (1-3)
88- Godzilla
89- The Negotiator
90- The Green Mile [144]

91- The Mist
92- Silent Hill
93- Highlander
94- The Goonies
95- Batman
96- Batman Returns
97- I Am Legend
98- Titanic
99- Saving Private Ryan
100- Avatar [100th Review, 154th Movie]

101- The Simpsons Movie
102- District 9
103- Slither
104- Wanted
105- Casino
106- No Country For Old Men
107- Blown Away
108- The Cowboys
109- K-PAX
110- The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (1-3) [166]

111- Edward Scissorhands
112- The Expendables
113- Little Shop
114- 3:10 To Yuma
115- Trainspotting

116- A Bug's Life (Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon)
117- Cars (Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon)
118- Monsters Inc. (Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon)
119- WALL-E (Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon)
120- The Incredibles (Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon) [176]

121- Gladiator
122- The Dark Knight Rises (Includes A Rerun Of Reviews #27 & #28)
123- King Kong
124- Mortal Kombat
125- Appaloosa
126- Legend
127- Dead Calm
128- The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
129- Top Gun
130- Mission: Impossible Foursome (1-4) [130th Review, 189 Movies In Total]

Going to try and time/count it right, so I can get Review #140 to be Movie #200 and make it one of my Special Reviews.

The Rodent

08-25-12, 08:47 AM

With the news that the sequel is on the way soon with Eddie Murphy as a third brother, I give you...

Review #131: Twins

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6b/Twins_Poster.jpg/220px-Twins_Poster.jpg

After a genetic experiment to create the perfect human goes slightly awry, Mr Perfect grows up to learn that he actually has a twin brother.
He sets out to find his twin in America... and the pair end up in a load of fish out of water situations and end up with their lives in danger when one of them comes into the possession of a rather expensive piece of hardware.

One of Arnie's earliest comedic roles, Twins is almost the perfect odd couple comedy.
The overall premise of the story was at the time seriously outside the box, but by modern standards it has actually held up really well and isn't that unbelieveable.

The overall screenplay though is fantastic. The comedy writing and the presence of two actors who are complete polar opposits makes the script work even better.
Some of the plot devices are a bit touch and go, but the film itself isn't trying to be serious, which makes it work.

When the little hits of action get going though is when Arnie comes into his own. They're also relatively well choreographed.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as Julius and Vincent Benedict respectively are absolutely on top form. Arnie in particular is really funny when he gets going. His overall innocence and naivety as a comedian really works for the character. He and DeVito have fantastic chemistry too.
Backed up by Kelly Preston and comedienne Chloe Webb, Bonnie Bartlett and an uncredited camoe from a very young Heather Graham too.

All in all not much else to say, but it's a classic odd-couple comedy from one great comedic actor and another naive comedic actor and it works brilliantly. It's fun, funny and also manages to be heartbreaking and heartwarming at times too.
My rating 87%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png.html)

TylerDurden99

08-25-12, 08:57 AM

I've always liked Twins. That and Kindergarten Cop. Never warmed to Junior, though.

The Rodent

08-25-12, 09:01 AM

Yeah, I didn't rate Junior either. It works to an extent but isn't a patch on Twins or KC.

Twins is defo one of my favourite comedies though.

mastermetal777

08-25-12, 09:54 AM

How about reviewing some of the James Bond films, if you haven't already?

The Rodent

08-25-12, 10:20 AM

Haven't done any of them mate.
James Bond isn't my sort of thing... I've tried to watch them but I end up bored within 25 minutes and turn them off.
I've seen all of them, but never watched a whole one in one sitting, apart from one.

The only one I've actually watched in full in one sitting was The World Is Not Enough... all I'm saying is 'Bond steering a boat on dry land'. Utter tosh.
None of the others fare much better imho.

I will say though, they'd rate at an average of 25% in my reviews.

The Rodent

08-25-12, 12:44 PM

Review #132: Pearl Harbor

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3c/Pearl_harbor_movie_poster.jpg/220px-Pearl_harbor_movie_poster.jpg

Rafe and Danny, childhood friends, have dreamt of being pilots all their lives with the US Army Air Corps.
When WWII is kicking off in Europe, they have passed basic training and Rafe volunteers for service in Britain with the RAF, much to Danny and Rafe's girlfriend's (Nurse Evelyn) disapproval.
When Rafe is shot down, Danny and Evelyn are forced into each other's greaving arms and move to Pearl Harbor in their respective jobs... only for Rafe to reappear alive and well.
Before they can argue or even settle their differences, Pearl Harbor is hit by the Japanese bomb attacks and they must put aside all their differences and save the day before everyone they love is wiped out.

Michael Bay manages to capture the look and feel that he wanted. The 1940s look and attitudes of the people and the feelings of fear of war... and the action and CGI sequences are absolutely breathtaking... but that's about as far as it goes with the movie.

The plot and story writing, character writing, dialogue, screenplay, are all incredibly cringeworthy. It's also exceptionally cheesy, especially some of the 'brotherhood' scenes between the main military characters.
It's all very shoulder-slapping and high-fiving nonsense.
The overall love triangle doesn't work either... mainly through the poorly written characters that the viewer doesn't ever get to care about.

It's also highly stereotypical of the other nations seen throughout... even more so than any of Roland Emmerich's films, and that's saying something.
The Brits are hoity-toity and rely solely on American interventions, the Japanese are emotionless machines and the Americans all have Hillbilly accents.

The overall story is also removed from history so far that calling it Pearl Harbor seems a bit disrespectful to those that died all those years ago.

The only acting worth a mention is Dan Aykroyd, even so he looks at a loss as to why he's doing this.

As I said, the only thing going for the movie is the action scenes. They're exceptionally well choreographed and the CGI is seriously some of the best I've seen. But it's just not enough to warrant making such a pile of self centered and faux-nostalgic nonsense.

All in all, one of the worst movies going. Incredibly gooey and full of cringworthy acting, writing and yahooing cheesiness. The action and CGI is top drawer though.
My rating 12%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRejectedStampNew_zpsad11e9b5.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRejectedStampNew_zpsad11e9b5.png.html)

honeykid

08-25-12, 02:59 PM

I remember getting pelters for saying this was going to be crap before it was released. Never did get an apology. :D

mastermetal777

08-25-12, 07:48 PM

I hated Pearl Harbor the moment I laid my eyes on the poster. It's just too stupid, poorly scripted, and full of pointless American jingoism, like most of Michael Bay's films.

JayDee

08-25-12, 08:29 PM

Never seen Pearl Harbour and never felt like I was missing out on much. :D I seem to remember hearing about a fan edit of the film though which removed the love triangle amongst other stuff and it resulted in a far more entertaining and satisfying flick.

And funnily enough I had been going to challenge you to watch every Bond film! :D Guess that won't be happening then.

TylerDurden99

08-25-12, 09:08 PM

Confession: I enjoy Pearl Harbour. It's soap opera plot is terrible, but the technical aspects, including the entire sequence with the attack on Pearl Harbour is amazing. Plus, I didn't find Ben Affleck to be that bad in it, either.

The Rodent

08-26-12, 05:30 AM

Cheers for the replies guys...

TD99, yeah the effects are top notch, it's just the rest of the film is a pile of poop. The 12% I gave it was solely for the effects and action, 6/10 for each... the rest I didn't even rate.

JayDee, yes, you're not missing much mate. Might be worth a go if you fancy seeing a really bad film to review :D
As for James Bond... no... I won't be reviewing them... just like I've reviewed all the Batman movies apart from Batman Forever and Batman and Robin.
They're really not worth the time and effort.

I'm at a loss at the minute... need a special movie for Review #140... trying to time/count it to make it my 200th movie and make a Special Review out of the double milestone.
Could really do with one, singular, world breaking, history making movie, rather than a franchise or series or even one movie from a franchise.
I've covered most of the biggies though already, and with already having Avatar as my 100th Review, maybe an "unknown but awesome" movie could be the way to go... not sure yet, will have to see.
Maybe Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves? Lolol!

The Rodent

08-26-12, 06:04 AM

Review #133: Tremors Trilogy (With A Rerun Of Review #20: Tremors)

Now, before I start, there are actually 4 Tremors movies, the fourth was made for TV, so I won't be counting it with the main trio of movies.

Review #20: Tremors.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/33/Tremorsposter.jpg/220px-Tremorsposter.jpg

For my 20th review, I decided to use one of my all time favourites.

Set in a valley in the Nevada desert, a handful of residents in a tiny little town called Perfection are subjected to a hidden terror when large, unseen underground creatures appear and start picking them off one by one.

The movie mainly revolves around two handymen, Valentine McGee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Fred Ward), who unwillingly become the ‘go-to men’ for the group.

The cast involved are fantastic in the movie, they all play it real which makes the funny moments even funnier and the jumpy horror moments even more of a surprise when they happen.
Fred Ward (who is another mediocre actor in my book) is at his absolute best as the grumpy, almost wise elder of the main duo.
The biggest surprise of the cast though, is Michael Gross as the gun loving survivalist Burt Gummer. In the past his acting has gone from mediocre to worse, his acting in the Tremors sequels is abysmal. In this film he is absolutely brilliant. He encapsulates his character with a seriousness and when needed, is able to carry the comedy too.

The film itself is a cross of many genres: Comedy, horror, monster flick and almost, a ‘modern day western’ with the setting, characters and date.

The comedy comes from real reactions and down to earth acting. The film’s funny moments are very well choreographed, Tremors utilises reality in unreal circumstances extremely well. A lot of the humour has an undertone of ‘tongue in cheek’ too. It’s lots of fun.

Then there’s the jumpy/horror moments, they’re very well put together. They’re ‘actiony’ as well as gory, but they also give the viewer a real sense of excitement and the occasional fright.

The special effects are, like most films of the time, all practical, there’s no CGI used in the film and the effects certainly don’t let the viewer down. They’re raw, gory, slimy and very well modelled.
Tom Woodruff. Jr and Alec Gillis’ physical creations of the writers’ original idea is such a realised concept that the movie really comes into its own.

The thing that lets the movie down, is that it’s a little on the short side, only 90 minutes of running time. I couldn’t help but want more after the film had finished.

The worst thing about the Tremors idea though, is the awful cash-in sequels and even worse TV series that it spawned.

Forget the sequels, I beg the audience to treat the movie as a stand-alone film.
All in all a joy ride of a comedy-horror.

Lot’s of fun and well worth 90 minutes of your time.
My rating 90%
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Tremors 2: Aftershocks

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/23/Tremors_2.jpg/220px-Tremors_2.jpg

Earl Bassett, still sulking from his apparent failure at fame and fortune from his exploits in the first movie, is given a big second chance at getting rich when it turns out the Graboid creatures have returned... this time in Mexico.
The owner of a Mexican oil company has hired Grady Hoover to find Earl, and when they explain their predicament, Earl reluctantly goes along with Grady in tow, to fight the Graboids one more time...

... only this time they thought they were prepared.

It's a pretty standard turn of events. A script thrown together with very samey characters, non-returning actors were replaced with similar characters and the overall finish is relatively fun, but doesn't have the sharp edge of wit of the original.

The screenplay is ok. It's pretty simplistic and the overall plot has one big twist in it... but it's not exactly an "I am your Father" twist. It seems more of a gimmick to give the film an edge over the first film and, though it works to an extent, it just feels childlike in conception.

The acting is really what suffers in the film.
Fred Ward returns as Earl Bassett, but he's so wooden it's very hard to take anything he does seriously... even though he's trying.
Michael Gross also returns as gun-nut Burt Gummer... he too seems to have become a caricature of his original character.

Christopher Gartin as Grady is about the best on show... he's pretty much a rewritten Kevin Bacon but he carries the role well and is actually pretty funny at times.

The effects and action have had a bit more money thrown at them this time round and there's some rotoscoping and CGI in the mix too and it works ok, but isn't a patch on the first film.
The action is also lacking in regard to excitiment.

All in all, mainly a miss affair, but it has the odd hit of genuine comedy and the very small hint of excitment... it's just not anything special when compared to the fantastic original.
My rating 23%
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Tremors 3: Back To Perfection

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/70/Tremors3DVDscan.jpg/220px-Tremors3DVDscan.jpg

Burt Gummer has become a bit of a celebrity over the years... he's now seemingly the only man in the universe capable of hunting Graboids and their 'Offspring'.
However, when the creatures take another turn of evolution, the town of Perfection (from the first film) finds itself completely against the odds and they turn to Burt to save the day.

Oh... my... God.
An extremely childlike movie seemingly written by chimps is what treats the fans of the original movie. It's also pretty much a child friendly movie, I'd have no problems showing it to my kids. Compared to the first movie's touches of horror and adult content, it should give you an idea of what to expect.

The screenplay is in order, at least, well, there is a screenplay... but it's incredibly linear and tries to build on the twists and turns of the second movie, and not very successfully either. It's simply more gimmicks and wooden acting.

The effects are also lacking. There's a number of really cheap CG scenes and there's masses of reused stock footage of the Graboids from the original film too.

There are some returning original characters from the first film this time round to give at least an air of nostalgia and continuity, bu tthe actors involved are even more wooden than the second movie.
Charlotte Stewart, Ariana Richards and Robert Jayne respectively in their original roles.

All in all, one of the worst monster flicks out there... even worse than the second, which is saying something. Worth watching if you're a fan of B-movie parody horrors that have turned into a parody themselves.
My rating 11%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRejectedStampNew_zpsad11e9b5.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRejectedStampNew_zpsad11e9b5.png.html)

honeykid

08-26-12, 12:29 PM

just like I've reviewed all the Batman movies apart from Batman Forever and Batman and Robin.
They're really not worth the time and effort.

au contraire, mon frere.

http://cineycaderas.blogspot.es/img/BATMAN3.JPG
http://drop.ndtv.com/albums/ENTERTAINMENT/sexiestsuperheroines/uma-poison-ivy.jpg
http://s1.hubimg.com/u/853372_f520.jpg

The Rodent

08-27-12, 10:24 AM

Review #134: Paulie

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c4/Paulie_poster.jpg/220px-Paulie_poster.jpg

When Misha Belenkoff, a Russian Immigrant in the USA ends up working as a Janitor in an Animal Testing Lab, he comes across a little green Parrot calling himself Paulie.
Paulie's English is perfect and Misha actually sits and has a conversation with his new feathery friend.
Paulie explains that he was the soul-mate of a little girl called Marie. Marie had speech problems and Paulie actually learned to talk while she was trying to overcome her problem, eventually he helped her overcome her stutter...
... but one day, they got into trouble and Paulie was shipped off to an animal shelter and never saw Marie again.

He sits talking to Misha, explaining his long journey to find Marie and tells of his adventures and the friends he's made and lost on his road trip which has lead him to being a captive in the Test Lab...

... and Misha makes a pact to free him... to help Paulie find Marie once and for all.

What a lovely and wonderful movie.
Though seen mainly as a kids film, and though it can get relatively gooey and the hints of peril are child friendly, it's actually really well put together.

Some of the storylines can be very heartwrenching, especially when Paulie and Marie are seperated, but there's masses of humour and family friendly stuff going on that makes the film perfect for getting the kids together with the parents.
Even adults would probably like sitting alone and watching. I know I do.

