The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[toef]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

How to Train Your Dragon.

Toy Story 3 needs to be perfect, or there will be a close battle for the Oscar.

Very very close to perfect.

4.75/5

I haven't seen the movie, but nothing about the previews or promotion/hype made me think it was going to be anything more than an average animated movie. But so far it seems to be getting rave reviews.

I was listening to the Filmspotting podcast, and Adam (one of the hosts) mentioned that Dave Chen (one of the hosts of the /Filmcast) tried to convince him to see it, claiming HTTYD was better than Citizen Kane.

I'm sure he was being facetious, but still... it must at least be good.

~~~~

Run Lola Run -- 8/10

Really simple, but I enjoyed it. I think after playing Heavy Rain recently, I've been caught up in (though not for the first time) the whole idea of how seemingly insignificant actions can have huge consequences. It's one of the reasons I love watching the Back to the Future movies.

After seeing Run Lola Run for the first time, I actually want to see it again. And since it's just shy of 80 minutes long, it's a movie that's easy to watch multiple times, without too much effort.

[Sith]

Fight Club..

pq 4.5/5
aq 4.75/5
movie 4.5/5

Considering I got this for $13.99 the day after Christmas, I highly recommend that anyone who hasn't already got this to do so.


Watched first 10 minutes of Toy Story and it's phenonminal, just about
same rating as fight club except definate 5/5 for audio

[GLaDOS]

The Men Who Stare At Goats - 8/10

A lot more entertaining than I thought it would be.

[Al_The_Strange]

Yesterday I watched:

Most of "Smokey and the Bandit," since my dad was watching it.

Entertainment: 3.5/5. Practically non-stop car chases, some amusing humor; it's a light-hearted adventure overall.

Story: 3/5. Not much of a story, but the characters are somewhat likable (or in the case of the sherrif, just plain funny).

Film: 3/5. Photography is pretty good. The film seems to use genuine sets, props, costumes, cars, and stunts. But it is a rather plain and bland-looking movie (probably low-budget). Acting and writing are okay.

Intellect/emotional: 0/5. Yeeha.

Total: 3/5. Kinda fun and amusing, but never really cared for it that much. I prefer "Vanishing Point" instead.


Followed that up with "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" next, first time ever.

Entertainment: 3/5. Graphics were mostly decent. Lots of peril and adventure. Some comedy, but not as much (or not as funny) as the previous two films.

Story: 3/5. Characters are still fun, and adding in Buck was kinda cool. The story is decent but doesn't quite outdo the last two films. It actually seems average overall. The best thing about this movie is that it ties the characters together into a sort of family (as if the last two didn't already), and carries a corresponding theme.

Film: 3.5/5. Animation quality and design are slick and good, but it retains a cartoonish look, and certainly doesn't outshine anything by Pixar. Voice-acting is good. If there's any really negative thing, it's just that so much of the movie (including the actual design of all the dinosaurs) seems to rip-off "Jurassic Park" a lot. I know part if it is probably meant as a parody, but I still couldn't help but to wonder if the designers/writers could have handled the material more originally.

Intellect/emotional: 0/5. Just another day in paradise.

Total: 3/5. It has its moments, but I still feel that the first two "Ice Age" movies were better.

The Blu-Ray for this looked/sounded darn near perfect.


Last, we watched "Bonnie and Clyde."

Entertainment: 4/5. Pacing is pretty good, and there was hardly a dull moment. Lots of violent scenes (so to speak, by 1960s standards), and lots of interesting drama in-between. Visuals are good.

Story: 4/5. A classic gangster story filled with fascinating and distinctive characters.

Film: 4.5/5. Very strongly filmed; the photography is excellent, acting and writing are great, and the production design features some phenomenal sets, props, costumes (and some very nice old cars).

Intellectual/emotional: 3/5. I'm starting to wonder how close this movie is to the real-life story. Moreover, it embodies the main themes and elements that have become a common staple in most other gangster films (Bonnie and Clyde's relationship almost seems to mirror the kind of relationships found in movies like "Casino"). Overall, it paints a fairly unsavory (and possibly realistic) portrait of a life in crime.

Total: 4/5. I forgot how good it is; quite the classic.

I was impressed by the Blu-Ray's quality; it's very sharp most of the way through. A couple of parts looked fuzzed-out, I think because either the camera was out of focus or in the case of one scene they used filters or something. Sound quality is okay.

[rkolinski]

