Movie Tab II [Archive] - Page 38

Swan

02-03-09, 02:27 AM

Surf's Up (2007) - 4

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/SurfsUpMoviePoster-1.jpg

I really, really enjoyed this. I have a huge love for fun, light-hearted animated films like this. In fact, they are probably my favorite type of movies to watch because they entertain me so much. That's why my rating is so shockingly high. ;)

Braveheart (1995) - 3.5+

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/Braveheart_poster-1.jpg

This was a huge surprise. It never really looked like anything special, to me. Just seemed to be 'there', I guess. But I actually thought it was very good. The battle scenes were incredibly.

"FREEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOM" gets triple hidden points.

The Triplets of Belleville (2003) - 4+

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/affiche_triplettes-1.jpg

This is a fantastic animated film. I saw it back when it came out, a few times actually. So I bought it and watched it again. The animation is awesome, the characters are great, the music is fantastic. Bravo. I had to rate this just a little above Surf's Up, even though Surf's Up was slightly more entertaining, just because of how well-made and creative this is.

Happy Feet (2006) - 2.5

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/SONIS/C1748%7EHappy-Feet-Posters.jpg

Pretty good, I guess, but not as good as Surf's Up (which is really the only reason I decided to watch this). The animation was kind of lame in comparison to most of the stuff being released these days, and the voice-over work wasn't that good at all. It didn't seem natural and spontaneous, like it felt in Surf's Up. Also, I think Cars is a much better film and deserved 'Best Animated Picture' over this by far.

BUT I still liked it a decent amount. It isn't good until the end, where you sort of 'get the point', and I liked that. The tapping and dance numbers were awesome, and the five little Hispanic dudes were the best.

mark f

02-03-09, 04:57 AM

My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2008) 3.5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY9BtROpNQ4

Note: This is much funnier than Borat, even if I thought that was funny.

There is little doubt in my mind that this is one of the most original and audacious films to come down the [Holden] pike in many a year. It does remind me of various David Lynch films, especially Eraserhead and The Elephant Man, as well as Lars von Trier's Europa, aka Zentropa, but this film is far more unique and cinematic than all of those combined. Guy Maddin, that wonderfully-idiosyncratic Manitoban filmmaker, has never left his beloved and dreaded hometown of Winnipeg, at least if you believe this movie which is a hoot-and-a-half pseudo-documentary about everything good and bad in Winnipeg's history and everything it made Maddin come to believe about himself which he claims was fully formed by the city in "the heart of the heart of the continent". This film is difficult to review because to give away any of its offbeat charm and wacko humor would be completely unthinkable. Needless to say, of all the Maddin flicks I've seen thus far, this is easily the most-entertaining, the most-cinematic and the most-personal.

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/080611/my-winnipeg_l.jpg

That lump under the rug on the floor is the remains of Guy's Dad's dead body... but I can't go into that anymore. However, I think it's fair to say that Maddin is obsessed with Winnipeg's "forks, laps and fur", as well as the way the city's hockey history transformed from "old-time hockey" to NHL heathenism to the fact that one of Winnipeg's only growth industries is demolition. Maddin feels gleefully free to share his traumatic and intense sexual experiences, whether concerning young teenage girl "whores" during a Communist march or the man-sweat of a certain hockey legend whose jersey he "adopted" to shoot "homoerotic slapshots" in. :cool:

http://steprobin.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/mywinnipeg2.jpg

It's difficult, as I said, to add any more, even though narrator Maddin piles on with info about streets which "aren't even allowed to be on the regular maps" and dueling cab companies. When Maddin decides to get into the city's old swimming pools, all three of them, each closer to Hell (or the "forks under the forks") than the last one, you just might lose your lunch as you come to understand how sexually-debauched Winnipeg "truly" is. :D I recommend this film wholeheartedly, especially as a brand old seemingly-bizarre filmmaking style which is as entertaining and inviting as anything connoting that dirty word, "commercial".

Traitor (Jeffrey Nachmanoff, 2008) 2.5

http://www.libertyfilmfestival.com/libertas/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/traitor_l200806301553.jpg

This is a modern terrorist flick and it's pretty up-to-date in that the main character, played by Don Cheadle, is a Muslim, and it's difficult to tell who his allegiances are with since he's been undercover for about 20 years now. It does appear that the Cheadle character is committing acts against the U.S. at this point in time, so this FBI agent played by Guy Pearce tries to capture him to lead him to even larger terrorist threats. Things don't play out too smoothly and Cheadle escapes, setting up a cat-and-mouse second act which is even more mysterious than the first act. This film is actually involving and an attempt to be uncliched, but even so, there are just so many similar films that it doesn't really rise much above the high end of the mediocre. Even so, I'd imagine that it's better than quite a few similar "thrillers" I've gone out of my way to miss so far.

Doubt (Johm Patrick Shanley, 2008) 3.5

http://popwatch.ew.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/10/07/doubt_l.jpg

Doubt is set in 1964, but you can easily tell that it deals with the Catholic Church's still-current bane of how priests can possibly be guilty of child molestation, even though now we can see it in retrospect as a horrible crime-within-a-crime which hardly anyone back then would notice, except perhaps for Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), an old-fashioned Principal-Nun who may very well have, rightly or wrongly, dealt with many abusing priests down through the years. This time, she has to deal with Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who "seems" to be paying too much attention to a certain young student, but is his attention "immorally-criminal" or is it just somehow questionable in front of a nun who sees everything in the worst possible light? The film presents things even-handedly, and even if you are 100% sure that things are a certain way, you could very well be wrong because the script and direction are so sharp. This is an ensemble film, so all the supporting performances are just as important as the leads, and besides that, this film leads all films this year with FOUR acting nominations.

http://www.obsessedwithfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/doubt-trailer-yes.png http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-NhlDPFa_0g/SM3L1EGJvHI/AAAAAAAAA-c/kUcX1imslIo/s320/Davis_Doubt.jpg

Amy Adams plays a complex part where she sees almost everything from both perspectives. She can be turned by both lead characters depending on what she learns and feels, but in general, she looks on the bright side of people. Viola Davis plays the mom of the possibly-abused boy in question, and she looks at things from the perspective of just letting her boy survive this school year to qualify for a better, non-Catholic school the next year. Maybe she thinks he's getting too much "love and attention" from the priest but she feels it's OK as a form of recompense because the boy's father is already beating him because he has a feeling that his son may very well be gay. Doubt is not all black-and-white in its depiction of what happens at this church and school. In fact, when Meryl Streep's character breaks down at the end, it really makes you think that she knows nothing at all and has been laying her own "guilt trip" on potentially-innocent priests all along. Then again, maybe not...

Lusty Argonian

02-03-09, 05:16 AM

http://www.channel4.com/film/media/images/Channel4/film/T/taken_xl_02--film-A.jpg

TAKEN

3

Don't mess with Bryan Mills' daughter because he's likely to find you and kill your ass with your own gun. He seems to specialize in that particular kind of human extermination and gets a myriad of opportunities to do just that to a countless number of bad men who in someway lent a hand in the kidnapping of his daughter.

There's really not much for me to actually critique here. The story is ridiculously straight forward and much of the character development is put aside to make room for Liam Neeson to make a bunch of people wish they hadn't got up that morning. The action which serves as the backbone of the picture, propels the story forward in a most entertaining fashion. The fact that the main character is mowing down all these people for the sake of his daughter does trigger some vague emotional response but for the most part the kinetic energy of the combat scenes is what's setting off the pleasure centers of your brain. There's nothing that satisfies in quite the same manner as seeing the good guy beat a room full of baddies to the floor with stuff that just happened to be lying around.

The acting throughout is top notch because there's barely time for anyone but Liam Neeson to make an impression and he is performing on a very high level here. He pulled no acting "punches" despite the fact that this is a straight up action movie. His decision to do this however does make for a much more satisfying watch and convinces us that there is more to his antics than just a general compulsion to snuff out people by the handful. Pretty much what I'm saying is that he IS a dad on the hunt for his daughter in a dangerous world. It's pretty cool to see an actor do that instead of playing it a little less serious like what Bruce Willis did in Live Free or Die Hard.

I liked this movie and the crowd reaction told me that everyone else in the theater did too. Craving a solid action flick? Check this out. Think Bourne Identity meets Spartan.

Lusty Argonian

02-03-09, 05:19 AM

My Winnipeg sounds very cool, mark. Imma have to check that out sometime.

MyRobotSuit

02-03-09, 09:01 AM

hmm, I've kind of been away for a while so I've watched quite a few movies. I'll just say the last couple of movies I saw which I really enjoyed were Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler.

rice1245

02-03-09, 03:36 PM

yeah Swan for me i liked Surf's Up a lot which is strange and Happy Feet not so much...

igor_is_fugly

02-03-09, 04:50 PM

I wanted Nullah to die. He evaded death sooo many times and caused more problems than he was worth, lol but that's just me, a childless loveless 17 year old :P

Ditto

I've been sick lately so I've been watching some comfort movies.

Pulp Fiction
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t20/jonathanzabel/Pulp-Fiction-movie-02.jpg

:D5

Once

http://rickoshea.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/once1.jpg

This is possibly the most comforting movie ever. It's like a microfiber robe for the heart.

4+

Garden State
http://www.lazydork.com/movies/gardenstate.jpg

Another great comfort movie. There's so much fantastic, adorable, quarky stuff in it that makes it so easy to love. I love movies where you're excited for every single character to come on screen; Sam's mom, Tim, Carol(in an outstanding performance by Jean Smart), Mark, Jesse, Aunt Sylvia, and of course Sam. And I love the subtle physical comedy and the soundtrack and the crazy families and Largeman trying to swim and the hamster graveyard and Natalie Portman having the saddest cry ever and I love all the little moments that make this movie what it is.

4.5

Clue
http://christopherbanks.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/clue-pic.jpg

I think this was my best movie watching experience. Ever. This was a childhood movie of mine and I hadn't seen it in so long, but I still remembered every line and it made me soo happy! And there was a bunch of lines that I didn't get as a kid but I get now so it was like discovering entirely new things about something I thought I knew inside and out...idk it's hard to describe but it was amazing.
4.5

Death Becomes Her
http://www.documentsdartistes.org/artistes/lenoir/images/3c4.jpg

Another childhood movie. I've probably seen this movie around 40 times, and I still laugh. It's so over the top and clever and fun and funny and sexy and weird and...yea. It's a personal favorite. And if my reccomendation isn't enough, you should rent this just to watch Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn beat the sh*t out of each other with shovels for a good 5 minutes. You can't beat that.
3.5+

A Histroy of Violence
http://www.scenicreflections.com/ithumbs/william_hurt_ahov_wallpaper_215.jpg

William Hurt is like one of the best things I've ever seen. I actually really like the whole movie. It had an interesting story, some great performances, and some really badass fight scenes. However, everything pales in comparison to the 7 minutes or so when the powerful ball of charisma that is William Hurt is released.

3.5+

The Strangers

http://blog.ugo.com/images/uploads/strangers-poster-tiny.jpg
The first half hour or so of this is one of the best, in my opinion, of any horror movie out there. The unexplained tension that exists between the couple as soon as the movie starts immediately draws your attention. It's revealed that she's just rejected his marriage proposal, an interesting and unique relationship complex that lingers throughout the movie. The atmosphere that's set up right from the begining is also exemplary. Music has a distinct presence in the film, and the eerie song picks are perfectly in keeping with the feel of the movie. There's an indescribable intimacey about everything. You are seeing a couple in a moment of weakness and of great emotional exposure, you are in the main character's childhood home, you are watching them go through their nightly rituals. Your attatchment to the characters are being built without you knowing it. When the strangers final do start their games, the filmmakers take the much more rare and much more effective route of extreme creepiness instead of all the cliche bangs and whistles. Like I said, the first half hour or so of just the crazy creepy stuff is fantastic, even genius, and is really what makes this movie memorable. That and the kicker ending. The middle is pretty disappointing filler, but still well executed. Overall, a nice breath of fresh air from the unoriginal,commercialized, crap horror movies that have been coming out in slews lately.
3.5

undercoverlover

02-03-09, 06:01 PM

Amelie First Viewing. Do you ever put off watching a film and then when you finally do watch it, you can't believe you left it so long? I put off Amelie and am now kicking myself for waiting so long. There's nothing I can say about this film that wont have already been said by smarter people who made the effort to see this film years ago. I'm ashamed but needless to say it is an astounding film, full of charm and beauty. I think Adrienne Shelley's Waitress is kind of an American styled version of this; fantasy and sweet charm that echoes Amelie.

Lusty Argonian

02-03-09, 06:27 PM

http://www.tribute.ca/tribute_objects/images/movies/identity/identity14.jpg

IDENTITY

3.5

Movies don't scare me easy but you can bet your McNuggets that my soup gets boiled on the rare occasion that one does succeed in breaking down my defenses. What? Soup? McNuggets? I don't understand me anymore but I'll blame that on the movie which was a very scary watch despite the fact that I went in with a general idea of what was going to happen thanks to a few remarks by people had already seen it. I'll deal with them later...

The film takes place on a night where the rain is coming down so hard that you wish you had that underwater car that James Bond had in The Spy Who Loved Me. On this night a series of unfortunate coincidences and accidents land a group of people at a crappy looking motel that makes the Bates establishment look like the Marriott. It is here at the motel where the group of people realize that something very sinister is taking place after one of their number is gruesomely murdered. Creepy stuff. As is custom in the horror genre, things get worse from that point on.

Identity was directed by James Mangold who continues to impress me with his work. One of the film's great achievements is its atmosphere and for that I can't just give credit to Mangold but everyone who worked behind the scenes on the set. The look of the motel rooms were perfect. Creepy yet still your average motel room. The exterior scenes must've been a "B" to shoot with all that water and that hard work paid off because many of those scenes gave me chills with their balance of aeshetic creepiness which was provided by those people behind the camera and then that deeper kind of creepiness which has everything to do with the actors and the story.

This movie was a lot of fun and it may be gimmicky but when a horror movie manages to be this scary it almost doesn't matter how it got there. I'm not happy I put off watching this for so long but I am happy that I only finally decided to watch it at one in the morning by myself. If you do intend to watch this, which you should, make sure to wait till the sun goes down and turn off the lights.

Pyro Tramp

02-03-09, 07:22 PM

Ok, my pile of discs goes back a few weeks but here are standouts, writeups in my Quickie thread soon :)

Underworld 3
The Wrestler
Passion of the Christ
Peep Show: Series 3 / 4/ 5
Tenebrae
Pineapple Express
Pi
Son of Rambow
Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantamano Bay
Le Samourai
Altered States
FF4: Rise Silver Surfer
Outpost
Teeth
The Departed
Donkey Punch
Volver
Tell No One
2012: After the Fall of New York
Superfly
Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Big Lebowski
Dead Set

Used Future

02-03-09, 07:40 PM

2012: After the Fall of New York

:nope:

http://www.pauraprod.com/images/SOPKIW001.jpg
Parsifal gives Pyro's error a dirty look

2019: After the Fall of New York :yup:

Pyro Tramp

02-03-09, 07:45 PM

I even had the disc in front of me

Sinny McGuffins

02-03-09, 09:08 PM

In Bruges (2008, Martin McDonagh)

http://www.stew.be/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/in-bruges_02.JPG

I didn't care to see this in theatres as I didn't think it looked that good, the same reason it has taken me so long to see it on DVD. But now I just want to spread the word and tell everyone to watch this slick, stylish black comedy that could have you in stitches as it did with me. A pleasant surprise to say the least. The brilliant pairing of Irish hitmen Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, along with the colourful characters they meet during their time in Bruges (it's in Belgium, you know?), give the first half of the movie some great dark humour, while Ralph Fiennes shows up in the second half to seal the film's status as one the funniest thrillers I've seen.

4_5

Slumdog Millionaire (2008, Danny Boyle)

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/sites/bfi.org.uk.lff/files/images/slumdog_millionaire_01.jpg

This one also took me by surprise. I know there's been tons of praise from critics and members of this forum, I just never thought it to be my kind of film. But the pace of the movie moves tremendously well, moving from various, important chapters from our protagonist's life. The first hour and a half is gripping stuff, and though the inevitable conclusion didn't quite grip me as much, it was a nice way to see the movie end. I also really liked the end credits. I read in the Oscar's Best Picture (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=497924#post497924) thread that they would feature a Bollywood-style dance sequence, and whilst watching the movie thought it would feel out of place. But I thought it was a very uplifting dance number and the perfect way to end the movie.

4

Lusty Argonian

02-04-09, 04:13 AM

http://whatimseeing.com/upload/harvey_milk_at_city_hall_4.jpg

MILK

3.5

Sean Penn has been on my nerves for years now and most of Gus Van Sant's work makes me want to pull my hair out. I had not intended to watch this movie in theaters but once it was nominated for Best Picture I figured I had to watch it. Despite its critical acclaim I still went in expecting to hate it. I'll be honest, I almost wanted to hate it. If not only to finally cross every future Gus Van Sant movie off my to-watch list. While watching the movie my feelings were mixed throughout but when the end credits rolled I was definitely pleased with what I had just watched.

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay person elected to major public office. I'm young and knew nothing of the man until news hit the wire some time ago that Bryan Singer and Gus Van Sant were fighting over the script or something like that. Seemed like a good idea for a movie but I didn't think either of them were up to the task of breathing life into it. I was wrong. So sue me. Van Sant and the screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black (both gay) obviously cared a lot about this project and you can see their heartful efforts on-screen. Visually, Van Sant did a brilliant job transforming what could've been a fairly conventional bio-pic into something a bit more interesting. His methodical use of real news footage works to great effect and the sporadic film switches to what looks like 16mm were also very effective. Dustin Black takes good care in making sure we get to know all the players that helped Harvey to office but I don't think he pays enough attention to the background and development of Harvey Milk, himself. The early years of his political activism are too quickly skimmed over in my opinion and I don't think Black gives us enough scenes showing why Harvey Milk dives so headlong into his new life on the west coast and into politics. Maybe I'm thinking of this too much like any other movie and not enough like it's non-fiction.

My biggest problem with the movie also somehow manages to be the reason I feel it works so well. Dustin Black, at least it appears to me, puts the issue of the picture, gay rights, ahead of the importance of the story and the characters. That bothered me a bit because of course I want to hear a bit more about the story, the history, the characters, but that creative decision works on an emotional level. I'm not gay but the movie's main focus on gay rights helped me care more about the characters and their struggle than I may have cared if the script had taken another approach.

The acting here is very good across the board. At least for the most part. Sean Penn, talented self righteous bastard that he is, turns in one of his best performances here and doesn't take the acting liberties with the role that I feel he took in his over-the-top turns in films like Mystic River and 21 Grams. No, this was an absolute top notch job on his part. James Franco and Josh Brolin deliver my other two favorite performances in the film. Granted they're given the two second best characters. The only miss in the cast, I think (not sure whether to blame the actor or the screenwriter) was Diego Luna as Harvey's possessive boyfriend. The character is incessantly annoying and Luna's performance is nails running across chalk. I don't know if either of those was intended but that's how I felt.

In the end though, I got way more nice things to say about Milk than I do meanie things and considering that people much smarter than me enjoyed it much more than I did, this is probably a flick you should catch while it's still playing in theaters. I actually intend to re-watch it sometime within the next couple weeks.

Lusty Argonian

02-04-09, 09:11 PM

http://images.nymag.com/images/2/daily/2008/10/20081016_reader_560x375.jpg

THE READER

4

I was in a general state of "WTF?" when it was announced that The Reader would be nominated for Best Picture. I was unhappy, for sure. My beloved movie with the bat guy hadn't been recognized for it's greatness and I was in a fairly sour mood for... a little less than a day. Okay, so it wasn't the end of the world but I was still wondering how the hell The Reader was nominated. I decided to blame the Weinsteins, award whores that they are. After actually seeing the movie though I can't stay too mad at them. It's a pretty damn good movie. Enthralling, touching, and just a wee tad bit sad. Kay, I'm probably downplaying that last one.

The movie's story jumps back and forth through time but everything starts on a rainy day when a young German named Michael meets an older woman, Hannah (Kate Winslet) by chance and a few months later they start what seems to be a rather casual sexual affair. Many, many years after we can see that for Michael that time of his life is something he will always cherish with happiness and sullenly contemplate.

I'm not a big fan of movies that go straight for the emotional jugular. I thought going in that this was one of those. I'm glad to say I was proven wrong. While this is a very emotional movie, the film never seems to make tear-jerking its primary objective. Rather it seems intent on telling the story of a beautiful relationship and the deluge of moral dilemmas that followed for the two involved. The broken timeline by which this story unfolds is never confusing and doesn't feel like a gimmick. It may not seem like the type of narrative trickery that would fit in with a movie like this but it does because the movie likely would've bogged down at the point in the story where neither Kate Winslet or Ralph Fiennes are around. No offense to David Kross who plays the "Young Michael". He plays the role fairly well. The problem has more to do with his character who moves aimlessly through his life like the lost adolescent he is.

As I just touched upon, it's the performances of Winslet and Fiennes that make this movie such a success (aside from the great story). Winslet's performance is a subdued and tragic one. Pretty perfect in my opinion. I agree with the people who seem to be confused about her nomination as Lead Actress though. She's clearly a supporting character here and it would've made a lot more sense for her to have gotten the nod for Revolutionary Road. My guess is the difference maker was the nudity. That usually gets their attention. I won't complain too much 'bout that though. She's brilliant here and I hope she finally takes home a statue. Both Fiennes' performance and his character mirror Winslet's in some ways. Both are purposefully restrained and weathered by the passage of time and tough choices. Some really good stuff going on in front of the camera here.

Stephen Daldry, also responsible for previous Oscar "grubbers" like The Hours and Billy Elliot, directed The Reader. Nothing really fancy from him but he does a good job juggling the storylines and doing a proper job of portraying Germany as the drab place it must've been without totally robbing the people of that time of the vitality they must've had. Daldry earned himself a nomination for Best Director with this, and while I think the nod is for the most part undeserved, he certainly does a good job.

I highly recommend The Reader and seeing as how it's nominated for Best Picture I don't see any reason why you should pass up on it.

Mrs. Darcy

02-04-09, 10:49 PM

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 4

This has been reviewed by several Mofo's, so let me just talk briefly about why I liked this film. Although it has been compared to Forrest Gump, I felt this movie was more like Big Fish. It had the fantastical feeling that Big Fish had, and the love story, too. Button had a lovely score, beautiful photography, and a interesting story with attention to relationships between characters. I felt the warmth of the relationships Benjamin had with almost everyone in his life. The goodness of these people was evident. Brad and Cate looked stunningly beautiful. I enjoyed that Caroline (Julia Ormond) was unglamorous and looked her age. I did tear up a few times, but never did cry, but boy, Benjamin's story breaks your heart even as you feel the wonder of being a witness to it.

http://www.awardsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/picture-13.png

Swedish Chef

02-04-09, 11:02 PM

Dang, I need to start watching movies again.

Still haven't seen The Reader, but can I just say there is no way in hell that movie would've been nominated for Best Picture if it was about a 35 year old male Nazi plowing a precocious 15 year old girl instead of the other way around. Double standard, man. Still gonna check the movie out, of course, because goodness knows I enjoy watching Kate Winslet throw her legs on the shoulders of random dudes as much as the next guy. According to Bill Simmons, though, there is some female armpit hair. Sorry to hear they avoided bowing down to that particular double standard.

Powdered Water

02-04-09, 11:20 PM

Definite armpit hair sighting Chef and it matches those black eyebrows of hers too. Which is ni... well its something alright. And we are in complete agreement about the double standard as well. I've already been scoffed at once for insinuating that The Reader is borderline kiddie porn but to me that's pretty much all it is. Sure its a movie so I geuss its off the hook, but it is what it is.

Lusty Argonian

02-04-09, 11:28 PM

I don't know how I could've possibly missed the armpit hair. The only time I remember seeing her pits was near the end and they were definitely shaved at that point. As far as it being borderline kiddie porn, I'll kindly disagree. Borderline softcore kiddie porn, maybe. But even that's a stretch. I didn't find the sex scenes to be very explicit at all. Winslet's booty action in Little Children puts this one to shame on the blush-o-meter.

Lennon

02-04-09, 11:32 PM

Lusty, how vivid are the sex scenes? Do I finally get the full frontal shot of Kate Winslett I've been dreaming of?

Lusty Argonian

02-04-09, 11:38 PM

The sex scenes weren't vivid at all in my opinion. Pretty generic, actually. As far as the full frontal nudity goes, you do get a brief glimpse of the whole David Kross show but as far Kate goes... nuh uh. Pretty close though.

Lennon

02-04-09, 11:41 PM

Blast!

Iroquois

02-04-09, 11:41 PM

Could be worse, it could be David Cross...

Powdered Water

02-04-09, 11:55 PM

mark f

02-04-09, 11:58 PM

Now you make me sound like I'm advocating kiddie porn :o, vis-a-vis Lennon, but Kate Winslet is full frontal in Jude, Holy Smoke and Iris, The rumor is that she is also in The Reader, but I haven't seen it so I defer that to those who have.

Lennon

02-05-09, 12:01 AM

Lennon, if your life long dream is to see all of Winslet's jiggly bits then you should probably see either Little Children or Holy Smoke. Both have plenty of Winslet nudity and one has a um, well, I'll let you see it for yourself.

Thanks, and Powdered WaWa, I saw Little Children (or the parts on the internet :D) yes. Great stuff!

MovieMan8877445

02-05-09, 12:32 AM

The Dark Knight - 5

When I first bought the DVD for TDK like 2 months ago, I told myself that I wasn't going to watch it every week like I used to do for Batman Begins. So far I've kept that promise to myself and I'm sure glad that I did, because it's actually been almost 2 months since I last watched it and it was just great to watch it again tonight. Right from the very first scene I was gazed into the movie, I couldn't stop watching even if I wanted to. Which also makes me want to point out that this may have the best movie opening ever, just because it has like the 2 best first scenes in a movie in a movie that I can remember, which are the bank robbery scene and the scarecrow scene.

Now I was thinking of what to say about Heath Ledger after watching it a little while ago, but then I thought was there really anything to mention about his performance that I haven't already raved about yet? So I guess I'll just keep it short saying that he did an amazing job and deserves 'Best Supporting Actor' this year, which I'm sure he's basically already a lock for getting. Gary Oldman really needs to be mentioned because he's just such an underrated actor, who just happens to be my second favorite actor of all-time. This really isn't his best performance yet, be he sure does a great job in the role. He's my second favorite acting wise out of the cast. Personally though, I don't get why everyone was making such a big deal about Bale's Batman voice. It seemed pretty normal to me, I mean you're supposed to have a voice that no one would be able to tell that it's you. Eckhart did a great job as Dent, I did notice a little gripe with him tonight as Two-Face though. Right in the very last scene he's basically holding a gun to Gordon's son, Two-Face isn't meant to be like that, Two-Face basically only goes after bad guys. That really wasn't a gripe with Eckhart's acting though, that's a gripe with then writing.

As I just mentioned, that was probably my only gripe with the writing, except I do think a couple of scenes could've been made a little bit longer. I mean some of the scene were only like a couple of seconds long, they could've made it at least a little bit longer than that. I also really felt that the ending was sort of weak with this viewing, but Zimmer and Newton's scrore along with Oldman's speech really made up for the weak ending though. I do think that this is the ultimate surround sound system movie, because on my surround sound system every sound just sticks out so perfectly. The score is the main thing that sticks out though, heck some scenes it even seemed to overlap the talking. The score really is amazing though, probably my favorite soundtrack of 2008.

I'm really glad I decided to watch it again tonight though, because it really made me remember how much I actually love it. It may have not been my best viewing of it, the first in theaters will always be the best for me, but it was sure a darn great viewing. I would recommend this to people, but more than likely I think everyone has seen this by now. Most people seemed to have seen it by the time it left theaters, most of everyone else that didn't see it then I'm sure have seen it since the 2 months it's been on DVD.

http://blog.ugo.com/images/uploads/the-dark-knight-joker-imax.jpg

Harry Lime

02-05-09, 04:23 AM

I just watched Zack and Miri Make a Porno...meh. 2.5/5

Swedish Chef

02-05-09, 02:19 PM

I'm a little late to this party, I know, but I love the fact that Lennon is having a hard time finding movies in which Kate Winslet is nude

Lusty Argonian

02-05-09, 08:16 PM

http://correctopinion.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/inkheart.jpg

INKHEART

1

If the Inkheart still above looks stupid to you, chances are you'll think the whole thing is stupid. That's my warning to all of you in hopes of getting as many people to forever steer clear of this mess. If however you're maybe thinking about taking some kids to the matinee... well don't. Rent a Looney Tunes collection or something. I guess I'll try my best to sum up my mostly negative thoughts about the film into something a little bit more articulate but to be perfectly honest my brain seems to be repressing this afternoon's viewing as we speak. Better write fast.

Apparently, out in the world are people who can bring the things they read aloud into the real world. These people are called, Silvertongues... yeeeeaaahhh. Well, Mo (short for Mortimer, played by Fraser) happens to be a Silvertongue and, the movie kind of skips over this next part, but he seemed to have read Inkheart sometime before most of the film actually takes place. In doing so he let loose many of the characters that had before only existed in the story. They've been living in our world sometime and have been searching for Mo, trying to get him to read for them and call out treasure and monsters and other what-not into the world.

There are only a few cool things about this movie. One: If you're a fan of the British series Peep Show, the actor who plays Super Hands plays a very minor role. I thought it was kinda cool. Two: I kind of liked how they brought some characters from classic stories like Arabian Nights and Peter Pan into the real world. Third and probably last: Andy Serkis plays a half decent villain here. The only actor, in my opinion, who turns in a bearable role.

The rest of the movie is just an absolute mess though. The story is some half baked mythology which was obviously slapped together and there's no rational logic that dictates the fantasy elements here so the whole thing ends up being a utter clutter of moldy butter. None of the actors seem to care either. They all look like they're there to simply collect a paycheck. Brendan Fraser who I enjoyed in the first and third Mummy movies is in cruise control here and Helen Mirren looks like she didn't bother rehearsing for any of her scenes. Paul Bettany who is the last noteworthy actor in the film (his wife does make a brief cameo though :love:) is merely alright. His character is a fiend but the writers didn't seem to have the heart or the balls to just go ahead and make him a bad guy. Whateva.

