The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[jvince]

Originally Posted by gamma626

It's a great movie, only, I feel it was missing something. That small piece that could have made it a masterpiece rather than just being a very good film.

8.5/10

I agree that this was a great movie, and I did feel the same as you as I watched. But maybe it was intended to be such an understated work, since thinking back about it, the film is perfect as it is. The ending sealed the deal for me. The combination of Mulligan's perfect voice-over and that beautifully shot scene is oddly haunting. This will be revered along with the other understated, postmodern sci-fi dramas like Eternal Sunshine and Children of Men for years to come.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by jvince

I agree that this was a great movie, and I did feel the same as you as I watched. But maybe it was intended to be such an understated work, since thinking back about it, the film is perfect as it is. The ending sealed the deal for me. The combination of Mulligan's perfect voice-over and that beautifully shot scene is oddly haunting. This will be revered along with the other understated, postmodern sci-fi dramas like Eternal Sunshine and Children of Men for years to come.

I agree. Mulligan was fantastic.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

no idea and i don't think it says on amazon or BB how long it is. i would guess... a month or two? but not sure. i mean, Anchorman is still an exclusive, but TBWP isn't (i don't think) so i have no idea how they figure this out or sign it for exclusivity for.

woah woah woah-------best buy has Hotel Rwanda on blu??? do you see my sig?

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

woah woah woah-------best buy has Hotel Rwanda on blu??? do you see my sig?

Yessir. It's one of their exclusives.

$16.99

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Yessir. It's one of their exclusives.

$16.99

It's actually $9.99 online, which is the price that some people paid in store as well. I'm going to get it online tomorrow then go to pick it up. I hope The Cove is also that price.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Mystic River:

The films plot is one that would take to long to explain without giving away key plot points. This was my first viewing of the film, and I must say that I was a little underwhelmed. It's great, don't get me wrong, I just expected more emotional oomph.

Sean, Tim and Kevin are excellent as the three leads. Sean and Tim have well deserved oscars. And for the first two thirds, I was on board with the film. However, as the third act started, I began to be dissatisfied with how events played out. Cliche is one of the first words that came to mind as the credits rolled.

Direction was solid from Clint, but nothing to special. It is a worthy film, and I look to own it someday soon. If it just wasn't for the final reveal I think it would have been an excellent, just shy of masterpiece, top tier film. As it stands, it's just one of the many in the sea of Great but not exceptional films of the 2000's.

8/10.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

It's actually $9.99 online, which is the price that some people paid in store as well. I'm going to get it online tomorrow then go to pick it up. I hope The Cove is also that price.

better be quick. a lot of the $9.99 exclusives were bumped up to $12.99 the next day (literally less than 24 hours at $9.99), and The Cove might also be one of them. although $12.99 is still pretty low for a new blu so that might not matter to you (price wise). i would also order asap for in store pick up. a lot of stores seem to have limited copies.

all of the exclusives i picked up yesterday i pre-ordered for in store pick up and none of them were to be found on the shelves so i'm glad i pre-ordered when i did.

also wish i would have checked BB's website for their Never Let Me Go price. in store it was $24.99, online it's $19.99. don't know for sure if i would have blind bought it for $20, but chances are i would have.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

It's actually $9.99 online, which is the price that some people paid in store as well. I'm going to get it online tomorrow then go to pick it up. I hope The Cove is also that price.

Guess the price tracker didn't update

Originally Posted by gamma626

Mystic River:

The films plot is one that would take to long to explain without giving away key plot points. This was my first viewing of the film, and I must say that I was a little underwhelmed. It's great, don't get me wrong, I just expected more emotional oomph.

Sean, Tim and Kevin are excellent as the three leads. Sean and Tim have well deserved oscars. And for the first two thirds, I was on board with the film. However, as the third act started, I began to be dissatisfied with how events played out. Cliche is one of the first words that came to mind as the credits rolled.

Direction was solid from Clint, but nothing to special. It is a worthy film, and I look to own it someday soon. If it just wasn't for the final reveal I think it would have been an excellent, just shy of masterpiece, top tier film. As it stands, it's just one of the many in the sea of Great but not exceptional films of the 2000's.

8/10.

