3 Minute Instant Review

[carpaltonnel]

This thread is your go to thread for The 3 Minute Instant Review. If you ever want to hear about what members have recently watched just check in and it will go a little something like this:

Late Sunday Night, watched "Closer" Starring Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Julia Roberts, and Clive Owen. This is my second time watching this film, the first was at the cinema. At first what attracted me to this film was the cast, Natalie Portman in particular. I won't dig to deep into the story line because I do believe that less is more when reads or listening to a review. What I will tell you is that this is a movie about four lost souls which all have one thing in common the need to be loved and adored. The story is honest and real, you will see your self in at least one of these amazing character pieces. I would give this film 3.5 out 5 because it is graphic and "dirty" which I don't mind at all but some might. Not so much graphic in the sense of what you see as much as in what your hear. ADULTS ONLY

[carpaltonnel]

Lets here it people, what did everyone watch last night?

[FRAK]

Originally Posted by carpaltonnel

Lets here it people, what did everyone watch last night?

Last night my wife and I popped in "V for Vendetta." (We've seen it before but not on BD.) I'm at work, so I don't really have time to type up a "3-minute review"... but I will say we love this flick. Beautifully shot, great dialogue, great acting (especially from Hugo Weaving, BEHIND A MASK the entire movie!) And PQ and AQ was amazing.

[carpaltonnel]

Originally Posted by FRAK

Last night my wife and I popped in "V for Vendetta." (We've seen it before but not on BD.) I'm at work, so I don't really have time to type up a "3-minute review"... but I will say we love this flick. Beautifully shot, great dialogue, great acting (especially from Hugo Weaving, BEHIND A MASK the entire movie!) And PQ and AQ was amazing.

Thanks for breaking the ice on this thread! Understandably, most of us might not have the time to write an indept review...just tell us what you seen last and if you liked it or hated it, THANKS!

[uziel5000]

Well, I actually saw several movies Yesterday so ...

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

I'm revisiting these movies because I bought them on Blu my wife hadn't seen the first one and asked me to watch them in succesion. Yesterday was Dead Man's Chest turn.(They look amazing on Blu by the way)

While the last two films are entertaining and fun, I think the first one has a charm that was never replicated. The second one has one thing that makes it stand out from the others though: The introduction of Davey Jones to the Trilogy. Easily one of the most memorable characters of the series. Through Jones we get the overall feel of the film which seems to be the darkest of the three. (The second one always seems to be apparently)


Black Hawk Down

I used to see this film all the time on DVD and it is simply stunning on Blu. The film is basically one, long battle scene. Once the Rangers/Deltas land on the scene, the film never lets up. 90 minutes into the film you are exhausted but thats the point: To feel the weariness of these soldiers as the mission goes from a 30 minute operation to a 14 hour disaster. The film is not perfect. The many characters make it hard for the audience to go deeper into any particular one for example. But this is easily one of the most important and relevant war films in the last 15 years.

Sleepy Hollow

I saw this on cable. Man! Does Tim Burton know how to tell a story visually. I love to see his films because more than just developing story and characters, he creates worlds. Seeing this film after not watching it for a while was a real eye opener. I never noticed it for some reason but it has on heck of a cast. The atmosphere is darker than the usual l Burton fare but it's all him. The trees in particular remind me so much of his other works(Batman Returns, Beetlejuice). This film I feel is often overlooked when talking about Burton, which is a shame because it is really good.

A little longer than 3 minutes but its three films. LOL

[P@t_Mtl]

Yesterday I was watching Heroes Season 3 Disc 3, only 2 episodes on that one.

Tonight I got Batman The Movie on BD in store

[PH3AR]

Originally Posted by carpaltonnel

Lets here it people, what did everyone watch last night?

Zulu

This 1964 movie looked sooo good on blu, It is a great movie that can be enjoyed for many generations, the story is about 100 British soldiers fighting off 4,000 Zulus in Africa in 1867, great actors such as a VERY young Michael Cain, Stanley Baker, and Ulla Jacobsson. An action packed movie filled with plenty of shooting, stabing, and singing(yes i said singing).

[silversnake]

Can't hardly wait... I hadn't seen that movie in so long. I remember why now lol. It's not bad, and it's definitely better than most of the high school comedies out there but not very good. Seth Green was terrible and I remember thinking this movie was hilarious when I was young. The only positive is a young Jennifer love hewitt.

Solid PQ and AQ otherwise.

[carpaltonnel]

Originally Posted by uziel5000

Well, I actually saw several movies Yesterday so ...

