View Full Version : Movie Tab II
Revenant
04-27-06, 08:43 PM
The Breakfast Club 4/5
Actually starting to lose its shine a little bit, but I still love watching it.
Kung-Fu Hustle 5/5
Funny, kooky, brilliant!
you may have missed the point of the film...
the point wasn't that none of those people were good because they all had moments of racism, whether they started out clean and came up dirty or vice versa. the point was everyone is prone to it... its in all of us. regardless of what our morals are.
I saw them as all being good people, who's lives were damaged in some way by racial hatred. Some of the characters were on one side of the hatred, while some were on the other. The problem affected them all in different ways. The issue had infiltrated their lives forcefully, or insidiously, depending which character you look at. Lack of education and varied social climates were to blame for many of the characters behavior.
Compelling stuff, I just wish it was put together a bit differently.
adidasss
04-28-06, 06:09 AM
King Kong - this film is in need of some serious editing, I almost turned it off during the Island part.Booooorring... seriously Mr. Jackson, what were you thinking?? ( I think the man got carried away after making LOTR, forgot how to make a film that doesn't last 3 hours....and has anyone noticed the similarities between the gates of the island and Helm's deep? )
Iroquois
04-28-06, 07:27 AM
Once Were Warriors - 7/10
How often do you really see something like this? Brilliant movie about Kiwis.
Ophelia
04-28-06, 08:13 AM
Transamerica - A beautiful moving film...Felicity Huffman, what can I say, she's a doll.
Thumbsucker - A good attempt. Um. Yep.
Symphony
04-28-06, 11:38 PM
Silent Hill - C
Probably some of the worst acting ive ever seen in my life. Good attempt at the game to movie deal, other then that, it got nuthin. I'd say don't go see it unless you like the game.
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/04/24/silent_hill1_narrowweb__300x332,0.jpg
PimpDaShizzle V2.0
04-29-06, 02:20 PM
Fear of Clowns 100/10
Hey-Yo. I've seen lots of movies since we last made love but I just thought yu'd like to know about one in particular. It's called, Fear of Clowns, and it's pretty much the best movie in the world. It's about this woman who makes the most fabulous art and sells it for way below how much it's worth, because she's so great, but then her wonderful paintings of scary clowns begin to come to life and play tricks on the people around her. One such trick is when a clown disguises himself as a clown with balloons, that are beautiful, and walks up to a cop from asia and suprises him by cutting off his head with the axe he had hid so well behind the balloon strings! Surprise! :eek: By now hopefully it's obvious this gem has a rollcoaster of a story line but even the technical aspects are top-notch! The camera angles are always necessary and motivated and the acting, by-golly, sets a whole new standard across the board that goes across the whole world! See the movie and you'll have a new appreciation for art and movies and life and clowns with no shirts!
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000CRR3M4.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
ash_is_the_gal
04-29-06, 04:30 PM
Citizen Kane - 5/5
Pyro Tramp
04-29-06, 06:25 PM
King Kong - this film is in need of some serious editing, I almost turned it off during the Island part.Booooorring... seriously Mr. Jackson, what were you thinking?? ( I think the man got carried away after making LOTR, forgot how to make a film that doesn't last 3 hours....and has anyone noticed the similarities between the gates of the island and Helm's deep? )
I just got the impression Jackson was trying to fellate himself.
Rently watched Lady Killers. Damn was it funny. (8/10)
Holden Pike
04-29-06, 11:11 PM
Rently watched Lady Killers. Damn was it funny. (8/10)
http://bitsandpieces.free.fr/images/guinness-ladykillers.jpg http://www.thehoya.com/images/032604/ladykillers.jpg
The original Ealing comedy or the Coen Bros. remake? I think the second flick was unfailry slammed. Both are darn funny flicks.
The original Ealing comedy or the Coen Bros. remake? I think the second flick was unfailry slammed. Both are darn funny flicks.
Oh sorry, it was the Tom Hanks one. Never saw the original. Heard it was also good though. I had no clue this one was gonna be this hilarious. It's one of those films that when I heard the name and got a glimpse of the poster, I somehow got the impression it's a not so funny film about a bank heist in the 20's and didnt follow through to see if it was or wasnt. Just lazy on my part. Never a big fan of that era. The 20's and 30's just depress me. Anyways, i'm glad I got to see it. J.K. Simmons was the funniest character I thought. Although they all had their own uniqueness. Was laughing so friggin hard throughout. If like you say the first was as funny as this, i'll be checking it out for sure.
Blister
04-30-06, 09:55 AM
Mallrats 10th Anniversary Edition - 4/5
Dawn of the Dead - 5/5
Day of the Dead - 4.5/5
Land of the Dead - 4./5
eviltwin
04-30-06, 09:59 AM
The last film I watched was The Jacket. I enjoyed it, as I like time travel stories, although there was more flashy production than narrative depth 3/5
King Kong (2005, Jackson) - The parents came over for dinner and we popped this in afterwards. My girlfriend and I had seen it before, but my parents hadn't. We had a ball watching it, and my parents both seemed positive about it. No one was bored, that is for sure... ;)
Thursday Next
04-30-06, 01:55 PM
Howl's Moving Castle. Very good, lovely animation, nicely surreal and fantastical landscapes, characters and plot. Recommended to anyone who liked Spirited Away. 4.5/5
chicagofrog
04-30-06, 02:30 PM
Buffalo 66, oh man, i keep rewatching movies i really like rather than discovering new ones these days... is that a sign of aging??
undercoverlover
04-30-06, 03:16 PM
A League of their own --- i just cant help myself
A League of their own --- i just cant help myself
Yeah, that's the one where it was showing the tiny gals hit whopping fly balls right to the 400 foot center field fence. Highly unlikely and that goes for anyone whether male or female who weighs under 135 pounds. Had to save my butt there. :D
undercoverlover
04-30-06, 03:23 PM
very smooth
Strummer521
04-30-06, 03:31 PM
Hey jrs. :) good to have you back.
very smooth Why thank you. It was wasnt it. :p
Oh and nice to see MI:3 getting 5 stars. I'm gettin' more pumped to see this now. :cool:
I watched Flight 93 on TV last night. I don't know what to think of it.
Iroquois
05-01-06, 02:10 AM
Sophie Scholl - The Final Days - 7/10
Lost in La Mancha - 5/10
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut - 8/10
ash_is_the_gal
05-01-06, 02:19 AM
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest -- very enjoyable! i laughed, gasped, and kicked my feet in anticipation. 4.5/5
Iroquois
05-01-06, 02:28 AM
^ anticipation of what?
Monkeypunch
05-01-06, 03:16 AM
The Wizard of Oz (billionth time at least...) - One of two movies that never stop entertaining me.
Superman: The Movie (zillionth time, by far...) - This would be the other one.
Superman: The Movie (zillionth time, by far...) - This would be the other one.
They came out with that recent dvd it and had no extras on it whatsoever. That was disappointing anyways. They could have at least thrown in the longer version or showed them as deleted scenes. You know, the part where it shows the police bringing the 3 villains out of the fortress in handcuffs. Or that one scene right after that boy was killed with the police light (by the way, dont know how it could explode like a bomb) and one of the crowd says: "He was only a boy" and that female villain then countered it with: "And will never be become a man". Heheh and she smiled as she said
it too. :p
ash_is_the_gal
05-01-06, 12:37 PM
^ anticipation of what?
cause i could feel my fingers on that nurses neck!
18 with a Bullet - Watched the first Ep of this (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/tv/18_with_a_bullet.shtml) hard-hitting doc. And it's nuts. From the opening initiation scene (A kid getting kicked to **** by 4 other kids for 36 seconds) - to the shocking youngness of these wee gang beasts. The iron-fist with which their enormous gang 'family' is run is both logical and disturbing in its own right. Truly ****ed up life stuff.
---
Lost in La Mancha - 5/10
Really? Deary me. I thought it was most educational :). And kinda dramatic in its own right ;)
cause i could feel my fingers on that nurses neck!
*Surreptitiously looks for ash's medication*
Recently....
Shopgirl (2005) ~ :)
It was well really well done, but I dunno...it was a little disappointing for me. Maybe I was expecting too much. It wasn’t as touching as I had hoped it would be. I never felt like I got to really know or care about the shop girl herself. The young suitor Jeremy was a little overboard to be believable. I understand he was suppose to be quirky…but he was almost too pathetically living on another panet. Ultimately, I wanted to feel something for these three people…and I didn’t. The acting was great though by everyone, and as I said, it was tastefully done.
Spring Forward (1999) ~ :)
I basically liked this slice of life, character driven movie. It was a bit slow in parts and some of the conversation I couldn't relate to (being a woman and all... :p), but it was very well written. And, Ned Beatty and Liev Schreiber were wonderful together.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2004) ~ :)
I liked this much better than Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001). The story was a bit confusing for me, since I’m not familiar with the game, but I still enjoyed it.
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) ~ :up:
I still love this version. I introduced my daughter to this movie and she’s now a fan as well. :)
Humoresque (1946) ~
It was ok, but on the melo-dramatic side. Another one I’m glad I saw, but won’t be seeing again. Joan Crawford has top billing, but it’s really John Garfield’s movie. He’s fabulous.
Forbidden Planet (1956) ~ :modest:
I loved this cheesy sci-fi. Fun characters and dialog. The special effects from that time period just made me smile. Loved Robby the Robot and seeing a young, buff Leslie Nielsen.
Pyro Tramp
05-01-06, 07:35 PM
Glad you enjoyed Advent Children, Aniko. Though it most definitely aimed at the game players. Story took me a while to get as well.
Actually, I just recently watched that too. I'm not much familiar with the game, but from what I could understand, I enjoyed it. I only had small complaints in the sound editing and fight choreography department.
The sound was superb, as was the music, but it seemed like certain scenes had musical tracks playing when they needed to be quiet; and other times, the music drowned out dialogue and sound effects. And I don't mind unbelievable fight sequences, especially if it's animated, but the choreography was at times hard to follow.
