The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

[Show spoiler]I not only cried during this part, my chest did one of those involuntary hiccup-gasps for air that I probably haven't done since I cried as a child.

[Show spoiler]I then proceeded to look around me hoping nobody noticed.

Ditto. But the whole audience was doing the same thing. It was as if we were bonding in our sorrow as well.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Uh oh. I have to break our frindship.

[Show spoiler]

His films are a lot of fun and for what he sets out to achieve, he does it very well.

I grew up watching Bad Boys, The Rock and Armageddon. I saved up and bought our family our first DVD player in 2000 or 2001 and then my mom bought an awesome new 37" Sony flat screen CRT. It looked killer! The first DVD I ever bought was Pearl Harbor

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

[Show spoiler]If he was younger and it came down to the very end, I'd grab my boy and look into his eyes and tell him that I love him. As I hugged him, I'd hold his head close to my chest where he couldn't see anything, then I'd put one in his head and if need be, take care of the others after that. If there was no one else, I'd do myself in the very end, though not if there was even the slightest chance I could fight my way out of it. With me being on my own, it would be a lot easier to push on after that.

Now if he was older, maybe 17 or so, I'm assuming he'd be a lot like me and we'd be hangin on to that last thread of hope. If it was lookin bad, but not the end, I wouldn't even think of doing it. It would have to come down to the very end, then I'd do what's best for us and I'd be making the call. Until then, all request would be denied

Thanks for the detailed and honest answer.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wright

Do you mean 5/5 for The Mummy? Hopefully

It has nothing to do with the scores.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Vanilla Sky

a longer review with be forthcoming, but i gotta keep this short, got dinner reservations in a short while

a wonderful film! genius! mesmerizing! shocking. jaw dropping. and totally wacky and confusing and one i will have to revisit very, very soon. i loved that it was a romantic comedy, mixed with psychological existentialism i didn't even think that was possible!

another addition my my top 50 favorite movies list!

loved it. want it, need it, demand it on blu now.
and to see this got negative reviews on RT and metacritic? once again shows just how worthless and wrong those websites usually are. a shame it took me this long to see this. Tom Cruise gives another terrific performance, along with Penelope Cruz (who i usually can't stand) and Cameron Diaz.


highly recommended!

5/5

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Hey, just because someone is 7 foot tall, that doesnt make a 6'6"er short.

HaHa!! I like that. Thanks for re-establishing my self esteem.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

HaHa!! I like that. Thanks for re-establishing my self esteem.

No problem, Pleb.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Thanks for the detailed and honest answer.

No problem. Same question for you, what would you do in that situation?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

No problem. Same question for you, what would you do in that situation?

I'd yell "CUT" and grab a Carmel Macchiato.

[Show spoiler]I always say that I understand What Janes character did. I always say that it is very believable that a person could make that choice. Similar to jumping out of a burning skyscaper. But when push comes to shove, I dont know what I would do. I wouldnt want my child to suffer a slow, gruesome and painful death, but I dont know if I could kill someone I loved either.

I imagine I might be capable if it was clearly the absolute end, and the monsters were pulling him from my arms, but even then I'd be tempted to shoot the monster instead.

I am a never give up kinda guy, however, some odds are pretty daunting. Like in The Road when there are dozens of cannibals and he had only ONE bullet. I hate to use the word "futile" but sometimes I guess it is. In The Mist scenario I would have pushed on, hoping for hope, but I would have the pistol handy

Those situations are so foriegn to me, and so extreme, I really dont know what I would do until I were thrust into one. Although I think......ugh...I dont know. I think I'd lean towards granting the request.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I'd yell "CUT" and grab a Carmel Macchiato.

[Show spoiler]I always say that I understand What Janes character did. I always say that it is very believable that a person could make that choice. Similar to jumping out of a burning skyscaper. But when push comes to shove, I dont know what I would do. I wouldnt want my child to suffer a slow, gruesome and painful death, but I dont know if I could kill someone I loved either.

I imagine I might be capable if it was clearly the absolute end, and the monsters were pulling him from my arms, but even then I'd be tempted to shoot the monster instead.

I am a never give up kinda guy, however, some odds are pretty daunting. Like in The Road when there are dozens of cannibals and he had only ONE bullet. I hate to use the word "futile" but sometimes I guess it is. In The Mist scenario I would have pushed on, hoping for hope, but I would have the pistol handy

Those situations are so foriegn to me, and so extreme, I really dont know what I would do until I were thrust into one. Although I think......ugh...I dont know. I think I'd lean towards granting the request.

