Movie Tab II

Hot Fuzz

Really well done parody of the action genre. The editing is top notch and the laughs are non-stop. The entire climax of the film is a highlight and a joy to watch. I still prefer Shaun of the Dead, but that's just a genre preference.

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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

No, i hadn't heard of it till i read your post. it sounded intriguing, now even more-so. i'll see if i can dig it up (it looks like it's unavailable on netflix, but maybe i can find a copy at one of the video stores i've been planning on hitting up in the city.)

Grave of the Fireflies 1988

Isao Takahata , known for directing the more understated - more simplistically animated Ghibli films (Yamadas , Only Yesterday) tries to bring a story with real hardship and grit with the excellent animators behind him - but ultimately wastes the gift of animation and feels like it was done on a tight schedule / budget.





Grizzly Man 2005

A potentially great documentary with a tight restrictive grip not allowing it the room or freedom it needs. Herzog's narration and choice to not show Treadwell's final moments are both in poor taste , what's really great is Treadwell's footage and it should take center stage - but it's almost always sucked dry by Herzog's choices.





Aladdin 1992

Probably Disney's most animated , energetic of their final hand-drawn efforts. The story is rushed and completely inorganic , but the voice performances and fun songs make up for the absurd pace. Since the beginning of time Disney has always neglected scenery and background animation , but Aladdin entirely concentrates on what they do best - characters. It often has a very fluid , fun feeling.





A Fistful of Dollars 1964

The first film I've seen from Leone that isn't intentionally blown out of proportion and actually reserved - although that's probably because it's a remake of one my favorite samurai flicks , Yojimbo.





Frank Caliendo All Over the Place 2007

A master impressionist performs his standard routine , if you've seen his act before he doesn't add a whole lot to this DVD release - but for those who've never seen it and are looking for a laugh I highly recommend watching a guy who does Al Pacino talking to George Bush.





Kiki's Delivery Service 1989

Another great Miyazaki film , although much different than his usual all out epic-ness. Kiki is a more confined film of a young girl taking on the responsibilities of working and self-realization in a world without air-pirates and mystical gods.

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I don't see how Herzog choosing 'not to show Treadwell's final moments' were 'in poor taste'. It may be just me but my pallet has never really catered for real-life Bear mauling. When Herzog listened to the recording provided by Treadwell's ex, Jewel Palovak, it was distressing enough. To actually use the tape would not only have been incredibly disrespectful to those close to Treadwell and his 'girlfriend', but it would also have lessened the film to a documentary of quasi-snuffiness, which it is much better than.

I hope i'm getting the right end of the stick here and am not misreading your post. Apologies if I am, dude!

I have a tougher time understanding where meaty's coming from concerning Grave of the Fireflies, but I look at films in a totally different way I guess.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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Foul Play (1978)



A goofy crime flick that's a lot of fun. Of course, this is the type of movie people will complain is dated because of all the groovy seventies stuff throughout. That never really bothers me though. More so provides a laugh. Anyway, Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase are pretty good but it's not academy award material. The plot is quite wild as well, but it seems believeable enough. Almost a spoof of Hitchcock films.

Overall:


Traitor (2008)


I can't make up my mind about this movie. In some ways I was intrigued and kept guessing about what would happen next. On the other hand, I felt pretty lost throughout the complex plot and felt like I didn't really have anyone to cheer on. Cheadle gives a very good performance, but I found myself not caring a lot about his character. The dialouge isn't anything special, but it doesn't get in the way either. I suppose it was just OK with me.

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Sorority Row -

It was just about as good as I had originally expected. It wasn't too bad, and the deaths were extremely great. I got everything I came for when I went to see this: hot chicks, mediocre plot, and some cool deaths. It's one that doesn't really have to be seen at the movie theater, though. I don't think I could find enough things to say about it for a full review.



The Hangover -

Yeah I watched it online, but it was the only place I could watch it on and I had a sudden urge to watch it. It lost a bit of it's laughs the second time around, but the flare is still there. I doubt I'll ever find it hilarious again, but it's still an incredibly enjoyable movie to watch. It's right at my second favorite of the year so far, right behind Inglourious Basterds.

I think it would have been extraordinary to see his last moments and of course if the bears eating him alive - that you really don't need to see , but I think to capture even a fraction of his last emotions would have made the film much , much better.

I like the part of the movie where that one girl isn't wearing pants , which is conveniently right in your review - making the movie obsolete.

Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami, 1997)



Simple, quietly-powerful film about a depressed Iranian man (Homayoun Ershadi) who seeks a fellow soul who will help him in his plan to commit suicide. The man has a bottle of sleeping pills and a place to take them, but he needs someone to throw some dirt on him in a hole next to a tree he's picked out to be his final resting place. The three men he asks to do this for him show a cross section of Iranian men and it all leads up to a poignant segment where the attempted suicide takes place. Then the director decides to come up with some kind of alternate ending which leaves everybody either talking about how brilliant it is or leaves them scratching their heads. I've watched the ending numerous times, and I'm not really happy with it no matter whether it was made for cinematic, intellectual or censorship reasons. Even so, this won the Palm d'or at Cannes and is worth watching for the occasional profound and beautiful moments.

Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell (Yoshiyuki Kuroda, 1974)



The sixth and final chapter of The Lone Wolf and Cub series goes out with a bang and includes about 25 minutes of impressive scenes involving the snow. In fact, these scenes utilizing a hundred skiers attempting to kill Ogami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama), set to something resembling soul rock, reminds me of a James Bond intro where 007 tries to escape on skis. Before this awesome finale, Itto has to defeat the expert assassin daughter of his archrival, but once that happens, his nemesis sends his entire clan to follow Itto to the snow-packed mountains where Itto thinks he and his son can even the odds against them. I definitely recommend this series and since all six films are so short, it only takes a little over eight hours to watch the entire thing.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (John Ford, 1962) -



The last film to be considered a classic to be directed by John Ford is this complex western which has grown in reputation since it was made in 1962. John Wayne gives one of his better performances as Tom and calls James Stewart's Ransom "Pilgrim" throughout, and for his part, Stewart is stalwart and stubbornly-persistent as the lawyer who wants to get even with the dastardly Liberty Valence (Lee Marvin) who robbed and whipped him just outside of the town of Shinbone when Ransom came in on the stage. This is all depicted in a flashback where one of the characters relates the story of how the three men interacted, which one was the man who shot Liberty Valence and which one wins the hand of the fair Hallie (Vera Miles). To be honest, I find the beginning of the film which sets up the flashback, to be a weak start which the film has to overcome, but it successfully does so, and the actual ending of the film, after the flashback ends and everyone, except for perhaps one significant character, knows the truth of the story to be quite moving. One thing's for sure is that this is certainly superior to the Wayne westerns (Rio Bravo, El Dorado) which Howard Hawks was making at about the same time.

Dan in Real Life (Peter Hedges, 2007)



This lowkey romantic/family comedy sneaks up on you because at first it seems a bit predictable and underplayed, but eventually, the cast, characters and story win you over just enough to feel good about liking it. Dan (Steve Carell) is a middle-aged widower with three beautiful daughters ranging from about eight-to-18-years-of-age. Every year, his family gets together at his parents' New England home, but this year, Dan seems to be having more problems with his two older daughters concerning driving and dating. Dan is extremely lonely in his romantic life, but in his parents' town, he finds lovely, intelligent Marie (Juliette Binoche) and they immediately hit it off at the local bookstore. Little does Dan realize that this wonderful woman is actually the girlfriend of his brother (Dane Cook) on the way to his parent's home. Needless to say, the remainder of the holiday is very awkward for both Dan and Marie. What makes the film honest, touching and amusing is that the actors are all very good at finding the offbeat humor in such a situation. Now, I'll admit that this plot has been used before, but this one includes things which make it work in a simple manner. Among those scenes would include the dancing scene with Dan's other date during the holiday, "Ruthie With the Pig Face" (Emily Blunt), the scene where Dan and Marie are trapped in the turned-on shower while Dan's eldest daughter is having a heart-to-heart with Marie, and especially the Talent Show scene where Dan helps his Bro try to win his lady love by singing Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door".

Danger: Diabolik (Mario Bava, 1968)



Well, CRAP! I meant to watch this one today and post it but I hope somebody didn't steal my DVD in the mailbox. Even so, I took enough time to post these images that I thought I'd list this as some kind of Sneak Preview. I'm sure you like these photos, don't you?

Road House (Rowdy Herrington, 1989) -

This was played on cable in honour of Patrick Swayze's death and I figured I owed it to myself to watch it. The film is essentially a low-rent action film revolving around Swayze as Dalton, a notorious fighter who is brought to a rowdy country town in order to deal with the titular bar's unruly patronage, only to end up embroiled in a bigger fight with Ben Gazzara's scheming millionaire, who aims to control the town by any means necessary.

Despite the rather low rating I gave the film, I have to admit that I did enjoy it quite a bit. Sure, when it comes to trashy but fun 1980s action fare, it's not exactly as entertaining as the average Schwarzenegger movie, but it's certainly got enough to keep you hooked for most of the movie. Swayze's performance is interesting and his character's philosophy (which reminded me heavily of something Bruce Lee might say) was a welcome touch, to say nothing of the amusing supporting performances from Gazzara and Sam Elliott. The quality of the action was a little uneven, although consistently amusing. As far as objective quality goes, Road House is definitely undercooked, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.



