Movie Tab II

Saw (2004, James Wan)

1/5

Flashy, dumb, trashy, numb.....

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

Melinda and Melinda (2005)

(view the trailer)

Starring: Radha Mitchell, Will Ferrell, Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Stephanie Roth Haberle
Directed by: Woody Allen

My Grade: B

Travellers and Magicians (2003)

(view the trailer)

Starring: Tshewang Dendup, Lhakpa Dorji, Sonam Lhamo, Sonam Kinga, Deki Yangzom
Directed by: Khyentse Norbu

My Grade: B+

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"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

The Pacifier - Not as bad as I thought it would be. I wouldn't get that excited and recommend it as one of my faves of all time, it is though a cute film and even had one scene in it that made me tear up.

It's a for me.

Aladdin (d. Ron Clements & John Musker, 1992)

Watched Empire (2002) the other night, which started off OK but quickly turned into a really predictible piece of ghetto-pie.

I also just finished watching Little Big Man. Which is, and always will be, great.

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

Good Morning Vietnam

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"Like all dreamers, Steven mistook disenchantment for truth."

Five Sides of a Coin

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Horror's Not Dead
Latest Movie Review(s): Too lazy to keep this up to date. New reviews every week.

I guess Kubrick should have taken that advice and then maybe he'd have a gem like the movie.... IT ?

The Incredibles
I pretty good cartoon. The mom was hot fo' sho'. Why's every brotha' got have the witty lines about hookin' up with chicks while the cracka's always stuck with the pathetic boring life? I wouldn't have expected anything less from Disney.

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You all can **** on me and my declarations with sarcasm as much as you'd like, it's not going to evolve the movie from failure to success. And how about someone actually respond with the reasons why I'm wrong, why the movie is successful and not carcasses of guised wit because you simply think I'm crazy?

I don't think you're crazy. I think there's a lot of people that would agree with you. Kubrick's style is sterile, I think that much is true. That could be viewed as boring or whatever. BUT, I think the movie wins with acting (J.N. walking through the hall tweakin' out, J.N. flippin' out in the freezer, J.N. drinking at the bar), sound (the ball being thrown in the open writing room, the kid driving over wood to carpet), displaying isolation on an enormous scale, the story development, and the cam. movement which would also include choice of lens. That's mainly why I think it's da' bomb and why I'd never go on a vacation to a deserted place with my family. Holla?

Finding Neverland - I guess it was OK. I guess the acting was pretty solid overall. But nothing about it really shined to me. Definitely not something I would plan on taking a second look at. C

Steamboy - Overall I feel a little diasppointed with this one, but I still loved the hell out of the parts which worked. The characters were pretty bad, but the visuals were astonishing and would make up for it had the movie been a little shorter. B-

The Jacket - Really liked this one. The editing (both visually and sonically) was incredibly intense, and the scenes while Brody was in the jacket felt very claustrophobic. I'm still trying to work out the timelines and fit everything into place, which may in turn eventually lower this grade but I'll give a B+

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Aren't we all crazy?

I don't think you're wrong, I just don't agree with you on this one, and I'll try and tell you why.

I think this film can, and should, be viewed as something outside of the horror genre. If one has to compare it to something, I think one should compare it to Kubrick's other works, and The Shining is comparable to his other great ones.

The first time I saw it I was disappointed because so many had told me it was the creepiest film they'd ever seen. And I wasn't really scared (in shock) once. Thing is, for every viewing I think it gets not only better but also creepier. Like other scary movies I like (like The Blair Witch Project and Ringu) it is not so much about shock and slashing guts up but about creating a creepy atmosphere.

You have allready mentioned a few of the reasons to why it's good; the cinematography and Nicholson of course. I think the choice of actors overall is brilliant. Apparently Shelley Duvall annoyed Kubrick to the extreme even off the camera, which led him to treat her not so nice. But he wanted "a stupid cow", and Duvall is an annoying stupid cow all through the film. The kid is excellent. Kid actors make me shiver most of the time but Danny Lloyd was great. And so on and so on....

One of the things I enjoy most in The Shining is the set design. Everything is symmetric and almost mathematical. From the floor in the hotel corridors to the more obvious maze, and the two afro pin ups on the wall of Dick Halloran's bedroom. This creates a sense of some evil, clinical ruling order in the hotel and adds to the cold inhumane air of it all. And the weightless camera of course makes the effect even greater as a contrast to the static set design.

And the thing about intimacy. I think what Kubrick was looking for was isolation, something that goes through the whole film, and I think isolation can be pretty scary. There simply is no intimacy or connection between the characters. They are not only isolated from the rest of the world up there in the hotel, they're also isolated from each other. And if you mean intimacy between the character and the audience I think you get it with Danny, the boy, but not with the other characters. Maybe to symbolize how kids often feel that they are left outside of the world of adults and that grown ups never really understand what you mean anyway.

I was about to say something about Stephen King and his mini series "The Shining" from 1997, but he did write the book after all, so I'll be quiet.

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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".

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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.

The Others, 2001, for the third time or so......... really a great movie...

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We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need.

Top Eric Sykes performance there.

^^^ OMG i totally didnt even register that that was Sykes, learn sumthin new every day

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Undercoverlovers 100 REDUX

Highfive to Pid and Pimp.

I still, however, hold strong that it is not a movie that creates fear, but a movie that creates mood. And regardless of how far that mood is stretched, it just doesn't do it for me.

The Night Of The Hunter
1955 - Charles Laughton

Miss Congeniality --- not as funny as the first one, lets get that out of the way first of all. The story wasn't actually all that clear, not sure if there even was one. Michael Caine and Benjamin Bratt were sorely missing in this film and although Regina King i think it is thats the new sidekick, she tried her best bless her but it just wasn't quite right. And the most annoying thing was the fact that the film at one point skips ten months into the future, so the audience miss out on the things that change Gracie.

Alien vs. Predator

didnt like it at all. really boring i fell asleep twice during the movie. i just really thought it was bad

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"A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theater admission and the babysitter were worth it."
- Alfred Hitchcock

The Untouchables
Eyes Wide Shut - Man, I love this film.