The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Def in my queue but I won't get to it for a bit just because of the Criterion sale, I have a few to watch and I promised to see Before Sunrise/Sunset first. But I promise I'll get to it!

May I make a suggestion? I gave this same advice to my sister and she said she was glad I did.

Take a break between the 2. Take a couple/few days if you can. There is a 9 year gap between the two, and allowing the first one to "settle in" pays off when you watch the second one.

Just a thought.

[iam1bearcat]

Taxi Driver (1976: directed by Martin Scorsese)

FIRST TIME VIEWING

continuing on my quest to watch older classics that i have missed, i just finished Taxi Driver.
and... not really sure how i feel about it.

Robert DeNiro? amazing in a role where he had to display a lot of subtleties, and not express himself with a lot of dialogue. however, i don't think it will be a role that stands out when compared to other characters by other actors. but that may just be me.

i loved the look and feel or the film. i find it remarkable how most films from the 70's and 80's have that era built right into them. i don't know if the 90's or 00's have that. definitely not the 00's, unless massive amounts of CGI count but older movies definitely feel like they have more heart than newer, shinier films. the grittiness of Taxi Driver was amazing. the seedy underbelly of New York was on full display and i enjoyed every gross feeling moment of it.

two main complaints, one of which may be rectified with repeat viewings and insight from far more intelligent people on here, bring the film down for me. the first complaint is the structure of the film. i can see a lot of people hating the pacing because the first hour is a slow burner of sorts with a lot of odd, short conversations with characters that have virtually no impact on the story. i don't need every character to have a full blown story and purpose, and while most of the cameo roles were well acted, and hilarious (the guy who likes Betsy is s particular scene stealer) i kept wondering what the connection was. but the structure of the film is what bugged me here. trying to connect the dots, i don't really see any connection and the jumps from Travis outside of a governer's campaign speech to a breakfast with a hooker just seemed so disconnected.

and now my major complaint, or at least confusion:

[Show spoiler]the ending. or more so, the moral of the story. i understand that Travis wanted to "wash away the trash" in the city and the world, but was Palantine one of these people?

did Travis actually

[Show spoiler]work for the government like he said to Easy and in a letter to his parents, or was he lying? or just crazy because he was discharged from the Marines?

i just don't get what i was supposed to get from the movie when it ended. i was following it along well, but was Travis

[Show spoiler]just scared of shooting Palantine? or because he almost got caught he changed his mind?

once i see this in a different way or if someone can clue me in a little bit here, i might raise my overall score. but for now i can sum up Taxi Driver like this:

great performances, seedy but fantastic atmosphere, a slow burning film with a message (or two) however that message i don't believe i either connected with or understood exactly because of the structure and third act.

4/5

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I look forward to the morning and when Squid does his extensive catching up of the night time posts

lol i was just thinking this exact same thing

[Foggy]

I need to get round to watching Taxi Driver, startd watching it a while ago but never got around to finishing it!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

True story: I heard on the radio (in Orlando) this morning that teen couples in Seattle are mimicking Twilight/New Moon/etc and physically biting each other's necks and sharing blood....this was in the news in FLorida, so I presume its happening up there...>WTF???????????

I believe it. Its cloudy and rainy there 350 days a years, so the kids get depressed and act out.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

I tried that when I was on a date the other nite. Didn't work so well.

There are better ways to get iron into your diet.

[JLant19]

The Book of Eli(Netflix Rental)

Director: Albert & Allen Hughes

Cast: Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis and Gary Oldman

Film:3.5/5

Going into this I knew what the book was and it did not hurt anything to know that. But you find out rather quickly so it was no big deal. The story/plot was really good and I like the idea behind this. It def kept me interested the whole time and I think it was bc of the religious aspect of the film(which is a huge part of the film). The writing on the other hand was just ok. It wasn't anything great but a great amount of this film was just shots of walking and some action scenes. But that being said the film did have an emotion to it, to me at least. I really enjoyed he ending(last 20 mins), I thought it was great. The rest of the film was ok, but still interesting. I will prob never watch this again but I am glad I did.

Denzel does a great job and I found his performance rather nicely done. I mean ccome on it is Denzel. I have read/heard from may people that they think that Mila Kunis was miscast and didn't do a good job. I most def disagree. She did great and I think she fit just fine. Gary Oldman did a good job, nothing great. Maybe it was just me idk.

Overall, I def say see this and maybe you will find it better than I did, as a lot of people have. The one thing that did keep me in it as a film was the religious aspect. Religion is always something that I find interesting in films bc I like to see how different people view it and how it differs/resembles what I believe and with The Book of Eli I was def happy with it.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Eraserhead (1977, written & directed by David Lynch)

FIRST VIEWING

three minutes in i said to myself, "oh god. i'm in too deep. i have no idea what i'm doing".

83 minutes later, i still had no idea what had just happened.

writing a review to do Eraserhead justice seems impossible. as is explaining just what in the hell the film is about. i refuse to give a film a "0" or a "1" just because i don't like its subject matter or don't understand the film. i appreciate (on some level) the "art" that Lynch has created here. so while my score may seem high for what i'm about to write, i believe it deserves it. because films like My Boss's Daughter are bad films because of: acting, script, story, pacing, characters, and a million other things. i can understand absolutely hating Eraserhead, but not because it's a bad film. but because simply it is a very, very messed up film.

the main character in Eraserhead is Henry. he is on vacation from his job at a local factory as a printer and has dinner with his (girl)friend Mary. he soon finds out they must get married because she just had a baby. well, kind of. it sound simple. sounds normal. but it is anything but! there are about 25 complete and total "WTF?!" moments that fill the film.