What makes Paulie work is the overall finished product being so good. The screenplay, voiceover work, the actors, and especially the animal work with the various Parrots and other animals seen throughout.
There's also a number of 'Morality' plotpoints going on too, which can get a bit twee from time to time.

There's no real action as such, but there are little hits of heightened excitement and the main part of it comes in the form of emotional content.

The acting is pretty good, though some is a little linear with the family script.
Tony Shalhoub, Gena Rowlands, Cheech Marin, Bruce Davidson, Trini Alvarado and Hallie Kate Eisenberg all play memorable roles.

Jay Mohr plays Paulie and Buddy.

Bill Cobbs also makes a nice appearance too, it's always nice to see Cobbs in a film.

All in all, a relatively well charged film emotionally, written in such a way that all ages can appreciate it and it has some lovely touches of humour too. The animal handling is also great.
My rating 86%
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JayDee

08-27-12, 04:30 PM

:laugh: I love Paulie. Such a sweet, fun little film. A real old favourite for me. In fact it's one that would be considered a family favourite. My mum and I discovered it and both loved it years and years ago. And we actually just watched it again 2/3 years ago

JayDee

08-27-12, 04:43 PM

How about reviewing some of the James Bond films, if you haven't already?

If it would tempt you away from here over to my thread I might take up your challenge. :D

Might be worth a go if you fancy seeing a really bad film to review :D

I'm at a loss at the minute... need a special movie for Review #140... trying to time/count it to make it my 200th movie and make a Special Review out of the double milestone.
Could really do with one, singular, world breaking, history making movie, rather than a franchise or series or even one movie from a franchise.
I've covered most of the biggies though already, and with already having Avatar as my 100th Review, maybe an "unknown but awesome" movie could be the way to go... not sure yet, will have to see.
Maybe Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves? Lolol!

Well maybe. Could do with some more negative reviews. I always feel mine are so nice and positive all the time! :D

Don't know what you could go with. Maybe a season of big Oscar winners? Or what about the Jason Bourne series? Have you seen or liked them?

The Rodent

08-27-12, 04:49 PM

Bourne is ok. Better than Bond. I'll add it to the list but it'll be after Review #140.

I just need 5 singular movies for now to get me to 139, then another singular movie for 140 so I can get 140th review to be the 200th movie.
Just need something special for the 140th/200th milestone.

The Rodent

08-28-12, 10:24 AM

Well, it's been on telly every night for the past 6 months, I might as well give it a go...

Review #135: Hard Target

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5c/HardTarget_1993_poster.jpg/220px-HardTarget_1993_poster.jpg

Chance Boudreaux is an out of work Merchant Marine in New Orleans, he's in debt with his employers and life is looking pretty dull. When Natasha Binder comes into danger from a bunch of muggers, he helps her out by dishing out his particular form of punishment to the apparent toughguys.

She hires him and his expertise to help her find her Father who has been living rough on the streets and along the way, the two expose an organisation that forces homeless people into a game of death, where the homeless are hunted by sadistic killers, simply for sport...

... and their nosing around makes them the next target for these Hunters and Chance must do everything he can, to become as Hard a Target as possible.

One of Van Damme's cheesiest best, brings the viewer an explosive and action packed turn of events.
The screenplay is a bit dodgy, a lot of it is very simplistic, but having John Woo behind the camera and produced in part by Sam Raimi, the film excels in stylish action scenes and the trademark Slow Motion John Woo fights and motorbike chases.

The cheesy side of things, as usual, comes from Van Damme's acting and screen presence. Having the camera focus close up on his eyes, the women find him irresistable, and at one point showing how tough he is by actually punching a rattlesnake and biting off its tail.
He's also, apparently, that good, he can ride a motorbike like a surfboard.

The action really is what it's all about though. Woo's direction is as usual with Woo... absolutely spellbinding.
It's loud, proud, explosive and full of wonderful stylised highkicks and chases, including baddies in helicopters chasing the good guys who are on horseback.

The acting though, especially from Jean-Claude Van Plank is cheesy and wooden but you get the feeling that The Plank knows he's being this way, which adds an element of fun to his character.
Yancy Butler as Natasha is a bit hit and miss. She's good at being the little lost girl... probably due to the fact that she is lost as an actress.

Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo make the best shows though as the main duo of antagonists. Their chemistry on-screen is fantastic and Vosloo is really menacing. Henriksen in particular won a Saturn Award for his role in the film.

Wilford A Brimley makes a nice show as Van Damme's Uncle too.

All in all... a serious no-brainer that actually has an element of plot behind it. The action and effects are tip top and Van Damme is close to being at his cheesiest best.
Woo's direction though is fantastic. Definitely worth a night in with a few beers.
My rating 78%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png.html)

honeykid

08-28-12, 03:32 PM

I've not watched this for a very long time, I grew to really like it, but I was so excited to see it when it was released, as it was Woo's first H'Wood film. Obviously it was a letdown, seeing as Hard Boiled was the film he made before this (and Bullet In The Head, The Killer, A Better Tomorrow 1&2 before that), but that what happens when H'wood neuters the foreign talent it has brought over specifically because of what they'd done before. :facepalm:

I still have a VHS copy of this somewhere. I must take a look at it again sometime.

The Rodent

08-29-12, 06:02 PM

May as well stay with Van Damme's best for a few reviews... the last review, Hard Target, is the first JCVD movie I've reviewed, so here's another for now.

Review #136: Universal Soldier

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/93/Universal_soldier_ver1.jpg/200px-Universal_soldier_ver1.jpg

Luc Deveraux is a Vietnam Soldier, with a big problem... his Sergeant, Andrew Scott, has become twisted by the war and has basically gone psycho.
When the pair come to loggerheads, they kill each other, only to be reborn as mindless drones called Universal Soldiers (or 'UniSols' for short) in a secret Government programme.
When a particular event in their field training goes awry, Luc has flashbacks of his former life and goes Rogue from his 'programming' and ends up in the company of a Journalist, who is more than happy to work alongside him to get her 'big story'.

Unknown to them though is that Sergeant Andrew Scott, who was also turned into a drone soldier, is also malfunctioning and has returned to his psychotic ways... and he has made it his mission to track down the apparent deserter Luc, and dish out his own particular form of Court Martial.

What a movie. Certainly Van Damme's best and pretty close to making a Personal Top 50 movie for me.
The movie is also by far the best of director Roland Emmerich's too.

It's relatively small scale with the set pieces and the overall scope in the look, but the viewer is treated to a pretty well written screenplay and the action scenes don't disappoint either.

What sets the movie apart from other action flicks is that it's really quite original in the plot devices and the overall story too. It's also pretty believeable.
It's actually quite a surprise for a Van Damme flick and quite surprising for an action flick too, to have a relatively complex yet easy to follow screenplay/story/plot.

The action is tip top when it gets going... but I can't help but wonder if they couldn't have put more into it. There are times that it's a bit lacking in actual scale.
Jean-Claude Van Damme Vs Dolph Lundgren, both on 'supersteroids' is really exciting, especially after the successful character build up and the connections they have to the audience.

The acting is really the biggest surprise and in a good way too.
Van Damme is perfect as the mindless drone who's piecing together his memories. It's almost on the scale of Schwarzenegger's Terminator. The natural wooden acting is perfect for the character and JCVD actually has areas where he even shows genuine emotion.
Dolph Lungren as the main Antagonist is also lots of fun. He's menacing, and actually seems to be having fun as the baddie... his athletic powerhouse stature onscreen against Van Damme's athletic highkicking stunts is also wonderful to see. It's probably Lundgrens best role to date to be honest.

Back up comes in the form of Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Michael Jai White, Rance Howard and the lovely Ally Walker as Journalist Veronica Roberts.

All in all, though it's nothing that will win awards, it's definitely one of the best from The Plank.
It's exciting, has a story and a plot, has the occasional hit of humour (especially watching Luc re-learning how to eat) and is really well shot by the filmmakers.
My rating 88%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png.html)

JayDee

08-29-12, 07:57 PM

Really enjoy both of these. Will you be reviewing my favourite Van Damme flick, Sudden Death?

Also you said you'd add Bourne to the list and it just reminded me, I'm sure you said the same about Beverly Hills Cop ages ago!!! :D

The Rodent

08-29-12, 08:07 PM

I'll have a look at Sudden Death matey, I was planning on another JCVD movie but I could easily fit it in between now and Review #140 :)

Bev Hills Cop is on the list, have yet to get it done though. I'll prob throw in a few franchise reviews between 141 and 149.

Bev Hills Cop, Bourne... I might even throw my two pence worth at Schumacher's Batman with reruns of the other Batfilms I've done to show comparison.

I might plan, maybe in the future... a Special James Bond Review... maybe for my 300th review, not sure yet. It would involve me having to watch them all again, though I'm not sure if I could stomach that much cheesie dialogue and wibbly eyebrows.

The Rodent

08-30-12, 02:17 PM

Just for JayDee... :D ... and another JCVD movie for the collection.

Just noticed too... this is the 400th post on this thread. There you go JayDee... your own special review, just for you.

Review #137: Sudden Death

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/50/Sudden_death.jpg/220px-Sudden_death.jpg

Darren McCord is a Firefighter with a massive crisis of conscience after he fails to save a young child from a house fire.
He ends up working in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena as a Fire Marshall and his life is pretty dim.
When Terrorists highjack the V.I.P Suite at the Arena while a hockey game is in progress, they manage to take captive the U.S Vice President...

... and McCord has to do what he can to stop them, and make sure they can't detonate any of the bombs they've set around the arena.
What's worse, is that McCord's kids are at the Arena too, blissfully unaware that they and everyone around them is in danger.

Another of Van Damme's best, this time with him showing some genuinely good acting too.
With Peter Hyams behind the camera the movie really shines as a decent action movie as well.
The plot is a bit well used: A guy in a building having to save innocent people and his family at the same time from terrorists (Die Hard or Blast anyone?)... but Hyams' direction and the overall screenplay work really well with the subject matter and gives the movie a different flavour from other movies of its type.

The action is pretty well put together, it's relatively exciting and keeps things relatively well grounded in reality. The character of McCord is utilised well during the action too, you never forget that he's out to save his children and never forget that he's also fighting his past while the action is going on.
The overall feel of the peril Van Damme is in doesn't always take a backseat to the action either. He's actually given a human, rather than a superhuman, aura.

The overall effects are pretty good. It's mainly practical and the odd piece of wire work but it's pretty well choreographed with the action.

The acting is probably the best that Van Damme has ever given in a film. This time round he actually has to show fear and genuine emotion rather than just looking pretty with his shirt off.
Powers Booth as lead antagonist Joshua Foss is pretty cheesy though. But Booth seems to be having fun so it adds an almost faux--Die Hard-Alan Rickman into the mix, just not quite as memorable.

If anything, the best acting on show is actually from Van Damme's onscreen kids. Whittni Wright and Ross Malinger give pretty apt performances for such youngsters in an action flick.

All in all, definitely within the top 5 of Van Damme's flicks. Not the best movie in the world, as is usual with JCVD, but it's certainly worthy of a watch, even for those who aren't fans of The Plank.
My rating 83%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png.html)

JayDee

08-30-12, 05:27 PM

Just for JayDee... :D ... and another JCVD movie for the collection.

Just noticed too... this is the 400th post on this thread. There you go JayDee... your own special review, just for you.

Oh I'm so touched! :D Although you pointing out your post count just made me realise that you may be beating me in reviews but I'm ahead in pages and posts! :D Though I don't really know what, if anything, that means!

As for the film for your 200th film/140th review how about a legendary classic like The Godfather, Casablanca, Schindler's List etc? Or a bit of Hitchcock? Was actually going to enquire if you liked any of his when I posted my Rear Window review. You could go with the new leader of the Sight and Sound poll, Vertigo. Or the old no.1 Citizen Kane.

Or you could go the completely opposite way. Instead of a big film go for a big flop which is infamous instead of famous. You could make it a re-evaluation of sorts. Go for Heaven's Gate or Waterworld. Or Last Action Hero. Or Pluto Nash! :D

Or you could just wind up Honeykid and trash Charlie's Angels! :p

It's a shame I'm only up to 85 reviews (86th to be posted soon). If my 100th and your 140th/200th reviews had coincided we could have done a special joint review.

The Rodent

08-30-12, 05:47 PM

Well, in regard to reviewing a bad film for the 200th, I actually like Waterworld. It'd end up with a decent rating :D

Cheers for the ideas though, I'll go through the lists and get an idea of something to use.
A Hitchcock film is an idea though, I thought about using Hitchcock a while back... may need to take a look.

JayDee

08-30-12, 05:53 PM

Well, in regard to reviewing a bad film for the 200th, I actually like Waterworld. It'd end up with a decent rating :D

Yeah I rather like Waterworld as well which is why I said a re-evaluation of a film that got scathing reviews and flopped at the box office, a film often cited as bad rather than one you personally thought was poor.

EDIT - Just got a better idea. Stop reviewing for a few months and wait for The Hobbit! The fact it may let me catch up is completely coincidental! :D

The Rodent

08-30-12, 06:42 PM

My last Jean-Claude Van Plank movie for now... you'll be glad to know...

Review #138: Timecop

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/79/Timecopposter.jpg/220px-Timecopposter.jpg

Max Walker is a DC cop and one day his home is raided by unknown men. He is shot but survives due to his bullet proof vest, but the house is blown up by what appears to be a suicide bombing and his wife Melissa is killed in the explosion.

Ten years later, he has moved on in his career and is working for the Time Enforcement Commission, which polices the use of time travel. When he uncovers a sinister plot by one of the TEC's biggest sponsors, a sponsor who is also unusually successful, he places his life in danger...

... and as the plot deepens and corrupt politics are brought into the equation, Max must do everything he can to stop the bad guys from changing history for their own gains... and from wiping him out of history forever.

Another top film from Van Damme, this time possibly his best to date, Timecop contains pretty much everything a JCVD fan would want.
It has elements of cheesy acting, elements of genuine acting, humour, high octane action and high kicking stunts from The Plank, great effects and actually has a relatively complex plot.

The time travel thing in Timecop is another plus point. Unlike most time travel films, it contains actual changes in the story and changes to the plot when Max goes in and out of different timelines and is utilised perfectly, even though the full-circle ending is a little gooey and contrived.

The screenplay is written brilliantly though, what could have been made extremely hard to follow is actually very easy to watch and understand.

The action tends to come in dribs and drabs though. It's not an all out guns blazing shoot 'em up, but when the action gets going, it always has an element of peril to it with the fear of failure having a massive impact on the lives of the main protagonist/s.

With the well written plot and characters though, it adds much more to the action than just a 'fight here, fight there, all done' kind of movie.

The acting is also spot on.
JCVD shows his usual cheesy side by he combines elements of geniune acting and a cheeky side too. He's also able to carry the humour brilliantly too.
Ron Silver as the main antagonist is perfectly cast. He plays the same character in two seperate timelines and his differing characteristics are played out brilliantly. He's also the kind of baddie that you love to hate.

