The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Yeah, but I could see how some wouldn't like it.

Ah, I thought you were talking about if the content was acceptable.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Ah, I thought you were talking about if the content was acceptable.

I was.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Steve46

I was.

Oh

I think it should be acceptable as long as the 16 year old knows beforehand, in America doesn't it usually work that once you reach 17 you can watch R Rated films anyway, so there isn't such a huge gap

[SquidPuppet]

Young Adult

An average movie experience for me.

Nothing was bad, but nothing was exceptional.

The dialogue felt pretty darn real, but the story was just kind of there.

Mavis didnt seem dysfunctional enough to be considered tragic, so I wasnt bowled over with symapthy.

There were a few humerous moments, but nothing made me actually laugh.

Just a so-so flick.

Film 3/5
PQ 4/5
AQ 4/5

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Young Adult

An average movie experience for me.

Nothing was bad, but nothing was exceptional.

The dialogue felt pretty darn real, but the story was just kind of there.

Mavis didnt seem dysfunctional enough to be considered tragic, so I wasnt bowled over with symapthy.

There were a few humerous moments, but nothing made me actually laugh.

Just a so-so flick.

Film 3/5
PQ 4/5
AQ 4/5

Was it cringe humour?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Was it cringe humour?

Nope. Just soft, not gutbusting. But it wasnt meant to be a traditional comedy. Its slightly dark and sad.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Young Adult

An average movie experience for me.

Nothing was bad, but nothing was exceptional.

The dialogue felt pretty darn real, but the story was just kind of there.

Mavis didnt seem dysfunctional enough to be considered tragic, so I wasnt bowled over with symapthy.

There were a few humerous moments, but nothing made me actually laugh.

Just a so-so flick.

Film 3/5
PQ 4/5
AQ 4/5

Yep, Mavis is pretty unlikable.

I gave it 4/5 the first time and 4.5 after two more viewings.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Nope. Just soft, not gutbusting. But it wasnt meant to be a traditional comedy. Its slightly dark and sad.

Ah, I might give a watch sometime down the line, I'm not a fan of humour where you're supposed to feel awkward for the characters actions

[Diesel]

Silent House

This movie is one stupid plot twist away from being a cookie cutter modern scary flick.

If you think you know what is about to happen, you do. If you think you have it figured out, you probably do.

Some people might think the ending was stupid and out of nowhere...well they are half right in that it is stupid. But as soon as you see the

[Show spoiler]vanishing little kid after she leaves the house

, well there's the obvious,

[Show spoiler]"Oh, okay, she's crazy"

cue. You might not know WHERE

[Show spoiler]her being crazy

leads, but it's quite obvious at that point that she is.

I knew that the

[Show spoiler]uncle had something to do with it after he was on screen for all of 10 seconds.

But I have to admit, I didn't foresee the

[Show spoiler]dad being part of it.

One thing this movie doesn't do that most modern scare flicks do is the jump scare. Oh, it certainly tries, but it fails every time.

The camera work in several portions of the film was among the worst I've ever seen. It was like they asked a chimp on crack to do shaky cam for them. Setting a mood or eliciting a feeling? No, just idiotic and almost headache inducing.

It wasn't a complete waste, as I did find it mildly entertaining early on and thought Olsen did her best with what she had to work with.

Rating - 2/5

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by jvince

I warned you... I was really digging it until

[Show spoiler]she got out of the house

. It just went downhill from there. I thought it'd turn out to be the second coming of [REC], but it just left me disappointed. Olsen is a pretty good actress though.

I know, but it was free so I didn't mind checking it out for the 'one take' visual style...which they did a horrible job at hiding spots where they obviously did cuts.

[jhiggy23]

Dead Poet's Society


Film: 3 stars (out of 4); gf rating: same


I haven't seen this film in a very long time. It's a good film but could've been much better. Williams put forth a great performance, irrespective of what Ebert says about it. I liked the story and think the central purpose about being inspired by the things we do and trying to attain excellence. However, I think the sub-plots weren't very profound and the purpose is a bit muddled by what happens to Williams. Side note: the PQ of this blu is the worst I've seen.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by jvince

Rachel Getting Married was surprisingly pretty good. The best thing Demme's done in a long time.

Agreed obviously. The style and pacing of the movie isn't in my usual comfort zone, but it obviously ended up being a successful blind buy.

I can understand where the melodrama might have been too much for some, but I found that it fit with the story just fine.

Off topic, but I'm disappointed in Diesel taking the time to type out a review for the movie he hated, but didn't do one for John Carter yet.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Dead Poet's Society


Film: 3 stars (out of 4); gf rating: same


I haven't seen this film in a very long time. It's a good film but could've been much better. Williams put forth a great performance, irrespective of what Ebert says about it. I liked the story and think the central purpose about being inspired by the things we do and trying to attain excellence. However, I think the sub-plots weren't very profound and the purpose is a bit muddled by what happens to Williams. Side note: the PQ of this blu is the worst I've seen.

I usually agree with Ebert, but he must have been having a bad day when he saw Dead Poets Society.

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Silent House

[Show spoiler]This movie is one stupid plot twist away from being a cookie cutter modern scary flick.

If you think you know what is about to happen, you do. If you think you have it figured out, you probably do.

