The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[CoolRanch]

Originally Posted by jvince

The Thing (1982)
dir. John Carpenter

The Good: Carpenter's masterful direction, Rob Bottin and Stan Winston's astounding special effects, Dean Cundey's stunning cinematography, Morricone's unnerving score, Kurt Russell, the cast, the story, the dialogue, the atmosphere, the pacing, the suspense, the gore, the opening, the kennel scene, the spider-head sequence, the blood test, the ending, the infinite replay value... Everything.

The Bad: Nothing.

The Bottom Line: Critics back then must have had shit for brains for panning this creature feature masterpiece. Sci-fi horror doesn't get any better than this. Essential viewing.

My all-time favorite horror film

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Gearing up for that Bad Grandpa movie?

It actually does look funny.

Nah, I just saw it on TV, and I felt like watching something stupid anyway.

Bad Grandpa does look kinda funny though, but I'm not sure if I'll go see it at the theater.

Originally Posted by CoolRanch

My all-time favorite horror film

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Ironic distancing?

I always through it was only different to the comic because they were written both at the same time as being produced (and some of the stuff in the comic really sucks tonally)

I guess I mean ironic distance toward the genre. TOO MUCH WINKING

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I guess I mean ironic distance toward the genre. TOO MUCH WINKING

Ah right.

I love Kick-Ass, but it has it down falls I've had to look past, like some of the dated lines and the gay subplot (which ain't too bad in regards to the film as a whole, put it does slow it down).

But it still remains to be one of the best cinema going experiences I've ever had.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jvince

Jackass: The Movie (2002)
dir. Jeff Tremaine

The Good: The intro. Golf cart antics. The big cone. Ass kicked by girl. Night pandas. April's alligator. Bam's dad on the toilet. BMX tug-of-war. Golf course air horn. Butt x-ray.

The Bad: More misses than hits. The grossest and most juvenile of the three films.

The Bottom Line: The sequels are better than this. It's just amazing how after 25 episodes, three movies, and countless insane stunts, none of them died during filming.

Air horns on golf course FTW. LOL

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by CoolRanch

Barton Fink

My Two Cents
The Coen Bros. never cease to amaze me with their genre-defying film about a screenwriter with writer's block, Barton Fink. What could be one of the best scripts I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing, Barton Fink manages to be charming, humorous, and even disturbing all in the same film! My one concern is that I'm not too sure the movie stuck the landing.

[Show spoiler]I'm all for symbolism and allowing the audience to interpret the film for themselves, but the ending of Barton Fink just seems meaningless I even researched it online and not even the Coens, who wrote the script, were able to interpret its meaning. Maybe it's just me, but it just seems like symbolism for symbolism's sake (symbolism without meaning if that makes any sense)

Regardless of its shaky end, Barton Fink contains Oscar-deserving performances from each of its cast members, especially to John Turturro who gives a tour-de-force performance as the titular character. Amazingly, the only other movie that I've seen this guy in is Transformers Why is an actor with such ability acting in movies like Transformers and You Don't Mess with the Zohan when he could be doing so much more? But I digress. Barton Fink is another masterpiece in the Coens' repertoire, and as an aspiring screenwriter, it has a special meaning to me. It will find a home in my collection as soon as it is available. 9/10

Correct.

[SquidPuppet]

Despicable Me (original)

Previous review stands at 4/5, although I think I enjoyed it a wee bit more this time. Seemed more fluid. Great voice work and you just cant help but love the ever mischevious Minions.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Despicable Me (original)

Previous review stands at 4/5, although I think I enjoyed it a wee bit more this time. Seemed more fluid. Great voice work and you just cant help but love the ever mischevious Minions.

Have you seen the second one?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Have you seen the second one?

Not yet, but I intend to.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Not yet, but I intend to.

It's good, although Kristen Wigg's character is pretty tough to sit through, she's just rather bad at voice acting.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Foggy

It's good, although Kristen Wigg's character is pretty tough to sit through, she's just rather bad at voice acting.

Really? I thought she was one of the standout performaces of the first, with that crazy Southern accent. Is it different in #2?

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Really? I thought she was one of the standout performaces of the first, with that crazy Southern accent. Is it different in #2?

She has a character that has no focus, she's everything required at once, a bumbling idiot yet a top agent, and most the time you feel like she'd be funnier with a bit of a dead pan delivery but she forced to play everything to such cartoonish levels and just ends up being really annoying.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Foggy

She has a character that has no focus, she's everything required at once, a bumbling idiot yet a top agent, and most the time you feel like she'd be funnier with a bit of a dead pan delivery but she forced to play everything to such cartoonish levels and just ends up being really annoying.

Oooohhhhh. I did not know that she was voicing a different character.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Foggy

She has a character that has no focus, she's everything required at once, a bumbling idiot yet a top agent, and most the time you feel like she'd be funnier with a bit of a dead pan delivery but she forced to play everything to such cartoonish levels and just ends up being really annoying.

I liked her.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I liked her.

I liked her too, although we also probably liked the movie better.

[jvince]

Don't Hug me I'm Scared - YouTube

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (2011)
dir. Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling

The Good: Catchy song. ****ed up ending.

The Bad: Can't be unseen. May cause nightmares. You sure as **** won't be thinking creatively again.