Mia Sara, Gloria Rueben and Bruce McGill all make nice appearances too.

McGill and Van Damme in particular have fantastic on screen chemistry.

All in all, by far the best from Van Damme. It has story, plot, acting, humour, cheese, action and has substance and style in bucketloads.
My rating 92%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png.html)

honeykid

08-30-12, 08:24 PM

Yeah I rather like Waterworld as well which is why I said a re-evaluation of a film that got scathing reviews and flopped at the box office, a film often cited as bad rather than one you personally thought was poor.
I believe that Waterworld turned a profit from Box Office alone. Not sure about whether it covered its advertising costs, though considering we're talking 1995, it probably managed that, too.

The Rodent

08-30-12, 11:54 PM

Waterworld was made on a budget of $235m (including marketing etc) and back in 1995 made it the most expensive movie ever made...

...in inflation terms, it would come to about $365m in today's money, which puts it higher than any movie made even in today's prices.
The most expensive movies in today's money have barely cost $300m.

And it made under $90m total at the box office in America... and over seas, Britain etc, it made about $175m.

$265m made in cinema tickets overall = grand profit of $30m...

... apparently these 'official figures' don't take into account the rate of inflation over the months it was about and a few other expenditures on the Studio's behalf, so really, they may have just about broken even, or even ended up out of pocket slightly rather than made a profit of $30m...

... in terms of overall expenditure and money made in ticket sales, I'd say it was pretty much a Box Office flop seeing as they may only have just broken even.

They've made a definite profit since then though... the VHS release made a load of cash apparently, but in terms of Box Office tickets, it was a complete failure.

TylerDurden99

08-31-12, 12:22 AM

Nice reviews of my four favourite Van Damme flicks. I'd also recommend checking outDeath Warrant and JCVD, those are also watchable.

The Rodent

08-31-12, 12:34 AM

I've heard about those two a few times, they're two of his I havent' seen yet. I'm not a massive fan of Van Damme though, I just enjoy one or two but the rest I've pretty much ignored.
I'll have to catch them at some point.

TylerDurden99

08-31-12, 01:39 AM

I like him, but his "underground martial arts tournament" films are crap to me. I prefer his straight up action stuff, like Sudden Death and the like.

honeykid

08-31-12, 08:08 AM

Waterworld was made on a budget of $235m (including marketing etc) and back in 1995 made it the most expensive movie ever made...
So, as I said, it probably covered its costs. :D Y'know, while it's not cool, you could've just agreed with me. ;)

The Rodent

09-01-12, 02:01 PM

In keeping with the past few action movies, I've decided to review an infamous movie and a favourite of mine... sadly, I'm relying on memory and synopsis' from movie websites for this one... been a while since I saw it and my DVD was pinched by a so called mate...

Review #139: The Crow

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/39/Crow_ver2.jpg/220px-Crow_ver2.jpg

Eric Draven, a rock musician is hopelessly in love with his wife to be, Shelly. Their life is pretty good considering the scummy city they live in.
During the Devil's Night celebrations, a group of men break into their apartmenty while Eric is out and they brutally rape and beat Shelly within an inch of her life... when Eric returns home and stumbles on the scene, he is brutally murdered... and Shelly is left for dead. She later dies in Hospital from her injuries.

A friend of Shelly's, a young girl called Sarah, witnesses the aftermath of the attack.
One year later, Sarah is visiting the graves of Eric and Shelly and a large Crow appears and lands on Eric's headstone. Sarah overlooks this and carries on with her day...

... afterward though, Eric's body emerges from the grave, not knowing who he is or what has happened. But as Eric's memories begin to return he finds an inner super strength that's connected to The Crow, and he vows to use his powers to send the scum of the city to hell and gain closure on a situation that the Cops are powerless to fix.

Awesome awesome film based on James O'Barr's comic of the same name.
The Crow holds no boundaries when showing the ugly side of the story. It's hard hitting, violent, dark, brooding and hits the nail right on the head when it comes to the softer and more emotional side of the story, particularly Eric's relationship with Sarah and with his love for his murdered fiance Shelly.

The screenplay is also great, the viewer gets a look at a story that has a few subtle levels of playfulness and is relatively simple in plot too, but the overall finished product (though at times uncomfortable to watch with the subject matter) manages to encapsulate the viewer's imagination wonderfully.

The action is absolutely top notch too when it gets going. With the extremely well concieved characters throughout that have a great connection to the audience, the action really comes into it's own.
Even the scenes of Eric torturing and killing his enemies slowly is strangely satisfying.
It's a shame that there's not more of it though, it feels a bit lacking in actual quantity.

Michael Wincott as main antagonist Top Dollar is brilliantly cast. He's cool, calm, calculating and has a genuine menace about him. His costume is also great.
Rochelle Davis as Sarah is a bit hit and miss but she does an apt job.
Ernie Hudson also makes a nice appearance as a Cop who was investigating Eric and Shelly's murder. Eventually becoming a stalwart pal of Eric after Eric returns from the grave.
David Patrick Kelley makes a fantastic appearance as T-Bird, a vicious killer and gang leader.

Now... Brandon Lee as Eric Draven, what the big thing is, is that Brandon was tragically killed performing a stunt for the movie.
One of the blank firing guns used in a particular scene had been used in a test fire, or a practice shot if you will... and a chunk of the Dummy Round had lodged into the barrel. With the crew under time and money constraints, they forgot to check the weapon before reloading it.
Then, during another firing of the gun, the chunk of Blank Bullet dislodged and hit Brandon... he later died in Hospital from the injury.

But looking at Lee in the movie... Lee wasn't known for his acting prowess before The Crow, but his role in the movie made him a superstar in the minds of the populous. His take on the character is fantastic, he's dark, brooding, athletic and certainly believeable as Eric Draven... the scenes of heartbreak and sorrow are also wonderful, Lee's emotions really work well with the story.
It's definitley Lee's best performance, it's just a shame it was his last.

All in all, not a perfect movie and it won't appeal to everyone, especially with the subject matter and the way the movie has been shot style wise...

... but definitely worthy of a watch by anyone who's into their revenge and action movies. The comicbook feel has translated from book to film wonderfully and Brandon Lee, sadly or gladly depending on how you look at it, made his name with this film.
My rating 88%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png.html)

The Rodent

09-01-12, 04:34 PM

Well, it's here...

Review #140, My 200th Movie

American History X

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0a/American_history_x_poster.jpg/220px-American_history_x_poster.jpg

Brothers Derek and Daniel have their lives thrown into chaos when their father, a firefighter, is killed by an African American drug dealer while he was doing his job.
Derek takes things to the extreme however when he joins up with and eventually becomes a leading figure in a Neo-Nazi Race-Hate group.
One night, while resting at home, Derek and Danny here a noise outside and realise that a group of black guys are trying to steal their truck, a truck that once belonged to their deceased father... and Derek goes completely nuts, killing two of the gang member.

Sentenced to prison, Derek is brutally treated by everyone he comes into contact with, at one point he's even raped, but eventually gathers a humane side and his feelings of Race Hate are quashed as he becomes good friends with a fellow inmate, an African American.
But once out of prison, he learns his younger brother is going down the same route as he went...

... he must work alongside one of Danny's teachers who has assigned Danny a new lesson known as American History X... and they must try their best to stop Danny from destroying his life through crime and racist behaviour with the Neo-Nazi group...

.. but with Derek's old 'friends' just down the road, it may be harder and much more dangerous than he wants.

---
One of the most important movies of the past 25 years, the movie chronicles a number of issues within society, with Racial Tension being at the foreground.
X gives the viewer an incredibly well written drama and is laced brilliantly with tension and some wonderful screenplay and plot elements too.

It's also very hard hitting when the more violent scenes are playing out, it doesn't shy away from the realism and the attitudes of realism when the blood and gore start flying.
The other thing is the overall attitude toward the racial and discrimination side of the story is that the movie doesn't shy away from this either. There are a number of scenes with uncomfortable situations throughout... but it's handled with more and more realism, which gives it a real edge over many other films of this type.

One thing that lets the film down, if you can call it a fault, is that it really shows the ugly side of society as a whole... some viewers will find this extremely uncomfortable and may even find certain elements quite upsetting.
It's not a fault in my eyes, but I've known some people who were offended by some of the characters and character developements.

---
The acting though is by far some of the best I've seen from a bunch of actors I regard as mediocre at best.
Edward Norton as older brother Derek is absolutely fantastic. His changes in character are awesome. He goes from normal applepie American kid to an incredibly powerful and dangerous criminal to a reformed and obviously damaged individual through the movie. He's very good.
Edward Furlong is also on top form as Danny... Furlong is wooden at best in all his other movies but he just feels right here... it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role, Furlong really is the naive, typical and impressionable school kid with an attitude.

Back up comes on the form of Beverly D'Angelo, Ethan Suplee, Fairuza Balk, Stacy Keach, Elliot Gould and Avery Brooks.
All give 110%.

---

All in all, an important and incredibly hard hitting movie, from the rather downbeat beginning to the very downbeat but philosophical ending...
... it's also brilliantly and emotionally charged, very real in attitude and character and is completely shameless in showing you what you don't think you want to see.
It's also exceptionally well shot and written and full of some of the finest acting in any movie of it's type.
Definitely worthy of its spot in my Review Thread.
My rating 100%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png.html)

donniedarko

09-01-12, 05:39 PM

First! :D

Great review and a great movie

The Rodent

09-01-12, 06:02 PM

Cheers mate!

Made an adjustment to the Review since you posted, added some pics.

Think I'll take a rest from reviews for a while... JayDee will be pleased :D
Saying that though, I'll prob start up again by monday :)

Flimmaker1473

09-02-12, 07:56 PM

Nice review for American History X. Though I think a 100% is a bit too high (it was a good movie but it never went that extra mile to be a great movie). Edward Norton's performance was of course phenomenal.

nebbit

09-03-12, 06:09 AM

Nice review Mouse :yup:

JayDee

09-05-12, 05:58 PM

Congrats on another milestone Rodent! :up: Although that was not one of my suggestions!!! :mad:

:D

Seen American History X a couple of times and thought it was excellent but not watched it for years and years.

The Rodent

09-05-12, 06:19 PM

Cheers mate! I got your suggestions on the to do list, just felt like X needed the review.

The Rodent

09-06-12, 10:12 PM

Now I'm in the 200s, I'm having a small shufty with the layout.
First up then...

Review #141: Gone Baby Gone

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c1/Gone_baby_gone_poster.jpg/220px-Gone_baby_gone_poster.jpg

When 4 year old Amanda is abducted while her mother is out getting high on coke, two private investigators are hired by her uncle to work alongside the police.
The investigators, Patrick and Angie, are at first seen as a hinderance by the cops, but eventually show their worth...

... and eventually uncover a disturbing tale of twisted rules and morals in society that had lead to Amanda's abduction.

Ben Affleck's mystery, based on Aaron Stockard's novel, sadly falls flat at the first hurdle. The major problem is that there is no mystery. I figured out the ending within the first 10 minutes.
The other major problem is the plotholes... they're massive, though no direct plot spoilers in my reviews ;)

What the movie does have is tons of fantastic acting and well written characters and is filled with a great screenplay.
There's also lashings of dark and twisted twists throughout that keep the viewer fixed to the screen. The well written characters that have a great connection to the audience lift the screenplay even higher.

Anyone who's after action will be disappointed, there's only two scenes of more highly charged cinema and they're very short lived, but the movie as a whole is incredibly well charged with emotion and darker subject matters rather than just the typical Hollywood nonsense.

The acting as I said though, is great.
Casey Affleck (brother of director Ben) as Patrick is brilliantly torn between his feelings of guilt and remorse and really shows the story for what it is. His brooding and disturbed take on what's going on around him is fantastic.

Michelle Monaghan as Angie is also a standout role. Sadly though, she's kept off the screen too much, I couldn't help but want to see more of her. Her character isn't built on much either, you get the impression there's a backstory there that wasn't utilised.

Amy Ryan is about the best on show as Amanda's mother. Her take on the cocaine riddled drug runner is almost spot on. Her changes in character throughout the movie are incredibly subtle but still noticeable, she's very good.

Backup comes on the form of Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris and John Ashton as three cops who are also on the case.

---

All in all, nowhere near as good as many reviews have said, but the brooding look and the twists and turns in the story are well put together, the acting and characters are also great.
Sadly though, the gaping plotholes and lack of actual mystery let it down. I'd still recommend it though.

My rating: 83%
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/RodentRCircleRecommendedStampNew_zpsebffc047.png.html)

Flimmaker1473

09-06-12, 10:33 PM

Gone Baby Gone was a great movie. As first time directors go, Ben Affleck did a tops job. Casey Affleck's performance was great too. He goes from this badass to someone who just wants to do the right thing. I would give a slightly higher rating (I guess with your percentage thing 90%).

nebbit

09-07-12, 08:50 AM

Nice review :yup: I didn't pick the plot as easy as you :goof:

The Rodent

09-07-12, 10:10 AM

Cheers Nebs! I couldn't help notice them to be honest, there were some faults throughout but the main one just completely threw me at how big it was.

The Rodent

09-07-12, 02:41 PM

Review #142: Waterworld

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5f/Waterworld.jpg/215px-Waterworld.jpg

In the distant future, the world will be covered with water after the ice caps melt and humans will live in a Mad Max Apocalyptic style world, but based on the ocean.
When a young girl appears in the company of a surrogate mother, it's learned that she has a map tattooed on her back. It is said that the map gives directions to a mythical place, unseen by human eye for centuries... a place called Dryland.

When a particular group of pirates called 'Smokers' hear of this map, they make it their mission to capture the child, but while escaping from the attack the child and her surrogate mother end up in the hands of a mysterious sailor known only as The Mariner.
Together they must protect the girl and the map (of course, if it is real), and help a bunch of stranded survivors to avoid the Smokers, and see if this apparent myth known as Dryland actually exists.

Still regarded today as the biggest box office failure of all time, Waterworld is actually a very clever movie, filled with imagination and a rather broad range of acting.

The overall feel of the movie is along the lines of Mad Max, but without the darker more brooding subject matters... instead, Waterworld swaps the darker stuff for more fantastical, even comicbook style adventure and action.

Though at the time, 1995, it cost near $240m to make... in today's money that's near $350m which actually outweighs today's movie budgets by $50m... Waterworld still manages to have a B-Movie feel to it.

The overall world built for and around the movie is still very imaginative though. There are numerous ideas throughout and characters and races of people that were going to be built on by the filmmakers, sadly though, in-fighting between cast, crew and studios cut short a lot of the production... leaving the finished product feeling slightly void of any real history or quantity.
There is an element of history there, just not as much as there could have been.

The film does utilise humour though, and does it in a very, very subtle way. Some of it is in jokes too that mainly sailors will spot but there's a number of scenes of odd-trio/buddy-movie comedy that shines through between the main trio of actors.

The main problem with the movie is, and this might sound a bit odd, is the imaginative premise: A water world.
The major plot hole is why Dryland is still mythical after centuries and centuries of people floating around on the ocean.
It doesn't quite work in the grande scheme of things.