Still, the visual effects were beyond stunning, the dubbed voice acting was solid (if a little silly at times), and the story was interesting enough to warrant straining my brain. :)
Labrynth - Mmm, dated but fun. So nostalgic. Didn't realise Terry 'Python' Jones chipped in with some of the story tho. Should've known from the mixture of toilet humour and terms like 'ossuary' ;)
Just watched The Truman Show. First time since theatre and I always thought the ending to be different or at least show more of the after effects. Kind of wish it had but this one was ok too I guess.
chicagofrog
05-02-06, 08:37 AM
Cry Wolf, 2005, trite stuff...
History Of Violence, 2005, good stuff indeed
Sexy Celebrity
05-02-06, 02:23 PM
Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds
TheUsualSuspect
05-02-06, 02:36 PM
A History of Violence
Dune (Lynch, 1984) 3_5
The Return (Zvyagintsev, 2003) 4_5
hazii82
05-03-06, 04:32 AM
havent posted in awhile but these are the movies I watched during april
4.02 The Minus Man (1999)
4.03 Redemption (2004) // Road to Predition (2002)
4.05 Get Rich or Die Tryin (2005)
4.06 House of 9 (2005)
4.07 Blow (2001)
4.08 Christina's House (1999) // Drowning Mona (2000)
4.08 Lackawanna Blues (2005)
4.12 Tron (1982)
4.13 Wolf Creek (2005)
4.14 Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) // Spacehunter (1983)
4.15 The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
4.16 Herbie Fully Loaded (2005) // The Great Mom Swap (1995) // A Day Without A Mexican (2004)
4.17 The Passion of the Christ (2004) // Boys Don't Cry (1999)
4.19 Derailed (2005) // Hostel (2005)
4.20 The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
4.21 The Deep End (2001) // Baby Boy (2001) // The Hillz (2004)
4.22 A History of Violence (2005) // Ray (2004)
4.24 Soul Plane (2004)
4.26 Dragonfly (2002)
4.28 Ring Around the Rosie (2006) // Back to the Future (1985) // The Cable Guy (1996)
4.29 The Blue Lagoon (1980) // Back II The Future Part II (1989)
4.30 Pretty in Pink (1986)
and watched
Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006) today
havent posted in awhile but these are the movies I watched during april
4.13 Wolf Creek (2005)
I watched this the other day with a friend. I had to look away a few times, but overall neither of us were scared. :nope: what about you? :D
They came out with that recent dvd it and had no extras on it whatsoever. That was disappointing anyways. They could have at least thrown in the longer version or showed them as deleted scenes. You know, the part where it shows the police bringing the 3 villains out of the fortress in handcuffs. Or that one scene right after that boy was killed with the police light (by the way, dont know how it could explode like a bomb) and one of the crowd says: "He was only a boy" and that female villain then countered it with: "And will never be become a man". Heheh and she smiled as she said
it too. :p
That's Superman II. This cat was talking about the first one, which does have the extended scenes in the film.
Anonymous Last
05-03-06, 12:06 PM
I like how Superman threw off that gigantic yellow plastic "S" Glad wrap blanket type thing off his chest to defeat that growling Jack O'Halloran character, Non.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i27/lastlynony/superman2cut5.jpg
ash_is_the_gal
05-03-06, 12:23 PM
Mr Last, what the devil kind of mischeif is your avatar cooking up?
Anonymous Last
05-03-06, 01:15 PM
Mr Last, what the devil kind of mischeif is your avatar cooking up?
This was the av I first used on MoFo for a minute. Takin' ya back to the ol' school.
chicagofrog
05-03-06, 01:16 PM
2001 Maniacs, 2004, ugh, boring and especially trite and already seen somehow
Unfinished Life, not really all that great, but a decent watch.
Gambit (1966) - fun daft romcom heist-ishness. Definitely worth a slump-in-front-of. MacLaine, Caine and Lom skip through the dappiness with aplomb and the plot has got a few tricks up its neat little sleeves ;)
hazii82
05-03-06, 11:50 PM
I watched this the other day with a friend. I had to look away a few times, but overall neither of us were scared. :nope: what about you? :D
I was not impressed with it, me and my roommate laughed through most of it just joking and stuff.
Pyro Tramp
05-04-06, 08:18 AM
Wolf Creek did little for me but compared to, say, Hostel, it's almost a masterpiece. Definitely a few really good moments though, that spine bit gave me shudders.
chicagofrog
05-04-06, 08:43 AM
Saimin/Hypnosis, Japan 1999, a very good thrill, a girl that looks dangerous and insane like in The Ring, the usual aesthetics, and a not-too-predictable ending, i'd recommend it for a nice, if not the best, movie evening
Saimin/Hypnosis, Japan 1999, a very good thrill, a girl that looks dangerous and insane like in The Ring, the usual aesthetics, and a not-too-predictable ending, i'd recommend it for a nice, if not the best, movie evening
Whenever someone says that the ending is not too predictable, I always figure the ending out half way through lol.
TheUsualSuspect
05-04-06, 07:20 PM
2001 Maniacs, 2004, ugh, boring and especially trite and already seen somehow
My review agrees with that one sentence.
Miller's Crossing - Nice ambiguousness to Byrne's central character. It's well shot and paced, with a decent switch-back plot to boot. There is a bit of scenery-chewing going on, but at least Finney and Turturro do it well ;)
Holden Pike
05-05-06, 11:28 AM
Mission: Impossible III
Sinny McGuffins
05-05-06, 11:34 AM
I watched three quarters of Mission: Impossible III yesterday. I had to leave to go to work before the end. I enjoyed what I saw though.
My Life Without Me kinda sad and not too bad. (It's Canadian)
Mission: Impossible III
What did you think of it Pikey? :D EDIT: Ops just found your review on it :blush:
Iroquois
05-06-06, 12:48 AM
Full Metal Jacket - 8/10
Chopper - 8/10
Up in Smoke - 8/10
SamsoniteDelilah
05-06-06, 01:36 AM
Everything Is Illuminated - lovely little film that made me laugh a lot. A bit confusing, though.
Million Dollar Baby - Lovely film about finding family when the original one doesn't work... great story, but about 45 min were really uncomfortable to watch. Excellent performances.
Brokeback Mountain - good, not great. It seemed to me that Heath Ledger was doing his Slingblade impression throughout, which I found a bit comical. Good as a cautionary tale of what happens to people in a repressive society.
Symphony
05-06-06, 02:47 AM
All Quiet one the Western Front: C+
Follows the book well, but has terrible acting.
http://images.greencine.com/images/movies/amg/dvd/cov150/drt100/t174/t17470usbh3.jpg
ash_is_the_gal
05-06-06, 09:56 AM
Hostel - Quentin, what in gods name were you thinking? 2/5
Pyro Tramp
05-06-06, 03:15 PM
Hostel - Quentin, what in gods name were you thinking? 2/5
Probably something along the lines of, i'll slap my name in posters so the public might think i actually make films instead of just talking about making them.
You do know "Quentin Tarantino presents..." isn't the same as "....directed by Quentin Tarantino"
The 13th Warrior - I've got a soft spot for this film - coz i weathered a stranded night by sleeping through several sittings of it ;). It's strong points are still strong tho - the recreation of a Viking outpost works well - and the myth-weaving and imminant-horror-squeezing provide a fair few highlights. The rest is, well, just about passable, and only periodically laughable. The tone dips and flips, but when it works, it's involving.
Revenant
05-06-06, 10:33 PM
The 13th Warrior
For me the first half of this film was great.
The Corpse Bride 3.5/5
Good to watch but missing something. It eludes me what exactly though. Length perhaps?
For me the first half of this film was great.
I remember feeling the same, but this time round i was happy to be driven on to the caves and not mind the change ;) [altho i should admit i didn't see the finale, coz my sis barreled in and insisted on watching something even more hindbrain-beguiling ;)]
Strummer521
05-06-06, 11:44 PM
Match Point
Meh. Heavy tone, but after the beginning until the end the what little plot there was just seemed to be there for the need to justify the ending and fulfill that theme that's introduced in the opening shots of the film, by a voiceover narration which oddly never resurfaced. I'm not one that requires a strong plot in every movie, but what's there in place of the plot better be damned interesting. This film seemed like it was supposed to be character-driven, but the characters were no more than vague sketches. I admit, it kept my attention, because I was always waiting for something more substantial to come along and enhance things.
Just watched MI:III. I enjoyed it very much actually. As much if not more than the first. (7.5/10)
Tacitus
05-07-06, 07:41 AM
The Liam, The Bitch And The Floorshow (2005, Andrew Adamson)
2.5/5
Big Neeson must be getting a bit sick of playing the 'tragic mentor' but it pays the mortgage, I suppose. Tilda Swinton chews the (CG) scenery pretty well, as is her wont. The kids were a mixed bag (especially the guy who's main casting attribute seemed to be 'looking a wee bit like Prince William') and the effects were ok.
Completely absent, for me anyway, was any sort of a sense of wonder. I'd probably need to transport myself back to being 9 years old again (when I first read the book) for that to happen. :)
http://mira.film.nu/upload/narnia_350_197.jpg
It's not a giraffe, it's a lion!
Who says I can't get punchlines right? :D
chicagofrog
05-07-06, 03:09 PM
Dear Wendy, 2004, wow wow, so original idea and "special effects" ideas (reminding me of my beloved comics), real real real real real good! Lars Von Trier's the writer alright, but this one is not typical for him either. strongly recommended!
quixote
05-08-06, 05:28 AM
ray
9/10
ray charles was the man
blibblobblib
05-08-06, 05:13 PM
Everything Is Illuminated - lovely little film that made me laugh a lot. A bit confusing, though.
Million Dollar Baby - Lovely film about finding family when the original one doesn't work... great story, but about 45 min were really uncomfortable to watch. Excellent performances.
Brokeback Mountain - good, not great. It seemed to me that Heath Ledger was doing his Slingblade impression throughout, which I found a bit comical. Good as a cautionary tale of what happens to people in a repressive society.
