The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Denoku]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i thought it was called "Facts" when i first looked at the review

Nice!


I've been slacking on the movie watching lately. I've been spending most of my time watching "Chuck". I may watch "The Fountain" though tonight

[KilloWertz]

Wow, I don't come in here at all today until now and I can't even count how many pages of posts there are. I can't keep up anymore.

[iam1bearcat]

Babel

i thought looking up what the word "Babel" meant might help me understand the story and its meanings a little bit better. to be honest it did. it kind of confused me more. so i'm gonna go ahead and state that the title really has no deep meaning to the film. maybe i'm wrong, but i didn't find any

anyway, on to the movie

first and foremost, Babel covers four different stories throughout its 2+ hour run time. i was also bamboozled and thrown a "Inglourious Basterds" marketing trick because, just like that film, Brad Pitt is in the film, but he's maybe on screen for about 30 minutes total! i was not expecting that. hell, i didn't even know the film covered four different stories, i thought it was just one. little did i know so to those who haven't seen it and expect to see Brad Pitt for 2 hours, that's not this film.

to put kind of simply, this is how my feelings / thoughts on the film went:

- "oh it's gonna be one of those films where i really hate these people who are gonna be the villains"
- "who are these people? how does this connect?"
- "i'm enjoying this, but this will probably be a film i only watch once, or very, very limited times, and not again for awhile"
- "this is really starting to pick up..."
- "this is tremendous. while i'm watching 1 of the 4 stories, i completely forget about the other stories. once they suddenly back to them i'm like, 'oh yeah, these people are still here' but i completely forget about them. i'm completely sucked in to what's happening right NOW"
- "i'm on the edge of my seat this is tense"
- "i really like this film, it's terrific on a lot of levels, but feels a bit long"
- "hmm... interesting ending"

i actually found a lot of similarities between Babel and Walkabout. i don't know exactly what the message of the film was, but for awhile i kind of felt that it was

[Show spoiler]how simple mis-communications can make you suddenly feel very alone and very distant from everything. and the similarities between three of the 4 stories made sense.

- Richard and Susan Jones being stuck in Morocco after she's been shot. they can't communicate much with the townspeople and they seem very distant from each other.

- this connects with Chieko, who is deaf. even though she is in her own country and with friends and knows the culture, because she is deaf she feels like an outsider and cannot communicate as simply as the others. much like Richard and Susan feel like outsiders where they are.

- and then there are the Jones' kids who go to a wedding in Mexico. they don't know the culture and experiences that Mexican kids have, and this is clearly evident when the man kills the kitchen: the American kids are frightened (as was i) and the Mexican children cheer joyfully because they're used to it.

- i'm not sure if the other set of kids with the rifle have this same connection or not... maybe it just wasn't as obvious?

and thus, why i see similarities to Walkabout. of course other films have this theme as well, but Walkabout is the most recent that Babel reminds me of on this level.

there were some very hard scenes for me to watch in Babel, which would make this a hard film to watch again. so i am glad i rented and didn't buy it because it would definitely sit on my shelf for months at a time before viewing again (if ever).

does that mean it's a bad film? of course not. it's a great film! the directing is top notch, the performances are some of the best i've seen yet, and the story is powerful... although i admit, i don't know if i got the full / main message behind the film . i'd greatly appreciate it that if i was wrong with what i thought it was, if someone could clue me in

i could go on and on with the little details of the film that i loved and how i was floored when i figured out that the stories kind of overlapped, and

[Show spoiler]Chieko's story was "last" i believe right? because when she goes home first we see the news report that shows the little boys face as the shooter. but didn't they say the female American died? but Susan lived? unless i heard wrong

, and while it was structured in a tricky manner, and i thought they gave some details away at the wrong time, i was really invested in the film.

the two remaining things i felt about the film were: 1) i thought the film was too long and ended long after i thought it was going to. once all 4 stories

[Show spoiler]were really at their max for tension and suspense, i assumed the end was soon, but it continued on for a good 45 minutes.

and 2) what was the meaning behind

[Show spoiler]Chieko's mother's death? did she kill her? she lies to the cop about how she died and when she's talking to her friend she says something cryptic about how the police "are still bothering us" and "thinking it's her dad".

i didn't really see how that tied in with the rest of the story, but i didn't really feel it needed to.

a great recommendation by Surf and Djmethod and i'm glad i watched it.
i'd definitely recommend it to everyone, but wouldn't necessarily say "blind buy" because of its subject matter and how often you might rewatch it.

4.5/5

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Dark Moses

Nice!


I've been slacking on the movie watching lately. I've been spending most of my time watching "Chuck". I may watch "The Fountain" though tonight

DO IT!!!!

