Movie Tab II [Archive] - Page 35

Powdered Water

12-13-08, 01:33 PM

The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan-2008) 4.5

I'm in the middle of watching this for the third time in the last few days and I just gotta say it. This flick really needs to be nominated for Best Picture. I can live with it not winning but it really should be nominated. Heath Ledger is so good. I am really kind of pissed he's dead. I wish people would stop taking drugs. Now I'm depressed.

Anyway, I hope this flick gets nominated and I know there are probably going to be at least a few movies that are of a stronger "Best Picture" type, but man... Wouldn't it be cool if it did win?

Lethal Weapon 4 (Richard Donner-1998) 3

I think maybe the coolest thing about all of these flicks is the fact that Richard Donner directed them all. After the first one you can really tell they were having a lot of fun making these flicks. And obviously were very comfortable with each other. This is the first flick I saw Jet Li in, and man... I thought he was so bad ass 10 years ago. I come to find out he's got all kinds of flicks and I am slowly tracking some of those down. I really like him in some of his native language films or whatever you want to call them.

Elf (Jon Favreau-2003) 3

I don't really like to rate movies that I watch every year. For one thing I can't remember what I rated it (if I even did) last time and sometimes, depending on my mood I love it more a particular year than say the last year I watched it. Anyway, that doesn't really mean anything I guess. I'm just letting you into my weird little world a bit.

So yeah, I really like Elf. There I said it.

Swan

12-13-08, 02:32 PM

Saving Private Ryan - 3

This is my first rewatch, and I enjoyed it more than my last, initial viewing. It's a great film, and some of the scene are mind-blowing. Especially the whole last battle around the bridge (that's my favorite part of the film). Even though Full Metal Jacket is my favorite war movie, I can accept that this is a better film in almost every direction (although Full Metal Jacket does have more style and 'tude). Anyways, Spielberg's patriotism can oftentimes be over-sentimental and overbearing, especially in this film. But I still like it.

Oh, and Tom Hanks. Can't go wrong with f*cking Tom Hanks.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/66012-004-A64DCB8F-1.jpg

The Glass Menagerie (1987) - 3.5

I watched it because I read the play in high school and remember liking it, but mostly because it has both Karen Allen and John Malkovich in it, who are two of my favorite actors. I liked this movie a lot, but probably mostly due to how much I could relate to one of the characters. I was nearly uncanny, with some differences (a few obvious differences). I think that made me like the film so much more, because other than that the film seems pretty mediocre. But I liked it. This is probably my favorite John Malkovich performance, he was awesome in it. Amanda (the mom) was obnoxious and annoying, but that's what her character was supposed to be. I can consider it a favorite right now, but I need to buy it and watch it again. Hopefully it will have good rewatchibility (and actually, it seems to for me). Booyah.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/18948371_w434_h_q80.jpg

Powdered Water

12-13-08, 02:37 PM

You liked it even better than Teddy KGB? Say it ain't so!

Swan

12-13-08, 02:48 PM

You liked it even better than Teddy KGB? Say it ain't so!

Sorry, let me rephrase myself;

This is probably my favorite John Malkovich performance that I've seen.

Haha. :p

Powdered Water

12-13-08, 03:00 PM

Well to be fair, you're probably right. Seeing John Malkovich play a Russian gangster/Texas hold'em card shark; while enjoyable, doesn't really mean it was a good performance. Funny as hell though.

"Mr. Son of a bitch, let's play some cards!"

undercoverlover

12-13-08, 03:09 PM

hahaha my favourite line

Swedish Chef

12-13-08, 03:25 PM

Best Malkovich performance is Empire of the Sun and it's not even close.

"Hey, kid, you want a Hershey's bar?"

linespalsy

12-13-08, 06:27 PM

The Incredible Hulk - okay, I'm not sure what I wanna grade this or if there's even really much need for me to. It's your avg. blockbuster movie, superhero movie, romance, kickin' butts, Tim Roth's got a nice mug, it's a mug that brightens any movie at least a tiny bit, so overall pr-t avg. movie goes for the win with a pretty avg. grade:

2
By the way I just pulled these out my kick-butt:
Hulk (Ang Lee's) 3.5
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 3
Spider-Man 3 2.5
Ironic Man 2.5
Batman Begins 2.5
The Dark Knight 3.5
Speed Racer 4
Indiana Jones 4 2.5
Transformers 3
Fantastic 4 2
Ghost Rider 1.5

I dunno, seems kinda arbitrary saying Fant.4 and Incredible Hulk are worth watching but Ghost Rider isn't, It's not like the prior two are any more novel or nothin', but welcome to my world, it is capricious and dimly lit (sometimes).

Also saw
Dirty Ho (d. Chia-Liang Liu, 1979)
last night with my bro. Okay, first thing, the dramatic shape of this movie makes no sense and don't expect a real conclusion.

On the other hand. It has such a great intro, with the two heroes of the movie Ho and Wang doing highly stylized battle against a huge gang. It's a cool way to introduce the two main characters and kind of a compressed, plotless version of the film as a whole - an awesome pantomime of what the film is really about: kung-fu. watch the first couple minutes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTcUhb4LYnw

As for the movie proper, it's pretty wacky, has some surprisingly nice complicated camera set-ups and really, really great choreography that is more acrobatic and theatrical than the blinding-monsoon of fists you'd see in such 80s HK fare as Wheels on Meals and My Daddy Kicked Your Daddy's Ass (Liu, 1983).

The main premise is pretty funny too. Wang shows up in Canton one day pretending to be a jewelry merchant, Ho, who is a jewel thief pretending to be a jewel merchant gets into an argument with Wang over some sexy gold-diggers. Things get hot, Ho attacks Wang, Wang plays the coward and seems to evade all Ho's attacks too-perfectly by accident. This sets the stage for the rest of the film, which consists Wang (actually a prince) who is actually (gasp!) an excellent martial artist but - see - only feels he should yous his kung-poo in self-defense so for some not fully-explicated reason fights everyone - Ho (who he fools and blackmails into being his disciple), a series of mysterious would-be assassins) - in a ridiculously nonchalant way while totally pretending he's not fighting at all. Sometimes this is funny, sometimes it's weird (and really, really funny), for example when he's fighting off assassins disguised as wine-merchants, while pretending to taste their wine (as the merchants are pretending to be pouring him wine, but at the same time having a ridiculously-over-the-top grappling-fight with him). I dunno, I've seen stuff like this elsewhere, the guys-pretending to be chickens and somehow "accidentally" kicking the asses of other dudes is definitely well-precidented routine (I believe I also saw it recently in the early Jackie Chan vehicle, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow), but I've never seen it as the primary device of 2/3s of the film and fits perfectly with the film's themes of decorum and social grace with and hidden motives and plotting always under the veil, albeit going very blatantly for laughs. It works. I haven't seen too many early chop-sockies and only a couple other Shaw Bros. films, but this is the best. Great acrobatics, 2/3s of a pretty good story, some weird parts that I don't really understand but were pretty entertaining, overall above avg. production value for what I've seen from 1970s HK, and overall it holds together pretty well as something greater than the sum of its parts.

Couple weeks ago I rewatched Amar, Akbar, Anthony w/ my family and my goil, and well, I'm dropping it from a 5 to a more sober but no less-respectful 4. Has some dead weight but overall still an awesome movie.

While I'm going on about great intro's some kind soul has gone and posted the first half of what has quickly become my very favorite film-intro-sequence, Three Resurrected Drunkards (the second part, in which mysterious subterranean hands rise out of the sand to replace the protagonists' clothing with Korean uniforms while they're in the water is missing, sadly):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNBLZs2I_e0

Okay, it's a pretty weird intro, simultaneously allusive (very grim allusion) and nonsensical (very comical/cute/funny nonsense), two of my favorite adjectives when talking about films. The idea is that the boys, who will soon be mistaken for Illegal Korean Aliens fleeing from their duties in the Vietnam war (due to having their clothing replaced) are on a fun outing to the seashore. They are reenacting this famous photo of General Nguyen Ngoc Loan shooting a VC prisoner in the head (the image comes up again later in the film a very different context, actually several different contexts):

http://www.psywarrior.com/VCExecution.jpg

TheDOMINATOR

12-13-08, 08:16 PM

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause - 1.5

It wasn't very good; it doesn't even deserve a picture posted with my rating, here.

Justin

12-13-08, 08:18 PM

Slacker (Linklater, 1991) - 3

adidasss

12-13-08, 08:24 PM

http://www.hope.edu/arts/knick/images/the_visitor_soundtrack.jpg
The visitor - Thomas McCarthy (2007)

A nauseatingly instructive film about a quiet, middle aged, white professor recently turned widower who's going through a bit of a mid-life crisis. He's miraculously brought back to life when he one day visits his New York apartment and finds a pair of illegal immigrants living there. He decides to let them stay, they strike up a friendship, he gets emotionally attached to them and then the injustice of the immigration system combined with post 9/11 racial profiling leads to some very sad moments used to show middle class America that immigrants are just people too. They're also very polite and don't make any trouble and just want a chance for a better life. :| It was painfully mediocre and cliched. I had trouble finishing it...I wish I hadn't because the last scene made me throw up in my mouth a little. 2

http://img2.libreriauniversitaria.it/MIT/300/129/img_129381_lrg.jpg

Porte aperte - Gianni Amelio (1990)
An interesting exploration of the judicial system in fascist Sicily and the motivations and conflictions of a murderer seen through the eyes of a zealous judge who refuses to play it the way the public and the government want it. Amelio's films are usually quiet and medidative affairs which take a while to drive the point home, but they all do eventually. It wasn't quite as good as Colpire al cuore but still a very good film. 4

http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Pelicula/ManSeasons02.JPG

A man for all seasons - Fred Zinnemann (1966)
I don't know how I came to this film but I'm very grateful to anyone who may have mentioned it. It was a fantastic experience. Another film whose brilliance is due largely to fantastic dialog delivered by one of the best casts I've ever seen (Paul Scofield who won an Oscar for it, Orson Welles, the very young John Hurt etc.). I'm not surprised this took the Oscar instead of Virginia Woolf, for me it's clearly a superior film. The Tower scene literally made my eyes water and that doesn't happen every day folks. I think Yoda might like this, if he hasn't seen it already. 5

La Belle et la Bête - Jean Cocteau (1946)
Don't have much to say about this one except that it didn't do much for me. Maybe I was too familiar with the story (it's The beauty and the beast for those not in the know), but even when watching the documentary about the making of I failed to be impressed by any aspect of it. I do recognize it as a classic of sorts so I'll give it my standard grade for such cases 3

Ordet - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1955)
Fairly interesting rumination on the nature of faith and the ridiculous divides between various nominations claiming the sole right to salvation. A good introduction to the filmography of one of the most interesting European filmmakers. I'm looking forward to his other films. 4

mark f

12-14-08, 12:32 AM

I certainly agree that A Man For All Seasons is definitely very watchable, well worth 4, and I recommend it to everyone, along with Becket and The Lion in Winter. I personally find it a bit stodgy compared to Virginia Woolf and Alfie, but it's still great and I won't complain about it winning 6 Oscars, including Best Picture.

Cannonball! (Paul Bartel, 1976) 2.5

http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/1/A70-747

This flick, co-written by Don Simpson (yep, Jerry Bruckheimer's late production partner), came out well before the similar-themed Burt Reynolds' flick, The Cannonball Run. Director Paul Bartel is a master at absudist black comedy, but he isn't exactly an action specialist, so although there are some decent car scenes and some wicked humor, much of the film is a mess. What makes the film watchable for action B-movie enthusiasts is the cool cast. You've got David and Robert Carradine, Billy McKinney, Veronica Hamel, Gerrit Graham, Dick Miller, Belinda Balaski, Carl Gottlieb, Mary Woronov and Paul Bartel himself. Just be a bit forewarned, even if it Cannonball! is passable, it really isn't any better than The Cannonball Run, and it's far less cool than the original Death Race 2000, which also starred David Carradine and was directed by Paul Bartel. So, I recommend watching D R 2000 first because Bartel got a lot nastier in that one.

Flipper's New Adventure (Leon Benson, 1964) 2

http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/cover_art2/flippersnewadventure.jpg

Growing up, I watched the "Flipper" TV series every Saturday night from the age of eight to 10. However, there had already been two Flipper theatrical movies before the show started, and this is the sequel to the original, Flipper. Both movies and the series starred Lule Halpin who seemed like somebody I wanted to be. I enjoyed swimming and I loved dolphins, and this kid got to basically obsess over both all the time! Then, in this film, he gets to hang out with and start a romance with one of the cutest adolescent girls his age, Pamela Franklin! I'm telling you: Trifecta! The actual details of the plot are on the hokey side, but the relationship between the two children is honest and inspiring, if overall, it's just a simple family film not up to Disney standards. An interesting footnote is that Francesca Annis, who played Lady Macbeth in Polanski's Shakespearean adaptation, plays Franklin's older sister here.

The Man Who Came to Dinner (William Keighley, 1942) 4

http://www.matchflick.com/flickimages/16847.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2029/2241832335_12211baf73.jpg?v=1202733496

I honestly believe that anyone who loves Arsenic and Old Lace and/or Harvey will love this film. It's a tale about world-famous, egotistical critic/commentator Sheridan ("Sherrie") Whiteside (the awesome Monty Woolley), who, against his will, comes to dinner with a Midwestern couple, but slips on their frosty front porch and breaks his leg. He proceeds to turn the life of the couple and their young adult children upside down by taking over their home, as well as trying to torpedo the blossoming romance of his secretary (the wonderful Bette Davis) with the local newspaper editor (Richard Travis). Other major characters include a vain movie actress (Ann Sheridan, the "Oomph Girl" and the female version of Sherrie) whom Sherrie uses to try to steal Bette's beau, an actor/playwright/Renaissance Man (patterned after Noel Coward) played hilariously by Reginald Gardiner, the effervescent, sex-crazed Banjo (Jimmy Durante) [think: Harpo Marx with a voice], and the young nurse (Mary Wickes) who Sherrie constantly bombards, physically and verbally, at will.

Sample line of Sherrie speaking to his nurse: "My great aunt Jennifer ate a whole box of candy every day of her life. She lived to be 102, and when she'd been dead three days, she looked better than you do now!"

The nurse has to wait about an hour further into the flick to retort, but it's a doozy: "I am not only walking out on this case, Mr. Whiteside, I am leaving the nursing profession. I became a nurse because all my life, ever since I was a little girl, I was filled with the idea of serving a suffering humanity. After one month with you, Mr. Whiteside, I am going to work in a munitions factory. From now on, anything I can do to help exterminate the human race will fill me with the greatest of pleasure. If Florence Nightingale had ever nursed YOU, Mr. Whiteside, she would have married Jack the Ripper instead of founding the Red Cross!"

I'm about ready to discuss two Werner Herzog films, Even Dwarfs Started Small and Encounters at the End of the World, but duty calls!

igor_is_fugly

12-14-08, 03:38 AM

The Virgin Suicides
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp79/igor_is_fugly/virginsuicides.jpg

This film was paired with American Beauty in those little double feature things at Walmart so I was like ok, this better be good or I'm just gonna be offended. Even with my high expectations, I was pleasantly surprised. I never found myself bored, the balance of strong performances, intriguing storyline, and stimulating visual aspects combined for a very entertaining and unique movie. There was something hypnotic about the whole viewing experience that I can't exactly describe, but that I love. The symbolism hidden within the film offered a more intellectually satisfying element to it and makes me feel like there are new things to discover with each viewing.
I should probably let it ferment a little longer as I just finished it, but as of right now, I think I'd give it...
4.5

mark f

12-14-08, 03:50 AM

OK, let's try this.

Even Dwarfs Started Small (Werner Herzog, 1971) 2.5

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z72/sirashlondon/blog/even_dwarfs_started_small15.jpg

Here is what I posted at linespalsy's thread, but I'll add more now:

First off, I think we should all acknowledge lines as MoFo's true anarchist. I realize that he may not want this adulation, but tough, you got it, Mister. I just watched Even Dwarfs Started Small, and I only now find that lines hasn't posted about it in here! I did read the two posts you commented about it. Now, I don't feel like I'm actually capable of commenting on Herzog's Even Dwarfs Started Small, but how can someone watch that film and not have to comment on something?

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t203/bejmaf/even_dwarfs_started_small81.jpg

I'll try to go into more in-depth, but a few first impressions:

The film begins at a police station. Although we never see the police, they all seem to be dwarfs too, based on their voices. By the way, although the film starts with a flashback, we never actually get past the opening scene, so what was the point, Mr. Anarchist Herzog?

The setting is whack. Apparently, Herzog shot it in the Canary Isands, a place he considered comparable to the lunar landscape, but the music used in the film almost implies that it's elsewhere. The opening song begins as if it's Greek and then sung by an Arab, but apparently, it's sung by a young girl from the Canary Islands who Herzog approached to sing something haunting in a cave. The other main song is obviously a West African anthem, but once again, its use is probably political.

This Herzog film is almost impossible to describe. Herzog claims that it's "incredibly dark", but I've always found him to be a bit lacking in a sense of humor, since I think it's an absurdist comedy masquerading as something serious. Come on now, how can anybody consider the Monkey Passion Play as serious? Most of the film is serious. The leading character, Helmut Döring, cackles maniacally as if Mike Judge paid him to do the laughter for Beavis and Butthead. Then there's that awesome entomological scene where the beetle has a Top Hat.

This film is basically about anarchy; it's not about how cute "dwarfs" can be; it's about the end of the world. My interpretation is that everyone in the movie is a dwarf. Watching Even Dwarfs Started Small, you also get the idea that Herzog is an auteur, but, hey, I don't think that he buys it.

As far as Even Dwarfs Start Small goes, I find it to be an absurdist comedy. As far as I can tell, the world of this movie is completely comprised of dwarfs. True, there are dead animals, and I find it strange that there are NOT more dead people/creatures at this time. I'm getting tired.

Thank You.

Alright now, as far as my rating goes, this is one of the few films I've ever seen where I can accept ANY rating from 0-10 which anyone wants to contribute. I find the film, alternately, fascinating, offputting, hilarious, depressing, spectacular, boring, deep, superficial, visually-impressive, drab, well-acted-and-directed, amateurish, honest, exploitative, the list goes on and on... Herzog apparently felt very strong kinship with his cast, and it mostly shows. One thing I find amusing is that one of the female cast members is a dead ringer for Klaus Kinski!! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to share this with my younger brother. I believe he'd flip for it, but I might not see him again before Christmas, and I'm not sure I could subject the family to this as "The Christmas Movie". I'm going to watch it a few more times because it's very haunting, and I'll adjust my rating if I feel it's appropriate. If anyone is fascinated by Tod Browning's Freaks, they should watch this film. If you listen to the commentary, you will learn that Herzog is a bit naive about the history of the distribution of Freaks. Herzog says that he didn't see Freaks (another flick which I recommend but only give 2.5) until after he finished Even Dwarfs Started Small, but Herzog felt that Browning never understood how great his film was because he started it with an apology. Since Herzog couldn't even legitimately release this film in his home country of Germany, he should know that the apology at the beginning of Freaks has nothing to do with Browning, but rather was required by Universal's founder, Carl Laemmle's, son "Junior", who was in charge of the studio during its Monster Heyday.

Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog, 2008) 3

http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Encounters_at_the_End_of_World/encounters_at_the_end_of_the_world_movie_image_werner_herzog.jpg

This documentary film begins with spiritiual choirs on the soundtrack while the viewer is privileged to see things which almost no one on Earth has ever seen. The opening scenes, shot in the water under Antarctica, caused my wife to exclaim that "That's got to be really cold!" While I agreed with her, I remarked that it must be "warmer" than the frozen ground above since there was at least some water, so the temperature had to be ABOVE freezing. :cool: Herzog does a good job of trying to explain what's going on in Antarctica (he doesn't like how it seems like the underarm of the U.S.), but he does seem to be attracted to all the offbeat characters who seem to have been shook down to the end (bottom) of the earth. It's amazing; there are numerous linguists (Antarctica has no native language), computer experts, "travelers", quite a few "ex-Soviets", "alternative" scientists (meaning scientists who believe that the neutrino could actually be evidence of a God!!)

http://www.bigmoviezone.com/filmsearch/movies/movie_images/shackleton_photo.jpg

Herzog also goes into the history of man's attempt to reach the South Pole a century ago, and he's not terribly happy with the jingoistic approach of the entire thing. Herzog seems to be a humanist who dislikes academia (remember my recent quote?), but doesn't mind using an academic scientist to pitch the idea that you can actually find God even in the most remote part of the world, or perhaps, Herzog's point is that it's easier to find God out in the middle of nowhere, or, if it's not actually God, it's easier to consider that Mankind really knows far less than he believes he does, and there's a good chance, he never will grasp "basic truths".

adidasss

12-14-08, 04:38 AM

I've seen it and it seemed like one of his weaker docs. Naturally, some of the footage was breathtaking, especially when combined with the spectacular soundtrack, but overall I felt his heart wasn't in it. Quite the contrary, he seemed to be showing a true dislike for his subject. He's annoyed with too much sunshine, he hates the town he's staying in, he shows of his usual contempt for biologists and their precedence of animals over humans, he rudely interrupts his subjects' monologues etc. He does manage to show a bit of the strange collective of people that gathered at the end of the world, but I would have preferred if he had stuck with a few of the most interesting ones and explored their stories further...:|

rice1245

12-14-08, 12:21 PM

Just watched The Thing (5)yesterday and it's my new favorite sci fi movie i loved everything about it, especially Kurt Russel's burliness

http://thisdistractedglobe.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/the-thing-1982-pic-3.jpg

and a couple days before that i watched All the Presidents Men. I can't figure out what to rate it because it was really really good and close to fact but you're also bombarded with names and dates and whatnot. I watched it with subtitles because i feel like i got more of the movie and it really helped me with the names and dates and i didn't mind it at all. I really felt like i was watching the process that journalists go through to get the story which was the other aspect of the film other than the watergate scandal which is also compelling in itself. So what other people dislike about this movie i really liked a lot because i didn't feel like they were dumbing it down for me at all they really showed me what journalism is like. and i like staring at Robert Redfords face :D

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/10/06/fondue_allthepresidentsmen2_wideweb__430x304,2.jpg

Golgot

12-14-08, 12:53 PM

Stuck some of my latest mainstreamy cine dreamery up here (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=482787)...

Persepolis
In Bruge
Good Night, And Good Luck
There Will Be Blood
In America

(popcorn not included)

MovieMan8877445

12-14-08, 02:16 PM

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) - 2.5

My expectations for this were actually passed because of how low of expectations I had before seeing this, now I haven't seen the original yet, but I liked this one, so I'll be trying to see the original sometime soon. I thought Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly did a pretty good job acting wise, I didn't think Jaden Smith did a good job though, it just seemed like he was trying to hard. Some of the effects in it were great, some of them looked like they were just out of a video game though, it didn't even look like they tried with some of the effects. But I think if you're just looking for a fun movie to watch, then I'd definitely recommend trying to give this one a watch, because while it wasn't anything amazing, it was still a fun movie overall.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/2790507230_07c3dc26a7.jpg

Swan

12-14-08, 02:55 PM

The Dark Knight - 3.5

It's hard to deny what a great film it is. I have a lot of nitpicks and straight-up issues with the movie, but I still like it. The thing that got to me this time was the length, which is odd because it never really got to me during any other viewing. Funny thing is, the movie flew by fast. As for the acting, Heath Ledger is good, duh, but I feel Aaron Eckhart gave a better performance with a role that was a lot harder than a crazy maniac who wants chaos and who's face is hidden under mask. He had to play a great hero for a city, one who helps and wants to stop crime, and he had to transform himself completely into an evil killing bastard. And he had to play each part to the max. In my opinion, he did a great job. Eckhart gave what I believe the best performance in The Dark Knight, and it was heavy overshadowed by Heath Ledger. I would call Aaron Eckhart's performance underrated in the terms of the film. Anyways, yeah, I didn't hate Two-Face this time. He just sort of seemed to fit in. I still hate the make-up design, but Eckhart's performance made up for it. There were two other character's I became very fond of, with this viewing; Lucius Fox and Alfred. Lucius is the 'behind-the-scenes' tech guy, and Morgan Freeman is perfect as him. I love how he is rewarded for his beliefs in the end. Alfred is the wisest character in the film. He keeps everyone, Bruce especially, in line and thinking straight. He knows how the world works.

So yeah, I dig the film. It's really great. Not perfect, but I feel it's like this: what they got right, they really got right. What they didn't get right, oh well.

Oh, and I absolutely love the first shot of Maggie Gyllenhaal. Ha.

http://www.lirakellerman.com/resources/The_Dark_Knight_Poster.jpg

Swan

12-14-08, 08:10 PM

The Abominable Dr. Phibes - 3

Great film! Vincent Price is amazing. I also loved the inspectors and their silliness.

Comedy, horror, Vincent Price, and bats on a string. What more could you want?

Dr. Phibes Rises Again - 3.5

This was pretty much equally as great as the first, although I liked it just a little bit more than the first. Mostly due to the fantastic ending.

http://www.headinjurytheater.com/images/phibes%201%20evil%20captain%20kangaroo.jpg

rice1245

12-15-08, 12:48 AM

Videodrome - 3.5

http://home.swipnet.se/~w-37337/l0dg3/videodrome/Videodrome94.gif

good sci-fi :yup:

igor_is_fugly

12-15-08, 01:46 AM

Leatherheads

http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp79/igor_is_fugly/leathreheads.jpg

The story was kinda interesting about the way football started off, but the movie definitely depended waay too much on George Clooney's charm.
2.5

rice1245

12-15-08, 02:34 AM

http://www.worth1000.com/entries/85500/85848PUWT_w.jpg

lolol!!!

Iroquois

12-15-08, 04:46 AM

Happiness - 4
The Squid and the Whale - 4

Swan

12-15-08, 11:35 AM

The Village - 4

It's a great movie that surpassed my expectations this time around. At times, it even challenged Signs as my favorite M. Night Shyamalan film. It's certainly his most beautifully shot film, and it's one of his most atmospheric. It has great acting by the whole cast, most notably Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, and Bryce Dallas Howard. It has a fantastic score, and I don't expect anything less from James Newton Howard or Shyamalan. It has great cinematography, and a ton of incredible-looking shots. Most importantly, though, it has a great story. I admit the ending is pretty predictable to a lot of people, but I still love it. It's a great ending story-wise, and hell even craft-wise. It just works with the story, despite it's predictability. For the whole movie I was watching it with the ending in the back of my mind, but it didn't worsen the film for me a bit. It was underrated when it came out, but I remember checking the IMDb boards recently and people were being more positive about it. That made me happy, and still does make me happy, that people can look past the predictability of the ending and enjoy the film as a whole. Anyways, it's definitely my second favorite Shyamalan flick.

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/040419/16389__village_l.jpg

Sedai

12-15-08, 12:07 PM

Dark Passage (Daves, 1947)

http://filmsdefrance.com/Dark_Passage_1.jpg

Man, do I love this film. It's not on a level with The Big Sleep or Casablanca, but, it's damn close. After an amazing half-hour POV intro, we are treated to more great Bogie/Bacall chemistry, and fantastic supporting roles from the likes of Clifton Young and Agnes Moorehead, who absolutely slays the scenes she is in, especially her final scene.

4_5

Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942)

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/04/08/casablanca9406_wideweb__470x385,0.jpg

Ah, Casablanca. The quintessential Bogie picture, considered by many to be his best role. Bogie and Bergman are stellar, and the supporting cast is unmatched. Claude Rains and Peter Lorre are so ridiculously memorable in this picture, and their archetypes have been copied dozens of times. Hell, even Bugs Bunny has a Lorre type character in some of the cartoons. One of the best films ever made, period.

5

Justin

12-15-08, 12:55 PM

Mission: Impossible II (Woo, 2000) - 2

Mission: Impossible III (Abrams, 2006) - 3.5

TheDOMINATOR

12-15-08, 02:11 PM

Noel - 4

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/6984/b000aaf27g01sclzzzzzzzmg9.jpg

Not counting movies like Die Hard or Trading Places that take place around Christmas that don't have much to do with the holiday itself, this is my favorite Christmas movie. The main attraction here is Robin Williams who isn't even listed in the cast (why, I don't know). His performance is magnificent.

undercoverlover

12-15-08, 02:14 PM

what a bizarre cast list, I've never even heard of it before...must check it out

Lennon

12-15-08, 02:38 PM

Just Friends- Roger Kumble (2005) 4

http://www.qwipster.net/justfriends.jpg

While visiting his hometown during Christmas, a man comes face-to-face with his old high school crush whom he was best friends with -- a woman whose rejection of him turned him into a ferocious womanizer.

This one just goes in my 'I just find it funny, kay?' Ryan Reynolds is a real charmer. Amy Smart is hot, Anna Faris nearly steals the show with the craziness of Samantha James. But the true best, Julie Hagerty of Airplane! fame, giving a delightfully awkward performance as Reynolds mom. Sure it's predictable, but it made me laugh, a lot.

rice1245

12-15-08, 04:11 PM

Mission: Impossible II (Woo, 2000) - 2

Mission: Impossible III (Abrams, 2006) - 3.5

somebody's been watching TNT ;)

TheDOMINATOR

12-15-08, 07:27 PM

what a bizarre cast list, I've never even heard of it before...must check it out

Were you referring to my post about Noel? If you were, then yes, I agree. It's a wonder with that remarkable, all-star cast that it isn't more well-known than it is.

Justin

12-15-08, 08:55 PM

somebody's been watching TNT ;)

Guilty as charged.

martian leader

12-16-08, 12:27 AM

Mission: Impossible II (Woo, 2000) - 2

Mission: Impossible III (Abrams, 2006) - 3.5

somebody's been watching TNT ;)

Guilty as charged.

every time I see a movie and its sequel its always the sequel first then the first movie! What the hell channel am I watching?!!!

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

rice1245

12-16-08, 12:40 AM

lol yeah TNT was playing them backwards all weekend

martian leader

12-16-08, 01:13 AM

lol yeah TNT was playing them backwards all weekend

Just glad its not just me. ;)

Swan

12-16-08, 03:15 AM

Lady in the Water - 3

This is my second viewing of it. The first was way back when it was in theaters. The first 30 minutes - 1 hour weren't as great as I remember, but once the story started to unfold it got really good. This is definitely M. Night Shyamalan's most creative film. Paul Giamatti was great. I didn't really like Bryce Dallas Howard in it, though.

My favorite characters were Young-Soon Choi and her mother, Vick and Anna Ran, and Reggie.

http://www.reverseshot.com/files/images/pre-issue22/lady2.jpg

Monkeypunch

12-16-08, 08:58 AM

Man of La Mancha - I've been laid up in bed with the flu this whole week, and my girlfriend brought this film (one of her favourites) over to cheer me up, since I get terribly depressed when I'm sick. I really loved it. Memorable songs, a funny plot, and great performances by Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren.

Justin

12-16-08, 12:45 PM

The Weather Man (Verbinski, 2005) - 4

TheDOMINATOR

12-16-08, 07:39 PM

The Fog (2005) - 2.5

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8725/thefogcw8tk0.jpg

I felt it was pretty decent with some cool special effects (the ghosts) and an interesting twist to the original story, but the character development beyond that was lacking and the script and acting in places wasn't superb.

The original was much better.

Swan

12-16-08, 08:12 PM

A Raisin in the Sun - 4.5

What a classic. Great acting all around.

It turned Juror #2 into a jerk, though. :P

http://www.exclaim.ca/images/up-a_raisin_in_the_sun.jpg

TheDOMINATOR

12-16-08, 08:24 PM

A Raisin in the Sun - 4.5

What a classic. Great acting all around.

It turned Juror #2 into a jerk, though. :P

http://www.exclaim.ca/images/up-a_raisin_in_the_sun.jpg

John Fiedler plays a part in this movie? Very nice. The plot description doesn't interest me at all, though, but it's sweet to see a certain angry man getting some love in another film. I can't wait to myself with Henry Fonda after I get a good half-dozen of his movies for Christmas. :cool:

Swan

12-16-08, 08:27 PM

John Fiedler plays a part in this movie? Very nice. The plot description doesn't interest me at all, though, but it's sweet to see a certain angry man getting some love in another film. I can't wait to myself with Henry Fonda after I get a good half-dozen of his movies for Christmas. :cool:

John Fiedler has been in a ton of stuff, man. And he's still going! Because that's how my funny-voiced bro is. :cool:

TheDOMINATOR

12-16-08, 08:38 PM

John Fiedler has been in a ton of stuff, man. And he's still going! Because that's how my funny-voiced bro is. :cool:

I'm working on Henry Fonda right now and am killing two birds with one stone with How the West Was Won, which I'm positive I'm getting for Christmas. It's gonna be a pretty good year. I should get about a dozen classics total, and I'm very excited about that.

mark f

12-16-08, 09:34 PM

Lennon

12-16-08, 09:36 PM

The Weather Man (Verbinski, 2005) - 4
I tried to catch that on TV too. Woke up late.

Swan

12-16-08, 09:38 PM

A Raisin in the Sun is a classic of the stage and screen, basically held in just as high a regard as 12 Angry Men. In fact, I find it surprising that you weren't required to read the play somewhere along in your education. Oh well, I just found out that my daughter hasn't had to read it either.

I had to read the play in High School, mark, and we watched the film then too. I just felt like watching it again, as it has been a pretty long time.

I didn't know John Fiedler was in it back then, though, since I hadn't even seen 12 Angry Men.

mark f

12-16-08, 09:40 PM

He does do a good job of playing that smarmy "representative of the community".

Swan

12-16-08, 09:43 PM

Yeah, he did. He seems very good at acting nervous, based on A Raisin in the Sun and 12 Angry Men.

mark f

12-17-08, 12:03 AM

I realize that this is ridic, but I just want to make sure that everybody knows that the John Fiedler (Juror #2) we're talking about has this voice and look. He's the guy on the left when it starts. Yep, he's the voice of Piglet from Winnie the Pooh. And the guy on the right, Jack Warden, seems to respond to him with a Jimmy Cagney impression. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZK6IkAfjfE

Swan

12-17-08, 12:09 AM

I never knew he did the voice of Piglet. I always thought his voice sounded incredibly familiar...

mark f

12-17-08, 12:23 AM

TheDOMINATOR

12-17-08, 12:24 AM

A Raisin in the Sun is a classic of the stage and screen, basically held in just as high a regard as 12 Angry Men. In fact, I find it surprising that you weren't required to read the play somewhere along in your education. Oh well, I just found out that my daughter hasn't had to read it either.

I may have read the play in high school but I don't specifically recall reading it. I did read 12 Angry Men in high school, though, and only rediscovered it and found my great love for it fairly recently, less than a year ago when I bought the DVD on a whim. Shortly afterwards, I went out and bought the play.

igor_is_fugly

12-17-08, 12:28 AM

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp79/igor_is_fugly/gbu.jpg

I looooove this movie. It's one of my new favorites. It's inspired me to take a break from trying to keep up with all the new movies coming out and go back to the classics. I used to watch mostly classics and I miss them:( But yea, great everything. Tuco was my favorite part. And there are so many great quotes:)
"When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk."

Midnight Express
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp79/igor_is_fugly/midnightex.jpg
Pretty good, not as good as a lot of other great prison/escape movies, but interesting. Mostly it just made me want to go back in time and kill whoever created the synth machine though.

igor_is_fugly

12-17-08, 12:33 AM

Lady in the Water - 3
The first 30 minutes - 1 hour weren't as great as I remember, but once the story started to unfold it got really good. This is definitely M. Night Shyamalan's most creative film.

Thank you! I love this movie and don't understand why it generated so much undeserved hate:(

Swan

12-17-08, 12:45 AM

Maybe you can find him on youtube. I was trying to find Piglet on the old '60s shorts (WP and the Honey Tree, and WP and the Blustery Day). I know he's in there, but I have too many other obligations to find it now. + Rep if you find Piglet with Fiedler's voice (he did most of them, but he's been replaced in the last few years).

Not sure when this one was made, but it seems old enough. It's definitely Fiedler.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhly8NQVgMc

I was just watching WP and the Honey Tree, and it was so nostalgic. I didn't even know I watched it when I was a little kid, but I guess I did.

Swan

12-17-08, 02:12 AM

Thank you! I love this movie and don't understand why it generated so much undeserved hate:(

I don't know why it gets so much hate, either, igor. I guess a lot of people can't open up to a fantasy (a 'bedtime story') by Shyamalan, or something. I don't know, I can't come up with any good reasons. :p

Justin

12-17-08, 02:22 AM

Straw Dogs (Peckinpah, 1971) - 5

mikeython1

12-17-08, 02:38 AM

http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/artman2/uploads/1/AmateursPoster2.jpg

Just watched this movie.Pretty good flic. Kind of a feel good movie with a great cast!

Jeff Bridges (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000313/)
Tim Blake Nelson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0625789/)-O Brother Where Art Thou?
Joe Pantoliano (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001592/)-The Matrix,The Sopranos
Ted Danson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001101/)
William Fichtner (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001209/)-Armageddon,Prison Break
Patrick Fugit (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0297578/)-Almost Famous
Glenne Headly (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000444/)-Dick Tracy
Lauren Graham (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0334179/)-Gilmore Girls,Bad Santa

mark f

12-17-08, 05:19 AM

The Tall T (Budd Boetticher, 1957) 2.5

http://www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/tall_t_thumb.jpg

One of Boetticher/Scott's lean, mean westerns of the 1950s, it certainly holds your attention. Perhaps the parts which seem the most unrealistic make it all the more entertaining. Maureen O'Sullivan is asked to play a "plain" woman and she does so realistically, even if that's a stretch. Richard Boone really gets to play the most unusual character in the film. He's one of those bad guys who isn't really "bad", but he uses murderers and cutthroats to do his bidding, even if he enjoys the company of a regular guy like Randolph Scott.

The Law vs. Billy the Kid (William Castle, 1954) 2

http://www.scott-brady.com/bradypics/billy-t-k.jpg

This isn't nearly as interesing as the last film, but horror maestro William Castle (The House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler) did make some westerns early in his career. This one is pretty hokey, but it never crosses the line into pathetic. Scott Brady does bring an intensity to Billy the Kid which Paul Newman might have found intersesting when he was playing the Kid in 1958 in Arthur Penn's The Left-Handed Gun.

Stagecoach Kid (Lew Landers, 1949) 2

http://www.easternoklahomacounty.com/harrah/holt/holt-tim1.jpg

Tim Holt, who played such significant roles in classics like The Magnificent Ambersons and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, made over 40 B-westerns where he played a law-abiding hero with Richard Martin as his sidekick. This film is one of the best, even if it basically plays out as a romantic comedy where the heroine (Jeff Donnell) dresses like a boy, even though her breasts are plain as day in her flannel shirt and she wears tight jeans. Holt seems especially cute when he naively spanks the "teenage boy" with no understanding that he's falling in love with each hand! Sure, there's a plot about a stolen strongbox from a stage, but this is basically an hour-long sex comedy.

Black Cat, White Cat (Emir Kusturica, 1998) 3.5

http://www.musicman.com/0tiger/bw.GIF

Kusturica's films have always balanced surrealism with naturalism, comedy with drama, the Gypsies against "everybody else", etc., and this is one of his best. If you haven't seen one of his films, you may well wonder what's going on. They're all worth watching, but this one seems to be the most full-blown and most-entertaining of the ones I've seen. This film is completely unpredictable, and even though it's over two hours long, it's got more crazed invention and satiric cinematics than most films I've seen in the last ten years. Boring, it ain't, not for even a minute.