The Bottom Line: ... Just watch it...

[CoolRanch]

Originally Posted by jvince

Don't Hug me I'm Scared - YouTube

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (2011)
dir. Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling

The Good: Catchy song. ****ed up ending.

The Bad: Can't be unseen. May cause nightmares. You sure as **** won't be thinking creatively again.

The Bottom Line: ... Just watch it...

What the f***?

[Show spoiler]Green is too a creative colour!

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by jvince

Don't Hug me I'm Scared - YouTube

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (2011)
dir. Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling

The Good: Catchy song. ****ed up ending.

The Bad: Can't be unseen. May cause nightmares. You sure as **** won't be thinking creatively again.

The Bottom Line: ... Just watch it...

Are you thankful I shared?

[Al_The_Strange]

Fargo

This is probably one of the most bittersweet pictures I've seen. Bitter, because I always felt it's a rather bleak and disturbing affair, but rendered sweet thanks to the colorful group of characters and their amusing banter (which is nicely emphasized with all those accents they have there, yah, don'tcha know?). Parts of this film are pretty amusing, but parts of it are pretty sad. The whole affair is a funny-but-sad case.

This story is pieced together from a couple of real-life cases, but populated with fictional characters. It's a pretty simple set-up: a man arranges to have his own wife kidnapped, hoping to weasel money from her father in the form of a ransom. What should be a simple and painless situation becomes a total clusterfrakk, because nearly every character thinks they know what they're doing and they think they're so hot, but they're all really inept. A series of mishaps and bad decisions causes a cascade of murders and a rather tragic outcome. Well, heck, the final scene is one of the bloodiest and messed-up things conceivable (topped maybe by certain scenes in Mindwarp, which is like 1,000 times worse than the wood-chipper). As crazy and funny as it is to see things deteriorate over stupid mistakes, it is a sobering reflection on crime, greed, and humanity overall. I think the cop sums it up well at the end, for after running through the situation, she asks, "and for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, ya know. Dontcha know that?"

All that being said, I feel the story does take one too many random tangents. A lot of screen time is spent on the cop's personal life, which never really has much relevance to the case. I suppose it's perfect for showing a little more humanity on screen, and to contrast directly with the other guy's family. However, I do believe these extraneous scenes slow down the pacing a lot, and sidetracks from the main story.

This film has good, straightforward photography and editing. Acting is effectively perfect from the whole cast, and the writing is good. This production uses very real-looking sets, props, costumes, and locales. Carter Burwell's music score is haunting, dramatic, and beautiful all at once.

This film has garnered its share of acclaim for darn good reasons. I always believed it could be a tighter film, but it is still well worth seeing for its great cast, its distinctive dialogue (complete with accents), and its ability to make me laugh and cry.

4/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Good | Film: Very Good)

Recommendation: Sure, you betcha!

On Blu-Ray, this film looks pretty grainy and there's quite a bit of EE. Other than that, it's good and sharp, and has decent enough sound.

PQ: 3.5/5, AQ: 4/5

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Fargo

This is probably one of the most bittersweet pictures I've seen. Bitter, because I always felt it's a rather bleak and disturbing affair, but rendered sweet thanks to the colorful group of characters and their amusing banter (which is nicely emphasized with all those accents they have there, yah, don'tcha know?). Parts of this film are pretty amusing, but parts of it are pretty sad. The whole affair is a funny-but-sad case.

This story is pieced together from a couple of real-life cases, but populated with fictional characters. It's a pretty simple set-up: a man arranges to have his own wife kidnapped, hoping to weasel money from her father in the form of a ransom. What should be a simple and painless situation becomes a total clusterfrakk, because nearly every character thinks they know what they're doing and they think they're so hot, but they're all really inept. A series of mishaps and bad decisions causes a cascade of murders and a rather tragic outcome. Well, heck, the final scene is one of the bloodiest and messed-up things conceivable (topped maybe by certain scenes in Mindwarp, which is like 1,000 times worse than the wood-chipper). As crazy and funny as it is to see things deteriorate over stupid mistakes, it is a sobering reflection on crime, greed, and humanity overall. I think the cop sums it up well at the end, for after running through the situation, she asks, "and for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, ya know. Dontcha know that?"

All that being said, I feel the story does take one too many random tangents. A lot of screen time is spent on the cop's personal life, which never really has much relevance to the case. I suppose it's perfect for showing a little more humanity on screen, and to contrast directly with the other guy's family. However, I do believe these extraneous scenes slow down the pacing a lot, and sidetracks from the main story.

This film has good, straightforward photography and editing. Acting is effectively perfect from the whole cast, and the writing is good. This production uses very real-looking sets, props, costumes, and locales. Carter Burwell's music score is haunting, dramatic, and beautiful all at once.

This film has garnered its share of acclaim for darn good reasons. I always believed it could be a tighter film, but it is still well worth seeing for its great cast, its distinctive dialogue (complete with accents), and its ability to make me laugh and cry.

4/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Good | Film: Very Good)

Recommendation: Sure, you betcha!

On Blu-Ray, this film looks pretty grainy and there's quite a bit of EE. Other than that, it's good and sharp, and has decent enough sound.

PQ: 3.5/5, AQ: 4/5

It will always have a place in my top 10. Buscemi, Macy and McDormand at their best.