I hope documentaries count and that there are Giger fans here. I just received my DVD of "H.R. Giger's Sanctuary" which is Anamorphic Widescreen, Stereo Sound, German language w/the option of English subtitles. The main feature is 19 minutes and there are over 20 minutes of special features. I wish it had been released on Blu but I enjoyed watching the Giger interviews and getting a tour of his Museum and Bar in Gruyères, Switzerland. Didn't know he owned a castle (Gruyères Castle) and seeing that was really cool too! I also thought it was interesting that he sometimes gives personally guided tours to the visitors of his museum. I give the DVD a 5/5 just for the content and the PQ and AQ are really good.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by rkolinski

I hope documentaries count and that there are Giger fans here. I just received my DVD of "H.R. Giger's Sanctuary" which is Anamorphic Widescreen, Stereo Sound, German language w/the option of English subtitles. The main feature is 19 minutes and there are over 20 minutes of special features. I wish it had been released on Blu but I enjoyed watching the Giger interviews and getting a tour of his Museum and Bar in Gruyères, Switzerland. Didn't know he owned a castle (Gruyères Castle) and seeing that was really cool too! I also thought it was interesting that he sometimes gives personally guided tours to the visitors of his museum. I give the DVD a 5/5 just for the content and the PQ and AQ are really good.

Sounds cool. Giger's artwork from "Alien" was totally wicked!

[toef]

Once -- 8/10

This could possibly belong in the "recommend a lesser known movie" thread, because I'm not sure how many people know of it.

It's a small Irish movie from 2007, that cost $100,000 to make. It went on to win an Oscar for Best Original Song.

Considering neither of the leads are professional actors (both are musicians), I thought they did a great job.

Movies usually don't get me overly emotional (at least when it comes to being sad), but the ending of Once, when they reprise a song from earlier in the movie, nearly brought me over the edge.

[Al_The_Strange]

Today I watched:

"The Boondock Saints."

Entertainment: 5/5. I love it; the movie's very tightly paced, the shoot-out scenes are awesome, the photography shows a lot of unique imagery and camera angles, and the story/characters are quite engaging. It's all cool.

Story: 4/5. A little convoluted perhaps, but I can follow it pretty well and I think it's a cool story with a distinctive cast of characters.

Film: 4.5/5. I love the photography. Acting and writing are excellent (maybe a little over-the-top, but so what?). Direction is good. Production design (sets, props, costumes) is good. Music it awesome.

Intellectual/emotional: 1/5. The main idea is pretty interesting and could spark some debate (like in the end credits). But ultimately, I feel that the movie never really takes a firm stance on the issue, and thus any issues concerning morality is displaced. Thus, there's not much to think about; it's mostly just an action flick.

Total: 4.5/5. I think it's awesome.


"The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day." First time viewing.

Entertainment: 4/5. I feel that this sequel is more drawn-out, a little slower, and not quite as distinctive as the first film. It does have a fair share of cool action scenes, but everything in-between seems somewhat lacking to me.

Story: 3/5. The first film did well to establish the characters and run through a straightforward story. This film elaborates more on the characters pretty well and adds in some new people. But I found the plot a little too confusing. I'll have to pay closer attention next time I see it (been doing computer work while this was playing).

Film: 4/5. It's well-made; the cameramanship is solid (but not quite as unique as the first film), direction is not bad, acting/writing are pretty good, and the music is good.

Intellectual/emotional: 0/5. I got nothing.

Total: 3.5/5 (rounded down from 3.67). It's decent, but it's longer and more convoluted than I expected. I might grow to enjoy it more in the future, since it is well-made and accentuates the first film well (at least they brought back most of the characters; that's cool). But right now, I feel it was lacking in some way.

Blu-Ray for both of these looked decent. Sound quality was good, but I think the second one had too many parts where the music was super-loud. Extras are not bad.

[lDlisturb3d]

Just watched Boondock saints 9/10 and The Invasion 8/10

[Diesel]

Transformers - 4.5/5


I love this movie.

There aren't that many things I don't like about it, but there are some (the little robot, the best friend. Small stuff like that, nothing major).

