Movie Tab II

CIA Spook

02-08-09

Originally Posted by mark f

Ladyhawke (Richard Donner, 1985)

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

Registered Bond Whore

02-08-09

THE BRIDGE

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

Msg

ibebangin

02-09-09

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.

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.

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.

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.

Last edited by re93animator; 03-18-09 at 12:49 AM.

ash_is_the_gal

i'm SUPER GOOD at Jewel karaoke

02-09-09

Coraline (2008)

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)

finally got around to seeing this.
7 out of 10

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Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

02-09-09

Deliverance (Boorman, 1972) -

I seem to have become vaguely harsher when it comes to giving ratings nowadays. I almost feel like giving it a

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.

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I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.

Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Sedai

A system of cells interlinked

02-09-09

Taken (Morel, 2009)

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.

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Caitlyn

MoFo Patrol

02-09-09

Originally Posted by mark f

Ladyhawke (Richard Donner, 1985)

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.

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...

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AiSv Nv wa do hi ya do...
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Caity's DVD Collection |Top 100

adidasss

new and improved

02-09-09

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.

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

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mark f

Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

02-09-09

Originally Posted by Caitlyn

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.

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Piddzilla

Msg

I am having a nervous breakdance

02-09-09

Redacted (Brian De Palma - 2007)

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The novelist does not long to see the lion eat grass. He realizes that one and the same God created the wolf and the lamb, then smiled, "seeing that his work was good".

--------

They had temporarily escaped the factories, the warehouses, the slaughterhouses, the car washes - they'd be back in captivity the next day but now they were out - they were wild with freedom. They weren't thinking about the slavery of poverty. Or the slavery of welfare and food stamps. The rest of us would be all right until the poor learned how to make atom bombs in their basements.

Lusty Argonian

Registered Bond Whore

02-09-09

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS

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

i'm SUPER GOOD at Jewel karaoke

02-09-09

Originally Posted by Lusty Argonian

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

Welcome to the human race...

02-10-09

The Green Mile (Darabont, 1999) -

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.

City Lights (Chaplin, 1931) -

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

BANNED FROM VIENNA

02-10-09

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.

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Loner

All good people are asleep and dreaming.

02-10-09

Originally Posted by Lusty Argonian

THE BRIDGE

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(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.

Last edited by Loner; 02-10-09 at 02:52 AM.

Lusty Argonian

Registered Bond Whore

02-10-09

HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU

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.

Last edited by Lusty Argonian; 02-12-09 at 02:50 AM.

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

02-10-09

Originally Posted by harrylime

I think I might just do that, seeing as it's the only other Chaplin film at my video store that I have any interest in watching (Modern Times is conspicuously absent).

B-card

Msg

In Death We Rise

02-10-09

Do the Right Thing(Spike Lee 1989)-

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linespalsy

style over substance

02-10-09

Originally Posted by Iroquois

City Lights (Chaplin, 1931) -

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