Movie Tab II

Castle of Cagliostro

Miyazaki's action packed debut , the film adaptation of the long running popular series Lupin the III is rightly filled with great action scenes and a mystery to unravel. Although there is nothing truly special about the film's plot , the characters make it more than its' original worth.





Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan

Although many of it's effects are incredibly dated and there is huge lack of truly exciting action scenes , it's dialogue and characters drive the more understated nature of this sci-fi picture. I should probably note that this is the only Star Trek film I've seen and I've never seen the show either.





Joint Security Area

I'm glad I revisited this one , very compelling political/suspense/mystery with tight visual style from director Park Chan Wook. Though it's acting and characters don't receive enough time for the story to be nearly as affecting and tragic as it tries to be , it's advanced visual and audio aesthetics fill the void.





After The Wrestler I had to go back and watch the only one left of his filmography I hadn't. From the reactions I've seen on here it's a love it or hate it type flick , but I found myself in the middle. The seamless story telling through time was a very inviting , interesting way to tell a story - but many times throughout it felt they were squeezing this idea dry and not actually trying to tell actual stories at the same time. The visuals also ranged from awe inspiring to bland , one I'd watch again - but not an instant favorite.





Fellowship of the Ring : Extended Edition

Massively wondrous first act with incredibly effective characters and atmospheres. After knowing exactly how it all plays out it's that much cooler seeing the entire group of hero's together.

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The Big Sleep (1946 Howard Hawks)





This was actually a coincidence that this came up on my queue during Bogie avatar week. This was a really fun sexy movie, even with it's convoluted plot line.

Bacall is just absolutely mesmerizing. I can never take my eyes off her face. I can't believe she was only 20 when she did this!

Not the best noir by any stretch, but the characters are played superbly. Would have also been nice to see more of Carmen. B

DIARY OF THE DEAD. (2007 - George A. Romero)



Wow, what a huge whoppin' disappointment. The film featured some of the blandest characters I've seen. I want Romero to bring back likeable characters. And the we've-got-to-document-this-so-those-who-remain-will-know-the-truth story is so cliche. What's happened to Romero? I'm not going to go as far to say he's "lost his touch", but I really hope he'll amaze us with that new zombie film of his coming out. 2/10

I'm a wacko because I like Romero's later films better than his BS classics! Land and Diary are much better than their reps, as opposed to their predecessors. C'mon, bring it on!

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

I don't think any of his films are classics , maybe zombie classics ... with the exception of Dawn of the Dead - that one is truly epic.

I didn't like Diary of the Dead at all, although I would give it a bit higher than 2/10. It contained some decent "jump scare" scenes and some genuine thrills. But not many, and some of the scenes I found on the laughable side--scenes with the zombies that were meant to be scary.

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"The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."
John Milton, Paradise Lost

My Movie Review Thread | My Top 100

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
David Fincher, 2008

This is some true filmmaking at it's best, even though it may not be quite Fincher's best. There is no doubt about it in my mind that this is the most beautiful and depressing film of 2008. Actually watching it for a second time really showed me how depressing the film is. Yet, it still turned out great. I'm actually kind of upset that Slumdog Millionaire stole all of it's academy awards, even if you may disagree that it didn't deserve 'Best Picture', Fincher deserved 'Best Director' by a long shot. This was so wonderfully shot, at least a lot more than Slumdog Millionaire, and that's not to say that Slumdog wasn't shot bad because it wasn't. One of the things that really helps drive the movie is it's beautiful score, it really just fits with the movie. The cinematography is jaw-dropping to say the least, possibly some of the best I've ever seen.

Brad Pitt is so great in this, even though he gave just a good of performance in his other movie that came out in 2008, Burn After Reading. They were two completely different roles, with this one being a lot more serious role. Without Pitt chosen to be Benjamin Button, I think that this could've turned out pretty bad. This movie may have the most diverse set of characters I've ever seen, I mean I don't think there were two characters that were alike, except maybe Benjamin and Daisy. My personal favorite character out of all of them was Captain Mike. There was just something special and unique about his character.

I would probably call this the second best of 2008, maybe third, after The Dark Knight and maybe Gran Torino. This is a movie that you just have to see to understand it. It'd definitely be one that I'd recommend when you got the chance to.

Sonatine (1993, Takeshi Kitano)

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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."

Thoughts?

Also...

Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987) - +

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

re: Sonatine. Some scenes that were really impressive, although the film seemed to fade as it progressed after its strong first half. But most of the characters never really interested me, not like (and comparison may be unfair, but I'll do it anyway) Boiling Point, a film where every character deserved attention. I think I may go for a rewatch of Fireworks soon, and I can't seem to find a copy of Kikujiro.





Videodrome (1983, David Cronenberg)

Whoa whoa whoaaa! You're kidding, right? For some reason I get the feeling you're not being at all serious here.

Eh, my ratings usually don't mean anything and are nothing really to go by. I'm not sure why I even give ratings. I guess cause everyone else does? My heart is never really "in" my ratings.. if that makes any sense.