The humor is actually funny (much more so than the sequel's), the effects are actually more fluid and 'realistic' looking than the sequel's, the voice work for the most of the robots is superb (Peter Cullen ), and I thought it was just all around better than the sequel (which I like, that one is probably a 3.5/5 after seeing it multiple times), with maybe a few exceptions (awesome mid-movie battle ).



PQ - 5/5 of course. This movie looks fantastic.

AQ - 5/5, it also sounds fantastic.

[CZAR]

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - Believe it or not this is the first time I watched this film! I knew about E.T. for years due to how big the film was and even seen parts as some of the footage has been sampled over the years. I just never sat down and actually watched the film. After viewing the film today my first word is "WOW!!!!" what a great film! It lived up to all the hype! Very powerful and it was hard to hold back the tears at the end especially when

[Show spoiler]Elliot & E.T. embraced each other before E.T. got on the spaceship to go home.

Spielberg is and has always been one of the best directors and now I can see what all the hype was about 28 years ago. This is now one of my fav sci-fi films of all time. A definite buy when it comes to blu! The relationship between Elliot & E.T. hit right at home and was very genuine and sincere! I would rate the film 5/5 Got Em!!

[Bluyoda]

I last watched "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" on Blu-ray which had been a blind buy for me!

I thought the movie was interesting, beautiful and unique.

It sure touched me, but I wouldn't count it as one of my faves, but I most certainly don't regret having bought it.

The PQ is extraordinary!!! It digital is the future of film making, please let it look like this!!

I was honestly blown away buy the sheer beauty on display!!

The AQ was impressive when it needed to be, and very dynamic too!

My rating:

Movie: 4\5

PQ: 5\5

AQ: 5\5

[Tcan21]

watched The Journey of Natty Gann(1985) with Meredith Salenger, John Cusack, and Ray Wise. Rented it via Netflix, good Disney movie set in the depression era. Natty travels the country to find her dad who had to take a job in the Pacific Northwest.

[AKORIS]

[QUOTE=CZAR;3085984]E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - Believe it or not this is the first time I watched this film! I knew about E.T. for years due to how big the film was and even seen parts as some of the footage has been sampled over the years. I just never sat down and actually watched the film. After viewing the film today my first word is "WOW!!!!" what a great film! It lived up to all the hype! Very powerful and it was hard to hold back the tears at the end especially when

[Show spoiler]Elliot & E.T. embraced each other before E.T. got on the spaceship to go home.

Spielberg is and has always been one of the best directors and now I can see what all the hype was about 28 years ago. This is now one of my fav sci-fi films of all time. A definite buy when it comes to blu! The relationship between Elliot & E.T. hit right at home and was

totally agree--- a deserving classic
I would love to see a blu-ray of this-- for some reason the dvd PQ quality never really impressed me much--

[AKORIS]

Watched ZOMBIELAND last night with wife and friends--

lots of fun, gorier than what I expected, hilarious performances by WoodY Harrelson and "B.M."....
I was especially impressed with the ending where I thought for sure a major character was going to bite the dust and was so pleased when he was still standing!

Movie-- 4.0 out of 5.0

Blu-ray- 4.0 out of 5.0

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by CZAR

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - it was hard to hold back the tears at the end Got Em!!

What a Sissy.

[Show spoiler]I was crying even before that scene

[Batman1980]

Terminator - that may be the second time I've seen it. Still don't think it's as good as the second one, I say 8.5/10. Tempted to check out that ended Fox series Sarah Connor now.

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

totally agree--- a deserving classic
I would love to see a blu-ray of this-- for some reason the dvd PQ quality never really impressed me much--

Yea I know the blu is in the works but they havnt released a date yet. Got Em!!

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

What a Sissy.

[Show spoiler]I was crying even before that scene

Man we try to be all cool when we watch these films and then try to hold back the tears haha. Glad I watched it alone. Got Em!!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Yea I know the blu is in the works but they havnt released a date yet. Got Em!!






Man we try to be all cool when we watch these films and then try to hold back the tears haha. Glad I watched it alone. Got Em!!

Chicks dig it when guys cry at mushy movies. Easy score.

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Chicks dig it when guys cry at mushy movies. Easy score.

Yea tru dat! A dude will cry at the end of Friday the 13th to get those drawls! Hahaah! Got Em!!