Birdman of Alcatraz (John Frankenheimer, 1962) 4

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/NewArts/TSavalasB.jpg

Burt Lancaster gives one of his subtlest performances as the double murderer convict Robert Stroud in this awesome film directed by Frankenheimer the same year he made The Manchurian Candidate and adapted by Guy Trosper the year after he did the epic One-Eyed Jacks. Stroud soon begins to find an affinity for birds after he's confined to "solitary", but Telly Savalas matches him in the first half of the film as a con who's equally lonely and begins to fall in love with birds. (Kudos to prison guard Neville Brand who plays one of filmdom's most-human turnkeys). Stroud, who spent most of his time in Leavenworth Prison, eventually, through his own hard work and perserverance, becomes the world's foremost expert on bird diseases, and he eventually publishes a scientific book on the subject although he never made it past 3rd grade while growing up. Eventually, Stroud loses everything and gets transferred to the new prison at Alcatraz where his nemesis (Karl Malden) is the warden. Eventually, Stroud gets to prove, over and over again, why he's a model prisoner and worthy of parole, even to become one of the world's foremost self-taught scientists who could learn cures to human diseases, but the reality is that Stroud will never, ever be paroled, no matter how much an author (Edmond O'Brien) tries to promote his significance to the health and healing of mankind.

Swan

12-17-08, 07:48 PM

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge - 0.5

"It looks like a diary." :laugh:

Movie Maven

12-17-08, 08:00 PM

Watched Will Smith's Seven Pounds on the internet this afternoon. 3

Holden Pike

12-17-08, 08:57 PM

Watched Will Smith's Seven Pounds on the internet this afternoon. 3

Wow. How illegal of you.

undercoverlover

12-17-08, 09:04 PM

Wow. How illegal of you.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/undercoverlover/film/cruelintentions.jpg

"Everybody does it, it's just that no one talks about it."

Movie Maven

12-17-08, 09:05 PM

Wow. How illegal of you.

its not illegal anyone can do it. its streamed on legalized websites.

Movie Maven

12-17-08, 09:19 PM

Watching Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Very funny movie indeed :D

Iroquois

12-18-08, 07:38 AM

Excalibur - either a high 4 or a low 4.5. I'm honestly not sure. Let's say, 4.25/5

Sedai

12-18-08, 11:51 AM

Double Indemnity (Wilder, 1944) - It was finally time to correct a glaring oversight in my film noir knowledge, as I hadn't seen this before. I loved this film, especially Barbara Stanwick. As usual, Edward G. Robinson was a pleasure to watch, as well.

http://www.brynmawrfilm.org/Images/double_sunglasses.jpg

4_5

TheDOMINATOR

12-18-08, 12:46 PM

Blood and Chocolate - 3.5

http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/6369/bloodchocolateot9.jpg

I wasn't expecting much at all, but I ended up thinking it to be a very decent movie. The character development could have used a little work and I would have liked to have seen a more intense climax, but Blood and Chocolate was a very good supernatural drama/thriller.

Powdered Water

12-18-08, 02:02 PM

Way behind on my holiday tabbing...

Die Hard (John McTiernan-1988) 3

Die Hard 2 (Renny Harlin-1990) 3.5

Die Hard: With A Vengeance (John McTiernan-1995) 3

Live Free or Die Hard (Len Wiseman-2007) 3

"Fists with your toes..."

Such wonderful holiday fare isn't it? I do love these flicks, just about as much as the Lethal Weapon series. Kind of Apples to Apples because they are both highly enjoyable. I have also disagreed with the masses that hated on the last one. Of course I've only seen the unrated version with the swearing left in so maybe they should have never done a PG-13 version. I'm thinking that perhaps this franchise may have suffered just a bit by not having the same director for all four movies but maybe not. I happen to like the second installment a little more than the rest of them but they are all pretty fun little action flicks.

It's A Wonderful Life (Frank Capra-1946) 5

To put it simply this is one of the finest movies ever made. Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed were so fantastic together that I get teary eyed before the good parts even start getting warmed up.

Btw, I love the new transfer I just purchased, it looks fantastic on the new TV. :yup:

The Muppet Christmas Carol (Brian Henson-1992) 3

After the death of his father Jim, Brian made this movie in honor of his Dad. It really is a delightful rendition of the story and several lines from the book are plugged in to it. I always love the way human characters just act right along with all of the Muppets and here Micheal Caine is no different. He's certainly not my favorite Scrooge but he's pretty good. Very good stuff indeed.

Thursday Next

12-18-08, 07:10 PM

The Shop Around the Corner - This was a very cute film, surprisingly fresh and funny and nicely Christmassy. 4.5/5 :)

mark f

12-18-08, 09:47 PM

Powdered, the first Die Hard's gotta be the best one, Bro, but it's all cool. You've gotta remember, I was an air traffic controller, so even though I find Die Hard 2 fun, it makes the first and third films look like documentaries. :)

Yes, Thursday, it's one of Lubitsch's brightest films. I do like it better than the remake, You've Got Mail, but I like that one too. :)

igor_is_fugly

12-18-08, 10:12 PM

Adaptation
http://www.filmhobbit.com/moviereviews/images/adaptation/adaptation6.jpg
This might be the most interesting screenplay I've ever come across. However, I like the first half much better than the second. The second half took me completely by surprise, and I haven't fully decided how I feel about it yet. The movie seemed to have a clear purpose and distinct themes for the first half but they suddenly got thrown out the window to make room for... i don't know what. I'm hoping the reasoning behind this sudden change will be more clear when I rewatch it, which I definitely will. Although the genius script is clearly the showcased feature, the great performances(especially by Cage, who I've never really thought much of) and cinematography give a healthy backbone to the movie.
4

B-card

12-19-08, 03:48 PM

Bangkok Dangerous(2008)-1

The Day the Earth Stood Still(2008)-4

Pulp Fiction(1994)-5

Caitlyn

12-19-08, 04:19 PM

Movie Maven

12-19-08, 04:57 PM

http://i40.tinypic.com/awf6zc.jpg

adidasss

12-19-08, 05:07 PM

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/diezelpower/BicycleThieves.jpg
Ladri di biciclette - Vittorio de Sica (1948)

Ok so, I meant to watch this film at the opening of an Art theater in my city (which is super exciting news for any cinema geek) but there were too many people there and I don't particularly care for crowds so I decided to watch it in the quiet of my home (I had a copy, just didn't have time to watch it). I have to say that I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to see this gem in a proper art theater ambiance because as it turns out, it's one of the best films I've ever seen. I shant bother with the description, if you don't know about this film already, it's high time you watch it. I thought it was fascinating from start to finish, a work of absolute perfection. A simple story of hardship and yet overwhelmingly powerful. It captures your attention from the very first scene and doesn't let go. It builds the momentum with awe inspiring meticulousness and brings it to the perfect climax. I'm trying not to say anything about it, but I did make a parallel when pondering it afterward with Spoorloos (or The vanishing) and how the title is instrumental to the experience in the sense that it puts you in a position where you have a good guess as to what's going to happen, before our protagonists do. This gives the director the opportunity to play with your emotions. I could talk some more about it but I'm generally better at expressing myself in a debate rather than a soliloquy. 5

http://www.movieposterdb.com/posters/07_12/1955/46911/s_46911_7f8169d5.jpg
Les diaboliques - Henri-Georges Clouzot (1955)

This one I did manage to see in the theater and I just loved the atmosphere of watching a black and white, french thriller on the big screen. The movie itself was a good but predictable (I've just seen far too many plot twists not to expect this one a mile away) tale of murder and revenge and what not. That's basically its only fault, that I knew what was going on half way through it, which sort of killed it. Apparently it got an awful remake with Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani. 3.5

adidasss

12-19-08, 05:13 PM

...Gomorra...

I think the general idea here is to actually share some of your thoughts on the films you've seen. Nobody actually cares that you watched it if there's no opinion attached to it. :|

TheDOMINATOR

12-19-08, 05:13 PM

The character development definitely needed a little work but I thought the special effects were pretty cool...

Agreed on both accounts. If the movie were a little longer, more of Vivian's character and her peoples' story could have been described and revealed, and more about her human boyfriend and his quest to learn about the wolves for his graphic novel could have been told. I think if Blood and Chocolate was a 2-hour film (or even a 2.5-3 hour epic), it could have potentially been great. And yes, I liked how they morphed into the wolves in mid-air. :cool:

Powdered Water

12-19-08, 10:37 PM

I didn't do jack yesterday except surf the intrawebs and watch these fantabulous movies.

The Long Kiss Goodnight (Renny Harlin-1996) 4

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for this flick. Probably because its good. It also has a lot of very good action by a female lead. One of the better examples of how women have really taken over the action genre before they really took over the action genre, dig? Geena Davis of all people is one of those ladies that at times is smokin' hot and then other times kind of so-so to me. Obviously in this flick she's mostly smokin' hot.

"Chef's do that!"

Event Horizon (Paul W.S. Anderson-1997) 3.5

This really is his best movie isn't it? Good stuff, it looks even better on DVD in high def or whatever. This is really a pretty spooky and cool movie. I also really like Sam Niell and as he happens to be in this flick it really kind of works out for me you know?

Sin City (Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez-2005) 4.5

Really the only negative I can think of when it comes to this flick is the lack of Alba nudity. I mean c'mon Alba! What's the deal? Your window is going to close if you don't start showing some skin babe. I hate to break it to you but as much as I loved Dark Angel and all you're no Meryl Streep. All the other babes in this flick showed plenty of skin so if you're in the next one you better get with it. :bored:

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman-1975) 5

I know, I know. What can I say? This is either the greatest movie all time or its the absolute worst. I think its pretty brilliant and you've gotta admit that the cult following that this movie has spawned is something to cherish. My God, have you ever been to one of those midnight shows where all of the audience is doing their thing? Its pretty unbelievable unless you've seen it in person. Wasn't Susan Sarandon the bees knees back then?

Editor's note: I think Fantabulous should be added to the MoFo glossary immediately. ;)

undercoverlover

12-19-08, 11:08 PM

^^^ Rocky Horror is transplendant

Annie Hall - love it, its not a belly laugher but my favourite moment is when Alvy sneezes into the cocaine.

Justin

12-19-08, 11:17 PM

Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle,2008) - 3.5

Not bad, just incredibly uneven. I felt the "earlier" years of the protagonist were handled very well; the cinematography was sublime. As the film progressed, when we witness the mature Jamal, it grew a little dull. All of the energy of the film had been spent in Jamal's youth.

Some very memorable scenes, but altogether a bit underwhelming and a let-down.

Swan

12-20-08, 12:36 AM

An American Werewolf in London - 5

Man, I love this film. It's so strong in every sense. It has a great opening title sequence, a strong character introduction (honestly, you wouldn't think two guys walking and talking, with sex and knock knock jokes being the only two topics of conversation, would be so captivating :p), a rightfully revered transformation scene, a fantastic soundtrack, and one of my favorite ending ever. There is werewolf lore throughout, and then there's some hilarious comedy. It has great acting by David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne, who I feel are all very underrated. Simply put, this is a horror classic - an absolute must for any horror movie fans or movie fans in general.

http://www.rathcoombe.net/horror/american_werewolf_in_london.jpg

mikeython1

12-20-08, 12:44 AM

You are so right! When they leave the Pub and get hunted by the werewolf and all you here is that evil howl while the wolf circles them scares me to this day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6PIke8r51E

TheDOMINATOR

12-20-08, 12:48 AM

It's been a couple days since I posted in this thread, and since then, I've watched a fantastic movie, a good movie, and a not-so-good movie.

Plains, Trains & Automobiles - 3.5
12 Angry Men - 5
The Lake House - 1.5

The first of the above was very funny and pretty decent overall; Steve Martin is awesome. For the second, this has been my 14th (is) total viewing. :cool: And for the third, eh...Sandra Bullock couldn't save it. I had seen all three of them before, it having been a while since I've seen the first and third. The first was just as good as I remembered it and the third wasn't.

An American Werewolf in London - 5

Man, I love this film. It's so strong in every sense. It has a great opening title sequence, a strong character introduction (honestly, you wouldn't think two guys walking and talking, with sex and knock knock jokes being the only two topics of conversation, would be so captivating :p), a rightfully revered transformation scene, a fantastic soundtrack, and one of my favorite ending ever. There is werewolf lore throughout, and then there's some hilarious comedy. It has great acting by David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne, who I feel are all very underrated. Simply put, this is a horror classic - an absolute must for any horror movie fans or movie fans in general.

Awesome, Swan. An American Werewolf in London is hands-down my favorite werewolf movie.

Vertical Gunn

12-20-08, 12:50 AM

The Class

TheUsualSuspect

12-20-08, 01:18 AM

Yes Man

Golgot

12-20-08, 11:23 AM

I've alternately drooled and decried over the following here (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=484875)

Gone Baby Gone
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Dean Spanley

Swan

12-20-08, 01:01 PM

It's a Wonderful Life - 4

That's a classic if I ever saw one (like 10 times now :p). I was so filled with joy at the end that my eyes times up.

Caitlyn

12-20-08, 02:03 PM

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976, Clint Eastwood) 5/5 ... I've loved this movie since the first time I watched it as a kid and nothing has changed... when I get around to redoing my top 100, it'll probably find it's way into my top 10... :)

R.I.P. Sam...

Movie Maven

12-20-08, 03:12 PM

Nobody actually cares that you watched it if there's no opinion attached to it. :|
This thread is full of posts of just names and images of films people watched. So I'm sure its fine. Gimmie a friggin break will ya

Caitlyn

12-20-08, 05:11 PM

View Post
...Gomorra...

I think the general idea here is to actually share some of your thoughts on the films you've seen. Nobody actually cares that you watched it if there's no opinion attached to it. :|

This thread is full of posts of just names and images of films people watched. So I'm sure its fine. Gimmie a friggin break will ya

Correction: addi doesn't care ... and he needs to stop presuming to speak for everyone else...

Now, my Caity senses are telling me I need to go read a few posts and see where the problem between these two is coming from... 'cause this ain't the root of it...

TheDOMINATOR

12-20-08, 05:41 PM

My Girl - 4

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/6652/mygirl1dn0.jpg

This was my very first viewing. I nearly cried at the end, as I was expecting something to happen but instead, something else did. I enjoyed it very much (not the ending; the movie overall).

undercoverlover

12-20-08, 06:03 PM

A reminder to Adidasss that this is a movie TAB not a movie review thread, as long people are saying the films they've seen they dont HAVE to say a damn thing about what they thought about it, it just so happens that people like to share their thoughts on the film.

Powdered Water

12-20-08, 08:17 PM

I like movies...

Snatch. (Guy Ritchie-2000) 4.5

I realize that I'm an American so therefore by following the Swedish Chef principle of British movie viewing I may just be so infatuated with all of the accents to fully realize that in fact this movie is actually retarded. Or not. I always have a really fun time when I see this and I wish you guys and gals across the pond would ease up on the boy Statham, or else we could be forced to send over some real talent. Like Hayden Christensen for example. ;)

300 (Zach Snyder-2007) 4.5

I know, I know, I watched it again. So what? I really dig it.

A Man For All Seasons (Fred Zinnemann-1966) 4

If it wasn't for the lists I probably never would have seen this. It was really good. Its interesting to me how a movie that at first I don't really think I'm going to be interested in kind of grabs me and when I look up an hour has already gone by. Apparently this is a true story. I like to do a little reading when I get captivated like this and apparently this guy was quite the little rebel for back in those times. Good for him. They actually made him into a Saint. I really don't even understand what that means but wow, that's pretty cool huh?

Borat (Larry Charles-2006) 3.5

I'm a serious comedy snob. In fact I dislike about 95 percent of the comedies made today. Now that being said I want everyone to know that this is a really damn funny movie.

A movie I might add that none other than Holden Pike himself recommended to me and others. Thank you, it was very enjoyable. Especially the naked parts... you know the parts. ;)

Swedish Chef

12-20-08, 08:59 PM

http://www.gaywired.com/Images/Articles/21132/21132_TopNews_Milkmain.jpg

Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008)

Biopics of public figures are probably among the hardest movies to make for a variety of reasons. Cutting a person's life, or even a specific era of a person's life, down to a two hour movie is amazingly difficult. These sorts of films inevitably follow the same template and many of them are still guilty of things like sanctifying their subject or over dramatizing certain events. Milk is, unfortunately, semi-guilty of many biopic trappings/conventions, but it's still very well-made, refreshingly unsentimental and (perhaps unexpectedly) timely.

The best thing Milk has going for it, though, is the acting and, more specifically, Sean Penn. His performance in this movie is the absolute definition of disappearing into a character. Harvey Milk is a person susceptible to broad characterization, so it's especially impressive that Penn was able to convey the more intimate dimensions of the man as well as capturing his public persona and spirit. Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, and, surprisingly, James Franco are all pretty perfect, too, and very authentic. But, yeah, this is Sean Penn's show. Best performance I've seen this year in one of the best movies I've seen this year.

4

http://blog.mlive.com/movies_impact/2008/10/medium_0183990_4.jpg

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Kevin Smith, 2008)

This is disappointing to say, but I don't think Kevin Smith's voice works for the 21st century. For me, at least, he's so ingrained in the fabric of the 90's and to be honest, I'm just tired of him. Smith's supposed strength is his down to earth, running-monologue-type-dialogue. But, much like Clerks 2, all the dialogue in Zack and Miri feels incredibly forced. I'm not sure if that's due more to the director's waning juju or the tonal mishmash between Apatowian free-flowing, line-o-rama humor and the wholly unmetaphysical, raunchy, everyman stuff Smith has always done, but nothing in this movie comes off as naturally as in Smith's earlier output. And not only is the dialogue forced - most of it isn't funny. That's coming from someone who loves so many people in this cast, too. I mean, it takes a lot of effort to make Craig Robinson unfunny, and yet somehow that happened here. The fact that Justin Long gets the most laughs in a movie with Seth Rogen and Craig flippin Robinson is painful to me. And the less said about the obvious and inevitable love story between Rogen's Zack and Elizabeth Bank's Miri, the better.

Anyway, I hate that I didn't like this movie.

2

I also watched The Dark Knight, which is a flick I like less and less each time I see it. Too bad.

By the way people, I'm glad to see so many of you MoFos sharing the love on A Man For All Seasons.

Golgot

12-20-08, 09:52 PM

Correction: addi doesn't care ... and he needs to stop presuming to speak for everyone else...

Now, my Caity senses are telling me I need to go read a few posts and see where the problem between these two is coming from... 'cause this ain't the root of it...

A reminder to Adidasss that this is a movie TAB not a movie review thread, as long people are saying the films they've seen they dont HAVE to say a damn thing about what they thought about it, it just so happens that people like to share their thoughts on the film.

Sure, but it's still better when people share their take, if only in popcorn form - or a brief 'i don't know what to make of this yet' style o' thing, no? :)

As for Adi enjoying the odd vendetta... could be ;). I just know his passing blurb on The Bicycle Thief, for example, was about 1000x better than just posting the pic :)

TheDOMINATOR

12-21-08, 12:11 AM

I love it when I can watch three movies in one day. :cool:

My Girl 2 - 3.5

http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/389/128699f1ta2.jpg

I had heard several very bad things about My Girl's sequel but, as it turns out, I enjoyed it immensely. While it didn't quite have the same heart as the original had, the same director directed it and most (if not all) of the original cast returned. The story was also wonderful, and I just liked it a lot.

Fool's Gold - 3.5

http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/511/foolsgoldposterfe4.jpg

This was also surprisingly good. I bought this as part of the same "buy one, get one free" deal on Blu-ray that I bought The Lake House as and, unlike the latter, I was glad I did with this.

And, if I struck your interest, the third (err, well it was the first) movie I watched today was the original My Girl (4), back one page in this thread.

Swan

12-21-08, 12:26 AM

TheDOMINATOR

12-21-08, 12:39 AM

It is indeed. I love how the "My Girl" song starts playing at the very end of both films just as the credits begin to appear. :cool:

mikeython1

12-21-08, 02:26 AM

http://www.shakefire.com/frivolous/shooter2.JPG

This was just okay!One good thing is there is a pretty hot chick in it! If you liked any of the Sniper movies(Tom Berenger)then you might like this movie!Also Michael Pena (Crash) is a pretty good supporting actor in this. He made the movie a little more worth watching. Towards the end of the movie there is a pretty cool sniper snow scene!