The acting though is really good for a movie of its type.
Kevin Costner as The Mariner is brilliantly quiet and grumpy. He's also incredibly tough and carries the burden of secrecy perfectly. There's more to Costner than meets the eye, not just in the character, but in the actor too.
Tina Majorino is also on top form as the tattoed girl Enola. Majorino is extremely annoying to Costner's tough Mariner, eventually finding a common ground with him and becoming stalwart buddies.
Jeanne Tripplehorn does an apt job as Enola's surrogate mother, she has an air of toughness and wisdom about her and plays the more motherly and softer scenes perfectly.

The standout role though is Dennis Hopper as The Deacon, the leader of the Smokers. He's very good in the role. Think along the lines of a cross between his role in Land Of The Dead with touches of Frank Booth and King Koopa in Super Mario Bros. and you're getting close. He's also the main actor to give the hits of humour involved throughout the movie.

Now... the action. It's highly charged, contains masses of explosive adventure and the humour involved, though as I said mainly comes from Hopper, lifts the action to greater levels of enjoyment.
Backing up the choreography is some really well rendered and pieced together special effects, and it's mainly practical with only the odd matt-painting and miniature work. Pretty much the whole film is on the ocean too and the technical aspects of this are exceptionally well put together.

---

All in all, I'm finding it hard to see why Waterworld bombed at the box office. It's exciting, full of imagination, comedy, action, great acting and the screenplay is top work.
The overall premise and plot are a bit far fetched, but what makes it work is that the movie isn't actually trying to be a serious Apocalyptic movie like Mad Max was.

My rating: 91%
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akatemple

09-07-12, 03:06 PM

I agree, everyone always talks about how bad Waterworld is but I have always found it to be a fun and exciting movie to watch.

akatemple

09-07-12, 03:08 PM

Oh yeah and really great review of American History X, I loved that movie and think that everyone should watch it at least once, now do what I say and bite the curb.

mastermetal777

09-07-12, 03:48 PM

Waterworld was just too farfetched and full of plotholes for me to fully enjoy without going all Mystery Science Theater on it. I still get a kick out of watching Costner "act" and seeing the over-the-top action scenes and acting of Dennis Hopper. It's everything else that I can't really get into.

nebbit

09-07-12, 05:51 PM

Waterworld is one of my guilty pleasures :eek: I love it :blush:

mastermetal777

09-08-12, 09:24 PM

How about a review of The Fifth Element, Rodent? Assuming you haven't already. I've been watching a lot of Bruce Willis movies lately, and that one just popped into my head.

The Rodent

09-16-12, 08:27 PM

Cheers for the replies guys... Fifth Element is one of my favourites... so here you go...

Review #143: The Fifth Element

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/65/Fifth_element_poster_(1997).jpg/220px-Fifth_element_poster_(1997).jpg

When an apparently unstoppable force is discovered to be heading toward Earth in the distant future, humanity finds itself looking to an alien race of beings capable of halting this force forever.

But when the plan goes awry, it's down to an alien clone, a priest, a radio host and a taxi driver to save the day.
What awaits them all is a grand explosive adventure that will take them among the stars and into the Galaxy to fight for the human race against not only this evil force, but also a human traitor and another more powerful force of alien beings.

Luc Besson's flick is a bit of a Marmite movie really.
It contains all the right ingredients for a sci-fi action adventure... comedy, explosions, gun fights, great acting, superb action and lashings of effects... but it's Besson's usual stylish take on the story and the overall look of the finished product that puts a few people off.
The highest ratings I've seen for the film were around the 70%-75% region and is classed as a Cult Film by many websites and critics alike.

However, for me, what makes the movie special is the overall finished product... it's campy, hammy even and has masses of original ideas combined seemlessly with existing sci-fi ideas and the overall story and plot are absolutely fantastic.
There's also some extremely well pieced together plot devices and some lovely history going on throughout the film too.
The history in question is within the well rounded backstory of the plot and story and with the characters as well, they're all really well developed and have actually been written rather than just thrown together hurriedly.

Another thing that stands out is the overall colourful and bright costumes and setting of the world that Besson is directing.
Most of it comes from highly camp fashion desinger Jean-Paul Gaultier as costume designer and the artistic talents of Jean-Claude Mezieres and Jean Giraud.
The overall feel of the artistic talent on show can seem a little tongue in cheek sometimes but Besson's direction and the acting involved really give the film its own flavour compared to other sci-fi movies.

The acting is also great.
Bruce Willis as Corben Dallas (taxi driver and ex Marine) is brilliantly put together by Willis. He plays the comedy very subtley and edges more toward the invincible hero of the 80s actioner... but Willis' natural on-screen presence lifts the character brilliantly.

Milla Jovovich as Leeloo (the clone) is on top form though. It's not Jovovich's usual action character really, she's full of humour and has a real personality about her in this movie. As far as the action goes, it's the film that made her career, it's just a shame that since this movie the rest of her actioners have been pretty dull. This is by far her best action character.

Chris Tucker makes a great appearance as Ruby Rhod, radio show extraordinaire. Tucker seems to have been given free reign with the role and it really shows. He's funny, annoying, makes the more serious scenes a bit more light hearted and really nails the role of a sex god with a difference.

Gary Oldman as Mr Zorg is another top performance. He's never actually on-screen at the same time as Willis though, which seems a bit odd that the main antagonist and protagonist never actually meet... but still, Oldman really makes an impression as the greedy, slimy, mildly psychotic yet still likeable bad guy. He's the kind of baddie that you love to love really.

Back up comes in the form of Ian Holm, Brion James, Tommy Tiny Lister, Luke Perry, Tricky and comedian Lee Evans.

As for the action, it's explosive, full of high kicking stunts, lots of gunfire and the budget hasn't been spared on anything really. The CGI effects and occasional wire work also blend in perfectly with the louder action scenes.
It's also very exciting when it gets going and the humour that's laced throughout the film works brilliantly with the camp and colourful characters involved in the various explosions and fist fights.

---

All in all, I can see why some people don't like the film... but as a whole it's a romping sci-fi-adventure that's brilliantly choreographed and written in terms of action and plot and the artistry that went into the production really has to be seen to be believed.
A very good sci-fi indeed and is laced with humour and campness throughout.

My rating: 93%
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cinemaafficionado

09-16-12, 08:29 PM

Very nice review. Welcome back Rodinsky.

nebbit

09-16-12, 09:00 PM

:love: the fifth Element :yup:

akatemple

09-16-12, 10:48 PM

The Fifth Element is a great movie, but I say that about almost anything Milla Jovovich is in.. ;)

mastermetal777

09-18-12, 09:52 AM

I really like The Fifth Element due to how goofy, yet sophisticated it is. I'm a sucker for films that show intelligence, but are still comfortable enough to sprinkle some ham and cheese here and there. Makes for great entertainment, in my book.

JayDee

09-18-12, 07:59 PM

Love Fifth Element. Made it onto my last top 100 list, somewhere around the 60s/70s I think.

Think I'll take a rest from reviews for a while... JayDee will be pleased :D

So much for the rest! :p And yes I would have been pleased had I not decided on my own hiatus for a while.

cinemaafficionado

09-18-12, 11:04 PM

Love Fifth Element. Made it onto my last top 100 list, somewhere around the 60s/70s I think.

So much for the rest! :p And yes I would have been pleased had I not decided on my own hiatus for a while.

Hmmm..... I smell a conspiracy. Did you guys collude with Bumblebee?

The Rodent

09-20-12, 10:42 AM

Just been talking about this in the Stallone thread... so here's a review.

Review #144: Cop Land

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5c/Cop_land_movie_poster.jpg/220px-Cop_land_movie_poster.jpg

The town of Garrison, New Jersey, is a town which is basically where most of New York's police officers live. Sheriff Freddy Heflin is the guy who has to police this town.
Heflin is a failed New York cop, he's partially deaf and not really very bright... but he's trying, hard working and friendly but still, isn't exactly the role model cop that he would want to be. He's also not super fit physically either.

When a particular incident occures within the city limits which results in the deaths of innocent teenagers at the hands of a cop, it seems that corrupt cops and some almost political cover-ups are taking place...

... and Sheriff Heflin ends up (whether he wants to be or not) smack bang in the middle of it.
He is after all the Sheriff of Cop Land and he must do what is right, as he has done all his life, and bring an end to the corruption... but not only will he be taking on the entire New York police force, but people he considers friends and allies will become involved in his clean cut law abiding ways.

A very, very well pieced together drama-action with a very well used plot (good cop fighting corrupt cops etc) is brought to the screen by director James Mangold.

Cop Land actually plays against type with a lot of the actors involved and steers itself away from the typical Hollywood explosions and superhuman hero cops and goes for as more realistic take on the well used plot devices.

What gives Cop Land a different feel is the screenplay. It's been written absolutely brilliantly. There's a backstory there in regard to story and plot, there's backstory to the characters involved and there's also a lovely brooding outtake on the turns of events by all the actors involved too.
The other thing is the mystery involved that turns into more of a 'do the right thing' movie in the third act.
Some of the actual mystery falls a little flat and is opened up to the viewer relatively quickly, but the movie does this knowingly to give the audience something to get behind the heroes on as the movie progresses.

There are some hits of action throughout, but it comes in drips and drabs but the well rounded character writing adds much much more to the action involved... it adds a massive element of real life and realism to the overall feel of the more exciting scenes.

The other thing that gives the movie an edge is the ensemble talent on show, Sly Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick, Janeane Garofalo and Michael Rapaport are just a handful of recognisable faces on show.

Stallone in particular is a massive surprise as Sheriff Heflin. He's playing against type. He's real, believeable as the torn hero and his take on the simple minded, half deaf Sheriff out to do the right thing is exceptionally well played. Definitely Sly's best acting performance.

The onscreen chemistry, not just between Sly and De Niro (which is fantastic by the way), but between all the actors on screen is exceptional. They all play their roles perfectly. Some roles are kept off screen a little more than I'd like, namely Ray Liotta and De Niro, I wanted to see more of them and their disparate exploits in the story.
Still though, as I said, the performances they give are top work.

---

All in all, a surprisingly well written, shot and directed movie and is acted brilliantly by the ensemble cast. It's also extremely good at creating the audience-character connections.
A definite must see drama-action.

My rating: 94%
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Deadite

09-20-12, 10:56 AM

I LOVE The Fifth Element.

Oh yeah, and Cop Land is underrated too. Stallone was a perfect schlub.

JayDee

09-20-12, 11:17 AM

Cop Land - another film I really like. :yup: We certainly have very similar tastes. And I love Stallone's performance in it

Hmmm..... I smell a conspiracy. Did you guys collude with Bumblebee?

Says the guy who seemed to disappear for about 3 months!!! :p

But yeah Bumblebee hasn't been about much

The Rodent

09-24-12, 08:57 PM

145th review, 205th movie... bit of a Special Favourite of mine and in keeping with my 140th/200th Special...

Review #145: Mississippi Burning

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e9/Mississippi_Burning.jpg/220px-Mississippi_Burning.jpg

Jessup County, Mississippi 1964, two white Civil Rights workers and an African American Civil Rights worker are murdered in cold blood by the Ku Klux Klan.
Brought in to investigate are two FBI Agents Alan Ward and Rupert Anderson.
Anderson in particular was a Mississippi Sheriff back in his younger days and has a rather heavy handed and hard-headed way of getting the truth out of his suspects. Ward however is a Liberal, and prefers to talk and use paperwork as a weapon.

When it appears that pretty much the entire town is part of the murder and are members of the KKK, the two FBI Agents must do everything they can... even if it means coming to loggerheads with one another, to get to the truth of the murders and bring an end to the racial tension and basic terrorism that is taking place in the rural areas of Southern America.

Based loosely on the real life murders of three Civil Rights workers in Mississippi in 1964, albeit with a number of the facts changed around, Burning gives the viewer an incredibly exciting, disturbing and extremely well pieced together story of morality, drama, emotion and the odd hit of action too.

The other main part of the story is friendship and loyalty... whether it's the relationship between the FBI Agents, the KKK members and their families or even between the black/white divide of the populous... the movie is laced brilliantly with the torn relationships of all involved and plays on the feelings of the viewer wonderfully.

A lot of the action toward the end is also felt brilliantly by the audience. The viewer can't help but get behind the good guys and spurn them on in their heavy handed exploits at getting justice for the victims of race crime. The audience character connection is absolutely top notch, including the connection to the bad guys and it gives the louder and more exciting scenes a real lift.

The acting is also top drawer.
Gene Hackman as the heavy handed Anderson is an absolute mark of genius. His cool calm persona is second only to the harder scenes where Hackman really comes into his brutal element. He's one of the stand out roles... and certainly one of Hackman's best.
Willem Dafoe as Ward is also on top form. His pencil pushing Liberal is played perfectly and Dafoe is almost unrecognisable as the FBI Agent who changes his mentality toward violence as the film goes on.

Brad Dourif and Frances McDormand as Deputy Pell and wife respectively are also two more stand out roles... McDormand in particular has massive chemistry on screen with Hackman and Brad... and Dourif's character lives with the viewer even when he's not on screen.

Back up comes in the form of an ensemble cast of R Lee Ermey, Michael Rooker, Gailard Sartain, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Tobin Bell, Yaphet Koto and the brilliantly underrated Kevin Dunn.

---

All in all, ok I compared it to American History X at the start of this review but Burning is really a different movie altogether based on the same premise of racial tension.
It's an incredibly well acted and written drama about the brutal sides of humanity and has a genuinely exciting screenplay on many levels that hits the viewer very very hard. The action, though it comes in smaller chunks, is well choreographed and exciting too.

My Rating: 100%
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The Rodent

09-25-12, 12:15 AM

Well... the recent thread on '80s movies has got me thinking...

... I've reviewed a bunch 80s classics and their sequels in my thread over the past few months, here's the rundown on them so far:

#1- Young Guns
#9- The 'Burbs
#11- Predator
#12- Robocop
#13- John Carpenter's The Thing
#15- Terminator Foursome (1-4)
#22- Full Metal Jacket
#26- Christopher Reeve Superman Foursome (1-4) And Superman Returns
#29- Ghostbusters
#30- Star Wars Franchise (1-6)
#31- Critters
#36- The Abyss
#38- John Carpenter's The Fog
#40- The Shining
#41- Indiana Jones Foursome (1-4)
#44- Rocky Franchise (1-6)
#45- The Lost Boys
#47- Alien Foursome (1-4 Includes A Rerun Of Review #8)
#49- Gremlins Duo (1 & 2)
#55- Bladerunner
#61- Ghostbusters Duo (1 & 2 Includes A Rerun Of Review #29)
#65- Cat's Eye
#68- The Karate Kid (Original Movie)
#69- Die Hard Franchise (1-4)
#70- Poltergeist
#75- Critters Foursome (1-4 Includes A Rerun Of Review #31)
#78- The Fly (1986 Remake)
#80- Back To The Future Trilogy (1-3)
#81- Lethal Weapon Foursome (1-4)
#82- Star Trek Franchise (1-11)
#84- An American Werewolf In London
#93- Highlander
#94- The Goonies
#95- Burton's Batman
#113- Little Shop Of Horrors
#126- Legend
#127- Dead Calm
#129- Top Gun
#131- Twins
#145- Mississippi Burning

What got me thinking, is that I did a 5 Pixar Movie Marathon a while back so I've gotten myself in the mood to do another Marathon: 80s Classics And Their Sequels.

