TheDOMINATOR's Movie Review Thread

My line of thinking: if the tree was planted in 2004, it should have already been there when Kate moved to the apartment complex in 2006 and, therefore, she would have never asked Alex to plant it in the first place. It's a paradox, I suppose, and the event only takes place in the film to establish Alex's love for Kate, so I suppose it makes sense when you think about it that way, but it just didn't float my boat.

I agree with you about Reeves and Bullock in Speed, but apparently they've lost what chemistry they had in the transition to this movie (in my opinion).

Let me know what you find concerning looking at the events in the movie from a scientific standpoint.

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My Movie Review Thread | My Top 100

Since I've finally reached Page 6 (over 100 replies ), I've included an index of reviews in the original post.

That's like saying in the film The Butterfly Effect when Kutcher uses the pages to 'go back in time' and slam his hands on the spike things, would they just appear like that to the other guy? Or would he have had them the entire time?

Watch Back To The Future Part II for your answer.

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I've seen Back to the Future Part II. It doesn't really matter scientifically if The Lake House is accurate or not when it comes down to it; I didn't like the movie.

Empire Records (1995) - 9.5/10



Empire Records: it's open 'til midnight. Anthony LaPaglia, RoryCochrane, Johnny Whitworth, Renée Zellweger, Robin Tunney, Ethan Embry, and Liv Tyler star in this heartwarming dramatic comedy that delivers a wonderful story, powerful themes, and plenty of laughs.

Lucas, A.J., Corey, Debra, Gina, and Mark are teenagers nearing adulthood who work together at an independant record store called Empire Records. The manager, Joe, is a nice guy who almost feels like part of the gang, but ensures that his title as "the boss" is known and respected to a certain, though lenient degree. The atmosphere at the store is friendly and fun, but not for long: Joe's boss, the owner of the store, plans to sell it and transform it into a "MusicTown" as part of the MusicTown chain. In effect, everyone--including Joe--will lose their job, save the owner himself.

When Joe asks Lucas to shut the store down one night for the first time, Lucas finally decides that this is his chance to do something about it before it's too late. He steals the money in the cash register--9,104 dollars--and takes it to Atlantic City in hopes to make a profit to save the store from converting into a MusicTown. Instead, he loses everything; he gambles all the money away. It angers and frustrates Joe once he finds out early the next day, comedy ensuing once he confronts Lucas, but Joe, while noticeably upset, takes it somewhat easy on his employee. Empire Record's manager is too busy worrying about what to tell the owner and how to deal with losing the store and his job.

What follows is Empire Record's employees doing everything they can to help raise money to replace the cash that Lucas lost in order to save all their jobs and the work atmosphere that they all know and love. Events unfold such as a famous singer, Rex Manning, making an appearance at the store and the throwing of a huge party to help raise money afterwards, emotions running high at times and clever comedy being delivered at others. The script is fantastic, containing numerous memorable (and very funny) quotes and all performances delivered by the stellar cast are amazingly well-done. The story of the film is heartwarming, one not easily forgotten however simple or uneventful it may sound.






The fantastic performances, excellently clever script, and the greatly relatable and likeable characters are what make this movie truly memorable, and despite a couple slow points and faulters in progress of the story throughout, Empire Records is an exceptional film that I'm greatly glad I gave a second viewing after so many years.

Thanks for the review I am to say i haven't seen it but have added it to my Bigpond list

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Empire records is awesome!! Good review Dom!! I love the part where Warren gets caught shoplifting.

Lucas: Warren, look what you took.
[going through the CD's that Warren stole from the store]
Lucas: Rap... metal... rap... metal... And Whitney Houston.
Warren: It's for my girlfriend, okay?
Lucas: Suuure it is. You know, someone like you needs to diminish their criminal impulses, not magnify them. Maybe some jazz or some classical.
Warren: Maybe you bite me.

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Let me know how you like it if/when you eventually see it, nebbit, as Empire Records is close to being one of my favorite movies.

Warren is an awesome character. He has some of the funniest dialogue, and I love what happens to him at the end of the film. [spoiler] He attempts to raid the store using blanks in a gun, and ends up getting hired by Joe. I loved it.