I give Shooter a 2.5/5

http://www.dvdtown.com/images/displayimage.php?id=7050
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=napQjB1P_6Q

mark f

12-21-08, 06:28 AM

The Bells of St. Mary's (Leo McCarey, 1945) 3

http://davidfaulhaber.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/bells_st_marys.jpg

This sequel to the previous year's Going My Way seems to defy most films made nowadays and especially those made BACK in the day. Going My Way swept the Oscars and most films didn't get sequels at all, let alone sequels which came out immediately, but this film was immediately greenlighted and they brought on board the most popular female actress available, Ingrid Bergman. Bing Crosby reprises his Oscar-winning role as Father O'Malley, probably the most heartwarming and thought-provoking father any kid ever had to look up to. Here, he's matched by Ingrid Bergman as the Sister Superior of the school for students through the eighth grade. They sometimes quarrel; O'Malley tries to see the Big Picture, while the Sister literally follows the rules and tries to hold everyone responsible for their own actions, no matter what the reasons may be. Needless to say, it makes for some drama and misunderstandings as the plot plays out.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/66/Bells_st_marys.jpg

Crosby is really super reprising his Oscar-winning role, but Ingrid Bergman actually gets more chances to shine here in her role of a more-literal lover of God and the rules which gradually breaks down under Crosby's influence. This film is actually REALLY good, but it's a bit on the slow-motion side. All the stories are interesting and interpreted well, but they all do seem to be dragged out a bit more than they should. However, that shouldn't keep the audience from crying honest tears at the end.

How To Succeed in Busines Without Really Trying (David Swift, 1967) 4

http://www.ci.port-washington.wi.us/SummerTheater/PastProductions/HowToSucceedLarge.jpg

Terrific satirical musical which gives Robert Morse a breakthrough role, even though he'd been around forever and should have broken with the black comedy The Loved One. This film is really evil and nasty, but it also has a romanticism to it which fits Morse's personality rather well. The plot has the Morse character climbing up the business ladder while his superiors have no idea of his identity or what he's doing to make such a successful climb. The score is by Frank Loesser, who did the awesome Guys and Dolls, and he came up with the memorable "How To", "A Secretary is Not a Toy", "I Believe in You", "Grand Old Ivy", "Brotherhood of Man" and "Rosemary". They don't make 'em like they used to.

Abe Lincoln in Illinois (John Cromwell, 1940) 3

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f0/Abe_Lincoln_in_Illinois_(film).jpg/200px-Abe_Lincoln_in_Illinois_(film).jpg

Without a doubt, this is my fave Lincoln movie. Raymond Massey is just so gangly and insecure as Abe Lincoln that when he turns all serious you can't help but feel proud. The plot of this movie covers Lincoln's life before he became President. It includes his romance and marriage to the beautiful Ann Rutledge (Mary Howard), who dies at an early age, and his later marriage to the more-plain-and-austere Ann Todd (Ruth Gordon) who truly turns him into a man capable of being the President during the War Between the States. The majority of the third part of the movie involves Lincoln's debates with Stephen Douglas (Gene Lockhart), and those make up the heart and soul of the film. I'm probably underrating it, but I love it anyway.

Iroquois

12-21-08, 07:57 AM

Superbad - 3.5

Great way to be proved wrong.

rice1245

12-21-08, 04:33 PM

The Candidate (1972) - 4

http://www.morethings.com/fan/robert_redford/robert-redford-the-candidate-1972-413.jpg

Wouldn't have been my top choice of subject matter, it was mostly about how campaigns are run which is why we watched it in my AP Government and Politics class but it was executed fairly well and i love the last line. "What do we do now?" plus Robert Redfords face :)
Lost Highway (1997) - 4.5

http://img5.allocine.fr/acmedia/rsz/434/x/x/x/medias/nmedia/18/36/18/85/18866984.jpg

I reeeeally liked this one of Lynch's. I've only seen Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr. and i might like this one the best. I'd have to watch the other two once more though before i can truly say that but yeah i liked that one man's woman was stolen and the other man stole another's woman and yet they are the same men...but not? David Lynch put it perfectly himself by saying it's logical but yet inexplicable.

Swan

12-21-08, 04:47 PM

The Godfather - 5

I know it's kind of a cliche to give The Godfather a full rating and call it amazing, but it has also become a cliche to hate on the film and call it overrated. Oh well, I don't think it's overrated. Whether people think I'm conforming or not, I don't care. I love the film. It's flawless. I've seen it a few times and every time I am captivated; it never seems to get old, at least for me. The score is just about the most epic piece or music ever made for a film. (Spoiler) Don's death scene is one of the best scenes I've ever seen, too. And Tom Hagan rocks. I still can't decide where to put it on my favorites list, though. It's not my absolute favorite but it's up there.

But the wife-beating scene makes me want to puke.

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Godfather-movie-05.jpg

mark f

12-21-08, 04:50 PM

I'm going to rewatch Lost Highway, but for the time being, I hate its somnambulant claptrap. HA!

MovieMan8877445

12-21-08, 05:03 PM

The Perfect Storm - 2.5

I watched this today in class and it was enjoyable, it was pretty average though. Mark Wahlberg was the best thing about this though, he did a good job in it like most movies that he stars in. Some of the things just look so fake that it's laughable, none of the specials effects were really great or anything. George Clooney did an okay job in it to, but like the rest of the movie, his acting was pretty average. If you're looking for an enjoyable movie to watch then I'd definitely think you should check it out, but seeing as it gets played on TV so much, you should just wait to see it for free on TV.

http://www.the-reel-mccoy.com/movies/2000/images/theperfectstorm_ohno.jpg

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War Of The Worlds (2005) - 4

I watched this in another one of my classes today, and I loved it just as much I remembered I loved it. I'd probably put this in my top 5 or top 10 favorite sci-fi movies, I find it extremely underrated. I felt a little weird though, because over half my class just hated the movie. The main reason they said they hated it was because of Dakota Fanning screaming throughout the whole movie. I find it very beliveable because how do you think a little girl would act in that situation. This is definitely an amazing movie though, it has something I think everyone can like. If you're a fan of sci-fi movies then I'd say check this on out.

http://www.dvdexchange-online.co.uk/DVD_Film_News/2005/War_of_the_Worlds/War_of_the_Worlds_trailer.jpg

---------------------------

The Dark Knight - 5

Well I watched this again tonight with some of my family that hadn't seen it yet, and I swear it was better than my last viewing of it on DVD last week. I think I was less tired and payed more attention to it this viewing than when I watched it last night. And I really noticed how amazing Eckhart did with this viewing, I actually think he has just of good of chance of winning 'Best Supporting Actor' as Heath Ledger just does. They both did amazing, but I feel the both of them at least deserve to be nominated, but if we get anything, it'll most likely be just Ledger. Also the ending didn't seem quite as amazing compared to the rest of the movie with this viewing, I was a little disappointed, but it's still definitely an incredible movie.

http://cueballcol.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/the-dark-knight-joker-imax.jpg

-----------------------------------------

I Am Legend - 4

It's been a while since I last watched it and noticed that it was coming on HBOHD so I decided to watch it, just so I could watch it in HD. It's truely a great movie, that is by far Will Smith's best performance, well maybe, I'd have to rewatch The Pursuit Of Happyness again just to make sure though. This movie has a lot of things many different people would enjoy, drama, action, and horror, so anyone who likes any of those would definitely like this movie. There was one scene that was really sad, but I'm sure most people who've seen knows what scene I'm talking about. I'm glad I decided to rewatch it because now I remembered why I thought it was so great before.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2007/12/08/alg_i-am-legend.jpg

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Mystic River - 5

This movie is just too amazing, it blows me away each time I watch it. There is absoluteley no flaw in this enitre movie, Clint Eastwood is amazing at directing. I think every actor in this movie had some of the best acting that I've ever seen, especially Sean Penn. Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon did about an equal job at acting wise though, I can't really decide which one I like more. And the score is just incredible, it's just so powerful because of the scenes it seems to get played in. But of course, the ending is by far the best part in the whole movie. If you still haven't seen this movie yet, you really need to and you need to see it soon. This is definitely my all-time favorite movie.

http://www.reelingreviews.com/mysticriverpic.jpg

---------------------------------------------------

Transformers - 3

It's been months since I last watched it, and I saw it on HBOHD so I decided to turn it on a give it a watch. I remember when I first saw this and gave it a 10/10, boy what was I thinking, I think I've just worn it down because of how many times I've watched it. It's really a fun action movie and that's all I think it's really meant to be, this is still a really enjoyable movie. The effects for it really were great though, it was robbed at 'Best Special Effects' at the oscars last year. I'm still glad I decided to watch it and give it another try though.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/images/transformers.jpg

rice1245

12-21-08, 07:53 PM

I'm going to rewatch Lost Highway, but for the time being, I hate its somnambulant claptrap. HA!

haha being honest here you made me go to dictionary.com for somnambulant. But yeah i got that feeling more with Mulholland Dr. than with this one which is why i liked this better. And the only other time i've heard claptrap used in a sentence was in Arrested Development :D

MovieMan8877445

12-22-08, 02:24 AM

A Fistful Of Dollars - 4

I see myself loving westerns more and more with each western movie that I watch, and this was definitely a great western. I didn't really get any GBU feel from it though, which is weird because they're both part of the same series, but it's still a great movie. Clint Eastwood is amazing, he does a great job in this, just about a good of job as in GBU, but he is playing the same character in it, so I'm really not surprised. The only bad thing about this was that it seemed really short, I guess it was, I mean it just over an hour and a half, I was just hoping it could've been longer. But if you're an Eastwood fan, or a western fan, or just a movie fan in general, I'd say check this one out.

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2007/08/30/clint460.jpg

----------------------------------------------

For A Few Dollars More - 4.5

Now this is the second part in the 'man with no name' series, and it comes right after A Fistful Of Dollars. This one definitely had a GBU feel to it, much more than the first one. I was glad to see Angel Eyes be a main character in this one as he is in GBU. Clint Eastwood is amazing in this one as well, but I already knew about that. This trilogy really confuses me though, because each character seems to have a different name in ech movie, like Eastwood's name changes in each movie, and Angel Eyes isn't Lee Van Cleef's name in this one, but is in GBU. That's the only thing about this trilogy that really confuses me. Other than that, I'd say check the trilogy out because they are all amazing westerns, and they've probably got me into westerns.

http://www.italica.rai.it/cinema/film/qualche_dollaro/dollaro_big.jpg

TheDOMINATOR

12-22-08, 03:05 AM

The Godfather: Part II - 5

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/070807/gallery/godfather_l.jpg

I've finally watched The Godfather's sequel (slash prequel) after just fairly recently watching the original for the very first time. Both are remarkable films that had me captivated throughout. In Part II, the transitions from Michael Corleone's story of hise rise in power to Robert De Niro's portrayal of young Vito Corleone were spectacular, both actors delivering top-notch performances. I'll need a second viewing in quick order, as I'm still trying to decipher everything that I have just witnessed in this three hour and twenty minute epic.

Swan

12-22-08, 03:44 AM

The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made - 1 million points

Tacitus

12-22-08, 06:41 AM

somnambulant

One of my favourite words....

____________________

Sexy Beast (2000, Jonathan Glazer)

4.5/5

Just a quick note on this. I bought the new edition a while back (my old R2 DVD is free to a good home) and something Ben Kingsley said in the commentary sums the film up perfectly.

To paraphrase the baldy knight - Sexy Beast is the story of the happiest man in the world and when the gods decide that he's too happy they send him the unhappiest man in the world.

One of the best written films of the decade, I think, and in Don Logan, one of modern cinema's most memorable attack dogs...

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b69/greenspagbol/sexybeast1460.jpg

The Google Image search for this was, well, interesting...

Tacitus

12-22-08, 06:48 AM

Sedai

12-22-08, 12:16 PM

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Stoller, 2008) - I am also a comedy snob, like one of the above posters. This thing had me pissing my pants laughing more than once. Yeah, it had issues, but it was pretty damn funny. Also, I am extremely biased when it comes to stuff with K. Bell in it. I just looooooove me some Kristen Bell.

http://www.have-you-met-ted.com/wp-content/uploads/kristenbellmarshall.jpg

3

The Big Sleep (Hawks, 1946)

My favorite Bogart flick. Pure gold, this one.

http://www.martinsfilmnoir.com/IMAGESII/thebigsleep_carmen.jpg

5

Videodrome (Cronenberg, 1983)

Very well made, with clear vision and style. I guess Cronenberg's odd body horror/Bio-Insertion/Gooey style just sort of turns me off. His stuff always comes across as sleezy to me. I recognize the genius; his style just isn't up my alley, really.

http://www.ugo.com/movies/david-cronenberg/images/videodrome1.jpg

3_5

Swan

12-22-08, 03:01 PM

Rear Window - 3.5

Classic thriller. Not my favorite Hitchcock film, but it was one of the first Hitchcock films I saw. I was surprised to find out the ending was the exact opposite of what I remembered it being. But it's still a great movie. Once the film really got going, I was captivated. However, after having rewatched some Hitchcock films recently, I've realized that, with the exception of North by Northwest, Hitchcock films aren't perfect in my eyes. He's a great director and was ahead of his time, but I think I always have little problems with his films. Oh well, they don't faze me - I still like him a lot.

Grace Kelly was god damn gorgeous in this.

http://www.best-horror-movies.com/image-files/rear-window-1954-movie-poster.jpg

mikeython1

12-22-08, 03:46 PM

http://www.technofile.com/images/illustrated_man.jpg
http://www.scifimoviepage.com/dvd/illustratedman1.jpg

So I watched it and I am going to watch it again! This Movie is an awesome sci-fi movie. Rod Steiger(In The Heat Of The Night) is really good in it. I recommend anyone who enjoys Rod Steiger or sci-fi flics even a little bit, this is a must see!! Oh yeah Claire Bloom is pretty hot!

I give it a 4/5 and if we talking about sci-fi movies alone 5/5!!!

I hope Mark f agrees this movie seems up his alley!

MovieMan8877445

12-22-08, 04:08 PM

Aliens - 4.5

I just can't quite bump it up to a full perfect score for some reason, I definitely prefer it over the first one now, mainly because of that epic ending. The main reason I couldn't bump it up is because it had sorta a slow begining, but after that it felt like the movie was only an hour long, when truely it's two and a half hours long. Sigourney Weaver did a great job as Ripley, just like in the first. I prefered her character in this one though, because she seemed like more of an action hero in this one, while in the first she seemed like an ordinary person stuck in a deadly situation. This one had better characters to me, I liked most of them more. I actually think this may be my favorite sci-fi movie, I'd have to watch it again just to make sure though.

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/070503/scifigallery/aliens_l.jpg

rice1245

12-22-08, 04:35 PM

Dawn of the Dead (2004) - 3.5

http://img5.allocine.fr/acmedia/medias/nmedia/18/35/28/15/18379353.jpg

Solid.

igor_is_fugly

12-22-08, 05:33 PM

Dolores Claiborne

This was the first Stephen King adaptation I've seen that I didn't love. While Kathy Bates, Christopher Plum, and David Strathairn did outstanding jobs, Jennifer Jason Leigh bothered me to no end. Her acting was one dimensional and overdramatic. Also, I felt they didn't represent the character of Vera Donovan well. Other than those couple of things, the overall movie was pretty good, but not nearly as good as I was expecting. Yea...I didn't hate it, but I was definitely disappointed.
2.5

Horton Hears a Who
http://media.tumblr.com/b84P8dAzh8ffthktxoDukzwQ_400.png
Dr. Suess is awesome. I didn't hate it, which is saying something for it being a modern kid's movie.
2.5

House Bunny
http://cache01-videos02.myspacecdn.com/41/thumb1_db08b5dc58e77d04ab6e87eaadbe30b7.jpg
All the funny parts(what few ones there were) were in the commercials and the 2nd half is simply one of the worst things I've ever seen. Ever. It wasn't funny and was trying to be preachy but the message didn't make any sense whatsoever. I'm so mad at Anna Faris for selling out on her hotness and sacraficing her comic genius. I was forced into watching this by the way, I usually wouldn't have wasted my time.
1

mikeython1

12-22-08, 06:25 PM

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
http://stan.uio.no/blog/isne/Lock,_Stock_and_Two_Smoking_Barrels.jpg

This movie is a good combination of comedy,crime and drama! For I have only seen Snatch(which I liked) this is another good Guy Ritchie film! Ritchie ads all the same elements of style,strong characters personalities,humor,violence and a great display of the UK's subculture! Good performances from Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones who have a great supporting cast making this a must see movie.Sting also has a small role in this movie.If you liked Snatch you will like this movie to!!

I give Lock stock and Two Smoking Barrels
http://www.movieforums.com/images/popcorn/4box.gif

Powdered Water

12-22-08, 09:31 PM

"We grow copious amounts of ganja, yah? And you're carrying a wasted girl and a bag of fertilizer. You don't look like your average horti-f*cking- culturalist!"

Love that flick...

Saw a couple of pretty damn fine movies today.

Rumor Has It... (Rob Reiner-2005) 4

I may overrate just about every sappy love and life movie I see but who cares. I love flicks like this and I especially love Rob Reiner's flicks. Jennifer Aniston is actually a relatively talented actress. I'm always pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy her in the few films she's been in. I should mention I guess that I really couldn't stand Friends... like her, just couldn't stand the show mmmkay?

So this was kind of a cute story, Aniston narrates a lot at the beginning and informs us that a little movie and book called The Graduate just so happens to be a true story. The reason she knows this is because of who she is. Then the movie begins and we go on a little journey with her and she discovers a few things about herself and does a terrible thing, learns a few things, gets forgiven and hopefully lives happily ever after. I loved it.

Paris Je T'aime (2006) 3.5

I also really enjoyed a large part of this flick. Some of it left me a little cold but there were some really excellent shorts in this conglomeration of films. That's why I didn't list the directors, I think there was about 20 of them. Overall it was delightful.

Movie Maven

12-22-08, 10:39 PM

Clint Eastwood's new flick Gran Torino 4

yykey

12-22-08, 10:48 PM

i've just watched the spider man 2 once more, i found some good points in it, and i want to walk like him especially when the Christmas is arriving.

TheDOMINATOR

12-22-08, 11:23 PM

Empire Records - 4.5

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/2995/empirerecordska1.jpg

I surprised myself with how much I both liked and enjoyed it, as this is my second viewing and I don't remember liking it as much from before as I did tonight. The story is heartwarming and the performances, in my opinion, are all fantastic. I liked it a lot, possibly enough to call it a new-found favorite (albeit not a new Top 10 favorite, per-se). What's really interesting about the film is that it takes place over the course of a single day, in one single location, similar to 12 Angry Men. I found that aspect of it really cool.

Lennon

12-22-08, 11:58 PM

Morgan Spurlock presents....What Would Jesus Buy? (2007)

review coming soon.

MovieMan8877445

12-23-08, 12:15 AM

Clint Eastwood's new flick Gran Torino 4

Ah man, you're lucky. I want to see that really bad, but it's not coming to my theater until January 9th.

Planet Terror - 4

I think this rating is gonna stick for it, everytime I've watched this before my rating has seemed to jump around each time I watched it, but I think this is what it's gonna stick at. It's a very fun movie to watch, I don't want to watch it too much though, because if I do I think the fun of the movie may be worn down and I won't like it as much. Rodriquez did a great job with this one, I think this may be my favorite movie of his, well actually probably second right after Sin City. El Wray has to be one of my favorite movie characters of all-time, he's just a total badass. So I'm glad I decided to watch this again, because I love it just as much as I remember.

http://www.smartcine.com/images/planet_terror_still.jpg

Iroquois

12-23-08, 12:54 AM

Death Note - 3

mark f

12-23-08, 01:57 AM

Besides rewatching The Dark Knight, Excalibur and The Wizard of Oz (all 4), I watched three other flicks worth mentioning.

A Taste of Honey (Tony Richardson, 1961) 3.5

http://www.brokenprojector.com/images/a-taste-of-honey-poster.jpg

This is a touching, kitchen-sink, coming-of-age/ugly duckling story decked out in jazzy undertones by director Richardson and music composer John Addison. Rita Tushingham is wonderful in her debut as Jo, the teenage Manchester school girl who's never felt love from her oversexed mom (Dora Bryan). When she is ditched by her mom and her mom's latest younger lover (Robert Stephens), Jo heads back home where she encounters her "sorta boyfriend", black sailor Jimmy (Paul Danquah), and the two make love. Jo's mom subsequently moves out of the home, and Jimmy's ship leaves Manchester.