The filmmakers should be ashamed of themselves. The shot composition is sloppy. The special effects are barferic. The sets are sub-par. I've seen better ones at Halloween Nights at Universal Studios. The wardrobe is uninspired. Everything about the script needs a touch-up by a writer who knows what they're doing. And well, the movie just all-around sucked.

So in summary, I didn't at all appreciate either the technical or creative aspects of this picture, or the picture as a whole. I gave it that one popcorn for the three reasons I wrote earlier and also because some parts of the film managed by some miracle to be tolerable. Those instances were very short lived though.

Avoid this one at all costs.

B-card

02-05-09, 10:24 PM

100 Feet(2008)-3

Powdered Water

02-05-09, 10:28 PM

I don't know. Inkheart looks alright to me. I like these types of flicks though. In reading some of your reviews I sort of get the feeling you're not really that into fantasy/Sci-fi type flicks.

Swan

02-05-09, 11:08 PM

More high ratings fer u!

Forrest Gump (1994) - 5

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9BdM-ikoGK0/SJ_t67wi-fI/AAAAAAAAAs0/NnZORQiOZZ4/s400/forrest-gump-poster.jpg

I've seen this movie more times than I can count. It never gets old. It used to be my #1 favorite and dag nabit it's still amazing. I'm sort of sad that the visual effects during the live TV sequences don't look amazingly real anymore like they did during my first viewing, especially with the lips moving, but that's okay. The film is amazing enough and totally existentialist.

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) - 0

http://www.wildaboutmovies.com/images_6/repo_the_genetic_opera.jpg

This is at least tied with Alien vs. Predator: Requiem as my least favorite film of all-time. In fact, where there was one thing in AVP:R I was happy about (that whore being killed), this had absolutely nothing going for it. The songs/singing was terrible, the acting was disgraceful, and Darren Lynn Bousman is an awful director. I'll take Repo Man over this junk any day.

Groundhog Day (1993) - 4

http://infinitecoolness.com/stuff/posters/groundhogdaymovieposter.jpg

I've seen this a bunch as well, but I wanted to revisit it since it has been a while. If I've noticed anything about Groundhog Day it's that the rewatchability is great. I knew everything that was going to happen, but it still felt like new. Maybe because it's been so long since I've seen it but nonetheless. This film was influenced by my favorite book, "Replay" (although in that, the main character replays his whole life over and over again, rather than a single day). I really like that because it's pretty much the only recognition I've seen for "Replay", which is truly an amazing book.

Iroquois

02-05-09, 11:21 PM

http://www.futureshipwreck.com/pics/joe-vs.jpg

Joe Versus The Volcano (Shanley, 1990) - 3+

So this was on TV late last night and I decided to give it a go based off the fandom of a handful of people on this site. While it wasn't a bad movie, it wasn't exactly an overly great one either. Granted, the storyline and complications were handled well, although I don't really feel like the film's sense of humour really agreed with mine (I get the impression that Joe Versus The Volcano is first and foremost a comedy, yet I have to admit I only chuckled at it about once or twice).

I also find it a little hard to believe this was made by the same person who made Doubt.

Lusty Argonian

02-05-09, 11:24 PM

I don't know. Inkheart looks alright to me. I like these types of flicks though. In reading some of your reviews I sort of get the feeling you're not really that into fantasy/Sci-fi type flicks.
Hey, I thought Inkheart looked alright too. I wouldn't have watched if I didn't think there was at least an outside chance it would be good. Also I've actually been waiting for quite a while now to see a decent fantasy flick hit the big screen. This just turned out to not be that movie. If you end up watching it and hating it be sure to tell me so I can say "See? Told you so".

And you don't have to worry about my super secret agenda where I bash on fantasy and sci-fi films. I think I might just have somewhat high standards for them. In any case, I'll be catching Coraline sometime this week and hope that'll be the flick to satisfy my "fantasy" cravings. I'll probably see Push too, though I doubt that'll do much to sate my hunger for good sci-fi.

Powdered Water

02-05-09, 11:29 PM

Wow, I thought the trailer for Repo! looked hysterical. I think I'm going to see it pretty soon so I hope its as half as good as the trailer. Anthony Stewart Head doing another musical will be sublime. He was terrific during 'Once more with feeling' The Buffy musical episode. I can't wait.

Anyway, I'm behind again and I can't remember all of the flicks I've seen recently. I did see a pretty decent one last night.

Saw 5 (David Hackl-2008) 3

Most of these flicks agree with me for whatever reason. I like their slick style and I especially enjoy the theme song. I was humming it all day long at work. If they do in fact make 5 more of these I suspect I'll buy them all.

Rise (Sebastian Gutierrez-2007) 2.5

Not great, but pretty watchable. Lucy Liu has been a favorite of mine since the Ally McBeal days and she was OK here. For a movie relatively low on special effects I rather enjoyed their take on the vampire world. Even if they stole their feeding method from the far superior The Hunger. Still though I enjoyed most of it.

Stardust (Matthew Vaughn-2007) 4

I can't remember what I rated this extremely enjoyable flick the last time I saw it but I think I'm in love with this movie a little bit. Such a fun time and a cute little story.

There's a bunch more but I misremember them right now.

Lusty Argonian

02-05-09, 11:36 PM

Stardust IS an "extremely enjoyable flick". I actually just wrote up a short post yesterday in the "Surprisingly Good" thread about how I was so taken aback by the sweet goodness that was Stardust. Coincidence?

Swan

02-05-09, 11:37 PM

Powdered Water

02-05-09, 11:46 PM

Hey, I thought Inkheart looked alright too. I wouldn't have watched if I didn't think there was at least an outside chance it would be good. Also I've actually been waiting for quite a while now to see a decent fantasy flick hit the big screen. This just turned out to not be that movie. If you end up watching it and hating it be sure to tell me so I can say "See? Told you so".

The longer you hang out here the more you'll see me tab about some truly bizarre and often terrible movies that I find some level of enjoyment in one form or another. I rarely "hate" a movie but if I dislike it intensely I'll let you know. The wife and I are rather big Brendan Fraser fans so we have already sort of decided to enjoy this flick on some level, even if that means this flick is nothing more than one of those "Sci-Fi channel originals" that are usually just terrible. And yet we watch them anyway. ;)

And you don't have to worry about my super secret agenda where I bash on fantasy and sci-fi films. I think I might just have somewhat high standards for them. In any case, I'll be catching Coraline sometime this week and hope that'll be the flick to satisfy my "fantasy" cravings. I'll probably see Push too, though I doubt that'll do much to sate my hunger for good sci-fi.

I haven't heard of Coraline but boy Push looks pretty bad doesn't it? Definitely Sci-Fi channel material there. :yup:

Stardust IS an "extremely enjoyable flick". I actually just wrote up a short post yesterday in the "Surprisingly Good" thread about how I was so taken aback by the sweet goodness that was Stardust. Coincidence?

Mayhaps, either way, I like it. I like a lot. :yup:

MovieMan8877445

02-06-09, 12:29 AM

Tropic Thunder - 3.5

The last time I watched this was the day it came out on DVD, and I'm not going to lie, I was actually pretty underwhelmed after I got done watching it then. Because of that I thought my love for this was going to go down even farther, I was pretty wrong though. I mean nothings going to come close to when I first saw it in theaters, if you can remember I think my rating was a little over than what it should've been then. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood to watch it the day it came out on DVD, but I sure really liked tonights viewins of it. Even though this is a spoof movie, I have to point out that the very first scene in this, after the fake trailers of course, it one of the most well made war sequences that I've ever seen. I actually think that this could've worked really well as a real war movie, but I'm fine with the direction they chose for it.

Surprisingly enough, the acting is pretty good in this. Robert Downey Jr. stood out the most out of the cast, I've probably already said that before. He just really transforms into his character, I wouldn't be upset if he did take home 'Best Supporting Actor' this year at the oscars, even though I know it's a pretty long shot. Tom Cruise was just plain outrageous in this though, I personally think he was the best choice for that role. Much like Downey Jr., Cruise actually almost seemed to fully transform into his character. I'm not really too big a fan of Jack Black, I've always found him pretty annoying in his roles, Tenacious D And The Pick Of Destiny is the expection. I guess he was okay in this, he definitely wasn't as annoying in this as some of his other movies.

I really loved the music choices for this though, I'm talking about the Vietnam music, not the occasional rap song that played. Rap just isn't good music, I do admit that there is some rap that I like, just not a lot of it. Anyways Vietnam music is like the best kind of music that there is, so of course I love seeing it used in movies. This has one of the best credit scenes though, I mean what's not to love about Tom Cruise doing some hip-hop dance, that was one of my favorite parts of the movie. Cruise on the phone was the absolute best part about this though, I never knew that he could be so freaking funny,

I'm very glad I decided to watch this tonight though, I mean I don't love it as much as I did at one time, but I still really like it. One of my only gripes for this is that there is a few slow scenes that didn't really make me laugh much. A good amount of the movie did make me laugh though, my only thing is that I think it relied too much on Robert Downey Jr. Any comedy fan needs to check this out sometime, it's probably one of the best, if not the best, spoof movie that I've seen so far. I guess that really isn't saying much though, seeing that usually spoof movies are pretty bad.

http://www.reelmovienews.com/images/gallery/tropic-thunder.jpg

TheDOMINATOR

02-06-09, 02:03 AM

The Hi-Line - 0.5

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The only thing missing in this movie...is a point. Lol.

Don't see it or risk brain implosion from boringness. I'm quite surprised I watched it all the way through.

Man on Fire - 4.5

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/4443/manonfirecollectorsee5.jpg

Probably my favorite "vengeance/revenge" movie I've ever seen. It's been quite a while since watched it last, so I wanted to reconfirm my liking of it. And tonight, I did that. Awesome movie; I nearly cried at the end.

Midnight Crossing - 2

http://images.blockbuster.com/is/amg/dvd/cov150/drt200/t279/t27967qppw7.jpg

Some decent action and a couple of pretty clever twists, but for the most part this movie seemed rather dull and its plot just kind of went from one place to the next without much motivation.

Eight Days a Week - 3

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I found Eight Days a Week pretty enjoyable. Although not a whole lot really happened in it (the entire movie was this kid standing outside this girl's window in an attempt to make her fall in love with him), some pretty interesting things were presented. It reminded me of The 'Burbs in that the film takes place in a suburban neighborhood and the main character and his friend witness a lot of seemingly strange things going on between their neighbors.

mack

02-06-09, 02:18 AM

the family that preys 4.5/5
i have to give tyler perry a good rating on this one in particular because i think it was a stretch for him. his comfort zone is definitely to convert the scripts of his successful plays into movies (other than Daddy's Girls, which I think was an original movie script), so its nice to see his stretching out of the norm, and taking on projects beyond the scope of theater. another breather was the new storyline - similar in the "family problems" way, but its nice to see the he understands that women, too, have issues. Always great to see Taraji Henson and Rockmond Dunbar as well!

babylon A.D. 4.5/5
i actually very much enjoyed this movie, and i think vin diesel was so much more in his element as ....well, as a thug. i know this has been around in other format, but I have never been interested in the storyline before. after watching this flick, i considered the story interesting enough to potentially check out. this movie wins hands down over Children of Men, and before you laugh at that one, consider that if you lay them side by side and strip all the religious fervor and the clime away from both movies, you have the exact same movie: A man, a bad man, takes charge of a "special" young girl that powerful forces in the world want for their own nefarious purposes. The man does not know why, but in the process becomes aware of the girl's special purpose. He then refuses to complete his original mission, and takes on the role of protector and does/almost loses his life in the process of saving the girl child. the only real difference is the ending - one good, one bad, depending on how you define good/bad.

max payne 5/5
i know everyone always hates a little on marky mark from the funky bunch, but the guy will always be cool with me. im not really expecting him to win an oscar, or to do anything to different than brawl. so when you give marky mark in a good old knock down drag out brawling flick, I feel right at home! and since that's all I was looking for from max payne, I was not disappointed. in fact, Id go so far as to say that they did an EXCELLENT job capturing and conveying the depressing, horrifying and slightly psychotic atmosphere of the game.

ghost town. 3/5
ricky gervais is to me like a strong drink. potent with an aftertaste, and the jury's still out on whether you like it or not. gervais is good at what he does, but he's going to take some getting used to for me. I like that they didnt even try to soft pedal his offensive character. Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni were awesome, as always, and the movie overall, was a nice concept. As a romantic comedy - a nice spin off from the norm.

goin south 5/5
jack nicholson always gets a 5 star rating from me. i had seen this flick, but one of my sisters hadnt, so instead of explaining it, I got it for her. CLASSIC Jack, and if you havent seen it - do! :D I learned as well that it was Mary Steenburgens first movie role (apparently jack directed this one too?) wow.

resident evil: degeneration 3/5
the CGI movie was so much like playing the game it was uncanny. the guy in blockbuster warned me though that as a fan of the games, Id have issues, though he didnt say what they were. No wonder. Is it me, or did they totally BASTARDIZE the storyline? WilPharma? huh? Then again, I havent played past RE: Outbreak, so what can I say? Maybe RE4 did move beyond Umbrella.

appaloosa 3.9/5
ok, i had misgivings about this film, but it had Viggo in it. plus, you gotta give Ed Harris a chance at a starring role. i cant say I was....too enthused about it, and I think Renee Zellwegger has really come down, but all in all, an interesting storyline. Im not sure if its just me, and I really hope this is not an insensitive statement (i dont mean it to be) but there really were moments there where i was wondering if they were trying to convey an older man in-the-closet version of brokeback mountain. it was quite odd. on the surface, though, i think it was an interesting character/relationship study.

Iroquois

02-06-09, 04:25 AM

http://knightleyemma.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/eve2.jpg

All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) - 4

You've got to love a classic like this. Based around the goings-on within a group of people whose lives revolve around a passion for stage acting, it's just as powerful as watching a very good play. The players act accordingly and all deliver memorable performances - not just Bette Davis, but also George Sanders and Anne Baxter primarily, especially at the film's climax. It's a classic for a reason, and it still holds up well even now.

(edit)

Man, what you can get done when you can't sleep...

http://www.hollywoodteenmovies.com/TwoHands.jpg

Two Hands (Jordan, 1999) - 1

Wow. I was surprisingly underwhelmed by this. Two Hands tries to be a smart and edgy '90s crime thriller - revolving around Heath Ledger's young ne'er-do-well who gets roped into a Sydney crime ring and who makes a mistake that lands him in hot water with the bosses. However, the film really does fail on just about every front. Apart from the cringe-inducing Australian accents (which is really a personal thing I can't stand), there's plenty wrong with it. There's the decidedly average plot, poor attempts at humour and emotion, and one very misguided attempt at giving the film a supernatural edge (in the form of a talking corpse whose presence in the film is completely redundant - the prime example of just how redundant is his explaining Ledger's Yin-Yang tattoo by saying, "Something that's good can still have a little bit of bad in it, and something that's bad still has a little bit of good." No sh*t.). On the plus side, Ledger turns in a half-decent performance (despite not being given that much to work with) and Rose Byrne (who plays the story's nominal love interest) is rather easy on the eyes. Other than that, I have nothing to recommend about this film.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (Mallon, 1996) - 4+

For those who don't know the movie nor the show it's based on, here's the gist of both - Mad scientist Dr. Forrester (Trace Beaulieu) has imprisoned Mike (Michael J. Nelson) on board a satellite in outer space and is forcing him to watch the worst movies ever made in order to find a film that can drive the whole world insane and make it easier for Forrester to take over. However, Mike is kept company by a trio of sentient robots - Gypsy, Servo and Crow. To stave off the insanity brought on by watching horrible movies, Mike, Crow and Servo resort to constantly making wisecracks about the poor quality of the film.

The first time I tabbed this film about three months ago, I actually had given it a bona fide 5, I'd enjoyed it so much. This marks my fourth viewing of the film since then and and, as you may have guessed from the rating, it's gone down in my estimation a little. If you read up on the history of the film, you'd learn about the extent to which the film was compromised by studio interference, and this is responsible for a couple of the film's flaws (i.e. the film's surprisingly short 73-minute runtime or cutting down on riffs for the sake of the B-movie's storyline). However, some parts of the film can just be considered flawed ideas to begin with - as with the show there are parts where Mike and the robots take breaks from watching the B-movie and end up doing something else on board the Satellite of Love for a brief period before returning to the B-movie. These scenes (better known among fans as "host segments") quite honestly lack the same amount of humour as the B-movie part (with one possible exception being the scene where Mike crashes the Satellite into the Hubble telescope).

http://home.comcast.net/~jps201/mst3k_files/ms_movie.jpg

However, the actual B-movie part is still very funny (and it makes me wonder if there are people on here who have seen This Island Earth, the movie that Mike and the bots are forced to watch in MST3K: The Movie) and while I've seen a few episodes of the show since then and the jokes fly faster and looser in the show, the movie is still hilarious on its own. Even though it's not quite as awful as some of the other films that have featured on the show, Mike and the bots still find plenty to mock about This Island Earth - the lantern-jawed leading man, the aliens with oversized foreheads and the same slick white hairdo, the slacks-wearing bug monster...the list goes on. There's too much in there to list completely in a review (and even some I'm still spotting after several viewings) I'm considering putting MST3K: The Movie on my revised Top 100 and I probably will. As a damned funny comedy, as a source of inspiration for seeking out the actual show and getting even more laughs, and there's even one more personal reason I have for loving it (which can wait for another time). Excellent.

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The Elephant Man (Lynch, 1980) - 3.5

This is a hell of a film to watch when you've been awake and mostly bored all night and start watching at about six in the morning. I wonder if being as tired as I was would've affected the film at all, but I'm pretty sure it couldn't be any more impressive than it already was. Although I don't really feel like it's going to become my favourite Lynch film, I still thought it was pretty good. Lynch's direction is restrained and not quite as indulgent as it is in his other works - a move that helps the film because making The Elephant Man too stylised would've been a bit of a mistake. I thought everything about the film was pretty good (with the possible exception of Merrick's speech patterns - even though he's supposed to have difficulty talking like an ordinary person, that doesn't mean it should be entirely incomprehensible as I felt it was at times). The only other real flaw I felt was that it dragged a bit in places and it could've been cut quite easily. Oh, well. The ending was also rather good, if a bit of a shock.

MovieMan8877445

02-07-09, 02:31 AM

Blade Runner - 4.5

For the longest time I always thought Blade Runner was some movie that was just going to be really complex and hard to understand, I really miss judged it though. It actually pretty simple and very easy to understand, I don't really get how someone would be confused with this. Harrsion Ford seemed like he was perfect for the role of Deckard though, the 1980's were just his time for movies. One of the best things about Blade Runner was just how it was made though, the visuals and lighting set the tone perfectly for the movie. The music also seemed to really fit, it sounded very retro and very 80's, even though the movie took place in the future from now. Actually the movie takes place 10 years from now, they really didn't set it far in the future.

I think that with a rewatch this may get bumped up an extra .5 of a point, it may even get bumped down .5 of a point, hopefully it'll be the former but I can see it being the latter more. I do have to say that this is one of the best Sci-Fi movies that I've seen so far, that may be because I've actually never been a big fan of Sci-Fi movies. These past Sci-Fi movies I've seen, this and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, are really opening my eyes to the genre and making me want to see some more Sci-Fi movies. I definitely don't think that this is overrated the least bit, and anyone that hasn't had the chance of seeing this yet, even though it seems most people have, you should get to checking this one out sometime.

http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/blade_runner.jpg

Mrs. Darcy

02-07-09, 02:32 AM

Milk--4

I really liked this movie. It was warm and humorous while showing us the life of Harvey Milk on his climb into politics and political activism. I thought Sean Penn was so good, I'm guessing he's the man to beat for the best actor Oscar this year. James Franco and Josh Brolin were very good, also, as Harvey's partner and co-worker respectively. Van Sant moved through the story quickly, and lightly, getting the important points across without preaching.

I wasn't up on the Harvey Milk story, other than to know about the 'twinkie defense' that White's lawyers used to defend him, but I thought Milk's story was interesting and important.

http://www.angeloplessas.com/blog/uploaded_images/milk2-743028.jpg

Lusty Argonian

02-07-09, 04:09 AM

http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2007/12/27/coraline-preview.jpg

CORALINE

3.5

Being a big fan of the original story by Neil Gaiman, I've been looking forward to this one for months. Usually I dread watching film adaptations of books I enjoyed but I was so impressed by the previews leading up to the release that I decided to just go with the flow for this one.

The story remains perfectly loyal to the book in its premise. The few changes that have been made to the story as a whole actually serve to flesh out and improve on many things that were lacking in the original source material which is really just a novella, not very long at all. Coraline is a young girl like many girls in that she's a bit spoiled and doesn't care for the people around her as much as she should. Luckily after her family has moved into a new home she discovers a portal into a parallel world where the elements of her life which she found so unsatisfactory have been altered to her liking. As she spends more time in this newly found paradise she finds herself learning a very valuable lesson as the dream world twists into her worst nightmare.

It's a great, entertaining story reminiscent of works like Alice in Wonderland and Spirited Away where a a young, discontent (and female!) character wishes for more without knowing that "more" is not what she want at all. The worlds created in those two films actually don't feel too much different in terms of vibe from the one Coraline stumbles into when she walks through the little door in her living room. Hmm. The moral of the story is clear enough for a young child to understand but I'd say that this movie is probably too much for them. I watched Coraline in a packed theater with a few families with kids and some of them were clearly a bit freaked out by the show. Hell, my date and I were a bit freaked out. The story's quick turn towards the macabre and its incessantly quirky visuals will probably turn off a lot of viewers. The ones that tough it out will be rewarded though.

Probably the greatest achievement of this film when adapting it for the screen was opting for stop-motion animation. I'm about 102% sure that the writer/director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) was responsible for that decision. Stop-motion has made leaps and bounds of progress since the days of Wallace and Gromit and the visuals here are capable of being something wondrous in one scene and downright unsettling in the next. It was a real treat to watch. Now, I saw the movie in 3D and while I'm sure it added something to the experience it certainly didn't make it. The real eye candy here are the wonderful animations and ingenious creations of the art team.

There's a lot of fun to be had with this movie. A few early scenes dragged a bit for me but what followed more than made up the lost ground. Try and catch this one in theaters if you can. Better, catch it in 3D at the theaters.

undercoverlover

02-07-09, 09:59 AM

^are you in the industry?

Lusty Argonian

02-07-09, 03:05 PM

^are you in the industry?
Heh, no. I tested the waters a bit after high school as a production assistant but I'm going to school now. Why do you ask?

undercoverlover

02-07-09, 03:07 PM

i didnt think coraline was out yet, but just checked the dates for it. nevermind

Lusty Argonian

02-07-09, 03:16 PM

Yeah, they actually seem to have dropped that ball on the marketing campaign. The only preview I remember seeing for it was attached to Bolt and I haven't seen any on tv. What a weird move. And the rest of this weekend's releases are just killing them on the advertising front. Can't drive four blocks without seeing a bus, billboard, or bench that isn't pimping He's Just Not that Into You. Jeez.

mark f

02-07-09, 07:35 PM

I've seen Milk and Frozen River, but I'm not quite ready to write those up yet. I've got some others to put up though.

Primer (Shane Carruth, 2004) 2

http://www.robotskirts.com/images/wp/primer.jpg

I've watched this film twice now, and although it has plenty of fans, I just don't seem to be one of them. It's an intellectual puzzle about time travel which was shot for $7,000, yet it won a major Award at the Sundance Film Festival. There are four central characters, all friends who have formed their own business and are also working on a machine for time travel to be able to make some big money by going ahead in time and learning the results of major events so they can return and lay some big bets to become rich quickly. This is essentially their motivation, although the majority of the film's dialogue involves a form of pseudo-techspeak, and especially in the second half, wondering aloud why something occurred and who may have been responsible. Yes, the premise of making a sci-fi home movie without F/X is laudable, but it's replaced with what seems to be an intentionally-obscure plot involving unsympathetic cyphers who, when they begin to try to tackle ethical questions, just come off as pretentious a-holes. Sorry, if you like the film, but it's just too dry and uninvolving for me.

Crimes of the Heart (Bruce Beresford, 1986) 3

http://images.blockbuster.com/is/amg/dvd/cov150/drt800/t897/t89738t2ejc.jpg

Three Southern sisters reunite at their family home after the youngest, Babe (Sissy Spacek), shoots and wounds her husband. The eldest Lenny (Diane Keaton) has been taking care of their grandfather who has just gone into a coma, and the middle sis Meg (Jessica Lange) returns from another unsuccessful stretch in Hollywood littered with failed love affairs. The family seems to be dysfunctional, a point that their cousin and next door neighbor Chick (Tess Harper) likes to hammer home. Fond memories and recriminations fill out most of the plot of this adaptation of Beth Henley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. The acting is top-notch and although the film fluctuates between dark comedy, melodrama and farce, the tone seems consistent enough to keep it from going off the deep end. Two additional pluses are George Delerue's beautiful music and the wonderful old family house for which production designer Ken Adam (the James Bond series) deserves credit.

To Die For (Gus Van Sant, 1995) 3

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/060330/151619__kidman_l.jpg

Here is another black comedy about young Suzanne Stone (Nicole Kidman) who will stop at nothing to become famous on television. She isn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but she has found something to drive herself to become successful. The film is told in a fractured style, from many different perspectives and time frames, yet it all ultimately shows how Suzanne married Larry (Matt Dillon) but got tired of him really quickly. Instead, Suzanne bulldozes her way into getting a job at the local public TV station and takes up time with three high schoolers (Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck and Alison Folland) she enlists to be the subjects of her video tape essay on the current state of teenagers. The Joaquin Phoenix character soon becomes her lover, and the three kids get mixed up in Suzanne's plot to kill Larry so that she can fulfill her destiny. One character I haven't mentioned is Larry's ice-skating sister (Illeana Douglas) who seems to know more about what Suzanne's up to than most. Buck Henry's satiric script helps give Kidman one of her juiciest roles ever, even if all the motivations aren't fully put into focus. However, I'm willing to cut the film slack since David Cronenberg has a terrific cameo at the end, and it does have one of the spookier and more poetic scenes involving a frozen lake I can remember.

Seven Days to Noon (John & Roy Boulting, 1950) 3

http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/26/b70-13090

It's been awhile since I've seen this modest British thriller classic, but it still delivers tons of suspense. Britain's chief nuclear scientist, Professor Widdington (Barry Jones), disappears with one of his atomic bombs and sends a letter to the Prime Minister (Ronald Adam) informing him that if Britain doesn't stop their nuclear arms program, he will detonate the bomb at the Seat of government in seven days at noon. The letter is intercepted by Superintendent Folland (André Morell) of Scotland Yard, and he begins an investigation to try to find the scientist before things get too drastic. The film begins as a lowkey manhunt, using the Professor's family and working partner (Hugh Cross) to try to ferret him out of hiding, but when that fails, the authorities escalate their search by publishing stories and photos of the Professor in newspapers, on TV and throughout London. Eventually, the city has to be evacuated and the central part of the city searched by the military. This latter part of the film is where the film grips you by the throat. Seeing the real London looking like a ghost town and watching Big Ben inexorably move towards 12 noon still packs a wallop.

Goldfinger (Guy Hamilton, 1964) 4

http://www.toyzine.com/auctions/scoop/Goldfinger.jpg

Goldfinger certainly ranks as one of the best Bond flicks and definitely Sean Connery's best. I've gone back-and-forth in my thoughts about this through the years, but last night, it seemed REALLY good, with an incredibly fast pace, Bond's use and abuse of women almost gleefully on display, two terrific villains, Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) and his henchman Oddjob (Harold Sakata), and three great Bond girls, Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton), her revenge-seeking sister Tilly (Tania Mallet) and the enigmatic Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman). When you add in Shirley Bassey's exuberant version of the title song, you've got terrific escapist entertainment. What else could help make this the Best Bond? Well, 007 gets to use his super tricked-out Aston Martin for the first time, and Bond gets to piss off his adversary several times at the beginning of the film using wit and ingenuity before ever having to resort to violent action. There's also the first use of a real laser in film history when Bond just about loses his "shortcomings". I still think that for spectacular action set pieces that On Her Majesty's Secret Service may just top Goldfinger, but it's extremely close if it does because Goldfinger is almost wall-to-wall with action, whether it's by land, sea or air.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AkHeUaEva5k/Ro_0KJeG-4I/AAAAAAAACuw/qYVe_m8CZDc/s400/Goldfinger%2Blaser.jpg

Used Future

02-07-09, 07:39 PM

http://img.ffffound.com/static-data/assets/6/bd479e5bfb0e893e9fedda1d4ed27846f3fe14d3_m.jpg

Colossus: The Forbin Project (Joseph Sargent 1970) 4
I'm rather embarrassed to say that I'd never even heard of this let alone seen it before. Yet in watching The Forbin Project I came to realize what a thrilling and clearly influential science fiction film it is.

Eric Braeden plays Doctor Charles Forbin, a brilliant scientist who builds a giant supercomputer (Colossus) capable of controlling America's defense system (sound familiar?). When they switch Colossus on however, it immediately tells them the Russians have a similar system called Guardian and demands to communicate with it. Before you can say 'Skynet' the two develop their own language and decide to make slaves of the humans. At first dismissive of the machine, Forbin and his associates soon realize the seriousness of the situation when Colossus threatens nuclear action if it's demands aren't met...

I love finding old gems like this, and Colossus: The Forbin project was an absolute treat (and instant favourite). I'm also a huge fan of Joseph Sargent's 1974 thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and in terms of tense excitement Colossus has the same crackerjack pacing. Although extremely dated in it's aesthetic the film is intelligent and believable with a genuinely chilling downbeat ending; so if you liked Donald Cammell's Demon Seed, Robert Wise's The Andromeda Strain, and Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey then this may well be the movie for you.

http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/allposters/mg/149498.jpg

The Green Slime (kinji Fukasaku 1968) 2.5+
Another film I probably should have looked at years ago, this came my way recently and went straight to the top of my must see list. The Green Slime has a terrible reputation for being a Z-grade turkey (just see the IMDB score) but I actually found the film to be highly watchable campy fun.