15 reviews, mixed bag of Sci-Fi, Comedy, Drama, War, Thriller and a few from in between.

To kick it off then...

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #146 (1st of 15):

Beverly Hills Cop Trilogy

Beverly Hills Cop

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a2/Beverly_Hills_Cop.jpg/220px-Beverly_Hills_Cop.jpg

Axel Foley is a reckless and cocky Detroit Cop... when an old aquaintance shows up out of the blue, Axel is delighted and the pair go out for drinks... only for Axel and his friend to get attacked and Axel is knocked unconcious.
Upon waking up, he realises his friend is dead... and Axel, under the disapproval of his superiors, follows his Cop nose to discover the identity of the killer...

... what Axel discovers though is a massive drug smuggling ring in Beverly Hills and he has to enlist the help of the local Police Force to aid him in bringing down the ring, and bring justice for his murdered friend.

A pretty simplistic plot with a couple of relatively simple twists is backed up ferociously by Eddie Murphy's incredibly talent for comedy and smooth, cool persona.
BHC is a brilliantly pieced together crime-comedy-thriller that hits every nail on the head when it comes to action, laughs, thrills, spills and occassional genuine emotion too.

It's hard to put a finger on the specifics of what makes the film work, it's just as a whole the entire movie works wonderfully. The concoction of all the above elements is a very special one indeed.

The action involved is also one of the high points. There's many subtle levels to the more exciting scenes... not least the situational humour and occassional slapstick involved in the gunfights and explosions. It's exciting when it gets going and well choreographed too.

The entire cast hold all that together really well too.
Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley is an absolute mark of genius. Murphy's incredible persona and characteristics for the character are incredibly original. He's not just funny, but he's believeable, tough, has a human side and is perfect in the comedy-action scenes.

Judge Reinhold and John Ashton play Rosewood and Taggart respectively as two Beverly Hills Officers helping/hindering Axel in his exploits who are also perfectly cast.
Their on screen chemistry with each other and with Murphy is also brilliant... their roles also change as the movie progresses, from upstanding Officers of the law to slightly tainted individuals due to their time with Axel.

Rent-A-Baddie Steven Berkoff makes a nice appearance as the main antagonist, he plays the part well but could have been better.

Back up comes in the form of Ronnie Cox as Beverly Hills Police Captain Bogomil, Lisa Eilbacher, James Russo, Jonathan Banks, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot and a young Damon Wayans makes an appearance too.

---

All in all, near perfect crime-comedy caper that has it all... laughs, explosions, action, emotion and a wonderfully synthesised 80s soundtrack.

My Rating: 97%
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Beverly Hills Cop 2

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/52/Beverly_Hills_Cop_II.jpg/220px-Beverly_Hills_Cop_II.jpg

When Captain Bogomil is shot while on duty, Rosewood and Taggart enlist the help of fellow officer and friend Axel Foley in tracking down the would-be killer.
It turns out the assassin is part of a much larger crime organisation and they need to bring down this ring of robbers and arms dealers before they can escape the country, never to be seen again.

With the success of the first film, the sequel was inevitable... a change in director was also a good point in regard to the studio's involvment. The late great Tony Scott took the helm for this installment.

What the second movie gives the audience is more of the same really, just slightly bigger and bolder in the action stakes... but that's it really...

... the humour of the original seems to have been completely withdrawn from the script with only the occassional hint of Murphy's trademark comedy in place of a more hard hitting action movie.

It's a shame really... the movie could have been far better than the first, the story, plot and screenplay are top notch and the action scenes are really really well put together and choreographed...

... but with lacking the freshness of the original and the massive lack of humour throughout, the movie has to be marked down considerably.

The acting however is as the first film.

This time round the viewer is treated to Brigitte Nielsen as Karla, a head henchman of the main antagonist. Nielsen's femme-fatale is absolutely perfect. She's threatening, sexy, full of charisma and plays her part brilliantly.
Jurgen Prochnow makes a show as main antagonist Maxwell Dent. He's another Rent-A-Baddie style villain but again, plays his part well.

Back up this time round comes in the forms of Dean Stockwell, Allen Garfield, Paul Reiser, Tommy Tiny Lister and... Chris Rock and Hugh Hefner make appearances too.

---

All in all, a big step back from the original... lacking in humour and the trademark laughs of the first film, there's still a hint of comedy, just not enough... the action is more highly charged and will suit action fans more than the first but the lack of coherancy between this and the original is a real low point. I'd still recommend it though due to the action side of things.

My Rating: 82%
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Beverly Hills Cop 3

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9c/Beverly_Hills_Cop_III.jpg/220px-Beverly_Hills_Cop_III.jpg

When Foley's Detroit Captain is shot during a bust, he dies in Foley's arms... upon following some clues left behind, Axel realises that the killer is living in Beverly Hills and may be being harboured by a rich local.
He hops on a plane and heads to see his old pals at the Beverly Hills Police Force in the hopes they can help him track down the murderer.

What they end up uncovering is an embezzlement plan and yet another crime syndicate... and Foley makes it his personal goal to show these guys up for who they are and bring his Captain's killer to justice.

Thsi time round the filmmakers have gone more toward the other direction... more comedy, more (a lot more) slapstick, almost comicbook style action that's OTT and OTT gadgets and guns and, to top things off, a Fairground setting.

It's really a case of excess with the third installment... it's just to much in the other direction. The second film, though it was edging toward the more serious actioner, at least kept thing relatively real and realistic in regards to action and thrills.
This time round the only thing lacking from proceedings is boingy sounds when someone falls over and a horn sound when someone lands on their backside.

It's highly gimmicky and incredibly comicbook... to the point that pretty much all the humour seems to have been developed with kids in mind rather than the adult based humour and action of the first two.
Even the Fairground setting as a base for the antagonist's dealings falls flat. It's just too much cheese.

It's also highly cheesey with a lot of the dialogue.

There is a screenplay though... sadly, it's a midge modge of the first film and second film and is very, very simplistic.

The acting is again spot on from Murphy, but he seems to have an air of "why am I here?" about him.
Judge Reinhold also seems to be getting tired of it all.

No John Ashton this time round, but he's replaced with a similar character and actor in the form of Hector Elizondo. Again another formulaic piece of writing but Elizondo plays his part well.

Timothy Carhart plays main antagonist Wallis Dewald... he's another apt baddie but just feels a bit bland for a bad guy.

Bronson Pinchot makes a reappearance. Other than that, the rest of the cast is pretty bare.

---

All in all, hugely disappointing and full of cheesey acting, dialogue and gimmicky elements to the script. It's even so comicbook in tone there's a cartoon character named after our main hero.
Awful movie to say the least.

My Rating: 27%
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The Rodent

09-25-12, 01:10 AM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #147 (2nd of 15): Field Of Dreams

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Field_of_Dreams_poster.jpg

Ray Kinsella is a newbie and failing farmer. His crops aren't great and he's facing financial ruin and bankruptcy.
While out in his corn field he hears a strange whispery voice saying "If you build it, he will come".
At first Ray thinks he's going mad and hearing voices... but as time goes on, the voice keeps sounding and he sees a vision of a baseball field where his crops are. He build the field and is stunned when an apparition of a dead baseball player magically appears on the field. The problem is, nobody apart from Ray and his immediate family can see the ghosts of the dead players on the pitch.

Eventually, Ray is lead to seek out Terrence Mann... and their adventure together will lead them both not only to the depths of disbelief... but to a destiny that will change their very existence forever.

A lovely, lovely movie, laced with just enough schmaltz and heart felt emotion and backs itself up with small element of humour and lashings of mystery and drama.

Dreams isn't the average voyage of discovery or even the average drama... it throws a huge element of fantasy into the proceedings too and does it extremely well.
The plot falls a little flat at times, particularly when Ray is discovering certain things about where his quest is going, but it's hardly recognisable as a fault really.
There is however the mystery and some spooky aspects to the story and overall feel of the movie that work great as well.

There's also masses of wonderfully playful plot elements and the odd little twists that keeps the viewer watching the screen.

The acting is spot on though.
Kevin Costner as Ray is brilliantly lost in the series of events. He plays the comedy really well too, especially when he first meets Terrence Mann's character.
James Earl Jones as Mann is also wonderful. His chemistry with COstner is perfect and they work well off each other in every scene they're together in.

Ray Liotta makes a brilliant show as Shoeless Joe Jackson, the main ghost of the baseball players. His brooding and rather sombre take on a lost but intelligent soul is really something very wonderful.

Back up comes from Amy Madigan, Timothy Busfield, Gaby Hoffman, Art LaFleur, Steve Eastin, Dwier Brown and Burt Lancaster.

---

All in all, not a perfect film, but has some really great lumps of mystery and drama. It's acted well, has a really nicely written screenplay with only the odd crease in the plot and the ending is wonderfully heart felt after the fantastic build up.

My rating: 90%
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akatemple

09-25-12, 01:36 AM

I have never seen Cop Land but with your review I have added it to my list. Beverly Hills Cop 1 has always been a favorite, never really cared much for the other ones.
Really great reviews Rodent.

akatemple

09-25-12, 01:37 AM

HA, Field of dreams is a classic to me, I grew up watching that movie.

The Rodent

09-25-12, 01:40 AM

Cheers matey! Got a list of 80s here that I'm going to get through... hopefully you guys like them all, 18 more reviews to go, 22 movies in all :D

You'll have to keep watching to find out which ones I've got lined up though.

JayDee

09-25-12, 09:54 AM

Oh s**t I forgot to tape Mississippi Burning last night!!! :D Had noticed it and meant to but completely blanked on it. Need to maybe pick the DVD up cheap at some point.

Anyway you've certainly been a busy little rodent haven't you! :p Love Field of Dreams and the Beverly Hills Cop films. The first is by far the best but I even like the really goofy third one.

Look forward to seeing what else you've got up your sleeve in this season of 80s movies; one of my favourite, if not my absolute favourite decade for films

The Rodent

09-26-12, 12:46 PM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #148 (3rd of 15): Stand By Me

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4d/Stand_by_me_poster.jpg/220px-Stand_by_me_poster.jpg

Based on Stephen King's novel The Body... four school friends Gordy, Chris, Vern and Teddy are a pretty disparate group of kids.
Teddy is a bit of a wild child with a violent father, Vern is overweight and a bit dumb, Gordy is the smartest of the group and has a talent for telling stories and Chris is carrying the burden of being a thief due to his older brother having a reputation.
Gordy is also put upon by his family after his older brother died not long ago. His brother was seen as the first son obviously and Gordy feels he has been forgotten by his father, which upsets him deeply.

When word reaches their ears of the location of a missing boy from their school, the four pack some camping equipment and head out into the Maine wilderness for what they think will be grand adventure of discovery and a chance to get away from their tormented lives...

... what they discover though is themselves, each other, life lessons and discover that growing up to become men is a different experience than they all initially thought.

A lovely lovely movie full of some great acting and a wonderful screenplay.
Stand By Me has a brilliantly pieced together backstory too, there's lashings of history to the characters and it gives them a real and recognisable air that never fails to keep the viewer interested.

The screenplay itself is a little linear, but it doesn't spoil the film, it keeps things simple and doesn't confuse nor bore the audience. There is a nice twist/change in the linear screenplay that appears near the end that keeps things different though.

There's also a couple of little hits of more exciting cinema but it's kept relatively real and relatively small but still makes a mark on the audience.

There is however a greatly concieved soundtrack... most of it is based around the styles of the time and the title song works perfectly with the movie too.

That's all there is to say about the movie itself really, it's really all about the talent on show doing their best to back up the haunting series of events and backstory.

Jerry O'Connell as Vern, the fat kid that's bullied is a wonder to watch. He's funny and is the basis of most of the group's situation comedy.
Corey Feldman, as usual is brilliant. His take on the mentally disturbed but eccentric wild child is perfect and fits Feldman to a T.

Wil Wheaton plays Gordy, the smartest academically and is also played by Richard Dreyfuss as an older man. Dreyuss' narration is really good and adds an element of nostalgia to the proceesdings but Wheaton is the on screen Gordy, and he absolutely nails the role. It's by far Wheaton's best role to date.
The late great River Phoenix plays Chris, the other wild child with a twist. Phoenix really makes a mark on the viewer and really is the best actor on show of the main cast. He's also extremely intense when needed and carries the humour well too.

Back up comes in the form of Bradley Gregg, Gary Riley, the great Marshall Bell, Casey Siemaszko and Kiefer Sutherland as the leader of a group of bad boys that Chris' brother is part of.
John Cusack also makes a brilliant appearance in flashback as Gordy's deceased brother.

---

All in all, apart from the linear and slightly lacking script (I wanted to see more of our heroes and villains after the credits rolled), Stand By Me is a near perfect movie. Full of awesome acting, haunting subject matters and funny situational humour. This coming-of-age story is an absolute must see and the air of nostalgia that the movie has is top work, even though you've never met the characters before.

My rating: 97%
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The Rodent

09-26-12, 01:26 PM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #149 (4th of 15): Rain Man

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b2/Rain_Man_poster.jpg/215px-Rain_Man_poster.jpg

Charlie Babbit is a successful car dealer, but one of his deals is about to go awry and he has to take off across America to sort out the mess.
When news reaches him that his estranged father has died, he cancels the trip temporarily and goes to the Will Hearing, only to discover that he has an older brother he'd never heard of... a brother that will inherit all of his father's wealth.
Jealous and upset, he visits his brother in the hope that he can maybe twist him into giving up the inheritance and to investigate this disturbing turn of events, but finds out that Raymond is a Savant, or Autistic if you will, and he takes Raymond on his now un-cancelled trip across America to rediscover his past and his family and get his car deal sorted out...

... but things won't be as logistically simple or as emotionally easy as he thought with Rain Man by his side.

An absolutely fantastic film of self discovery and emotional connection comes from the minds of some of the best actors and filmmakers in the business.
Rain Man isn't just another simple odd-couple movie... it's a heartwrenching movie that also manages to be funny, painfully emotional and extremely intense in the turn of events that captures the feelings of family and love perfectly.

It's another movie that's based mainly around the acting but this time round it has one of the finest screenplays and actual character developments I've yet to see in any movie.
It's extremely believeable too. Unknown pasts and secretive families taking the forefront of the screenplay and the voyage of discovery that the main duo go down is very very well pieced together. The scenes when they go to a Casino are brilliantly funny too.

What makes the film stand out from any other film of it's kind, is the awesome screenplay. There are sequences of events and discovery that not just the cast go down, but the audience is taken down too.
It's almost an education in the subject of Autism and how the human mind works... the subject matters involved have definitely been well researched before being put to script. It's also handled with incredible care for detail and respect.
Very well done indeed.

