The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Realist01]

Originally Posted by Lacit170

its ok at best imo... fast forward to literally the last 5 minutes... thats all you need to watch

That's what I disagree with. I love slow burning movies like that. It adds to the suspense.

[lDlisturb3d]

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. UK release
4.5-Movie
The Movie was pretty good, action and drama. The action was off the chain granted they were on strings the entire time, it still was original and quite interesting.
4.0- PQ
Althought throughout the movie the PQ was very inconsistent i still give it a 4.0 they were times were the PQ was good and other times where it looked like the DVD.

5.0-AQ
Great AQ, would say reference or DEMO material but i will say its strong and holds up with the story very well.

Overall 4.5
Good film.

[KilloWertz]

Yes Man

PQ - 4.0
AQ - 4.0
Film - 4.0

I'll start off by saying this was my second viewing of Yes Man, but first on Blu-Ray. With that out of the way, it was a pleasure getting to see this movie again. It's been a long time since Jim Carrey threw himself into this kind of comedy, and he's probably the best at it. I give the film itself a solid 4/5 because of Carrey and the supporting cast. They all did a nice job and there were plenty of moments in the movie that made me laugh along with some solid romantic moments. I look forward to watching this yet again.

Zooey Deschanel.... the perfect quirky female lead in my opinion. While a lot of people were already aware, this was the movie that opened my eyes. I had already seen her in a couple of other movies before, but didn't really know that until I checked her filmography. Anyways, she did a great job and this was a great role for her since she got to sing in it as well. After this and 500 Days of Summer, I'm sold.

The Blu-Ray disc is a solid one for this movie. I gave the PQ a 4.0. It was solid throughout for a comedy, and it had a few scenes that looked great (inside the restaurant with Jim Carrey and his friends being among them). All in all, this was one of the better looking comedies I've watched so far. The AQ got a solid 4.0 from me as well. It is a comedy, so it's obviously very dialogue driven. There were moments when the track went beyond a typical comedy (the Yes meeting being the main moment) and it also had a decent amount of usage of the rear speakers. All in all, like the PQ, this is one of the better sounding comedies I've watched as well. I didn't have time to watch many of the special features, so I really can't comment on them. To end another one of my long reviews, I'm happy that this movie got solid treatment on Blu-Ray.

[lDlisturb3d]

Chronicles of Riddick

Movie-4.5
The Movie itself was pretty interesting and you don't need to watch Pitch Black to follow along. Yes is has some of the same characters but everything is pretty much told within the story. There is a lot of action and cool special effects.

Video-5.0
This transfer was perfect and i couldn't see any flaws. Great job universal.

Sound-5.0
Also great sound without any flaws. a lot of ambient sounds as well. Good disc to test out your system.

Overall-4.5
The Chronicles of Riddick is a good popcorn flick and Well Recommended.

[Drexel]

The Patriot 4/5

[kdo]

"The Natural" It's a great movie, and I was going to hold off on buying it until the price dropped, but I went ahead and took a chance on it anyway... 'Inconsistent' is the only term I can use to sum up my feelings of the new Blu. Some shots look spectacular, others not so much...wished I'd waited until it was a little cheaper.

[Atreyu]

Just watched Astro Boy and well...I just watched it. PQ was awesome.
The problems were in the script as it was totally void of everything that made the 60s version so charming. I still enjoy watching those that I have on the two ultra box sets. And even though they assembled some spectacular talent as voices, they all appeared to be sleepwalking thru their performances, even Nathan Lane, who is no stranger to animation. Only highlight was Freddie Highmore as Astro Boy.
No updated Astro theme and you hardly ever see him in just his characteristic shorts and boots.
No wonder it tanked at the box office.
Truely sad as they could have done so much better.

[iam1bearcat]

The Bourne Identity 10/10

I've seen this movie a hundred times and while I used to consider it my least favorite of the trilogy (because of it being slower paced and introducing everyone and the plot of course), it's still greatly entertaining and easily a 10/10 from me. always holds my attention and Damon does a great job in one of his earliest big time roles.

and that chase scene! always amazed at that.

[Diesel]

Kingdom of Heaven - Director's Cut


It was indeed as most of you guys on here said...easily better than the theatrical

Theatrical - Moderately liked it

Director's Cut - Loved it


The added content was very good for fleshing out what was shown in the theatrical version (especially the beginning of the movie).


5/5

[DBLN8]

John Carpenters The Thing.

Looks and sounds great for an old film and for $10 at best buy whats not to like.

[Al_The_Strange]

Bought a cheap box set with a pair of old Tony Jaa movies. Even though "Ong Bak" and the "Protector" are cool, I'm not expecting much out of this...

So first I put in "Hard Gun"...

Entertainment: 3/5. Poor presentation, video quality, and other issues hold it back. Otherwise, it does have some frequent action, some cool stunts, and some interesting comedy. Some scenes are unintentionally funny though. Pacing is not bad. The action scenes are a bit on the lame side though.

Story: 2/5. Story kinda goes all over the place, presenting a convoluted mess of a plot that just barely holds together. Some parts are dumb, and I could probably nitpick them to death. Other parts seem out-of-place, and could probably have been cut out completely. The characters are okay, but not developed or portrayed enough to fully care for them.