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Click

i clicked that button about 6,000 times and bookmarked the site instantly

[Marcus Wright]

Tajna Fermi Messe.

A story starring the greatest France actor ever Jean Gaben.
It won oscar for best foreign picture in 1970s. It is considered also the most realistic movie analyzing how a right family should be and how a right man deals with conflict. His character is absolutely simple but brilliant at the same time.

5/5

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Watchmen: The Director's Cut

i can't believe i just spent 179 minutes on this

[Show spoiler]i could've watched The Fountain two more times during that span! and definitely should have.

i didn't hate the film, even thought those opening sentences sure make it seem like i did. but i just found it very uneven in almost every aspect:

some scenes i loved. some scenes i found boring, drawn out and uninteresting.
some characters i loved (Dr. Manhattan, which may be the coolest comic character i've yet to learn about ) and some characters i didn't care at all for (Adrian / Ozymandias).
some songs chosen i thought were perfect. and some songs seemed incredibly out of place and didn't fit the mood.

i didn't read the comics / books so i have no idea how close / real / great the adaptation is compared to those things. the acting by the cast i didn't have an issue with and while i liked most of Snyder's directing, i really felt he was trying to over-do it here. there was way too much flash and not nearly enough substance. i didn't like that.

visually it looks great on blu and i'd give it a 5/5 easy. no complaints.
sound wise, i found it to be kind of a pain in the ass. with the gf sleeping, i had to keep adjusting the volume because some characters talk so quietly and then BAM! something gets shot or smashed over here and then suddenly... back to quiet. quite aggravating. but i guess that's just because someone was sleeping. but dialogue still seemed low to me at times. 4.5/5

i really liked the first 90-120 minutes. the atmosphere was great. but after that 2 hour mark, the atmosphere really felt like it fell apart and the whole movie kind of changed. the pace was still as slow as a snail smothered in crazy glue slugging its way over freshly paved black top that hasn't dried yet, but the world in Watchmen suddenly didn't feel as dark and grimy as it started out with.

i also wasn't a big fan of the ending.
it definitely was a let down and i was left about the entire film once it was (finally) over.

i'll probably never revisit this again, and glad i rented and didn't blind buy.
i'm not a big comic book / superhero fan to begin with, but i went in with an open mind, and i was interested in the world and story and loved how unique and frightening it started, but was way too long and deflated as it continued on.

3.5/5

BOOOO. Bro this is the realest superhero movie ever. Minus Dr. Manhattan these guys are flawed. I loved every second of this movie. Of course its not SPIDER MAN so people are turned off about it. This flick's characters and overall direction took me somewhere else.

FLAWED SUPERHEROS YOU GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!!!

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

BOOOO. Bro this is the realest superhero movie ever. Minus Dr. Manhattan these guys are flawed. I loved every second of this movie. Of course its not SPIDER MAN so people are turned off about it. This flick's characters and overall direction took me somewhere else.

FLAWED SUPERHEROS YOU GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!!!

I love Watchmen as well, but it is definitely not for everyone, so I'll cut him some slack.

[Marcus Wright]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

BOOOO. Bro this is the realest superhero movie ever. Minus Dr. Manhattan these guys are flawed. I loved every second of this movie. Of course its not SPIDER MAN so people are turned off about it. This flick's characters and overall direction took me somewhere else.

FLAWED SUPERHEROS YOU GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!!!

+1.

Never heard of watchmen before i saw that movie and I still consider it one of the best overall movies ever made.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i haven't seen Sound of Music in a very long time, but i don't believe it has the following:

1) large explosions!
2) Harrison Ford!
3) CGI!
4) swearing!
5) nudity!
6) people breaking s***!
7) shaky cam and / or quick cuts!
8) a crappy sequel!
9) made within the last 30 years!

and those are all requirements for the imdb top 250

HAHAHAHA I love people that slam on the top 250. Hey just to let you know Fight Club is in that list. So what are you trying to say about your favorite movie...............

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]Cars was good, but they shouldnt drive so fast. Its dangerous.

A Bugs Life was good, but the Grasshoppers should have eaten all the bugs.

Monsters, inc. was good, but they were too nice. They should have eaten Boo.

TS2 was good, but they should have gotten squished when they crossed the road.

TS1 was good, but Sid should have ripped the arms off of all the toys.

Ratatouille was good, but the rats should have pooped in the food.

The Incredibles was good, but they should have drown at the island.

Finding Nemo was good, but Nemo should have drown at the dentist office and his dad should be eaten by fishermen.

Wall-E was good, but he should have been crushed in the compacter while Eve was forced to watch. And the Humans should have died of starvation and never returned to Earth.

Up was OK, but Carl should die at the end, I mean he's old, right? And Alpha should have eaten Dug, Kevin and Russel. And Muntz should be President of the USA.