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

I'm revisiting these movies because I bought them on Blu my wife hadn't seen the first one and asked me to watch them in succesion. Yesterday was Dead Man's Chest turn.(They look amazing on Blu by the way)

While the last two films are entertaining and fun, I think the first one has a charm that was never replicated. The second one has one thing that makes it stand out from the others though: The introduction of Davey Jones to the Trilogy. Easily one of the most memorable characters of the series. Through Jones we get the overall feel of the film which seems to be the darkest of the three. (The second one always seems to be apparently)


Black Hawk Down

I used to see this film all the time on DVD and it is simply stunning on Blu. The film is basically one, long battle scene. Once the Rangers/Deltas land on the scene, the film never lets up. 90 minutes into the film you are exhausted but thats the point: To feel the weariness of these soldiers as the mission goes from a 30 minute operation to a 14 hour disaster. The film is not perfect. The many characters make it hard for the audience to go deeper into any particular one for example. But this is easily one of the most important and relevant war films in the last 15 years.

Sleepy Hollow

I saw this on cable. Man! Does Tim Burton know how to tell a story visually. I love to see his films because more than just developing story and characters, he creates worlds. Seeing this film after not watching it for a while was a real eye opener. I never noticed it for some reason but it has on heck of a cast. The atmosphere is darker than the usual l Burton fare but it's all him. The trees in particular remind me so much of his other works(Batman Returns, Beetlejuice). This film I feel is often overlooked when talking about Burton, which is a shame because it is really good.

A little longer than 3 minutes but its three films. LOL

Busy guy! Love the reviews!

[kpkelley]

Gran Torino(In Theatres) - There is a lot of hype going around about this movie and particularly Eastwood's performance. When the movie started Eastwood is playing a charicature of his previous characters glaring at the screen while standing next to his wifes coffin at the front of a church. This first scene is quite comic in it's overt attempt to make him out to be a stubborn old man, but only succeeds in making him out to seem like a mean old man devoid of any affection for anyone including his own recently deceased wife. Thankfully Eastwood soon backs off of this enough to give the character some depth in how he deals with his family, friends and neighbors. Throughout the rest of the movie his performance is terrific and vintage Eastwood. The only other negative thing I can say about this movie is the performance from the young boy next door, he's just awful at times. It's quite obvious that he is being given a lot of advice on how the scenes should play out and has absolutly no idea how to utilize that advice. Those negative things aside the movie is an entertaining and thoughtful look at inner city violence and how one neighborhood tries to overcome the gangs attempting to strangle it.

[toef]

I'll add a twist, and make these my 3 second reviews.

Millions (2004, directed by Danny Boyle), kid finds money, has to do something with it, lots of cool editing/some cartoonish cgi'ish stuff added into some scenes, seemed preachy at times, but a good movie

A Man For All Seasons (1966, starring Orson Welles, Paul Scofield, and some other people), this movie is great.

[carpaltonnel]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

Gran Torino(In Theatres) - There is a lot of hype going around about this movie and particularly Eastwood's performance. When the movie started Eastwood is playing a charicature of his previous characters glaring at the screen while standing next to his wifes coffin at the front of a church. This first scene is quite comic in it's overt attempt to make him out to be a stubborn old man, but only succeeds in making him out to seem like a mean old man devoid of any affection for anyone including his own recently deceased wife. Thankfully Eastwood soon backs off of this enough to give the character some depth in how he deals with his family, friends and neighbors. Throughout the rest of the movie his performance is terrific and vintage Eastwood. The only other negative thing I can say about this movie is the performance from the young boy next door, he's just awful at times. It's quite obvious that he is being given a lot of advice on how the scenes should play out and has absolutly no idea how to utilize that advice. Those negative things aside the movie is an entertaining and thoughtful look at inner city violence and how one neighborhood tries to overcome the gangs attempting to strangle it.

Thanks for your review, makes me want to see this even more!

[aygie]

Last night i watched Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In).

A Swedish made film about....someone who lives on blood.

Absolutely fantastic vampire movie. Not blood and guts (it is present though) but character, acting and surroundings.

I don't want to say anymore apart from WATCH IT.

[carpaltonnel]

Originally Posted by Aygie

Last night i watched Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In).

A Swedish made film about....someone who lives on blood.

Absolutely fantastic vampire movie. Not blood and guts (it is present though) but character, acting and surroundings.

I don't want to say anymore apart from WATCH IT.

Thanks dude/dudette Love a good vampire flick!

[Rob J in WNY]

Over the weekend, we watched two movies on Blu-ray.