That is some seriously heavy viewing there Sammy. Kudos. Although theyre all great films, well i enjoyed them all very much. However they also all made me cry like a dirty little girl.
I agree with you about Heath in Brokeback though. I was way more impressed with Mr unpronouncable though, his performance was much more powerful. Then again i guess the OscarBrain just preffered Heaths broody frowning mumbling acting.
thanks for the tip on everything is illuminated, was curious about it...
just saw king of hearts with added scenes...great little film made even better by the inclusion of aforementioned scenes...worth a look..
"Thumbsucker"
Damn did this movie suck. I expected a comedy and got a dragged out drama. :(
A Moment of Innocence - An Iranian director meets the policeman he stabbed 20 years ago during revolutionary turmoil. They make a film together, each taking a camera and filming a version of their younger selves.
It's a dramatisation. It's a revisitation. It's an exploration. It's all of those things and more. Yet, as one iMDB reviewer put it, everything is presented with a surreally accesible lightness of touch - a daily familiarity which belies the serious undercurrents.
It's both a youthful and a mature film in many ways. The sweetly-wrapped resolution is wonderful, but it does still leave you wondering exactly how this film-meets-fact journey was 'exposed'...
(What i mean by that is, i'd love to see some solid behind-the-scenes chat on how much of this was planned and 'real', on behalf of the old combatants - who also star in the film)
Harold and Maude...FUNNY movie!!!
Musa (The Warrior) - (Kim, 2001) - Walking the same path as films like Hero and House of Flying Daggers, this 2001 period piece starring the lovely Ziyi Zhang lacked the depth of character of the other films. The film is shot well, but the shots don't possess the narrative elegance of the more popular stuff from the genre. It is the lesser known film for a reason. Still an enjoyable watch, if just for the little cutie...
2_5
4_5
http://www.impawards.com/2006/posters/american_haunting.jpg
4_5
http://www.impawards.com/2006/posters/american_haunting.jpg
Bad Graphic. Not working.
Holden Pike
05-09-06, 01:08 PM
Bad Graphic. Not working.
http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1155261/photo_32_thumb.jpg http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1155261/photo_24_thumb.jpg
Bad graphic for a bad movie. See my review HERE (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=324331).
whats wrong with it? This better???
http://www.moviesonline.ca/movie-gallery/albums/userpics//AnAmericanHauntingPoster1.jpg
Holden Pike
05-09-06, 01:10 PM
whats wrong with it?
You can't hotlink to the IMPAwards site. You might be seeing the image, but the rest of us aren't.
You can't hotlink to the IMPAwards site. You might be seeing the image, but the rest of us aren't.
OK.
....bad movie
To each his own. :cool:
Thursday Next
05-09-06, 01:44 PM
I can see the graphic...or have you edited it now?
Iroquois
05-10-06, 12:42 AM
The Sixth Sense - 8/10
The Shining - 9/10
Training Day - 8/10
TheUsualSuspect
05-10-06, 02:11 AM
Mission Impossible III
chicagofrog
05-10-06, 09:49 AM
Drop Dead Gorgeous, 1999, my third time watching this. i really dig this movie, it's funny and critical and Kirsten is charming. one may wonder how people using the word Jesus in all their sentences and references and "good Christians" and "proud to be Americans" in all their speeches can get that kinda humor. i guess my wondering's a consequence of living in a Sin City.
ash_is_the_gal
05-10-06, 10:07 AM
its been awhile since ive seen that one, froggie. i saw it in the theater when it first came out and i found it a guilty pleasure. i think i would laugh even harder at it this time around so perhaps ill give it a go again... thanks.
Dark Water (Nakata, 2002) - I skipped the remake, and if this piece is the original, and supposedly better, I am glad I did! Not a great film. A few spooky scenes, but not much else...
Iku-Chan! Iku-Chan!
Dark Water (Nakata, 2002) and if this piece is the original, and supposedly better, I am glad I did!
It is! The remake was alright with some cool scenes but for some reasons foreign horror seems more scarier. ;)
ash_is_the_gal
05-10-06, 01:20 PM
for some reasons foreign horror seems more scarier. ;)
its that feeling of detachment...
Sinny McGuffins
05-10-06, 09:53 PM
I don't quite understand why people rave about these Japanese horror films. They're not scary at all, they're just boring. And the American remakes are even worst (well, at least the ones I actually bothered to watch).
Octavian
05-11-06, 01:20 AM
"schindler's list" & "Dogtown and Z boys", such a weird combination for tommorows double feature.
Piddzilla
05-11-06, 06:20 AM
Dark Water (Nakata, 2002) - I skipped the remake, and if this piece is the original, and supposedly better, I am glad I did! Not a great film. A few spooky scenes, but not much else...
Iku-Chan! Iku-Chan!
Gah, I thought it was scary as hell... The original, I mean. Haven't seen the remake.
I don't quite understand why people rave about these Japanese horror films. They're not scary at all, they're just boring. And the American remakes are even worst (well, at least the ones I actually bothered to watch).
Scary or not, I think what fans of Asian horror appreciate, or at least many of them, is the tempo (which, yes, can be considered boring by some) and the fact that the films are often more complex than your traditional Hollywood horror flick. A lot of the times the Asian movies are traditional but updated ghost stories where it's not always clear who and what is good and/or evil. Often the ghosts have some kind of sympathetic feature or "are ghosts" because of ..ehrm.. understandable reasons.
I loved Dark Water. I thought it was even better than Ringu in some ways. Often when I watch an "ordinary" scary movie I tend to get numbed towards the end because the incredibly intense scare-the-audience factor. When watching, say, Ringu you almost forget that you're watching a horror flick sometimes because the actual plot is allowed to take a lot of space while the horror parts arrive more seldomly and unannounced. I think the Asian horror tradition perhaps (I'm no expert) is more about creating a certain creepy mood than about to shock. Even if the one thing doesn't exclude the other.
What I am critical about though is the way some people hail ALL Asian horror. It's only natural that everyone wants to ride the wave so there are a lot of copycats out there and far from all the movies are as great as some say they are. I saw a Korean film called The Ghost that did scare me, I must admit, but that owned a great deal to Ringu, and it wasn't very good.
Pyro Tramp
05-11-06, 08:53 AM
I think the Asian horror tradition perhaps (I'm no expert) is more about creating a certain creepy mood than about to shock. Even if the one thing doesn't exclude the other.
I'll agree with that.
SamsoniteDelilah
05-11-06, 02:09 PM
This Is Spinal Tap... finally, I know what "this goes to 11" means. :D
Caitlyn
05-11-06, 02:44 PM
I tried to watch The New World(2005) … :indifferent:
Tacitus
05-11-06, 06:56 PM
This Is Spinal Tap... finally, I know what "this goes to 11" means. :D
Now I'm involuntarily singing Stonehenge... :D
Anyway -
The Snapper (1993, Stephen Frears)
3.5/5
My favourite Roddy Doyle adaptation (though I've not seen The Van in years) and my favourite Colm Meaney performance as the working class dad who finds his compassion and loyalty tested to breaking point trying to find out who got his daughter pregnant.
Sharp and funny with an early appearance by another of my favourite character actors, Brendan Gleeson. Complete with monobrow. :eek:
http://www.sfterra.nl/HTM/Interviews/Colm%20Meaney/Meaney-9.jpeg
Sinny McGuffins
05-11-06, 07:12 PM
Finding Neverland (Marc Forster, 2004), B
http://www.dackelprincess.com/archives/Finding-Neverland.jpg
Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia (Sam Peckinpah, 1974), B+
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/images/directors/02/garcia.jpg
Piddzilla
05-11-06, 07:55 PM
I tried to watch The New World(2005) … :indifferent:
I really want to see it. How come you didn't like it?
ash_is_the_gal
05-11-06, 11:36 PM
The Three Faces of Eve (1957) - 5, absolutely loved it
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - Lots to enjoy. Kind of like Man on the Moon meets Leon. Kaufman seems to have got off to a good start with this kooky take on a gen-uine showbiz 'assassin'. Clooney does a pretty impressive job all told on his directing debut (altho i love how the cinematographer lets Georgey take full credit for the weirdly posterised/over-exposed flashback scenes ;))
Yeah, fun, without being a feel-good fix-up. Nicely handled too :)
Sinny McGuffins
05-12-06, 02:32 AM
Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979), A+
http://lesbian-films.com/photos/manhattan2.jpg
Spanglish (James L. Brooks, 2004), B
http://www.pantip.com/cafe/chalermthai/newmovie/spanglish/spang_11.jpg
TheUsualSuspect
05-12-06, 03:14 AM
A Tale Of Two Sisters
chicagofrog
05-12-06, 09:21 AM
Constantine, 2005 - i'm rewatching the movies i liked recently, no time or almost for new ones. time's against me.
Caitlyn
05-12-06, 01:54 PM
I really want to see it. How come you didn't like it?
Hmmm.... I can't figure out a way to tell you without spoiling it for you.... so, hurry up and watch it.... :D
Posiedon 6.5/10
I enjoyed this one though no character development at all. How could there be when the wave hits 15 minutes in. Special effects were terrific and is what made it an enjoyable popcorn movie for me. Scary thing is, it could happen in real life and I do hate the thought of drowning with no way out. Kind of like I hate the thought of falling from a high mountain or cliff. Oh I'm just a wussy boy who fears everything. :bawling:
undercoverlover
05-13-06, 06:38 PM
American Dreamz --- Now this could have been a well thought out drama or a well thought out comedy, instead it was a half arsed event with uneven tones of both. The structure of it was strange - there were storylines that were intriguing but in the end werent fleshed out properly and were lacking some character development e.g. Mandy Moores and Hugh Grants characters.
The whole mini plot of Willem Dafoe and Dennis Quaid was disappointing to say the least - Willem Dafoe being a credible and talented actor lowered himself to this and I think it was a mistake on his agents part. The idea that the president was having some kind of mid life crisis could have been very funny or very touching, but it didn't show what was going on or why and so it was bland.