The film kicks off like Michael Bay's Armageddon with a group of astronauts intercepting and destroying (by drilling holes and planting nukes) an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. In the process one them gets some green goo on his spacesuit which proceeds to grow into a tentacled cyclops that reproduces by feeding on energy. Naturally this makes it pretty hard to kill and before you know it the pesky green blobs have overrun an entire space station. It's left to grumpy commander Jack Rankin (Robert Horton) to save the day in true B-movie style.

For a film labeled as garbage The Green Slime is remarkably entertaining stuff with plenty of kitsch 1960's action. Perhaps what surprised me most about the film was how eventful it really was with rarely a dull moment; even the talky scenes are full of hilarious hammy acting. This was a US/Japanese co-production (yes that's the same Kinji Fukasaku who directed Battle Royale) and the bright garish colors combined with a daft inappropriate theme tune really reflected the Japanese sense of comic book style. I loved it and didn't care that the monster suits made Space 1999 look like Star Wars or that sets and models looked like rejects from Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds. Nope this had space men fighting monsters with laser guns, and Italian beauty Luciana Paluzzi as the unbelievably wooden Dr. Benson; I was happy.

rice1245

02-07-09, 07:55 PM

I wasn't up on the Harvey Milk story, other than to know about the 'twinkie defense' that White's lawyers used to defend him, but I thought Milk's story was interesting and important.

I learned about the 'twinkie defense' in a criminology class, was it in Milk or something?

adidasss

02-07-09, 09:03 PM

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The fall - Tarsem Singh

Whoooaaaawww.....just.....wow. Thank you Swedish...:| 5

Powdered Water

02-07-09, 09:25 PM

Another flick I've had on the shelf for months. I have so many movies to watch its not funny.

1408 (Mikael Håfström-2008) 3

Pretty enjoyable. Nothing really exciting but parts of it were pretty creepy. And Sam J. being Sam J. is always enjoyable.

"It's an evil f*cking room..."

Outlander (Howard McCain-2008) 3

Also pretty enjoyable. I like a good looking monster and this one was pretty effing cool, what with the glowing reds and blues and such. Good stuff.

Iroquois

02-07-09, 11:52 PM

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Fearless_ver1.jpg/200px-Fearless_ver1.jpg

Fearless (Weir, 1993) - 2.5

Okay, I was rather underwhelmed by this. Don't know what I should've expected though - given the plot outline (Jeff Bridges is a plane crash survivor who, as the title obviously hints, develops a complete lack of fear as a result of his near-death experience on the plane), it almost sounded like it could've turned into something far more compelling, maybe along the lines of Unbreakable. Instead, it ended up being a rather light drama that was honestly rather boring in plenty of instances. Apart from a handful of scenes and the strength of Bridges' performance, it was a pretty mediocre affair that could've easily been cut down without incident. Totally not worth buying blind for $10.

Harry Lime

02-08-09, 12:01 AM

I probably saw it almost decade ago, but I remember liking it Iroquois. I'm a Peter Weir fan though, maybe Australia's greatest film director.

MovieMan8877445

02-08-09, 02:43 AM

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid - 5+

Now I don't know what it was about this, but before I had watched this I expected something totally different, so I guess you could say that when I watched this I basically had no idea what to expect. Actually the last half is sort of what I had expected, I still don't know if I like the first or second half more, I'm leaning more towards the latter though. I think that Western is slowly becoming my favorite movie genre, I mean I've really liked almost every western I've seen so far, but I've only seen about 10 of them so far, I plan to see A LOT more in the very near future though. Something I found out tonight was that for some reason, I really love the little sounds in western movies, like horses running or people walking, I have no idea why I like it so much.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford make an amazing team together, like I seriously think they could've been brothers in this. They're easily the best on screen duo that I've ever seen. I don't think I've ever seen any other duo that's seemed to have so much connection to each other. I guess the ending is sort of left up to interpritation on what happened, even though I think it's pretty obvious what happened. I really loved this, I was engaged in the entire movie, but it's the very last scene of the movie that just left me completely blown away. This is easily the best western that I've seen so far, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly does come very close though. I can already tell that this is going to have better rewatches and it didn't nearly leave me as blown away as Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid did.

http://www.gosmelltheflowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/butch_cassidy_and_the_sundance_kid.jpg

Harry Lime

02-08-09, 03:51 AM

I finally got to see In Bruges, excellent film - 4/5.

And MovieMan, glad you like Butch & Sundance, seeing as you like Newman and Redford together I'd recommend The Sting, also directed by George Roy Hill. In my opinion it's not as good as the film you just saw, but that doesn't mean it's not a quality film.

Swan

02-08-09, 03:02 PM

I saw Slumdog Millionaire again yesterday. Still amazing.

After watching Groundhog Day, I decided to revisit two other past favorites of mine.

Big (1988) - 4

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/Big_Poster-1.jpg

I really love this film. It has Tom Hanks (so you know it's good), and he gives a great performance. I love these kind of 'what if' comedies (like Groundhog Day). The only thing I don't like about this film is the ending. It just... didn't work.

This is Spinal Tap (1984) - 4.5

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/This_Is_Spinal_Tap_movie_cover-1.jpg

I believe this is my favorite comedy. I've seen it a bunch before and I really can't think of any other film that makes me laugh as hard (I don't really think of Harold and Maude as a comedy, even though it have some great humor in it). Tap just tops every other comedy I've seen, as far as I remember.

These go to eleven.

I also just finished watching this:

The Innocents (1961) - 3.5

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/2522621020A-1.jpg

Damn good movie. It had some spooky imagery and an even spookier tune (maybe even spookiest). It didn't scare me as much as Rosemary's Baby, but it did come pretty close - at least, closer than most films get. It might just be me, but The Others seems an awful lot like this film. Hmmm. Still not nearly as great. I can't wait to rewatch this when it's dark and I'm fully awake.

Used Future

02-08-09, 08:31 PM

http://www.genocidetext.net/threads.jpg http://www.dvdoutsider.co.uk/dvd/pix/t/threads2.jpg

Threads (Mick Jackson 1984 TV) 5

Peace Speaker at anti-nuclear demonstration: This time they are playing with at best the destruction of life as we know it and at worst total annihilation. You cannot win a nuclear war!

I was nine years old and fast asleep when this was originally shown on UK television. For once I'm glad my mum used to send me to bed early, because if I'd seen this at such a tender age I'd most likely have been scarred for life.

Threads is an ultra-realistic docudrama following the lives of two Sheffield families leading up to, during, and (for those who survive) years after a nuclear war. The film covers everything from the characters interpersonal relationships to local government contingency plans, hard statistics and scientific facts concerning the effects of a nuclear holocaust. Threads pulls no punches, seamlessly blending these elements together into a gritty, disturbing, highly informative and ultimately terrifying film.

Watching Threads I couldn't decide if showing such a television programme back in 1984 was deeply irresponsible scaremongering, or one of the bravest decisions in the history of the BBC. It really is masterful stuff with expertly drawn characters and early scenes of family drama that could've been plucked straight from Ken Loach's best work. Once we get to know, like and relate to these people the impact of nuclear war on their lives is unbearably distressing to watch. Threads may be twenty five years old, but let me assure you, it's lost none of its impact, with powerful graphic scenes more disturbing than anything made today. Most importantly though Threads has actually got something important to say and carries a nuclear warning that's just as relevant now as it was during the cold war. I won't say this is the best film ever made about nuclear war as I haven't seen Nicholas Meyer's 1983 film The Day After. One thing's for sure though, if it's anywhere near as good as Threads, then I don't think I want to. Essential viewing.

mark f

02-08-09, 09:04 PM

Threads was pretty trippy, but I haven't seen it since it was first broadcast, and I was already 28 when that happened. I think it's much more visceral than The Day After, but there are two films which disturbed me even more. The first was Special Bulletin (1983), which is presented as a sort-of-homage to Orson Welles' radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, but the visual qualities make it even more intense, especially when the unthinkable happens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTcVyb8DmLY

The second film, even more in-your-face, is The War Game (1965), set in London, is also produced as reality, but this one seems to be the most violent and disturbing, even if it is the oldest.

The War Game (Scene 1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twVrnBouJ3o

The War Game (Scene 2): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9v-tI7xQFo&NR=1

B-card

02-08-09, 09:11 PM

The Island(Michael Bay 2005)-4

Sleezy

02-08-09, 09:57 PM

The Wrestler (Aronofsky, 2008) 5

This film is exactly what I wanted it to be. It might be made up, but there's nothing fictional about Mickey Rourke. It's pretty obvious that Randy "The Ram" parallels, insofar as he can, Rourke's own self-indulgent, troubled history. But I don't think it stops there. This film is his penance, and he knows it. You can see it on his face, and over the course of the film, you understand that he means everything he says. For himself. I'm inclined to say that I've never seen an actor disappear so believably and so painfully into a role, but I don't think Rourke disappeared into anything. He was already there. And come Oscar night, I'm going to be pulling for him.

Also, I think it bears mentioning that it's nice to see a non-documentary film come along that tells the story of the professional wrestler. This story is true for so many, seen as gods of their time and industry to the point that they're incapable of being regarded as anything else. I can't say I admire the lifestyle, but it's hard not to tip your hat when you're forced to see the person living underneath.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/Sleezy/wrestler.jpg

MovieMan8877445

02-08-09, 10:34 PM

Nick And Nora's Infinite Playlist - 1.5

This is around the rating that I had expected to give it, my hopes really weren't anywhere near being good. It was just really, really average to me, I do think that some of it just tries to be another Juno too much, and I didn't even really like Juno all that much. I wasn't even supposed to watch this, I was supposed to watch Once Upon A Time In The West, but of course my sister started this, so I was basically forced to watch this because they wouldn't let me take it out and put my movie in.

I felt like no connection between Cera and Dennings, and that's like the main thing this movie had going for it. Kat Dennings is really hot though, I've always thought that, and this just showed me it more. I guess another reason that I really didn't like it was because I don't like indie music, which is like the biggest thing in the movie. I guess for people wanting to see it, they should give it a shot, but if you don't, I suggest that you just don't. There's like nothing special to this movie whatsoever.

http://instituteofhigherthinking.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/nick-n-nora.jpg

Iroquois

02-08-09, 10:59 PM

http://www.joeythefilmgeek.com/reviews2/kombat.jpg

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (Leonetti, 1997) - 2

Okay, so Annihilation probably deserves less than what I gave it and I understand that. I just seem to be a little forgiving when it comes to truly bad movies because I have to admit I do get a little bit of enjoyment out of them, and isn't that what people watch movies to do?

But yeah, there is a lot wrong with this movie. I know that the first movie had plenty of flaws on its own (bad CGI and some lame fighting, for instance), but Annihilation takes whatever problems the original had and amplifies them, then throws in a few extra problems such as re-casting quite a few major characters (especially in the case of mystical thunder god Rayden - replacing Christopher Lambert with James Remar is comparable to casting Jack Nicholson as Gandalf the White). I also have to give a mention to Brian Thompson as lead bad guy Shao Kahn, who easily gives the most shockingly awful performance in the film. I think in future I'll just stick to the original, because despite all its problems, the original just doesn't fall as flat as this one does.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z197/StarsInHerEyes_2007/Bat-signalBatman_1989.jpg

Batman (Burton, 1989) - 3

As someone whose first real introduction to Batman (unless you want me to count Batman and Robin, and you don't want that, do you?) was through Nolan's films, I have to admit that watching Burton's Batman was a real change of pace. While I didn't really think it was bad, I didn't think it was overly great either. Not quite sure how I can explain it - it's a decent adaptation of the comics and it's filmed reasonably well, but for some reason it didn't feel that engaging. Then again, I'm not much of a comic-book movie lover, but still. 3 seems like a fair rating for it, though.

mark f

02-08-09, 11:07 PM

Ladyhawke (Richard Donner, 1985) 3.5

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Ladyhawke is one of those films which will probably mean more to you the older you are. I could be wrong, but it does have Matthew Broderick as a wise-cracking teenage pickpocket in medieval times who's thrust into the middle of a romantic mystery which is the thing of legends. Right off the bat, it's got hip humor, the John Hughes teenage audience would be attracted to it, the sword-and-sorcery crowd which was popular in the '80s, and even fans of the prog rock band The Alan Parsons Project may get into it. Alan Parsons composed the anachronistic score which does tend to scare off some younger viewers, but the film also has Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer just about to reach the heights of their popularity in mainstream entertainments, so, as I say, it's got a lot going for it for people who like '80s films. I've never had a problem liking a film from any era, at least if it's entertaining and/or artistic, so sure, Ladyhawke is a winner. I'm sure the plot must not be completely original, but just in case it is, the plot about cursed lovers who are turned into animals at the exact same time their beloved becomes human, is one of the better I've ever heard of, so that's good enough for me. :cool:

Sahara (Zoltan Korda, 1943) 3

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This is one of the films Bogart made to help "win WWII", and it's amazing to watch today as a way to get into the mind of Americans during that war. Bogie is a Sergeant in charge of one lone tank, and he's got only two American soldiers (Dan Duryea and Bruce Bennett) left in his crew when he receives orders to head south to escape the Nazis who have just overrun Tobruk. Along the way south, the tank encounters some English/South African soildiers whom they pick up, as well as a Sudanese Muslim, a Frenchman, an Italian prisoner, and eventually, a Nazi. Meanwhile, a German battalion approaches the same dying well where the American tank tries to extract as much water as possible. It's really interesting to hear how all the Allies can get along with each other, and in this case, the Italian renounces any fascist leanings he had to advocate, even in the face of the "controlling" Nazi. It'a also prescient to hear an American talk to a Muslim about how he's able to have multiple wives, but both men have only one, and it's because they've found the right one and wouldn't ever want to upset her! In between the believable character development and dialogue, there are plenty of exciting action scenes, so this Sahara is well worth anyone's time. Besides, Bogie plays a character with the cool name of Joe Gunn.

Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008) 3.5

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I watched Van Sant's To Die For just after I watched Milk, so I tried to reconcile how I felt about both films since, aside from Good Will Hunting, they are probably the director's most mainstream films. What I noticed was that both To Die For and Milk tell their stories from multiple perspectives, yet from a mostly-linear way of storytelling. I was a little taken aback, since I'm well aware of the Milk story, not only from the media of the time, but from the Oscar-winning documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, to hear Sean Penn speaking into a tape recorder in the first five minutes predicting his own assassination, but hey, that was apparently Harvey. I have to admit that I also had a little bit of difficulty getting into the early scenes because of the different perspectives, but eventually things turned into something easier to grasp as a person's life, not only as a personal journey but as one set in the big picture.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2145/2243808368_47af8f1bc0.jpg

As the film progressed, I tried to measure Sean Penn's performance against Mickey Rourke's in The Wrestler. I have loved Sean Penn ever since I saw Taps, but when he played Jeff Spicoli, I thought that he deserved an Oscar right there. I was sure he'd win one for Dead Man Walking, but it didn't happen. Instead, he got his Oscar for Mystic River, a film I find watchable but mammothly overrated. It's only Clint Eastwood's skill as a storyteller which makes this totally-predictable and surprisingly-overracted film as good (average, at best) as it is. But who am I to say? The people I thought gave the worst performances in Mystic River all got Oscars or at least nominations. So being the human who I claim I really am, I'm watching Penn very closely in Milk with a "C'mon, show me what you've got" attitude. During the first half, I just don't see Penn being as believable a human being as Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, and trust me, I don't really have any reason to tell you that I lionize Rourke, no matter what he's done in the past. Anyway, eventually, and I realize that most of this started to kick in during the last 15 minutes of Milk, but I started to really see Penn as THE MAN Harvey Milk. Maybe it's because most of the tragedy and triumph occurs at the end of the film, but I actually started to believe that Penn wasn't just acting, but that he was living and that somehow what he had to say, in the context of last year's election and Proposition 8 (as opposed to the earlier Proposition 6 in the fllm Milk) was perhaps more important in the Big Picture than what Mickey and Aranofsky were attempting in The Wrestler. Then again, the Golden Globes and BAFTA seem to contradict SAG. Let's see... what am I talking about here? Oh yeah, it's going to be a Bee-ach to pick Best Actor this year. :cool:

Swan

02-08-09, 11:12 PM

Ladyhawke (Richard Donner, 1985) 3.5

even fans of the prog rock band The Alan Parsons Project may get into it. Alan Parsons composed the anachronistic score

I am so seeing this.

Lusty Argonian

02-08-09, 11:21 PM

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/061101/13241__bridge_l.jpg

THE BRIDGE

3.5

You know how some movies about death can manage to be strangely uplifting? Well, The Bridge isn't one of those. It's actually pretty fracking (I love "Battlestar Galactica") far from being one of those. On the surface this movie seems to be a study on people commiting suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. While the movie does use that angle, really it's just a diving board that the filmmakers use to get into deeper stuff about people in general. Particularly messed up people. And I mean that in the nicest way possible because most of the people that the film goes more in depth on seem to have all been decent human beings.

Film crews had multiple cameras on the Golden Gate bridge for almost the entire year of 2004 and managed to capture all 24 suicides that happened that year. The film does show these people jumping to their deaths so if that sounds too intense for you, steer clear. I was pretty shaken within the first few minutes. How this film and its creators succeed in not being totally guilty of exploitation is that they really try and tell the story of these individuals in the hopes of understanding them through a series of interviews with their friends and families. Even if we don't understand the reason for their choices though, we (or at least I) feel empathy because we all get extremely down in the dumps at some time or another. Many of these people, unfortunately, seem to have simply not been blessed with the ability to cope with some of the curveballs of life.

While I wouldn't say this was an enjoyable watch, it was a very moving and interesting watch creating cause for a lot of reflection and contemplation...

re93animator

02-09-09, 12:30 AM

http://i41.tinypic.com/eqypft.jpg
Survive Style 5+ (2004)
Survive Style 5+ is undoubtedly a nice feast of picturesque scenery and colorful lighting. The film features multiple story lines that at some points have interaction between each other, an imposing dark comedy with some dainty and colorful imagery to spice it up. Every member of the cast committed to the roles in which they were given. The film also features Vinnie Jones in a supporting role as a hired killer.
http://i44.tinypic.com/23jpc8h.jpg
I shall choose my words carefully here because I don't want to spoil anything vital to the enjoyment of the film. The story in the film that intrigued me the most was the man who kept trying to murder his wife, yet every time he was unsuccessful. His wife comes back every time apparently seeking vengeance with bizarre supernatural powers sometimes according to the ways her husband has last attempted to killed her (She acquires the ability to spit fire after her husband has burned her). The man hires a contract killer (Vinnie Jones' character) to murder his wife. Of course, she comes back once again after the hit man gets done with her. The husband eventually falls back in love with his wife, but by then the hired killer realizes the mistake he has made and pursues to try to get the job done right this time. That's as much as I will reveal about this storyline since I don't want to give away too much detail for the people who have yet to see the picture.
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Another one of the stories features a man who is hypnotized into believing he is a bird. Though, the hypnotist is killed before he can reverse the hypnotism. The hypnotist is killed by the same contract killer mentioned in the storyline above (Vinnie Jones' character again).So, the man is tricked for the rest of his life into believing he is a bird. His family desperately seeks help, yet finds none that is of use. The man's young boy learns to still love his father despite the bizarre circumstances.
http://i41.tinypic.com/2m3mxvp.jpg
The "bird-man" and the man who excessively fails to murder his wife cross paths in the end and conjure up one of the most satisfying climaxes I've ever seen put on film. The film is a very quirky and surprisingly chilling mixture of dark comedy and drama. I highly, highly recommend this picture to anyone who has yet to see it. 4

ash_is_the_gal

02-09-09, 01:13 AM

Coraline (2008)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1qPLMlz01yQ/R23xzJ5--dI/AAAAAAAAAd4/gcbh4S9xNGM/s400/coraline1.jpg
this made me want to see James and the Giant Peach again.
i did really like this, though i don't think it will exactly make a best-of list for me. i think i would have enjoyed it more if i could have watched it with my boy toy. and there were less kids sitting near me.
8 out of 10

Capote (2005)
http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/060202/12348__capote_l.jpg
finally got around to seeing this.
7 out of 10

Iroquois

02-09-09, 07:49 AM

http://www.channel4.com/film/media/images/Channel4/film/D/deliverance_xl_07--film-B.jpg

Deliverance (Boorman, 1972) - 3

I seem to have become vaguely harsher when it comes to giving ratings nowadays. I almost feel like giving it a 3.5 but I elected not to if only it was very slow and anticlimatic. Of course, the picturesque photography is great and there are quite a few good moments of tension but I do feel it was lacking in something, I don't know. It just doesn't feel great for some reason.

Sedai

02-09-09, 10:34 AM

Taken (Morel, 2009)

3_5

I am not a big fan of the Transporter stuff, but Morel delivers a pretty well-done thriller this time 'round. I like Neeson a hell of a lot more than Stratham, so perhaps that is why I like this. Neeson's character is a bit too good at what he does to create any real dilemma, but it's fun watching him track down the baddies and mow through them. A fun watch.

http://www.gmanreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/takenpic.jpg

Caitlyn

02-09-09, 11:23 AM

adidasss

02-09-09, 11:59 AM

http://www.pearlanddean.com/mediaLibrary/images/english/221169.jpg

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime - Philippe Claudel (2008)

I thought it was perfect, until the ending which in my mind compromised everything that made it great until that point. They should have been more courageous and not given the audience an easy way out. Still a very good film. 4

Hopefully I'll get to see The class some times later this month...

mark f

02-09-09, 02:10 PM

I love Ladyhawke and am so glad you enjoyed it... :) Was this the first time you've seen it? I think I'll dig out my copy and watch it again...

I actually saw Ladyhawke at a sneak preview in 1985, and I've seen it a few times since, but this is the first time I've seen it in at least 10 years.

:)

Piddzilla

02-09-09, 06:52 PM

Redacted (Brian De Palma - 2007)

Lusty Argonian

02-09-09, 10:19 PM

http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2006-09/25630663.gif

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS

3

I grew up in a nice neighborhood so movies like this always hit me like a bucket of cold water. Movies where young people have to look both ways before crossing the street, not for incoming cars, but to spot any punks are gangsters that might be in the vicinity. And that's the point of the film really, to establish such an inhospitable environment/atmosphere for the characters to live in that you couldn't begin to imagine why they don't all just pick up and leave.

This main character, and this was a surprise to me, isn't actually a main character at all. He's a real living person and he wrote and directed this movie. He (Dito) spent much of his early life in the crappy part of Queens, New York and this film is just a snippet of the latter part of his time there. He was a punk of sorts for sure, the script doesn't shy away from that, but it also doesn't shy away from painting the people he knew and loved as very flawed people. His father and best friend in particular are made to look like improperly put together human beings with deep seeded troubles that no amount of booze or venting could put right. It's the frustration of living a depressed existence that hurts these people but Dito seems to be the only one to recognize it for what it is and he's the only one that puts forth an honest attempt to leave.

I enjoyed this film overall but it starts off a lot stronger than it finishes. Gets a little bit too Hallmark for my taste. I'd only really recommend this movie to people who are interested in seeing some good work from Shia LeBeouf, Robert Downey Jr., and the surprisingly good Channing Tatum.

ash_is_the_gal

02-09-09, 11:27 PM

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS

nice review, Lusty. i agree with everything that you said, especially in regards to the ending being a bit anticlimactic compared to the rest of the film, but it really is worth seeing.

Iroquois

02-10-09, 01:39 AM

http://streetknowledge.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/stereotype-the_green_mile_2q.jpg

The Green Mile (Darabont, 1999) - 4

I reckon it's a good sign that a film can be three hours in length and you barely notice it go by, wrapped up in the story as you are. The Green Mile was just such a film, and of course it just had one of those combinations of a good story, great actors and the right amount of sentiment and mystery to keep it engaging.

http://www.einsiders.com/features/columns/images/immortal39.jpg

City Lights (Chaplin, 1931) - 2.5

After having enjoyed The General so much, I was expecting a lot from City Lights, and let's be honest, it doesn't deliver. Even though there are loads of jokes packed into the film, they weren't funny enough to make me laugh. Sure, I may have smiled once or twice, but by and large City Lights was a disappointment as a comedy. On the other hand, I felt that it was very well-written, with some well-thought out characters and situations. Yet I just didn't find it funny. Odd.

Harry Lime

02-10-09, 01:56 AM

It's not Chaplin's funniest film, but to moviegoers in the 20's and 30's it was probably hilarious. To me City Lights delivers, but on a different scale, I don't expect to laugh my ass off while watching silent comedians (even though sometimes I do), time changes alot. I personally enjoy City Lights for its poignancy, its heart, its Tramp, and its cinematic innovation. I don't know Iroquois, but maybe give The Great Dictator a shot, it was Chaplin's first 'talkie', see he continued to make silent films despite sound being introduced in 1927.

Loner

02-10-09, 02:28 AM

THE BRIDGE

3.5

You know how some movies about death can manage to be strangely uplifting? Well, The Bridge isn't one of those. It's actually pretty fracking (I love "Battlestar Galactica") far from being one of those. On the surface this movie seems to be a study on people commiting suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. While the movie does use that angle, really it's just a diving board that the filmmakers use to get into deeper stuff about people in general. Particularly messed up people. And I mean that in the nicest way possible because most of the people that the film goes more in depth on seem to have all been decent human beings.

Film crews had multiple cameras on the Golden Gate bridge for almost the entire year of 2004 and managed to capture all 24 suicides that happened that year. The film does show these people jumping to their deaths so if that sounds too intense for you, steer clear. I was pretty shaken within the first few minutes. How this film and its creators succeed in not being totally guilty of exploitation is that they really try and tell the story of these individuals in the hopes of understanding them through a series of interviews with their friends and families. Even if we don't understand the reason for their choices though, we (or at least I) feel empathy because we all get extremely down in the dumps at some time or another. Many of these people, unfortunately, seem to have simply not been blessed with the ability to cope with some of the curveballs of life.

While I wouldn't say this was an enjoyable watch, it was a very moving and interesting watch creating cause for a lot of reflection and contemplation...

Trivia for The Bridge (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0799954/)(2006 (http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Years/2006/)/I) from IMDB.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0799954/trivia

The documentary caused significant controversy when Eric Steel revealed that he had tricked the Golden Gate Bridge committee into allowing him to film the bridge for months and had captured 23 suicides which took place during the filming phase of the project. In his permit application to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area Steel said he intended "to capture the powerful, spectacular intersection of monument and nature that takes place every day at the Golden Gate Bridge."

Steel interviewed relatives of the suicide victims, not informing them that he had footage of their loved ones' deaths. Later, he claimed that "the family members now, at this point, have seen the film, [and are] glad that they participated in it."

The filmmakers captured 23 of the 24 known Golden Gate suicides in 2004.

The image of the last jumper will be stuck in my head forever.

Lusty Argonian

02-10-09, 02:32 AM

http://www.tribute.ca/tribute_objects/images/movies/Hes_Just_Not_That_Into_You/hesnotthatintoyou3.jpg

HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU

2

This movie actually came close to being decent in my eyes despite the fact that I am most definitely not counted amongst what the studio suits would refer to as the "intended target audience". So yeah, despite that there were bits and pieces of the film that I actually genuinely enjoyed but in the process of putting all the fragments together, well, it just doesn't work. At least not to my liking.

The story consists of four, maybe five, relationships that the film jumps back and forth between with some success. Each relationship plays like its own generic Hollywood rom-com clunker. Turns out though, when you cut those down to bite-sized portions they aren't that bad. The characters are what you'd expect: a lovesick woman looking for a man, a guy who thinks he's got it all figured out, a cheating husband, a smoldering temptress, and so on so forth. The central storyline between the lovesick chick and the know-it-all guy (pictured above) is actually a pretty strong base upon which to build the rest of the movie. Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff that is put onto this sturdy base couldn't stand up to a stiff wind. Most of the characters aren't given the whole treatment and their feelings and motives are mostly a mystery to us until it becomes convenient to the plot. The dialogue is consistently "okay" but someone in the writing department should have spruced it up. I like jokes. Also all these side-stories either take up too much time or not enough. It's as if the filmmakers wanted to be fair and give each story an equal amount of showtime with no regard for quality. Some of these storylines should have and could have been flat-out cut in my opinion. I mean the movie was over two hours long!

The acting does make the time go by a bit easier. Or maybe I'm just talking about the eye candy. Anyways, the performances are actually fairly good across the board. The only pair that I really feel the need to shoot down are Affleck and Aniston, both of whom practically sleep walk through their roles. The big surprise for me as far as the thespians went was that Apple whore, Justin Long, who I've grown to hate because of those damn commercials (I love my PC) but he's actually not too shabby here. Ginnifer Goodwin, the lead, probably best known for her role in the show Big Love, was very effective for me. She got the meatiest role in the film and she squeezes it for all its worth. I hope she gets some more big offers because I know she can do some good for the cinemas and us cinephiles. Oh, and if you're wondering about Scarlett Johansson: no boobie shot yet.

I feel as if I've been talking too much crap about this movie when I actually had fun with more of it than I expected to. Still, it has its problems and it was made to make money, not entertain people like me. People with penises. So if you've got one of those, pass on He's Just Not that Into You. If you happen to not fall into that category though... have fun.

Iroquois

02-10-09, 08:45 AM

B-card

02-10-09, 09:24 AM

Do the Right Thing(Spike Lee 1989)-5

linespalsy

02-10-09, 10:13 AM

City Lights (Chaplin, 1931) - 2.5

After having enjoyed The General so much, I was expecting a lot from City Lights, and let's be honest, it doesn't deliver. Even though there are loads of jokes packed into the film, they weren't funny enough to make me laugh. Sure, I may have smiled once or twice, but by and large City Lights was a disappointment as a comedy. On the other hand, I felt that it was very well-written, with some well-thought out characters and situations. Yet I just didn't find it funny. Odd.