Yeah it's definitely a tough one. Let's all hope we're never in a situation like this and that our lives are filled with love and happiness

[Deadset]

Just watched: How to Train Your Dragon (again)

I liked it more the 2nd time. There are a few parts where you can tell the lead is just reading the script without much soul to it...but overall it was extremely well done.

4.5/5

Next Family movie night will probably be Dragon Hunters.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I didnt see it as abandonment of heroics though, (nice wording BTW) I saw it as "Running out of heroic options". Like his bag of tricks was finally empty.

I think it was more like he suddenly did not have a bag to reach in anymore.

If you want to see a bag of tricks running empty, watch The Road. That's desperation. The Mist ending was more of a cheap thrill for effect. That level of desperation should only be found at the end of the world, not the bottom of a gas tank. To equate the two is absurd.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I'd yell "CUT" and grab a Carmel Macchiato.

[Show spoiler]I always say that I understand What Janes character did. I always say that it is very believable that a person could make that choice. Similar to jumping out of a burning skyscaper. But when push comes to shove, I dont know what I would do. I wouldnt want my child to suffer a slow, gruesome and painful death, but I dont know if I could kill someone I loved either.

I imagine I might be capable if it was clearly the absolute end, and the monsters were pulling him from my arms, but even then I'd be tempted to shoot the monster instead.

I am a never give up kinda guy, however, some odds are pretty daunting. Like in The Road when there are dozens of cannibals and he had only ONE bullet. I hate to use the word "futile" but sometimes I guess it is. In The Mist scenario I would have pushed on, hoping for hope, but I would have the pistol handy

Those situations are so foriegn to me, and so extreme, I really dont know what I would do until I were thrust into one. Although I think......ugh...I dont know. I think I'd lean towards granting the request.

Regardless of whether the ending was good or not, shouldn't Jane's character's subsequent discovery validate the absurdity of the decision? If there's anything to take away from the ending, it's not to give up hope. The Road is a great comparison because it's how him and his son could have ended up. At that point, it might be viewed as legitimate. As for me, I wouldn't do it. To each his own though, of course.

[Show spoiler]The "slow and painful" death he fears his son might suffer is not certain, it's his imagination. The only thing certain about his child's death is if he served it himself.

[iam1bearcat]

Kick-Ass

after dinner the girl and i wanted to watch something entertaining and new that we hadn't seen yet, and sitting on my "pending approval" sat my copy of Kick-Ass. stickers till on the slipcover. digital copy still not used. blu-ray only removed from case once the night i bought it in august. so might as well watch it finally and decide if i'm keeping it or not, right?

well, once it ended, and actually before it ended, i knew i wouldn't be keeping it. Kick-Ass has some good moments and good pieces, but overall it just left me very

+ the super "ultra violence" (see what i did there? ) gore, action and chaos was great fun. lots of laughs, "holy ***!" moments and some (but not always) awesome music go along with it. the girl found it "ridiculously cheesy" at times, but i enjoyed the bloody fun kills

+ the very attractive Lyndsy Fonseca. too bad she didn't get more screen time, and we all got stuck watching McLovin in a leather red suit with a Madonna wig

+ the soundtrack. i'd say it was 85% awesome / genius. really added to the film and certain scenes. i felt it was the best part of the film actually.

+ Nicolas Cage i tend to enjoy all of Cage's work / roles (aside from a few certain films ) and i enjoyed him here. but again, wish he had more screen time.

i also felt the film was way too long, the story was something we've seen six million times and no amount of bloody good kills can make up for that, and the acting by Aaron Johnson was mediocre at best. i understand it was his first major role, but he was written as a mix between Michael Cera & Jesse Eisenberg, but not nearly as commanding, quirky or awkward as those two.

and a question to those who are big fans of the film (foggy, i'm looking in your direction )

[Show spoiler]is Red Mist now "Orange Mist"? and i'm guessing he's going to be the main villain for the sequel (which seems like a terrible idea unless they go in a more comedic route than action / serious route). but is he Orange Mist now? he can't be Red Mist if he's dressed in all orange. can he?

PQ: 4/5
AQ: 4/5

Kick-Ass was fun to watch once, but it's not really my type of film, aside from about 5-6 scenes i was pretty bored and uninterested, didn't care what happened to any of the characters (even though i liked Big Daddy best, when

[Show spoiler]he died, i didn't really care

) and couldn't wait for it to end so i could watch something i liked. worth a rental if you've got nothing else you really want to see.