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t203/bejmaf/tastehoney.jpg

Jo goes to work at a shoe store and gets her own flat, but pretty soon, she finds that she's pregnant. Geoffrey (Murray Melvin), the young man who buys her first pair of shoes sold, becomes her pal, and even after Jo learns he's gay and he learns that she's pregnant, Geoffrey moves in with her and helps her by cooking and cleaning around the house. Jo begins to wonder if she should keep her baby, but Geoffrey volunteers to be her child's father and stay with her. Eventually Jo's selfish mom turns up again to complicate matters.

http://modculture.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/taste_of_honey3.jpg http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/images/films/2005spring/taste_of_honey.jpg

The most memorable things about the film to me are Rita Tushingham's big eyes. She seems to be a soul who has much to offer but has never found any way to channel it to her satisfaction. Most all of the acting is first-rate, including Dora Bryan's hateful mother who takes up with and gets dumped by a new man every year. Murray Melvin is equally fine conveying both shyness and true humanity. The script by playwright Shelagh Delaney and Richardson is equal parts comedy and drama, while Richardson uses an impressionistic visual-and-cutting technique which can occasionally romanticize the drab Manchester setting. It certainly doesn't sentimentalize anything, but Addison's playful music does seem to make the harsh truths the film offers a little easier to take in. This is still one of the better British films of the early '60s.

Platinum Blonde (Frank Capra, 1931) 2.5

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/h2o2/platb1.gif

Before Frank Capra became Hollywood's most-popular filmmaker in the mid-1930s, he was already one of its hardest-working. From 1926 through 1931, Capra directed 18 feature films, 16 for Columbia Pictures. This is one of the best-known from that era, mainly because of co-star Jean Harlow's rising star, but it's actually more interesting for the presence of leading man Robert Williams. What? You say you've never heard of him? That's probably true but unfortunate. Robert Williams died of peritonitis three days after the release of this film, but his offbeat charm will always be present in this cute Pre-Code film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GndnYuTULQI

You can watch it by clicking here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GndnYuTULQI)

The plot involves a newspaper reporter named Smith (Williams) who often works with Gallagher (Loretta Young), who secretly loves him. One day, Smith is assigned to cover a scandal involving a high-class society family's son, and he successfully gets the dirt by using his "reporting skills". The upshot of this is that he attracts the attention of the family's beautiful blonde daughter Anne (Jean Harlow) who begins to fall for him when he helps to quash the blackmail scheme involving her brother. They secretly marry and a battle of wills ensues involving who will bend more to the other's desire in sharing their lives. The film is pretty good but not really up to the level which Capra maintained from 1933 through 1948. From watching this movie, it's difficult to tell how much of the Smith character is acting and how much is Williams' personality, but whatever it is, it's worth checking out. Not to turn this movie into a total downer, but Harlow also died, only six years later, due to uremic poisoning. :(

The City of the Dead (John Moxey, 1960) 2.5

http://ghostsandcritters.com/images/cityofthedeadcover.jpg

When my brother and I used to watch this minor horror classic on TV, it was called Horror Hotel. It was always a cool flick for us to watch because it had some stark, spooky photography for many of the indoor scenes, but then it would get all graphic with bodies bursting into flames while trying to commit a ritualistic female sacrifice in a graveyard on the Witch's Sabbath. The Dead mentioned in the original title are witches who were true worshippers of Satan in Whitewood, Massachusetts in 1692. While being burned at the stake, self-confessed witch Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel) curses the townspeople, and as a result, all the "dead" witches are given eternal life by Satan as long as they worship him and perform two sacrifices a year.

http://i3.iofferphoto.com/img/item/356/728/01/o_The_City_of_the_Dead_(1960).jpg

The modern day plot involves college professor Christopher Lee recommending that his student Nan (Venetia Stevenson) spend her holidays researching witches in Whitewood, and even though her brother and boyfriend don't like the idea, she drives to the remote, fog-shrouded town. Upon arrival, she finds everything spooky and almost inexplicable, but she does meet one seeemingly-normal woman, Patricia (Betta St, John), who lends her an in-depth book on witches. The plot doesn't really hold any surprises, but there are still plenty of frissons on display. The hotel where Nan stays is menacing in the way that people and strange sounds seem to come and go instantaneously. Plus there are rarely any lights on, but the fireplace always casts dreaded shadows across the rooms. Then there are the actual buildups to the sacrifices presented in the film, and they deliver the goods. The film is just a bit short and repeats a few motifs (especially the fog and the guy who gives everybody directions to the Inn) to qualify as a full-blown classic. Lovers of black-and-white Mario Bava will want to check this out though, and anybody who enjoys "old-time" horror should probably raise my rating by a half-to-a-full popcorn box.

http://www.1000misspenthours.com/posters/postersh-m/horrorhotel.jpg

Pyro Tramp

12-23-08, 07:48 AM

Rocky

Strangely emotional ending and pretty decent story, suppose it's kinda one of those classic montage examples so won't criticise it for that

4_5

Rocky 2

Probably my least favourite of them, took bit too long to get going and some dodgy edits in the final fights

3_5

Rocky 3

And this would probably be my favourite, has some great character arcs from already established characters and has most fun with itself (Hulk Hogan as Thunderlips!) and Mr T

5

Rocky 4

Liked this one, even if by now it's just retreading familiar ground by now. Lundgren was good but he doesn't have that much to do in fairness.

4

Rocky 5

Was a nice change in the series and i think for the most part it worked, the final street fight was definitely one of my favourites but thought Tommy Gunn wasn't quite developed enough to make it entirely believable.

4_5

Rocky Balboa

This one took a looong time to start going, liked the almost revionist tone but some of the cinematography was too cold. Wasn't keen on that woman filling in Adrian's role or how the final fight was made to look completely real, not a healthy change of diegetic.

3_5

Friday the 13th: Part V

Pretty shoddy entry and final act was a complete mess. If i remember right, this one cut away and almost every single death.

1_5

Friday the 13th: Part VII

Actually enjoyed this one, some nice effects (Jason with his mask off) and Kane Hodder filling the role of Jason is probably best thing to happen to the series as he really makes Jason an intimidating presence.

4

Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan

Awful awful entry, no effort was made whatsoever to add an sense of dread or direction. Can't think of any redeeming features.

0_5

Read Window

Wasn't my favourite Hitch film but still solid. Think i remember a couple of suspicious editing techniques though.

4

In Bruges

Second time watching and still liked it a lot, maybe even more this time. Great performances all round and some brilliant humour perpetuated through witty dialogue.

4_5

Peep Show: Season 1

Classic.

5

Desperate Measures

Low rent and meandering but easy watching and not wholly bad.

2_5

Bill and Ted's Bogus Adventure

It's got Jim Martin, Primus, Pam Grier and George Carlin. 'Nuf said.

5

Punch Drunk Love

There was one particular bit i despised with some horrible sound but otherwise was pretty good, seemed a bit too short for some reason but don't think i'd have wanted anymore. Probably my fav PT Anderson flick so far (have to watch TWBB again)

4

The Hamiltons

Pretty rubbish, cheap horror flick. The ending twist was interesting but think they put all their chips in on it so was still pretty weak.

1_5

Transporter 3

Liked how they went back to style and tone of the first but the plot devices they used undermined the pace leaving it as a fight scene- boring filler. Pretty silly story, as to be expected, but Statham is always great to watch

2_5

The Dark Knight

Gets better each time, seen it about 4 times since buying it

5

The Vanishing

Another plodding film that put it's chips in on the ending while nothing that much happens for the rest. The ending was pretty good, and the bad guy was a pretty awesome character but didn't quite make up for poorly written main guy.

3

Sedai

12-23-08, 10:04 AM

The Foot Fist Way (Hill, 2006) - A goofy mockumentary about a Martial Arts instructor, his sleezy wife, and Tai Kwon Do. I took Tai Kwon Do for a brief time when I was a child, and this film nails the type of people I was exposed to back then. The hero figure in the film...every dojo has one!

2

http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/X/R/R/thefootfistwaypic3.jpg

It's a Wonderful Life (Capra, 1946) - What can I say. One of the best films ever made, period. I was in a weird mood afterwards. I felt uplifted, but also a bit depressed that so much of the world has become Pottersville. By the way, James Stewart's acting in this film is jaw dropping. The scene where he breaks down in a bar contains some of the best histrionic acting I have ever seen. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

5

http://www.cinematicwallpaper.com/movie-pictures/wallpapers/Classic-Movie-wallpapers/Its_a_wonderful_life_1024.jpg

Swan

12-23-08, 02:12 PM

I had a very good movie night last night...

Edward Scissorhands - 4.5

I've seen this many times and, probably because there is a decently large time gap between each viewing, it never gets old. I have a feeling it will one day be considered a classic. Maybe that's just me. It was #5 on my top 10 list at one point, and I remember why now. It's a pretty simple, cliche story when you get down to the basics, but Tim Burton completely made it his own. Johnny Depp as Edward was great, probably one of my favorites characters ever. And Winona Ryder was stunningly beautiful in this. The film has it's extremely fun moments and it's extremely sad moments when I get super emotional. That is enough to do it for me.

http://www.ugo.com/movies/burton-depp/images/edward-scissorhands.jpg

The Fountain - 4.5

It was kind of hard to decide on a rating for this one... I was going all around 8-10. I think this is a good enough score. The film is a visual marvel, and probably one of best - if not the best - at that, at least for me. I just absolutely love the surreal feeling it gives off. Darren Aronofsky really nailed what surrealism has always been like in my mind... good man. I don't think I'll ever look at stars again the same way. This is my second viewing, but I would consider it my first story-wise, because when I saw this initially I was really just watching the visuals. The first 15 minutes are all just sort of a surreal mindtrip (even though it gets WAY more surreal/mindtrippy later in the film), with no real story involved. Although I did have a problem with that this time around, at least at the 15 minute mark, I don't now. It sets everything up for the rest of the film very well. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz both gives extremely well-done performances. I'm not sure what's keeping me from giving it a 10, maybe just some iffy parts here and there, but it's still a favorite of mine. I was afraid it wouldn't be after this viewing, because I didn't really follow the story the first time and I thought I might be let down. But I wasn't.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/Eclecktic/Blog/TheFountain_8187.jpg

TheDOMINATOR

12-23-08, 04:38 PM

B-card

12-23-08, 07:12 PM

Boo - 2

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/9391/41sfsg887xlsl500ob8.jpg

A non-theatrical horror movie that wasn't very good, but I gave it a shot because A) it's from the producers of Dog Soldiers, and B) I picked it up almost for free.

hah how strange I watched this movie 3 years ago and it kind of scared me although it's pretty cheap.Maybe it was the setting, horror movies that take place in mental institutions and woods(Blair Witch Project-admit it ;)) give me the creeps

anyway I watched recently

Lakeview Terrace(2008)-2.5

Disaster movie(2008)-0 (watched it out of curiosity, how stupid can it be)

TheDOMINATOR

12-23-08, 07:17 PM

Maybe it was the setting, horror movies that take place in mental institutions and woods(Blair Witch Project-admit it ;)) give me the creeps.

I admit it; take a look at my Top 10 list. :cool: The Blair Witch Project is no doubt my all-time favorite horror movie.

igor_is_fugly

12-23-08, 07:30 PM

Anaconda
http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/live/photo7007051.jpg

Giant man eating snake? Check
Crazy Jon Voight with a random bad accent? Check
Ice Cube as a ganster in the amazon? Check
Owen Wilson getting swallowed alive? Check
Danny Trejo? Check
Conclusion: Anaconda=Awesome

And I think it's time for me to come clean. I've tried to fight it but I think it's time to stop lying to myself. I love Jennifer Lopez's movies. I've seen all of them except Gigli or Jersey Girl(which may be the reason I still like her), and thoroughly enjoyed them all. Yes, even Monster In Law. And Angel Eyes, The Cell, Anaconda, and Out of Sight are some of my favorite movies. whew, glad i got that off my chest

Vertical Gunn

12-23-08, 07:59 PM

Death Note - 3

This Death Note? The TV show?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXdI61WgTno&fmt=18

Movie Maven

12-23-08, 08:39 PM

Death Note? The TV show?

I think he means the movie based on the TV show, which kicks serious friggin ass.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2vbsyzd.jpg

Powdered Water

12-23-08, 10:10 PM

The Bishops Wife (Henry Koster-1947) 4.5

This is another one of those absolutely classic Christmas tales that in my mind gets overlooked. It's A Wonderful Life is a movie that just about everyone has seen but have you ever seen this one? No? You should...

http://freespace.virgin.net/donna.moore/cary/cary8b.JPG

One very good reason to see this is Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young, just a sparkling cast to say the least. You may also recognize young George Bailey and little Zuzu if you're paying attention. Also Its every bit of an amazing story as It's A Wonderful Life, a simple story. One of love and faith in mankind and even faith in angels and God. What does a Bishop (David Niven) do when he's faced with an angel face to face? Talk about a test of faith! Angels are to be believed in not seen in the flesh.

http://www.carygrant.net/fotogallery/bishopswife/bw20.jpg

Much like It's A Wonderful Life, this is a story about a man who needs and asks for help. He receives it in the form of an angel named Dudley (Cary Grant) who not only helps out the Bishop but helps several other people in the town as well. Another interesting development is when Dudley begins to fall in love with The Bishops wife, (hence the title, dig?) Loretta and Cary have several very fun and lighthearted scenes together that I feel never cross the line that so many other films do today when it comes to infidelity and marriage.

Below is one of my favorite scenes from the movie, I checked you tube and the whole film is there so if you like it I strongly urge you to check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ3tkyzyDUg

Iroquois

12-23-08, 10:58 PM

I think he means the movie based on the TV show, which kicks serious friggin ass.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2vbsyzd.jpg

Correct.

MovieMan8877445

12-24-08, 01:23 AM

Leon: The Professional - 5

Despite what many may think, I really don't like giving out so many perfect scores. But this movie has just hit me, I'm actually really in a pickle right now, because I think I may like this more than I like Mystic River, and I wish my favorite movie really wouldn't change so much. But this movie was definitely amazing, I got so into it that I couldn't even pause it. I'm actually surprised that it lived up to my expectations before watching it, because I've had some movies before that I've seen with expectations this high, but when I finally got to watch them, I was a little disappointed. This one definitely didn't disappoint me though, my only thing I didn't like was that I wish Gary Oldman would have more screentime, I mean he was in the begining some and was in most of the ending, but he really wasn't in much of the middle. But that's not gonna affect my rating at all, because Jean Reno and Natalie Portman do such great jobs in their characters. Even though he wasn't in as much of the movie as I hoped, my favorite character was still Stansfield, who was Gary Oldman's character. I think he's gonna make it pretty high on my favorite character's list. The weird thing is I see this movie high on a lot of people's favorites lists, but I like never hear any talk about this at all. I think this has to be the most underrated great movie. I loved how it was a mix between two film genres, because it was really an action-filled drama. But anyone even sorta interested in seeing this, I highly suggest you do, because it's definitely an amazing movie. And I think this is a movie that everyone can enjoy, and because of all of that, I think that makes this my favorite movie of all-time, but I'll have to give it a rewatch before I officially put it at that spot on my favorites list, so right now it's just gonna stick in my top 5 at least.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g103/hlawatschek/leon.jpg

Powdered Water

12-24-08, 03:40 PM

MovieMan8877445

12-24-08, 03:43 PM

If you like that then I hope you check out La Femme Nikita (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100263/) soon... the movie not the show. Luc Besson is one of my favorite directors. He also did The 5th Element I might add another movie that's high on my list of faves.

I'll be sure to check out La Femme Nikita soon, I'm not sure about the 5th Element though. I've heard mixed things about the 5th Element, and I'm usually not too big of a fan of sci-fi movies.

Powdered Water

12-24-08, 03:54 PM

Its definitely a goofy over the top action/sci-fi flick so if you're not into that type of movie I doubt it will change your mind any.

Vertical Gunn

12-24-08, 04:04 PM

I think he means the movie based on the TV show, which kicks serious friggin ass.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2vbsyzd.jpg

Are you kidding? Hell yeah the movie was good.

My Rating: 4.5

Swan

12-24-08, 04:44 PM

Harvey - 3.5

What a great, fun, imaginative movie. Jimmy Stewart is such a great actor... one of my favorites. This movie makes me happy.

http://scribalterror.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/jamesstewartphotographc10103859.jpeg

rice1245

12-24-08, 05:59 PM

Anaconda (1997) - 3

http://www.rochestergoesout.com/mov/a/anacon1.jpg

Great great fun, Jon Voight was THE best part

It (1990) - 3.5

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b266/Spidy810/pennywise.jpg

The concept was THE coolest part of this movie. It was just...not scary but it definitely could have been terrifying, i'm going to read the book now because i know that my brain can come up with some scarier visuals than Tim Curry :yup:

MovieMan8877445

12-24-08, 06:08 PM

9 (short film) - 4

I was watching the trailer for the new feature length movie of this on trailer addict, then I found that trailer addict had to whole original short film on there as well, so I decided to watch it. It's a very interesting concept, the animation in it was great, I may even go as far to call the animation in it amazing. It had a very dark feel to it, I'm really looking foward to seeing the whole feature length movie when it comes out now, because the animation in tha trailer looks just like the animation in the short. And it's by the same creator of the short film, so if he can make a feature length movie like the short, then the movie has chances of being amazing.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/9_poster.jpg

undercoverlover

12-24-08, 07:21 PM

i watched the trailer today as well, cannot wait to see this film, hadnt heard a thing about it either so it was a nice surprise

mikeython1

12-24-08, 08:00 PM

Seven Pounds
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/2989888968_0150956af9.jpg?v=0

This movie is excellent!!!!!!!!!Seven pounds makes you look at life in a totally different way!Will smith at his finest!!!Rosario Dawson's best role yet!Barry Pepper and Woody Harrleson have small but potent roles in this life altering film!It has a Crash type feel with the element of a surprise ending like The Sixth Sense.This movie has you guessing the whole time.It has a sad but feel good vibe. I know that does not make any sense but you will understand when you see it.Must see movie!!!!!!!!!

I give Seven Pounds
http://www.movieforums.com/images/popcorn/5box.gif

Used Future

12-24-08, 08:54 PM

http://www.occhirossi.it/LocandineHorror/profondo-rosso.jpg

Profondo Rosso aka Deep Red (Dario Argento 1975) 4

I saw a heavily cut version of this on video ten years ago and thought it was an incoherent mess. The BBFC had pretty much censored all the violence reducing an already truncated print of Argento's masterpiece to disjointed nonsense. In the last few years the UK censor has been relaxing a little thus waiving all previous cuts on some of the older nasties (most recently Wes Craven's The Last House On the Left). Profondo Rosso or Deep Red as it's better known outside Italy is one such film that has benefited from the new ever so slightly more liberal BBFC (I still got the R1 Blue Underground release though). The film has also been helped by Argento and Co (one of his cameramen and closest friends) restoring the film to it's former glory, and adding over twenty minutes to its running time in the process. The end result is a bloodier, scarier, much more coherent treat and must see for fans of both arthouse and horror.

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/8823/mosdr05ih1.jpg

Often labelled the king of the Giallos, Deep Red is a murder mystery/detective story revolving around Marcus (David Hemmings) a concert pianist who witnesses the brutal murder of a famous clairvoyant. Marcus becomes obsessed with uncovering the identity of the killer but endangers himself and his closest friends in the process; many of whom are themselves murdered. With the help of Gianna (Daria Nicoladi who would later become Argento's wife) an attractive young journalist, Marcus gradually begins to piece things together.

If all that sounds familiar and, well, let's be honest, done to death, then that's because the story isn't (or wasn't) really anything new. It's in Argento's expert use of color, brilliant photographic composition, crudely effective editing and sweeping grandiose camera work wherein lies the brilliance of Deep Red. It's a style often heavily reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock (there are some expertly crafted scenes of suspense in this movie that are pure Hitchcock) and Mario Bava (the lush color saturated visuals and expert use of shadow) coming together to form a delicious Baroque nightmare. Add in the memorable atmospheric prog rock Goblin score and the resultant film is an unforgettably effective balancing act of tawdry trash and virtuoso high art.