I was underwhelmed for sure with this one. I gave it a lower score than you (3.5/5).

[Marcus Wright]

Casino.

Movie - 4.75/5
After this movie. I can decidedly claim that Scorsesse is my favorite director along with Cameroon.

This movie is amazing. Very great gangster flick set in a very interesting environment, Las Vegas, attacking a very interesting subject matter, gamblig.

What amazed me most in this movie was direction and acting. I think the short guy (the killer) is the most beleivable gangster character I have ever seen. I am still freaked out by his prefomance in a good way.
I liked this movie so much that I watched it 2 times in a single day, and its a 3 hour plus movie.

And I still havent seen Goodfellas, which is widely considered even better. Cant wait for the blu.

PQ - 4.25/5
Most of the time, its above average presentation, but sometimes its just breathtakingly amazing, especially for its age. This is the most close I have ever come to experiencing Las Vegas.

AQ - 4.25/5
Very good soundtrack. Voices are crystal clear. Nothing really to complain about.

Overall - 4.25/5
Highly recommended movie to all Scorsesse, gangster genre and generally great movie fans. Quality wise, this disk is very good.

[iam1bearcat]

Out of Sight [117 minutes]

Year: 1998
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: George Clooney, Ving Rhames, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Zahn, Don Cheadle, and Catherine Keener

another blind buy. another major success

woke up at 5:05 this morning to get ready to head to Cincinnati this week, and then i looked outside... and well... that certainly isn't happening with this massive blizzard the mid-west and east coast is getting, so here i am. awake at 5 and with nowhere to go. so, might as well watch a bunch of yesterday's blind buys right?

apparently i'm a big Steven Soderbergh fan because i've pretty much loved everything that he directs, that i've seen. and being a long time George Clooney fan helped as well. honestly, i don't think i've seen Clooney in a film i've disliked. so this "tag team" (again) succeeded with me.

a very fun, very upbeat crime film that doesn't take itself too seriously and does a terrific job at entertaining. some very, very scenes along with a sprinkling of "whoa..." serious scenes that work well together and don't feel out of place. Out of Sight really just feels like it is its own entity and i'm sure it was a blast to make.

being made in 1998, it really doesn't feel like that. Clooney was great. Lopez was actually good and tolerable. Steve Zahn was excellent and i always enjoy him in films as he is incredibly funny. and Cheadle and Rhames were also used greatly here to make the film have a more "heavier" and serious feel to it that mixed well with Clooney's comedic timing and Soderbergh's somewhat simple, but excellent directing.

for $14.99 this was well worth the purchase price and i'm glad Killowertz recommended it to me, which was what made me interested in the film (alongside the Clooney / Soderbergh team up again)

is it the best made film ever? no. but i wasn't expecting that. but as far as fun, good crime films go with a great cast? can't do much better than Out of Sight.

a fun, fresh flick. at 117 minutes it may be a bit bloated, but i never once was bored or wishing it would end and i can see myself enjoying this more and more with future viewings. i can see me watching this again this weekend with some friends because i'm sure it's a great film to watch with friends (watched it this morning with a half asleep gf ).

PQ: 4/5 i thought it looked fantastic. bright colors and some great detail!
AQ: 4/5 some may not feel it's a 4/5, but i was impressed and never had an issue with sound quality from the score to dialogue to shoot outs. it was all well maintained.

4/5 - really like it

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wright

Casino.

Movie - 4.75/5

[Show spoiler]After this movie. I can decidedly claim that Scorsesse is my favorite director along with Cameroon.

This movie is amazing. Very great gangster flick set in a very interesting environment, Las Vegas, attacking a very interesting subject matter, gamblig.

What amazed me most in this movie was direction and acting. I think the short guy (the killer) is the most beleivable gangster character I have ever seen. I am still freaked out by his prefomance in a good way.
I liked this movie so much that I watched it 2 times in a single day, and its a 3 hour plus movie.

And I still havent seen Goodfellas, which is widely considered even better. Cant wait for the blu.

[Show spoiler]PQ - 4.25/5
Most of the time, its above average presentation, but sometimes its just breathtakingly amazing, especially for its age. This is the most close I have ever come to experiencing Las Vegas.