Pixar just keeps missing the mark. They are trying hard, and Gandolf and I give them credit for that. But they just cant seem to get it JUST RIGHT.

HAHAHAHAHAH Do we always need to have a depressing ending lol.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Watchmen is a thinking movie and although both Watchmen and V for Vendetta conveyed Alan Moore's philosophies well (V more so), the way it was marketed and executed (like a superhero blockbuster) turned a lot of people off. I'm a fan but admit that if I started with the movie I might not have been.

V for Vendetta is AWESOME another cool flick!

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i'm a big fan of Natalie Portman and V for Vendetta. much more so than Watchmen.
i think V is a highly underrated film.

Its not underrated. Its in IMDb top 250.

Seriously there isnt a garbage film on that list. You might not agree with the ranking system but none of the films are bad. Its actually a good reference tool for blind buying movies. IMO.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I finally watched “Cronos,” the one part of the UK Guillermo Del Toro BD box set that I haven’t seen yet.

[Show spoiler]It turned out to be quite interesting. I found the story fairly engaging, with an excellent group of decently-developed characters. The mythos of the story wasn’t as involved as I initially expected, but it is a fresh and original premise, and the details of it are unveiled as the story progresses and with the visuals (ohhhh,

[Show spoiler]the guy becomes a vampire!

).

Cinematography is solid, acting is great (I think Ron Perlman is especially noteworthy in this film), writing is good, and the music is splendid. I think it’s a wonderful story and a wonderful film.

4/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 4/5, film: 4/5)

This Blu-Ray is the product of a 400 year old alchemist’s experiment. No, it actually looks adequately sharp and detailed with solid color and contrast. Close inspection may reveal some softness. Grain is prevalent, especially in darker scenes. And there are quite a bit of specks all over the image. If it was any cleaner, I’d say it’d be darn near perfect (I’m wondering if Criteron will make it so… ). Sound quality was not bad, but I think some of the voices were subdued and drowned out by the music.

PQ: 4/5, AQ: 4/5

I also popped in the other two movies for a quick quality control check. “Pan’s Labyrinth” would be an easy 4.5/5; a bit grainy with a few noisy spots and some dark spots, but it’s certainly not DNRed. “The Devil’s Backbone” looks swell too, with maybe some specks and grain, but would be somewhere over 4/5.

This collection is Region-B locked.

I cant wait for this. After seeing Pan's Labyrinth ill watch anything this dude makes.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Babel

[Show spoiler]i thought looking up what the word "Babel" meant might help me understand the story and its meanings a little bit better. to be honest it did. it kind of confused me more. so i'm gonna go ahead and state that the title really has no deep meaning to the film. maybe i'm wrong, but i didn't find any

anyway, on to the movie

first and foremost, Babel covers four different stories throughout its 2+ hour run time. i was also bamboozled and thrown a "Inglourious Basterds" marketing trick because, just like that film, Brad Pitt is in the film, but he's maybe on screen for about 30 minutes total! i was not expecting that. hell, i didn't even know the film covered four different stories, i thought it was just one. little did i know so to those who haven't seen it and expect to see Brad Pitt for 2 hours, that's not this film.

to put kind of simply, this is how my feelings / thoughts on the film went:

- "oh it's gonna be one of those films where i really hate these people who are gonna be the villains"
- "who are these people? how does this connect?"
- "i'm enjoying this, but this will probably be a film i only watch once, or very, very limited times, and not again for awhile"
- "this is really starting to pick up..."
- "this is tremendous. while i'm watching 1 of the 4 stories, i completely forget about the other stories. once they suddenly back to them i'm like, 'oh yeah, these people are still here' but i completely forget about them. i'm completely sucked in to what's happening right NOW"
- "i'm on the edge of my seat this is tense"
- "i really like this film, it's terrific on a lot of levels, but feels a bit long"
- "hmm... interesting ending"

i actually found a lot of similarities between Babel and Walkabout. i don't know exactly what the message of the film was, but for awhile i kind of felt that it was

[Show spoiler]how simple mis-communications can make you suddenly feel very alone and very distant from everything. and the similarities between three of the 4 stories made sense.

- Richard and Susan Jones being stuck in Morocco after she's been shot. they can't communicate much with the townspeople and they seem very distant from each other.

- this connects with Chieko, who is deaf. even though she is in her own country and with friends and knows the culture, because she is deaf she feels like an outsider and cannot communicate as simply as the others. much like Richard and Susan feel like outsiders where they are.

- and then there are the Jones' kids who go to a wedding in Mexico. they don't know the culture and experiences that Mexican kids have, and this is clearly evident when the man kills the kitchen: the American kids are frightened (as was i) and the Mexican children cheer joyfully because they're used to it.