There are so many things this film could have been if the right kind of effort had been made but it looked pretty half baked. I enjoyed myself a bit but i wont hold my breath for the dvd release.
adidasss
05-13-06, 07:23 PM
Fight club - on second viewing,yeah, i can definitely see why middle-aged people love this...props for The Pixies as the end song ( even if it was just for the title )
High Fidelity - Liked it better this time. I'm so definitely hitting 30's headspace ;)
Fight club - on second viewing,yeah, i can definitely see why middle-aged people love this
Why do you say that adidasses?
ash_is_the_gal
05-13-06, 11:41 PM
The Snake Pit (1948) - yeah, it kept my attention well enough, it was interesting and Olivia de Havilland pulled off a pretty excellent performance. 4
Why do you say that adidasses?
Because he fears middle-age? And soap!
http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/9350/mofoalphasmilie5tc.gif (http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/7356/mofowinkgiant3wb.gif) <---click
adidasss
05-14-06, 04:53 AM
Why do you say that adidasses?
oh c'mon, people stuck in dead end jobs going crazy, realizing that capitalizm and material things will eat your soul, that your life so far has been empty and meaningless, a bunch of middle aged men fighting and destroying their bodies just so they could feel something, trying desperaltely to find some meaning, a new purpose in life, defying the system like a bunch of teenage boys...the entire movie is like a manual for a mid-life crisis...
Had the flu recently, and one of the days I was stuck in the bedroom with a broken DVD player and daytime cable to watch...
Project X (Kaplan, 1987) Well, at least the apes were cute. 2_5
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1993 TV) - After foolishly drinking Nyquil at 2PM, I was subjected to a most horrific torture session when the cat knocked my remote off the bed. When I drank the Nyquil, my fever had been up around 976 degrees, and this movie, combined with the drug addled delerium, knocked about seven points off my IQ. Wow, would be the worst visual entertainment ever created, if not for our next entry. 0_5
Rolling Thunder (Unsold TV pilot, 1996) After Journey to the Center of Ass, I slipped into the Asslight Zone. Something is actually worse than Night Rider. Imagine Four David Hasslehoffs, but with somehow, less acting skill. Throw in a candy-ass, non lethel, let's shoot the bad guys with marshmellow guns attitude, and you have a furmula for a show that actually made me loose feeling in my legs as I watched. Damn my cat. Damn him. 0
Ahhh, well enough to venture out to the couch!
I'm All Right Jack (Boulting, 1959) - Wry English film about classism. Seller's makes his first appearance here in an underplayed role that broke him wide open. An enjoyable watch. 4
The Short Films of David Lynch (Lynch, Various dates) - Actually caught this one last night when I went out for a bit. Love Lynch, Loved this. Alphabet had one girl asking to "please turn it off, I think I am going to have nightmares". Oh yeah! 3_5
Images (Altman, 1972) - RIGHT up my alley. A psychotic identity crisis film with absolutely breathtaking cinematography and a bizzare minimal score by John Williams? Sign me up. Could be my favorite Altman so far, aside from Short Cuts, of course... 4_5
Revenant
05-14-06, 04:21 PM
The Cat Returns 5/5!!
Another Miyazaki classic!
SamsoniteDelilah
05-14-06, 04:32 PM
A Kiss Before Dying
The Killing
Interesting double-whammy of pre-feminist female characters, but a contrast: the first has a traditional female character who falls prey to a bad guy, as well as a more headstrong young woman who finally connects the dots.
The second has an array of women, but the strong one is a conniving shrew.
Both were pretty good films though. The Killing established writer/director Stanley Kubrick as a Hollywood entity, and tells the story out of time sequence - which I really didn't know was done much before Pulp Fiction. Come to think of it, this has to be an ancestor of PF - there are a lot of similarities.
Tacitus
05-14-06, 06:09 PM
Breakfast On Pluto (2005, Neil Jordan)
3.5/5
A slow burner, I just wasn't in the mood for BoP for nearly the first hour, particularly Cillian Murphy's Kitten. Too much simpering and not enough depth, frankly I wanted to smack him in the mouth.
But...
This fairytale of a confused young Irish lad in search of his mammy (and him/herself) picked up remarkably in the second half, probably after the injection of the ever wonderful Ian Hart.
Any film that has a pair of CGI robins quoting Wilde and acting as the chorus and Brendan Gleeson giving someone a kicking dressed as Great Uncle Bulgaria (of Wombles fame, natch) definately deserves a look.
Good old Neil Jordan. Just as I'd given up hope he brings me his best film since The Crying Game. ;)
http://www.emanuellevy.com/images/photos/pry6u2ksipo.jpg http://www.cinemovies.fr/images/data/films/Pfilm62921763562224.jpg
Time Machine (remake) 6/10
One of the movies I didnt generally hate like many others do.
chicagofrog
05-15-06, 08:21 AM
Everything Is Illuminated, 2005, wow wow, just as good, even if slightly different (but true to the main atmosphere) as Jonathan Foer's very very great novel (i read about 2 years ago and recommend strongly!!) (btw, the next one is even better - i'm looking forward to see the movie made), and Eugene Hutz rules! Elijah Wood's real good too as "Jonfen" and Laryssa Lauret was a discovery
Tacitus
05-15-06, 06:47 PM
Pavee Lackeen The Traveller Girl (2005, Perry Ogden)
3/5
A raw, unsympathetic portrayal of a family of Travellers living in caravans near Dublin docks, Pavee Lackeen is filmed in a semi-documentary style and reminds me of early, Poor Cow era, Ken Loach.
Shoplifting, solvent abuse, raiding rubbish piles for clothes and tangles with both police and local council officials make up the daily lives of Rose and her family of 10. Rose drinks, smokes too much, can't read or write and allows her kids too much free rein. She's also fiercely proud.
The portrait painted is not flattering, and certainly not typical - but it's life. The film itself is maybe too unstructured to be great but I found it compulsive viewing. No picture postcard, patronising Paddywhackery here.
The central family are played by real travellers and we're not gonna see much 'acting', though young Winnie Maughan, the girl of the title, has an amazing screen presence. The look in her eyes is 10 going on 50...
She's a star in the making but I doubt if circumstances will ever allow Winnie to act again. Here's hoping.
I've done a lot of business with the Travelling community in my time and find people's stereotypes of them very sad and unflattering. They're Ireland's oldest and least appreciated Ethnic Minority, after all...
http://www.mannheim-filmfestival.com/en/Archive/Film_Festival_2005/Internationaler_Wettbewerb/Pavee_Lackeen___Wohnwagenleben/Pavee_Lackeen_1_web_rgb_1.jpeg
SamsoniteDelilah
05-15-06, 06:55 PM
http://www.cinemovies.fr/images/data/films/Pfilm62921763562224.jpg
http://www.msstate.edu/Images/Film/SandraBullock.jpg
Tacitus
05-15-06, 07:05 PM
http://www.msstate.edu/Images/Film/SandraBullock.jpg
Makes a change from Bambi, I guess... :D
Bound (Wachowskis, 1996) - Um, gulp. :randy:
My girlfriend had to keep me at bay with a kitchen knife after I watched this one...
The Bourne Supremecy (Greengrass, 2004) - Not a huge fan of the first film, this was a pleasant surprise on both a technical and narrative level. I found myself really digging this film, Damon included, which is odd. Nice work Greengrass.
Ezikiel
05-16-06, 11:57 PM
Husbands and Wives (Woody Allen - 1992)
Caitlyn
05-17-06, 06:15 AM
Husbands and Wives (Woody Allen - 1992)
Hi there... :) ...haven't seen you around much lately....
Piddzilla
05-17-06, 08:21 AM
Pavee Lackeen The Traveller Girl (2005, Perry Ogden)
3/5
A raw, unsympathetic portrayal of a family of Travellers living in caravans near Dublin docks, Pavee Lackeen is filmed in a semi-documentary style and reminds me of early, Poor Cow era, Ken Loach.
Shoplifting, solvent abuse, raiding rubbish piles for clothes and tangles with both police and local council officials make up the daily lives of Rose and her family of 10. Rose drinks, smokes too much, can't read or write and allows her kids too much free rein. She's also fiercely proud.
The portrait painted is not flattering, and certainly not typical - but it's life. The film itself is maybe too unstructured to be great but I found it compulsive viewing. No picture postcard, patronising Paddywhackery here.
The central family are played by real travellers and we're not gonna see much 'acting', though young Winnie Maughan, the girl of the title, has an amazing screen presence. The look in her eyes is 10 going on 50...
She's a star in the making but I doubt if circumstances will ever allow Winnie to act again. Here's hoping.
I've done a lot of business with the Travelling community in my time and find people's stereotypes of them very sad and unflattering. They're Ireland's oldest and least appreciated Ethnic Minority, after all...
http://www.mannheim-filmfestival.com/en/Archive/Film_Festival_2005/Internationaler_Wettbewerb/Pavee_Lackeen___Wohnwagenleben/Pavee_Lackeen_1_web_rgb_1.jpeg
I would like to see that film.
I've always been curious about the Traveller community. I have never really understood what differs them from other Irishmen on a strictly ethnical level. Where do the roots come from? Are they not celts?
Touching the Void (2003 - Kevin Macdonald)
Really hair-raising drama documentary about two extreme mountain climbers who tried to climb a really tough Peruan mountain in 1987 "alpine style" (i.e. pretty ****ing dangerous). One of the men broke his leg severely on their way down and eventually his buddy had to cut him lose from the rope that was keeping them together, and then hell began.... It's quite impressive when that survival instinct kicks in - and how the spark never dies in some people....
Le Salaire de la peur - The Wages of Fear (1953 - Henri-Georges Clouzot)
I bought this nice DVD edition a few weeks back and finally watched it again the other night. It's one of my favourite films. I remember we had to watch it in class at University and I wasn't that eager to see it - and was blown away. Racism, greed, courage, cowardice, social injustice, desperation.... Even though the exciting story is the centre of attention, the film is really about those things.