How To Get Ahead In Advertising (Bruce Robinson, 1989) -

Bruce Robinson's follow-up to his wine-soaked debut Withnail and I takes a more subversive route, starring Richard E. Grant as Dennis, a callous advertising executive who suffers a crisis of conscience that eventually leads to full-blown insanity and a malevolent talking boil growing out of his shoulder. I liked it enough - Grant was rather funny, even if he was recycling some of the overblown theatrics he used in Withnail, plus Robinson's script had some interesting ideas and lines, even if their execution was a bit underdone.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Twilight -

Wow, it actually isn't all that bad. It really is kind of hard to watch, though, because the movie is kind of depressing in a way. Also the relationship between Bella and Edward is extremely forced, and there are way too many similarities between this and True Blood. The acting sucked, too, but that was kind of expected. I liked that indian dude, Jacob, though. He was actually kind of barable to watch.



Sex Drive -

+

This turned out a lot better than I had expected, too. The beginning really sucked, but it actually gets better as the movie goes on. I loved the ending, but other than that, there isn't that many laughs. Amanda Crew was totally hot, though. It was worth watching it just for her. It's on Netflix instant watch, so I'd say give it a chance if you have some free time on your hands.

Twilight is probably the best unintentional comedy of 2008.

This is my least favourite of the series. I just think it gets confusing and doesn't make a lot of sense. It felt a bit slap dash compared to previous entries; plus the ending is a bit of an anti-climax after such an epic saga.

I assume you've seen Danger: Diabolik before right? Regardless looking forward to your thoughts on that one Mark; I think it's great campy fun.

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100 Favourites From The Future: REWIRED

just watched the mystery of chess boxing, aka, ninja checkmate, and, takes a while to get going but it's a-ok, with some pretty classic choreography, especially the collaborative final-fight (which rivals the similar scene in the previous year's [1978's] 'warriors two').

you can see the whole thing on youtube, but here's the climactic scene:



get's real good at 8:09

there was also a really good pole fight, but i can't find it on youtube. (i borrowed the dvd from someone at work).

I don't think anyone here loves movies like you do

Caught Death Becomes Her the other day. Saw it when I was a kid and always thought it was fun and interesting, so I thought I'd check it out again. Not quite as good as I remembered (that's always how it is, huh?), but still fun. I'd completely forgotten it was a Zemeckis.

Whiteout, (2009, Sena)- C-



Not a good movie, and I really wasn't expecting it to be. Yet another movie in 2009 that has logic or plot issues. Kate Beckinsale's acting really didn't work either. Ridiculous movie. So, I do not reccomend it if anyone was considering it.
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The Big Lebowski, (1998, Coen)- B+/A-



My favorite parts included the ferret in the bathtub and Walter thinking Lebowski wasn't crippled.

I think everyone should see this film; such a great thematic work about the west in all it's glory. The famous line about "printing the legend" is brilliant stuff. I remember the first time watching this, I was pretty blown away with the "reveal" scene. (I was also just a kid, but Ford really got me.)

I love Wayne in this film. I also think anyone who really doesn't think Wayne was much of an actor should see this. I think he was. And I so agree that this film is better than the Hawks' films of the time. But, yea, I loved John Wayne so I enjoyed those films anyway.

P.S. I love that scene where Stewart is cooking the steaks. I always get hungry whenever I watch it. That food looks so good!

Just some quick tabbing:

State and Main - David Mamet -
The man who would be king - John Huston -
Getaway - Sam Peckinpah -
Soldier of Orange - Paul Verhoeven -
Bliss - Ray Lawrence -

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The Affairs of Martha (1942)

Caught this one on TCM the other night. It's a classic romantic comedy of the period. There aren't any big name stars in the cast really, but you'll probably see some familar faces. Plenty of laughs throughout this rather short flick. The plot is pretty original and the script keeps you entertained. It's the sort of movie that isn't talked much about, so you naturally have forgotten until one day years later you remember a scene from it. So, you Google it to find the title. I liked it pretty well, though.


Overall:

Along Came a Spider (2001)



Lots of suspense and all-around nice performances in this one. Very different from the film I watched about five minutes before it ^. The whole plot about a famous detective/cop being involved in some criminal's game is pretty over-used but it works out well with this one. The most memorable thing about this movie was the amazing plot-twist. I'm sure some one out there saw it coming, but never-the-less a great surprise.