The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

Just buy it, it's only $12 on Amazon and it seems to be liked by critics.

$12 is a lot of money to just spend on something I've never seen. I don't believe in blind buys.
That's money I could end up throwing down the drain if I don't like it. Critics' opinions mean nothing to me, as I've hated movies the critics loved and the other way around.


I'd much rather just wait and borrow it for free.


Edit: I don't have Prime also, so it would be even more expensive

[CZAR]

Killer Movie - Decent horror flick about a killer who videotapes each kill, while trying to kill off the movie cast in a small town. It was kinda boring for the first half and picked up later towards the end of the film. Didnt care much for the interviews throughout the film although it fit with what was goin on. There were a couple of decent kills and I liked the Killer's costume. However the film plot was very shallow and the reason for the kills and the killer itself was pretty weak. It had some enjoyment at times but thats about it.

Overall Rating - 2 1/2 stars (out of 5)

Got Em!!

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Killer Movie - Decent horror flick about a killer who videotapes each kill, while trying to kill off the movie cast in a small town. It was kinda boring for the first half and picked up later towards the end of the film. Didnt care much for the interviews throughout the film although it fit with what was goin on. There were a couple of decent kills and I liked the Killer's costume.

Overall Rating - 2 1/2 stars (out of 5)

Got Em!!

I sold Killer Movie, even though I like Leighton Meester and Kaley Cuoco, just didn't do anything for me.

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

I sold Killer Movie, even though I like Leighton Meester and Kaley Cuoco, just didn't do anything for me.

Good thing I dont have to sell it as I watched on Directv in HD. Definitely wont be buying it! Got Em!!

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Good thing I dont have to sell it as I watched on Directv in HD. Definitely wont be buying it! Got Em!!

Lucky...wish I could get DirecTV over here, oh well. I gotta remember that rule that if "Movie" is in the title, it probably sucks.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

You forgot

[Show spoiler]Beast dies.

...

[Show spoiler]Beast was killed by the beauty.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

...

[Show spoiler]Beast was killed by the beauty.

[Show spoiler]Yup he died for love, at least he died defending a major hottie like Naomi Watts.

[rkolinski]

Our gift to Japan at the end of WWII was Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their gift to us has been electronics, Toyota and GOJIRA (1954). I grew up in those "Duck and Cover" days when nuclear blast were still occurring above ground, releasing lots of radioactive particles into the atmosphere. Also, some of the best radioactive/mutated creatures were released on a frightened American public in the 1950's including Them (1954), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) and my personal favorite with radiation working in reverse, The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957).

So I hope you will forgive me for saying that, in some ways I just LOVED this movie, while at the same time I just couldn't keep myself from laughing and often. I mean, with that opening but incorrect film footage of an H-bomb test, I knew that this film would be pure camp personified. Also, I can't believe any of the actors took this film seriously; it had to be just a good vehicle to make an extra buck and for two dudes named Emmerich and Devlin to show their stuff. I think Matthew Broderick was much better in Infinity (which also happens to be a movie about the A-Bomb) and Glory, my personal favorite, so I think his talent was wasted. Sadly, Jean Reno's talent is also wasted here but fortunately, I just purchased The Professional on BD so I own one of the highlights of his career (and that's just my personal opinion).

My favorite scenes: The one with the old man fishing off of the dock in NYC. That just had to be a homage to Spielberg and his movie Jaws. Also, did anyone else notice that the placards for the "Thumbs Up for New York: Re-Elect Mayor Ebert," and that the character actors (the one who introduces the mayor) and the NYC mayor both look a little bit like Siskel and Ebert. There is just a plethora of items like this, as well as continuity errors which lead me to believe that Emmerich and Devlin were having fun with and were poking fun at the entire film genre encompassed by Gojira.

Movie: 3/5 Laugh/Smile Factor: 5/5 PQ: 4/5 AQ: 4.5/5 (because it's been bested by Saving Private Ryan, War of the Worlds and U-571)

NOTE: Like I mentioned above, if Emmerich and Devlin were trying to release a parody of previous Gojira films, they totally succeeded and in that case I give this film a 5/5 rating.

[kelvin555]

Double Indemnity 8 out of 10
Tombstone 8 out of 10

[Barnolde]

Drag Me to Hell (Blu-ray), 8/10

Iron Man 2 (theaters) 6.5/10

Ronin (Blu-ray) 9.5/10 amazing movie, loved it!