Four guys drive two trucks loaded with nitroglycerine in Venezuela. They work for a big cynical oil company and they are desperate for the money which will help them get out of this hell hole. The mission is extremely dangerous but they litterally walk over bodies to earn the wages of fear. It's a fantatstic film....
Tacitus
05-17-06, 09:10 AM
I would like to see that film.
I've always been curious about the Traveller community. I have never really understood what differs them from other Irishmen on a strictly ethnical level. Where do the roots come from? Are they not celts?
I'm no expert but I understand that the Travellers have been recorded as a 'race' in Ireland since pre-Christian times. They've set themselves apart as a distinctive Ethnic group relatively recently (and they bare no relation to conventional 'Gypsies' who hail from central Europe and beyond).
They're as much of a distinct ethnic body as the Ulster Scots in the North in that they have their own language and customs which differ from the vast majority of the country.
There's an interesting little article here (http://www.qub.ac.uk/en/imperial/ireland/travellers.htm). :)
Interesting article Tatty :yup: Thanks :D
Ophelia
05-17-06, 05:49 PM
The Squid and the Whale - what a little gem.
Rififi - Definitely deserves its classic status. All three acts (the planning, famed 'silent' heist, and messy revenge aftermath) have some classy moments and periods of sustained tension.
The Arrow R2 DVD has some decent chatter with Dassin n'all. His insights into how the McCarthy blacklisting affected him, others, and even the Rififi script are well worth catching.
chicagofrog
05-18-06, 09:00 AM
A Tale Of Two Sisters, Korea 2003, for the third time, i begin to get all the subtleties little by little... and still find it soo damned beautiful, each pic could be made a poster...
ash_is_the_gal
05-18-06, 10:10 AM
froggie, ive been wanting to see this... glad you liked it, i will add it to my list!
chicagofrog
05-18-06, 10:17 AM
:)
Piddzilla
05-18-06, 10:19 AM
High Noon (1952 - Fred Zinnermann)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962 - John Ford)
I decided to watch two real Western classics, I think for the first time (I might have watched them with my dad as a kid, I can't remember).
They are both really great films. High Noon is next to flawless but things like the acting style felt a bit unmodern. A bit pompous, sometimes... Other than that, the story and how it was being set in real time, the reasons for the actions of the characters and so on... Brilliant. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is very good too. You can notice that there is ten years between the two films in terms of acting style, language (both spoken language and body language) and the way violence is depicted.
There is also a difference in the underlying theme of the two different films. While High Noon is about the typical Western sheriff, the lone individual stepping up and taking his responsibility, despite his fear, to protect the people against the gang of villains, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance seems to be illustrating the importance of the collective, the state and the nation. In "Liberty" Tom Doniphon, the John Wayne character, symbolizes the old Western hero; his time is up and in comes Rance Stoddard, the lawyer, the congressman and US Senator, a man of the people. That's the kind of man that the future is being built on. But Doniphon in some way gets the last word. He was the one who really shot Liberty Valance. He was the true Western legend that made progress possible and sent Stoddard to Washington; Stoddard who built his career on people's belief that he was the one who shot Liberty Valance.
I think it's interesting to see this kind of shift in themes and especially put against the different times in which these films were produced: High Noon in the Eisenhower era and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in the Kennedy era. I know it is to read too much into movies but it's always fun to let cinema illustrate the current political climate or tradition of which they historically belong to. Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) in High Noon represents the kind of hero that, as in many other Westerns, symbolizes the President and the people's reliance on The Great Leader and that he will protect them. Rance Stoddard, on the other hand, is more the "don't ask what the Country can do for you, ask what you can do for the country" kind of hero. He will lead, but everybody are in this together and it's the responsibility of the people to elect capable political leaders.
Yeah well, I could go on and on about this....
froggie, ive been wanting to see this... glad you liked it, i will add it to my list!
No!!! I've learned over time that the frog has an unusual soft spot for this film. My advice, should you still want to see the movie, turn it off when it feels like it should end, otherwise you're wasting your time and will just be monumentally dissapointed at how incoherent it becomes.
ash_is_the_gal
05-18-06, 10:34 AM
Peter you are cold-hearted!
give me an average movie you have a soft spot for and i will gladly watch it.
chicagofrog
05-18-06, 10:38 AM
Peter is real cold-hearted :(
but each MoFo should make his/her own opinion on the movies, doesn't he think so?
plus my spot are not so soft!
Monkeypunch
05-18-06, 11:26 AM
The Producers (2005). So very funny. I loved Nathan Lane's over the top acting, and Will Ferrell as a singing, dancing Nazi playwrite, and well just about everything about the film. It's so good-natured that even the most offensive jokes in it don't seem hostile. My only complaint is the ending, which just goes on too long, and isn't as funny as the ending to the original Gene Wilder/Zero Mostel classic.
Peter is real cold-hearted :(
but each MoFo should make his/her own opinion on the movies, doesn't he think so?
plus my spot are not so soft!
Well, it wasn't so much a "Don't watch it ever" as it was a warning to not have high hopes.
And no. No one should ever have an opinion but me. I'm pretty sure I'm always right.
adidasss
05-18-06, 06:14 PM
No!!! I've learned over time that the frog has an unusual soft spot for this film. My advice, should you still want to see the movie, turn it off when it feels like it should end, otherwise you're wasting your time and will just be monumentally dissapointed at how incoherent it becomes.
i second this....it's really not worth the watch...
The Rutles - Fun pre-Spinal-Tap parody-homage for the Fab Four. I found it floundered a bit in the middle tho (the songs seemed a bit overspun by that point, altho perhaps i just wasn't getting the references). Eric Idle's docu Pythonisms are a plus (and it's good to see the SNL crew of the time). After the 'tragical mystery tour' the jokes came thick and fast again. Loved Nasty's sit-in in the shower etc, and the 'missing trousers being an Italian sign for death' :D
Strummer521
05-18-06, 10:06 PM
Amelie
smile-inducing.
Piddzilla
05-19-06, 06:27 AM
Lawrence of Arabia (1962 - David Lean)
I decided to watch yet anohter classic. I haven't seen this one in a million years and it was like watching it for the first time. It is a fantastic cinematic epic.
I don't like Lawrence... I don't know if that's the whole point, but I just don't like him. He clearly seems to be suffering from hubris - everything is about him. I guess I'm identifying with Ali (Omar Sharif) in the sense that I'm kind of disappointed with Lawrence...
It's interesting though... Having watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance recently I can't help to think of the line "Print the legend" from that film. It fits Lawrence as well in a way. Lawrence was a legend but couldn't handle it...
Anyway.. The film is so beautiful to watch... The desert scenes are breathtaking... The scene where Ali appears for the first time, riding his camel on the horizon.... There are a lot of magnificent scenes like that... Another scene that stood out for me was the one where Prince Feisal towards the end of the film says "What you've done for me is impossible to evaluate", or something like that, and Lawrence just silently leaves before the Prince has even finished the sentence. That was powerful.
Thursday Next
05-19-06, 02:24 PM
Mr and Mrs Smith. Pretty average, but has convinced me that Angelina Jolie is the most beautiful woman in the world. Shame she's never been in anything actually good.
Piddzilla
05-19-06, 07:22 PM
Ray (2004 - Taylor Hackford)
Pretty good film... Lots of heroin and demons from the past. I do think that Foxx really deserved the Oscar though... Fantastic performance! Did he sing everything himself??
Tacitus
05-19-06, 07:43 PM
Jarhead (2005, Sam Mendes)
2.5/5
I finished watching this about an hour ago and have totally forgotten it. Oh yeah...Full Metal Jacket with fast cutting and a cuddly sergeant.
'Twas ok then but a bit like one of my mum's Yorkshire puddings - nice enough but when you cut into it there's not a lot there. ;)
http://www.filmfodder.com/movies/reviews/jarhead/images/jarhead.jpg
Ezikiel
05-20-06, 03:53 AM
Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom (Pier Paolo Passolini - 1975)
Iroquois
05-20-06, 07:50 AM
Withnail & I - 9/10
The 40-Year-Old Virgin - 8/10
Carrie - 7/10
Trainspotting - 8/10
Tacitus
05-20-06, 11:49 AM
Everything (2004, Richard Hawkins)
4/5
Men, I would imagine, visit prostitutes because something's missing in their lives. And it isn't always sex.
Everything sees a subdued Ray Winstone visiting Jan Graveson's lady of the night for nine consecutive days in her grimy Soho flat.
They talk.
Only at the end do we find out quite why these visits are taking place and unfortunately I twigged quite early but, even if you do too, don't let the fact prevent you from sticking with this little gem of a film.
Winstone is superb here but bettered by Jan Graveson who I've only seen in Eastenders years ago. They've got a great script to work with, which helps, and Jan imbues her character with a whole heap of world-weary charm and pathos.
Everything was filmed in 9 days for a cost of £50,000. You could show me hundreds of films costing a thousand times more without a tenth of the subtlety, care or impact...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/graphics/2005/10/07/bfoliver3.jpg
The DaVinci Code 5 - The best collaboration between Hanks and Ron Howard ever on screen. I haven't read the book (yet) but don't think that is a big deal. I totally disagree with Suspect's review (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=10805). The film was well acted all around - even Tom Hanks - the locations were beautiful and the story mind you was fantastic. Gripping with action, I was continuously on the edge of my seat. The ending was very unexpected. I loved it and so did the audience with cheering and even a standing ovation. Personally I do not see what this whole controversy is about. It's only a movie for cryin' out loud.
Dellamorte Dellamore (http://horrorsnotdead.com/wpress/2006/review-dellamorte-dellamore-cemetery-man/) - Wow. I was blown away. Some of the best direction of all time, and I'm certainly with Martin Scorsese when he calls it one of the best films of the 90s.
The Seven Per-cent Solution (Ross, 1976) - What do you get when you combine Duvall, Olivier, Arkin, Redgrave, a wonderful Nichol Williamson, late 70s cocaine fascination, and equal helpings Skerlock Homes and Sigmund Freud?