- i'm not sure if the other set of kids with the rifle have this same connection or not... maybe it just wasn't as obvious?

and thus, why i see similarities to Walkabout. of course other films have this theme as well, but Walkabout is the most recent that Babel reminds me of on this level.

there were some very hard scenes for me to watch in Babel, which would make this a hard film to watch again. so i am glad i rented and didn't buy it because it would definitely sit on my shelf for months at a time before viewing again (if ever).

does that mean it's a bad film? of course not. it's a great film! the directing is top notch, the performances are some of the best i've seen yet, and the story is powerful... although i admit, i don't know if i got the full / main message behind the film . i'd greatly appreciate it that if i was wrong with what i thought it was, if someone could clue me in

i could go on and on with the little details of the film that i loved and how i was floored when i figured out that the stories kind of overlapped, and

[Show spoiler]Chieko's story was "last" i believe right? because when she goes home first we see the news report that shows the little boys face as the shooter. but didn't they say the female American died? but Susan lived? unless i heard wrong

, and while it was structured in a tricky manner, and i thought they gave some details away at the wrong time, i was really invested in the film.

the two remaining things i felt about the film were: 1) i thought the film was too long and ended long after i thought it was going to. once all 4 stories

[Show spoiler]were really at their max for tension and suspense, i assumed the end was soon, but it continued on for a good 45 minutes.

and 2) what was the meaning behind

[Show spoiler]Chieko's mother's death? did she kill her? she lies to the cop about how she died and when she's talking to her friend she says something cryptic about how the police "are still bothering us" and "thinking it's her dad".

i didn't really see how that tied in with the rest of the story, but i didn't really feel it needed to.

a great recommendation by Surf and Djmethod and i'm glad i watched it.
i'd definitely recommend it to everyone, but wouldn't necessarily say "blind buy" because of its subject matter and how often you might rewatch it.

4.5/5

Finally you get something right Babel is a great movie i just wish Pitt had more face time. He's my favorite actor (Not because i think he's the best. I just like how cool he is.)

[lDlisturb3d]

Picked up
Kagemusha
Breathless
400 Blows

That ends my Criterion Crave.

I almost own their whole Blu Ray collection now

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Its not underrated. Its in IMDb top 250.

Seriously there isnt a garbage film on that list. You might not agree with the ranking system but none of the films are bad. Its actually a good reference tool for blind buying movies. IMO.

I've spent about 40 minutes total in my life on imdb. And about 15 of those minutes looking at their Top 250 list. I have no interest in what's on that list or what silly number a film is assigned. I understand if people want to look at it to discover new films, but imo, that list means absolutely nothing. Are there classics, greats and unknown gems on the list? Of course. But there's probably also dozens I have zero interest in. And I wouldn't blind buy something just because imdb has it on their top 250 list. If I'm not interested in it, an internet list isn't gonna change it.

[Marcus Wright]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

I've spent about 40 minutes total in my life on imdb. And about 15 of those minutes looking at their Top 250 list. I have no interest in what's on that list or what silly number a film is assigned. I understand if people want to look at it to discover new films, but imo, that list means absolutely nothing. Are there classics, greats and unknown gems on the list? Of course. But there's probably also dozens I have zero interest in. And I wouldn't blind buy something just because imdb has it on their top 250 list. If I'm not interested in it, an internet list isn't gonna change it.

IMDB is a much better indication of what movies are than nothing at all.

[lDlisturb3d]

Clint Spree

The Man with No Name Trilogy

A Fistful of Dollars

Director: Sergio Leone
Writer: A. Bonzzoni and Víctor Andrés Catena (Akira Kurosawa?????)
Mains: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonté and Marianne Koch

Ok this review is gonna be real fast. Word for Word line for line exact replica of Yojimbo but instead of Samurai's you have Cowboys.

The End.... Seriously if you liked Yojimbo you will like this as-well. It's not a rip off its more of appreciation flick.

4/5

For a Few Dollars More

4.5/5

The Good The Bad and the Ugly

Best Western i've seen so far. I loved it!!!

5/5

Overall this is a GREAT buy. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for you Western Lovers.......



Dirty Harry

This make Clint the Ultimate bad azz. Good movie that had allot of influence on the movie Die Hard 3 .

4/5

The End

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wright

IMDB is a much better indication of what movies are than nothing at all.

Yep. I listen to you guys recommend movies all the time. Me going to IMDb is exactly the same thing. Im seeing what people like, if i want something more difficult i go to Rotten Tomatoes and listen to the Critics. And yet i've never came across i movie that was 80% or higher and it was trash. but TO EACH ITS OWN. That wasnt directed to you buddy )