Movie Tab II

Ehh, after hearing all of these primarily negatively-based reviews, I'm not so sure I'm looking forward to Rise of the Lycans quite as much as I was anymore (my anticipation was very, very high for it). I'm still looking forward to it, but I think I'm going to wait for the DVD, your review being the final deciding factor for that, Lusty Argonian.

Very nice review.

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Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."
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Frost/Nixon (2008, Ron Howard)



Before I watched Frost/Nixon I looked at a few clips of the actual interview. Seeing some of the real footage beforehand enabled me to properly appreciate the accuracy of the interview itself and the prowess of Frank Langella's dedicated portrayal of former President Richard Nixon. It's Langella's compelling performance and the charisma of Michael Sheen's David Frost that essentially carry the whole film.

After Nixon became the first President to resign, Frost did everything in his power to arrange an interview. It was considered a joke that a talk show host, often billed as a performer, would interview the controversial former President. He was given exclusive permission to inquire about Watergate, but no one thought he could break Nixon's stone wall - one of the reasons Nixon's camp went along with it. The interview was the highest rated news interview of all-time, and still is to this day. What turned out to be a huge success for Frost was a final, bitter chapter for Nixon's public image.

It's interesting what Jack Brennan, played by Kevin Bacon, had to say in a documentary-style interview (which appear throughout the film) when he talks about Nixon's calm and rational response to Frost's bold first question, "Why didn't you burn the tapes?". He referred to it as a challenger being taken aback by a champion's first punch in a boxing match, realizing exactly what kind of an opponent he's up against. The parallel to boxing is fitting: it's a battle, a war of words between two men, both with people in their corner preparing and instructing them, both sides with a game-plan and a will to "win" in this crucial series of interviews.

Ron Howard managed to keep a good pace, but was unable to fully capitalize on the intensity of the story and the actual interviews. If the two leads weren't so brilliantly cast it could have gone completely wrong. But thankfully both Sheen and Langella delivered, throughout the film and especially in the important interview scenes. Langella might even walk away with an Oscar for this one. There's a moment where his face alone conveys so much self-loathing and regret that it’s hard not to feel sympathetic towards him. It’s an amazing performance that makes this film worth seeing at least once.

I think if they'd made it a longer and did more with the interviews it would've made for a better film. But it's a good, entertaining movie. Maybe it doesn't deserve its Best Picture nomination (I know a lot of MoFos would rather see Dark Knight in it's place - me included), but it's an interesting look at a young, daring Sir David Frost defying the odds to take on the domineering presence of one of America's most notorious Presidents. To end with a fitting quote from Homer Simpson: "It's like David and Goliath. Only this time, David won!"

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TOP 100 | "Don't let the bastards grind you down!"

8/10

This is one of the funniest Coen brother movies I've ever seen. It's right up there with The Big Lebowski and Fargo. Clooney is awesome, Pitt gives probably his most enjoyable performance ever, and Malkovich was sheer brilliance. I've decided to keep it short and sweet. If you haven't seen this yet, get out there and see it!

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Whoa ho ho! Thanks for holding my opinion in that high a regard. And I'm sorry the Rise of the Lycans didn't end up being the quality piece of cinema you were hoping for, but it definitely merits a rental for fans of the franchise.

Transformes(Michael Bay 2007)-screw the script and the lines because watching it for the 5th time the lines get so cliche but on level of entertainment its a 5 all the way.I needed to watch it when I saw the TV spot 30 times probably and even paused at some shots and rewind so that I can see every detail,oh man I'm a disgrace to film society,well call it my guilty pleasure movie and yes I love Michael Bay movies-he delivers pure entertainment . for script- but for entertainment-


Oh and Megan Fox

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I'm in movie heaven

Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008) -



It kept my attention throughout the entire film and i liked it but once it ended i'm just not sure...anything happened...at all. But it's entertainment value boosted its rating

Brazil (1985) -



At times i felt a little overwhelmed by the invented world but nothing to alter how much i enjoyed the movie. I liked the slight humor that was in everything and the obsession with plastic surgery was funny and i loved the ending and of course the movie was really beautiful and had some great shots.

"We don't make mistakes!"

The Last House on the Left (1972) -



So i had a huge marathon of movies on friday and watched six movies and of all the things i watched this one stuck with me the most. That's probably because it was the most disturbing but either way the fact that my mind keeps returning to it makes me think highly on its part. Krug Stillo IMO should go down as one of the creepiest creepers in cinematic history. I was very impressed also because it was Wes Craven's first movie. I loved how the entire film had a very light peppy feel to it even though you're watching horrible things, i actually want to buy the soundtrack and the cops are just sort of bumbling around with bad luck and weird circumstances and happy music... I also liked that there was a girl in the gang to mix it up a bit and she was very crazy in a likeable way.

12 Monkeys (1995) - +



There's not much to say about this movie, it pretty much speaks for itself. It was by the same guy who did Brazil and i can't decide which one i like better yet because i really liked the sort of jeering humor in Brazil which 12 Monkeys had less of but yeah Brad Pitt was awesome of course.