Baraka (1992/97 minutes): In essence, an hour-and-a-half of some of the most amazing and thought-provoking videography I have ever seen on my theater - you will feel the same. No plot, and practically no dialogue, this movie takes you deeply and emotionally into a journey covering 24 countries around the globe, leaving you in deep thought about the beauty and tragedy of the world. Tranferred from 70mm film via 8K scanning and painstakingly restored, your TV will dazzle you. Beautiful and cerebral music accompanies the multitudinous snippets of video, encoded in lossless 5.1-channel DTS HD-Master Audio. A must-have BD for any videophile and appreciator of world culture.

Enter The Dragon (1973/102 minutes): This cult classic of the Kung Fu genre is the last complete film starring the iconic Bruce Lee before his untimely death, which occurred shortly after filming was completed. Restored decently, its video quality is a far cry from reference, but is decent, bettering SD-quality by a notch or two. Standard 5.1-channel Dolby Digital audio is lackluster, and most of the audio is monaural, and will emanate from your center channel speaker. However, given the age of the film, this is understandable. Basically, Bruce Lee is commissioned to stop a secret opium production operation on mysterious "Han Island." Although the action is paced evenly enough, we have seen too many films where displays of the martial arts have been done far more exquisitely. That said, I enjoy owning this BD based on its significance with Bruce Lee and Kung Fu in general. The many movie trailers and TV spots in the BD extras will either take you back to 1973, and/or make you chuckle a bit. Movies and promotion have come a long way since 35 years ago.

[carpaltonnel]

Originally Posted by Rob J in WNY

Over the weekend, we watched two movies on Blu-ray.

Baraka (1992/97 minutes): In essence, an hour-and-a-half of some of the most amazing and thought-provoking videography I have ever seen on my theater - you will feel the same. No plot, and practically no dialogue, this movie takes you deeply and emotionally into a journey covering 24 countries around the globe, leaving you in deep thought about the beauty and tragedy of the world. Tranferred from 70mm film via 8K scanning and painstakingly restored, your TV will dazzle you. Beautiful and cerebral music accompanies the multitudinous snippets of video, encoded in lossless 5.1-channel DTS HD-Master Audio. A must-have BD for any videophile and appreciator of world culture.

Enter The Dragon (1973/102 minutes): This cult classic of the Kung Fu genre is the last complete film starring the iconic Bruce Lee before his untimely death, which occurred shortly after filming was completed. Restored decently, its video quality is a far cry from reference, but is decent, bettering SD-quality by a notch or two. Standard 5.1-channel Dolby Digital audio is lackluster, and most of the audio is monaural, and will emanate from your center channel speaker. However, given the age of the film, this is understandable. Basically, Bruce Lee is commissioned to stop a secret opium production operation on mysterious "Han Island." Although the action is paced evenly enough, we have seen too many films where displays of the martial arts have been done far more exquisitely. That said, I enjoy owning this BD based on its significance with Bruce Lee and Kung Fu in general. The many movie trailers and TV spots in the BD extras will either take you back to 1973, and/or make you chuckle a bit. Movies and promotion have come a long way since 35 years ago.

Thanks for the first pick review, I heard it is a "you have to see this" film!

[aygie]

Originally Posted by carpaltonnel

Thanks dude/dudette Love a good vampire flick!

Its dude.

[carpaltonnel]

So any new movies to report from recent viewings? Looking for more add on's for my Netflix Queue. Thanks

[kpkelley]

Body of Lies - Leonardo Dicaprio and Russel Crowe star in this Ridley Scott thriller about an intelligence operative in the Middle East. The performances thoughout are strong and the story is interesting. It is very much an intellectual spy thriller ala Spy Games. I generally enjoyed the movie, but thought that the romantic sub-plot was not fleshed out as well as it needed to be and that the tension level never seemed to reach the heights necessary for the audience to be fearful of what could happen next. I actually enjoyed the Don Cheadle spy film Traitor more because of it's greater suspense and more intense action sequences. 3.5/5

[carpaltonnel]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

Body of Lies - Leonardo Dicaprio and Russel Crowe star in this Ridley Scott thriller about an intelligence operative in the Middle East. The performances thoughout are strong and the story is interesting. It is very much an intellectual spy thriller ala Spy Games. I generally enjoyed the movie, but thought that the romantic sub-plot was not fleshed out as well as it needed to be and that the tension level never seemed to reach the heights necessary for the audience to be fearful of what could happen next. I actually enjoyed the Don Cheadle spy film Traitor more because of it's greater suspense and more intense action sequences. 3.5/5

Thank you kpkelley, Body of Lies is third in my Netflix Queue sounds pretty good to me!