The acting, not only is a surprise from Tom Cruise, is wonderful throughout.
Cruise in particular, like I just said is a surprise to be sure, but he's extremely real in the events that are unfolding around him. His feelings of regret, jealousy and occasional smarmy and slimy persona shine through greatly. His frustrations with Raymond are also felt by the viewer too.
Now, Dustin Hoffman as Raymond is an absolute gem in the movie world. Dustin's quiet, unassuming yet brilliantly intelligent character is not only annoying, but heart wrenchingly loveable and funny. Hoffman even won an Academy Award for his role. One of the finest performances going I'd say.

Back up comes in the forms of Valeria Golino and Jerry Molen but the movie really is all about Cruise and Hoffman on their road trip.

---

All in all, the film lacks almost nothing... the performances, screenplay, script, soundtrack and especially the emotions the viewer is taken through are all incredibly powerful.
One of the best dramas from the best decade for movies, an absolute must see.

My rating: 100%
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JayDee

09-26-12, 01:42 PM

I really need to watch Rain Man, been on my radar for a while and still not got round to it.

The Rodent

09-26-12, 01:49 PM

You've never seen it?

It's one of those films that surprised me when I first watched. I expected a pretty standard road movie with a bit of emotion thrown in for good measure, I think having Tom Cruise in the film made me think that, I expected a bit of a girly drama with Cruise as the eye candy for the teenyboppers... it's much much better than that though.

The Rodent

09-26-12, 11:19 PM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #150 (5th of 15): Big Trouble In Little China

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/76/Big_Trouble_in_Little_China_Film_Poster.jpg/220px-Big_Trouble_in_Little_China_Film_Poster.jpg

Jack Burton is a truck driver, he's also a bit of a hustler and smart-mouth who loves himself... a lot.
When he and his friend Wang Chi go to San Francisco International Airport to pick up Wang's fiancee Miao Yin, they are attacked by a street gang and Yin is kidnapped, presumably to be sold as a sex slave.

Burton vows to help Wang find his bride to be and take on the gang... but what they discover is that Miao Yin is part of a centuries old legend of Chinese sorcery and black magic that will shake the Pillars of Heaven if evil prevails.

The ultimate 80s classic in terms of cheese, action, tongue in cheek humour and some exceptionally wooden (but knowing) acting.

John Carpenter really goes against type with his direction too. The movie is completely different to his other outings.
It also contains a very particular taste in production value, settings, humour, screenplay and the overall script and story.
If you don't get it, forget it, the movie isn't for you.

The story itself starts out pretty simple... two friends getting the girl back with some really good action and martial arts thrown in... then toward the second act it turns into an extremely imaginative fantasy full of weird creatures and some even weirder special effects and costumes.

What makes Big Trouble stand out though is exactly that... it's very disparate from one scene to the next, the viewer never really knows what coming next.
Which also adds to the mystery of what's going on in the turns of events.

Not all of the film works though, some of the legend and the history of the legend in the story is a little under-written (if that's a word). It feels quite childlike and doesn't quite have the air of what Carpenter set out for... ageless legends.

The acting though is knowingly bad. The cast seem to be almost smiling throughout while delivering their cheesey dialogue.
Kurt Russell as Burton, the muscleheaded self promoter is perfectly cast. He's funny, believeable when the going gets tough and carries the action brilliantly. Most of his humour comes from acting dumb throughout the turn of weird events.
Dennis Dun is also a perfect match for Russell. His wise young China man and unassuming stature give him a real edge against Russell and their on screen chemistry is wonderful.

Kim Catrall makes a nice show as Burton's love interest and another damsell in distress. She's at her usual for the time of filming, kind of lost and yet still sexy with it.

Back up comes from James Hong, Al Leong, Carter Wong, Peter Kwong, James Pax and the late great Victor Wong.

The action is really what it's all about though. It's loud, brightly coloured, full of excessive use of pyrotechnics and one of the main martial arts antagonists even influenced a very famous videogame God... but you'll have to watch to find out who.

---

Al in all, no where near being a perfect movie technically... but Trouble gives cheese, fights, highly memorable monsters and characters and some really funny scenes in bucketloads.
An 80s actioner well worth a spot in my 80s classics section, it's also one of my guilty pleasures.

My rating: 86%
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mastermetal777

09-27-12, 12:09 AM

Can you believe I never finished Rain Man? I love that movie, and yet I don't know how it ends! It's a terrible tragedy that I need to remedy soon. It's a marvel of a film in acting, direction, and writing in general. Dustin Hoffman's performance is definitely in my top 10 male film performances of all-time.

The Rodent

09-27-12, 12:17 AM

Michael Bay takes over the third act as director and there's a huge explosion and some Navy Seals and Hoffman goes all Jackie Chan on their asses.

The Rodent

09-27-12, 08:49 PM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #151 (6th of 15): Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Movie_poster_who_framed_roger_rabbit.jpg

In a fantasy world, cartoon characters live in the same world as real people and are hired just like regular actors to star in cartoons.
When Marvin Acme, an important person in the toon industry is murdered, Roger Rabbit is the first suspect because his wife Jessica was seen and photographed with Acme.
Acme's last Will is also missing, a Will that apparently leaves Toontown to the toons that live there.
If the Will isn't found though, Toontown will be ripped down and replaced with a highway that will bring millions of dollars in for the owners.

It's up to a Toon hating PI called Eddie Valiant to investigate this turn of events and discover who Acme's murderer really is and find out who will profit from what appears to be a cover up.

One of the most original movies of the 80s... Framed gives the viewer a taste of what a handful of movies gave years before with the likes of Mary Poppins and Bedknobs And Broomsticks...

... then turns the whole thing right up in the action, writing, comedy and screenplay stakes.

It's a big hit movie with younger movie goers due to the wacky and zany comedy on show and the bright colours of the setting and characters but Framed is really a more adult murder mystery filled with an incredible eye detail and a screenplay that rivals most murder mysteries.

It's highly inventive too with the subject matters and smaller plot points that go on throughout, including the air of history and mystery that's added to the storylines and plots.
The whole journey through the story is felt wonderfully by the viewer.
The other thing is that there's always something happening on screen, whether in the background or simply something going on with the dialogue... it's very cleverly put together.

It's also incredibly funny at times too. The humour is based around in-jokes mainly and references to other cartoons and the legend of cartoons from over the years but it's handled with a real world realism that makes it much more than just homage type humour.

The animation is also lovely... it's bright, colourful, zany at times and works wonderfully with the talented cast on screen. The voice-over work is also top notch.

The acting is absolutley bang on too.
Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant is absolutley perfect... his drunken but intelligent and tough PI works brilliantly with his co-star Roger... the disparate pair really are extremely believeable when seen together, even though Roger isn't actually there with Hoskins.
Joanna Cassidy makes a nice appearance as Delores, Eddie's love interest.

Charles Fleischer voices Roger with a gorgeous sounding Kathleen Turner as Roger's beautifully animated wife Jessica.

By far the stand out role though is Christopher Lloyd as Judge Doom... a sadistic hater of Toons and a heavy handed authoritarian. He's extremely memorable too, especially in the third act when Lloyd seems to have been given free reign with the character. Shame he's not on screen more though.

As for the action side of things... the technicalities throughout having humans and Toons interacting couldn't have been easy but it's the highly charged scenes of action and running around fighting that are an absolute marvel to watch.
The humour involved with Roger makes some of the action even more exciting too.

---

All in all, an absolute masterpiece in technical terms... and the story, plot, screenplay and acting are all on serious top form. It's highly funny, incredibly exciting and even the quieter scenes keep the audience fixed to the screen.
It's also the first time in history that cartoon characters from different franchises are seen together on screen, from Disney to Warner to Terrytoons.
Another highly memorable 80s classic.

My rating: 100%
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JayDee

09-28-12, 08:24 PM

Love Roger Rabbit! :D Definitely need to give it a rewatch sometime, been a good few years now since I last saw it.

As for Big Trouble... while I do like it it's never lived up to my high expectations. A few years back I had just discovered John Carpenter through They Live and Escape from New York in quick succession and loved them. With that love and how awesome it sounded I thought I would absolutely adore it, but it's just never quite reached that level for me.

You've never seen it?

Not as of yet. Up until a year or two ago it never really appealled for whatever reason. Maybe it was coming on here and seeing quite a few big fans of it that got me interested. Anyway picked up the DVD a while back but not got round to it yet. However I've got a bunch of films in mind I intend on watching soon and that's definitely part of it

The Rodent

09-28-12, 10:11 PM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #152 (7th of 15): Innerspace

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Innerspaceposter2.jpg

Lt Tuck Pendelton is a bit of a loose wire as a Naval Aviator. His superiors hate him, his co-workers don't want to work with him and his girlfriend has left him.
He gets the chance to work in a scientific project due to his skills as a pilot as part of a Miniaturization Experiment.
Tuck and his craft will be shrunk to microscopic size and injected into a Rabbit, to see if he can make contact with it and see if certain experiments will work at such a small size.

But the plan goes awry when a competitor/criminal scientific group storm the lab and Tuck finds himself injected into an unwitting and unwilling civilian called Jack...

... and Tuck must make contact with the Hypochondriac civilian, explain what happened and the pair must join forces so to speak, and get Tuck out safely before the criminal group catch up with them so they can steal the technology.

Inspired by the 1966 B-sci-fi Fantasic Voyage, Innerspace ramps up the special effects and reworks the overall story to give a really original series of events that are laden with thrills, spills and comedy.

Brought to the screen by Joe Dante, and starring most of his usual collaberators, Innerspace has a definite classic feel to it. The screenplay is a bit OTT at times and some of the effects and ideas seen at the time were pretty outlandish, but the weird thing is that over time, the ideas haven't aged at all, some of them seem, still, like sci-fi, and others actually seem normal by today's standard of technology.

The film is really all about the connection between Tuck and Jack and the odd-couple buddy comedy that ensues between them and Tuck giving Jack a hard time by making certain parts of his body either malfunction or completely changing the dimensions of his face.
The screenplay is really just to back up the laughs and various zany sci-fi happenings that are laced throughout the film.

It does work though, it gives the audience a laugh a minute style movie with only the odd hint of genuine emotion.

The above also gives the film the chance to throw a load of action in too. Not just the more exciting scenes of car chases, fist fights and the 80s cliche of having people hanging off the back of a moving lorry either... there are some really exciting scenes inside Jack's body, seeing how Tuck moves around in his Craft, the third act that contains a one-on-one fight inside Jack and the things seen on screen in terms of biology are an absolute joy to watch.
It's also close to being flawless in the look too... the effects are superb.

The acting is good too.
Dennis Quaid as Pendelton is wonderfully gung-ho and has a relatively caring side to him, especially for his love interest Meg Ryan. He carries the comedy well but he's more about the strapping hero thing than comic relief.
Martin Short stands out though as Jack... he's basically been given the script and then let loose with it. He's incredibly funny, charming, zany, wacky and even manages to give an air of emotional content when th equieter scenes are playing out. His chemistry with Quaid, even though the two are never really on-screen together is wonderfully created.

Meg Ryan makes a show as Pendelton's love interest... but she spends more time on-screen with Martin Short... still though, their time together on-screen is memorable.

Back up comes from Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis and rent-a-baddie Vernon Wells as the antagonists... and long time Dante collaberators Robert Picardo and Dick Miller also make a show. Picardo in particular is exceptionally good in the film as "The Cowboy".

---

All in all, not a perfect movie, but the special effects, top actors and well written comedy that backs up the slightly lacking screenplay are exceptionally good.
Dante's natural style of direction and having his usual cast of regulars mixed with a couple of newer faces also gives the movie a much better edge over most comedy sci-fi movies. Still though, it's another of my guilty pleasures.

My rating: 90%
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nebbit

09-28-12, 11:36 PM

Part Of Rodent's 20 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #151 (6th of 20): Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Movie_poster_who_framed_roger_rabbit.jpg

Nice review about another rodent ;D

The Rodent

09-28-12, 11:37 PM

Aww Nebs! Wabbits aren't Rodents. They're Lagomorpha.

Fankoo anyway! :)

nebbit

09-29-12, 07:49 AM

Oops :blush:

mastermetal777

09-29-12, 06:22 PM

I'm ashamed. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one of the few supposedly "great" films I've NEVER watched in my life. Am I really missing out on such a fantastic movie? I fear the hype is gonna overwhelm me if I watch it.

The Rodent

09-29-12, 06:38 PM

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-shocked016.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php) Really? It's proper good mate, you should give it a go.

mark f

09-29-12, 07:17 PM

The way that people use the term "hype" is sometimes lost on me, but I think that Roger Rabbit has less "hype" than every film on metal's favorite movie list, and that's not a slam on the list.

The Rodent

09-29-12, 07:26 PM

That's quite true actually (about Rabbit, not MM's list).

It was raved about at time of release but has become a bit of a sleeper classic... it's a well known movie but tends to drift into the back of people's minds until mentioned again. Then drifts off again into obscurity until mentioned.

Which is one of the reasons I had it in my 80s classics section.

Deadite

09-29-12, 07:50 PM

Anybody out there remember Flight of the Navigator?

TylerDurden99

09-29-12, 08:13 PM

I love Rain Man, but like Jaydee, I like Big Trouble In Little China, but it's never been the great action-fantasy film that it's regarded in my eyes.

JayDee

09-29-12, 08:45 PM

Really like Innerspace, very fun little film. :yup:

Anybody out there remember Flight of the Navigator?

I do! :D Like Innerspace it's another fun film. And that type of film is one of the main reason I love the 80s. That whole genre of sci-fi/fantasy adventure comedies rocked - Innerspace, Flight of th Navigator, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future, Gremlins, Goonies, Big, Batteries not Included, Princess Bride, ET, Ghostbusters, War Games, Dreamscape etc

The Rodent

09-29-12, 09:35 PM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #153 (8th of 15): Short Circuit Duo

Short Circuit

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/Short_circuit.jpg

5 robot prototypes are created by the U.S Military to aid in the Cold War... the robots in question are incredibly complex and state of the art. They're also extremely lethal.

When the fifth of the 5 gets hit by a huge power surge when the military base is struck by lightning, it begins showing signs of genuine intelligence and genuine emotion too and Number 5 disappears from the base...

... and ends up in the home of Stephanie Speck, an animal lover and fosterer of lost and injured wildlife.
At first she thinks Number 5 is an alien, but as time goes on and when the military come looking for him, Stephanie realises an amazing truth; not only is Number 5 a runaway piece of military hardware...

... but Number 5 is alive.

Another highly original movie combines elements of all sorts of sci-fi movies and stories of the past few decades and melds them wonderfully with comedy and action... and the finished result is a family favourite that has stood the test of time relatively well.

The movie is exactly that... a family comedy with the odd hit of more action orientated peril. The movie also lays on a thick message of 'love for living things' and there's a slight anti-war message going on there too, which most adults will see as quite obvious but kids themselves will more than likely appreciate too.

The humour involved is a little touch and go though for the typical family viewing... some of it is very subtle and only the older viewer will pick up on but the more wacky and loud humour that comes from 5's character will be loved by kids.

The action too is exciting... it's more of the novelty of seeing robots and humans vs robots and humans but it's handled well and the choreography is ok.
The technical side of things is also great, the robots involved are really well worked by the effects crew and they really work well in the action side of things.