I like City Lights, and I think it's funny. Having now seen (and been underwhelmed by) Chaplin's best though, my recommendation to you is to give priority to Keaton and check out some Harold Lloyd [Safety Last] films on the side while continuing to come back to Chaplin every once in a while. I'll second The Great Dictator as the next one you should see.

But nevermind all that, see Sherlock Jr. [Keaton] soon. Like, now.

linespalsy

02-10-09, 12:30 PM

Also saw Hotel Chevalier. The Wes Anderson short. I found it pretty poignant and at the same time unpleasantly alienating so it was effective/affecting. So much so that I had to dwell on it for a while and ended up deciding to reject it. I feel like we're meant to be moved by these characters' pain and while pain is in and of itself moving and relatable it's not a satisfying reason for a movie to exist and... also, the two main characters are passive-aggressive douche-bags. "Oh I don't want to hurt you." "Oh I don't care." Then why should we?

[note: I probably wouldn't mind the loathesomeness and slightness of these people if the movie didn't have such a somber, precious, weighty air of malaise to it. I do like some doomed romance stuff but I guess it has to be romantic to begin with for me to buy into it. Arizona Dream is the high water mark for me. Does that count?]

linespalsy

02-10-09, 10:27 PM

not sure what i was on about thid morning Hotel wasn't that bad, just kind of slight and at the same time made me feel like **** for about five minutes after (contradictory? probably but it don't really feel like it to me). like cocooning yourself in trinkety overpriced nostalgia objects and wistful days-gone-by music and lying in bed staring at the ceiling will somehow add depth to your masochistic suffering or give an excuse for just being a big dildo. hmm, murderous urge rising again i'll give it a rest for now and go listen to some scritti politti or somethin.

mark f

02-10-09, 10:41 PM

My initial idea was that Hotel Chevalier was a weak Bertolucci wannabe, but I "warmed up" to it upon a second viewing. However, it's still on the mediocre side if you ask me, but I'm much more illiterate than Holds who called it an almost perfect "short story". I definitely found The Darjeeling Express to be more satisfying than Hotel Chevalier, and similarly, I liked The Darjeeling Express much less than Slumdog Millionaire, but maybe each film paved the way for the next.

MovieMan8877445

02-10-09, 11:35 PM

Once Upon The Time In The West - 4

I was so excited that I finally got to see this tonight, I've been wanting to see it for about 2 months now. I do have to say that the first hour is just really slow to me, nothing really happens and there really is barely any talking in the first hour too. It's basically just people walking around, for some reason though, I really love watching that in westerns, I do think this one overdid it a little. I mean most of the movie was basically just people walking around, after the first hour though, the movie really picked up leading to an insanely awesome ending. The overall tone of this really felt like The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly to me, especially two of the leading characters. I mean Frank reminded me so much of Angeleyes, and Harmonica reminded me so much of Blondie. I do have to admit that Bronson actually did a pretty good job being like Eastwood, I mean Eastwood will always be the best at it, but Bronson still did a pretty good job at it. Fonda does really great as the villian though, between this and 12 Angry Men I can really see him becoming one of my favorite actors.

Personally I'd rank this as my fourth favorite western so far, right after Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, and Unforgiven. I think with a rewatch of this that it has a chance of moving ahead of Unforgiven though. Westerns is slowly becoming my all-time favorite movie genre, I said that the other night after I watched Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, but the more westerns I see, the more it's moving up. I actually remember when I didn't even really like westerns at all, I have no idea why I didn't like it for so much. Any western fan really needs to check this out, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

http://img5.allocine.fr/acmedia/medias/nmedia/18/35/24/15/18823976.jpg

Mrs. Darcy

02-10-09, 11:40 PM

Room at the Top (Jack Clayton 1959) 4

http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/sc/posters/web/Picture72.jpg

This movie was very good. It starred Simone Signoret as Alice Aisgill and Laurence Harvey as Joe Lampton.Joe is a man from the wrong side of the tracks that moves into the city with dreams of having a better life. He meets Alice and Susan at a theater production. He determines that Susan is his meal ticket to a better life if he can finagle a way into hers, but he's attracted to the older, sexier Alice. And who wouldn't be? This is my first movie with Simone Signoret, but she's a stunner, and she won an Oscar for her portrayal of Alice in this film.

Now we get to the part where I'm always afraid I'm going to tell too much, so I don't tell much at all...So, I'm gonna go for it! Joe finally manages to get Susan's attention, but he's been having an affair with the married Alice. He is looking out for his interests, so he breaks it off with Alice even though he has true feelings for her. It gets ugly, as it does with most break-ups, and Joe later realizes that he can't live without her. He tries to develop feelings for Susan, but he's just going through the motions. It doesn't keep him from stringing Susan along, though, and they take their relationship to the next level.

He realizes that his life is empty without Alice and he talks her into going away with him. Things are resolved as Joe tells Alice that he doesn't want to live without her. She says she'll divorce the vile man, and they can be together. But she keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop onto her happiness. And it does in a tragic way.

Joe has a meeting with Susan's father and decides to marry her after his chat. He breaks it off with Alice once again, and this time, there's no anger, just sadness from them both.

I thought this movie was complex and very raw. It evidently got an 'x' certification in Great Britain for its content. The director used many devices to underscore the plot. I liked the scene where Joe walks into a very uppity club and although you could see people eating etc., as he was walking toward Mr. Brown, it was silent, and it remained so until he was asked to be seated, then the background noise of the club was heard. Later on, when Joe is trying to recover from an incident, a young boy shoves a wind-up car toward him and its a very poignant scene.

Laurence Harvey was all broody and complicated as Joe, he really made Joe likeable and despicable at the same time and even pitiable. Signoret was wise and vulnerable as the older woman.

Iroquois

02-10-09, 11:53 PM

http://daily.greencine.com/archives/randal-clerks.jpg

Clerks: The First Cut (Smith, 1993) - 5

This marks what I think is the seventeenth time I've ever watched Clerks, yet this is the first time I've seen the extended rough cut (included as part of the film's 10th anniversary edition DVD.) The main differences between the rough cut and the theatrical cut are noticeable - most scenes are trimmed down, the soundtrack full of popular grunge bands such as Bad Religion or Soul Asylum has been removed entirely, the quality of both sound and picture is generally inferior, and of course, there's the "ending"...

The film originally ends with lead Dante being shot and killed by a robber. While the majority of fans (and even Smith himself) have denounced this ending, I actually find it really does fit really well, given the film as a whole. Maybe that's just me, though.

Now I'm stuck trying to think of a rating - it's Clerks. Clerks is about as subjective as I get about my favourites - I know it's by and large a rather crap little movie. The film's already low quality is exacerbated by the bad quality of the rough cut (which looked like it had been taken from an old VHS tape for the DVD), but in spite of its many flaws, I still love the film. Objectively it's worth about 3 at best, but hell, it means a lot to me. Always has and probably always will, so screw it, it gets a 5.

mark f

02-11-09, 12:24 AM

Lusty Argonian

02-11-09, 05:13 AM

http://blog.mlive.com/movies_impact/2009/02/large_push.jpg

PUSH

3

If you thought the X-Men movies were cool or are a fan of Heroes then I highly recommend Push which, ahem, "borrows" from those two and many other sources and puts all the pieces together for a superhero story crafted especially for the big screen. Now, I know the previews look ridiculous and I'll be honest, the movie is too, but most superhero movies that aren't called The Dark Knight would probably fall into that category.

Nick (Chris Evans) is a "mover", someone with the ability to move objects with their mind, and he's spent most of his life on the lamb, hiding from "Division". A government run entity that makes its main objective hunting down people with gifts like Nick's for study. Well, after successfully evading them for many years, he's finally been found. Wait-a-sec though! They're not looking for him, and that's where the "watcher", someone who can see the future, known as Cassie (Dakota Fanning) comes into the story and fills Nick in on their intertwined destinies.

Now all this "watcher", "mover", "pusher" business actually worked for me. There are also other kinds of super people. People with the ability to hunt anyone down by scent... they're called "sniffers". There are people who can scream really loud. So loud, in fact, that they blow up the fish in their tanks before the tanks themselves explode. No joke. I think they're called "screechers" but don't hold me to that. Anyway, I found the whole mythology of the movie to tickle my nerdy side and the script does a good job of filling us in on the specifics without being bogged down with scientific trivialities or an excessive amount of characters.

The film doesn't stretch itself too far but it could have afforded to be a bit more ambitious. The lore is fun, the characters are solid, the screenwriters should have went a bit further with the story which is pretty bare-bones and does little except feed us the necessary info and fill in the blanks between fight scenes. These intermissions between super bouts are an opportunity to get to know the characters better and add a little more depth to the story but the film too often opts to use this valuable time for uninspired cryptic talk and superhero banter. It's almost like the filmmakers were afraid to turn it down a notch in fear of losing the audience. There is a nice romance cooking up between Nick and a certain female character (not Dakota Fanning!) but it's unfairly skimmed over. I may just be singling out this one element because I happen to think the chick is hot but don't hold it against me.

The cast, on paper, doesn't impress me in the slightest but the leads Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning have convinced me I want to see more of them. I actually always liked Chris Evans, he was the best part of the Fantastic Four movies and he carried some heavy emotional weight in Sunshine but his work here in Push has got me thinking he can be a superstar. Dakota Fanning, who I've never been a big fan of, has finally grown out of her annoying smart aleck kid phase into her smart aleck teenage phase. A capacity I find infinitely more suitable for her. Really though, she gives the movie some much needed softness and I genuinely enjoyed watching her on-screen. The other two notables are Djimon Honsou who works his usual acting intensity to great effect and Camilla Belle who's effort here went under my radar thanks to the infatuation I was immediately stricken with when I got a good look at her. I know. Bad, Lusty.

Push isn't a great movie but I'd be fibbing if I said it wasn't a fun time.

Iroquois

02-11-09, 08:29 AM

http://nyulocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/20080312ho_monroeporn_500.jpg

Zack and Miri Make A Porno (Smith, 2008) - 2

I had some rather low expectations for the film - I haven't really cared much, if at all, for most Apatow comedies and it looked like Smith had done the impossible and sold out just a little bit more to cash in on the popularity of said comedies. The result is a lame and rather predictable rom-com with a handful of funny moments here and there. Justin Long stole the movie, although Jason Mewes came close a couple of times. Overall, still as mediocre as I'd expected. Think I'll just go back to waiting for Danny Boyle to direct an adaptation of Porno instead.

adidasss

02-11-09, 02:53 PM

http://www.filmofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/rocknrolla-poster_m.jpg

Surprisingly slow and quite boring. I expected action and got the opposite. There's literally just one action scene but it was so protracted it ended up being annoying. Wilkinson is tragically miscast as the London underground boss (his cockney accent was just grating). There's a mini gay subplot which was supposed to be amusing but comes off as offensive (or at least it should be to any gay person). The only good thing about it was Toby Kebbell (Dead man's shoes) who is probably the most talented young English actor. I hope they don't deliver on the promise to make a sequel, he's far too good to waste his talent on this nonsense...:\ 2

You know, watching this film I came to the conclusion that Ritchie's films are actually quite disneyesque, no one ever gets really hurt, particularly not emotionally, and all the principal characters end up as winners in the end. I was actually hoping those Russian goons were gonna finish what they started, just to spice things up a bit. Alas...:|

Swan

02-11-09, 09:27 PM

The Holiday (2006) - 2.5

http://alchemistpoonam.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/505315the-holiday-posters.jpg

I watched this movie to see Jack Black - my favorite comedian - in a serious role. I thought he was great. Actually, the whole film has a great cast besides Cameron Diaz. I never realized it until watching this, but I do not like her a bit. She was mostly annoying and when it wasn't because of her character, it was because of her bad acting. But Jude Law is awesome (he is in two of my faves, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and I Heart Huckabees), Kate Winslet is even better, and Jack Black is best.

I didn't like Diaz and Law's story much. It was full of cliches and as I said earlier, I really didn't like Diaz. But I really enjoyed Winslet and Black's story, though. In my opinion this film should have just followed their story, and to help the length they could have added some more to the Eli Wallach and Winslet's great mini-story.

A Fish Called Wanda (1988) - 3.5

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j13/ziziphus/poster3.jpg

This was a big surprise. At first I wasn't really liking it, but it progressively got a lot better. Even though I didn't really laugh until the last 20 minutes (during which I laughed quite a bit), I enjoyed all of the film. Jamie Lee Curtis was way different (and better) than I have ever seen of her. Not the good girl from Halloween at all.

Escape from Alcatraz (1979) - 3.5

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

When I was a kid, I saw this film with my family, right after we went to Alcatraz. I remember being completely captivated (I was a weird child who also enjoyed the old Corman-Poe horror flicks). Watching it now, I realize that it's very nostalgic for me. I'm not sure if I've seen it once or more than, but if it was only once, I would had to have been incredibly enthralled in it in order for it to be nostalgic. So I don't think it was only once. Anyway, I'll be completely honest - it wasn't as great as I remembered it being. There were only two notable things that I didn't like. I hated how, near the beginning, lightning strikes and thunder roars for the first and last time right after a guard says "Welcome to Alcatraz" to Eastwood. I'm usually okay with some cheese but this just took it to far. Another thing I didn't like was the excessive use of fades in between scenes. It hurt the flow of the film and at times, started to fade too quickly (I remember one fade starting while a man was still talking). But that's really all I didn't like about the film. I loved learning how they planned to escape, and watching them work it all out.

Alcatraz is really an amazing place, and Clint Eastwood being in Alcatraz... well that's kinda like Dr. Badass in Badass Hotel™.

Training Day (2001) - 4+

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005JKED.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

This was INTENSE. I watched it to see Denzel Washington's performance, because I had a hard time believing it was better than Russel Crowe's performance in A Beautiful Mind (as it won the Oscar for Best Actor). Well, I don't know whose I like more, but they both deserved the Oscar equally. I remember for year thinking this movie was about football. I only saw the poster and looking at it now, it's understandable why someone would mistake it for a football film. But it's obviously anything but. It's much more of a huge thrill-ride. During the last 20 minutes, it felt like time stood still.

MovieMan8877445

02-12-09, 12:16 AM

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menance - 3.5

I've decided to rewatch all the Star Wars movies in chronological order, so I started tonight with the first. For the longest time I always thought this was my least favorite episode of Star Wars, but after watching it tonight, I found it far better than I remember it being. I always though this episode was really slow, but I honestly didn't find it slow at all, except I did find when they're on Corasaunt to be a tad bit slow. This had a lot more action in it than I remember it having, especially the last 30 minutes or so. I also seemed to love Qui-Gon Qin a lot more this time around, maybe it's because I love Liam Neeson a lot more since I last watched it, his character just seemed a lot better this time. I actually liked him more than Obi-Won Konobi this time, I think that may change after I watch the next 3 movies in the series though.

This is actually pretty nastolgic for me, while most people grew up watching the original three, I grew up watching the 3 prequels, so I think I like them a lot more than most people. This episode is the movie that actually got me into Star Wars. I really look foward to finishing the series off within the next week or so though, especially because I think I've only seen the original three like once before.

http://www.newhotstuff.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/star-wars.jpg

Iroquois

02-12-09, 12:31 AM

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/3888/importedphotos00429jf4.jpg

Miller's Crossing (Coen, 1990) - 4.5

You ever have that feeling when you re-watch a film and really wish it was like the first time you saw it? I had that feeling when I re-watched Miller's Crossing last night. I wasn't sure if it would be as good as I remembered it or as plenty of people around here have made it out to be. Fortunately I was not let down. Miller's Crossing is quite simply excellent (one of these days I'll bump it up to 5 - why I didn't now, I'll explain soon enough). Everything about this film is great - the acting, the photography, the music, and most importantly the storyline. The reason I knocked it down to 4.5 is because while I still reckon the script is excellent, I only really understand about eighty or ninety percent of it. There are still bits and pieces of the film which I don't understand the significance of, or haven't quite deciphered the complex dialogue that the characters are so fond of using (most likely a combination of the two). I suspect I'll probably fully understand the film after a couple more viewings (as I recall, it took me about five viewings to understand everything about Michael's storyline in The Godfather Part II). Of course, I didn't consider this lack of full comprehension to be a major dint in my enjoyment of the film. I think I'll probably watch it again sometime before the week is out.

http://photos.shebloggedbynight.com/images/A_3/5/2/2/12253/noh0thrq.jpg

Sullivan's Travels (Sturges, 1941) - 4

It's a testament to the genius of the film that this film is coming up on 70 years old yet a lot of the sentiments and ideas expressed within still ring very, very true. Even though, as a comedy, I didn't find it anywhere as laugh-out-loud funny as I was expecting it to be (the only scene that I felt was genuinely funny was the chase scene near the beginning of the film), that hardly matters to me because of the strength of the writing. I don't know if I can adequately express how good I thought it was - it was smart, rather witty and took quite a few unexpected turns. It's also helped along by some good acting, especially Joel McCrea as Sullivan himself, who seems rather comfortable in his role.

Harry Lime

02-12-09, 01:37 AM

I've debated with a friend of mine on how to watch all six Star Wars films if you were to have a Star Wars Marathon. He says start with The Phantom Menace, I say start with the original. We both say The Phantom Menace was one of the biggest "failing to live up to the hype" movies in cinematic history, if not the biggest. The double light saber was cool though.

Iroquois

02-12-09, 10:54 PM

http://www.freeringtonesfyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-movie.jpg

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Spielberg, 1977) - 3+

I'll start off with a small confession of sorts - I don't like E.T.. I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to expect from Spielberg's other great "alien" film - for the most part, I was indifferent towards it. The only reason it gets as high a rating as it does is for final 30 minutes or so alone. Apart from some good-looking cinematography and special effects, the rest of the film was rather weak.

Powdered Water

02-12-09, 11:03 PM

I've been watching too many movies lately to list them all and frankly I have memory issues and forget them sometimes. Here's some of the highlights.

Fahrenheit 451 (François Truffaut-1966) 4.5

This was so ridiculously good I can barely describe it. I'll try to anyway in case you haven't seen it. So, in the not to distant future books are illegal and "firemen" no longer put out fires they burn books instead. The story centers around a fireman who slowly begins to wonder why this is and begins to read a few of these books he's been burning and transforms into a different man with a new outlook on life. It's a very bizarre way of life they have. Folks that have seen Equilibrium will recognize many of the plot points that were borrowed heavily from this film.

Slaughterhouse Five (George Roy Hill-1972) 4.5

I think this was a tad bit better than Fahrenheit. Just a trip. I enjoyed it muchly.

The Innocents (Jack Clayton-1961) 4.5

I think I get why you like this Mark. Man this was good. The copy I found online is just stellar! I can't wait to see this again. Man those were two creepy little kids. Mark is right kids, if you want to see a ghost story and see done it well then watch this flick immediately!

Also saw Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and thought it was pretty decent. I could just stare at Mrs Mitra for hours though so I may not be completely objective. I do pretty much completely disagree with an earlier poster that said it was crap. I just really dig flicks like this when they are done well and this series is.

MovieMan8877445

02-13-09, 12:32 AM

Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones - 2.5

I definitely thought Episode I was much better than this, because it didn't rely on action as much as this did. Some of the action in this just looked so bad, namely all the explosions. I do have to say that the arena battle is one of the best action scenes that I've ever seen in a movie. This was never really my favorite of the prequels, and as you can see it's still not. I mean Hayden Christiansen's acting at some scenes of the movie were just so bad that it was laughable, the rest of the cast were okay though, and if my memory serves me correctly I do remember him getting a little better in the third movie.

http://www.grijalvo.com/articulos/kobservat_2002_clones_battle2.jpg

TheDOMINATOR

02-13-09, 02:54 AM

Running Mates - 2

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518AKA28J7L._SL500.jpg

A slow-moving drama that feels like its story is lacking on many levels. I never got too into it or any of its characters.

Of Unknown Origin - 5

http://www.lovefilm.com/lovefilm/images/products/0/14620-large.jpg

One of my favorite movies. It needed a rewatch. :D

The Mallory Effect - 0

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/5245/41175xg6.jpg

:S

After suffering through the first 25 minutes, I shut it off. Absolutely horrible. Its heavily excessive vulgar language, laughably flat characters, and the premise made the Black Christmas remake look like a 4.5.

Private Resort - 4

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One of Johnny Depp's earliest movies. It's absolutely hilarious; it has a fantastic, clever script and really great and funny characters. I've seen this movie before, but I don't remember enjoying it quite this much. With this rewatch, I'd consider Private Resort to be among my favorites of the comedy genre.

Cold Steel - 3

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51XM1SA6E1L._SL500.jpg

A typical "good guy cops versus bad guy drug dealers/murderers" movie. Add in some pretty decent action scenes and some Sharon Stone nudity, and it hits the 3/5-mark.

Lusty Argonian

02-13-09, 08:51 AM

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/080716/friday-the-13th_l.jpg

FRIDAY THE 13th

3.5

This movie is disgusting. The gore is cringe inducing. If you got a weak stomach, bring a couple barf bags. The kills are sadistic on a level that makes you question the filmmakers sanity. The characters are a mix bag of materialism, ignorance, and stupidity incarnate. And the story is little more than a conveyor belt to move these characters along and into the butchering machine. Hmm. Yup, that just 'bout covers it. Oh, and did I mention the movie's also kind of awesome?

Now before you jump to any conclusions about my cinematic state of mind... ahh, go ahead. I wasn't a fan of the original Friday the 13th. Actually, I thought it was garbage. You could say this movie's garbage too and I'd wholeheartedly agree. I would say though, that it is fun garbage. For people like me that have been craving a good old fashioned slasher, complete with decapitations, surprise shank attacks, flying axes, and unabashed boobie shots, well this movie is our Valentine's Day present.

While the story is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things, I think it is worth pointing out that this is most definitely not a remake. As some of you may have gathered from the previews, that ain't Mommy Voorhees running. No, this Friday the 13th takes place some years after the events that transpired in the original. This time around a group of obnoxious teens with the now standard dash of ethnicity are looking to have a fun weekend at a lakeside cabin while a concerned young man, not a part of the group, is in the area searching for his missing sister. Goundbreaking, I know, but you don't come to these movies for the maverick writing. You come to laugh at the people who are even bigger wussies than you.

The scares delivered throughout the film come in two varieties. "BOO" and "OMFG". The production team seemed to have done their damndest to make sure they worked at least half the time and I'd say they were successful on that front. The theater I watched this in was packed and people seemed to be both scared by what was going on but also impressed. The entire audience (including myself) actually burst into applause after the opening segment which was an overwhelming technical feat. The rest of the film isn't a masterpiece but it's great entertainment if you're in one of those moods where you just need a body count in your next visit to the movies.

I recommend this movie to fans of the genre specifically, but if you're not one of those I still say you should catch the prologue. So do yourself a favor and buy a ticket, watch the first fifteen minutes, have too much fun, and go check out one of the Best Pic noms.

B-card

02-13-09, 04:17 PM

Choke(Clark Gregg 2008)-well it's not Fight Club but it still has this exact note of Chad Palahniuk all the way trough the movie-5

Thursday(Skip Woods 1998)-5

The Tale Of Despereaux(2008)-2.5

Lusty Argonian

02-13-09, 04:51 PM

http://thecia.com.au/reviews/r/images/rabbit-proof-fence-10.jpg

RABBIT-PROOF FENCE

2

This was an impulse rental. I saw the box at the store and it clicked that I'd seen a couple people on this site that had it in their Top 10 so I decided to give it a whirl. It's not gonna make it on any of my fav lists but I thought it was an impressive testament to what a small group of people can do. I'm actually thinking of both the three girls at the center of this movie AND the film crew.

The film's premise was news to me, I know absolutely nothing of the outside world being a silly American raised on Fresh Prince, but apparently Australia had some pretty BS policies in regards to the natives that remained in action up until 1970. What they used to do was take half-caste children (half white/half Aboriginese) from their families and put them into schools that were essentially prisons and try to force feed civility into them. It's a pretty sickening practice and the white people in charge of it have absolutely no regard for the families they are breaking up which ultimately means they have no regard for these Aboriginese as people. The story of Rabbit-Proof Fence involves a small group of girls that escape the "camp" and make a getaway for their homes.

The girls' run at freedom is an amazing feat on paper but for me the movie never establishes the scope of their accomplishment. Also I hate to bag on people that don't deserve it, but a few acting lessons could've benefited the entire cast. I could single out more elements of the story and film that didn't work for me but I won't. Let's just say that this pile of nitpicks is big enough for me to have a problem with the movie. That's a shame too because I thought there was some good stuff here too.

God save me for giving Friday the 13th a higher rating than this.

Iroquois

02-13-09, 11:35 PM

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cd/Fresh_movie_90s.jpg/200px-Fresh_movie_90s.jpg

Fresh (Yakin, 1994) - 4+

Fresh (Sean Nelson) is a 12-year-old New York kid who's become a successful drug dealer. He spends his time pinballing between a variety of characters all over the projects - his schoolmates, his "bosses", his sister, his father, and so on. The danger he's in is constantly on the rise and he ultimately decides, for the sake of everyone, to try and beat the local crooks at their own game.

I get the feeling that I should probably give this a 4.5. I was very surprised by Fresh, and I reckon it's a bit of a shame that the only way I'd heard of it was through this site. It was a constantly great film, especially in the case of the second half of the film (where Fresh plays off opposing sides in a manner which reminded me very strongly of Tom from Miller's Crossing). The same thing goes for many of the central performances - notably Nelson's performance as Fresh, who manages to act as tough as the assorted adults he often finds himself dealing with but doesn't do it to the point where it becomes unbelievable. The supporting cast - which includes notable names such as Giancarlo Esposito and Samuel L. Jackson - is also rather strong, especially Jackson in his role as Fresh's impoverished father, who constantly uses the chess games they play as a means of teaching him life lessons. His scenes with Nelson are among the best in the film.

Of course, the pleasant if coarse scenes with Fresh at play (either with his friends or his father) are contrasted by some of the more confronting acts of violence that pepper the film. I don't know if I should spoil them for anyone who hasn't seen the film, but they are still pretty shocking if only because they are totally unexpected and directed towards rather undeserving targets more often than not. There are plenty of other scenes that are made particularly unsettling merely because of Fresh's extreme youth. While Fresh does have quite a few unpleasant moments, well, it's an unpleasant life for him. While it's still a great film, well-made and acted brilliantly, I doubt it'd be for everyone.

MovieMan8877445

02-14-09, 12:40 AM

The Untouchables - 4+

For some reason, I constantly see this movie referenced in everything, so I've been really wanting to see it for awhile now to really see how great it is. I've also been wanting to see it for awhile now because it's from the same director as Scarface, but to me this is an improvement from Scarface. I can already tell that this is going to have a great rewatchability standard, unlike Scarface which I think is just going to get worse with each viewing of it. It starts off a little slow, but once it gets to the point the movie really gets moving. To me the movie just flew by, it didn't feel like 2 hours at all to me, except for a couple of scenes that are sort of slow. I can definitely see a similarity between this and The Godfather, I think that may be just because they take place in the same time period. Now I've never really been too big a fan of Kevin Costner, but I personally thought that he was really great in this. Robert De Niro was great as usual in this, I do wish that he could've had some more screen time though.

As you my have already knew, I absolutely love gangster movies, and this was definitely another movie to make me love this genre. I need to see some more though, I think I've seen most of the popular ones, so I have to start working my way to see some more of the not as popular ones. I can really see why this movie is talked about so much now, I'm really trying to decide wether or not to push this up an extra .5 of a point, I think for now I'll just stick with this though, and maybe I'll bump it up with a rewatch. I think this is a movie everyone just has to see to understand why it's so great.

http://image.guim.co.uk/Guardian/arts/gallery/2007/oct/10/mamet/untouchables-9284.jpg

mark f

02-14-09, 03:58 AM

Sneakers (Phil Alden Robinson, 1992) 3.5

http://www.jdmfilmreviews.com/images/sneakers-dvd1.jpg

This is a low-key comedy-thriller which actually comes across much more entertaining than it has any right to be. One of the main reasons is that the cast is just so cool; then again, each member of the cast is given something to do, even if they probably should have had more to do. Irregardless, the convolutions of the plot are such that a silly group of "spies" who are good at doing "easy, innocuous" jobs gets involved in a job which puts all of them in danger of being killed, and it eventually turns out that Robert Redford's best friend, Ben Kingsley, is responsible for most all of the dangers, along with some rogue ex-CIA agents. The humor is what really projects the film, but there are plenty of plot twists and James Bondian goodies going on in this mainstream entertainment which certainly qualifies as a bon mot to all film watchers (I hope).

The Duchess (Saul Dibb, 2008) 3

http://rthktheworks.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/the-duchess.jpg

Sumptuous film, set in England just before the American Revolution, tells the story of the emotionally-constipated Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) who marries young Georgiana (Keira Knightley) who unfortunately is unable to produce any sons for him. Therefore, he seeks solace with Bess (Hayley Atwell) and attempts to turn his marriage into a sort of ménage à trois to not only get a son but to keep his wife from drifting afar with Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper) who strives to become the future Prime Minister of England. The film begins rather entertainingly, but eventually it settles down into something rather predictable. However, Rachel Portman's gorgeous musical score makes things seem more poignant and interesting than they otherwise probably are, especially during the last five minutes.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Peter R. Hunt, 1969) 3.5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTN9RvXi4mI

After Sean Connery played Bond, James Bond, for five films, Australian George Lazenby was recruited for this rip-roaring adventure which turned out to be a one-off. Even so, Lazenby acquits himself handsomely, and he's matched with one of the most-memorable "Bond girls" (the gorgeous Diana Rigg) in a film which not only provides an avalanche of action scenes for the final hour, but gives a Bond "girl" the emotions and actions of a truly mature woman, perhaps for the first-and-only time in the Bond Universe. Bond has dozens of women to deal with in the first hour and a half, and he also has to outwit one of the more-physical and in-your-face villains, Blofeld (Telly Savalas), so the flick is entertaining throughout its entire length. However, if somebody just turned the film on with about a hour to go, they would be "assaulted" (in a good way) with non-stop action. The way I recall it, you have a machine gun scene involving skiers, a helicopter attack on a mountaintop fortress, a chase scene involving bobsleds, a hair-raising cable car scene, and an equally-hilarious-and-exciting car chase ending up in a demolition derby. The finale is spectacularly-poignant and perhaps the finest ending of any Bond flick.