A bizzare holmesian tale featuring a strung out Holmes who is duped into meeting with Sigmund Freud. After a totally out-there detox, the two join forces to solve a case. Duvall is a stodgey Dr. Watson, while Williamson and Arkin pull off some great scenes together as Holmes and Freud, respectively.
The film is a bit uneven, but I really enjoyed it! Williamson is so fun to watch!
Rear Window (Hitchcock, 1954) - Love it. Have seen it a million times!
John McClane
05-20-06, 09:14 PM
Ice Age 2- I liked the first one more.
ash_is_the_gal
05-20-06, 10:14 PM
Deliverance.... hmmmm.
Strummer521
05-21-06, 12:40 AM
The Da Vinci Code meh. Charitably, I'll give it a B.
chicagofrog
05-21-06, 09:19 AM
Dark Water, 2005, for the second time and i still like it a very lot, and Jennifer Connelly still appears to me as one of the most beautiful actresses and among the most touching, achieving quite the excellent performance here
Bad Boys
Turbulence
Fun with Dick and Jane (2006)
Fun with Dick and Jane (2006) If someone is a big Jim Carey comedy fan will they enjoy that movie jrs?
As for myself, I just watched "The Robe" last night.
http://www.moviegoods.com/Assets/product_images/1000/140809.1000.A.JPG Raging Bull (Scorsese, 1980) 5
http://www.moviegoods.com/Assets/product_images/1000/266039.1000.A.JPG Do The Right Thing (Lee, 1989) 5
SamsoniteDelilah
05-22-06, 01:10 AM
War of the Worlds..... not bad. Tom cruise was better than I anticipated, and I kinda like Dakota Fanning.
The Edukators - Bit contrite in places, and long-winded in others, but charming too at times. More life-journey than political pondering-session - which does unbalance the film slightly, in that it doesn't really settle on its slant until about halfway in. Well acted throughout tho, and well handled by the director on the whole. The 'available light' hand-held camerawork suits the film n'all.
chicagofrog
05-22-06, 09:57 AM
Venom, 2005, just another teen ("horror") movie...
Pitch Black, 1999, must be my fourth watching...
Tacitus
05-22-06, 11:31 AM
The Big Red One (1980, Sam Fuller)
3.5/5
WWII seen through the eyes of five men - the hoary old sergeant, Lee Marvin, and the young members of his squad.
The reconstruction (not a director's cut as Fuller had croaked by the time of the reassembling) adds nearly an hour to the film and fleshes things out nicely.
Marvin is great here, bristling with snappy one-liners as his young charges try to keep up. Mark Hamill does his 'wide-eyed kid' routine once again and was probably dreaming of a career beyond Star Wars which never got going.
Budgetary constraints deny The Big Red One a truly epic feel, but it suits the personal nature of these men's war.
http://www.beyondhollywood.com/moviepics/bigredone_big2.jpg
[the troop stops before a memorial]
Johnson: Would you look at how fast they put the names of all our guys who got killed?
The Sergeant: That's a World War One memorial.
Johnson: But the name's are the same.
The Sergeant: They always are.
The Big Red One (1980, Sam Fuller)
Have you seen The Thin Red Line, taccy?
Tacitus
05-22-06, 11:57 AM
Have you seen The Thin Red Line, taccy?
Aye, but not for some time, and liked it a lot. Actually, watching The Big Red One last night made me realise I need to get The Thin Red Line bought asap. ;)
Aye, but not for some time, and liked it a lot. Actually, watching The Big Red One last night made me realise I need to get The Thin Red Line bought asap. ;)
It is SO worth it. My favorite malick film, although I still need to see The New World...
Tacitus
05-22-06, 03:20 PM
It is SO worth it. My favorite malick film, although I still need to see The New World...
The only Malick film I own is Badlands which shows a definate gap in my collection. I think I need to go on the game...
The Da Vinci Code:
I liked this film, and while it is tough to talk about it without being "spoilerish"; itb is good fun and lends credence to thought provocativeness....is that a word?
Kaihoke Destruction Tongue in cheek New Zealand documentary about a small-town destruction derby. Had me chuckling.
Feathers of Peace Another NZ docu, this one historical, about land disputes in the 1800's. Boring.
Miyazaki's Lupita, Castle in the Sky Absolutley loved this one. I love Miyazaki! I was impressed with James Van Der Beek and Anna Paquin's voice work on the 2003 version. (Not to mention the work of a certain Mark Hamill as the over-the-top villian.)
and finally...
X-Men Have to bone up on my mutant flicks for thursday. ;)
Duel to the Death - Ahh, you know that when a film opens with ninjas leaping into a library with superfluous synchronicity - and then speed-reading the scrolls within - you're in for a silly ride. Just what i wanted :)
This early 80s wire-work fest laid the groundwork for the likes of Hero, with its accomplished fantasy action and well-filmed locations. But its big budget isn't exactly accompanied by a 'big' script. The strands of warrior-honour, political intrigue and thwarted love just about keep the fight->exposition->fight storytelling ticking over tho. There's even a little bit of pathos in there, but it's mainly swamped by the ludicrousness of it all.
And let's face it - this film is about the giant exploding ninjas, expensive false side-burns, comically bad music, and tree-hopping masters. And it's got those in spades ;)
chicagofrog
05-23-06, 09:24 AM
Den Som Frykter Ulven / Cry In The Woods, Norway 2004, interesting story and characters, just the way they film, the photography, is too European (too cheap??) for my americanized taste
Caitlyn
05-23-06, 10:24 AM
Derailed (2005) 2½/5
Do The Right Thing (Lee, 1989) - Twice in as many days. Michelle hadn;t seen it in forever, so we popped it in again after she returned from Montreal...
"Hey yo SAL! Why ain't there no brothas on the wall??"
The 400 Blows - Ay, very decent, believeable tale. Thought for a while the basically flawless storytelling-n-acting was gonna be ruined by a pet hate of mine - the 'misunderstood-director-as-star' phenomenon. I was glad when the daydreaming, Balzac-reading, film-loving tearaway fleshed out his background to the psychologist [cementing the kid's presence in the role at the same time]. It made the character seem to stand up more in his own right, made his actions more understandable, and made him more of an 'everyman' too in some ways. Strong slice-of-life stuff overall.
The Fog of War : Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S McNamara (Morris, 2003) - Riveting, thought provoking, and horrifying. Incredible documentary about people. war, politics, and base human natture. A vision of the last century through the eyes of a man who was there, right in the middle of the centuries greatest (read:worst) conflicts. His conclusions on the matter are completely engrossing, and So important to consider, for everyone alive today.
The cool thing about mr. McNarmara, is that he doesn;t pander or make excuses for his sometimes questionable actions. He simply studies the actions, and asks the question, why? He examines the warlike nature of people, and how conflict has always interested us.
Ay, great stuff innit :). He's not afraid to point out mistakes where mistakes were made. [Altho of course, he doesn't always go out of his way to point out his own personal gaffs, necessarily - but at least he 'recalls' ;) - and the guy's views carry weight :yup:. And he genuinely seems to care about getting it right - and learning from that time]
Love the way Morris's 'Interrotron' approach really seems to allow McNamara to be forthcoming while still putting him on the spot.
Yup. Great, great stuff, that I think is sort of a required watch, these days. Glad I popped it in my queue!
Xui Wan
05-24-06, 10:02 PM
Mr and Mrs Smith. Pretty average, but has convinced me that Angelina Jolie is the most beautiful woman in the world. Shame she's never been in anything actually good.
OMG :eek: grr~ LoL at least you know your read!!! I beg to differ "girl interupted" happend to be one of my personal faves... I thought she was great in it! again Grrr~ heh :p and she is hella beautiful!!!
Oh and Hi everyone :rotfl:
Hey Xui W. Good to see you pinking the place up again ;)
Should we be annoyed that even AJ's triumphant vamping couldn't rescue Stone's flailing Alexander tho? (Or that Rosario Dawson's nearly did :))
Actually, i'm not that distressed. It was beyond vamp repair. Altho the accents were fine by me ;)
I think Angelina Jolie looks like a frog.
Xui Wan
05-24-06, 11:42 PM
:eek: GRRRRR!!!
mwah mwah mwah!!!
pink pink pink pink pink pink pink pink pink pink pink mmmhmmm i couldnt resist! (pinking up the place)
mwah HI HI
*I would leave jude law for angelina.... maybe
Piddzilla
05-25-06, 06:48 AM
The Fog of War : Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S McNamara (Morris, 2003) - Riveting, thought provoking, and horrifying. Incredible documentary about people. war, politics, and base human natture. A vision of the last century through the eyes of a man who was there, right in the middle of the centuries greatest (read:worst) conflicts. His conclusions on the matter are completely engrossing, and So important to consider, for everyone alive today.
The cool thing about mr. McNarmara, is that he doesn;t pander or make excuses for his sometimes questionable actions. He simply studies the actions, and asks the question, why? He examines the warlike nature of people, and how conflict has always interested us.
I liked this documentary very much as well. It's very personal and whatever McNamara did or did not do I think that the fact that he even allowed Morris to do this kind of film about him says a great deal about his person.
I saw The Corporation (2003 - Achbar & Abbott) again the other day, btw. For pure ejoyment only.....
Tacitus
05-25-06, 08:00 AM
I saw The Corporation (2003 - Achbar & Abbott) again the other day, btw. For pure ejoyment only.....
I must try and watch this again as I thought it was rubbish first time round. Overlong and obvious, trying to get it's hands on some of the Michael Moore money but without the chicken suits.
The Fog Of War is ace though. ;)
I saw The Corporation (2003 - Achbar & Abbott) again the other day, btw. For pure ejoyment only.....
I hear ya. I actually watch the Corporation every now and then just for fun. In the past 9 months alone, I've probably seen it seven or eight times...
Tacitus
05-26-06, 08:36 AM
Barton Fink (1991, Joel Coen)
4/5
Barton Fink was my first experience of Joel, Ethan and their peculiar brand of slanted genius. Probably in 1992, and I've loved this film ever since.