It was great to finally see Deep Red as Argento intended it to be shown. I still found the narrative a little confusing at times (Tenebre is his most coherent movie), but overall the film more than held my attention, and was for the most part highly entertaining (despite being very talky in places). Argento throws in some great red herrings and one unexpected twist ensuring Deep Red remains intriguing and suspenseful right up to the final frame. Really though this is all about visual brilliance and sadistic violence if truth be told. Yes it's style over substance, but it's style over substance the Dario Argento way, which is pretty much the best kind.

*I was pleased to discover that the Blue Underground release of Deep Red does in fact have both the English and Italian soundtracks. This review is based on the subtitled Italian version.

Powdered Water

12-24-08, 09:06 PM

I hate you a little bit... I've only seen the cut up crap version. I'm really glad that there's a new and improved version out there. I can't wait to see it.

Used Future

12-24-08, 09:22 PM

I hate you a little bit... I've only seen the cut up crap version. I'm really glad that there's a new and improved version out there. I can't wait to see it.

You wont be disappointed, I absolutely loved it and was genuinely freaked out in a couple of scenes (especially at the end). The photography and camera work in this movie is simply stunning; plus the set design is to die for, almost on a par with Suspiria (still my fave Argento movie).:)

Justin

12-24-08, 11:00 PM

Re-Animator (Gordon,1985) - 4.5

Movie Maven

12-24-08, 11:35 PM

Yes Man 3_5
Slumdog Millionaire 4
Taken (2008) 4_5

TheDOMINATOR

12-24-08, 11:59 PM

Snowglobe - 3

http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/3554/snowglobekd3.jpg

A made-for-TV movie that I bought on sale; I was in the mood for a Christmas movie. It actually turned out better than I thought it would be. It was very funny.

12 Angry Men - 5

http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/8451/12angrymenolddvdcoverev6.jpg

I watched it just last week (and watched it again last night), but...but...oh well; I watch it too often. 12 Angry Men is by far the most rewatchable film I've ever seen, in my opinion; I could watch it twice a month for five years and not get tired of it in the slightest.

MovieMan8877445

12-25-08, 12:14 AM

How The Grinch Stole Christmas - 2.5

Okay, this is a lot cheesier than I remember it being, but I still couldn't really give it a super low rating, because this is also a lot more nastolgic for me than I remember too. I do gotta point out that Jim Carrey really did a great job in the role of the Grinch, he really got crazy for the role and I can see that. If you didn't watch it when you were a good though, you probably won't like it as much because of the cheeseness of the movie overall. If you didn't see it when you were a kid, I'd suggest watching the original cartoon because you'll probably like it more. But if you have some little kids around, then I'd suggest showing it to them, because I'm sure they'd enjoy it.

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjA2MTUxMDE2N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNjA5MDA3._V1._SX475_SY334_.jpg

mark f

12-25-08, 05:59 AM

The Bishop's Wife (Henry Koster, 1947) 3.5

http://www.movie-list.com/posters/big/zoom/bishopswife.jpg

PW mentioned this one a few days ago. It's a solid Christmas flick whether you believe in God or not. It's very well-made and Cary Grant is at his most-charming, plus Loretta Young actually won a Best Actress Oscar this same year, albeit for The Farmer's Daughter. The dramatic core of this film is how will Bishop David Niven get his cathedral built unless he kowtows to a rich matron (Gladys Cooper). The Bishop does pray to God for help, and almost immediately the angel Dudley (Grant) appears in his study, but the Bishop is unable to believe that he is who he says he is. Instead, Dudley begins to romance the Bishop's wife (Young) in an attempt to get the Bishop to act. This is a beautiful Christmas film, but every one in this thread is; well, except for one which has nothing to do with Christmas except for having the "Spirit" (Cluny Brown).

The Cheaters (Joseph Kane, 1945) 3

http://i2.iofferphoto.com/img/item/649/276/31/o_J9JJQDC8pxEJPbi.jpg

I'd never even heard of this film before yesterday when I saw it on TCM's schedule. It's another good Christmas film about a well-off family who has a chance to make a lot more money if they make a deal not to find an heiress to a fortune they'll collect if she isn't found. The mystery man in the middle of all this is poor, homeless Joseph Schildkraut who becomes the family's advisor, even though he does NOT seem to be who he appears to be. The film is just a notch below all these other films, but it's well-worth watching, and it's got a super cast including Eugene Pallette, Billie Burke, Raymond Walburn, Ona Munson and Robert Grieg.

Cluny Brown (Ernst Lubitsch, 1946) 3.5

http://i1.iofferphoto.com/img/item/259/291/56/cluny_brown_PINKmovie2_075.jpg

This is the only film not about Christmas, but it's Lubitsch's final completed film, and it's a joy to watch. Jennifer Jones is both sexy and a laugh riot as an amateur English female plumber, and Charles Boyer is at his charming best as a Czech refugee who eventually falls for her and tries to keep her from marrying a dolt (Richard Haydn). There are several interesting supporting performers, especially another sexy femme (Helen Walker), as well as Peter Lawford, Reginald Gardiner, C. Aubrey Smith and Reginald Owen. It's mostly the Lubitsch Touch and Jennifer who make you laugh out loud periodically.

Remember the Night (Mitchell Leisen, 1940) 3.5

http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/files/2006/12/remember-the-night.jpg

This is one of the most-touching Christmas films ever, even with a super-witty Preston Sturges script. It's certainly the one in this list during which I cried the most. Assistant D.A. Fred MacMurray ends up taking shoplifter Barbara Stanwyck with him back to his small hometown where his family falls in love with her while they celebrate their annual, simple Old-Time Christmas. It's a joy to see how people are happy with the simple things in life and how people accept others as good when they don't actually know that they are "criminals". Kudos to Stanwyck's insanely-hilarious defense attorney (Willard Robertson), as well as MacMurray's tight-knit family (Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson, and Sterling Holloway).

Meet Me in St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944) 4

http://www.thejudyroom.com/media/dvd/dvds/louis.JPG

I think I reviewed this last Christmas and called it the best musical of the 1940s, and there's no reason for me to change my mind. I think it's probably Minnelli's best-directed film, and the songs and staging are flawless. The set-pieces involving Halloween and Christmas are spectacular, and it's just another old-fashioned film extravaganza which I, for one, would hope that younger audiences give a chance so they can find such wonder in cinema. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" rivals "Over the Rainbow" as Judy's ultimate cinematic song.

The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940) 3.5

http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/files/2007/12/the-shop-around-the-corner-poster1.jpg

Lubitsch strikes again with one of his subtlest romantic comedy-dramas where the incandescent Margaret Sullivan and James Stewart hate each other in "real life" but fall in love through their love letters, not knowing who they actually are. Just before Christmas, the stylish Budapest gift shop of Frank Morgan is very busy, but the owner is worried that his wife is cheating on him with one of his employees. Most of the evidence points to the Stewart character. There are several other employees who make lasting impressions during the film, but this is just one of those dreamy pictures you should watch without knowing too much. True, it was later remade as In the Good Old Summertime and You've Got Mail, but who could have guessed that back in the day.

Powdered Water

12-25-08, 10:58 AM

Thank you mark.

mikeython1

12-25-08, 04:42 PM

http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/blog/Christmas%2520story.jpg

I know everyone has seen this movie but I love it. This movie is timeless and makes you feel like a little kid again!!!Tbs has been playing it since 8 pm yesterday.

http://www.movieforums.com/images/popcorn/5box.gif Im sure I did not have to rate this for you all but I did anyways!

http://mymerrychristmas.com/2005/images/christmasstory.jpg
You will shoot your eye out kid!!!

http://homepage.mac.com/watchmepea/_Media/bunny-suit_large.jpeg
Where can I get this outfit?

Vertical Gunn

12-25-08, 04:43 PM

Revolutionary Road 3

Swan

12-25-08, 06:00 PM

Planet Terror - 4

Throughout the film I was thinking of giving it a few ratings - from a 4 to even a full 5. I do think it's worthy. It's such an amazing film, and it's rewatchability is unlike any many other movies (at least for me). It's a ton of fun and that's all there really is to it...

rice1245

12-25-08, 10:53 PM

Stand By Me (1986) - 4

http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/content/binary/stand%20by%20me.jpg

I'm a sucker for movies about childhood friendship because i looove watching the interactions between such good friends which is pretty much the point of this entire movie and only possible when they're at that age, before the discovery of girls. It was really sad and heartwarming and cute and yeah it was a great movie

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - 5

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/CLASS/130-131~Butch-Cassidy-and-the-Sundance-Kid-Posters.jpg

This movie is just perfect for entertainment. Plus i love Redford and Newman together as one! It was beautiful :yup:

Unforgiven (1992) - 4.5

http://nighthawknews.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/unforgiven.jpg

Nice revenge flick, even if the revenge is only for the last 15 minutes or so. But it was a glorious fifteen minutes for sure! and the rest of it was great too, i loved how he couldn't get on his horse consistently throughout the whole movie and i absolutely love Richard Harris! in everything :yup: (that i've seen him in) the characterization was also great i like how clumsy the whole group was throughout the whole assassination process and i love clint eastwood as usual.

MovieMan8877445

12-26-08, 12:39 AM

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button - 4.5

A review of it is up in my review thread.

Iroquois

12-26-08, 01:15 PM

Sixteen Candles - 2.5

Swan

12-26-08, 01:18 PM

The Fury - 3.5

I think this is my favorite Brian De Palma film. I'm not really a fan - the only other film of his I really liked was Carrie. This film was awesome, though. I saw it once when I was a kid, so this viewing - my first rewatch - was kind of like seeing it for the first time all over again. Kirk Douglas made me laugh myself silly at times (the disguise, for example) - but he did give a very good performance. I really loved Amy Irving in this. She gave a great performance and she was very beautiful. But she reminded me so much of another actress and I just can't put my finger on it! Robin (the character) pissed me off at the end - his scrunched up face made him look like a stubborn, pissed off, stubborn little boy.

http://www.filmfreakcentral.net/dvdreviews/depalmafury.jpg

Justin

12-26-08, 03:24 PM

Raiders of The Lost Ark (Spielberg,1981) - 5

A reminder of why it's still my favorite film.

The Thing (Carpenter,1982) - 5

Also one of my all-time favorite films. Equally as suspenseful and "creepy" as it was when I first saw it.

A Christmas Story (Clark,1983) - 4

Never gets old...

undercoverlover

12-26-08, 08:21 PM

Many random christmassy films but most recently Mary Poppins and Chronicles of Narnia

Iroquois

12-26-08, 09:35 PM

Raiders of The Lost Ark (Spielberg,1981) - 5

A reminder of why it's still my favorite film.

You change your favourites around a lot, though...

Swan

12-26-08, 10:49 PM

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I'm not sure what to rate it. It could be anywhere from a 7 to a 9.5. The film was not perfect, so it never got to a full 10, but I still thought it was very good. I felt that as Benjamin got older (err... younger), the film got better. Or maybe not... I did like the beginning years of Benjamin at the retirement home. But I hated the opening scene - in the hospital room, and the narration by old Ms. Daisy. I'm very glad they made the narration eventually go to Brad Pitt, because if old Ms. Daisy narrated the whole thing... shucks.

I thought the acting was just right. I never noticed any bad acting, although then again I didn't notice any notable acting besides by Brad Pitt. At first I thought Tilda Swinton's minor character was Daisy (and in fact confused Swinton as being Blanchett), and I was going to say she was terribly miscast. Thank goodness Cate Blanchett stepped in. She's perdy.

The film really got good when Benjamin and Daisy were the same age, or 'in the middle'. Everything after that I loved. I enjoyed some stuff before that but not as much. I felt what happened to Benjamin from when he had his first... 'encounter' with a lady, to when he reunited with Daisy, lacked originality. I thought 'I've seen all of this before', just not exactly the same. I didn't connect to the story at all until Daisy and Benjamin reunited.

I never had a problem with the pacing. Everyone else seems to have, but I didn't. It felt long, but it wasn't slow, so the pacing was pretty well-done.

The movie just didn't feel.... solid... in the end. It felt like it could have flowed better (nothing to do with pace).

So yeah, the film was pretty awesome. I don't think it reached even a 9.5 because that's past a 9, which is 'amazing' for me, and the film was just right around there - maybe a little less, though. It had some great moments, and some moments that just felt like paper... plain and just like all the others. I will say the 'lightening man' was one of the saving graces for me.

I will end with two notes:

I absolutely loved the line that went something like "All lives are made up from opportunities, even missed ones".

And the third girl was HOT.

MovieMan8877445

12-27-08, 02:54 AM

Unforgiven - 4.5

I couldn't quite give this a full 10/10 because most of the film was jumping around between a 9/10 and 10/10, so I just decided on this. This is probably my second favorite Eastwood western, right after GBU, but this wasn't really that action filled like a lot of GBU was. This was definitely more of a drama than any of the 'Man With No Name' series, but I still really loved it. Morgan Freeman's character, Ned, was by far, my favorite character in the whole movie. I really hated Gene Hackman's charcter, Bill, I think you were supposed to, but I hated him like throughout the whole movie even from the begining. Overall though, I'd have to give this a rewatch, but I think this is gonna make it somewhere bewteen 10 and 20 on my favorites list, I just have to make sure that it stands up well for a rewatch.

http://nighthawknews.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/unforgiven.jpg

TheDOMINATOR

12-27-08, 03:30 AM

Darkness - 3.5

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/8112/darknessay3.jpg

An interesting horror film that presents a chilling tale. It could have been better in more aspects than one, but I liked it better than I thought I would, as my expectations weren't very high.

Also, this movie has one of the best and most chilling opening credit sequences I've ever seen. I did a quick look for a video of it on Youtube but came up with no results. See it for yourself; it's fascinating and was, believe it or not, the best part of the entire film.

Scream - 3

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/2143/screamqv9.jpg

A pretty average horror (ish) teen/younger adult slasher with some pretty interesting film references and comedy mixed in. I haven't seen it in years and thought it was nice to revisit it.

It's a Wonderful Life - 4.5
(FIRST VIEWING)

http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/9339/itsawonderfullifestortqg7.jpg

I finally have another true classic under my belt. I thought it was really extraordinary; what an uplifting ending. I guess money isn't really all that important; not if you have friends.

TheUsualSuspect

12-27-08, 03:33 AM

Recently saw HANCOCK and Let The Right One In.

Movie Maven

12-27-08, 06:06 AM

Cadillac Records Oscar Screener 3_5

Powdered Water

12-27-08, 12:40 PM

Watching lots of movies as per usual...

A Christmas Story (Bob Clark-1983) 4

Jingle All the Way (Brian Levant-1996) 2.5

Miracle On 34th Street (George Seaton-1947) 4.5

Scrooged (Richard Donner-1988) 3

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Nicholas Stoller-2008) 4

My God this was funny, I'm slowly beginning to shed my comedy racial profiling long enough to begin seeing some new and very funny comedies. This definitely qualifies.

Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess-2004) 4

Jon Heder is probably going to make his entire career off this one film but that's OK I guess, it was a pretty brilliant performance.

Horton Hears A Who (Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino-2008) 3

I really loved parts of it and other parts not so much. Like how this is supposed to be a kids movie and as per usual most of the story is fear based. Fear the unknown children! Is the book like this? I seriously doubt it. I'll have to read it sometime.

Johnny Mnemonic (Robert Longo-1995) 3.5

Another one of those pretty cheesy Sci-fi flicks that I rather enjoy. It certainly helps that the lovely Dina Meyer is in it. I'm not sure if I could ever put into words what she has... but she has definitely got it, dig?

Superman (Richard Donner-1978) 4.5

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen this in its entirety since I was about 7 or 8 years old at the theater. What a trip it was reading the credits. Mario Puzo wrote the screenplay for this flick? You know... Mario Puzo? The guy who wrote The Godfather? What a trip! I love learning stuff like that.

Anyway, I really love this flick. It is just so lighthearted and whimsical even. It really was fun seeing this again after all these years. The price was right too, I got all 4 of the movies for 14.99! So I'll be getting to the others later this weekend probably.

Iroquois

12-27-08, 12:51 PM

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/MMPO/505518~Superbad-Posters.jpg

Superbad - 4

Don't really feel like dedicating a whole review to it, but I'll just try and update my opinion. Around this time last year, I would give it a 2 but it's really grown on me. Granted, there are still some bits that are still just as unfunny as the first time I saw them, but I actually appreciate the humour a bit better now.

"I assume you all have guns and crack."

http://freedomlovefest.typepad.com/freedom_lovefest/images/slap_shot_1.jpg

Slap Shot - 4.5

One of the small handful of sports movies I honestly enjoy. I showed it to a friend who plays ice hockey and we both loved it. Not really much else to say, other than I appreciate its down-to-earth quality and lack of over-the-top melodrama you tend to see in sports comedies nowadays.

"Piss on Eddie Shore! Piss on old-time hockey!"

Swan

12-27-08, 02:22 PM

Legend - 3

Good movie. The make-up work was excellent. I think I will like it more and more with repeated viewings.

Lennon

12-27-08, 02:34 PM

Bolt 3-D 2.5

Movie Maven

12-27-08, 05:02 PM

The Mutant Chronicles 4_5

http://i43.tinypic.com/2cronj7.jpg

Lennon

12-27-08, 05:45 PM

Waking Ned Devine 4 Very funny.

undercoverlover

12-27-08, 05:53 PM

Wall-e - loves it, better every time

Swedish Chef

12-27-08, 07:32 PM

http://blog.cleveland.com/ent_impact_movies/2008/12/medium_benjamin-button.jpg

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher, 2008)

I saw this on Christmas morning with my family. It was a sold out theater and I'd be willing to bet I was the only person there who wasn't crying at one point or another during the movie. Everybody seemed to love it and they all thought it was so sad and beautiful and whatnot. I dunno, maybe I have no heart, but I was not blown away. It's an interesting flick with a solid gimmick, no doubt, and I was always mildly curious about where it would go next. But there's a big difference between being mildly curious about where a film's going next and being balls to the walls emotionally invested in it. Like I said, though, I'm the only one who wasn't in love with it so what do I know, really?

Last week I wrote that Milk flailed a little (as most biopics do) because it's so dang hard to condense a person's life, or part of their life, into one movie. I think, in essence, that's this film's fatal flaw. The scope is just too big and, in turn, the movie has long stretches that seem to drag on and on and on. So the flick's overlong and the lame framing story with Julia Ormond and Hurricane Katrina doesn't help. Outside of those hospital scenes, though, you can't really cut much else out of there, so I'd like to propose we all go back in time and push for a Ben Button mini series instead of a movie. This is a good story, but I'm pretty sure it would've been much better served in that type of format. It would've allowed for a tighter pace, I think, and a more satisfying, less rushed conclusion. But I don't own a time machine and I'm not the head of HBO, anyway, so that's probably not gonna happen.

It just seems like each chapter of Button's life is a movie unto it's own. Very episodic and very Gump-esque in that way. I'm sorry for that inevitable Forrest Gump comparison, by the way. I got pretty sick of every review for this thing mentioning Forrest Gump, but then I saw this and now I have a well and good idea of why Forrest Gump was mentioned in every review (Captain Mike!?). Benjamin Button is definitely the more cynical, ambitious, visually exciting film and it's unarguably more unique in both its story and its aesthetics. It also looks just about as good as Fincher's Zodiac (which is high praise) and it's more than impressive on the big screen. But the movie still can't help but come off as the Forrest Gump for adults. The similarities are too many to not be distracting and that's too bad. Amazingly, though, Benjamin Button's life is still more down to earth and believable than Gump's.

For the most part, the romance between Cate Blanchett's Daisy and Pitt's Button works. It's heartbreaking when it's supposed to be, it's obviously told in a different kind of way and it's superbly acted. Unfortunately, a lot of the rest of the movie seems forced or hokey and the majority of people who pass through Button's life are majorly uninteresting and feel like pointless sideshows. I liked Tildon's scenes, but again, that just felt like an episode of "The Benjamin Button Story".