Dr. No (Terence Young, 1962) 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxMaXrEJlig&feature=related

Bond appears in 1962 in his first film, and nowadays, it seems to almost be a work in progress. Bond has to hunt things which a normal spy would have to in a 1962 film, but he's just beginning to be the misogynistic semi-Superman he would eventually become. In this flick, Bond makes mistakes and survives due to certain allies who help him out without his own knowledge. Even so, Bond has to survive assassinating scientists, creepy tarantulas, and all those extracurricular activites with the hyper-healthy Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress), who certainly has a way of exiting from the ocean loaded for bear (whether it's for sex or violence). Connery does seem to be a perfect Bond, but he certainly grew far-more-comfortable in From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. Anyway, I have this feeling that many people have never watched an older Bond film, and they're truly missing out. I think my actual faves are Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Spy Who Loved Me.

I Know Where I'm Going! (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1945) 3.5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXMC7-2HavY&feature=PlayList&p=9FF4C4B567D039D2&index=0&playnext=1

This should probably be linked to my You Need a Shot of Michael Powell thread (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=14668), but I'll post it here for now. This Youtube link also seems to give you the entire film, automatically, so maybe you should take advantage of this free link while you can. While I will easily say that this film isn't near my fave Powell/Pressburger flicks, it does seem to fit into the high end of their more idiosyncrantic films which seem to jettison plot for mood and flamboyant cinematics. It's also my wife's fave Powell film, and it's definitely incredibly romantic, even if I think A Matter of Life and Death is one of the two MOST romantic flicks I can think of. You see, that's why I'm fortunate to have a better half such as Brenda to guide me, even if I would have fallen in love with this film with no prodding whatsoever. As a side note, has any film ever combined such disparate goodies as whirlpools, lost falcons, desolate locations, talking trains, hunting dogs, castles with curses, etc., and done it so smoothly?

re93animator

02-14-09, 04:56 AM

Lusty Argonian

02-14-09, 05:42 AM

http://www.20thcenturyflicks.co.uk/imagesFilm/14342.jpg

THE ILLUSIONIST

2.5

Grr. I wasn't a BIG fan of The Prestige. The idea of a movie about real world magicians really got my engine running and the first half of the film is really great but it all falls apart as certain ridonkulous elements are introduced to the story. My hopes of awesomeness were dashed on the side of some Tesla bullspit. Then I started hearing good stuff about The Illusionist. Even heard it was better than The Prestige. I didn't really care however many years ago it was those two movies came out but I've finally cooled my jets of disappointment and settled down to watch this flick. I'm glad I did but the film overall has similar faults that I would attribute to The Prestige.

Eisenheim (Edward Norton) may be the world's greatest illusionist and after almost fifteen years away from his hometown of Vienna, traveling the world, he has returned to dazzle the people that used to think so little of him with the impossible arsenal of visual tricks he has accrued during his time away. During one of his nightly shows, the Crown Prince volunteers his own lady friend for a magic trick. When the woman gets to the stage Eisenheim realizes it's his old childhood crush, Sophie (Jessica Biel). Craziness ensues.

I really enjoyed some parts of this movie but a lot of it was pretty 'blah'. There isn't enough work done on the Eisenheim character, he is almost as much of a mystery as his magic tricks are. Maybe that's the point, but I like to get a feel of the lead characters and this film is very reluctant to hand over that information. Instead a lot of the movie is spent chronicling the showman exploits of Eisenheim on the stage, but even these fall a bit short for me. The other main focus of the film is the love triangle between Eisenheim, Sophie, and the Crown Prince, and like the other parts of the movie it just didn't quite do it for me.

All that being said this film still made for a fairly entertaining watch and a few of the plot twists work on a very basic level but I don't see myself revisiting it anytime soon. Alas, will I ever be treated to that most outstanding magician movie I long for? I hope so.

Golgot

02-14-09, 01:16 PM

Hellboy II

Didn't get much glow off it - but wasn't expecting a huge amount as the first only just sparked the fairy-dust for me. Still want to like the characters - but the 'despised hero' / others-against-norms archetypes were feeling very well worn. The hotchpotch of mythology is fine, but the recycling going on behind the fun design became trying - and yeah, it never really ignited. Suffered fairly heavily from computer-game-CGI syndrome in the finale too.

The Dark Knight

Can't say I was totally blown away. Did like the grittiness that rasped its way through the plot, although felt it had rubbed itself down to more of a raspy annoyance by the very end (The Eckhart arc didn't work for me ultimately – leaving the story flapping in the breeze somewhat after a point).

Nolan still doesn't quite seem to have a handle on the action scenes – although the epic end to the second act was one big barrel-roll of fun :) The camera-circling technique surrounding some of the Joker's rambles also fell flat for me (and the rising musical tone used to enforce tension felt like an act of desperation in some ways – as if the original material hadn't quite done the trick – or they'd been beguiled by the idea that this sparse sound complemented the single-minded insanity of the character, but then couldn't let it go, even tho it was about as effective as a 5th-grader's violin solo).

Thought Ledger did well with the Joker – he'd obviously drawn on Nicholson a lot, but modulated it into a version which meshed well with the 'post-structuralist' chaotic vibe of this incarnation. Gyllenhaal also seemed a much better fit for the Rachel-shoes, and this new Nolan-tone, than Katie Holmes did.

If it weren't for all the hype I would have put the brakes on some of that bitching. But given that the fanboy flames of passion were burning so bright, I thought I'd unleash my snarky critic and have a snipe at some weaker bits & pieces ;)

---

Finally cobbled together a review of My Winnipeg (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=501214) too (thanks to mark for reminding me what it's actually called - and that i had the notes hanging around, like some hand-written promise of a hangover. What can i say, the film's... intoxicated ;))

adidasss

02-14-09, 07:20 PM

^ You speak the gospel golgs...

http://www.meniscuszine.com/issue24/nyff2008/24-city-20081215/joan-chen.jpg

24 city - Zhang Ke Jia (2008)

Went to see this at the local art theater. It tells the story of a Chinese factory which is being moved to make way for a modern housing estate through a series of interviews, some with real workers some with actors. Basically I was bored out of my mind. While some of the interviews were compelling, namely those with the real workers, as soon as the actors were included all the sense of realism that made these stories interesting to watch was dispersed and all you were left with is drab and meaningless stories about the most ordinary things imaginable. I understand what it set out to do, to show how the little people are being crushed by the merciless giant of the new Chinese market economy, but he made the same point with his previous features, The world and Still life, and managed to keep my attention. But both of those films had very interesting backdrops, the former a curious "World" park, the latter, much more impressively, the taring down of an entire city to make way for the world's largest dam. If it wasn't for the soundtrack which kept kicking in every ten minutes or so I would have fallen asleep. God only knows why I stayed till the end. 2

http://www.filmofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/hunger_ver2_m.jpg
Hunger - Steve Mcqueen (2008)

Well after the two hour stupor of the above film, this one came like a fist to the head. Based on the true story of the final days of Bobby Sands, an IRA prisoner who died from a hunger strike in the early 80's, it's a shocking and brutal depiction of the goings on in a Northern Ireland prison. Lacking a soundtrack and with very sparse dialog (the general silence is broken by a 15 minute continuous shot of a conversation between Bobby and a priest where he divulges the reasoning behind his actions) it's a compelling portrayal of a man who is willing to die for an ideal. Fantastic debut and great cinema. 4.5

Harry Lime

02-14-09, 08:47 PM

Been in the mood for some good 80's comedies today, I just finished

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/tradingplaces.jpg

3.5/5

Up next is

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/Ghostbusters_Poster.jpg

4/5

mark f

02-14-09, 08:53 PM

So is The Blues Brothers next? :cool:

http://www.danielchampion.com/archives/capt.ny12408071806.blues_brothers_ny124

Harry Lime

02-14-09, 08:56 PM

Or maybe The Great Outdoors huh? Definitely not Caddyshack 2.

honeykid

02-14-09, 10:31 PM

So is The Blues Brothers next? :cool:

http://www.danielchampion.com/archives/capt.ny12408071806.blues_brothers_ny124

No, because he was looking to watch good 80's comedies. :D

Harry Lime

02-14-09, 11:16 PM

"Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!"

Powdered Water

02-15-09, 01:19 AM

"You're right, no human being would stack books like this."

MovieMan8877445

02-15-09, 01:58 AM

The Prestige - 5

Okay, I hadn't really even planned on giving this a full perfect score, I actually planned on giving it .5 of a point or a point less than this, then the ending came up. The beginning of the ending wasn't really surprising because I basically knew what happened like mid-way through the movie, so there I was thinking that was it, then the real ending came up. I'm not even sure I can completely describe what even happened to me after I watched that ending, it blew me away more than any other ending that I've ever seen, I honestly mean that. Nolan is a genius at endings for movies, every movie of his that I've seen so far (this, Memento, Batman Begins, and TDK) have all had very amazing endings, this and Memento standing out the most though. The music that started playing during the credits seemed to have messed it up a little though.

The movie itself messes with your mind so much I couldn't even believe, I believe this movie is the true definition of mindf**k. The whole movie is basically told in a flashback, and then it switches back to present day for the end of the movie, all the constant changing from flashback to present day are the main things that were messing with my mind. As far as acting goes, everything seemed to be top notch, even Scarlett Johansson who I really don't think is that good of an actress. I'd probably rank this as Bale's second best performance so far, nothing beats his insanity in American Psycho. But for Hugh Jackman, I think I'd even goes as far to say that this was his best performance so far, he seems to really just flesh into his character, especially towards the ending. Michael Caine is always great, so I didn't even really expect anything different from him.

As far as ranking this with Nolan's other films, I'd probably put it right under Memento, which is right ahead of Batman Begins. I'm going to have to watch it again just to make sure it stays this great though. I've actually never really been a big fan of movies about magicians. Right now I'd rank Nolan pretty high on my favorite director's list, I mean three movies of his are in my top 10 which may get switched to four soon, I'm going to have to think about it some though. Anyone even considering seeing this though needs to get to do so sometime soon, the money to buy the DVD is worth it alone just for the ending, but you still have a great movie that goes along with the excellent ending.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/CicadaStar/Inside%20The%20Cosmic%20Cube/2006_the_prestige_010.jpg

Harry Lime

02-15-09, 02:26 AM

I didn't really like The Prestige as much as everyone seems to, I'd give it a 3/5, which means I still liked it, just didn't love it.

Now it's time to bend the fabric of time...

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/backtothefuture.jpg

4.5/5

Harry Lime

02-15-09, 03:18 AM

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/791-flux.jpg

1.21 Gigawatts!!!!

Holden Pike

02-15-09, 03:26 AM

http://www.filmofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/hunger_ver2_m.jpg
Hunger - Steve Mcqueen (2008)

Well after the two hour stupor of the above film, this one came like a fist to the head. Based on the true story of the final days of Bobby Sands, an IRA prisoner who died from a hunger strike in the early 80's, it's a shocking and brutal depiction of the goings on in a Northern Ireland prison. Lacking a soundtrack and with very sparse dialog (the general silence is broken by a 15 minute continuous shot of a conversation between Bobby and a priest where he divulges the reasoning behind his actions) it's a compelling portrayal of a man who is willing to die for an ideal. Fantastic debut and great cinema. 4.5

Yeah, I hear Hunger is great. It is playing the Festival, but unless they put it in the encore screenings the final day I won't be able to see it this week. But I figure it should come back around in the next month or so at the art houses here. I hope so, anyway.

And I had heard from other Festival goers that 24 City wasn't all that worth seeing.

Harry Lime

02-15-09, 04:45 AM

I wish I had Ferris Bueller's Day Off on DVD.

Iroquois

02-15-09, 07:08 AM

No, because he was looking to watch good 80's comedies. :D

:mad:

Anyway, back on topic...

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/agenttrav/taarna.jpg

Heavy Metal (Potterton, 1981) - 4.5

I originally put this on as something to watch in the background while I cleaned my room up, but that gave way to watching it properly. I unapologetically love Heavy Metal in that "warts-and-all" way. The animation is rough in parts and the writing is sketchy from time to time, but I honestly don't care. I always get something out of watching it - whether it's to just watch some of the trippier visuals or to listen to the film's damned brilliant soundtrack (divided between Elmer Bernstein's spine-tingling score or the licensed songs by artists as diverse as Black Sabbath, Devo and Journey) or to actually appreciate the off-kilter fantasy stories on offer. The stories in Heavy Metal, just like the magazine it's based on, cover the best parts of comic-book fantasy - whether in the future with aliens or in other dimensions entirely - and each one is in its own way interesting enough to watch, even though a couple lack satisfactory conclusions or even decent plots in the first place, thus giving the feeling that you're watching one ten-minute sequence from an entirely different film. Of course, I don't consider this a flaw as I don't really watch Heavy Metal for incredibly intricate plotting - just a brief but fun ride across time and space, accompanied by great music and compelling visuals.

http://www.offoffoff.com/film/2001/images/mulhollanddrive.jpg

Mulholland Dr. (Lynch, 2001) - 4+

I started watching this at about midnight, deciding on this for some reason that seems unclear to me. Not entirely sure how long it's been since I watched it but I liked it quite a bit more than the last time. I didn't watch the film with the conscious intention of figuring out the puzzle - I just wanted something to watch and get lost in for a couple of hours, and Mulholland Dr. managed that well. Not much to say about it that hasn't already been said, plus I should think that most people around here have made up their mind about the film already (mainly whether they love it or hate it or whatever).

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/photos/levelup/images/original/Tony-Curtis-and-Burt-Lancaster-in-the-1957-film-_2200_The-Sweet-Smell-of-Success_2200_.aspx

Sweet Smell of Success (Mackendrick, 1957) - 4

Yet another amazing example of fine writing and acting (I seem to be watching quite a lot of them nowadays). A loveably biting and satiric take on celebrity and journalism set amidst the one and only New York City, revolving around notorious gossip columnist J.J. Hunsucker (a scarily brilliant Burt Lancaster) and the various characters that are involved in some manner with him. The film focuses on one such character, press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) and his constant quest to win Hunsucker's favour in order to further his business. Hunsucker has various ulterior motives of his own, the most obvious (and the most important to the story) being his desire to break up his younger sister's relationship with a jazz musician.

Sweet Smell of Success features some of the most ridiculously contrived and theatrical dialogue I've heard lately (no small feat, considering that I watched Miller's Crossing twice this week) and yet it's brilliant to hear spouted by these characters. It holds up a wonderfully intelligent storyline that weaves through the neon-washed streets of New York to the sound of an appropriately jazzy score and comes to end on a shocking but somewhat unsurprising note. All in all, it's a damned good film, with the only real flaw being that at the speed the film and the characters within it act and move, it's a little hard to keep up at times.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2008/11/06/SportsphotoLtdAllstar_longgoodbye460.jpg

The Long Goodbye (Altman, 1973) - 4+

I've got to stop watching good movies. Yet another compelling story, this time centring on detective Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) and his involvement with a friend's murder-suicide, said friend's massive debt to a local gangster and a missing writer and how all of them eventually become connected to one another.

As with any good detective story, The Long Goodbye unfolds at just the right pace, keeping the interesting developments coming in just the right amounts without leaving you feeling overwhelmed or impatient. I also liked the fact that a fair amount of humour was injected into what could've been another stony-faced neo-noir, thus giving the film its own very unique and likeable feeling. This is due in no small part to Gould's portrayal of Marlowe, who isn't an overly comic character yet he's not bitter or angry, merely just annoyed with the cards that life deals him and capable of shrugging off his bad luck. He certainly helps this film along, as do the various characters that pepper the cast (such as Sterling Hayden's role as the drunken writer). Damned enjoyable film.

adidasss

02-15-09, 07:12 AM

And I had heard from other Festival goers that 24 City wasn't all that worth seeing.

Well I'd hate to sound like a philistine, obviously a lot of people thought it was moving and poetic, but there was really not much for me there, cinematography (95% of the film consists of "talking heads") or story wise. Had he decided to keep it a documentary it would have had at least some cumulative effect but even then it would have been mediocre at best...:\

Iroquois

02-16-09, 01:11 AM

http://www.indianerreservat.de/dypus/dypuspics/thunderheart.jpg

Thunderheart (Apted, 1992) - 4

Based on actual events from the 1970s, Thunderheart centres on Val Kilmer's Levoi, an FBI agent who's assigned to a murder case that happened on an Indian reservation. Teamed with another agent (Sam Shepard) and working in an uneasy partnership with the local police chief (Graham Greene), Levoi tries to solve the mystery, realising that the case is much more complex than it's made out to be.

Thunderheart has been recommended to me by members of both forums I frequent, and I can see why. A very underrated mystery that is aesthetically great (the director of photography was Roger Deakins, after all) and also features an engaging plotline. The acting is also great and doesn't feel forced at all (and Greene's character stole virtually every scene he was in). The story with its various twists and turns was also competently directed by Apted. It's a shame that in order to get this I had to buy it blind from a random shop that carried imported DVDs, as it's a very underrated film.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/37/S.f.w.cover.jpg/200px-S.f.w.cover.jpg

S.F.W. (Levy, 1994) - 3

Cliff Spab (Stephen Dorff) is your average Generation X layabout who is taken hostage while at a convenience store. After a highly publicised month in captivity, Spab is released into a society that hails him as a national hero. This is due in no small part to the attitude he displayed during his ordeal, perfectly expressed in his legendary soundbite, "So f***ing what?"

S.F.W. had the potential to be a great movie. In very much the same manner as Allan Moyle's Pump Up The Volume, it manages to channel a generation's shared sense of disaffection with life through a single individual and his controversial behaviour. While there are obvious differences (Pump Up The Volume's lead is constantly trying to maintain his double life, whereas S.F.W.'s lead is struggling to adapt to a wholly different life altogether), there's a similar feeling of an ordinary guy who gets thrust into the limelight and becomes a messiah for the world. In that sense, I start to feel that S.F.W. is like the spiritual sequel to Pump Up The Volume.

I also feel that while S.F.W benefits from the same strengths as Pump Up The Volume, it also suffers from a lot of the same weaknesses. A lot of emphasis is placed on the plight of the protagonist at the expense of virtually every other character in the film. While Dorff's portrayal of Spab as an incredibly foul-mouthed loser is a decent performance, the rest of the acting in the film is subpar (including Reese Witherspoon as one of the other hostages). I almost get the feeling that making everybody save for the main character (and whatever possibly love interest he may have) one-dimensional is actually an intentional decision as a means of making one identify with the character's decidedly anti-social perspective. It also helps fit with the concepts of mob mentality that S.F.W. deals with.

It's interesting that, as with Pump Up The Volume, I can find a lot to intellectually appreciate about a film that is admittedly rather mediocre in terms of filmmaking. I'd recommend it to basically anyone who imagines they feel a similar malaise to Spab, a character whose attitudes and experiences are rather entertaining and familiar to many (I wonder if Chuck Palahniuk took inspiration from this film when he wrote Survivor, as I was reminded of that when I was watching the film).

So f***ing what.

TheDOMINATOR

02-16-09, 02:09 PM

Friday the 13th (2009) - 3.5

http://www.moviehole.net/img/amandarighetti.jpg

An exceptional addition to the series. It made homages and paid tribute to several key moments in earlier Friday the 13th installments (the ending of the original, the origin of Jason's killing spree) while adding a few unique twists to make it its own (the underground mine tunnels). I liked it a lot and had one hell of a time watching it at the theater; the crowd really got into the movie and its well-delivered scares and brutal death scenes as I did.

As he did with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Michael Bay delivered (or helped deliver) an awesome new old slasher.

mark f

02-16-09, 03:54 PM

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (Kenji Misumi, 1972) 2.5

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/3227/lonewolf3vl8.jpg

The third film in the Lone Wolf and Cub series is a bit more low-key than the first two. It still has bloody action, although these scenes are paced further apart than before. The major change seems to be that in this installment, Ogami Ittō (Tomisaburo Wakayama), the former Shogunate executioner, comes across another "true warrior", Kanbei (Go Kato), whom Ittō would like to see continue to live, so the two delay their duel and call it a draw. The back story of Kanbei turns out to be as important as anything else in the film. Although I said that there seems to be less action and more quietude in this outing, the finale is quite spectacular when Ittō takes on the entire army of a corrupt chamberlain, and then Kanbei turns up again at the very end. This final 15 minutes may be as good as anything in the first two films.

W. (Oliver Stone, 2008) 3.5

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Oliver Stone leaves behind his usual frenetic, free-wheeling style to tell the story of President George W. Bush's life from two perspectives, both surprisingly low-key and empathetic to the man. Of course, Josh Brolin's total immersion into the Bush persona makes it seem much smoother than it otherwise would have been. Bush is seen shortly after 9/11 with his cabinet and advisors planning on how to fight his war on terror. At the same time, the film begins a series of flashbacks which begin in 1966 when Bush was a pledge at a fraternity at Yale. The younger Bush is shown to be a pleasure-loving, hard-drinking young man who constantly disappoints his father (James Cromwell) while seeking to find his place in the world. The older W. is shown to be a sincere individual who isn't fully-equipped to deal with fighting a war on terror and who seems to have surrounded himself with some questionable aides and confidantes who don't actually support the same principles he does. As I mentioned before, Josh Brolin is terrific playing Bush at all ages as a truly-likable person, especially when meeting and courting his future wife Laura (Elizabeth Banks).

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/W-movie-oliver-stone-07.jpg

Stone seems content to show Bush in a non-cynical way. The entire first hour plays out as a loose character comedy which just happens to be about very serious situations involving dozens of real-life characters. Stone uses longer takes than normal and leaves it up to the audience to interpret what it all means. It's only in the final hour, where the Iraq War shows a badly-divided Bush Administration when someone could take any real objection to the politics shown. No matter who seems to be on the hawk or dove sides, W. almost always seems to be a man in the middle, trying to weigh both sides and keep things together while trying to uphold the Constitution. I will admit that you'll have to decide if Stone was being satirical in his use of the recurring background music of "Robin Hood", "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and "The Yellow Rose of Texas" throughout the film. It also ends with one of my fave Dylan songs, "With God on Our Side", playing over the end credits. I wouldn't be surprised if W. himself interprets that song differently than I do, but I also know that W. probably looks at baseball differently than I do, and baseball is used as a metaphor throughout the film.

Lust For Life (Vincente Minnelli, 1956) 4

http://www.cinematical.com/media/2006/02/lustforlife.jpg

I'll admit that I may have a tough time justifying such a high rating for a very melodramatic and mostly-depressing biopic of Vincent Van Gogh, but since he's my favorite artist, and Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn (as Van Gogh's friend Paul Gauguin) are so good in their roles here, I'll surprise myself and continue to think this highly of it. Van Gogh was a deeply-disturbed individual who found it difficult to give all the love he felt for a suffering humanity. He was also apparently clinically-depressed from his extreme sense of loneliness and low self-worth, and he suffered seizures, especially in the final two years of his life. The film follows Van Gogh's life at a mining village and his subsequent reunion with his brother Theo (James Donald). Van Gogh had bad luck with women, and after being told he was a failure as a Man of God, he was also considered a failed artist. It's only when he's left to his own devices and moves into a house in Arles, that he begins to perfect his own intense post-impressionist style which makes him so beloved to this day.

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

The highlights of the film, besides the dozens of Van Gogh paintings on display, are that many of the characters and settings are obvious recreations of the people and places that Vincent painted. That and the scenes between Van Gogh and Gauguin where they argue about how and what to paint and what it means to them. Although the men were obviously friends, the relationship was a very stormy one and eventually led to Vincent cutting off part of his left ear. After this incident, Vincent agreed to commit himself to a mental hospital at Saint-Rémy. He would go for long stretches just relaxing without his paints and canvas, but when he was deemed well enough to work, he created many of his most-famous paintings while staying at the hospital. The overall intensity of Lust For Life is immeasurably aided by the musical score by Miklós Rózsa and the brightly-colored photography of F.A. Young and Russell Harland. At the center of it all is the voice of the human soul crying out for companionship and understanding.

The Fall (Tarsem, 2008) 3.5

http://www.angryasianman.com/images/angry/thefall01.jpg

This lush fantasmagoria tells the story of injured 1920s Hollywood stuntman Roy (Lee Pace) and his relationship with immigrant girl Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) who's staying at the same hospital with a broken arm. To pass the time, Roy tells Alexandria exotic stories of adventure and heroism, which he embroiders with some wildly anachronistic touches and she sees in her mind's eye as even more flamboyant (if that's possible). Eventually, Roy enlists the girl to get him some painkillers from the hospital pharmacy, and as the stories continue on towards some form of conclusion, Roy and Alexandria seem to enter into the stories themselves and what happens in both the real world and the story world seem to begin to affect one another.

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

The Fall begins with a sparkling black-and-white sequence involving a train stopped on a bridge and a horse being hauled out of the water below. It continues with many more references to horses, some suspended in the air. The remainder of the film is in spectacular color, with many scenes shot through colored filters and others awash in hues and tones which seem to seep into the frame from various angles. The locations and sets are often breathtaking, while the story and characters are so unique that you will probably have to agree that you've seen nothing like it before. The film's conclusion, with a seemingly impromptu "narration" from a very-excited Alexandria, includes a wonderful scene from Buster Keaton's Three Ages. Whatever you ultimately think and/or feel about The Fall, I feel that you'll have to give it points for originality and beauty.

Love's Labour's Lost (Kenneth Branagh, 2000) 2.5

http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/shakespeare/LLLdance.jpg

Kenneth Branagh deserves some points too for turning this Shakespeare comedy into a 1930s style musical, complete with some of the best songs to ever grace the Astaire and Rogers films. The plot involves a King and his three best friends agreeing to leave women alone for three years, but almost immediately, a princess and three of her friends show up in the kingdom, and love smacks all eight of them right between the eyes. The Shakespearean dialogue is still in place, but the setting seems to be the late 1930s, so that when war eventually breaks out, the obvious reference is WWII. In between the Shakespeare, the characters sing and dance to Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, and Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields. I thought that Alicia Silverstone was probably the weakest thespian and the weakest singer. Branagh will never make anyone forget Fred Astaire, but he does a decent interpretation of "They Can't Take That Away From Me", and even some of what seems like shoddy choreography comes across as charming in a sort of Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland "Let's put on a show!" manner. I realize that the concept does sound like it's rife with disaster, but if you just lighten up a bit, it does have its pleasures.

Swan

02-16-09, 05:51 PM

Saw Slumdog Millionaire again on Friday. Amazing.

The City of Lost Children (1995) - 4

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/poster.jpg

I really liked this. Very creative and very well-made (the French make the best movies). Ron Perlman was great and so different from anything I've seen of him before. A rewatch is definitely necessary because I didn't pick up some of the plot, but I can't wait to watch it again.

Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) - 3

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/dude_wheres_my_car-1.jpg

This movie is stupid and damn good at being stupid. It makes me laugh a lot and it's very fun. Ashton Kutcher and Sean William Scott have great on-screen buddy chemistry.

Millions (2004) - 4+

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f145/ifiswan/millions-1.jpg

Extremely touching film with tons of great life lessons. Clever use of color and an exceptional soundtrack. I can't wait to check out Danny Boyle's other work and revisit 28 Days Later, because I'm really what I've seen so far (Slumdog Millionaire already makes him one of my favorite directors).

Magnolia (1999) - 5

http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/hv/allposters/40/1800023240p.jpg

Holy crêpe. I've had this from Netflix for a long time but I've kept putting it off because of the length. For some reason, I always think long movies I haven't seen before are going to be super boring. But this wasn't at all. What stood out most to me about it was simply how well-made and original it was. Everything was top notch, notably the acting, the direction, and the script. I've got to buy this.

adidasss

02-16-09, 07:56 PM

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Waltz with Bashir - Ari Folman (2008)

Probably the most powerful film of the year but it also left me feeling that it could have been even better. There are certain parts which, while interesting, don't seem to be very relevant to the story, and I felt like there were some loose ends. I know it can all be explained with the basic premise and handicap of his fragmented memory but...Maybe it'll all come together more naturally upon a second viewing. Anyway, it almost had me in tears near the end so it's not really the kind of movie you care to (or can) dissect too rationally. Very very sad...4.5

Iroquois

02-17-09, 12:00 AM

Magnolia (1999) - 5

http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/hv/allposters/40/1800023240p.jpg

Holy crêpe. I've had this from Netflix for a long time but I've kept putting it off because of the length. For some reason, I always think long movies I haven't seen before are going to be super boring. But this wasn't at all. What stood out most to me about it was simply how well-made and original it was. Everything was top notch, notably the acting, the direction, and the script. I've got to buy this.

Funny, there's quite a few people around here who actively dislike Magnolia because of how unoriginal it is - the most obvious film it steals from is Robert Altman's Short Cuts (which, like Magnolia, is a three-hour epic revolving around the intersecting stories of different people living in L.A.).

Anyway...

http://blog.boriss.org/img/The-Thin-Red-Line-307.jpg

The Thin Red Line (Malick, 1998) - 4+

Maybe watching this at midnight wasn't the best idea, but then again I wasn't going to sleep anyway. I'll definitely be giving it another viewing before I return it, because it really was damned good. What was so great about it? Well, for one thing, it was visually an amazing film. The lush Pacific landscapes of the film are stunningly picturesque, even when contrasted with the explosions and violence of the battle that occur in the same spot. The cast is also excellent, with the film pinballing between various known and unknown actors and their various internal monologues. For a film with various characters spread so thin across the three-hour run-time, it still managed to make them worth caring about. There were quite a few tense "calm-before-the-storm" moments leading up to the inevitable skirmishes that literally had me holding my breath. I don't really have much else to say about this other than I really liked it.