John Turturro was already on my radar after Do The Right Thing and he's superb here as the patronising pseud of a writer who's made his living off the backs of 'the working man' yet has no idea of what makes working men actually tick.
The Diabolic Hollywood into which he's thrown is heavy on allegory (and I bet the Coens are laughing their socks off about the many discussions as to what the allegory actually is) from the beginning and John Goodman is deliciously broad, as only he can be.
In fact, I've got a great urge to run at my elderly neighbours shouting "I'll show you the life of the mind!!!" but they might have heart conditions...
What's in the box? The best answer I've heard is - Gwyneth Paltrow's head. ;)
http://x-stream.fortunecity.com/fleetst/71/barton_fink.gif
chicagofrog
05-26-06, 09:21 AM
Wal-Mart, The High Cost Of Low Price, 2005, interesting, really, i never liked them very much but didn't know they were soooo bad. :eek: the documentary's lil bit too American patriot-like and Christian puritan for non-conservative Europeans though, i guess. read lotsa comments precisely reproaching these aspects and agreeing with my impression, so i reckon i'll never stop feeling European.
The Player (Altman, 1992) - Fantastic stuff. It had been years since I saw this, but it was just as good as I remembered it. better, even...
chicagofrog
05-26-06, 10:20 AM
:yup:
Strummer521
05-26-06, 10:37 PM
Shopgirl
Subtle, understated and just plain nice. Despite the generally serious tone, it managed some genuine laughs that fall into place rather than feeling forced into a movie in which they don't belong. There were some definite gaps in the storytelling, but the performances were top-notch.
Monkeypunch
05-26-06, 11:32 PM
The Jerk - Probably the funniest film ever made. Certainly Steve Martin's best, and a classic example of 1970's comedy.
Casino
Question: Deniro was obviously supposed to die in the car bombing correct? (At the hands of the top Mobsters.) So why is it they allowed him to live after that and continue making money for them even if he was a sure thing in the gambling department? Why take the chance on him if they didnt want to risk him being around with what he knows about them in the first place hence the car bombing?
Holden Pike
05-27-06, 01:28 AM
Casino
Question: Deniro was obviously supposed to die in the car bombing correct? (At the hands of the top Mobsters.) So why is it they allowed him to live after that and continue making money for them even if he was a sure thing in the gambling department? Why take the chance on him if they didnt want to risk him being around with what he knows about them in the first place hence the car bombing?
It's just as simple as he says...
"But in the end, I wound up right back where I started: I could still pick winners, and I could still make money for all kinds of people back home. And why mess up a good thing?"
His value as a handicapper is ultimately more to the Mob than whether or not they lose Vegas. Something or another was going to ruin that eventually, but a steady stream of cash is a steady stream of cash. For all the talk in movies like The Godfather about loyalty and honor, what it all boils down to is money. He could make them money, and so they let him continue even after the faild assassination.
It's just that simple.
Iroquois
05-27-06, 03:57 AM
Dawn of the Dead (original) - 7/10
I kind of expected it to be better. :/
It's just as simple as he says...
"But in the end, I wound up right back where I started: I could still pick winners, and I could still make money for all kinds of people back home. And why mess up a good thing?"
His value as a handicapper is ultimately more to the Mob than whether or not they lose Vegas. Something or another was going to ruin that eventually, but a steady stream of cash is a steady stream of cash. For all the talk in movies like The Godfather about loyalty and honor, what it all boils down to is money. He could make them money, and so they let him continue even after the faild assassination.
It's just that simple.
Yes, of course greed crossed my mind too. But here we have a bunch of guys who already knew he was an awesome handicapper, yet still didnt want to take that chance against his knowledge to bring them down in the first place. I guess if I must reconcile this part of the movie with myself then Deniro had to have done a hell of a job convincing them (since he was a dead man if he didnt try) which gave their fear of prison to die down and their greed to make the bucks time to resurface back in them.
Strummer521
05-27-06, 12:50 PM
The Jerk - Probably the funniest film ever made.
Wha???? Those are strong words. I always thought it was a fun piece of 70s cheese, but not quite a classic. So you'd call it funnier than Airplane! or Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
Revenant
05-27-06, 12:58 PM
Steamboy 4/5
Certainly is a beautiful film and had a good plot but there were some missing gaps that left me a little confused in parts.
Monkeypunch
05-27-06, 03:21 PM
Wha???? Those are strong words. I always thought it was a fun piece of 70s cheese, but not quite a classic. So you'd call it funnier than Airplane! or Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
I would, because I laughed harder at the Jerk than I did at Airplane, and it hasn't got any dead spots, unlike Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I love Monty Python and the Holy Grail, don't get me wrong, but the whole Castle Anthrax part is a dead spot. It's not nearly as funny as the rest of the film. :yup:
So I stand by my claim of The Jerk being the funniest movie ever.
John McClane
05-28-06, 12:12 AM
X-Men 3- OMFG. Wolverine is BAMF. By far my favorite of the three. It's so bad@$$!!!! Lol. :)
chicagofrog
05-28-06, 09:21 AM
day before yesterday, Melinda and Melinda, Woody Allen 2005, a real great performance by Rhada Mitchell, but else really not one of Woody's best... trite is the impression i got, though enjoyable movie overall
and yesterday, X-Men III, yeaaaaaahhhh! man do i fall for Kitty Pride (always had a weakness for her in the comics too), aka Ellen Page, and that metis girl too (the "villain") and the special effects had me screaming (innerly - i do behave in a theater!!) and the strength of the so well illustrated conception of almightiness i rarely felt so strongly (speak of "dark side of the force", well, *here* it is, not in Star Wars!!) was definitely for me the most impressive aspect, the centerpoint of the story, that had quite a few unexpected surprises too, interesting characters, and Phoenix is much more elegant, with bordeaux dress and corset (that'S how i like my girls :) ) than in cheap latex stuff, and she's beautiful when *dark*, which she is not otherwise (almost made me forgive she's a real red head in the comicsbook and a banal brunette in the movie...)... wow wow, many things come to mind, i still so much like Magneto and can't help but feel i'm on HIS side - i don't wanna believe there won't be a fourth installment...
The End [B]A+ One of the funniest movies I have ever seen [or at least in awhile. Now in my top 5 favorites!
Iroquois
05-29-06, 09:04 AM
Akira - 9/10
The DaVinci Code - 8/10
chicagofrog
05-29-06, 11:53 AM
Elektra, 2005, 2/10, cuz i wanted to show it to a friend, but the pizza we ate was the best part of the evening (i kinda knew, having seen that movie when it came out already)
The New World (Malick, 2005) - I dug it. I guess my only issue was the score, which I found a bit grating at times, but just on some sections. Otherwise, a good Malick piece.
Sixteen Candles (Hughes, 1984) - It was our friends 30th birthday, and she wanted to get nostalgic. This fit the bill nicely.
Zulu - damn, why can i never resist watching this? Such a cannily conveyed piece tho - hammy mutton-chops sections and all ;). Love the way it isn't a 'propoganda' piece - actually managing to be pretty even-handed to both sides, despite viewing events almost entirely from the Brit perspective etc (and only casting occasional caustic comments at the politics behind the situation). It shows both shamefullness and bravery in war, without (overly) glorifying the process.
And it's got some great lines...
'More spit man!'
(May have misheard that bit ;))
undercoverlover
05-29-06, 02:48 PM
X-Men 3: The last stand
well well, the wonders a new director can bring - Brett Ratner I salute you! While it was fabulously action packed and with better character development for Storm I came out of the cinema unsatisfied and unsure whether i liked it or not. The whole storyline of Rogue, Iceman and Shadowcat was downplayed without even a proper introduction to Shadowcat. Especially the closing part of this storyline left me really unsatisfied.
The Jean and Logan storyline- even now, days later, im still not sure whatto make of it. Even in the first film, it should have been obvious to the writers and directors that the dark pheonix story was gonna come into play and yet there were no real pointers towards-no foreshadowing. Possibly the most eagerly awaited scene in the whole trilogy was the first scene with Jean and Logan - you knows it! That was so freakin cool and it was worth the wait.
In favour of other characters some old favourites lost out like Mystique and Rogue as well my own sexual fantasy man Colossus - did he even have a line?
It also seemed to me that some of the most built up scenes in the trailers e.g. Warren Worthington aka Angel, were some of the most insignificant.
I didn't even mind the fact that Vinnie Jones was in it - I've seen worse.
The Weatherman 8/10
I really liked this movie as seemingly depressing as it was. Also, the different kinds of foods being thrown in his face had to be the hilight of this film for me. :yup:
Maria Full of Grace (Marston, 2004) 4
ash_is_the_gal
05-29-06, 10:56 PM
Maria Full of Grace (Marston, 2004) 4
is it really depressing?
adidasss
05-30-06, 07:44 AM
i didn't find it too depressing...requiem for a dream is depressing...
i didn't find it too depressing...requiem for a dream is depressing...
I agree with Adi here. I didn't really find it depressing as much as plain old eye-opening. Maria is a realistic character, and she deals with issues in a realistic way. Totally worth seeing.
chicagofrog
05-30-06, 10:38 AM
I agree with Adi here.
is such a thing even possible?? :D :p
ash_is_the_gal
05-30-06, 11:22 AM
Casino 4
The 40 year old Virgin 7/10
X Men III
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie as I did the previous two installments of this ongoing mutant saga. Being a comic geek from the old days, I have to say it was a pleasant surprise to see how things were handled: The no holds barred, anyone can die or be reborn, setting was great. It is tough to give a decent reason why I enjoyed the movie so much without giving away some major aspect of the show, but needless to say it does not hold any punches. I think the core characters were handled fine; I enjoyed most the relationship between Charles and Magneto. A certain respect is obvious between them and even somewhat of a brotherly love seems to seep through during the toughest of times. The final scene is nothing short of breathtaking and the special effects deserve an award in my opinion. I hope the saga continues and it seems we will at least get a Wolverine Spin off, I for one hope he spends some time in the Orient as he did in the comics.