"I'm not crazy."

True Romance (1993) - +



The only reason i rented this movie to begin with was because all i'd ever heard about it was Brad Pitt's role which i was slightly disappointed with because it had been hyped up so much and was on some top 5 stoners list on E! entertainment so i was like 'k i've gotta see it' while he was hilarious while he was on screen he was barely on screen and i dunno, he was a great stoner but not the best. What i didn't expect was for the rest of the movie to be so good. That fight scene with James Gandolfini was actually really badass of an otherwords obnoxious character IMO (Alabamba) because as an avid Sopranos watcher i would NOT want to get slapped around by Gandolfini. But yeah it was consistently good throughout the whole movie i can't believe how loaded the cast list was and i loooved Gary Oldman's character more than anyone else in the movie i just liked watching him talk...yeah

Little Children (2006) -

+



I swear that day was just a day for 4+ movies there seem to be a lot of them. But yeah this movie again sort of speaks for itself when you watch it, it's loaded with the drama, they have affairs and sympathetic pedophiles and really intense dinner gatherings and 2 Watchmen characters and i thought it was really funny when Patrick Wilson was talking about castrating pedophiles, anyone who's seen Hard Candy knows what i'm talking about. But anyway i really liked this one a lot

Killer Clowns From Outer Space (1988) -



So after my glorious day of movie watching i ended my marathon with this one...lol. It definitely wasn't anything that i didn't expect it to be when i rented it so i knew what i was getting in to and it was still enjoyable but i can't bring myself to give it anything higher than a 2

all the movies up until this point have been first time viewings btw...

Notes on a Scandal (2006) -



I loved how psycho Judi Dench is. And that's pretty much all there is to it, i really like this movie and i thought Judi Dench did a fantastic job and Cate Blanchett can make her voice go sooo low when she yells and dear god she was making out with that 15 year old in every other scene. How scandalous! ha....haha...

Also it was really sad when her cat died. I hate animal death in movies especially since i was sharing a pillow with my cat while watching it

The Muse -

A decent romantic comedy with some supernatural mythology elements mixed in. I liked it a lot; it was pretty funny and had an ongoing charm about it that made it a pleasure to watch. Andie MacDowell is an excellent actress and, along with Sharon Stone, delivered a fantastic and charming performance.

Back to School -

My first rewatch. It didn't hold up quite as well as I'd hoped with a second viewing, but I still enjoyed it and thought it was decently funny. Rodney Dangerfield delivers an excellent performance.

I'm With Lucy -

A typical romantic comedy but with a (somewhat) interesting twist: the movie's story is rather non-linear; it jumps around from different time periods, setting up a mystery at the end which is revealed in a very satisfying way, but the film still falls short of standing out as something notable among its genre.

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Special Viewing:
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Groundhog Day -

Today is (err, was) February 2nd--Groundhog Day--so I started a new tradition this year and watched Groundhog Day the movie, which is one of my all-time favorite films. I only discovered Groundhog Day less than a year ago (it was less than a year ago when it became a personal favorite), thus I'm starting the tradition of watching it every February 2nd this year.

See my review thread for my complete thoughts about it.

Check out my Albert Brooks thread, HERE.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Very nice, Holden. I'm not familiar with a lot of his work, and after skimming through your thread, I just confirmed that with myself. After seeing The Muse, though, which I thought was pretty okay, I'm willing to see more of Albert Brooks's works. He was very funny in the movie and seems to have a real knack for what he does.

Breathless (Godard, 1960) - +

I wasn't entirely sure whether to give this a or a , so I decided to compromise with my current rating. On the one hand, I actually liked Breathless quite a bit - it marks the first time I've ever watched a film by Jean-Luc Godard and it was interesting to see how ahead of its time the film is (it seems like a lot of the most innovative films of the '90s are doing the same thing Godard did with this a good 30 years previously). On the other hand it still feels vaguely uninteresting. Once again, it's one of those movies with scenes that seem boring and meaningless on the outside, but foster some significance to the film or the film's message - but in the end it doesn't really make much difference to whether I genuinely enjoy the film or not. As a result, Breathless will probably end up being put in my personal category of "films I reckon are rather good but I don't really care for them", and that is quite a category indeed.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

The Muse is not bad at all, but I also think it is the least of his films. I recommend Defending Your Life and Lost in America as probably the best introductions to his comedic voice (although Modern Romance is definitely my favorite). And as an actor, Broadcast News is the big must-see.

Gotta agree with Holden there, I especially get a kick out of Defending Your Life.

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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."

Surf's Up (2007) -

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) -

+



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) -

+



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) -

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.

My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2008)



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.



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.




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. 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)



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)



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.



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...

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

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.

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instrumental rock band that I am in.

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

Ditto

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

Pulp Fiction




Once



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

+

Garden State


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.



Clue


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.


Death Becomes Her


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.
+

A Histroy of Violence


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.

+

The Strangers


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.