How the West Was Won (1962) - 8.5/10



A larger-than-life Western that follows the saga of one strong-willed family in their arduous search for land describes this epic film. Occurring over the course of several decades during the 1800’s, How the West Was Won depicts several historical events throughout its featured family’s life-journey such as the California Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads. This movie oozes to its neck with fantastically likable characters, extraordinary set pieces such as Western wagons and Indian tomahawks; and beautiful landscapes of the “Old West” presented with excellent cinematography.

Despite the wonderful scenery that totally immerses you and the story of the characters that leaves you captivated, the main attraction here is the cast. Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Lee J. Cobb, Debbie Reynolds, and John Wayne (among other notable actors) make up the front lineup here. Although their parts aren’t particularly large in the film, Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb deliver excellent performances as they did together in 12 Angry Men, and James Stewart is as wonderfully delightful as ever. Debbie Reynolds also acted brilliantly and left me in a sense of awe from time to time due to her alluring beauty. Carroll Baker, second lead woman to Debbie Reynolds, was—as Reynolds was herself—a sight for soar eyes.


(Debbie Reynolds)

The directors of this film: John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, and Richard Thorpe, are certainly not to go without mention. The legendary John Ford currently holds the record for "Best Director" oscars, that record being four. He and the three other men who gave direction to this film all conspired together to create a truly unique, segmented movie (I'll go into the details of that later) that proved to be the catalyst of getting me into the Western genre of film.

The story of the film begins just as rivetingly as it ends. The Prescott family, a strong-willed family travelling from the East in search of prosperous land in the West, begins the film by venturing down the Erie Canal only to have tragedy quickly befall them. Two of their family members are left dead in a horrible accident while venturing through the rapids of the rushing river, leaving Eve (Baker) and Lilith (Reynolds), the family’s two oldest sisters, to continue the journey with their younger brother and surviving comrades who had travelled alongside them down the Erie. It isn’t long until they are confronted by a mysterious Mountain Man (Stewart) who turns out to be more a friend than a foe; he comes to fall in love with Eve and have children with her who play an important role later in the movie.

The epic chronicles of the Prescotts and their journey West goes on to be told through “segments”; separate mini stories containing the same central characters and narrative, but each one features a different time period during the 1800’s, showing how Eve and Lilith progress in their life’s journey. The segments portray encounters with new characters as well, such as the fearsome Buffalo Hunter (Fonda) and Marshal (Cobb), and how they interact with the main characters and how they progress the story of how the West was won. Large-scale events are also depicted within the film’s numerous segments, such as how the California Gold Rush actually began and the origin of the grand battle between the white men and the Indians over the fight for the Indians’ territory. Each of these things depicted in this film--the remarkable characters and the larger-than-life events--are presented in a way that leaves you captivated and attached to the story throughout, despite a couple of bumps (confusion and slight awkwardness) down the road, which I'll explain moreso momentarily.

Now, this next bit may just be because I experience How the West Was Won in Blu-ray technology, but the scenery, landscapes, and cinematography were all simply breathtaking. The large-scale shots of everything from the desert-like Western frontier to the snowy icecaps of the North to the activity-bustling towns of the West were all vibrant with color and beautiful beyond most modern-day films I’ve seen to date (on the same Blu-ray format, no less). While watching the film, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing was released in 1962. I’m guessing that the combination of the Blu-ray format and the natural excellence of the film’s cinematography make the beautiful shots what they are.




What contributes to the visual splendor of this film most of all, perhaps, is its unique Cinerama presentation. What that means is that each scene was filmed with three cameras, placed at an appropriate length apart, so that the film would be able to be projected at Cinerama theatres with three projectors, thus displaying it in the widest, clearest, most-curved aspect ratio possible. Only a select few theaters had the capability to play the movie in this way back when it was originally in cinemas, but years later when it was released on DVD and Blu-ray, How the West Was Won was released in a standard wide-screen format, the two lines from the Cinerama way of filmmaking still able to be seen when watching the movie. Later, the original "Smilebox" presentation was released on DVD and Blu-ray as well to give the film a more original feel as it was seen in theaters.