Dawn of the Dead (1978) - 4.9/5
I scored the Dead movies because Borders is selling off all of their movie stock for 50% of its price. Run, dont walk over to Borders today to add to your collection - I did! About the movie. Wow. I can now say that I FULLY understand why people prefer the original to the remake. This movie was outstanding, and even though I remembered what happened (vaguely) from the remake, I found the story of this one so much more compelling and believable. Great acting all around, and great costume work. The one drawback was that the blood was very clearly red paint.

I wasnt able to get Night of the Living Dead, so I started with "Dawn" and now, on to watch the next installment, "Day!"

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something witty goes here......

As I've stated before, the only thing that both Dawns have in common is zombies and a shopping mall. And even then the zombies are more "infected humans" than "reanimated corpses" in the remake.

STAR TREK. (2009 - J.J. Abrams)



Lovely surprise! I am completely unfamiliar with the Star Trek franchise, but this film has certainly intrigued me to perhaps check out the show. Chris Pine has a good career ahead of him. 8.5/10

What the hell am I the only one that actually liked this movie

Alleluia


Let the Right one In(Tomas Alfredson 2008)-The first 30 minutes are kind of boring and even depressed me maybe because of the setting of the movie,but after that the story is gaining power and turned out to be an awesome vampire movie something never done before,it had a wonderful love story,horror and in the end it felt good



P.S.:Way better than Twilight

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I'm in movie heaven

Star Trek (Abrams, 2009)



Well done. I sort of hold this flick at about the same height I did the first X-men film, in that I thought they did a lot right, but I also see the potential to do a lot more. The plot device Abrams used to reset the universe is ingenious, though. It really is a master stroke that will please both die-hard fans and new-comers alike. I thought the film was cast well, save Eric Bana, whom I dislike anyway. I guess the creators wanted to focus on developing the main characters, and didn't want a Dath Vader0like villain dominating the story. This was the only big mistake I could find.

It did take me a while to warm to the new characters, but once I did, I had a blast. The final act felt like vintage Star Trek, and Quinto was unnervingly good as Spock. It was also fun watching all the nods to the previous material.

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Star Trek Generations (Carson, 1994)

For all intents and purposes, this should have seemed like just an extended episode of its beloved progenitor, Star Trek: The Next Generation. But somehow, it feels like a feature film. It's not as dynamic as it could have been, and some of its chief angles - Data's emotion chip, the wasteful inclusion of Captain Kirk - fall decidedly flat.

But from the very first scene, the film establishes a melancholy throughout that can be seen as equally in the faces of the characters as in the darkened lights and colors of the usually bright set pieces. I think it's the theme of death that gives this film a quiet soul: that even in this advanced society, mortality still reigns over technology. And that's unsettling enough to wish for our own Nexus to escape to.




Shakespeare in Love (Madden, 1998)

Wonderful film. What can I say about it? The lusty, lovelorn chemistry between Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow drive the film, and the surrounding characters are a proverbial dream team of players: Tom Wilkinson, Geoffrey Rush, Dame Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Imelda Staunton... my god! Even a brilliantly utilized Ben Affleck and a fleeting appearance by Rupert Everett contribute to the film's ensemble of awesome.

There are certainly a number of micro-stories here that make up the greater whole... in a perfect mixture, I might add, particularly in the comedy department, which is spot on sharp and hysterical. But the story that really gets to me is also the chief one: the communal and continuing invention of Romeo and Juliet. Not only is it exciting to see this revered piece of literature take form - particularly when you realize that it was really performed for the first time at some point for an unsuspecting audience. But you also feel the reverence for the play itself, and for Shakespeare's precision of language, not simply out of his ability as a wordsmith... but out of love.

Highly recommended.




Ed Wood (Burton, 1994)

I can't say this film trumps Burton's legendary Edward Scissorhands, but it comes dangerously close. We all know what to expect from a Burton film - dark themes, dark comedy, quirky characters somehow misled or misunderstood, etc. - but I can't say I've often related with his material because it follows such a narrow path. And although I'm still struggling to connect with Ed Wood on the level I feel like it wants me to, I can't ignore Burton's thoroughly competent, heartfelt homage to a director who wasn't well-regarded, but who had a deep passion for making films all the same.

Frequent Burton alum Johnny Depp, as the aforementioned Ed Wood, is certainly great, as are surprisingly entertaining turns by Bill Murray, Jeffrey Jones, Sarah Jessica Parker, and George "The Animal Steele." (A quick cameo of Vincent D'Onofrio as Orson Welles is also, if anything for its eeriness). But the real heart of the film is Martin Landau's Bela Lugosa, who somehow hits the mark between magnetic character actor and believable, pitiable human being. He's a treat to watch, for his hilariously fumed tirades as much as his painful breakdowns. If anything, Burton's Ed Wood is also, ostensibly, an homage to Lugosi as well.

what a co-inkydink. i watched this the other day too

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Undercoverlovers 100 REDUX

Army of Shadows (1969, Jean-Pierre Melville)

An expertly crafted film about the French Resistance during World War II, directed with the assured skill and patience one comes to expect in a film by Melville. One of the best films I've seen in a while.

16 Blocks

A script full of platitudes and an almost unforgivably annoying character-study by Mos Def leave this mixed bag of tricks pretty limp. But it's got a decent premise, and it's good to see Willis roll the box-office dice a slightly different way with this 'Die Heart-attack' role. Plus i truly hope Barry White stole as many tyres as they say.

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