Movie Tab II

I did change tenses but that WAS a sentence which is more than you comment normally. However, thanks earlier for the burn comment. You see how I'm playing both ends against the middle?

I'm only doing this because I really feel you want to make some more comments about movies...

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Wow! Mark's on a roll. As for my making more comments about movies: what you "feel" and what is reality might differ just a bit.

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

I'm lost....

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

A solid film here, I think that rating is a tad low.

That is one of the coolest posters I've ever seen.

Sunshine Cleaning (Jeffs, 2008)



I liked this one! The script felt somewhat incomplete, but I liked it for what it was. Although, I think I may be biased, as Ms. Blunt is in this film, and I tend to not think so clearly when she is involved.

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No posts since my last one? OK, if I am setting the viewing pace 'round here, we are in big trouble.

Inside Job (Ferguson, 2010)



Narrated by Matt Damon, this documentary examines the financial collapse of 2008, and what led up to it. Some of it seemed like a chop job, ala, Michael more, but some of the evidence is clearly on target, and has already been sussed out in court over the past few years. It's basically a big call for some of the regulation to be put back in place, regulation that sustained real growth and stability in the financial sector for decades in the past. I don't know enough about finance to make a call either way, but some of this stuff in action now clearly needs to change.

Most recent films have been -


Whale Rider (first viewing) - Was really quite disappointed with this. Either it was falsely advertised at the time or I remembered the promotion for it wrong. I was expecting something more feel-good with a bit more adventure. Instead I thought it quite dull, slow and sad. The first half in particular was really slow before it picked up a little after that. I felt the acting wasn't up to much other than Keisha Castle-Hughes. She was very natural but with many others you could really see they were trying to act but without the talent or experience to quite pull it off. Gave it a slight amatuer production feel.

For a nice score, beautiful scenery and Castle-Hughes' performance I'll give it 6.5/10


Dial M for Murder (first viewing) - I'm unsure what to make of this one. The story and dialogue are excellent; really well written. Particularly how the killer has to abandon his inital plan but comes up with an ingenius plan B almost instantly. The performances, particularly Ray Milland's, are all very impressive. However as it's written and basically shot as a play I didn't quite get into it as much as I would like to with a good film

I think I'll need to give it a second viewing to cement my opinion but for now I'll go 8/10

Ok, so I have been way behind on updating this thread (or any thread for that matter). Here are the latest 2 flicks I have seen (more to come).

The Horsemen (2008) - Thought this movie sounded interesting so I added it to the old Netflix streaming queue. After viewing, this movie wasn't nearly as interesting as it could have been. The story seemed disjointed and forced in some areas. The editing was among the worst in recent memory. The writing was sub-par, which is really what I look for in these types of films. I wasn't expecting much in the way of special effects and wasn't disappointed. In case you haven't guessed by now, didn't really care for this film. The one thing I did like was Dennis Quaid's performance. I thought he handled the role really well, despite the aforementioned thoughts on the writing in general. He was believable, as were his 2 sons in the movie. Wouldn't really recommend this film.

Film Geek (2005) - I liked this one. It wasn't the greatest of films, a tad bit predictable, but overall I enjoyed it. The film follows Scotty Pelk (Malik Malkasian) in his everyday life. As evidenced by the title, he is a complete film geek. I thought Malik's performance was terrific, I definitely thought he captured the role and made it believable. The general plot is really nothing new, but I enjoyed the writing and the acting (aside from some bland, stereotypical roles). There are some really funny moments as well as some you wish would end sooner than they did. I would recommend this film and will probably watch it again at some point.

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"I know, honey. Look at the map. We go your way, that's about four inches. We go my way, it's an inch and a half. You wanna pay for the extra gas?"

Miral





A compelling look at the lives of palestinian civilians searching for peace during the Arab/Israeli conflict. I really enjoyed this movie, not only for the message being portrayed, but also for the scenery on show.

There is one really emotional scene in the movie which resonated with me (and the main character), in which the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) destroy the home of a Palestinian civilian, with the elderly family forced to see their home being destroyed helpless.

I would thoroughly recommend this movie.

8/10


Ps. On an interesting note this movie premiered at the UN General Assembly much to the annoyance of the ACJ arguing that it gave a "negative portrayal" of israel

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Comment is free but facts are sacred

Abbot and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Not the best of their films, but still above average silliness with a few laugh out loud moments, and guest starring Boris Karloff as the bad Dr.

The Man in the Iron Mask - Good cast, average movie.

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https://shawnsmovienight.blogspot.com/

The Guardian (2006)

I must have been on a Kevin Costner kick when I decided to add this one to my Netflix Queue, because there is absolutely nothing else about this movie that would make me want to see it.

The plot was predictable, the acting good but not stellar, and there were some moments that I can describe only as corny, but I still found enough to like in its story and characters. And the appearance by Bonnie Bramlett was a more than pleasant surprise.

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I didn't see it but ...



These ones I saw.

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To Catch a Thief (first viewing) – A decent if a little bit of a slow-burning comedy thriller from Hitchcock. Many of the Hitchcock films I've seen so far are quite slow. For his thrillers that works as he is able to use the time to really build up the tension, but for this type of film I don't think it works quite as well. That said it is decent enough fun and certainly looks lovely. Really bright colours combined with some great scenery and location shooting making it visually impressive


All in all a solid, fairly enjoyable way to pass 100 or so minutes. 7/10






Local Hero (repeat viewing) – A charming, gentle, whimsical little tale. It's not exactly an original story (a small community full of sweet, quirky characters that win over someone who doesn't understand the nature of the place when they first arrive) but it's beautifully told. Not a lot happens really but still it's able to comment on many of life's big subjects – nature, loneliness, the search for happiness, finding a place to belong etc


Then there is the sheer beauty of the film, making full use of the stunning Scottish scenery. Making it feel very mythical and mystical. And lastly the wonderful music throughout, especially Mark Knopfler's triumphant theme at the end. Oh and Burt Lancaster is an absolute hoot!


As a Scot myself I may be a little biased but I think this is a gem of a movie. 9/10

Okay...how can you give something a bad rating if you haven't seen it? Because others have given it bad ratings? That's a poor excuse. "Sucker Punch." in my opinion, was actually pretty good. Your mileage may vary, but don't rate movies you haven't seen.

I think some ratings can be calculated through math though, without ever having to see it.

You start with 5 points

5 - 2.5 (Zack Snyder) - 1.5 (Horrible critical reception) - 1 (Zack Snyder) = 0

I'd quit the math business if I were you. Snyder does just fine...

As I'm new here I'm still trying to get the hang of things.


And I'm just wondering why people are giving me reputation points in this thread. Do they agree with my views on the films or do they just appreciate the effort put into posting the little mini reviews?

Would just like to know the way of things so I can contribute and get involved

It varies, and is up to each user individually. With some exceptions (personal vendettas and the like), we don't interfere with rep. Personally, I have tried to encourage people to give rep to things that are thoughtful, interesting, or constructive, even if they don't agree with them. I think that's usually why it's given, but not always.

And yes, I will give rep to a review that I think is the result of significant effort for that reason alone, sometimes, whether I feel the same way about the film or not, because putting genuine thought into a review is great for discussion and it's always good to get another viewpoint.

Right. I tend to pay very, very little attention to reputation, and it's not something you need to pay a ton of attention to to hang out here. There are people with good rep that have been banned, and we have a few members with a tremendous amount of negative reputation that are some of our best members.