All of this seemingly alarming praise is not to say that the film isn’t without its slow points or scenes of abrupt confusion or awkwardness, however. Bits and pieces of my least-favorite segments I found bordering on boring and some scenes between two or more characters felt awkward in some way. Also, toward the film’s end, things got rather complex, and maybe a second viewing will help, but I found myself a little confused as to what exactly was going on.

Overall, How the West Was Won—being only my second big-time Western film-viewing experience (Once Upon a Time in the West being my first)—came just short of blowing me away, and I must say that I’m off to a roaring start with this genre. I look forward to seeing more of Henry Fonda’s work pertaining to it, and more Westerns in general. And for this, I have this movie to thank.

Thanks to mark f for help throughout writing this review with providing insight and information.

Thanks for the great review I love this movie

Most Anticipated Film of 2009

Terminator 4: Salvation



Terminator 2: Judgment Day is among my favorite movies of all time containing some of my favorite characters, visuals/effects, and storylines of any movie. So, naturally, when I first heard about the possibility of a T4, I was ecstatic. Then, when I found out that it wasn't just a rumor; that Terminator 4 was confirmed, I was perhaps more excited than I ever have been about anything in a very long time.

The trailers for this movie look awesome, presenting new kinds of Terminators (the "cyclebots" and the huge thing at the end), and Christian Bale looks like he's going to fit the role of John Connor perfectly. I really cannot wait until May.

I rarely say this, but T4 looks like it has the potential to become a new favorite film of mine and even climb ahead of T2 for me. Not just because it's a Terminator movie, but because the cast and trailers are *that* impressive.

It's safe to say that--unless some kind of an emergency comes up--I'll be seeing this opening weekend, and probably more than once in the theater.

Cool list, Dom. I think it's a very honest and personal list and that's exactly what it should be.

(I had this whole thing typed out but I didn't want to come off as being a mega-jerk. If you want to read it, Dom, just let me know.)

i heard they made a movie adaption of the book of mormon and it's supposed to be bitching...Vin Diesel plays Joseph Smith and puts whole new spin on things. i guess we'l;l see

Thanks, Swan (I think ). Yep; Number 2 is especially personal to me. And you can go ahead and post or PM me your full typed-out response to my anticipation list. How bad is it? Lol. And what entry (or entries) does it pertain to?

All of them.

Here goes nothing. Remember, I like you.

- I don't really care for the new Underworld prequel because it doesn't have Kate Beckinsale and that was really the only reason I even bothered with the first two. I think it's great the you are interested in it, though.

- I rarely watch TV at all (the shows I watch I buy on DVD when they come out), so I don't even know what Dollhouse is.

- I find the original Friday the 13th to be terrible except for the very last scare in the film, which is truly fantastic. This remake looks even worse than the original, so that's saying something. But if you're a fan of the series, more power to you. I know I'm going to be extremely excited for the Hellraiser remake.

- I've only seen the trailer for The Haunting in Connecticut once but the plot sounds way too generic. In your case it's personal so I can't kill you for it.

- I'm extremely excited for T4.

Kate Beckinsale not starring in this new installment is a huge con to it, I agree. However, at least it's *understandable* that she won't be in the cast because this is a prequel. I just have to keep that in mind when I go to the theater to see it, and there's no Kate Beckinsale.

As far as the story, I'm guessing it doesn't interest you that much from your post. Ehh, it does with me. Like I said, I don't consider Underworld to be a truly great saga, but it's a lot of fun. I like it.

That's just a fact about yourself; that's not really saying anything about my list or the entry in particular, but thank you for the thought, sir.

I've always known that you don't like the Friday the 13th series, so I guessed that comment before you even posted it. Coming from Michael Bay of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, though, my expectations are doubled.

I'm positive that if you saw the original documentary the film's based on (thus knowing the complete story and concept of the movie), you'd have a different opinion, Swan. Maybe look into it. Or not, if it doesn't seem interesting to you. It is.