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

Apocalypto

Film: 4/5
-great direction! how did Gibson manage to position those cameras within that dense jungle the way he did and move them around?
-great story: I'm not Mayan history expert but watched it tonight with a buddy who is born and raised in Mexico and is versed in Mayan/Aztec history and said the film was shockingly accurate. I had already expected this, as I knew Gibson had done his research.
-LOVED the theme of destiny/karma/etc:

[Show spoiler]the scene with the little girl is jaw-dropping-good, sending chills up my spine, as she tells the Raiders how they will die. Their "cruel acts" have destined them to death at the hands of the jaguar, among other jungle booby traps. THe other theme is the intro quote of "a society can't be destroyed from without until it has destroyed itself from within." I guess the Mayan culture was fractured with the slave trade that caused a constant uprooting of villages and murdering of people, for profit, and thus the culture could never form a unified front against the Spanish when they landed

-One thing struck me as I watched this:

[Show spoiler]we see slaves getting sold in a marketplace, for profit, to be killed in a public forum, to please the mob....sound familiar??? Rome anyone?? Isn't it amazing how two cultures (Mayan, Romans), entirely disconnected, can engage in the exact same slave trade, for pretty much the same purpose. Just goes to show how human weakness is universal

PQ: 5/5

AQ: 4.5/5

Def a great film that ppl seem to dismiss because Gibson directed it. I really need to get around to getting the blu.

[Q?]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Def a great film that ppl seem to dismiss because Gibson directed it. I really need to get around to getting the blu.

Likewise for me, supposedly the HD treatment improves the movie greatly, totally look forward to it.

[jhiggy23]

Red Cliff (international edition) (blu)


PQ: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

AQ: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Film: 4 stars (out of 4)

Rottentomatoes: 89%


This was an easy film to score, as it immediately places itself among the great epics of all-time. The film was riveting for the entire 5 hours, and never once felt long or drawn out. The 89% rating it has on RT is for the 2 1/2 hour American cut, in which many of the reviewers state that the pacing is perfect and that they can't imagine what was left out, with half the film being cut. I've read about some of the things cut out, and while they may seem minor, they enhance the movie in many ways. The biggest difference, from what I've read, is that the 5 hour version allows for greater human interaction with the characters, making the movie much more than a war film. I find it amazing that even without the character development, the film still got such a great RT rating. The reason for that is due to the excellent action sequences.

Zhuge Liang (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro), the strategist, has to be one of the most interesting characters to ever grace an epic or action film. His character is fascinating, as are many other characters in the film. In one of the extras, John Woo stated that he idolized many of the heroes in this film and that that was a common thread among Chinese youths.

One other thing I must mention is that the military strategy and tactics in this film are easily the most interesting I've seen on screen. From the sun reflecting shields, to the turtle formation, to getting the arrows, etc. Genius.

This is a must own.

[Realist01]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Red Cliff (international edition) (blu)


PQ: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

AQ: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Film: 4 stars (out of 4)

Rottentomatoes: 89%


This was an easy film to score, as it immediately places itself among the great epics of all-time. The film was riveting for the entire 5 hours, and never once felt long or drawn out. The 89% rating it has on RT is for the 2 1/2 hour American cut, in which many of the reviewers state that the pacing is perfect and that they can't imagine what was left out, with half the film being cut. I've read about some of the things cut out, and while they may seem minor, they enhance the movie in many ways. The biggest difference, from what I've read, is that the 5 hour version allows for greater human interaction with the characters, making the movie much more than a war film. I find it amazing that even without the character development, the film still got such a great RT rating. The reason for that is due to the excellent action sequences.

Zhuge Liang (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro), the strategist, has to be one of the most interesting characters to ever grace an epic or action film. His character is fascinating, as are many other characters in the film. In one of the extras, John Woo stated that he idolized many of the heroes in this film and that that was a common thread among Chinese youths.

One other thing I must mention is that the military strategy and tactics in this film are easily the most interesting I've seen on screen. From the sun reflecting shields, to the turtle formation, to getting the arrows, etc. Genius.

This is a must own.

I got about an hour and a half into the first part and returned it to Netflix and said to myself "I'm just buying this." Why waste another rental for the second part, so I'll just buy it since it was really good.