MovieMan8877445

02-17-09, 12:24 AM

Hamburger Hill - 3.5

I don't know what it is, but Vietnam War Movies always just tend to be good to me, this Platoon, and Full Metal Jacket are great examples of those. I think this one is more action oriented than either of the ones I mentioned though. The acting is pretty solid through most of the cast, and the story is pretty good as well. I don't know, I guess there's really nothing else to say about this, that may be because I'm just really tired right now. I may type some more stuff up for it tomorrow when I'm not so tired, but for now I'll stay with this.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/6300157563.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Swan

02-17-09, 12:34 AM

Funny, there's quite a few people around here who actively dislike Magnolia because of how unoriginal it is - the most obvious film it steals from is Robert Altman's Short Cuts (which, like Magnolia, is a three-hour epic revolving around the intersecting stories of different people living in L.A.).

I'll have to see Short Cuts to have any sort of input.

Just added it to Netflix and it has Tim Robbins. :cool:

Iroquois

02-17-09, 12:37 AM

To be fair, I haven't seen it either.

Harry Lime

02-17-09, 01:37 AM

I kind of agree with Iroquois on Magnolia, I like the film, just don't believe it to be as good as some claim, I'd give it a 3/5. I've seen Short Cuts (4/5) as well, and I can see how some may make the connection between the two films. For Altman my personal favourite is The Player (5/5), a must see for all film fanatics.

The Thin Red Line is one of my favourite films of all time and I am usually shunned when I say it's better than its fellow 1998 WWII film Saving Private Ryan, but that's okay. The film is about more than war, at least the superficial wars, it's about the war of existence. For Mallick, well he's only directed three other films, but his first two, Badlands and Days of Heaven are excellent as well.

Sinny McGuffins

02-17-09, 09:12 AM

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4

Schindler's List
4

Zulu
3_5

In the Heat of the Night
3_5

Unbreakable
3

Valkyrie
3

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
3

Iroquois

02-17-09, 09:36 AM

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/10_04/MississipiBurnKCN_468x325.jpg

Mississippi Burning (Parker, 1988) - 3.5

Based on actual events that happened in and around a small Mississippi town in 1964, the film centres on two FBI agents (Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe) whose initial search for a trio of missing civil rights activists mushrooms into a large-scale investigation as the Feds butt heads with the oppressive way of life in town. With the authorities unwilling to co-operate (due to their involvement in the various hate crimes throughout the film) and the black members of the community afraid to talk for fear of getting attacked, the investigation faces serious difficulty.

This was a quite good film - I reckon I may have upped it to 4 if it weren't for some issues with the third act of the film. Hackman turns in a decent performance and Dafoe is one of those actors who I like in virtually anything he's in. I found out that this film won an Oscar for its cinematography, and it definitely shows.

http://www.webwombat.com.au/entertainment/movies/images/jersey-girl-1.JPG

Jersey Girl (Smith, 2004) - 2.5

A couple of years back I would've considered myself an unapologetic Kevin Smith fan, yet it wasn't until tonight that I got around to watching what will probably be remembered as his most infamous feature - Jersey Girl. it was derided at the time by being completely different to his other features (not featuring the same "Askewniverse" characters or having a similar sense of humour) but nowadays I'm not seeing it as much of a hindrance as I am gradually getting over Smith's films. Granted, Jersey Girl is a film I probably wouldn't have bothered with if it didn't have Smith's name attached to it - it really does seem like a rather conventional and therefore lame rom-com, easily one of my least favourite genres of film. Although I didn't dislike it as much as I'd expected, I was still unimpressed. Okay, so I laughed a few times (mainly because of George Carlin - at least three quarters of the laughs were because of him) and it wasn't so bad that I decided to shut it off (although I rarely do that). It's still not an especially good film, but that's alright. I don't have to watch it again.

rice1245

02-17-09, 04:25 PM

Sideways (2004) - 2+?

http://info.detnews.com/wine/columns/silfven/images/2005/0303sideways.jpg

um...so this was in the comedy section of the movie store which is so misleading. Somebody is going to be in a really sour mood and try to go to the movie store to get a movie to make them feel better (or is that just what i do...) and they'll go to the comedy section in order to laugh, and watch this downer and feel worse than they did before! It isn't until the last like 30 seconds where the film gets any sort of happiness and after watching the whole movie about the character you kinda think to yourself 'well he's gonna **** it up anyway' because he has so far the entire movie. I dunno i wish i would have known it was a mid life crisis, un-funny love story (?) if i had known i may have stayed away from it because it was not what i was in the mood for...ever...actually, it wasn't even like i was in a bad mood i want a happy movie because i watched this movie over a span of like...a week, i do that a lot with movies when i don't have time i watch like 15 mintues before i fall asleep every night :D that's what i've been doing on Akira (i'm almost done :D) and i'll be writing a very different thingy on that later... so yeah i guess it's a two plus but not 2.5 because there were sooome situational funnies but only so much so that i'd be like 'heh, i'm glad i'm not him' and omg i didn't want to hear the character Maya's long ass speech about how 'wine is like a living person' because honestly, i don't share their passion for wine, i'm 17 so0o0o...i just kinda wanted her to shut up then. the only parts i really kinda liked/thought were interesting were the fun facts about vinyards and how wine was made...kinda sad?

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) - 4

http://cinematicpassions.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/bonnie-and-clyde-001.jpg

So he had ED or something right?..... anyway yeah Hilary Duff can so not play that role, just because she looks like Faye Dunaway doesn't mean she can act like her. I think they should just let this movie rest and normally i'm pretty eh about remakes i don't mind as much as some people who get truly offended it's just easy for me to ignore them if they suck so i mostly don't care if they're remaking it but i really really think that they should just leave this one alone because they can't recapture the style of the sixties pretending it's the thirties...lol know what i mean?

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - 5

http://media.entertainment.sky.com/image/unscaled/2008/10/20/Slumdog-Millionaire-10.jpg

k so i saw two movies two days in a row at Regal Cinema and both days the sound was extremely loud, louder than normal and i think that really benefitted this movie, it was so over-stimulating! I loved the way it was filmed and the soundtrack is amazing i wish more movies could do it like this. And although i didn't really believe in the love story with Jamal and Latika (because i don't really believe in destiny which their entire love was based on...) it didn't take away from the movie at all for me, i especially loved the first half where they were kids

The Reader (2008) - 4+

http://www.observer.com/files/imagecache/article-teaser/files/TheReader_003.jpg

the movie took a turn that was very different than what i expected but different in a good way that actually got me more emotionally invested in the characters. And yeah Winslet deserves the Best Supporting win more than Penelope Cruise, the only other nominated movie i saw was Vicki Christina Barcelona. And of the best picture ones i've seen my order for favorites would go Slumdog, Reader, Benjamin Button. :yup:

mark f

02-17-09, 05:15 PM

Winslet is nominated for Best Actress for The Reader. And Penelope Cruz only dated Tom Cruise; she never changed her name... :)

adidasss

02-17-09, 06:07 PM

http://www.dvdrama.com/imagescrit2/e/n/t/entre_les_murs_1.jpg

Entre les murs (The class) - Laurent Cantet (2008)

I just love this new art theater we have now, I got to see some films that never would have made it to the multiplex. And this one, I'm glad to report, lives up to all the hype. Winner of the Cannes film festival in 2008, this is almost a surgically precise depiction of the challenges faced by educators in a multicultural, working class Parisian school. It's intense, funny, brilliantly acted (it's so convincing that some people actually believed it was a documentary) and brilliantly directed. I dare say this is a better film than Waltz with Bashir, even if it's not as shockingly powerful, which is saying something if you consider it's mostly set in a single classroom with a bunch of regular, mischievous kids. I was surprised to find out that the lead role of the teacher is actually played by the author whose book the film was based on (which in turn was based on his actual experience teaching French in an inner city middle school in Paris), obviously he's a multitalented man. Anyway, see it if you can... 4.5

I'm definitely going to seek out the director's previous films. I've heard particularly good things about Time out...

rice1245

02-17-09, 07:32 PM

Winslet is nominated for Best Actress for The Reader. And Penelope Cruz only dated Tom Cruise; she never changed her name... :)

=\ sorry i was thinking Golden Globes where she was nominated for best supporting actress and nominated for Revolutionary Road for best actress...and the Penelope Cruz thing...yeah...i know :( i'm normally pretty good about that stuff

Used Future

02-17-09, 09:05 PM

http://www.allcitymedia.com/images/posters/gomorrah.jpg
Gomorrah (Matteo Garrone 2008) 4
As the poster indicates Gomorrah is a warts and all look at the Neapolitan Mafia (the Camorra), an organization with it's tentacles firmly entwined around everything from small time drug dealers and money runners, to big business and local government. The film completely does away with gangster movie pretensions, instead weaving together five different stories, each one a matter-of-fact depiction of the organization's day to day activities.

It's pretty hard for me to sum up my thoughts on Gomorrah without contradicting myself. I went into the film with my eyes open, knowing what to expect (i.e. not another Goodfellas, City of God or Romanzo Criminale) but despite this Garrone's candid approach still managed to throw me all out of whack. Whilst on the one hand I genuinely admired the films unromantic fly on the wall style, I was also left completely cold by it. Everything about Gomorrah is presented almost (but not quite) as a lifestyle documentary; a documentary without a narrator to tell you what the hell is going on. At just over two hours the film crams in a lot of convoluted narrative with often minimal exposition. As a result I was left dazzled by the authentic performances, fascinating subject matter and distinctly unglamorous style, whilst feeling equally disorientated and uninvolved by the episodic complexity of the script. This can only mean one thing, I need to watch it again. Recommended...because I'm stupid anyway.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ecMcf3B-ZR4/SDZPdHYG5dI/AAAAAAAABBg/_o2bfisYiXU/s400/The%2BHappening%2BPoster.jpg
The Happening (M. Night Shyamalan 2008) 3+
I'm a huge fan of apocalyptic movies and so despite my better judgment (and the scathing reviews) decided to rent this out. You see I'm not a fan of Shylamalan at the best of times, I find his films awfully slow and preachy with self righteous religious undertones that just ain't my bag baby. Despite all this however, the premise for The Happening (involving a lethal unseen force? plague? natural phenomena?) really excited me in the same way John Wyndham's books used to thrill me as a teenager.

For those of you who don't already know The Happening is about a mysterious outbreak of mass suicides in north east America. Originating in city parks the suicides soon become an epidemic leaving scientists baffled and the population terrified. As the crisis escalates we follow school science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) and his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) as they flee the city looking for safety. Along with them are Elliot's best friend Julian (John Leguizamo looking creepily like Mark Ruffalo) and his daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez)...

I know I'm in a very small minority here, and I'm not trying to pooh-pooh anyone else's opinions regarding The Happening; it's just I thought it was a pretty decent Sci-Fi movie. First off I take my hat off to Shyamalan for delivering a slightly different take on a genre that all too often feels cliched and by the numbers. For once his measured pace really fit the story, which rather than focusing on blind hysteria and anarchy, dealt more with scientific theorizing, and most importantly how to survive based on those theories. It's these elements that always draw me to apocalyptic films and in this regard I felt Shyamalan completely nailed it. The film always felt convincing to me with characters stunned and subdued by the situation rather than looting and trampling over each other to escape. The fact that the population was united and cooperating with each other subtly implied that they were expecting the end and I found that pretty unnerving. There's clearly an ecological undertone to the film (the idea that nature is punishing man for all his ills) which is something I found easier to relate to (and more relevant) that the religious musings Shyalaman usually delivers. I also liked the idea of an unexplained phenomena responsible for man's downfall, and found it a lot more frightening than any plague of zombies, or giant asteroid. The film is far from perfect though, some of the dialogue is a little bit awkward, and occasionally the violence (usually restrained in Shyamalan's films) feels gratuitous and slightly hokey. Overall though I found this to be thought provoking, tense and exciting science fiction, everything the genre should be. The Happening might even be considered a minor classic in twenty years time, if the human race is still here that is;)

MovieMan8877445

02-18-09, 11:57 PM

The Shawshank Redemption - 5

"Get busy living or get busy dieing"; these are the very true words spoken by Andy Dufensne played by Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption. I think this was probably my first rewatch; actually now that I'm thinking about it, I think it's my second rewatch. This viewing was the best viewing of it yet though, I don't know what it was, but it just seemed to hit me more this time than either of the last two viewings did. Maybe it's just because of the time of my life I'm in, even though it's only been like 6 months since when I first saw it, the words in it just seemed to actually speak to me more this time. Frank Darabont's writing is, IMO, the best thing about The Shawshank Redemption, and that's really saying something because of all the incredible acting that was included in this. Frank Darabont turned Stephen King's short story into one of the best movies that I've ever seen.

One thing about the acting that just really seems to stand out to me; is that even with the very huge cast, I don't think there's a single weak performance. Every actor was on top of their game for this one, namely Tim Robbins, whose words just seemed to speak to me. He just really engrossed his role, like I said in the last sentence, even though it was Darabont's writing it's Robbins that really sold the lines. Of course after Robbins comes Freeman, whose naration just flowed throughout the movie, which another one of the great things about The Shawshank Redemption. Out of all the characters though, after Andy and Red, my two favorite characters were Brooks and Tommy; whose played by James Whitmore and Gil Bellows. Just something about their characters really seemed to stand out to me, it's actually after Brooks naration after he got released from prison that just really pushed his character over the top for me.

The senery was just so vivid to me, especially the shot of Red on the fields going to the tree. Thomas Newman's score was what made some of the scenes what they were though, he got the tone down perfect and it just really made the movie for me. Honestly, I have no idea why I ever took this out of my top 10 because I'm sure it deserves to be in there more than some of the movies that I currently have in there. After I get to some rearanging I'll try and get it back in there; I'm not completely sure if it is going to make it back in there though. I'm just hoping I'll be able to fit it in there. This movie is nothing short of extroadinary.

http://www.cswap.com/1994/The_Shawshank_Redemption/still/9.jpg

Harry Lime

02-19-09, 12:43 AM

Shawshank seems to get better with every viewing, that is my opinion, it is a rare quality in a film that probably has helped vault it to the top of so many people's favourites. I can't remember how many times I've seen it myself, I'd say at least 20.

TheDOMINATOR

02-19-09, 12:47 AM

Man About Town - 4

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6366/513jsesa48lsl500zu6.jpg

An imaginative drama starring Ben Affleck and Rebecca Romijn in which an elaborate, engaging story is told about the main character's (Affleck's) life, hardships, and struggles to overcome them. The characters were all very likable, the acting was great, and I remained engrossed in the story throughout. A couple of minor issues, but nothing too major to hold it back from a lesser rating.

The Alphabet Killer - 3.5

http://www.canaltcm.com/myfiles/estrenos/Alphabet_killer_poster.jpg

It started out fantastically chilling with a a riveting scene during which the film's antagonist, a serial killer, commited his first murder: the brutal killing of a young girl. The film then escalated even further after that to the frantic detectivework of Eliza Dushku's character trying to solve the crime, more killings being discovered throughout the film. However, once she did solve the crime and the chase between her and the killer commenced, I feel the movie began to fall apart. The ending was a considerable let-down considering the great build-up, and I was left with wanting a more solid conclusion.

Overall, The Alphabet Killer is a very enjoyable movie but falls short of true "goodness" shortly before, during, and after the disappointing climax. It could have been considerably better, but is still decent the way it is.

undercoverlover

02-19-09, 08:07 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/undercoverlover/043396009851.jpg

Well f**k me

This is why I love British cinema. Everything about this film rings true. It's difficult to watch at points because of the subject matter but its strangely gripping. Ray Winstone and Kathy Bates blow the screen apart. Not for those easily offended.

Iroquois

02-19-09, 10:40 PM

http://readingeagle.com/BlogUploads/68/apartment.jpg

The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) - 4

I seem to have gotten into the habit of watching all my movies late at night - with The Apartment I started watching at about 2:20 in the morning because I couldn't sleep. No matter, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. There's not really much I can say about this film that hasn't been said already. I thought it was a very good film, handled well in virtually every way. I especially thought Jack Lemmon's nervy performance was a highlight - many of the funnier moments in the film came about as a result of his unusual quirks and delivery. I thought it was very well-written with believable characters and a damned good plot. All in all, pretty much everything you hope a movie should be.

mark f

02-20-09, 03:38 AM

"You hear what I said, Miss Kubilek? I absolutely adore you."
"Shutup and deal."

- The Apartment
--------------------------------------------------
Mass Appeal (Glenn Jordan, 1984) 3.5

http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/coverv/06/106606.jpg

It's interesting to watch this play-turned-fim, which was one of the first to get into the concept of gay priests, especially since it came out almost a quarter-century before Doubt. Although Mass Appeal is a companion piece to Doubt, it looks at things from an entirely-different perspective, even though what we know about the Catholic Church ever since makes the subject matter even more pertinent nowadays. Mass Appeal is about young Mark Dolson (the bravura Zeljko Ivanek) who has just been appointed Deacon, which means that he's well on his way to Priesthood. The Priest at his Parish, Father Farley (Jack Lemmon), is probably the most-popular priest anywhere in the general area, and Farley believes in Dolson. It's just that the chief "Officianado/Inquisador" (Charles Durning} of the local Church believes that Dolson may well have either come out of the closet or gone back in, and thus, he's unfit to be a Priest, no matter how much Farley or his congregation believe in the young man. Looking at this film in 1984 terms, it's obvious that many of the true believers are suspicious of traditional religious teaching, and not to ridicule anyone here, that was probably a decent idea in the mid-1980s. It's just that this film and Doubt are both far-more complex than many people can deal with, and that's usually because they have a knee-jerk response to the red-button subject matter and care less about the humanity of the main characters.

Choke (Clark Gregg, 2008) 3 (Oh my God, meat strikes again!)

http://images.apple.com/moviesxml/s/fox_searchlight/posters/choke_l200806051540.jpg

This film's strength and weakness are probably both that it seems like a younger brother of Fight Club. Fight Club seems to live and breathe its characters and provide intense visual stimuli detailing the characters' story. Choke is jam-packed with complex characters and wacko situations, but it often seems that it's just nowhere near the standard of its "Big Brother". In fact, you can almost see the filmmakers leave the set near the end and stage two way-too-literal endings for the flick, one on a Bus and one on a Plane, both with extremely-bald narration. It's actually a shame because the subject matter and performances are pretty much inspired, but the low-budget filmmaking, duplicitous location filming, and sense of déjà vu do eventually hang over all the film's good intentions. I still think if you like the book, you'll like the film, but people still have to hold to some standards. You can't just make a sick interpretation of modern society and call it great because it's "modern". Doesn't it have to carry some social or humanistic weight to earn its sophistication?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I tried to watch all five Oscar-nominated Animated Shorts, so I'm going to post these now and hope you can see them just like I did yesterday. The only one which was incomplete was the first one I'll post.

La Maison en Petits Cubes is actually a Japanese film, the longest of the five. It's 12 minutes long and tells the story of a man who needs to keep building up his houses, one-upon-the-other, due to global warming. Apparently near the end, an emotional epiphany occurs, and the film is suffused with a classical-ish musical score. This is what's currently available to watch as a "Preview".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8g5_-F-1L8

The 30 seconds are too short for me to rate it, but viewers who have seen the entire film claim that it's strong enough to compete for the Oscar.

Next, Lavatory - Lovestory (Russian) 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opCzcrkNi6I

This is a cute, charming, romantic ten-minute film, mostly very simple and done in black-and-white, not counting the colorful flowers which periodically appear.

Oktapodi (French) 3 is only three minutes long, and it crams a lot of adventure and derring-do into its short running time, detailing what happens to two octapi who might not survive the "trip home".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V-VWIIGeQs

We now come to the nine-minute British This Way Up, which I find to be an incredibly-entertaining super-BLACK comedy, and therefore I give it a 4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9W8RabAwiQ

Presto became one of my fave shorts of all-time when I watched it at the theatre before WALL·E. The five-minute short's easily a 4, and from me, probably on the high side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp71kQZMRZM

I hope this helps you all to pick your choice for Best Animated Short, as well as just give you a good time for about 45 minutes. One of the interesting things about the five films is that they apparently don't have any characters who actually speak in decipherable words. :cool:

Harry Lime

02-20-09, 06:49 PM

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/north_by_northwest.jpg

Watching it again, second time in a couple of weeks. I think I read somewhere that Hitch said he wanted to make a film where he could torture Cary Grant for a couple of hours.

5/5 (I still haven't figured out that dang popcorn rating)

MovieMan8877445

02-20-09, 06:57 PM

Harry Lime

02-20-09, 06:57 PM

All I got was the infamous box and red x Movie Man.

Gotta love Hitch's direction, use of angles, and cuts between scenes.

MovieMan8877445

02-20-09, 06:58 PM

All I got was the infamous box and red x Movie Man.

Gotta love Hitch's direction, use of angles, and cuts between scenes.

I edited it so you could see it.

Harry Lime

02-20-09, 07:02 PM

I give up. It's too complex for me, thanks anyway.

MovieMan8877445

02-20-09, 07:02 PM

North by Northwest [rating]5[rating]

Add the / into the second rating.

Harry Lime

02-20-09, 07:07 PM

North by Northwest 5

Harry Lime

02-20-09, 07:07 PM

Woohoo, I'm not a complete moron. Thanks.

adidasss

02-20-09, 08:35 PM

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll294/SwedishChef20/slumdogmillionaireICpic.jpg

Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, 2008)

Yikes, this movie kind of sucked. I don't wanna reduce myself to just throwing around a bunch of critic buzz words here, but I'd say contrived, predictable, silly and ridiculous would all do the trick in accurately pinning down this one. If you can think of a sterotypical bad movie trapping, Slumdog's got it and it's got it bad. Cookie-cutter characters? Yep. A dumb, single-minded plot that weaves through time frames a lot less expertly than some of these reviews would have you believe? Yep. Unbelieveable coincidences that M Night Shyamalan would have a hard time fitting into a movie? Oh yeah.

I mean, come on, how can you have a fairytale romance featuring two leads (at least in their teenage and young adult incarnations) who have about as much chemistry together as two people who have zero chemistry together? Seriously. And what is the purpose (I know there isn't a purpose, but I'm asking anyway) of the brother's crime syndicate subplot? It's a lame, modern, Indian take on Dickensian fluffery. Fine. Why does it feel it also has to be City of God 2: Return to the City of God? I have a lot of other complaints, but this is getting boring and if you want to get bored, I'd suggest you just go watch Slumdog Millionaire.

Now, okay, I did mildly enjoy some of the flashbacks of main character Jamal's childhood, but it's nothing your average moviegoer hasn't seen before. I also dug some of the choices Boyle made, like foregoing a clumsy narration as well as some pitch-perfect soundtrack selections. And, yeah, I give Boyle credit - Slumdog's a technically very well-made movie that's shot superbly. But for a film that's banking so much on hitting you in the gut and winning over your heart, technically well-made isn't gonna cut it. How is the movie "winning" and how is it even remotely a crowd pleaser when it's this flippin artificial? And soooooo predictable? And, for the love of God, how many rhetorical questions can I fit in this post?!

Guess I'm in the overwhelming minority on this one, but sheesh, I don't get it.

1.5

You know, when I first read this I thought you were talking out of your ass (like you do sometimes) and was determined to like it (no, love it) regardless so I'm pretty sure this hasn't influenced me in the least bit but I pretty much agree word for word (except the part about being bored). I'd say this is the biggest disappointment, not just of last year but a whole lotta flippin' years. And I'm pretty sure it's not the big expectations that weren't met, I don't understand how this film could be winning over anybody in saying anything more than "It was awright :\"

So yeah, I don't get it either...*shrugs confuzzledly*

B-card

02-20-09, 11:21 PM

In the Land of women(2007)-Oh my God where was this movie going to it took me 3 nights to watch it and I still don't know I gave it a chance in the second night don't be fooled by the cover it doesn't happen like that in the movie 1

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/In_the_land_of_women.jpg

Yes Man(2008)-after that horrible movie above Jim Carey was way better, entertaining as always in his silly way. 4.5
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/YesMan2008poster.jpg

TheDOMINATOR

02-21-09, 01:05 AM

Mr. Brooks - 4.5

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6807/mrbrooksmovieposter3250.jpg

"Before I was the Thumbprint Killer, I killed a lot of people. In a lot of different ways."

A fantastically dark, twisted story of a serial killer with a murderous alter ego that convinces him to kill again after a two-year interlude. This movie is sub-plots galore, and each one of them drives the main plot home perfectly. Awesome, awesome movie. I had seen it before, but it didn't strike me on this level then as it has now, tonight.

Man With a Gun - 2.5

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5428/2104911010akp0.jpg

A "bad guy versus worse bad guys" drama starring Michael Madsen and Jennifer Tilly. Madsen's character is a hitman who has never had to kill a woman before, and when ordered to do so by his boss (Gary Busey), he refuses, taking the girl into refuge. Some cool action and chase scenes, but there was absolutely nothing notable at all here. Decent to watch once.

MovieMan8877445

02-21-09, 02:09 AM

Changeling - 4

I don't know what it was, but I felt a tad underwhelmed with tonight's viewing of this. As you may have noticed I rated this .5 of a point higher when I first saw it, but it just didn't seem nearly as great this time. Some of the scenes just really seemed to drag for me, the acting was definitely the most notable thing about Changeling though. I have to point out that, even though it probably won't happen, Angelina Jolie totally deserves 'Best Actress' for her role in this; I've never seen her acting anywhere close to as great as in this, but this does not mean I don't think she's a great actress all the time though. My main problem with this is I felt the ending was just really dragged out; it should have ended after the trials IMO. Aside from the very last 5 minutes, which I felt were really needed, the last 15 minutes or so could've been cut out of the film. I'm still not sure I'd put it in my top 5 of 2008, hell this wouldn't even be Clint Eastwood's best movie of 2008, but it was still a great movie nonetheless. Even though it isn't Eastwood's best of 2008, I stll don't think this and Gran Torino could even be compared because they're two different movies; Changeling is a very emotional drama, while Gran Torino is more of a light-hearted drama with a lot of comedy thrown into it. Still I'd really recommend Changeling for people to see, because it was one of the biggest surprises of 2008, especially for me because the trailer didn't even really have me interested in it; the only reason I even decided to see it was because of Clint Eastwood and all of the great reviews it was getting. I'm sure glad I did decide to see it though, because I was very pleased.

http://chalfontstpeter.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk/changeling.jpg

mark f

02-21-09, 03:53 AM

I'm going to watch Changeling tomorrow, and it's easy to tell that it's Clint's class production of the year with the pumped up art directon and cinematography. However, I want to make it clear that I believe that many people here seem to have no comprehension at all about what Gran Torino is about. Gran Torino is certainly not about Clint "being a badass". It's also not a comedy, although it's much-funnier than most films I've seen this year. What the Eastwood character does, hopes to achieve and actually accomplishes in Gran Torino almost elevates him to one of the most self-actualized characters in film history. He knows what his life is like and he knows how he wants it to turn out, and he's one of the few people in recent film history who can make things work out for him and all of those he feels the need to apologize to based on his version of reality. To me, Gran Torino is one of the better recent SERIOUS films which is immensely-entertaining while trying to explain reality to those who still seem to have no clue whatsoever. People who criticize Gran Torino seem to be very narrow-looking individuals who smugly believe themselves to be better than an auteur who knows that he doesn't know it all! HA!

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Gran-Torino-movie-11.jpg

adidasss

02-21-09, 05:13 AM

I don't think I'm better than Clint, I just think there are a lot of filmmakers out there that are infinitely more talented. And no, I don't think Grand Torino is a good film and I'm pretty sure not many people will consider it a classic of any kind 20 years from now. It's an ordinary film from an ordinary filmmaker with lots of bad acting and a worn out story. :|

Lusty Argonian

02-21-09, 07:14 AM

I thought Gran Torino was near-great; the Walt character was great, but the acting from the supporting cast-- GAH! That component of the film was definitely not clicking for me.

adidasss

02-21-09, 07:26 AM

See, I don't see how that could be just a minor gripe, I thought it detracted from the experience a great deal. For example, the pivotal scene near the end depended a great deal on the delivery of the supporting cast, which they failed to do, thus undermining what could have been a very powerful moment. Granted, I'm not a big fan of Clint so even with a more capable cast I would have thought it was an average and forgettable film...:\

Swedish Chef

02-21-09, 11:51 AM

I thought you were talking out of your ass (like you do sometimes)

I know my brain can sound like an ass sometimes, but I assure all you MoFos that I always, always, talk out of my brain. I really do think Speed Racer runs out of gas well before its third act kicks into gear just like I think Bon Iver duped every faux hipster into thinking that he was the second coming of Christ last year. If these or any other controversial opinions I may have shared here make me seem like an ass who talks out of his ass, I accept that, even if I disagree. I'm glad you think Slumdog is lame, too, adidasss.

I'm going to post a monster, epic movie tab soon. I've been watching movies lately.

adidasss

02-21-09, 12:01 PM

I really do think Speed Racer runs out of gas well before its third act kicks into gear just like I think Bon Iver duped every faux hipster into thinking that he was the second coming of Christ last year.