So, yeah, to recap: "The Benjamin Button Story" could've been a great mini series or something, but as a feature length movie it falls short. It's got some parts that work, some parts that fail outright and ultimately it didn't do a lot for me. Bummer.

a very high 2.5

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2008/05/30/amd_stuck2.jpg

Stuck (Stuart Gordon, 2008)

Don't have a whole lot to say about Stuck, but I sure did like it. That balance between dark comedy and horrificly violent exploitation is a tough nut to crack; so when a movie like this succeeds you've gotta give it a ton of credit. It's also acted really well; which is a bonus you wouldn't necessarily expect going in. I hate when critics say somebody was a "revelation" or whatever but, damn it all, Mena Suvari was a revelation in this movie. And she has a perfect butt. Anywho, I'm sorta surprised and disappointed Stuck didn't get a bigger release, because I think a lot of different kinds of people would dig it.

4

I've watched Elf a few times this past week, too. "Santa!! I KNOW him! I know him!"

meatwadsprite

12-27-08, 07:36 PM

Thanks Chef , I still think I'm gona have to check it out though.

Lennon

12-27-08, 07:38 PM

Me too, as a matter of fact, I'm leaving in a little bit to see it. I'll tell you my thoughts later.

TheDOMINATOR

12-27-08, 08:34 PM

Scream 2 - 2

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/2667/scream21nr3.jpg

And one of those popcorn bags is solely because of Sarah Michelle Gellar's appearance. Honestly, though, it wasn't very good. A couple of decent moments (Courtney Cox's character watching David Arquette's get maimed through the sound-proof glass), but ultimately Scream 2 was just another horrible sequel.

adidasss

12-27-08, 08:41 PM

http://www.kupypspwallpapers.info/psp-wallpapers/speed-racer-movie-psp-wallpaper.jpg

Speed racer - The Wachowski brothers (2008)

Among the best, if not the best film I've seen this year. I'm absolutely amazed at the criticism this film gets, everyone seems to have completely missed its intention. You can't possibly see this film as a serious piece of cinema. Who on earth could criticize its plot or character development, I mean for God's sake, it's based on a cartoon! It's supposed to be pure, unadulterated fun, only it does so with so much style and ingenuity it blows my mind. They are the action film's Tarantino! The editing is the most exciting thing I've ever seen, it drives, no, propels! even the most mundane of scenes. And the colours, my God, it's like eating cotton candy with my eyes. Everything worked so beautifully, the cast did their job perfectly, balancing the thin line between campyness and believability, the music was cut perfectly for an adrenaline rush, the story was well rounded and the climax was basically the visual equivalent of an orgasm. I'll never get over the fact that I didn't see it in the cinema, let alone in an IMAX (although that probably would have melted my brain). And just to think I wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't been for the insistent persuasion from mark and Chris. Love this place...<3 5

Movie Maven

12-27-08, 09:12 PM

Among the best, if not the best film I've seen this year.

:eek: It was a piece of utter *****.

I'm sorry but this movie is for people who suffer from serious migraine headaches.... LMAO

adidasss

12-27-08, 09:17 PM

Or for people smart enough to see it for what it is...:rolleyes:

Powdered Water

12-27-08, 10:01 PM

That's what I'm saying...

Glad you enjoyed it Adi.

TheDOMINATOR

12-27-08, 11:36 PM

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - 5
(FIRST VIEWING)

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/2093/daytheearthstoodstill19wo3.jpg

That was a remarkable film-viewing experience. Asking for and receiving the DVD of this movie was just about the best thing I could have done this Christmas, because I'm sure that--with a near-future rewatch--this will become a new Top 10 favorite of mine. I liked the first half of the film better than the second half; I felt the climax/conclusion was a bit hasty, but it was remarkable nonetheless. I can't believe what I've been missing out on. Wow.

MovieMan8877445

12-28-08, 12:04 AM

Revolutionary Road - 4.5

Review in my thread.

meatwadsprite

12-28-08, 01:45 AM

Or for people smart enough to see it for what it is...:rolleyes:

An amazing piece of garbage ?:rotfl:

You love it , but you recogonize it's terrible by normal standards.

Swedish Chef

12-28-08, 02:33 AM

I think Speed Racer is bad by any standards, even if you're in a "screw it, I just wanna watch something goofy and fun" mood. Maybe I'm not smart enough to see it for what it truly is, but I'm pretty sure it's kinda lame and not in a good way. I do feel like I've shat on Speed Racer way too much around here, though, since it's not a completely horrible movie and it's crushingly average/forgettable more than anything. But when people start throwing around five star ratings, I've just gotta put my foot down.

Just got back from seeing Valkyrie, by the by, and I thought it was okay. Nothing to write home about maybe, but it's a competent thriller that really picks up in the second half and Cruise is decent enough. Carice Van Houten's role sets an all-time precedent for Thankless Throwaway Two-Dimensional Wife Characters in Film.

MovieMan8877445

12-28-08, 02:36 AM

Burn After Reading - 4

This is a huge 'what the **** just happened' kind of movie. I really love this movie, but it is just plain weird as ****. Some parts of the movie I really had no idea what was going on, yet I still found it great. And Brad Pitt is just plain hilarious, his character in this would probably make it onto my top 25 favorite movie characters of all-time. The ending is by far the weirdest part of the movie though, I seriously said WTF after the movie was over. I think that this is gonna make it onto my top 100 when I finish it, it's not gonna be super high on it though. I'd highly recommend it, but expect a completely weird movie before watching it.

http://www.notasdecine.es/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/brad-pitt-burn-after-reading.jpg

tramp

12-28-08, 03:17 AM

Yep, Burn After Reading makes a serious tone change about 3/4 through. I saw it earlier this year, and I'm still not sure what to make of it.

THE ENGLISH PATIENT

You know, I think of myself of a pretty savy movie-goer, someone who tries to see all the "big" movies, the award-winning films especially, but I've avoided The English Patient for 11 years. Maybe it was the Seinfeld episode that made me avoid it. Or my friend who said it was boring.

Well, I finally saw it tonight on a movie channel. And I cry at everything -- well, almost, anyway. Jeez, Marley and Me had me nearly sobbing. But this film... nada. Nothing. Not even a lump in the throat. I felt strangely disconnected the entire time. Like I was watching a movie.

Beautiful to look at. That was it for me. Oh well, at least I can say I've seen it. It was the only film of the last 30 years, I think, that won an Oscar that I didn't see. I'm glad I saw it finally but wow, I'm still amazed at how I felt nothing. I wasn't even bored. I liked it.

But there was no emotion in it for me at all. I don't even know how to rate it.

*shrugs*

igor_is_fugly

12-28-08, 05:27 AM

Just got back from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. First off, a couple of comments to add to Swedish Chef's thoughts...

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher, 2008)

I saw this on Christmas morning with my family. It was a sold out theater and I'd be willing to bet I was the only person there who wasn't crying at one point or another during the movie.

Crying? That's weird...The only time I even felt emotional to the point of me being at risk of crying was at a part that I thought was just me being weird cause I'm a dancer(I know that's a confusing sentence, but I don't know how else phrase it...I promise it makes sense). But I still didn't cry cause it wasn't that emotional.

It's an interesting flick with a solid gimmick, no doubt, and I was always mildly curious about where it would go next. But there's a big difference between being mildly curious about where a film's going next and being balls to the walls emotionally invested in it.

Exactly. Maybe why I don't see the whole crying thing.

...So the flick's overlong and the lame framing story with Julia Ormond and Hurricane Katrina doesn't help.

Ha, every time it cut to one of those scenes me and leslie(rice1245) gave each other looks of frustration. They didn't even have a point! It took us out of the story just to be like oh, hey a nurse is taking three minutes to leave the hospital room...now let's dive back into the real story! For such a creative movie I thought they could think of better transitions.

But the movie still can't help but come off as the Forrest Gump for adults. The similarities are too many to not be distracting and that's too bad. Amazingly, though, Benjamin Button's life is still more down to earth and believable than Gump's.

I didn't even think of that. I can see a few similarities, but I would definitely not say they were "too many to not be distracting." Actually, I don't think there are that many at all besides a similar biographical structure that includes a life long love.

For the most part, the romance between Cate Blanchett's Daisy and Pitt's Button works.

Kissing was disappointing though. They built up the passion nicely between the characters and then....nothing. No fireworks.

Also, I love the spirit of New Orleans throughout the movie. My dad grew up there and the movie's like watching what the stories he tells me look like in my head. I'd also like to give props to the incredible technical components of the film: effects, makeup, costumes, cinematography, all wonderful. And the dancing is beautiful. It's so rare to see real dancing in movies now. Why are there so many crappy dance movies?! It makes me so mad.
And I couldn't resist the opportunity to post pics of a few of the glorious modern dance pioneers mentioned in the movie

http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp79/igor_is_fugly/zzz.jpg
Martha Graham- The mother of modern dance. Crazy self descipline.
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp79/igor_is_fugly/Dance_in_Photographs_and_Prints.jpg
Ruth St. Denis-My favorite. She introduced ethnic dance styles(mostly from asia and spain) to the rest of the world and interpreted them into her own style of modern dance.

Anyway....overall I'd give the movie a high 3.5 It's pending though.

Movie Maven

12-28-08, 05:59 AM

Or for people smart enough to see it for what it is...:rolleyes:

An amazing piece of garbage ?:rotfl:

You love it , but you recogonize it's terrible by normal standards.

Good call Meatwad :laugh:

adidasss

12-28-08, 07:31 AM

I think Speed Racer is bad by any standards, even if you're in a "screw it, I just wanna watch something goofy and fun" mood. Maybe I'm not smart enough to see it for what it truly is, but I'm pretty sure it's kinda lame and not in a good way. I do feel like I've shat on Speed Racer way too much around here, though, since it's not a completely horrible movie and it's crushingly average/forgettable more than anything. But when people start throwing around five star ratings, I've just gotta put my foot down.

.
Love it or hate it, one thing you can't say about it is that it's average and especially forgettable. I don't think anyone who's seen it will be quick to forget its visual lavishness because it's unlike anything anyone's ever seen. Fact, sir, fact.

B-card

12-28-08, 08:50 AM

Zack and Miri make a porno(Kevin Smith 2008)-4

Swedish Chef

12-28-08, 11:06 AM

Love it or hate it, one thing you can't say about it is that it's average and especially forgettable. I don't think anyone who's seen it will be quick to forget its visual lavishness because it's unlike anything anyone's ever seen. Fact, sir, fact.

Sir, I'll have to respectfully disagree with that. Just because some lame movie is candy coated with a color palette that threatens to blow out your eyeballs doesn't mean it's not still a lame, forgettable movie. Speed Racer's too superficial to be fun. Reminded me of the old Back to the Future ride at Universal Studios; if that ride had been loaded to the gullet with a Japanese video game level of computer gernerated sensory overload.

Powdered Water

12-28-08, 11:14 AM

Good luck Adi, people piss on Speedracer just to piss on it. Most of them haven't even seen it. Its their loss. There are way to many folks out there that expect a movie to completely change their lives just because they plunked down $9.00 for a ticket and when that doesn't happen they actually think the movie was bad and it couldn't possibly be because they're thinking is screwed up, nooooooo...

Whatever...

Powdered Water

12-28-08, 12:17 PM

Watched a bunch of flicks yesterday...

'O Brother Where Art Thou?' (Joel Coen-2000) 4.5

I watched one of the little features after the flick and the cinematographer actually sort of created a new way to do color for this flick. Well, technically he didn't invent it, but he knew what he wanted to do and after fooling around for a few weeks in his own little shop he took what he had to these guys that do everything digitally. They broke the film down and put it on a 'digital reel' for lack of a better term and then the cinematographer was able to make the colors the way he wanted them. Mississippi is not all yellow and dried out like you see in the film, in case you were interested.

Anyway, one of my favorite Coen brothers films.

Burn After Reading (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen-2008) 3.5

Overall I really liked it, I think there may have been to many oddballs in this flick is all. It seems in some Coen films that there are always a few oddballs in their movies but then there's a contingent of somewhat normal folks too. Really, in this movie the only two people that were remotely "normal" were the two guys who were in it the least. The two CIA agents. And they were great... A pretty classic Coen film though, I will have to watch this a few more times just to pick up some of what was said. They always move along so fast its easy to miss stuff.

Man on Fire (Tony Scott-2004) 2.5

I was sort of surprised how much I got caught up in this. I'm not a huge Denzel fan. He's a bit like Costner to me. He did a pretty serviceable job at the beginning of the film though and I started to care about whether or not he was going to come back from the dead and try to join society. It may very be that I'm just a sucker for second chance stories and the movie was an absolute tragedy. Really the thing that killed this flick the most for me was this bizarre editng/jump cutting thing, that at times was giving a touch of motion sickness, seriously it was almost as bad as just going with shaky cam throughout the the whole damn movie. Might of been a better idea really, at least I would get used to that after awhile.

The Maltese Falcon (John Huston-1941) 5

I don't care what the experts say there are plenty of 5 star movies out there and this is one of them. If you don't know what film noir is, (I don't... not really) then watch this flick. Many claim that this film was the birth of film noir.

So many great lines in this flick. I still see this "pacing" issue cropping up around the board at times and although I still don't really know what that means, I would challenge anyone that thinks Black and White movies are to slow to watch this one and then try and tell me that this flick doesn't move right along. Excellent stuff indeed.

Superman 2 (Richard Lester-1980) 4.5

Probably my favorite one. Its dated and its probably not going to agrree with the younger genreration but I don't care. It's good. Especially Sarah Douglas.

Justin

12-28-08, 01:25 PM

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fincher,2008) - 4.5

Perhaps the best of the year so far.

Swan

12-28-08, 02:49 PM

The Wall - 5

Saw this a long time ago, and I thought it was good and that was it. I felt like revisiting it and I'm really glad I did. This is top 10 material for me, but I probably won't add it until I watch it a few more times. It's one of the weirdest, craziest, trippiest movies I've ever seen - but there's still a story to it which is cool. I love how you can found a million messages in each scene, especially with the lyrics being sung. The animations are absolutely unbelievable - I would watch a one and a half hour movie just of the animations. The film makes little sense... but it would probably make complete sense with drugs.... :)

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/pink_floyd_the_wall_still-2.jpg

Powdered Water

12-28-08, 03:06 PM

If you watch it on LSD don't say I didn't warn you. You may come out on the other side a changed person.

mark f

12-28-08, 03:15 PM

Hello, all. I'm visiting my wife's family, and yesterday I tried to post some flicks in here which I've recently seen, but due to some funky kind of mouse, it deleted all my post. I'll try to put up one very significant film before I go off to brunch now.

Blood Freak (Brad F. Grinter & Steve Hawkes, 1972) 0.5

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h53/BeeFMouTH/BloodFreak.jpg

This is your average, everyday-type film about a peace-loving biker who comes across two sisters who are the opposite of each other. One reads the Bible to him and tries to keep him away from drugs while the other one tries to get him stoned and in bed. Then he goes to work at a turkey farm and comes across two idiot "scientists" who try to enlist him to be a guinea pig by taking drugs and eating lots of turkey. What's a biker supposed to do? Of course, he agrees! Then, after stuffing himself with turkey, he turns into a monster with a turkey head and goes on a rampage killing and maiming various undressed females and cretinous males.

http://www.badmovies.org/movies/bloodfreak/bloodfreak7.jpg

Blood Freak is a godawful mess of a movie, filmed on a shoestring, with non-actors in somebody's trailer home. An on-screen narrator tells you what it all might mean while he puffs away in front a cheap paneled wall (the same one in the above shot). After the biker turns into a giant turkey, the film gets so dark that you cannot see anything, but you can hear some gobbles and a few screams. It does have some blood here and there, but it's few and far between. The only thing which gives it a half a popcorn box is that somebody was actually stoned enough to come up with the idea of the movie and had the guts to film it out of their own pocket with their friends and neighbors in the roles. If anything though, I'm probably making it sound better than it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFU3JOAbMh4

Used Future

12-28-08, 03:20 PM

rice1245

12-28-08, 03:22 PM

Just got back from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. First off, a couple of comments to add to Swedish Chef's thoughts...

Crying? That's weird...The only time I even felt emotional to the point of me being at risk of crying was at a part that I thought was just me being weird cause I'm a dancer(I know that's a confusing sentence, but I don't know how else phrase it...I promise it makes sense). But I still didn't cry cause it wasn't that emotional.

Exactly. Maybe why I don't see the whole crying thing.

Ha, every time it cut to one of those scenes me and leslie(rice1245) gave each other looks of frustration. They didn't even have a point! It took us out of the story just to be like oh, hey a nurse is taking three minutes to leave the hospital room...now let's dive back into the real story! For such a creative movie I thought they could think of better transitions.

I didn't even think of that. I can see a few similarities, but I would definitely not say they were "too many to not be distracting." Actually, I don't think there are that many at all besides a similar biographical structure that includes a life long love.

Kissing was disappointing though. They built up the passion nicely between the characters and then....nothing. No fireworks.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200812/benjaminbutton7_500.jpg

that's pretty much exactly what i thought too, and the same as Chef. The first thing i said to Becca at the end of the movie was "is it just me? or did that feel like the longest movie ever?'' and it definitely isn't the longest movie ever but it sure felt like it was, and i also hate it when they cram too many years into one movie it just seems too unbelievable. It was actually exactly what i thought it would be. 3.5

TheDOMINATOR

12-28-08, 03:30 PM

Superman 2 (Richard Lester-1980) 4.5

Probably my favorite one. Its dated and its probably not going to agrree with the younger genreration but I don't care. It's good. Especially Sarah Douglas.

Richard Lester, seriously? I believe he directed A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, my all-time favorite musical; I had no idea he directed Superman 2. Looks like I'll have to give it a revist, because I've forgotten what it's like.

Movie Maven

12-28-08, 08:08 PM

If you watch it on LSD don't say I didn't warn you. You may come out on the other side a changed person.

You mean I would start having seizures, throw up, be drugged and not know where i was after it was all over ???? :rotfl:

MovieMan8877445

12-28-08, 09:22 PM

Changeling - 4.5

Review in my movie review thread.

TheDOMINATOR

12-28-08, 11:06 PM

The Godfather Part III - 3
(FIRST VEIWING)

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/2439/10845godfatherlmy7.jpg

After tonight, I can understand why this film gets almost zero recognition compared to the first two installations of The Godfather saga. I thought it was a decent movie with some interesting (yet disturbing) new concepts not presented before in the saga (incest), but it fell far short of what was expected considering its title.

Lennon

12-29-08, 12:37 AM

Slumdog Millionaire 4

Powdered Water

12-29-08, 01:15 AM

Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle-2008) 4.5

A pretty interesting flick from Boyle, I wonder why he decided to make a film in India? I love, love, love, love stories so I enjoyed a large part of this film because it had a pretty good one even though it was wrapped around a rather depressing window into everyday life in the lower class of the Indian citizenry. They seem like a relatively happy country though, even if the bulk of them are still using the river for a toilet. I've actually always been more than a little fascinated by their culture, I'm just glad I don't have to live there. So yeah, very good flick. I guess its Oscar worthy, its becoming painfully obvious to me that I don't really know what qualifies a movie to be Oscar worthy, but the buzz around the campfire is that this is one of them so we'll just wait and see I guess.

MovieMan8877445

12-29-08, 01:23 AM

Dirty Harry - 5

This is top 10 material for me, I've gotta rewatch it and make sure it's as great with a rewatch, but I think this is gonna make it onto my top 10. Clint Eastwood is amazing, he can make any role beyond awesome. I'm pretty sure that Clint Eastwood is my new favorite actor, I've seen many stuff by him recently and they've all been great, so yeah I'm pretty sure he's my new favorite actor. I hope that when I watch the rest of the Dirty Harry series that they're all this great, I don't think they'll be as great as Dirty Harry though, I just hope that they're at least good. Harry Callahan is probably gonna make it onto my favorites character's list, and he's probably gonna be pretty high. But if you like Eastwood, this is a movie you definitely need to check out.

http://www.searchviews.com/wp-content/themes/clean-copy-full-3-column-1/images/dirtyharry.JPG

Swan

12-29-08, 01:01 PM

Aliens - 4

Kickass movie, I love it. James Cameron is the man.

The queen xenomorph... that's about as epic as epic gets. The only thing going through my mind during the shot which introduced her was "whoooooooooooooooooooooooa!".