The acting is also good. Some of it borders cheesey though.
Ally Sheedy as Stephanie is wonderfully confused at the start but comes out of her shell as the movie progresses. She's actually pretty good with the comedy stuff too.
Steve Guttenberg and Fisher Stevens make great appearances as scientists who created the robots. They work brilliantly together and Fisher in particular is incredibly funny.
Tim Blaney voices Number 5.

Back up comes from G.W Bailey, Brian McNamara and Audtin Pendleton.

---

All in all, a kids favourite that will appeal to adults too. Funny, relatively unthreatening and has a few nice hits of action and louder scenes.

My rating: 89%
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Short Circuit 2

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/31/Short_circuit_two_ver2.jpg

Ben (Fisher Stevens' character) is now living in New York. He's failing as a toy salesman (trying to sell toy version of Number 5) and ends up league with a loud mouthed but loveable con artist called Fred.
When Number 5 appears on his doorstep, looking new and refreshed, the trio end up on an adventure of a lifetime that involves diamond theft and corrupt bank tellers.

A disappointing return to the screen after the original's lovely leadup.
The sequel is really just a movie for the sake of it, to cash in on the success of the first.

There's a screenplay there to an extent, but it's simply just more of the same and has been toned down for kids to the point that most adults will find themselves either nodding off or looking for something else to do while 5 is doing his fish-out-of-water thing in New York.

It's also incredibly cheesey, almost to the point it's cringe-worthy.
The message of 'love of living things' is also laid on incredibly thick in this one and is laden with schmaltz and gooey sub-plots.

The action is also toned down. There are some hits of action but it's more along the lines of kids action... Power Rangers and 3 Ninja Kids style of non-threatening fist fights and so on, but without the martial arts.

The acting is good though.
Fisher Stevens makes a wonderful return as Ben. He's funny, if anything funnier this time round and has a real enthusiasm.
Synthia Gibb plays an Ally Sheedy style character and love interest for Fisher. She's ok in the role, just not as memorable as the actress she's replacing.
Michael McKean is also another rewritten role. He's in Guttenberg's place as the loud mouthed jack-the-lad. Again though, he's good in the role but McKean tends to shout a lot rather than get enthusiastic with the role, which gets a bit boring after a while.
Tim Blaney returns as Number 5.

Jack Weston appears as the antagonist called Oscar... more of a faux baddie really. He's barely threatening and more of a giggling comic style villain.

---

All in all, not a patch on the original and is highly cashed in. Toned down in every area and the story itself feels kind of rushed and made for the sake of it. The humour is also lacking except for Fisher Stevens.
Really only good for younger kids.

My rating: 63%
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The Rodent

09-29-12, 09:46 PM

Cheers for the replies guys!

Glad you're enjoying my 80s theme.

Yeah I remember Flight Of The Navigator... top movie... for the record... it's on the list but you'll have to wait to see where.

TylerDurden99

09-29-12, 11:16 PM

I wonder if you'll check out the Highlander films...

Deadite

09-29-12, 11:29 PM

The only Highlander worth watching is the first one. Ignore the rest. For the love of all that is sane and decent, ignore them.

The Rodent

09-29-12, 11:36 PM

Already done Highlander... Review #93

Won't be doing the sequels though... they really are pathetic.

TylerDurden99

09-30-12, 12:22 AM

It's funny, but as horrible as it is, I dig the second Highlander. Michael Ironside's camp performance almost makes it watchable, I liked Sean Connery's short appearance, despite it not making the least bit of sense and it does have ambition behind it. It was meant to expand the Highlander universe, but it got way lost along the way.

JayDee

09-30-12, 01:32 PM

:laugh: God I loved the Short Circuit films when I was a kid. Picked both up on DVD over the years but never watched them and honestly can't remember the last time I did see the films. They're the kind of films I worry about revisiting in case they don't live up to the wonderfully nostalgic memory I have of them

The Rodent

09-30-12, 10:50 PM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #154 (9th of 15): Commando

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/Commandoposter.jpg

John Matrix is a retired Commando living with his young daughter in the mountains. They have a good life and get on well.

When it appears that Matrix's old team are being killed off one by one, his old boss pays him a visit to check he's ok, but they are attacked and Matrix's daughter is kidnapped.
To get her back, he must assassinate a South American Dictator... but Matrix knows the baddies will kill her anyway, so he goes on a one man rampage of revenge to get his daughter back and bring his own version of justice to the bad guys.

A seriously cheesey action gem in the movie world.

Commando gives the audience the biggest no-brainer ever concieved. It's simply an engine for explosions and watching Big Arhnuld fire guns at a never ending line up of perfectly lined up and synchronised henchmen.

The dialogue is cringeworthy, the acting is almost non-existent and the screenplay is, as I've mentioned in some other posts on here, simply a non-stop relentless march of victory for our musclebound hero.

What makes Commando work though, is that all of these things are so bad that they're actually good.
The cheese factor involved gives the film a very comicbook style to the violence and louder action scenes and the one liners that Arnie spouts off in quick succession are pretty much the benchmark for all of his other tongue-in-cheek movies that followed.

There are some elements of genuinely made cinema though. Some of the smaller plot elements like the backstory of Matrix and antagonist Bennett are well utilised and Arn's relationship with his daughter and his love interest are pretty well pieced together.

Along with Arnie we have Rent-A-Baddie Vernon Wells as Arn's nemesis called Bennett. As usual with Wells, he's highly camp, hardly threatening and extremely wooden. He hold his own against Arn though when they're on screen together.
Dan Hedaya makes a good appearance as the South American Dictator though. His accent is abysmal but his presence on screen is pretty good.

Rae Dawn Chong is probably the best part of the cast. She plays the role well and adds an element of realism to the mix and is well cast as an unwilling/unwitting love interest for the hero.

A young Alyssa Milano plays Big Arn's daughter and an early turn from Bill Duke is always a pleasure to watch.

The action though, even though it's full of highly tongue-in-cheek elements, is actually pretty exciting. Lots of guns, lots of fist fights and a few car chases to boot.
We also get to see Arn armour himself up and stick a load of camo paint on... even though he's going into a brick built Villa on the coast.

There's also a brilliantly dated soundtrack too.

---

All in all, not for everyone's taste and technically it's an awful, awful movie... but it's actually so-bad-it's-good... and has to be marked upwards for this rather than marked down.
An 80s Classic No-Brainer that set a benchmark for cheese and wooden acting... and yes, even with the low score in the technical department, I'd still recommend it for a night in... just leave your brain at the door.

My rating: 68%
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TylerDurden99

10-01-12, 01:14 AM

Commando is great fun, particularly because of Vernon Wells' outrageously camp villian Bennett and the hilarious opening credits, where Arnie and his daughter feed the deer, eat ice cream and laugh every 3 seconds. I find myself humming the music from that sequence all the time.

TylerDurden99

10-01-12, 01:48 AM

Also, you said you enjoyed the cheesy comic book style of the film. If you really enjoyed this, you should definitely check out Showdown In Little Tokyo, another film from Commando director Mark Lester.

The Rodent

10-01-12, 01:56 AM

I've yet to see that... will have a look when I get the chance.

TylerDurden99

10-01-12, 01:59 AM

Like Commando, it's so-bad-it's-good fun, as long as you don't take it too seriously and enjoy Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee's natural charisma.

nebbit

10-01-12, 03:53 AM

Not a big Fan of Commando :nope:

The Rodent

10-02-12, 02:12 AM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #155 (10th of 15): Explorers

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Explorersposter1985.jpg

Three school friends, all completely different from each other are embroiled in an amazing journey of discovery and, well, exploration, when one of them begins having dreams about strange and wonderful circuit boards and technology.
He passes on the information to one of the trio, who is a science whizz... who then turns these strange and interesting ideas into reality.

What the three didn't count on though, was having their ideas and dreams becoming so real that it would take them on a journey into the stars...

Another Dante classic for the 80s Marathon... this time round it's definitely more aimed at the younger market... yet adults alike will enjoy the adventure too due to most adults these days having grown up with the movie.

What starts out as a realistic turn of events with only the odd hit of mystery-sci-fi fantasy (the dreams sequences) and a relatively non-threatening peril that is laced throughout the running time... eventually turns into a wacky and zany sci-fi adventure that's filled with comedy and discovery.
Which, on the technical side of things, is relatively linear in storytelling and screenplay.

What does make it different is that the linear turn of events is undertoned with extremes rather than just the usual change of pace or tone.
The third act is so incredibly different from the second act, which in turn is completely different than the first act... it gives the movie an awesomely disparate tone during the running time than any other movie of it's kind.

The action, well, there's not a massive amount of it, but it's very kid friendly... but yet has elements of some more exciting cinema blended in too that adults will enjoy, especially when the trio of friends are experimenting with their creations... there's also a lot of humour involved with the more upbeat scenes.

There's also some brilliantly imaginative special effects going on too and some wonderfully creative ideas... especially the energy ball.

The acting involved is also pretty good.
Future star Ethan Hawke is brilliantly normal as the everyman of the trio. He's the one having the dreams. He's also incredibly enthusiastic and full of charisma whenever on screen.
Jason Presson makes a good show as one of the main trio. His tough guy persona seems to fit the charcter and actor perfectly, it's just a shame he's not given more to do within the story. Presson's also one of the only cast members who didn't make his career with this movie.

River Phoenix is also on top form as the science nerd of the group. As usual with Phoenix, he's completely unrecognisable in his role... by far the best of the trio.

Robert Picardo however makes a fantastic show. He plays three roles within the film... two of them relatively short lived, but his main role as the eccentric and loveable, yet mildly annoying character called Wak, is absolutely spellbinding to watch.

Star turns from James Cromwell, Dana Ivey and Dick Miller bring an air of solidity to the rest of the cast.

---

All in all, aimed more toward a younger audience but adults will, and do, enjoy the pure escapism that the movie delivers in bucketloads.
Pretty straight forward in terms of storytelling but with it using the extreme side of tone the movie really is one of a kind, and has some really good laughs in there too...
... and definitely an 80s classic.

My rating: 88%
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Deadite

10-02-12, 04:16 AM

An odd movie but it worked surprisingly well. It's on NetFlix Instant, been meaning to re-watch it.

nebbit

10-02-12, 07:43 PM

Just bought this movie this year and have watched it a few times with my nephews boys who loved it :yup:

JayDee

10-02-12, 08:13 PM

As I mentioned on the Joe Dante thread recently I have been meaning to watch The Explorers for a long while. Will need to look out the disc where I taped it and give it a shot sometime.

The Rodent

10-03-12, 03:05 AM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #156 (11th of 15): The Untouchables

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/92/UntouchablesThe.jpg

Elliott Ness, a hot headed and self-sure Beaureau Of Prohibition officer is called into Chicago to stop Al Capone from illegally selling booze at extortionate prices. Ness summons a team of his choosing that consists of Beat Cop Jimmy Malone, new recruit to the police and hot-shot youngster George Stone and an accountant called Oscar Wallace.

The four head out into the big city to bring an end to Capone's criminal dealings... but what none of them counted on was exactly how dangerous Capone really is and they will all be taken down the ugly paths of justice, injustice, police corruption and good old fashioned gunfights.

Another brilliant turn of direction from Brian De Palma brings a beautifully shot and written movie to the screen.

The Untouchables is quite often forgotten about when it comes to movie 'classics'... which is a shame really.
It's a very stylish and gritty turn of events that, with a little artistic licence, gives the viewer some really fine thrills and spills.

The screenplay is top work though. Watching how the team of heroes piece together their investigation and the variety of character that's contained within the group really brings out the best in the cast and gives the story a wonderful flavour of character too.

There's lashings of differing styles as well depending what scene is currently playing. It tends to change dramatically in tone depending whether there's a hero or a villain on screen, which adds much much more to the proceedings.

The other thing the movie has is genuine emotion laced throughout. It's not just a typical gangster shoot 'em up actioner with a story behind it. There's masses of character driven plots and subplots and some of it is pretty touching too.

The acting is also great.
Kevin Costner as Elliott Ness is, well, typical Costner. He's excitable, full of charisma and has a real authority about him when he's on the chase. The quieter scens at home with his family are also played well by Costner.

Andy Garcia is good too as the young recruit George Stone. His natural on-screen chemistry with everyone else is top work and you can tell he's enjoying himself. For me, it's one of Garcia's best roles.
Charles Martin Smith is as always a breath of fresh air as Oscar Wallace. His out of his depth persona works really well with the character and eventually comes into his own toward the end and shows his worth as a tough guy.

Sean Connery however, isn't quite what I was expecting. He plays the role really well, as is always the case with Sean. However he was supposed to be playing an Irishman... and Connery's accent is worse than his attempts in Red October... it's like he couldn't be ar*ed. Still though, his on screen presence is always a good point.

Robert De Niro steals the show almost though as Capone. He's not on screen as much as the others but when he is... wow. De Niro's natural ability to play it cool and extremely threatening at the same time really shines in the role and when he explodes, oh boy does the audience feel it.

Back up comes from the wonderful Patricia Clarkson and the slimy Billy Drago.

There are a few hits of action throughout too and it's well put together. Some of it misses the mark a little though, I couldn't help but want it to be a little bigger.
Still though, the well rounded and different characteristics of the main cast really shows the action for what it is.
The whole lot blends and works brilliantly together.

---

All in all, like a few I've covered on here, it's not perfect... but it's still a really gritty yet highly stylised telling of the Al Capone story... this time with the good guys at the foreground, which gives it an edge over most other Capone movies.
There are also some really moving and sombre scenes throughout too that never fail to capture the audience.

My rating: 92%
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TylerDurden99

10-03-12, 09:17 AM

I really like The Untouchables, good performances, good script, good soundtrack, just a good movie in general.

nebbit

10-03-12, 07:42 PM

Ok :skeptical: just watched this yesterday must be channeling you :eek:

The Rodent

10-03-12, 08:13 PM

Hehehehe!

*cue spooky music*

mastermetal777

10-03-12, 10:38 PM

Funny, cuz I've always heard about how De Niro's Performance is the weakest in The Untouchables. I found it to be a great one from De Niro, myself.

The Rodent

10-05-12, 12:25 AM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #157 (12th of 15): Flight Of The Navigator

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/Flightofnavigatorpost.jpg

While celebrating the 4th Of July with his parents, David Freeman is asked by them to collect his younger brother from a friends house so they can carry on the celebrations as a family.

David decides to take a short-cut through a nearby wooded area but falls off the edge of a small cliff and knocks himself out cold.
Upon waking up he heads home, a little drowsy and feeling knocked about, only to realise that his family have vanished from his home and in his home are strange people.
It transpires that David has been missing for 8 years, his younger brother is now older than him and his parents now look like grandparents... yet David hasn't aged at all.

When NASA scientists, researching the appearance of an Alien craft hear of this turn of events, the call David in for testing...

... but this 'chance' meeting will take David, and the occupent of the Alien craft, on a fantastic voyage of discovery and adventure with the authorities hot on their trail.

Another lovely movie for my thread, Navigator is another film that utilises extremes in tone from act to act and does it extremely well too.