A Walk to Remember
(Adam Shankman, 2002)



The ultimate tear-jerker, A Walk to Remember is a story about self-discovery, transformation, and true, perpetual love. It’s a film that invokes great happiness and deep sorrow, and it takes its audience on a journey that causes those who relate to it to look at their own life with newfound contemplation and enlightenment. On a personal level, I haven’t been touched by a movie so profoundly in a very long time; for hours after watching it, A Walk to Remember took primary residence in my thoughts, making me think of what I, myself, value most in my life, and what I wish to accomplish in the future.

ER’s Shane West plays Landon Carter, a troubled teen who hangs out with the wrong crowd. Threatened with expulsion from his North Carolina high school, Landon is forced to do community service on school campus after hospitalizing, accidentally, another student during a late-night gang initiation. Meant to gain the newcomer entry into Carter’s circle of friends, the initiation goes horribly wrong once the student finds himself critically injured, and when Landon abandons the badly-hurt student when police arrive at the scene, he is later faced with expulsion. He lucks out, however, with commitment to community service, offered by the lenient school principal.

For unpredictable reasons—reasons he’d never dream to consider—the community service proved one-thousand times better a punishment; while rehearsing for a school play he consequently found himself forced to be a part of, Landon meets Jamie Sullivan, the girl who would change his life forever.



Jamie Sullivan, played by Mandy Moore, is a shy, church-going girl who Landon has known all of his life, but has never once talked to; they’d been attending the same schools since Kindergarten but have never actually interacted, until now. When Landon has trouble memorizing his lines for the school play, he seeks Jamie’s help, and when he goes to her home to get help rehearsing after class, it’s then that his feelings for her—and later, her feelings for him—take root and begin to develop, as they spend more time with each other. It’s then during the actual performance of the school play that Landon’s liking-ness of Jamie turns to undeniable love, and this once trouble-making “tough guy” is transformed, over time, into a caring, thoughtful young man. Their newfound relationship changes Jamie, too; she begins to fear a terrible fate that she knows awaits her when, previously, she had come to accept it without a fight. She begins living life to its fullest again, and enjoying all that it has to offer instead of remaining inside her shell of blind faith.



A Walk to Remember has a powerful story which is only exceeded in excellence by its acting. I haven’t seen much of Shane West’s, but he gives a very believable and personally relatable performance as Landon Carter, and Mandy Moore’s portrayal of Jamie Sullivan is incredible. I’m not claiming that she’s among the best in the business, but this movie, along with a couple others (All I Want also starring Elijah Wood, for one), sky-rocketed her up my “favorite actresses” list. I like a lot of Mandy Moore’s music, but I think she’s an even better actress than she is a musical performer; it’s just that, usually, she doesn’t have much to work with. Of course, that isn’t the case here.

Like with Shane West, I haven’t seen much of Adam Shankman’s other work (which includes Hairspray and The Wedding Planner), but in A Walk to Remember, he gives brilliant direction. The cinematography is fantastic; the transitions from scene to scene occur smoothly, and the passing of time is presented clearly and without confusion. Everything here from the lighting to the sound is top-notch and well done, at least in my opinion, from what I’ve seen in the film.

The only thing that holds A Walk to Remember back from being a true masterpiece is the “cheesy,” cliché vibe it gives off early in the film, complete with your "token" black guy. This unwelcome aura quickly fades away once the story develops into something far greater, but while it lasts, the vibe is somewhat hard to shake off and it's difficult to take the movie seriously.



Overall, A Walk to Remember is an incredible film with powerful performances, one in particular by a somewhat unlikely star: Mandy Moore. The story so profound that it caused me to dwell upon its themes for days, and its ending left a hole in my movie-watching heart. I had seen A Walk to Remember once before, but that was some time ago, and upon this revisiting it has become a new personal Top 100 favorite of mine, and is one of the saddest—and yet spiritually uplifting—movies I’ve ever seen.

I can't remember right now, Dom, but are you religious? Do you go to church? The plot seems to affect you so personally I was wondering if some of this hasn't happened to you before.

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No, I'm not religious and I don't go to church (although I do believe in God); this movie just struck me at the core, unexpectedly, especially since I'd seen it once before this latest viewing.

I didn't make the review sound too preachy or anything, did I? Maybe I let my emotions about it come off a little too strong. :/

No, it's just between this and Bridge to Terabithia, I thought I saw a pattern, but maybe it's just attractive females.