[jhiggy23]

Triangle (netflix instant)


Film: 3 1/2 stars (out of 4)

Rotten Tomatoes: 81%


This is a much overdue review, and it def would've been better suited for when the film was fresh in my mind. However, I'll do my best to give my explanation of the film:

[Show spoiler]The film mirrors the myth of Sisyphus, which is mentioned in the film. Sisyphus is condemned to repeat the same task (rolling a boulder up a hill over and over) for all eternity. In this film, the task is basically killing the other ppl on the yacht for a few moments with her son, before its taken away from her and she has to do it all over again. Sisyphus was well-known for killing travelers and guests, which is exactly what Jess does in the film.

The cab driver at the end is also important. Obviously, he knew more than he was letting on. A lot of people think he's death for some reason, but that's a misunderstanding of mythology and of the character of Death. The driver is meant to be Hermes, the messenger god, who had to bring Sisyphus back to the underworld at one point. Hermes is known as a sort of psychopomp, in that many stories and myths have him being a guide of the deceased to the underworld. Someone driving a cab (i.e. traveling), is directly representative of this. Oh, and there's another little tidbit. Sisyphus was known as being deceitful. In this film, remember Jess telling him she'd be "right back" to pay him? Obviously she didn't come right back because she was gonna get on the yacht! Thus, deceit.

Now, the interpretation. There's evidence to suggest that Jess cracked under the pressure of being poor, working as a waitress, and having an autistic son. We see how she treats this son and how she snaps at him at the end. We then see yacht Jess rush in and kill bad mama Jess. Why? It can be inferred that Jess truly snapped and killed her son and then killed herself, which is why she's being punished with her Sisyphean task to get a few moments with him. To get those few moments, she has to kill all those on the yacht, including herself, and then when she gets home she has to kill bad mama Jess. This is important. Killing herself is a nod to her suicide in real life, which is why she has to kill herself the first time, and then killing bad mama Jess is a nod to killing, or peeling away, the person she was before.

Other evidence to show that she had killed her son and herself? The car crash. I know a lot of ppl seem to think this car crash is where everything started and that the crash killed her son and herself and that she then made a deal with the cab driver, Death. However, this theory doesn't hold water for a lot of reasons, both thematically and mythologically. What do I think of the crash? It all goes back to the bird hitting the window (the bird is also seen in the beginning). Birds can mean many things, including fate. Right after the bird hit the car's window, she got in a car crash and the son is killed and the body of mama Jess is found by the ppl on the scene, thinking she simply died in the crash due to trauma (which killing someone with a hammer would pass as). What does this scene mean? It means that you cannot escape your fate, even if you swear you'll change. Jess had killed her son and herself, and she cannot escape that fate. Someway, somehow, she and her son will die. I have no doubt that she and her son died in other ways on previous occasions. However, we see this one because driving is representative of trying to start over, trying to escape something. Which, we see, she cannot do.

Lastly, the last scene in the movie shows that Jess finally realizes that she cannot escape her fate and then she is condemned for all eternity. You can see this realization and acceptance on her face at the end. She now knows that she will have to repeat the same task over and over but that she'll get a few moments with her son (note: similar to the reprieve of the boulder at the bottom of the hill, before starting again). What I find interesting is that now that she knows what will happen, an ephiphany it seems, will she simply let the Jess that is on the ship kill her and her friends? Will she even remember by the time she gets to the ship, or will she simply have deja vu?

I think I can explain most of what's in the film, and there's def more symbolism that I won't get into. However, one thing I don't get is the crazy Jess on the yacht. The one that stabs Downey over and over and has cracked out looking eyes. That, to me, doesn't make sense.

A very intelligent film with, as one critic stated, a "surprisingly poignant payoff."

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Realist01

I got about an hour and a half into the first part and returned it to Netflix and said to myself "I'm just buying this." Why waste another rental for the second part, so I'll just buy it since it was really good.

I know exactly what you mean! I just blind bought it bc I knew I was going to like it and two rentals seemed a waste. I'll prob have to do the same thing with Che, although I'm borderline about that.

[rkolinski]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Red Cliff (international edition) (blu)



This is a must own.

Originally Posted by Realist01

I got about an hour and a half into the first part and returned it to Netflix and said to myself "I'm just buying this." Why waste another rental for the second part, so I'll just buy it since it was really good.

Thank you for the recommendation; must add this to my growing list of must have films!

[KilloWertz]

Alice in Wonderland

PQ - 5.0
AQ - 5.0
Film - 4.0

Let me start off by saying that I was never a fan of Alice in Wonderland when I was younger. There was something about the new one though that made me want to see it whenever I saw previews for it. I decided to skip it in the theaters though and just blind buy it on Blu-ray since I figured there would be a coupon for it. Was this another successful blind buy for me? Yes. Is the film perfect? No. I still really enjoyed it though and I'm glad to have it in my collection. People are all over the place in regards to this movie, but I give Alice in Wonderland a 4/5. It won't be my personal favorite movie of this year, but I was most definitely entertained and I look forward to watching it again.