It all starts out very brooding and full of spooky mystery and sci-fi fantasy mixed with some really fine discovery... then goes for a more comedy orientated and slightly zany but still very engaging sci-fi adventure.
The comedy and humour doesn't disappoint either. Most of it comes from Max, the alien. He has a character developement very early on after his introduction that makes him one of cinema's most memorable characters. There are some other humourous characters and scenes too, but like I said, it's mostly from Max.

What makes the whole thing work though is that the screenplay is absolutely fantastic. The entire story unfolds in front of the characters and the audience in a friendly yet relatively complex way, there's a wonderful backstory going on too that keeps the viewer fixed to the screen.

The more exciting scenes of action anda peril are also well put together. There's not massive amounts of explosions and chases, but the more highly charged scenes are given a sci-fi/sci-fact blend and utilises alien tech on board the craft in a fantasy based yet believeable way.

It's hard to explain but basically the whole thing combines elements of fantasy and realism perfectly and gives what is basically a child friendly movie a real edge over almost any other sci-fi movie going, even after near 30 years.

The acting is also top drawer. It's mainly based around David and Max on their adventure with the others actors playing backup.

Joey Cramer plays David. He's wonderfully lost in the series of events and the more emotional scenes of being a 12 year old boy in the situation he's in, are played perfectly by Cramer.
Paul Reubens is the voiceover of Max. He's highly enthusiastic, full of charisma and really brings the puppet to life.

Back up comes from Veronica Cartwright and Cliff DeYoung as David's parents and Matt Adler as David's little/older brother.
Howard Hesseman makes a great show too as the leading NASA scientist, researching David and the craft.
An early show from Sarah Jessica Parker is another plus point, it's nice to see her actually acting rather than just looking like a bloke in drag and talking about sex.

Adler in particular stands out from the rest of the cast and has a relatively important role toward the end.

The effects are another top piece of filmmaking. All of it comes from the scenes with the Alien craft. There's combinations of early CGI and practical effects mixed with miniatures and the puppetry and design of the various pieces of alien tech seen through out are rendered/built/handled absolutely perfectly.
Some of it does show around the edges if compared to today's effects technology, but even so, it's still mesmerising to watch.

---

All in all, a family friendly movie filled with mystery, humour, a little action, great effects and some really fine acting and voiceover.
Mainly for the kids but adults will enjoy the funride of discovery and sci-fi adventure.
If anything, it's that good a film as a whole, it's almost too good for a family/kids movie.

My rating: 96%
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TheUsualSuspect

10-05-12, 12:46 AM

That film brings back memories of my childhood. Loooooove it.

akatemple

10-05-12, 12:52 AM

I love all these 80's classics, really bringing back memories, great reviews Rodent. :)

The Rodent

10-05-12, 01:05 AM

I've had a look at my list of 20... most of them are sci-fi and fantasy... Navigator, Explorers, Big Trouble In Little China, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? etc etc...

... I've got a couple of others on the list, war, comedy, but I guess it kinda shows why the 80s was such a special decade... the memorable movies are mainly sci-fi and fantasy based adventure movies.

Glad you're liking the nostalgia trip though guys!

Deadite

10-05-12, 02:15 AM

Great review of Navigator! :yup:

I had known about The Untouchables for years before I finally got around to watching it. I have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed but it was still a good solid crime drama. Have to agree that De Niro was one of the highlights for me. Very menacing performance.

JayDee

10-05-12, 03:57 PM

but I guess it kinda shows why the 80s was such a special decade... the memorable movies are mainly sci-fi and fantasy based adventure movies.

:yup: Exactly what I was saying when I was listing all those type of movies.

The Rodent

10-05-12, 10:52 PM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #158 (13th of 15): Platoon

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Platoon_posters_86.jpg

In 1967, Chris Taylor is thrown into the harsh world of the Vietnam War.
Finding it hard to fit in around some of the more battle hardened members of the Platoon, he finds himself alienated and contemplating some of his failings in life and how fruitless war really is.
As his tour of duty goes on, he becomes a more respected soldier in the group, but at the same time discovers the real depths of depravity that the human psyche can delve to...

... and as his mission goes deeper into the Jungle, he discovers that his Band of Brothers have become just as twisted as the mission itself.

A highly philosophical war movie laced with one of the best screenplays and some of the finest acting in any movie of its kind, Platoon is an absolute must see for any movie fan.

The special thing about the movie though is that the philosophical side of the film from Taylor's point of view isn't built on to the point of becoming boring.
The movie has a tendency to throw action and some disturbing turns of events into the mix, showing the Platoon's reactions during the action and events, then having Taylor show and talk (with an inner monologue) about what he's just seen.

It's an incredibly clever balancing act of drama, action, emotion and sheer acting.

There's also some immensly clever and real character developements throughout too with the various soldiers involved. The ensemble cast makes the best of the developements too, they're all on serious top form.

The other thing is the occasional hits of humour throughout, some of it from the soldiers' reactions to the more exciting scenes but mainly during their down time when they're resting in their tents and camps.
It's very realistic in tone and dialogue.

The effects and action are a definite plus point in the technical side of things too. It's occasionally gory and explosive but utilises fear and human emotion more than anything else and the well written characters add a massive depth to the horrors that are unfolding on screen.
The filmmakers keep it real too, there's no Hollywood nonsense going on in the action.
The other thing is that the film isn't just an all out guns blazing movie, the action is used to tell the story rather than having the story take a backseat to the action.

The acting though, like I said is top drawer.
Charlie Sheen as Taylor is a wonderful turn from Sheen. His character also has a back story and his progression through the story, from newbie to hardened but haunted soldier are fantastically written. It's also by far one of Sheen's most memorable roles.

Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe though are the stand out roles as Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Elias respectively. Their chalk and cheese personas and differing styles, expecially when they come to loggerheads with one another is certainly some of cinema's greatest showdowns.

Forrest Whittaker, Kevin Dillon, Keith David and Johnny Depp are just a handful of recognisable stars on show giving backup.
John C McGinley stands out among the others too though as a slimy Sergeant who has probably the worst luck out of all the cast.

The soundtrack really ties the film together too. It's not very often I mention soundtracks but Director Oliver Stone really hits the nail on the head.

---

All in all, a damn fine war movie and it keeps it extremely real in the turns of events. Top acting, top action, top screenplay and top character writing.
It also outweighs most Vietnam movies in terms of sheer tone and direction.

My rating: 98%
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The Rodent

10-06-12, 04:16 AM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #159 (14th of 15): Uncle Buck

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/Uncle_buck.jpg

Bob and Cindy Russell have a problem, Cindy's father has taken a turn for the worse and they have to visit as it may be the last time they get.
Unable to find a sitter to look after their 3 children, they're forced into calling Bob's brother, a lazy, good for nothing slacker.
They're extremely uncomfortable, especially Cindy, with leaving the kids under Buck's care... but they have no choice...

... so they call Uncle Buck, and just hope that the house is still in one piece and the dog is still alive when they get back...

Another John Hughes comedy for the collection, Uncle Buck is an incredibly realised, immensely funny and heartwarming tale of family, morals, life lessons and, at times, basic slapstick.

For a start, the premise is very simple, but Hughes and the cast have built on the simple plot and created some of the most memorable scenes in cinema history.
Most of the humour is mainly down to John Candy and his character's fish-out-of-water shenanigans and yet, when he decides to take charge of his situation in his own personal way, his character really comes to life and even more comedy takes place.

The screenplay is pretty formulaic, broken home (almost) with the eldest kid being a tearaway but being 'shown the light' and the overall learning curve of a guy who's out of his depth etc... but it's the humour involved and the fact that everyone involved seems to have enjoyed themselves that lifts the screenplay and plot magnificently.

There's also the scenes of more serious filmmaking too, especially with the morals and life lessons I mentioned a minute ago.
Mainly based around relationships with boyfriends, girlfriends, in-laws, family etc but it's still nicely pieced together and is really quite touching at times too.
Buck's treatment of Tia's boyfriend is definitely a highlight of the movie and one that most uncles and parents can associate with!

The overall acting involved is also pretty good.
John Candy is definitely at his best as Buck. He's engaging, funny and has a superb chemistry with everyone who is on screen with him. As usual with Candy, he's able to play the serious side of things wonderfully too.
Jean Louisa Kelly as the eldest kid called Tia is also good in the role. She's a tearaway with a chip on her shoulder and really plays it very, very well. She has little to no humour with her character, but she plays off well against John Candy.

Macaulay Culkin and Gaby Hoffmann as twins Miles and Maizy are also on top form. Culkin in particular has a massive chemistry with Candy and the two little actors really make for good humour too.

Back up comes from Amy Madigan, Jay Underwood and Laurie Metcalf.

---

All in all, not much else to say about the film... still though, it's flat out funny from start to end, has some fine acting, some great comedic dialogue, occasional slapstick and a good spoonful of emotional content thrown in too.
Top 80s comedy.

My rating: 90%
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Deadite

10-06-12, 05:21 AM

I adore Uncle Buck. Those characters still live and breathe in my head. For me, it's one of the very best comedies of the 80s, full of heart and hilarity but with touches of sincere drama to it that make it more than a cliched situational comedy. It got me to care about the characters as people. John Candy's performance was phenomenal, awkwardly endearing yet the movie didn't feel overly sentimental to me, just rather memorably bittersweet.

nebbit

10-06-12, 06:28 PM

I :love: Uncle Buck :yup:

The Rodent

10-08-12, 06:52 AM

Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels

Review #160 (15th of 15): Weird Science

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d6/Movie_poster_for_Weird_Science_%281985%29.jpg

Gary and Wyatt are two nerds... they have little to no reputation, no girlfriends and are seen as outsiders by the 'in' kids at school.
In their spare time in Wyatt's bedroom, as a kind of wishful thinking, they devise a Frankenstein style experiment to create the perfect woman using a computer, a barbie doll and pictures cut from a pile of magazines...

... what the geeky duo failed to realise was that a bolt of lightning would hit the house and make their fantasy come true... and a rather beautiful Kelly LeBrock magically appears in Wyatt's bedroom.

A really, really strange movie based on the comics of the same name, Weird Science combines elements of all sorts of influences... Frankenstein, Bedazzled, some more far out scenes that reminded me of dream sequences from American Werewolf In London and even some influences from Robert A Heinlein stories.

Director Hughes though has managed to create an pretty funny, wacky and yet strangely loveable turn of events that has aged relatively well over the years.

The screenplay is a bit lacking and the overall story and plot of a guy (in this case two guys) having a Guide to help them overcome their own failings, fears and makes wishes come true for the weakling hero has been done a few times... but Weird Science goes for the more extreme side of things in terms of character and plot points.

It can at times get a little wearing... the fantastical side of the story and the supernatural goings on reach tipping point on occasion and gets a little overcooked but what makes it work is the chalk-chalk-cheese of the main trio.
The three characters are very engaging and hold the humour up tp some really great heights and it actually forces the slightly lacking and OTT plot and fantasy to work.

The overall acting is good.
Anthony Michael Hall and IIan Mitchell-Smith as Gary and Wyatt are wonderfully nerdy and confused in the various dealings and situations they're thrown in. They work great together and their differing styles contrast and blend brilliantly as believeable school pals.
Kelly LeBrock makes a brilliant show as Lisa, the boys' creation. He natural chemistry with all involved and seemingly endless charisma and sexy charm is brilliantly different to Hall and Mitchell-Smith.

Bill Paxton also makes a great show as Wyatt's older bully of a brother. Paxton revels in the role and seems to have had tons of fun in his relatively short lived screen time.

Robert Downey Jr, Robert Rusler, rent-a-baddie Vernon Wells and Michael Berryman give back up in the various weird events.

There's not masses of action going on, but there are some hits of high energy scenes from time to time and the more fantastical stuff going on is, like I said, backed up well by the humour involved.
Some of the effects are a bit dated too by today's standard.

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All in all, not one of Hughes' best and technically not one of the greatest 80s films in the world... but it's still a cult fave and has some memorable scenes, imaginative characters and some well utilised ideas going on throughout.
Not all of it works but it's still a lot of fun for a night in.

My rating: 79%
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dadgumblah

10-12-12, 03:25 AM

Love Weird Science, mainly for Anthony Michael Hall's performance and the brilliance that is Bill Paxton. I still laugh at him every time I see this flick. His line near the end..."It was done out of love"...I use that one a lot. Hilarious! Nice review.:cool:

The Rodent

10-18-12, 08:03 PM

Ok, time to try this new 'Pooter out with a review once and for all...

Review #161: The 40 Year Old Virgin

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/43/40-Year-OldVirginMoviePoster.jpg

Andy is a naive and quiet man. His job is ok and gets him by but he doesn't have a lot to do with his collegues. His private life is also quiet until his work mates ask him to play poker with them after work hours.
During the game, they realise an embarassing truth for Andy... he's a 40 year old virgin.
His new found buddies make it their goal to help Andy past his predicament, and just in time too... there's a lady just moved into a shop over the road that he likes and the group decide to get Andy sorted out in time for him to woo said lady.

Another comedy engine for the likes of Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Jane Lynch and a cameo from Jonah Hill sees a relatively gross-out comedy at the start turn into the usual mawkish rom-com with a hint of slapstick and the usual zany comedy from Carell.

The comedy works brilliantly though. It goes from adult humour full of swearing and clever one-liners, to zany, to gross-out and to the usual rom-com viewer friendly real life humour from scene toscene without even a heartbeat and does it really very succesfully.

There are a number of scenes throughout too though that seem more like sketches rather than any real part of the story, but it does add a new flavour to the humour on show though. Most of the sketches also seem ad libbed too which makes them funnier.

The movie also contains hints of slapstick, mainly through Carell and his trademark face-pulling and throwing his body around around in an amusing fashion.
The body waxing scene is a definite highlight though.

The screenplay is pretty linear though. It's very recognisable for anyone who has seen any comedy from the past 15 years with the lead up, tragedy, then overcoming the odds in love style story...
... but the comedic talent on show and the extremely loveable, simply written characters lifts the lacking plot and story to new heights.

Which brings me to the acting on show.
Steve Carell (even though he should be, being the title character and all) is absolutely on top form. He's funny, realistic and still manages to throw in his regular far-out zany humour into the mix. His overall naivety in the character makes him one of the funniest comedy characters I've seen for a while.
Seth Rogen also makes an impression as Andy's collegue/buddy Cal. Rogen as ever is all about one-liners and swearing when it's not even called for.

Paul Rudd and Romany Malco as the other two buddies are also funny, but they're not as memorable as Carell and Rogen really.

Catherine Keener is a nice show as Andy's girl though. Her more serious take on the various events are a breath of fresh air and she carries the humour brilliantly.

Back up comes from Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch, Shelley Malil, Gerry Bednob and Kat Dennings.

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All in all, not a fantastic comedy but still a funny and engaging adult rom-com filled with funny characters and some really simply written plots and subplots.
Some of the humour will appeal to teenagers more than full grown adults at times though but still, fans of Carell's and Rogen's usual zany swearing and shouting will enjoy it.
Sadly though it gets a bit cheesy and sickly toward the end.

My rating: 81%
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