Yeah, and The visitor is a good film...*rolls eyes* ;)

Methinks you need to spark one up and re-watch Speed racer...*nods knowingly*

TheDOMINATOR

02-21-09, 01:00 PM

Mr. Brooks (2007)
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Mr. Brooks is a fantastic portrayal of a madman’s mind. After watching the film, it has easily sealed a spot among my favorite films and on a par with the best of 2007. The film contains a somewhat bizarre storyline including a man with a bloodthirsty alter-ego, a vexatious witness to a murder, and a cop with problems of her own chasing down a serial killer infamously known as the "thumbprint killer."
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Most of the film is extremely well-contrived. The “Hangman Killer” sub-plot is the most discernible thing that the film could do without. My favorite accessory to the film was the ashamed serial killer Mr. Brooks (played by Kevin Costner) talking to his alter-ego Marshall (played by William Hurt). Mr. Brooks is addicted to killing and is drastically trying to stop, though his darker side (Marshall) convinces him to keep doing it. The film leads you to believe that Mr. Brooks is trying to stop yet cannot help killing. Mr. Brooks, though a murderer, is the man in which the audience is set to believe is the “good guy.”
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A man claiming his name is Mr. Smith (played by Dane Cook) witnesses Mr. Brooks commit a murder; a murder that Mr. Brooks had planned to be his last. Mr. Smith blackmails Mr. Brooks with photographs taken by him at the moment of the killing. Mr. Smith asks for an unusual favor from Brooks; to take him with him the next time he kills; to demonstrate a carefully crafted murder to him. Mr. Brooks, who recently planned never to murder again, is forced to murder once more with the blackmail that Mr. Smith has put forth.
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The performances in the film are top-notch. Kevin Costner and William Hurt steal the show. The character of Mr. Smith was surprisingly well-acted by comedian Dane Cook. The film starts off in what looks like an apparent cop chasing a murderer plot, yet a good ways into the film originality overflows on the screen creating a genuinely engrossing, disturbing, bizarre, and splendidly frightening experience.
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With the exception of the “Hangman Killer” sub-plot as I mentioned before, I rate Mr. Brooks as a perfect thriller superbly combining elements of Crime, Horror, Drama, and Mystery. Mr. Brooks is also undoubtedly one of the best serial killer pictures I’ve ever seen. I could go on and on about how much I've enjoyed this film. It comes highly, highly recommended from me.4_5+
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What do you know--I flip through previous pages of this thread and come to find that someone else has recently seen this movie, too. I had forgotten about this post of yours (and it appears I already gave you rep for it :)).

After recently watching Mr. Brooks myself (see Page 471 of this thread for my mini mini-review), agreed on all points, sir. The "Hangman" sub-plot was definitely the weakest of the myriad of sub-plots the film contained. Actually, it was probably the only weak sub-plot the film contained, but I found myself enjoying it nonetheless--the scene in the Hangman's van where he struggled with Demi Moore's character was pretty thrilling--I just didn't enjoy it on nearly the level as the rest of the movie.

One question: how'd you like/feel about the ending?

I've read that some would have preferred it if the dream sequence (in which Mr. Brooks' daughter kills him) was left as reality and the last twenty or so seconds of the film were removed. However, I disagree. I look at the dream sequence as a foreshadowing of things to come; his daughter will kill him, but not like that. She'll kill him after she's gained more experience killing other people, and she'll do it "smartly." It forebodes a much darker future for both of them.

re93animator

02-21-09, 05:10 PM

What do you know--I flip through previous pages of this thread and come to find that someone else has recently seen this movie, too. I had forgotten about this post of yours (and it appears I already gave you rep for it :)).

After recently watching Mr. Brooks myself (see Page 471 of this thread for my mini mini-review), agreed on all points, sir. The "Hangman" sub-plot was definitely the weakest of the myriad of sub-plots the film contained. Actually, it was probably the only weak sub-plot the film contained, but I found myself enjoying it nonetheless--the scene in the Hangman's van where he struggled with Demi Moore's character was pretty thrilling--I just didn't enjoy it on nearly the level as the rest of the movie.

One question: how'd you like/feel about the ending?

I've read that some would have preferred it if the dream sequence (in which Mr. Brooks' daughter kills him) was left as reality and the last twenty or so seconds of the film were removed. However, I disagree. I look at the dream sequence as a foreshadowing of things to come; his daughter will kill him, but not like that. She'll kill him after she's gained more experience killing other people, and she'll do it "smartly." It forebodes a much darker future for both of them.

Thanks for the positive feedback.:)

I've commented on the ending of the film numerous times on different forums. I'll say that I did like the ending of Mr. Brooks. I cannot deny feeling a little relieved after he woke up, though I do think the better ending would have been to leave it in reality. I still appreciate the shock that the film made me feel at that particular moment, and I would have liked it better if the shock would have stayed with you after the film was over rather than taming it with the image of Mr. Brooks waking up implying that the event was only a dream. So, yeah I think the better route would be to cut the last few seconds out, though the ending that they did use was still decent and was not nearly as bad as to actually ruin the film for me like I hear others claim it did for them.

I didn't think the dream was a foreshadowing of things to come either. I thought the point was to show that Mr. Brooks went to sleep thinking everything was back to normal and woke up being afraid of his daughter; A nice touch.

The hangman killer sub-plot was there to show how tough Demi Moore's character was, though I think it would have been a major improvement if it was removed.

Still a great film 4_5+, though if the things that I said should have been removed were removed I would give it 5

Pyro Tramp

02-21-09, 06:49 PM

Friday the 13th (REMAKE)

OK, so saw this on the actual date for that added sense of novelty. Shame it didn't really add much except slighly busier theatre. Now as a series, ain't gonna make no bones about them all being derivative and repetitive flicks churned out on a franchise basis with little to none individual merit. That said, i do REALLY like Part 4 as slashers go but the New Line flicks were the best of the lot- Jason Goes to Hell adding a fresh revionist spin- much like the Elm Street franchise did with New Nightmare, followed by Jason X which if nothing else was some decent cheese. Freddy vs Jason bit of a wet dream even if it didn't consistently deliver. But anyway, the remake- i'm a little lost as to why it is in fact a remake for a series that ultimately offered the exact same scenario, slowly getting sillier until the awful Manhatten flick. This 'remake' adds in a quick recap of the first installment (where Jason's less iconic Mother was the killer) and i mean quick and then pretty much treads it's own path away from Summer Camps and counsellors. Sadly, i think it's where it comes off as it's own entry that it lets itself down as it adds nothing new or improved to the franchise, there's absolutely nothing inventive about the film save a couple of underwhelming kill scenes. It's a competent film, i'll give Nispel that however it gets to a point where it could be any film, there's no 'Friday the 13th' about it; the final scene feels far too similar too his Texas Chainsaw remake. I did like Jason being much faster on his feet but again, it detracts from the essence of the character for the sake of making him slightly more threatening. But when he spends a lot of the time lurking it seemed almost redundant. The only new thing they've added is Jason has some Boy Scout-come-MacGyver skills. Overall, it's not a bad film per se, it just fails to ignite or reinvent any aspect of a franchise that's mostly been bargain basket, just with a bit nice cinematography and no soul.

2 +

Iroquois

02-22-09, 01:25 AM

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The Last Temptation of Christ (Scorsese, 1988) - 4

Often when I try to think of something substantial to write about any film I watch, the first question I think of is "Where do I start?" Sometimes, I'll even incorporate that into my write-up. I guess I should think of that as a compliment of sorts to the film in question, but I think I know where to start with The Last Temptation of Christ - with the very unusual choice to cast Willem Dafoe as Jesus. At once so fitting with the popular Christian imagery of Jesus (blond-haired, blue-eyed, bearded, etc) yet at the same time somewhat twisted by the fact that it's played by Dafoe, whose own particular brand of intensity seeps into the role and takes it in a strange direction - just the direction the film needs Jesus to go in. Because after all, The Last Temptation of Christ is a very different take on the Gospel stories, at once challenging many of the concepts and beliefs surrounding Christian myth whilst still maintaining a strong sense of faith in the subject matter. It's a delicate balance, yet in the hands of Scorsese and company that balance is evenly kept.

MovieMan8877445

02-22-09, 02:24 AM

L.A. Confidential - 5

I had really like no idea what to even expect before watching this; I've wanted to see it for awhile now, but I really had like no idea what it was about. All I knew was that I keep hearing that it's such a great movie and it stars Kevin Spacey, Guy Pearce, and Russell Crowe. Maybe it's me having no expectations, but I really freaking loved this movie. Easily the best movie I've seen in awhile, excluding Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. The first 10 or 15 minutes or so had me a little worried; I mean it wasn't bad or anything it was just good, but once the Night Owl murder took place the movie just takes off. This is really a 'whodoneit' kind of movie, I feel it took 'whodoneit' to a new level; really just because how many times it mislead you to someone else. My only wish is that Kevin Spacey could've had more screen time; I mean he still had a good amount of screen time, but I always just assumed that he was like the main actor of the movie, I really just always assumed that because I always saw his name first on the cover. Guy Pearce was really the main star of the movie.

All of the actors did a great job though, mainly Spacey, Pearce, and Crowe. You could already guess they did the best job, because they're the three main stars of the movie. Kim Basinger was really the only one of the cast, that had a good amount of screen time, that I didn't like. Many scenes just felt forced and fake with her, that's probably my only gripe with the movie. I do also want to point out that I really liked the score for this, nothing extrodinary or anything, but it was still a very good score. Nothing worth calling one of my all-time favorite scores or anything. The ending is like the best part though, because you basically find out everything you've been wanting to know the whole movie.

I don't know though, I really feel compelled to put this in my top 10, but something's stopping me. Maybe it's because I should rewatch it first, I can already tell that I like this more than The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly though (which is currently located at #10), maybe even Batman Begins. My opinion on the movie may be a little biased though, seeing as I just tend to love most cop movies because they intrique me a lot. Not all are amazing like this though, but I do feel that this one stands out more than any of the other cop movies that I've seen. Anyone that hasn't had a chance of seeing this yet should get to it sometime, because I doubt you'll be disappointed.

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Harry Lime

02-22-09, 02:46 AM

I agree with you there Movie Man, L.A. Confidential is a great film. Seeing as you didn't like Kim Bassinger's screen time, did you know she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for that role?

MovieMan8877445

02-22-09, 02:49 AM

I agree with you there Movie Man, L.A. Confidential is a great film. Seeing as you didn't like Kim Bassinger's screen time, did you know she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for that role?

Oh wow, really? I didn't think she did really good at all.

Harry Lime

02-22-09, 03:00 AM

Well, the Academy has been known to err at times. I think it's the subject of the current Baker's Dozen game.

mark f

02-22-09, 06:48 AM

The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967) 4.5

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Brilliantly-directed film concerning the misadventures of Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), an upper-class college graduate who returns to his posh L.A. family home with little thought of what to do with his future. In fact, his first day home, his parents throw him a welcome-home party populated by all the parents' friends, but Benjamin feels like a fish out of water, although he fatefully decides to drive home Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), and thus the virginal Benjamin begins a sensual trip down the rabbit hole with the unhappy, alcoholic older woman. Things really come to a head when Benjamin realizes that he prefers the company of Mrs. Robinson's college-aged daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross), but Mommy will stop at nothing to keep the "kids" apart.

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Although The Graduate is wonderfully-acted and is based on a sparklingly-witty script by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, it's really Mike Nichols' fastidiously-entertaining direction, in conjunction with DP Robert Surtees and song score team Simon & Garfunkel which helps keep the film miles ahead of the competition to this very day. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the direction and cinematography of this film are among the finest ever seen in cinema history. Right from the opening shot of Benjamin arriving at and leaving LAX, he's framed in the corner of the image as an outsider, while "The Sound of Silence" plays over the credits. After Ben arrives home, most of the scenes are done in long takes with incredibly-beautiful-and-deeply-thematic photography utilized to draw you into Ben's "world of silence". He just doesn't relate to life back at home, and as each scene plays out in its own excitingly-creative style, even the casual viewer can see the importance of pre-planning the visual complexity of all the scenes for maximum emotional impact. To me, The Graduate is a comedy, first and foremost, a satire of the rich, complacent California lifestyle second, and a powerful human drama third. The script and Dustin Hoffman really make it pay off as a comedy, but it's the rest of the cast which adds to its satiric weight, not the least of whom is Murray Hamilton (Mayor Vaughn in Jaws) as Mr. Robinson. Let's not forget that other Jaws connection, Richard Dreyfuss! But weighing the whole thing to the Earth and making it much more poignant is the complex way that Nichols and Surtees shoot the film, and then the way that Nichols utilizes Sam O'Steen's editing, along with the songs, to assemble a film which far outdoes the French New Wave at their own game.

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Mike Nichols blew my mind with his first film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Coming from a theatrical background, Nichols did show off his cinematic skill subtly in that film, but he reigned himself in to make what was ostensibly a play-shot-on-film (although it was far more intense than both most plays and most films). The Graduate could not be more highly-cinematic. The musical montage of Ben and Mrs. Robinson sharing their silent hotel bed, intercut with Ben at home in his own bedroom and floating in his swimming pool, still retains the pristine power which exemplifies why film lovers love film. It truly can do things which no other art form can do to both engage your senses and your soul. Well, music can too, but music helps push this film over the top in its cinematic grandeur.

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Before I sound too much like a Mike Nichols sycophant (OOPS! Too late!), I'll admit that The Graduate cannot maintain its intensity all the way through the film. When it transfers to Berkeley in the second half, some of the air is let out of the balloon. Even so, compared to most films, this latter section of The Graduate is excellent, but some of the musical and editing repetiton becomes apparent. Luckily, The Graduate does contain one of the more intense final 15 minutes in film, involving a sequence where Benjamin drives back-and-forth, totalling over 1200 miles in less than 18 hours, to try to make things right with his true love, all the while dodging the cops and the Robinsons' attempts to marry off Elaine. It all climaxes in one of the better endings of all time.

The Two of Us (Claude Berri, 1967) 4

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1967 was a seminal year in film, and more than a few MoFos have even mentioned it as somehow being significant (although I find that date completely arbitrary). However, who has seen this wonderfully-moving film from 1967, or even more directly, who has even heard of it? Claude Berri was almost nine-years-old when the things which this film delineates happened to him during WWII. Most people recognize Berri as the director of Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring and the producer of Polanski's Tess, but this first feature film of his remains my favorite, and sometimes I have to wonder why I like it so much. Of course, Berri had to embroider his film a bit, and I realize now that it's the "embroidery" which I probably enjoy even more than the reality. Berri was a Jew living in Paris and going to school while his parents basically hid in a kind woman's attic. Well, Claude would constantly get into trouble and draw attention to himself by acting out, so his parents decided it would be better for all concerned to send him off to the country to keep him away from prying Nazi and Vichy eyes.

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Claude goes to live with the kind woman's mom and dad ("Pepe") (the wonderfully-irascible Godfather of French actors, Michel Simon), and here he learns from the old man that many groups of individuals are bad for the country, including Jews. The boy also learns about unconditional love from the same source, so when the whip-smart Claude begins to question Pepe about his seemingly-racist views, he's able to win a few concessions from the old man, who has no idea the Kid is a Jew, even though Pepe assures everyone that he can "smell them out". This beautiful comedy-drama actually reminded me a bit of Gran Torino, at least thematically, but I'll concede that this film is surely more transcendent. The strength of this film lies in the details. You begin watching it, and you understand all the characters and their situations, but you aren't really sure what you think of them. Then, about halfway through the film, everything becomes almost magical, and the lovely score by George Delerue becomes more prominent, and you (I) basically spend the entire last 45 minutes laughing through something resembling tears of joy. I could be completely "off my rocker", but everyone has some films they love and almost feel a mystical affinity for, and The Two Of Us, literally translated as The Old Man and the Boy, is one of such films for me.

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While Sarah and I watched The Two of Us Saturday night, she asked me if Claude Berri was still alive, and I mistakenly told her yes. I had forgotten that I'd read that he died last month at 74. I remember, who was it? Rice? mentioning that she saw an R-rated French flick in school with a castration. That was Berri's Germinal. Berri made many significant films, several with Gerard Depardieu. But I will probably always remember him as a humanistic alchemist who turned simple life stories into cinematic gold, and none of them were ever more valuable to me than The Two of Us.

Swan

02-22-09, 09:17 PM

I'm a day late here...

First off, I think I will re-rate Magnolia. I'm not sure what to change it to, maybe a 4 -, but the main thing that makes this film not get full marks from me is that it didn't blow me away THAT much, and more importantly it had pretty much no lasting effect on me. I haven't thought much about it at all, and no movie will a perfect score should be like that. But I can say that the perfect scores I'm giving the first two films below are true, as they are two of the best films I've ever seen.

There Will Be Blood (2007) - 5

So I saw this when the DVD came out and liked it a lot. I never paid attention to it since then, though, until I watched it again a few days ago. It may be the only film (or at least one of the only films) I can say is absolutely perfect in every single way. There is literally nothing wrong with it, in my opinion. Daniel Day-Lewis obviously gives an amazing performance, and so does Paul Dano. I would even say Dillon Freasier was exceptional, considering he was just a kid from a Texas school near the film's shooting location that they just picked up and he still acted like a pro.

I would like to see Eli and Mrs. Carmody go at it in some sort of annoying religious preaching battle.

Boogie Nights (1997) - 5

I liked this nearly as much as There Will Be Blood. I want to say equally, because this is so damn good, but I don't think it's quite that. I was still blown away, though. I've never thought of Mark Wahlberg as being a very good actor, but this totally changed my mind about him. I thought every character was great in their own right. I don't even know who my favorite was, but I think my top faves were John C. Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Mark Wahlberg.

Oh, and most surprising ending ever. :laugh:

Superbad (2007) - 4+

For the longest time I've thought of this movie as overrated tripe, even though I loved it when I first saw it. Well, I watched it again, and I don't think it's overrated anymore. It's definitely a great comedy. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera have great buddy chemistry, as do Seth Rogen and Bill Hader. I think my fave character is Miroki, though.

Did I mention Michael Cera rocks?

Altered States (1980) 3.5+

Great sci-fi flick. Super weird, just how I like 'em. Some of the scenes brought me back to my first viewing of An American Werewolf in London, even though it's not nearly as amazing.

Crash (2004) - 2.5

I didn't like this one at all. It was contrived, pretentious, and full of bad acting. How did this movie win Best Picture? I will say this: Daniel's story gets almost every single point I am giving this movie.

Short Cuts (1993) - 3.5+

So I watched this because of Magnolia and how it supposedly ripped from this film. I can see why, with the whole 'interconnected people in L.A.' thing going on, and what happened in the ending was very, very similar. The tone is a bit different, though, and Magnolia is all about death and redemption, whereas I didn't see a real point with this film. I still really enjoyed it, though. The most notable thing about it in my eyes was the cast. During the beginning, as it was going showing the cast list, I was amazed at how many actors I love were up there. Tim Robbins, Tom Waits (also a great musician), Robert Downing, Jr., Julianne Moore, Frances McDormand, Andie MacDowell, and then a buttload of other actors who I liked from a film or two.

And they were all great in this.

Harry Lime

02-22-09, 09:54 PM

I like those ratings Swan, I'm one of the few who would agree with Crash being overrated, I'd give it a 3/5 though. Concerning Magnolia I remember that the phone number Tom Cruise's character advertises in the film you could call and there was a recording by Tom Cruise as his character promoting his product. Magnolia would also get a 3/5 from me.

Iroquois

02-23-09, 09:37 AM

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Zodiac (Fincher, 2007) - 3.5+

First things first - I was slightly let down by Zodiac. Considering how much I'd been hearing about how great it was (and not only that, but being considered a far more accomplished film than Fincher's earlier works like Se7en or Fight Club), I honestly have to admit that I don't find myself as utterly blown away as I was by either of those films the first time I watched them.

Of course, it was still engaging enough, even though in all honesty it felt like the last hour of the film (from the point where the case is forgotten by everyone except Jake Gyllenhaal's Graysmith) could've been excised completely and I wouldn't really have noticed. I think it was from that point onwards that I got a little tired of watching Graysmith obsess over this long dead case, even if he did make for a watchable fight for "the truth" at the risk of everything. I find it interesting to think that this film was based on the book that Graysmith wrote (and is shown working on in the film) and yet it doesn't paint a particularly favourable portrait of him, at least not to me. Sure, he cares about the case, but it's to no real avail (since Zodiac was never caught for certain, and the prime suspects are still somewhat sketchy). Regardless, in terms of filmmaking it got the usual things right - visual flair, good performances (once again, Robert Downey Jr. displays his capacity for stealing scenes) and two-thirds of the film make for a taut mystery. Shame the rest isn't quite as good.

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The Bird People in China (Miike, 1998) - 4+

This one probably deserves a full-fledged review, but it's late, I'm tired and I don't think I'd really do the film justice with a handful of paragraphs. Who knows, maybe my small tab write-up may just evolve into such a review - we'll see. The Bird People in China marks the second Takashi Miike film I've watched (after 2001's incredibly violent live-action cartoon Ichi the Killer) and it goes in a far different direction to Ichi or indeed most of Miike's filmography. While there are a handful of violent acts (the strongest of which occur close to the film's conclusion), the film is by and large far different in tone.

Wada, a young Japanese salaryman is sent on a business trip to the Chinese countryside to check a supposedly huge deposit of highly valuable jade that's been found near a remote village. Along the way, he is accosted by Ujiie, a temperamental Yakuza who works for a syndicate that Wada's company owes money to. As a result, he has been assigned to keep an eye on Wada. The two men begin a reluctant partnership as they are guided to the middle of a primitive Chinese village in search of not just the promise of fortune, but of meaning as well.

While of course, the film reminded me of older films I'd seen (chief among them Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Kitano's Sonatine) in terms of its plot arcs and character development, it did feel quite unique. As with Sonatine, the first and third acts are where most of the plot is developed and complicated, yet the second is like a pause in the action as Wada and Ujiie settle into the village and learn about the inhabitants, their history and its relation to the Chinese-Japanese myth of the titular "bird people". While nothing overtly dynamic happened, it was still engaging enough for me not to care. Without any graphic imagery to distract you, Miike's actual skill as a filmmaker becomes much more noticeable, allowing you to be drawn straight into the picturesque landscapes and incredibly layered performances by the characters. Even though there are moments that are much closer to his usual style (the aforementioned violence in the third act), it doesn't jar with the rest of the film and flawlessly works.

I can understand why Pyro Tramp opted to cite this as Miike's best. I seriously doubt that whatever other films of his I may watch, they may never touch the breathtaking feeling I get from watching The Bird People in China.

Golgot

02-23-09, 10:09 AM

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The Oxford Murders

Treacle-slow murder-mystery that stuffs its bready sandwich of convoluted twists and ivy-clad settings with some truly fatuous academic talk. If you're unfamiliar with the big-name maths & quantum-lite topics they pontificate about then these exchanges may seem unhelpfully impenetrable, but if you've done some 'science-philosophy 101' grubbing it'll all seem ludicrously elementary in the mouths of John Hurt's eccentric professor & Elijah Wood's protege. Amusingly an educational comic-book later helps them solve part of the symbolic code that emerges as the main clue in a series of murders.

There are some good points amongst the dross and the disappointment. Alex Cox appears as a professor driven to distraction by his pursuit for mathematical truth (in a sordid & very Pi-like sub-section) amongst other fun cameos. The film regularly looks good, and its final reveal, when it fiiiinally arrives, is actually not bad. But overall it's uneven, too slow for it's own good, and generally unconvincing.

B-card

02-23-09, 12:28 PM

What Just Happen-Strange3

Punisher War Zone-Cult!To bad I had to watch it on my own other wise it would be much more funnier with friends,great soundtrack though4

Role Models-Funny3.5

Closer-Mean,Unrealistic,Brilliant5

Halloween 4-stupid boring,Hilarius,cliche1.5

Pyro Tramp

02-23-09, 06:54 PM

re93animator

02-23-09, 08:43 PM

I recently caught these three films; all excellent:

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Kalifornia - 4_5+

First off, it is Kalifornia; and it is a shame that this film is considered mediocre. It is certainly a film of tremendous power and certainly an above average picture. An ultimately frightening psychological thriller that keeps the viewer on the edge of his/her seat, especially in the final 30 minutes.

One of the most powerful casts of characters all acted to perfection by its leading actors make Kalifornia a picture to be reckoned with. The feeling of the film is extremely convincing and unquestionably realistic. The lighting of the film unites with the creative and abrasive set pieces to conjure up an authentically gritty setting with a morbidly deranged aura.

Brian (played by David Duchovny) and his girlfriend, Carrie (played by Michelle Forbes) head out on a trip to California where they peruse to research the locations of infamous killings in search of material for a book on serial killers that Brian is in the process of writing. Brian is desperately struggling to find out what drives a human being to kill; to research what goes on in the mind of a serial killer and find out a motive for seemingly senseless killings.

They share a ride with an irksome and mysterious couple that they hardly know; Early Grace (played by Brad Pitt) and his girlfriend Adele (played by Juliette Lewis) are seemingly kind, friendly people at first, yet turn out to be a crazed couple of serial killers on the run from the law. As the film goes on, the danger becomes apparent.

The acting in the film is top-notch. Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, Juliette Lewis and Michelle Forbes are all at the top of their game. Brad Pitt creates one of the most unique and utterly terrifying horror villains to grace a screen. Juliette Lewis’s performance is very convincing as well.

Overall, the film deserves much more credit than it currently receives. It starts off a bit slow, yet eventually becomes a truly harrowing, believable and tout killer picture that means serious business. I picked this up not expecting much from a blind buy, and was more than delighted by the ferociousness of it; a great movie.
http://i41.tinypic.com/jj5grn.jpg
The Lives of Others - 4

The Lives of Others is a carefully put together dramatic thriller with meticulously crafted and seemingly deniable suspense that triggers the emotions without using normal thrilling elements such as fear. The film captures the emotions of the main character with absolute precision. The Lives of Others was understandably given the award for best foreign language film of the year.

Wiesler, the main character is a seemingly lonely man who works for the secret police of East Germany. The East Germany secret police put Wiesler on surveillance of a recently bugged home of a man named Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend. While Wiesler listens in on the other man and his girlfriend, he begins to feel an unusual connection towards them. He decides to keep everything that is able to endanger their live to be kept secret risking both his job and his future to save the man and his girlfriend.

One big shock at the end leads to an unforgettable ending. The characters never meet, though the connection between them is undeniable. The closing lines of the film are nothing short of perfection. Filled with depression after all hope is seemingly lost a man finds gratitude in a way that couldn’t have been done better.
http://i42.tinypic.com/suvte9.jpg
Paths of Glory - 4_5-

I recently caught Paths of Glory starring Kirk Douglas once again. I will commence by stating that I appreciated it even more the second time around. It is an extremely complex war film for its time.

The battle scenes areextremely well played for a 50s film, yet I couldn’t help but get the conception that not enough emphasis was contrived on them; leaving the battle scenes dispensable and improvable. However, they are not the focus of the film and are ultimately forgettable. It does evolve into more than just another war (or anti-war) film as time progresses through it.

The aura of the film the film is aberrant for a war film, and amid the first proceedings I didn't think the toneof the film was applicable. Nonetheless, once the story came into play I was genuinely blown away at how much the mood affected the film.

This easily ranks up with not only the best Stanley Kubrick films I've seen but also among the best war films. Highly recommended.

mark f

02-23-09, 10:33 PM

Very nice reviews, Buddy. Of those three, Paths of Glory is certainly my fave. I'm glad that you liked it, but I found some of your choices of words strange. For example, you call it (in some ways) "dispensible", "improvable", "forgettable", and "aberrant". I think I know what you're trying to get at, but I would never have used any of those words. You also imply that the film is dated because you say that "it is an extremely complex war film for its time".

The thing I love about Paths of Glory is that it's only 86 minutes long. I find it to be a perfectly-constructed film without a wasted moment; everything in it is is there for the single-minded purpose of making the best possible film imaginable. As well as being an incredible editing-together of two lengthy shots from various perspectives, I find the major battle scene to be horrifically-realistic and highly-necessary to establish what follows in the film. Anyway, I realize that you like the film, so I'm not so much really arguing with you, but rather, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to gush over a film which I believe several MoFos should avail themselves to. Kubrick was 28 when he filmed this.

Do you really believe that if the film was remade today that it could be improved upon? I cannot see it because even though I don't give it the maximum rating, I do find it to be a basically perfect film with far more art, power, skill and elegance than any other war film I can think of. I cry like a baby at the finale. Plus, once again, it's all crammed into 86 minutes!!

I posted this at meaty's review thread, but I think it's worth putting up again, especially if it gets somebody to watch the movie.

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

igor_is_fugly

02-23-09, 11:01 PM

Friday the 13th

http://wappy.ws/imagenes-articulos/friday13th-2009-00.jpg

Meh. First five minutes was the best part, otherwise it fell a little short for me. I had a big problem with the lack of the ha-ha-ha-che-che-che, and the predictability was pretty inexcusable even for a slasher flick. And Jason running threw me off a little. It was degrading, I love his superhuman power walking! Still, even though I wish it had kept up with the all out craziness of the other Friday the 13ths, the death scenes were cool enough to not make it an entire disappointment.

2

Iroquois

02-23-09, 11:06 PM

Glad you liked Bird People Iro, hope it's given you more incentive to watch some more of his flicks- i'd recommend Gozu or Happiness of the Katakuris next for some the absurd side of the Miike spectrum (or Visitor Q if you're brave enough, which may be on par with Bird People)!

I probably will sooner or later - probably won't get to watch them straightaway as I have various other commitments to attend to, but yeah.

Golgot

02-23-09, 11:12 PM

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/3151/enemyatthegates.jpg

Enemy at the Gates

Not as good as i wanted it to be. War-torn Stalingrad is filmed in grand decrepitude to great effect, but the tale of competing assassins (Law's bumpkin Commie crackshot vs Harris's Nazi hard-hitter brought in to cut off his opponent's propaganda successes) dissipates its inherent tension too frequently. The final bouts in particular don't feel that strategic (which would be fine, only they're pitched as such). A more frequent suspect tho is the spooled-out love-triangle, which is made worse by a tiresomely cycling score.

Bucolic-faced extras aside, this is often a comely looking flick. The dominoes of Commie philosophy fall with flaccid ease, but ideological conflict was never the core appeal. It shoulda been a titanic clash unfairly pawned into privately-driven hands. It tried it's best, but missed the mark on that score.

rice1245

02-24-09, 01:48 AM

Akira (1986) - 4

http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/images/akira0119.jpg

I am a huge fan of japanese animation and i dunno why this animation impressed me the most, i liked it better than any of Miyasaki's animation and i can't even pin point what was different or if there even is a difference it might have just been the setting and tone of this movie but either way it was incredibly kickass. It also included one of the most disgusting movie scenes i have ever seen so of course it gets points. i also am a huge fan of this video by My Way Entertainment (the guys who did "iii'm the juggernaut bitch!") and so it was really hard to watch the first five minutes of the movie because i have been obsessively watching that video for a while

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqI6q8FIhC8

Some Like it Hot (1959) 4.5

http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/some-like-it-hot-marilyn-monroe.jpg

It was sooo funny, all very good humor. I laughed so hard at the ending with Osgood.