:)

Sedai

12-29-08, 02:12 PM

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, 1950) - I love this film! I have seen it many times at this point, and it only gets better.

5

http://www.mardecortesbaja.com/SwansonSunsetBoulevardBaja.jpg

"There once was a time in this business when I had the eyes of the whole world! But that wasn't good enough for them, oh no! They had to have the ears of the whole world too. So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. Talk! TALK!!"

rice1245

12-29-08, 03:06 PM

The Spirit (2008) - 4

http://willeisner.com/blog/images/movie_Silken_Floss_500.jpg

i really like this movie. It was actually incredibly funny which was surprising but i laughed at it a lot and it's super watchable. I saw it on christmas day then i saw it again this weekend because i had some sort of craving for it. I love it when that happens :yup:

The War of the Roses (1989) - i dunno

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2384/2540060120_54aeeed5f5.jpg?v=0

I can't decide what to rate this movie because i realize it's not very good but i used to watch it alllll the time when i was little then i completely forgot about it until i saw it at half-priced books the other day and bought it. So i still love this movie a lot but it's still...not very...good...i suppose...maybe

Citizen Kane (1941) - 5
[first viewing]
http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/ck.jpg

this was my first time watching Citizen Kane and it was way better than i thought it would be. I like the depth of it, like this picture ^^^ he's a miniscule portion caught in all of his material posessions that overwhelm him, a lot fo the way the movie was shot has that sort of feel to it, especially when the wife is doing jigsaw puzzles alone in the giant castle. And i love when Kane says "If i hadn't been rich, i might have been a really great man." his money is holding him back yet it was the thing that enabled his genius. it's sort of like money vs. your humanity...so anyway yeah i really liked it.

This is Spinal Tap (1984) - 4
[first viewing]
http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2006/09/spinal_tap_security.jpg

Super super funny, tons of memorable moments and quotable lines.

House of 1,000 Corpses (2003) - 2.5
[first viewing]
http://images.blu-ray.com/reviews/97_1.jpg

With Rob Zombie's movies (except Halloween because it was just horrible) i can't ever pin point what wasn't that good about them... i felt the same sort of thing at the end of Devil's Rejects too and i can't really describe why it wasn't good or what it was missing or if it had too much of something...so i dunno, middle rating for now

Sedai

12-29-08, 03:14 PM

The War of the Roses isn't a good film... it's great! I like it a whole lot.

The problem with R. Zombie's films is that he is a total hack.

TheDOMINATOR

12-29-08, 03:36 PM

I agree regarding The War of the Roses; I like it a lot, also. I love the way the story is told throughout the film.

rice1245

12-29-08, 05:15 PM

phew i thought i was alone, i love the ending where Kathleen Turner pushes his hand off of her, it's hilarious

igor_is_fugly

12-29-08, 07:29 PM

Ugh, it's so painful to admit this, but I like that picture of Citizen Kane and the way you describe it makes it sound not completely detestable. I supose I'll rewatch it. I watched it in like 6th grade with super high expectations seeing as it was AFI's greatest movie of all time and...let's just say I was not pleased. That movie has just come to represent the embodiment of all of those boring, monotone, overrated, critic's wet dream kind of movies that get all the undeserved credit for being the "best" while real creative talent is being ignored. As I said though, I'll try to stifle my hate for it enough to rewatch it in a more mature mindset.

MovieMan8877445

12-29-08, 07:51 PM

Magnum Force - 4.5

Man this was a great movie, not quite as good as the first Dirty Harry, but still a great movie. Clint Eastwood is perfect in the role of Harry Callahan, he just plays it perfect. I was considering bumping this up to a 10/10, but I just decided that the rating I gave would do fine. So far I'm really loving the Dirty Harry series, I still have 3 more of the movies from the Dirty Harry series to watch though, so hopefully I'll still love it after I watch the next three movies. But this is definitely a movie to anyone who's a fan of Clint Eastwood, like I am. But yeah, this movie was great.

http://thecia.com.au/reviews/m/images/magnum-force-7.jpg

Swan

12-29-08, 08:49 PM

igor_is_fugly

12-29-08, 09:22 PM

Sorry to repeat rice a bit but:

The Spirit

I loved sin city but for some reason wasn't expecting much from The Spirit, which made it even nicer when it turned out to be awesome. First off, I'll admit some of the dialog irked me, and the girl who played the young Sand Saref was horrible, and Miller didn't take any chances veering away from the signature look he set in Sin City. However, I still love the movie. It was so zany and random and visually stunning and absolutely hilarious. And the characters are all fantastic, I loved every one of them. And I've officially forgiven Scarlett Johansson for marrying Ryan Reynolds(he'll leave her for me I know it!), I've always been pretty neutral towards her but she really won me over with her Silken Floss.

4

House of 1000 Corpses

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a sucker for horror movies, but Rob Zombie, you disappoint me. I didn't care about any of the characters, the kill scenes weren't creative or even that gory...the only thing the movie really had to offer were the impressively crazy killers and pretty cool, classic set design.
1.5

Black Christmas(2006)

Don't judge me. I liked it. It was fun, funny, and didn't try to be anything it wasn't.
I'll give it a pending 2.5

La Vie En Rose
http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Articles/20071106/425.vie.rose.110607.jpg

Wow. There was so much about this movie that was incredible, but the wow was for Marion Cotillard. I'm so glad she won that oscar. And while that was what struck me right away, the rest of the movie I'm liking more and more with time. And I watched some interviews with Marion Cotillard and the director and I really like how they approached making the movie. Marion Cotillard didn't practice gestures in front of the mirror or anything, she just transformed herself completely and immediately when the camera turned on. And I like how Olivier Dahan wasn't looking to do a movie on Edith Piaf, but just one about an artist and how they percieve the world and she was the figure that came to him. I'm fairly confident in saying that this is next in line as my favorite biography right after Into the Wild. The only reason I'm not giving it a perfect scor is because of how much the movie jumped between time periods in the last half hour or so. I don't think there's ever an easy way to fit a person's whol life into a few hours, but the choppiness was pretty bothersome.

4.5

Ðèstîñy

12-29-08, 11:06 PM

The War of the Roses isn't a good film... it's great! I like it a whole lot.

The problem with R. Zombie's films is that he is a total hack.

I agree with all of that.

What's Up, Doc? (1972)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xgNymWlWL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Director ~ Peter Bogdanovich

Barbra Streisand
Ryan O'Neal
Madeline Kahn
John Hillerman
Kenneth Mars
Austin Pendleton
Randy Quaid
M. Emmet Walsh
Michael Murphy
Sorrell Booke
Graham Jarvis
Philip Roth
Liam Dunn . . .

I haven't seen this in years, but I recently purchased it, and many others. I will list them later on in the DVD thread. If you haven't seen this movie, you truly should. It's very funny. I also love the cast. It's fun remembering everything I've seen them all in.

Iroquois

12-29-08, 11:27 PM

http://mooviemart.ie/Catalogue/Image_Files/DownByLaw.jpg

Down By Law (Jarmusch, 1986) - 3

It's funny, really. This film (along with Stranger Than Paradise) seems like a well-done parody of black-and-white arthouse films, with its erratic quality of acting, plenty of seemingly meaningless scenes, black-and-white photography, etc. I still reckon it's an OK film to watch, but I find the whole "less-is-more" approach doesn't work particularly well for me.

Caitlyn

12-29-08, 11:44 PM

Apocalypto (2006) - 5
(First viewing)

WOW. I was not expecting such a unbelievably great film; I thought it was going to be a boring, 2-hour long cougar-fighting action film about Mayans. But this film is so much more than that. It is one of the most intense, captivating films I have seen in my life. Apocalypto will easily make my top ten list with a rewatch, and in fact probably even my top five. My thoughts right now include immediately making this my second favorite film of all-time. I want to... that's how much it blew me away.

I love Apocalypto and will probably be adding it to my top 100 list when I redo it... :)

Recently watched:

The Duchess (2008) 4/5 ... very moving sad movie... Keira Knightley did an excellent job as the Duchess...

mark f

12-29-08, 11:50 PM

Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008) 3

http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Man_on_Wire/man_on_wire_movie_poster.jpg

I know, my rating seems a little low for a film depicting a real-life incident almost completely unbelievable, not to mention often exciting and funny. Perhaps, I'll raise my rating next time, but this is still a recommendation for a film which somehow left me feeling as if I was missing a little something. Maybe it was because it wasn't as documented visually as I was hoping, but then again, what did I expect? I know how things were in 1974 when Frenchman Philippe Petit and his small crew of linesman and helpers made it to the top of the World Trade Center, and Petit proceeded to walk back and forth between the Twin Towers for 45 minutes with no safety cable, while the police try to remove him for violating the law by being "man on wire" (according to the NYPD citation). I will rewatch the film and change my rating if I deem it necessary. I liked the offbeat humor the film displays, but sometimes it seems a bit extended.

Ivanhoe (Richard Thorpe, 1952) 4

http://www.cinemotions.net/data/films/0119/22/1/affiche_Ivanhoe_1952_1.jpg

Surprisingly, this M-G-M romantic action-adventure seems to get better with each passing year. The story, concerning Richard the Lionheart's kidnapping/ransom during the Crusades while England suffers under the rule of Prince John (Guy Rolfe), is full of strong characters and plotting and doesn't shy away from labeling people, whether they be Normans, Saxons, Jews, etc. The hero is Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe (Robert Taylor), the estranged son of his Sir Cedric (Finlay Currie), who learns of Richard's imprisonment in Austria and returns home to raise a ransom and try to dispatch as many Norman as possible, the chief of whom is Bois-Guilbert (George Sanders). Ivanhoe is aided by the love of his life, Lady Rowena (Joan Fontaine) and also the beautiful daughter (Elizabeth Taylor) of a wealthy Jewish nobleman (Felix Aylmer). The film is photographed in gorgeous color and graced with a memorable Miklós Rózsa score. It also contains three rousing action highlights: the lists where Ivanhoe poses as the Black Knight and jousts with five of Prince John's men in succession; the spectacular siege by the Saxons and their longbowsmen of a Norman castle; and the duel to the death at the end between Ivanhoe and Bois-Guilbert. Great entertainment.

The Blot (Lois Weber, 1921) 2

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t203/bejmaf/blot.jpg

This is a little-seen, but still interesing silent drama concerning the gulf between the haves and the have-nots. The wisest character in the film is a Professor who cannot even earn enough money to keep food on his famiy's table. His wife almost steals food from her rich neighbors, and when her beautiful daughter witnesses this, she's incredibly embarrassed for her family. However, one of the Professor's students (Louis Calhern) is attracted to the daughter and feels sorry for her and her family, so he tries to help them by secretly leaving them some money in their home during a visit, but unfortunately it gets lost! That's enough plot, but I will say that the film is still watchable and interestingly made. One technique which I enjoyed is that during some title cards, you could see a character moving around in the corner, and when they edited back to the film proper, that character would be front-and-center in the scene. However, this film is VERY significant historically because the director, Lois Weber, was the first woman to direct a feature film. She directed and starred as Portia in the 1914 film The Merchant of Venice. Weber remained a successful silent director, but she directed only one talking film, White Heat (1934).

Mr. Hulot's Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953) 2.5

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005A8TV.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

I've never liked the cliché that "comedy is subjective", but sometimes when you see a comedian who is very original, it does challenge my intolerance of that phrase. I've seen several Tati films, and I'll be the first to admit that much of them seem to be a whole heckuva lot of nothing. Then again, there are occasional bursts of ecstatic joy to be found in each one. This film probably has as much joy as any of them. Mr. Hulot is a simple Frenchman who goes to a seaside resort for a week of relaxation, but what he finds relaxing frays most other vacationers' nerves. Hulot is a true innocent at heart, but just as some children cannot tell right from wrong, Hulot can cause plenty of trouble by just trying to be happy. There are some classic scenes in this film involving a car, a bicycle and some fireworks. There are also extended scenes, which while cinematic in their use of sound, may test the patience of some viewers. However, it's probably true that without Hulot, there would be no Clouseau or Bean.

TheDOMINATOR

12-30-08, 12:16 AM

Scream 3 - 2

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/4310/scream3ver1ln6.jpg

Just about as enjoyable as the second Scream. Some witty dialogue and film references and a couple of pretty cool moments throughout involving the killer, but ultimately I'm not a big fan of the trilogy and this installation didn't help reverse that.

Donnie Darko - 4.5

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/9875/donniedarkosf3.jpg

My first rewatch in nearly a year. The film and its concept is both enthralling and intriguing, but I'm not quite sure I can consider it "Top 10 material" any longer after tonight's viewing. I like Donnie Darko very much, but to make room for other films I've recently seen for the first time like The Godfather and The Day the Earth Stood Still, Donnie Darko is one I can remove.

Movie Maven

12-30-08, 12:19 AM

Swan

12-30-08, 12:19 AM

Donnie Darko - 4.5

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/9875/donniedarkosf3.jpg

My first rewatch in nearly a year. The film and its concept is both enthralling and intriguing, but I'm not quite sure I can consider it "Top 10 material" any longer after tonight's viewing. I like Donnie Darko very much, but to make room for other films I've recently seen for the first time like The Godfather and The Day the Earth Stood Still, Donnie Darko is one I can remove.

That's what happened to me with my most recent rewatch.

TheDOMINATOR

12-30-08, 12:26 AM

Boogeyman 3 4 - I think this is the best out of all three releases. The first was alright, the second kinda dragged but this was a pretty good flick. I enjoyed it. :cool:

http://i39.tinypic.com/205csht.jpg

I didn't even know there was another sequel to Boogeyman. I enjoyed the first two pretty well, both about 3's in my eyes. The second one took the first in a new direction, the killer [Spoiler] being human instead of "the Boogeyman." I had mixed feelings about that, but I thought the end result was decent nonetheless.

Movie Maven

12-30-08, 12:33 AM

I didn't even know there was another sequel to Boogeyman.....

It won't hit rental shelves till Jan 20, 2009.

TheDOMINATOR

12-30-08, 12:34 AM

Ah. That explains it, then. :D

iluv2viddyfilms

12-30-08, 01:44 AM

A few I've seen lately.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974, Joseph Sargent)

http://www.cinemaretro.com/uploads/taking_of_pelham_one_two_th.jpg

Classic action/crime/heist film about a group of thieves led by Robert Shaw who disguise their identity with code color names such as Mr. White and so on. Sound familar? Yep everyone's favorite Mr. Tarantino took the idea from the film. Anyways the thieves demand several million dollars to be delievered to them otherwise they are going to start killing passengers on the New York City subway they hijacked. Dialogue is sound and the plot is pretty cool. Walter Matthau plays the cop out to foil Shaw. Some nice tension. Just an all around great crime flick. Loved the ending.

Grade: A

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The Laughing Policeman (1974, Stuart Rosenberg)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KATNFANYL._SL500.jpg

Another crime flick staring Walter Matthau from the same year. This time he's at the otherside of Interstate 80 in San Francisco as a cop who's partner is killed tracking down a killer on a bus. Talk about killings in your mass transit system. Bruce Dern pairs up with him as his new partner as they attempt to figure out the string of killings before he strikes again. They search more seedy parts of the city and trace their way to gay bars and clubs. The film never really resonated much with me because the villain is largely unknown and motiveless. I don't want to call it a buddy picture because it's not. I think the story could have been more tightly written.

Grade: B-

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Buffalo Bill and the Indians: Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976, Robert Altman)

http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/images/films/2007summer/august_buffalobill.jpg

Robert Altman returns to direct a film set in the old west, however unlike his masterpiece McCabe & Mrs. Miller, this movie is sunny, delightful, and full of comedy and hope. Hope for the white man at least, depending on how you read the film. Essentially it takes place as the old west dwindles down, American Indians live on reservations and the last "renegades" are being tracked down, and buffalo and Indians hunters such as Buffalo Bill Cody have been reduced to sideshow attractions. Paul Newman brings a certain grace to the title role. The supporting cast is excellent. A novel idea for a movie and a very enjoyable one whether you like westerns or not. Of course if you know anything about Altman you'll know conventional is not his cup of tea so again it's not your traditional western. The best moments in the film feature Sitting Bull playing tricks whether intentionally or simply through misunderstanding.

Grade: B+

rice1245

12-30-08, 04:11 AM

Apocalypto (2006) - 5
(First viewing)

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l263/eliteopinion/apocalypto_poster.jpg

WOW. I was not expecting such a unbelievably great film; I thought it was going to be a boring, 2-hour long cougar-fighting action film about Mayans. But this film is so much more than that. It is one of the most intense, captivating films I have seen in my life. Apocalypto will easily make my top ten list with a rewatch, and in fact probably even my top five. My thoughts right now include immediately making this my second favorite film of all-time. I want to... that's how much it blew me away.

yes yes yes!!!! Apocalypto is one of my favorite movies ever i hope Mel Gibson directs more because i loved Braveheart but i loved this one even more there's almost no dialogue but it's so intense! it's just one long giant chase scene but yet it's so amazing! i'm so happy you love it, it's definitely in my top...something or other, i just can't form lists it's beyond me

Iroquois

12-30-08, 07:53 AM

http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/875/875163/tropic-thunder-20080519024741091_640w.jpg

Tropic Thunder (Stiller, 2008) - 2

This has the distinction of being the only movie I got this Christmas. Second time through, it's not as funny. The shock value of a first-time viewing is pretty badly lost a second time around. I also fail to see the point of a director's cut as any extra parts I noticed were distinctly unfunny. This is a problem as the movie was already too long and rather lame already. The only highlights were Robert Downey Jr's performance and the first 10-15 minutes.

I wish I had Pineapple Express instead.

Sedai

12-30-08, 11:27 AM

Hard Candy (Slade, 2005) 4

http://btr.michaelkwan.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/hardcandy-movie.jpg

Although this flick is completely bereft of likable characters, I found myself enjoying the taut, psychological game that unfolded between said characters. A bold risk by the director; I think it works. Page and Wilson are both great in their roles.

Yoda

12-30-08, 11:33 AM

Watched a few films over the last week or so...

The Spirit (theaters, review forthcoming)
Breathless
The Philadelphia Story
No Country for Old Men (twice)
The Dark Knight

Hoping to catch Valkyrie later this week. Maybe tomorrow.

Swan

12-30-08, 04:34 PM

Magic (1978) - 4

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c382/reverendroberto/magic1978.jpg

I really love this movie. It's way too underrated. Of the films I've seen with Anthony Hopkins, it seems my favorite performances by him are also his most unappreciated (Magic, Hearts in Atlantis), and his most praised performances I never cared for (Silence of the Lambs).

Fats (the dummy) was creepy as hell. Because of him, the sex scene went from being pretty bad to being really great. Creepy, but still a fantastic character.

It just boggles my mind why this film is never talked about or appreciated. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

mikeython1

12-30-08, 06:37 PM

I think I am going to rent this movie and check it out Swan. I also like Anthony Hopkins and have a soft spot for Burgess Meredith!
http://i.1asphost.com/RockyFan/meredith.jpg

MovieMan8877445

12-30-08, 06:38 PM

Sudden Impact - 2.5

This lost all of the feel the Dirty Harry movies are supposed to have IMO. It felt way too different from the first three, and it really wasn't great anyway. Clint Eastwood is awesome in the role of Harry Callahan, but that's about the only great thing about this. I also felt that this was too long, I mean I know it was the same length as Magnum Force, but Magnum Force was much better overall. And I didn't really like much of the characters in this one anyway, I did love the Coffee shop robbery at the beginning though, that definitely had the Dirty Harry feel.

http://thecia.com.au/reviews/s/images/sudden-impact-10.jpg

The Dead Pool - 3.5
This one got some of the Dirty Harry feel back to the series, not all of it though. I liked this one much better than the fourth one, also length really wasn't a problem with this one because it was the shortest one of the series. I liked more of the characters in this one, especially Harry's partner in this one, I thought he was a great character. Like in all of them though, Harry Callahan was my favorite character out of all of them. But yeah, this was an improvement from the fourth one, but still doesn't compare with the first three.

http://img5.allocine.fr/acmedia/rsz/434/x/x/x/medias/nmedia/18/36/11/70/18453827.jpg