Film: 1.5/5. It's low budget and it shows. Photography is a mixed bag; it's good in some scenes and amateurish in others. Writing and acting are average at best. Production design (sets, props, costumes, etc) is cheap; nothing really stands out, they just used whatever was around. I was very surprised to hear music from "GoldenEye" on the menu screen and throughout the film. It's cool and appropriate, but seriously, why couldn't they have used something original? Borrowing another movie's score seems cheap. This whole movie is cheap!

I also found it interesting that the opening credits had the production company's phone number listed. Another sure sign of a cheap production. I wonder what would happen if I gave them a call?

Intellectual/emotional: 0/5. Oh heck, it should be -1/5, meaning it has a slight ability to suck the life out of the viewer.

Total: 2/5 (rounded down from 2.17). Tony Jaa has come a long way...oh wait, he was barely in this movie. Ah, this movie sucks!

Apparently, this is out on Blu-Ray too...God, why?! The DVD has terrible quality as it is (noise, scratches, bad contrast); I doubt the Blu-Ray is worth getting.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Kingdom of Heaven - Director's Cut


It was indeed as most of you guys on here said...easily better than the theatrical

Theatrical - Moderately liked it

Director's Cut - Loved it


The added content was very good for fleshing out what was shown in the theatrical version (especially the beginning of the movie).


5/5

Its like a whole new movie. Same with Troy.

[Al_The_Strange]

Turned the English dubbing on for "Hard Gun." Now it's infinitely more hilarious than it was before.

[Drexel]

Oldboy 5/5

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Turned the English dubbing on for "Hard Gun." Now it's infinitely more hilarious than it was before.

[iam1bearcat]

Black Hawk Down 8/10

This was one of my blind buys today and while it was entertaining, I didn't feel it was very well put together. After the first 20 minutes the action picks up and the quick scenes are awesome, but then the movie slows to a crawl. I was shocked at how the fast paced action died down almost immediately at the 90 minute mark and random scenes of characterization felt out of place for this type of war film.

I also thought this was going to be a Josh Hartnett vehicle but surpringly enough he only had like 30 lines of dialogue. And seeing Jeremy Piven as a helicopter pilot made me chuckle.

Definitely a great film for the sound department - and the visuals were extraordinary - especially for a 2001 film - but it all didn't feel like it added up to anything spectacular. No big amazing ending, too many characters that were almost impossible to tell the difference between, and the odd start to the film brought down my overall impressions of it.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Black Hawk Down 8/10

This was one of my blind buys today and while it was entertaining, I didn't feel it was very well put together. After the first 20 minutes the action picks up and the quick scenes are awesome, but then the movie slows to a crawl. I was shocked at how the fast paced action died down almost immediately at the 90 minute mark and random scenes of characterization felt out of place for this type of war film.

I also thought this was going to be a Josh Hartnett vehicle but surpringly enough he only had like 30 lines of dialogue. And seeing Jeremy Piven as a helicopter pilot made me chuckle.

Definitely a great film for the sound department - and the visuals were extraordinary - especially for a 2001 film - but it all didn't feel like it added up to anything spectacular. No big amazing ending, too many characters that were almost impossible to tell the difference between, and the odd start to the film brought down my overall impressions of it.

yet you give it an 8 out of 10

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

yet you give it an 8 out of 10

haha, yeah i did. i know i listed alot of complaints, but they were just slight minor issues for me. the biggest one being the length and how the film slowed down after the first 90 minutes. it was still exciting throughout, i just wasn't expecting the pacing to be what it was.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Minority Report: 9.5/10

Overall, a fantastic film. Tom Cruise was great, and speilbergs direction was as good as always. I had a few minor issues that stopped it from being a ten out of ten. (The jetpack sequence was rather lame and KotCS esque.)

The PQ and AQ were incredible. 10/10 for both.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Black Hawk Down 8/10

This was one of my blind buys today and while it was entertaining, I didn't feel it was very well put together. After the first 20 minutes the action picks up and the quick scenes are awesome, but then the movie slows to a crawl. I was shocked at how the fast paced action died down almost immediately at the 90 minute mark and random scenes of characterization felt out of place for this type of war film.

I also thought this was going to be a Josh Hartnett vehicle but surpringly enough he only had like 30 lines of dialogue. And seeing Jeremy Piven as a helicopter pilot made me chuckle.

Definitely a great film for the sound department - and the visuals were extraordinary - especially for a 2001 film - but it all didn't feel like it added up to anything spectacular. No big amazing ending, too many characters that were almost impossible to tell the difference between, and the odd start to the film brought down my overall impressions of it.

I respectfully have to disagree with most of your points. The editing and directing in the film are exceptional. It is, undeniably, one of the most intense war films ever made (if not ever). The reason the film is so successful is because of its distinct sense of realism and its gritty nature. "Slows to a crawl" is the absolute last phrase I would ever use to describe the film. Even the quiet scenes, such as soldiers wandering from building to building, is as tense as can be--not knowing whether they will be shot at or not. The film does an excellent job of making you understand the confusing nature of war and how a lack of planning can ruin everything.

Furthermore, there were no random scenes of characterization. This isn't a film where you're going to get to know the characters, and it still succeeds because of its goal of depicting the craziness of the situation. If the filmmakers decided to add in even a decent amount of characterization, the film would be much too long and would not be as successful. It would slow the pace and add little to the overall film (which I usually would disagree with vehemently).

I do agree that the sound and picture are excellent and are demo material.