Some people might think the ending was stupid and out of nowhere...well they are half right in that it is stupid. But as soon as you see the

[Show spoiler]vanishing little kid after she leaves the house

, well there's the obvious,

[Show spoiler]"Oh, okay, she's crazy"

cue. You might not know WHERE

[Show spoiler]her being crazy

leads, but it's quite obvious at that point that she is.

I knew that the

[Show spoiler]uncle had something to do with it after he was on screen for all of 10 seconds.

But I have to admit, I didn't foresee the

[Show spoiler]dad being part of it.

One thing this movie doesn't do that most modern scare flicks do is the jump scare. Oh, it certainly tries, but it fails every time.

The camera work in several portions of the film was among the worst I've ever seen. It was like they asked a chimp on crack to do shaky cam for them. Setting a mood or eliciting a feeling? No, just idiotic and almost headache inducing.

It wasn't a complete waste, as I did find it mildly entertaining early on and thought Olsen did her best with what she had to work with.

Rating - 2/5

Gotta give props to that Polaroid scene though. Easily the best thing in that movie.

[Steve46]

Getting near the end of my 100 movies series:

78. Revanche (2008)
Crime, Drama, Romance, 121 minutes, German Language
Directed by Gotz Spielmann
Starring Johannes Krisch, Irina Potapenko, Ursula Strauss and Andreas Lust



Alex (Krisch) works as a bouncer in Vienna and does odd jobs for the owner of a brothel. His Ukrainian girlfriend, Tamara (Potapenko), works there as a prostitute. She is 30,000 dollars in debt and he needs 50,000 euros to buy a share in a nightclub. Alex has a plan to solve their problems.

He decides to rob a local bank. It's in a quiet little town and he's figured out a good escape route. In his mind, nothing can go wrong. Tamara has a bad feeling about it and insists on coming along. Rather predictably, something does go wrong.

After a policeman, Robert (Lust), intervenes, Alex is forced to flee to the countryside and stay with his grandfather on a farm. He was wearing a mask during the robbery, so nobody knows that he was responsible. He hides out and works out his fear and anger by chopping wood for his grandfather's fire.

A neighbor, Susanne (Strauss), occasionally stops by to check on his grandfather. She's friendly, but Alex wants to avoid her as much as possible. We later discover that she's the wife of the police officer who tried to foil the robbery.

Alex, Robert and Susanne all have difficult problems to face. Alex wants to avoid being caught for his crime and faces another dilemma that I won't mention; Robert is struggling with the way he performed when he tried to stop the robbery, while Susanne's deepest wish can't be fulfilled by her husband.

It's a fascinating story, but I am reluctant to give away any more details. All I will say is that the climax offers a number of interesting solutions to each of the problems. The needs of the individuals are satisfied in unexpected ways that aren't always ethical or legal, but it's not hard to imagine acting in the same way if you were placed in any of their situations.

The film is set in Vienna and the language is predominantly German, although there is a little Russian in the first act.

Spielmann effectively creates tension and it slowly builds throughout the story. Dialogue is kept to a minimum and that decision feels right in this particular film. There's very little action, and it plays out like a tense drama. The film is beautifully shot and the scenes in the countryside look spectacular. The peaceful setting is in stark contrast to the emotional turmoil faced by the characters involved.

I like to be surprised and find it boring when I can predict the outcome early in a film. Revanche certainly isn't predictable and I think you'll find the conclusion rather elegant.

It's difficult to explain why Revanche is a great film without giving away key plot points. I hope that you will give it a try and trust that it's worth two hours of your time. It's even better on subsequent viewings when you have clearly fixed each character and their secrets in your mind.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers wonderful audio and visual quality and is the best way to see the film unless it's being shown at a local theater for some reason.

If you like Revanche:

The Lives of Others was mentioned earlier in this 100 movies series. It's my favorite German language film and deserves to be seen. Like Revanche, its characters are complex and make some surprising choices.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by jvince

Gotta give props to that Polaroid scene though. Easily the best thing in that movie.

That was a pretty good idea...was that also in the original?

[SquidPuppet]

Melancholia

I could get carpal tunnel syndrome typing all the things I didnt like in this movie. So I wont.

Film 2/5

PQ and AQ were fantastic.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Melancholia

I could get carpal tunnel syndrome typing all the things I didnt like in this movie. So I wont.

Film 2/5

PQ and AQ were fantastic.

Right on!

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Diesel

That was a pretty good idea...was that also in the original?

Probably. I haven't seen the original yet and I don't intend to if it's the same.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Right on!

So p!ssed actually. I was really looking forward to it, for a loooooong time.

[Show spoiler]Mom, Dad and Sister are all British, but not Justine.

How could anyone be close enough to Justine to want to marry her, yet NOT know she was mentally unstable? FAKE

Jack Bauer offs himself?

His wife covers him with hay?

The dialogue was ridiculously fake as hell. Totally wooden phrasing.

All the car batteries were toast from the interference caused by Melancholia (scientifically possible) but the golf cart battey is fine? And then she doesnt bother using a horse.

Onion soup AFTER wedding cake? What? And who eats wedding cake at 11:30PM?

Whay was that Boss trying to get her to create a tagline during her wedding? Did that even have anything to do with the story?

And what did the wedding have to do with the end of the world? If it was supposed to be connected, Von Trier dropped the ball there.

Wrong movie for handheld camera.

Nice score choice.

More.....more.......and much much more......