AQ - 4.25/5
Very good soundtrack. Voices are crystal clear. Nothing really to complain about.

Overall - 4.25/5
Highly recommended movie to all Scorsesse, gangster genre and generally great movie fans. Quality wise, this disk is very good.

GoodFellas is already out on blu... in a digibook and a standard release... or do you mean you ordered it and are waiting for it to arrive?

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

better be quick. a lot of the $9.99 exclusives were bumped up to $12.99 the next day (literally less than 24 hours at $9.99), and The Cove might also be one of them. although $12.99 is still pretty low for a new blu so that might not matter to you (price wise). i would also order asap for in store pick up. a lot of stores seem to have limited copies.

all of the exclusives i picked up yesterday i pre-ordered for in store pick up and none of them were to be found on the shelves so i'm glad i pre-ordered when i did.

also wish i would have checked BB's website for their Never Let Me Go price. in store it was $24.99, online it's $19.99. don't know for sure if i would have blind bought it for $20, but chances are i would have.

Thanks for the heads up buddy--I just bought both The Cove and Hotel Rwanda on bestbuy.com for $9.99 each and am doing in-store pickup. Two of my favorite films of all-time in one day? It's a great day, in addition to it being my mom's bday

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Thanks for the heads up buddy--I just bought both The Cove and Hotel Rwanda on bestbuy.com for $9.99 each and am doing in-store pickup. Two of my favorite films of all-time in one day? It's a great day, in addition to it being my mom's bday

awesome! glad they were both still $9.99 for ya! i was even gonna PM you about it, but i figured you would have already had them on your radar.
it's your moms b-day today? weird. it's someone else's b-day around here too

also: so what did you now add to your signature? i think the last one (Harp) is new, right?

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

awesome! glad they were both still $9.99 for ya! i was even gonna PM you about it, but i figured you would have already had them on your radar.
it's your moms b-day today? weird. it's someone else's b-day around here too

also: so what did you now add to your signature? i think the last one (Harp) is new, right?

Is it your bday??? If so, happy bday bud!


I added The Burmese Harp about two months ago--I'm not sure what it replaced, maybe The Cove? Last nite I replaced Hotel Rwanda with Le Petit Soldat, which is a great early Godard film with Anna Karina. It's a political film but powerful, different in many ways than his other films. Word has it that Criterion will be getting the rights to it soon, although based on the New Years drawing, it won't be released this year.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Is it your bday??? If so, happy bday bud!


I added The Burmese Harp about two months ago--I'm not sure what it replaced, maybe The Cove? Last nite I replaced Hotel Rwanda with Le Petit Soldat, which is a great early Godard film with Anna Karina. It's a political film but powerful, different in many ways than his other films. Word has it that Criterion will be getting the rights to it soon, although based on the New Years drawing, it won't be released this year.

thanks jhiggy. yes, it is my b-day today the big 23. and of course, snowed in because of the blizzards

i was almost tempted to pick up The Cove for $9.99, but i have a general idea of what it's about and i know i'd never be able to finish it, so i had to pass on it. interested though to see what the PQ will be like.

[Marcus Wright]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

GoodFellas is already out on blu... in a digibook and a standard release... or do you mean you ordered it and are waiting for it to arrive?

I have ordered it and am waiting till it gets here.
I have been waiting for the steelbook release, which will be in a couple of weeks.

P.S.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

thanks jhiggy. yes, it is my b-day today the big 23. and of course, snowed in because of the blizzards

i was almost tempted to pick up The Cove for $9.99, but i have a general idea of what it's about and i know i'd never be able to finish it, so i had to pass on it. interested though to see what the PQ will be like.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wright

I have ordered it and am waiting till it gets here.
I have been waiting for the steelbook release, which will be in a couple of weeks.

P.S.

ahh, that makes sense then

and thank ya

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

thanks squiddy!

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

thanks jhiggy. yes, it is my b-day today the big 23. and of course, snowed in because of the blizzards

No wonder you've been purchasing so much lately. Not like you.

[Lepidopterous]

I think I'm going to make a reference post for all of my reviews on this thread. I'll probably link it in my signature. Some will be short, some long, and I don't review everything I watch, but that way you get to know my take on a film and share ideas if it's listed on there. I think you guys should do the same.