"I'm a man!"

"well nobody's perfect."

and Marilyn Monroe of course played the perfect dumb blonde.

Blazing Saddles (1974) - 4.5

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/080602/Blazing-Saddles_l.jpg

I don't know why i laughed so hard when they were luring the KKK members behind the rocks and Cleavon Little goes "Hey where the white women at?!" and that was the funniest moment for me but there were toooons more it was so sarcastic and hilarious

High Noon (1952) - 4.5

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/original/highnoon.gif

yeah it has been a very decent movie week looking back on all these. Gary Cooper's character was sooo likeable i wish he would have punched everybody who abandoned him but then...if he did then he'd lose what i like about him so much :) and OH DEAR GOD i can't belieeeve Lee Van Cleef! he was so good looking! that was the first time i had ever seen him when he was young and yeah i think i'm in love i wish he had a line in the movie...haha

Iroquois

02-24-09, 02:04 AM

Hey rice, which scene did you think was the most disgusting in Akira? You'll have to narrow it down for me, there are quite a few in there.

Nice call on the others as well.

rice1245

02-24-09, 02:23 AM

uh spoiler alert i suppose... for Akira

the one where Tetsuo's power is getting too great for him and he expands into the nastiest fleshy blob ever and sucks people into it

Harry Lime

02-24-09, 02:32 AM

"We are Trapper Keeper."

B-card

02-24-09, 09:37 AM

Valkyrie(Bryan Singer 2008)-Even though I know how it ends it was an excellent movie 5

Sedai

02-24-09, 10:21 AM

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th - Part II

Friday the 13th - Part III in 3D

http://www.bloodygoodhorror.com/bgh/files/imagecache/feature_img/files/Friday-the-13th-part-2-pitchfork-small_0.jpg

Terrible films, the lot of them. I love every second.

TheDOMINATOR

02-24-09, 03:19 PM

License to Wed - 2.5

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/1410/ltwlarge.jpg

Some clever comedy providing a few good laughs, but mostly the plot just kind of dragged on, and some of the characters were much too bland and uninteresting. Robin Williams and Mandy Moore were fantastic, though. I like them both very, very much. Had either of them not been in this movie, my score for it would have been lower.

Twenty Bucks - 3.5

http://images.movieeye.com/store/DVDs/043396049758.jpg

A fun movie with an awesome cast and an interesting plot: the entire movie follows the life of a twenty-dollar bill and in whose hands it ends up.

mack

02-24-09, 09:21 PM

Alien Nation 5/5
this movie was insane! I watched it reluctantly because i was bored, and at every moment that I was going to turn it off, something else happened. Truthfully, the only reason I kept watching at first was because of Rockmond Dunbar and the guy (Tony Almeida) from 24. but then it became that campy alien movie that the alien/scifi/Sci Fi fan in you kind of loves. the plot was .... wow. Great movie. thought it was going to be awful, and it turned out great. of course, i could have been off my rock when i watched it. :D

Tyler Perry's The Marriage Counselor 5/5
Wow. Didnt expect this to be a play - thought it was going to be another real movie, but even so, wasnt disappointed by the antics of the actors. completely hilarious, and it was a great idea for him to branch out and hire other actors/get a whole new cast. they were worth it. dont necessarily agree with every premise of the play, but it was a ridiculously funny watch if youre into that kind of humor/understand it.

Iroquois

02-25-09, 12:21 AM

http://www.artisticrevolution.org/content/images/stories/harvey-milk.jpg

The Times of Harvey Milk (Epstein, 1984) - 4

Up until the release of Gus Van Sant's Milk, I kept trying to find a copy of Robert Epstein's 1984 documentary, but to no avail. The day after the Oscars, local foreign-language/independent TV channel SBS opted to air The Times of Harvey Milk as part of their Hot Docs program (and I've also read it's getting a proper DVD release that I may or may not get since I already recorded SBS's broadcast onto DVD anyway).

Anyway, as for the film itself - I liked it. I don't think there was anything overly spectacular about this that put it far above other documentaries - apart from the subject matter, of course. While, as with van Sant's film, it skipped over much of Milk's life in favour of focusing on his activism and political career, I also liked that it actually depicted the events that took place in the wake of Milk's death - namely, Dan White's trial and its aftermath (such as his relatively light sentencing for "voluntary manslaughter" and the riots that occurred in the wake of the verdict). I think that serves to illustrate the impact of Milk's death even more so - as if the candlelit march of thousands of people wasn't enough, the fact that people were stirred to violence over White's sentence seems to go even further to establish the importance of Milk and what was really lost when he was killed. A damned powerful film.

http://www.skelliewag.org/post_images/hallway.jpg

The Matrix (Wachowskis, 1999) - 4

Having nothing to do with my late nights after beating GTA3 on PC, I tried drafting a new Top 100 list and was contemplating putting The Matrix on the list. I still felt a little unsure about whether I should, so I did the obvious thing and watched it again.

The Matrix used to be my favourite movie back when I first locked eyes on it about eight years ago. My opinion of it has been very slowly going down over the years, to the point where I kept noticing various plotholes throughout this particular viewing. This doesn't particularly matter because almost as much as I hate to admit it, I still like The Matrix quite a bit. It's still rather fun, flies by despite a relatively long running time, looks a treat, etc. Although I have to say that I'm not so impressed with the lobby scene anymore.

Iroquois

02-25-09, 02:20 AM

uh spoiler alert i suppose... for Akira

the one where Tetsuo's power is getting too great for him and he expands into the nastiest fleshy blob ever and sucks people into it

Ah yes, I assumed as much. Still, when it comes to disgusting animé, Akira barely scratches the surface.

B-card

02-25-09, 09:36 PM

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Benjamin_Button_poster.jpg

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(David Fincher 2008)-absolutely marvelous,great I don't have the words to explain it,such a beautiful movie,it made my day I was feeling depressed and I had to write an 2000 word essay on Shakespeare and Sophocles(and I still haven't started :D)but this movie just relaxed me.It's something like 3 hours but you don't feel the time passing,great story it catches you and doesn't let you till the movie is over.Probably most of you have seen it but for those who haven't I strongly suggest it! 5

Iroquois

02-25-09, 11:29 PM

http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/rtp-hanks.jpg

Road to Perdition (Mendes, 2002) - 2.5

Okay, so I was rather unimpressed by this. Seemed like a rather mediocre film, rather predictable and, apart from some good photography and a couple of decent performances from Paul Newman and Jude Law, was decidedly average and overall not very interesting. Oh, well.

MovieMan8877445

02-26-09, 12:23 AM

Sin City - 4+

You know, for the longest time this was my all-time favorite movie. What I just realized tonight is, even though it was my all-time favorite movie, I'd only seen it like twice at that time. I actually think this is only my fourth time watching this; I didn't even like it anywhere near as much with my last watch, which is why I've been putting a re-watch off for so long. Anyways, to get to the movie; I thought it was great, but nowhere near as perfect as I had remembered it being. No viewing of this will ever beat how amazed I was after watching this for the very first time. I also seemed to really notice that it really wasn't as realistic as I remember it being; it has a very disctintive style to it, which is probably the best thing about this movie. I mean visually, this movie is perfect; it achieves something that I haven't seen before, and I've been hoping that something as visually amazing as this would come out. They also seemed to fit the interconnected stories great; they really mashed three different graphic novels together great.

To me the ending was sort of weak though; which I only really think that because Hartigan's story is my least favorite of the three stories. Hartigan's story was just really slow to me, until the ending that is, which it then gets really great. Dwight's story is by far the best in the movie IMO; Dwight was my favorite character out of the many characters though. Marv comes very close to being my favorite character; I was actually thinking that you could compare them to characters from Watchmen; Marv being like the Comedian, and Dwight being like Rorschach. Seriously though, if you haven't got a chance to see this yet, you really need to sometime soon. While it may not be the perfect movie like some say, it's still a very fun movie and is very appealing to look at.

http://movies.radiofree.com/photos/sin_city_05350.jpg

Iroquois

02-26-09, 12:30 AM

MovieMan8877445

02-26-09, 12:33 AM

Funny, the feeling I get is that Hartigan deserves comparison to Rorschach more so than Dwight does. Both are unflinching in their moral codes and behaviours, both are incredibly resistant to change and at the end of their respective stories they realise that they cannot go on living, albeit for somewhat different reasons - Rorschach because he can't allow himself to compromise with the other heroes and Hartigan because he figures that his death will be a proper compromise with Senator Roark and will result in Nancy staying safe.

Wow; that really does sound more like Rorschach now that you mention it. I guess Hartigan is more like Rorschach; even though Dwight is still a lot like Rorschach. I think everyone pretty much agrees that Marv is like the Comedian though.

Iroquois

02-26-09, 12:35 AM

To be honest, I still don't see much of a comparison between Dwight and Rorschach. Hartigan, yes, and Marv as well, but Dwight? Really? Can you explain it to me?

MovieMan8877445

02-26-09, 12:42 AM

To be honest, I still don't see much of a comparison between Dwight and Rorschach. Hartigan, yes, and Marv as well, but Dwight? Really? Can you explain it to me?

His dark character and him doing anything to get stuff done, I don't know. I had a ton of similarities between them while watching his segment, but I guess after watching Hartigan's story I forgot. I never really thought of Hartigan and Rorschach, because to me Hartigan just isn't as dark of a character as Rorschach, I actually think Hartigan was the lightest (if that's even the way to say it) character in Sin City. I'll write some similarties down between Dwight and Rorschach when I think of them, though.

Iroquois

02-26-09, 12:46 AM

I guess this means there's a little bit of Rorschach in all of us.

adidasss

02-26-09, 03:50 AM

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-absolutely marvelous,great I don't have the words to explain it,such a beautiful movie,it made my day I was feeling depressed and I had to write an 2000 word essay on Shakespeare and Sophocles(and I still haven't started :D)but this movie just relaxed me.It's something like 3 hours but you don't feel the time passing,great story it catches you and doesn't let you till the movie is over.Probably most of you have seen it but for those who haven't I strongly suggest it! 5

I just saw this yesterday and I thought it was a giant turd of a movie. It has the basic premise of Forrest Gump but without the charm and humor that made it a great film, it has plot holes the size of Texas, annoying central characters (or awful performances), it's meandering, clichéd and pointless. The only positive thing about it were the aging software which is the most convincing I've ever seen and Taraji Henson as Button's mother. They even managed to waste Tilda Swinton. What a truly terrible year for the Oscars...:\ 2

B-card

02-26-09, 05:45 AM

I just saw this yesterday and I thought it was a giant turd of a movie. It has the basic premise of Forrest Gump but without the charm and humor that made it a great film, it has plot holes the size of Texas, annoying central characters (or awful performances), it's meandering, clichéd and pointless. The only positive thing about it were the aging software which is the most convincing I've ever seen and Taraji Henson as Button's mother. They even managed to waste Tilda Swinton. What a truly terrible year for the Oscars...:\ 2

you have a little more critical approach towards the movie, so far this is the first oscar movie that I've seen. Just like you said about the acting I didn't sense it at all, as it was just another movie with Brad Pitt it got its oscars for make up special effects and production design and nothing more and I think that it doesn't deserve more but still I got this good feeling when I saw the movie.And yes I noticed the resemblence with Forest Gump but manged to suppres it and enjoy this one :)

Used Future

02-26-09, 05:49 AM

a giant turd of a movie2

:laugh:They should quote that on the dvd cover.

Sleezy

02-26-09, 11:52 AM

I thought it was great, but nowhere near as perfect as I had remembered it being. No viewing of this will ever beat how amazed I was after watching this for the very first time. I also seemed to really notice that it really wasn't as realistic as I remember it being; it has a very disctintive style to it, which is probably the best thing about this movie.

See, what I think Sin City had going for it at the outset was a popular cult director like Robert Rodriguez who wasn't afraid to come along and make the film as faithfully as possible, with the same visual style, the same uncut content, and not the least of which, Frank Miller himself co-directing. At a time when comic films were taking drastic license with the stories, this one didn't.

Of course, the visual style was instantly attractive, too. It was easy to feel like, "Wow, they pulled it off! That looks awesome!" And they did. And it does.

But I think once that initial "score-one-for-the-good-guys" feeling wears off after the first viewing, the film really shows its flaws. Or rather, the story shows its flaws as translated to film. In comic form, it works. It's an engaging, stylish, brutal homage to crime noir of yesteryear. As a film, however, it translates into failed parody, and in my view, an exhausting visual and narrative marathon.

The dialogue is really fun until you have to hear someone actually speak it. Then it's just painful. The visual flavor is really fun until you realize how stupid Marv looks running on rooftops like they're clouds. If Sin City had to be a film, I very much believe that it, if anything, it shouldn't have been live-action.

To me the ending was sort of weak though; which I only really think that because Hartigan's story is my least favorite of the three stories. Hartigan's story was just really slow to me, until the ending that is, which it then gets really great. Dwight's story is by far the best in the movie IMO

See, I think Marv's is the best of the three. He's the iconic Sin City character, and his story translates the best onto film because it's gritty, surreal, and doesn't take itself too seriously. This might have to do in part with Mickey Rourke's portrayal, as he just seems to disappear into the character (whereas almost everyone else in the film sticks out). But I also think Marv's story is the most complete, and the most lovingly written. If Sin City had existed only as a short film depicting Marv's story, I think I would have been infinitely happier. Honestly.

mark f

02-26-09, 07:32 PM

Changeling (Clint Eastwood, 2008) 3.5

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2932987821_9aae5eb00e.jpg?v=0

Los Angeles, 1928. The young son of single mother Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) disappears one day while she's at work, and after months of hope and suffering, LAPD Captain Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) tells her that he's found her son and that he's coming to town by train. When Christine first sees the boy, she's sure that he is not her son, but in front of the Press and local authorities, she agrees to take him home. It soon becomes unbearable for Christine, so she complains again to Capt. Jones to find her real son, but Jones doesn't want to deal with it, and eventually goes so far as to have Christine unilaterally committed to a mental hospital for acting strangely. Christine does have a friend and advocate, Rev. Gustav Riegleb (John Malkovich), who's on a crusade against LAPD corruption, and he does his best to help her. Meanwhile, Detective Ybarra (Michael Kelly) investigates the case of a young illegal Canadian boy (Devon Conti) who may hold the key to Christine's son's fate.

http://f.imagehost.org/0242/bscap0007.jpg

Eastwood and his crew meticulously recreate Los Angeles of the period through spectacular sets, costumes, music, automobiles and streetcars. The photography during the outdoor daylight scenes is especially evocative, but much of the film is shot indoors or at night, and these scenes are all done in a very dark, noirish style which are the exact opposite of the bright, sunlit scenes. The plot is complex and splinters off into several directions, and there are quite a few climaxes, even when some of them are intercut. One of the film's minor flaws, at least to me, is that it is too long, but it keeps trying to bring some closure to the story, so I can understand why it's as long as it is. I liked all the acting, even if Changeling somewhat follows in a recent Eastwood pattern of painting the "bad guys" especially bad. What I find especially impressive is that Eastwood was able to make this film and Gran Torino back-to-back and have them be so different from each other. This film is a serious period drama based on a true story, while Torino, which seems more lighthearted, modest and offhand, is actually equally serious in its intentions.

Note: Clint Eastwood just became the second person to receive a lifetime Palme d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival. The only other person is Ingmar Bergman.

Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins, 1992) 4

http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2008/07/mocumentaries210708_450x289.jpg

Razor-sharp political satire masquerading as a documentary about rich Republican folk singer (!?!) Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins) who's running for Senator of Pennsylvania in 1990. A British documentarian (Brian Murray) accompanies Roberts on his campaign tour bus and records various events, concerts, TV appearances and a few privileged private moments. Roberts is running against incumbent Democrat Brickley Paiste (who else but Gore Vidal?) who seems to begin losing his lead in the polls after a newspaper account of him in a compromising position with a teenage girl, although Paiste claims the whole thing is a smear campaign. Another recurring character is Bugs Raplin (Giancarl Esposito) who follows Roberts throughout the state and confronts him with some dirt he's dug up on the singer.

This video is a little sloppy, but it'll give you a good taste of the songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEgto0srP3k

I realize that your enjoyment of this film may divide along your political leanings, but I don't see how anyone who enjoys politics AND satire would not find much of this film downright hilarious. I'll start with the great songs themselves. Tim and his brother Dave wrote the songs and they are extremely accurate in espousing the conservative platform, but they are also so up front about it, that they become far more amusing than you could imagine. Besides that, those are some pretty catchy folk tunes and Robbins is a pretty good singer. Then there are the titles of Roberts' first three albums: The Freewheelin' Bob Roberts, The Times are Changing Back and Bob on Bob. They all satirize Dylan and of course earn extra points from me for twisting Dylan's politics into something right wing. The cast is really quite incredible too. It's got numerous stars in roles of newscasters, as well as a surprising number of up'n'comers, including Jack Black as one of Roberts' biggest fans. I'm not saying that Bob Roberts is "fair and balanced", but that's why it's so damn funny. It couldn't be anywhere nearly as effective if it played fair. Now I, for one, would definitely be interested in seeing an accomplished political satire where the roles are reversed. I laugh at and make fun of liberals all the time. I think politics is a pretty disgusting thing and I don't trust any politicians, so that's why I think that Bob Roberts hits a bullseye, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

The Burmese Harp (Kon Ichikawa, 1956) 3.5

http://auteurs_production.s3.amazonaws.com/stills/7599/Film_379w_BurmeseHarp.jpg

At the end of WWII, there is a Japanese company holding out against the British Army in the Burmese highlands. Another Japanese company is ordered to surrender and march to their internment camp to await repatriation to their nuclear-bombed homeland, but this group's lead scout Mizushima (Shôji Yasui) is chosen to try to get the warring Japanese to surrender. Mizushima agrees and takes his homemade harp with him; his company is especially fond of singing to his harp-playing which he also uses to pass signals to his troops while scouting. Mizushima is unable to convince the prideful Japanese soldiers to surrender within the time limit, and their cave is blown to bits and all of them are killed, with the exception of Mizushima, who begins the 200-mile trek to meet up with his own company. Along the way, the scout, who is almost naked, steals the robe of a bathing Buddhist priest, but he soon comes across countless sites of rotting Japanese corpses. This shakes Mizushima to his soul and he begins to make an effort to bury some of the dead and even decides that he will stay in Burma to do so. However, he does cross paths with his former company and his Captain (Rentaro Mizuni) who seems to recognize him even with a shaved head and priest's robes on.

http://www.cinemastrikesback.com/news/films/ichikawawar/barbedwire.jpg http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/cover_art3/firesonplain.jpg

Director Ichikawa is well-known for making powerful war films, and this one ranks right up there with his masterpiece Fires on the Plain, although this one could be considered a bit sentimental. However, I find the use of the singing, the harp, and the two parrots (which I didn't mention earlier) to be powerful. [Warning aside to rufnek - Don't try to watch this movie because it paints Japanese soldiers during WWII as human.] The film is shot in stark black-and-white, and Mizushima's long trek amongst the corpses and skeletons of his countrymen reminds me of the similar horrific scenes in The Killing Fields. This film needs some lightness, in the form of the music and singing, to allow it to examine the spiritual consequences of war, so I find its use highly appropriate. On the other hand, Fires on the Plain is basically about man's inhumanity, so it doesn't need any rays of hope or possible uplift because it doesn't believe that they're possible. [rufnek - That's the Ichikawa film you may "enjoy".] Another interesting note is that I would have sworn that I'd seen this film before, but as I was watching it, the specific scenes didn't jog my memory. It was only about halfway through that I realized that I had seen Ichikawa's 1985 color remake at a theatre in San Jose. It's amazing how two films which are so similar can actually seem so different.

Powdered Water

02-26-09, 08:49 PM

I find it interesting that you found Changeling a little long and Benjamin Button (which really was too long) not so much. Different strokes I reckon. Changeling was one of the best flicks from last year and its a joke that the only sniff it got for an Oscar was Angie's nomination. I found its "pacing" to be perfect and I was so involved with the story I even held my breath a few times. Swedish Chef is missing out on a good flick.

Maybe someday I'll get my Academy decoder ring set just right so I'll be able to understand their decision making process a little better.

MovieMan8877445

02-27-09, 12:18 AM

300 - 3.5

I'm like very mixed with this movie; I mean like everytime I watch it, my rating changes for it. I think it's pretty much going to stick with this rating that I gave it now. Anyways, I still really like this movie; even though it still may be a little overrated. I really get sick of hearing people complain about the slow motion used in this though; I mean it's like they've never seen a movie used with slow motion before. Me personally, I don't mind the slow motion at all; it's meant to be a fun action movie, and the slow motion just really helps it achieve that even more. The gore added to the slow motion makes it even cooler though; I just hope he doesn't do this too much in Watchmen. One of my only problems with it is that there are just too many scenes that are slow; I mean at one point it really gets into the action, then right after that it just goes back to some political thing actually in Sparta. So the pacing was really off in this one; which is the main reason that my rating isn't any higher than it is.

I do want to say that the narration for this is great; it's one of the main things that this movie has going for it besides it's action. I mean Dilios' ending speech was just perfect IMO; they really chose a perfect time to decide to roll the credits. It just made the ending even better; which is one of the best parts of 300. Even though the immortals battle is still my favorite scene in 300. Of course the visuals for 300 is amazing; maybe not quite as amazing as Sin City's visuals, but as I said last night, I don't think many movies will be able to top that. You know, watching all these graphic novel adaptions is really helping me get more hyped for Watchmen (which surprisingly my hype has been dying down for).

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.cinematical.com/media/2007/03/2007_300_054-(3).jpg

Swedish Chef

02-27-09, 12:35 AM

I want MY child back!

Iroquois

02-27-09, 12:57 AM

http://my-arcade.com/arcade/images/tn_bill-hicks-on-creationism.jpg

Bill Hicks: Revelations (Bould, 1993) - 4.5

Okay, so I'll be honest and say this doesn't really count as a movie, but I honestly reckon it deserves a mention in this thread (and I'm also contemplating adding it to the next edition of my Top 100). As some of you may or may not know, yesterday (or today, depending on your time zone) marks the anniversary of the death of Bill Hicks, a stand-up comedian who succumbed to cancer 15 years ago at the age of 32. During his career (which covered about half his life), he made an impact as one of the best stand-up comedians of the late-1980s/early-1990s, drawing influence from some of the best in the business such as George Carlin or Lenny Bruce. I think Revelations may end up being his best video performance (although I would nominate 1989's Sane Man as a very close runner-up), and when you watch it it's easy to see why. It's a video of Hicks at his peak as he runs through his favourite subjects (drugs, smoking, porn, government conspiracy, spirituality, etc) and he pours himself into each little rant or speech, bouncing around the stage like some sort of deranged black pinball as he does. The occasional intercuts of Hicks as a "cowboy hero" are a little distracting (although they're not so bothersome at both the beginning or end of the show), but you get over them easily enough. On one final note, you've got to admire the profundity of the "ride" monologue he gives at the very end of the show.

http://www.dreamagic.com/roger/theCrow.gif

The Crow (Proyas, 1994) - 4

Not entirely sure what motivated me to re-watch this (although, as with quite a few recent re-watches, it was probably to check if it was Top 100 worthy), but yeah, I have to admit I still like it. Granted, it's still pretty flawed in parts and probably doesn't quite deserve a 4, but it's a fun way to pass an hour and a half, and that's really all I ask from a movie like The Crow. I also ended up reading on the IMDb boards for the movie that despite its heavy fandom, apparently the film is still a rather inaccurate adaptation of the graphic novel, which is also more extreme than the film itself. Something tells me I'll definitely be picking up that GN.

On one last note - I doubt I'll ever hear the joke about Jesus going into a hotel get told better anywhere else.

MovieMan8877445

02-28-09, 01:23 AM

Zack And Miri Make A Porno - 2.5

You know, if this movie was made 4 years ago, it might actually be originally; sadly it wasn't, and instead it seemed like it was just trying to be the 40-Year-Old Virgin just way too much. I actually never though that a movie would actually be too sick for me to watch; that was until I decided to watch this. I mean seriously, they couldn't not talk about sex in this. I know it's supposed to be movie about a porno, but it just got tiring to hear the same stuff for an hour and a half. The beginning was pretty funny, but then they just kept using the same jokes throughout the whole; which really just made it not funny anymore. My favorite jokes of the movie actually, were the racist jokes; maybe it is just because the way they were said. Which brings me to my next thing: Craig Robinson was the best thing about the movie; he's seriously moving his way up on my favorite comedian's list. Between this, Pineapple Express, The Office, and his little role in Knocked up; he's just hilarious in all of them. I was actually surprised that I really wasn't laughing as much at Rogen in this; who's my favorite comedian, and was the only reason that I even wanted to see this. Despite me not ending up liking this that much though, I still plan to see some more of Kevin Smith's comedies. I just hope that the rest of them will turn out better for me than this; who's knows though, maybe upon a re-watch of this I'll like it some more.

http://www.movievice.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/zackandmiri2.jpg

Iroquois

02-28-09, 03:14 AM

Urgh, Zack and Miri...definitely in the bottom half of Smith's filmography, and that is quite a large bottom half. I also wonder how many "comedians" you know if you cite Seth Rogen as your favourite.

Anyway...more re-watches...

http://www.imjoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/monty-python.jpg

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Gilliam/Jones, 1975) - 5

A much needed rewatch, if I may say so myself. I haven't seen this in God knows how long, and it's a wonder why I haven't. I'd forgotten just how great this film is. Easily one of the greatest comedies ever made by human hands, and if you don't get it, I pity you. If you do, well, I'm sure you probably love it enough to trade various quotes as fans of the film are wont to do. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour, get up, go to the nearest shop with DVDs and get yourself a copy. If I have any more to say when I include this film on my next Top 100, I'll say it then.

http://www.mediacircus.net/southpark____4.jpg

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (Parker, 1999) - 5

Yes, I unapologetically love South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. The show is one of my all-time favourites, and the movie itself is also headed that way. I can't really explain what's great about the film. In terms of quality, most of the seasons that followed the film (which came around the same time as the show's third season) constantly trump the film in both look and sound. However, they just don't have that distinctly "epic" feel that the film manages to achieve by covering all-out war, countless expletives, incredibly horrific animated violence and a signature South Park message - all in the space of an hour and a quarter. I know Parker and Stone attempted a second South Park film with what would eventually become the three-episode special Imaginationland, but I don't think that (or probably any other South Park "movies") will ever come close to touching the awesome thrills of the first.

http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/ab3219/project_a_1.jpg

Project A (Chan, 1985) - 3.5

Somehow, I don't think my Top 100 would be complete without a Jackie Chan film on there somewhere. Even his lamer Hollywood efforts are at the very least slightly watchable, so therefore going back to his early Hong Kong efforts (which I would assume have him at his peak, both physically and creatively) would be more rewarding. While Project A is definitely one of the better Chan films I've seen, it still feels like it's not quite a great film. It's full of great stunts, solid fighting, laughably exaggerated acting and ridiculous dialogue - pretty much what you expect from Jackie Chan. While I still feel a little let down (it doesn't quite feel like a Top 100 film), it's still a decent enough film so that I don't feel like I wasted my time. I guess I just have to continue my quest to find and watch Drunken Master.

undercoverlover

02-28-09, 02:38 PM

Beowulf
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/undercoverlover/beowulf.jpg

One word: bada$$

I was expecting this to be annoying and predictable. WRONG! the direction was awesome, the violence was off the hook and the graphics were really really good, though I admit it took a lil while before i got used to them

Deathproof

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/undercoverlover/deathproof.jpg

Another bada$$ film, and while i only saw the last hour i liked it so much i felt the need to comment. I really liked it, the ending wasnt great but the final chase was awesome! And of course the dialogue was typically tarantino but i think the best things in this were Tracie Thoms and Rosario Dawson, both of whom i had only really seen in Rent. Zoe Bell was also pretty bada$$.

TheDOMINATOR

03-01-09, 12:46 AM

Fear - 4

http://content8.flixster.com/movie/27/03/270322_det.jpg

An intense, riveting thriller that delivers plenty of shocks and jolts as well as having interesting characters and a story and plot that envelopes you in its action. I loved it; the concluding twenty minutes of the film--the climax scene itself particularly--nearly blew me away. The film's second half is better than its first half; it starts out somewhat slowly, but once the introductory stage is passed (the "who's" and the "where," etc.), it's a non-stop thrill-ride when the real action ensues between the protagonist and the menacing antagonist.

I had seen Fear before, but only once, and it's been quite some time. I enjoyed this rewatch very, very much.

Universal Soldier - 3

http://www.cinemotions.net/data/films/0189/87/1/affiche_Universal_Soldier_1991_1.jpg

This movie was actually better than I thought it would be; I was expecting 2-ish material. The action was pretty cool throughout, and the opening sequence was riveting; it was the best part of the entire film, especially compared to the not-so-great-but-okay ending.

MovieMan8877445

03-01-09, 01:24 AM

The Magnificent Seven - 4.5

Yep, another great western to add to my favorite westerns list. I swear this list just keeps growing larger and larger; I do really love this genre. Westerns is probably the most underrated movie genre ever; I mean, maybe it's just me, but a lot of people seem to hate westerns, at least a lot of people I know. Anyways, to get on to the movie, it was really great. It was another great western that was a great example of friendship; which Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid is another great example of. Like most westerns for me, the ending was the best part of this. I just really love action packed endings. Something about the action in westerns really stands out for me; even more than action in movies that take place in todays time. I don't really know why though.

Yul Brynner was great as the lead; I'm actually surprised that I've never seem him in anything before; he did great as the lead. I really loved seeing Eli Wallach as the villain in a western again; well that's if you count him as a villain in The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. Something I have noticed is that I've been seeing Charles Bronson in a lot more movies recently; he's a good actor, except in Death Wish, which I really didn't like his acting at all. I'd probably rank this along with Unforgiven for me on my favorites list of westerns; I actually think I may put it above Unforgiven. I'm sure once I see more westerns though, that it'll change spots, because I have A LOT of more westerns to see.

http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_03_img0983.jpg

Harry Lime

03-01-09, 01:31 AM