Monkeypunch
05-31-06, 08:59 PM
Date Movie - So very very bad that I didn't even finish it. Wow was it horrible.
hazii82
06-01-06, 05:33 AM
May
5.02 Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006)
5.03 Sliver (1993) // Art of the Devil (2004) // Cameron's Closet (1989)
5.06 Serenity (2005)
5.08 A Boys Life (2003) // Roscoe's House of Chicken N Waffles (2004)
5.10 11:14 (2003) // Hoodwinked (2006)
5.12 Grandma's Boy (2006)
5.15 Squeeze (1997) // The Other Sister (1999)
5.17 The Ringer (2005) // When a Stranger Calls (2006)
5.18 Weird Science (1985) // The Shaft (2000)
5.20 The Parent Trap (1998)
5.22 AeonFlux (2005) // Nanny McPhee (2005)
5.23 Superman (1978) // The Da Vinci Code (2006) // Superman II (1980)
5.24 Superman III (1983)
5.26 The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
5.27 First Kid (1996) // Paper Soldiers (2002)
5.31 Freddy Got Fingered (2001) // Way Past Cool (2000)
Out of 5
Sienna.1 : Red.2 : Navy.3 : Dark Orange.4 : Dark Green.5
Piddzilla
06-01-06, 08:06 AM
Silver City (2004 - John Sayles)
I thought it was brilliant. I'm kind of surprised that it's considered to be not so great by many. I really liked the way Sayles takes these big, in some cases global, themes and applies them to a smaller society. I guess one could view the film as too obvious in its satire of the Bush clan and its ties to corporate America and the control that the corporate America has over the media and so on. But I thought it was very well executed.
Piddzilla
06-01-06, 04:59 PM
Sideways (2004 - Alexander Payne)
I loved it.....
Pyro Tramp
06-02-06, 11:04 AM
X-Men 3 4
Wedding Crashers (twice) 3_5
13 Going on 30 3_5
Arrested Development Season 1 5
Arrested Development Season 2 5
Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 3 5
24 Season 5 4_5
Lost Season 2 4
Alias Season 5 4_5
American Pie: The Wedding 3
The Crow 5
Transporter 2 4
Infernal Affairs 5
The Descent 4_5
Goldeneye 4
Escape From New York 4_5
Do The Right Thing 5
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King- Extended Edition 5
Alien Resurrection 4
Predator 4
Blade Runner 5
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back 4
Last Action Hero 4
Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust 4
Dogma 4_5
Point Break 4_5
Batman Begins 4_5
Mallrats 3_5
A History of Violence 4_5
Alien- Directors Cut 5
Dead End 4
Clerks: The First Cut 4_5
Boyz n the Hood 4_5
Serenity 4_5
The Transporter 4
Who Framed Roger Rabbit 4_5
Pyro Tramp
06-02-06, 02:15 PM
Yeh, well, i hadn't posted in here for a while and was packing away the big stack of discs i had piled up and just decided to post them, it's like 2 months worth give or take.
Piddzilla
06-02-06, 07:00 PM
Ett hål i mitt hjärta / A Hole in My Heart (2004 - Lukas Moodysson)
Say what you will about Moodysson but he aims to do more than merely tell a story or to entertain.... Not sure if he makes it all the way home though.
Oh, and about Sideways... Am I the only one thinking Giamatti deserved an Oscar nomination for this one?
Oh, and about Sideways... Am I the only one thinking Giamatti deserved an Oscar nomination for this one?
:nope: i loved it, I think you will find that people are devided, they either love or hate it :yup: Tatty likes it, so that is 3 of us :laugh:
Strummer521
06-02-06, 11:23 PM
:nope: i loved it, I think you will find that people are devided, they either love or hate it :yup: Tatty likes it, so that is 3 of us :laugh:
4 of us.
chicagofrog
06-03-06, 12:59 PM
5 of us.
and The Cube, first installment, for the second time, preparing to watch Cube Zero tonight...
ash_is_the_gal
06-03-06, 05:52 PM
4 of us.
and me...
ash_is_the_gal
06-03-06, 05:52 PM
5 of us.
and The Cube, first installment, for the second time, preparing to watch Cube Zero tonight...
i saw the sequel to this... do not waste your time. bad choice froggie, bad choice!
Blister
06-03-06, 06:17 PM
Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels - :up::up::up::up:
Piddzilla
06-03-06, 07:13 PM
Armbryterskan från Ensamheten (2004 - Helen Ahlsson & Lisa Munthe)
There does not seem to be any international distribution of this one. Too bad... It's a quite incredible documentary about a female arm wrestler from a Lapland village called Ensamheten ("The Loneliness"). The village consists of 16 people, basically three brothers, one sister and their families, of which Heidi Andersson, the three time arm wrestling champion of the world, is the daughter of one of the brothers. 10 out of the 16 inhabitants are arm wrestlers. We get to follow Heidi on her way to her fourth world championship vicotry and it's actually really exciting, it's almost like watching Rocky or something like that. But the film really is about these people, these incredible people and their love for their little village and their family. The documentary mostly avoids the post card shots which are so hard to resist when making a film in Lapland, but still manage to convey the breathtaking, almost hurtful, beauty of this northern part of Sweden. I love the mix of warmth and rawness in these people... Heidi's mom tells us how she and her husband couldn't get any kids so she didn't care about that she was working hard with the men building the house and stuff. Actually she worked so hard her spleen burst... "Well, and eight months later Heidi was born...". And that was that. Another example: after having won her fourth world championship title the first thing Heidi's dad does is to give her a big hug, then he tells her all about how crappy she is and that she damn well better shape up and start training if she wants to win again. "Yeah, I was slow.." Heidi replies... And they're smiling all the time.
It's amazing how extraordinary a film about ordinary people can be....
Oh, and about Sideways... Am I the only one thinking Giamatti deserved an Oscar nomination for this one?
I'm among those that didn't care for Sideways...in fact it drove me crazy....
...however, I did think Giamatti gave a great performance. :)
Steamboy 4/5
Certainly is a beautiful film and had a good plot but there were some missing gaps that left me a little confused in parts.
I'm glad you liked it Rev. I loved the animation in this. And, like you, I felt the plot being a bit confusing in parts. I do wish it had been nominated this year for best animation for an Oscar. Eventhough it couldn't win, the director and animators should have been given a nod. T'was beautiful.
Maria Full of Grace (Marston, 2004) 4
I loved this as well. Wow, what a story...and I loved Catalina Moreno as María.
Junebug (2005) :up:
I loved it for the most part....and I LOVED Amy Adams. She’s a heartbreaker.
I would have loved to have seen a few other things happen with the story between the father and the sons...and explore the ending more, but that didn't ruin the movie for me. It was amazing how the angst and the family dymanics came through with so little dialogue. Everyone in the cast was excellent. The weird part for me was when the son finally left...that’s exactly how I used to feel whenever I left my inlaws, which was a very sad /weird feeling watching it.
The Family Stone (2005) :)
I liked it for the most part...and I loved seeng Craig T. Nelson with Diane Keaton. And, I thought the rest of the cast was great, but some things drove me crazy about the story. This could have been one of those movies I make a point to watch during the holidays, but it won’t be.
A Cottage on Dartmoor (1930) - I can see why Asquith (son of the PM dontcha know) had a rep for being overly-dramatic - but this slice of silent UK cinema has got a couple of things going for it. The assured handling of light and shadow in certain locations helps generate both believably prosaic and engagingly theatrical scenes. Very suitable application of burgeoning techniques like close-ups and narrative flashbacks give the film a pretty dynamic feel for the time - and all these elements complement the decent tale of jealousy-gone-wrong. Heavy on the simplisitic symbolism in places, but fully capable of being both tense and touching, it's worth a watch.
As an added bonus, you also get to see a crowd taking in a new 'talkie' (and even tho it's still 'silent' for the viewer, you get an idea of the shift that was taking place in the medium at that time)
---
'Loneliness' looks good Piddz - cheers for recommmending it. Now... if only there was some way of watching it... ;)
Anonymous Last
06-03-06, 09:49 PM
i saw the sequel to this... do not waste your time. bad choice froggie, bad choice!
I think OG sent me this film (Hypercube or something). I stayed up late and enjoyed it's craziness and got into the film. It made me say wow, what, Ooooh and whoa a few times.
linespalsy
06-03-06, 10:55 PM
ohayo, the man who would be king, and 8+1/2
I think OG sent me this film (Hypercube or something). I stayed up late and enjoyed it's craziness and got into the film. It made me say wow, what, Ooooh and whoa a few times.
Hells yah, Cube 2: Hypercube is a great guilty pleasure. In all honesty, and I know I am in the extreme minority here, but I vastly prefer it to Cube. And Cube: Zero, the third sequel, passes, but barely.
Just watched Heat. ****, Miami Vice is going to be so intense!!
chicagofrog
06-04-06, 11:01 AM
Cube Zero, 2004, liked it actually, yep OG, really ;) - it stayed far from answering all the questions i have, of course...
okay, do i really have to see Cube 2??, since most of the buds i asked told me to avoid it, anyone else than OG thinking it's worth??
:p
ash_is_the_gal
06-04-06, 11:27 AM
i hated Hypercube! but i enjoyed the first one.
X-Men 3 7/10
I still enjoyed the first one the most and the second after that. This one did have very good action but too far apart I felt.
John McClane
06-04-06, 01:28 PM
X-Men 3 again. It was still pretty cool. I was too excited about the first time though.
Two Weeks Notice...It was cute. Although I despise Hugh Grant, Sandra Bullock is adorable. :D
Piddzilla
06-05-06, 05:53 AM
ohayo, the man who would be king, and 8+1/2
Ohayo, is that the Japanese one from like the 50s? Did you like it?
chicagofrog
06-05-06, 09:53 AM
Hulk, 2003, third time, third enjoying it, and not only for Jennifer, it's drama, it's theater, it's several reasons to like it
Caitlyn
06-05-06, 10:24 AM
Underworld: Evolution (2006) 3/5
Spider Man II (Raimi, 2004) - MJ is sort of a knob in this one.
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