very minimal dialogue, very disturbing and haunting score, even more haunting humming of generators, and random background noise that will keep me up until dawn i'm sure. (and i used to think 2001 was weird let me just say, 2001 has NOTHING on Eraserhead in terms of weirdness) dense and creepy lighting (and the film is black and white, which somehow makes it creepier than if it were in color i think), and an atmosphere like no other. there is a 95% chance i will never watch this again. but will surely be telling my friends about it. but i almost don't want to. i almost didn't want to write a review for this. because i want to tell every man, woman, and child to run away. if you EVER hear the word(s?) "Eraserhead" run the other way. if you can watch Eraserhead and not wince, squirm and be completely dumbfounded... then you are a liar.

it was amazing though how hooked i was in the film though. it didn't make almost any sense to me, and i couldn't tell if the acting was superb or absolutely horrible, but it entranced me. every scene i was thinking, "oh god now what..." not because it's a gruesome movie like the many Saw films, but because my brain was getting bludgeoned by unknown and unseen forces. i don't know anything about David Lynch and i kind of don't want to. i kind of don't want to see ANYTHING he has ever done again (this was the first film i've seen of his i believe). but at the same time... i do. dammit Lynch, how can you make a movie i hate, don't understand and don't ever want to watch again, and yet i enjoyed it tremendously? how the hell do i rate that?

i could go on and on for six pages, but i won't.
am i glad i watched it? yes. simple enough. now i must go watch Seinfeld. something simple and peaceful for my simple young mind to grasp.

4.5/5

I am so happy that you srvived. Your take is just like mine. I absolutely hated every second, and every second that passed I promised myself that I would turn it off as soon as this scene is over. It was a mental mind Ficking magnet. My TV swallowd me whole and I couldnt get out.

I want to call it trash, but I couldnt turn it off and I couldnt get it out of my head for weeks, so how do I rate it?????????

Highly Recommended. Must see. But dont hate me afterwards.

The sounds.......Ohhhhh...the sounds....how they punish you...relentlessly.

Its like going to a world you never thought could exist. Its like a nightmare on LSD X 75.

Be proud. You lived through it.

Dont worry about seeing other Lynch films. You made it through the toughest one IMO. Many others are "Kinda Normal". Sort of.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by JLant19

Wanted(HBO)

Film:3/5


The story was cool and the twist was ok but this film just didn't do anything for me. There are way too many better action films out there that I'd rather watch.

Saying all that I do say that this is an entertaining film. Just don't expect to be mesmerized by it. Def an entertaining action film but nothing more imo.

Thats really all I can say, it was just "meh" to me, but if you are an action junky, buy it or just even somewhat like me then I say watch it first dont buy it.

I agree. Meh.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I look forward to the morning and when Squid does his extensive catching up of the night time posts

Damn stalker.

[snowball_iv]

Grizzly Man 3/5
Before even watching this movie, I thought i would feel sorry for the guy, thinking he would be a Al Borlin looking guy, a lover of outdoors, with a big bushy beard and flannel shirt, but he was annoying and a bit off his rocker. The more I watched the show, more i was ready for this guy to die.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

lol i was just thinking this exact same thing

Its getting crowded in here with all the stalkers now. Sheesh, internet paparazzi.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by snowball_iv

Grizzly Man 3/5
Before even watching this movie, I thought i would feel sorry for the guy, thinking he would be a Al Borlin looking guy, a lover of outdoors, with a big bushy beard and flannel shirt, but he was annoying and a bit off his rocker. The more I watched the show, more i was ready for this guy to die.

You mess with fire and you get burned. The guy was wackoo. Nice to finally see the bears get a solid meal.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by squidpuppet

damn stalker.

Originally Posted by squidpuppet

its getting crowded in here with all the stalkers now. Sheesh, internet paparazzi.

lolololololololololololololololololololololol!

[Q?]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Damn stalker.

Blu-ray.com is going down the drain
Insiders bickering and people calling each other stalkers....

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I am so happy that you srvived. Your take is just like mine. I absolutely hated every second, and every second that passed I promised myself that I would turn it off as soon as this scene is over. It was a mental mind Ficking magnet. My TV swallowd me whole and I couldnt get out.

I want to call it trash, but I couldnt turn it off and I couldnt get it out of my head for weeks, so how do I rate it?????????

Highly Recommended. Must see. But dont hate me afterwards.

The sounds.......Ohhhhh...the sounds....how they punish you...relentlessly.

Its like going to a world you never thought could exist. Its like a nightmare on LSD X 75.

Be proud. You lived through it.

Dont worry about seeing other Lynch films. You made it through the toughest one IMO. Many others are "Kinda Normal". Sort of.

EXACTLY!
good to know Eraserhead is the toughest. i don't know how much more i could handle. although the first 15 seconds of Mulholland Dr. made me puzzled and say, "oh god... no!" so i had to save that. haha, but Lynch definitely seems like quite the character if Eraserhead is any indication.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Q!

Blu-ray.com is going down the drain
Insiders bickering and people calling each other stalkers....

i think you forgot to make this face

[Show spoiler]

unless you were serious or just being realllll sly with your humor

[Q?]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i think you forgot to make this face

[Show spoiler]

unless you were serious or just being realllll sly with your humor

I thought the "hyperbolic emotions" I showed with the smileys were enough?

Or should I have used "" instead?

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Damn stalker.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Its getting crowded in here with all the stalkers now. Sheesh, internet paparazzi.

At least you're famous





I watched Casino Royale last night. Pretty sure I've reviewed it here before. So...

4.75/5

Originally Posted by Q!

I thought the "hyperbolic emotions" I showed with the smileys were enough?

Or should I have used "" instead?

Maybe the should have been in spoiler tags


(I got it though)

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i think you forgot to make this face

[Show spoiler]

unless you were serious or just being realllll sly with your humor

You can't spell Sly without Q!

[Show spoiler]Huh?