I thought the casting in the movie was pretty solid. Starting off with Alice, I thought Mia Wasikowska did a good job. Some people called her performance bland, but I didn't find it to be. Johnny Depp was the perfect choice for Mad Hatter in my opinion, making the character a joy to watch whenever he was on screen. Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, and Michael Sheen provided good voice work for Absolem, Cheshire Cat, and White Rabbit respectively. I thought Anne Hathaway was solid as White Queen, but I am a big fan of her's, so that was a given. Helena Bonham Carter stole the show for some people, and while I didn't feel the same, I did think she was good as Red Queen.

This was a very good disc. While it wasn't the best of the year in either PQ or AQ, it still earns a 5.0 from me in both categories. This looks as good as the film possibly could. It may not be up to the level of Avatar as far as PQ goes, but it's not meant to be, and I really had nothing to complain about there. I also had very little to complain about with the audio. This isn't an intense action movie like Terminator Salvation, but that doesn't take away from the quality of what is presented. I had very few issues with the dialogue and the surround channels were well used. Alice falling in the hole and going down into Wonderland was some of the best audio I've heard all year. I was obviously very pleased with Disney's presentation of Alice in Wonderland on Blu-ray.

[surfdude12]

Monsoon Wedding

Film: 4/5
-great film about family dynamics in a wedding setting in India.
-does a great job showing the family that try so hard to appear cohesive and connected, but in reality, are utter strangers.

[Show spoiler]the bride's parents are planning where their daughter and new son-in-law will live after the wedding, while the daughter is out banging her ex-boyfriend before the wedding. the bride's parents are shocked when their other daughter admits to having been abused by their uncle. it is only after freeing themselves of the need to please others, and tell the abusing uncle to go to hell, that they finally are free to love each other at the end, without any communication barriers.

-at the beginning, the shift between English and Hindi audio drove me nuts. I didn't know if this was just to minimize english subtitles or b/c the characters would actually flip back and forth between languages like that? Plus the father's English was so hard to understand that I had to leave the subtitles on (For both English and Hindu) the entire film. Not a fault of the transfer, but an inconvenience nevertheless

PQ and AQ were top-notch, 4.5/5. Thanks Criterion!

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by killowertz

Alice in Wonderland

PQ - 5.0
AQ - 5.0
Film - 4.0

Let me start off by saying that I was never a fan of Alice in Wonderland when I was younger. There was something about the new one though that made me want to see it whenever I saw previews for it. I decided to skip it in the theaters though and just blind buy it on Blu-ray since I figured there would be a coupon for it. Was this another successful blind buy for me? Yes. Is the film perfect? No. I still really enjoyed it though and I'm glad to have it in my collection. People are all over the place in regards to this movie, but I give Alice in Wonderland a 4/5. It won't be my personal favorite movie of this year, but I was most definitely entertained and I look forward to watching it again.

I thought the casting in the movie was pretty solid. Starting off with Alice, I thought Mia Wasikowska did a good job. Some people called her performance bland, but I didn't find it to be. Johnny Depp was the perfect choice for Mad Hatter in my opinion, making the character a joy to watch whenever he was on screen. Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, and Michael Sheen provided good voice work for Absolem, Cheshire Cat, and White Rabbit respectively. I thought Anne Hathaway was solid as White Queen, but I am a big fan of her's, so that was a given. Helena Bonham Carter stole the show for some people, and while I didn't feel the same, I did think she was good as Red Queen.

This was a very good disc. While it wasn't the best of the year in either PQ or AQ, it still earns a 5.0 from me in both categories. This looks as good as the film possibly could. It may not be up to the level of Avatar as far as PQ goes, but it's not meant to be, and I really had nothing to complain about there. I also had very little to complain about with the audio. This isn't an intense action movie like Terminator Salvation, but that doesn't take away from the quality of what is presented. I had very few issues with the dialogue and the surround channels were well used. Alice falling in the hole and going down into Wonderland was some of the best audio I've heard all year. I was obviously very pleased with Disney's presentation of Alice in Wonderland on Blu-ray.

I sent this movie back home instead of keeping it with me. Imma have to rent this one seriously, im really curious about johnny deeps role as the mad hatter.