2.5/5

[KilloWertz]

I never want to speak to bearcat again now. Oh well. It was nice barely knowing you.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Thats fine. I have no problem with you having extremely low standards.

I really only thought he was bad at the very end when he was trying to play epic grief. He's no Hugh Jackman.

AGREED. i didn't really notice it on previous viewings, but man, his acting REALLY stood out like a sore thumb when

[Show spoiler]he's in the car after he shoots everyone. he like, pauses, breathes in, looks RIGHT AT THE CAMERA and then starts to scream then realizes, it like wasn't loud enough, looks at director who's probably waving his hands like, "louder! louder! more pain in your voice! and face too!" so he tries again and again and the punches the steering wheel to make up for it

but aside from that i didn't really have an issue with him. i think if i had to pick something, it would be how he sounds, expresses some lines of dialogue.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

You know whats funny. You never hear ANYONE complain about The Road. Yet, in The Road

[Show spoiler]Viggo carried a pistol and had an explicit pact with his Son that they would take a bullet before being captured by the canibals. We even saw Viggo put it to his Sons head a couple times. The boy looked scared, but he looked like he was in agreement.

But does anyone ever complain about that??? NOOoooooo.

that's a great point! maybe because

[Show spoiler]they actually didn't, that's why no one freaked out?

but i agree. The Road gets none of the decisive "hate it" / "love it" ending / topics that The Mist does. weird.

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Bearcat, sorry to hear that you didn't quite like the greatness that are Malick's most recent films

Glad you didn't hate them though. He's got a very unique style and his films are definitely not for everyone. I wasn't too crazy about his first film, Badlands, although I enjoyed it. I'm so stoked for The Tree of Life though. It can't come soon enough!

i would definitely put The Thin Red Line waaaaay ahead of The New World. and i've actually been interested in seeing Days of Heaven for a very long time, and didn't know he directed it until i looked him up yesterday. but now i'm kind of worried i won't like it but the story of DoH intrigues me more than The New World, so that gives me some hope to enjoy it

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I find most of Malicks work to be unfocused. I think he "Develops the film as he goes along". Evidence of this would be the many scenes including prominent actors from The Thin Red Line that were left on the cutting room floor. I dont believe that he has a clear and "Precise" vision of the final product when he starts. And thats OK because he is an artist, but for me, it shows up (in a negative way) in the final work. I have no problems with films that meander and dont follow a straight path, but his feel "Destinationless". And yes, I know, some films are about the journey and not the destination, but his feel clumsy to ME.

I also believe he put a 14 year old actress into situations that were beyond her years. Bale and Farrell were in their late 20's early 30's.

i can definitely agree with that. i think The Thin Red Line suffered from this more than The New World, but i could be wrong. both seemed to just... "drift" at times.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Originally Posted by tbizzle

[Show spoiler]Driving on one tank of gas is not pushing on. Pushing on is what comes after the challenge is laid in front of you

Again, I see where you're coming from. The thing is, you can throw as many obstacles at the situation as you want... but it still doesn't change what needs to be done, and imo, that's surviving. Life's too precious to throw away when facing a seemingly impendent doom. The more you concentrate on the negative aspects of the situation, the more paramount the task in front of you becomes. You can throw all these negative "what if's" out there, but the equal amount of positive "what if's" can be thrown right back. Even in a sh!tty situation like this, there CAN always be a ray of sunshine right around the corner,

[Show spoiler]as was the case with the ending in this film

. If someone wants to end their life in that situation, I would do everything I could to prevent that. If I couldn't, then I'd let them go and that's just one less thing to slow me down. That sounds harsh, but in that situation, my boy and I are ultimately the only thing that matters.

i see where you're coming from as well. but i would've

[Show spoiler]ended things before they POSSIBLY got worse.

and would you be able to

[Show spoiler]live with yourself if you and your boy are walking through the mist and you two get attacked by spiders (or any other creatures) and he dies a slow, miserable death as he's screaming for you to help and save him?

and would that be worse to live with than

[Show spoiler]shooting him and having him suffer no pain?

i know you're coming from the perspective of

[Show spoiler]thinking there is hope, and not death around every corner. but you have to imagine he thought of that, especially when he promised his son he wouldn't let the monsters get him.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Uh oh. I have to break our frindship.

[Show spoiler]

good thing you guys can still have your friendship

[Show spoiler] you know i had to

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by killowertz

I never want to speak to bearcat again now. Oh well. It was nice barely knowing you.

ohhh, well it was nice to know you while i had the chance, killowertz

[Show spoiler]

[iam1bearcat]

Vanilla Sky

alright, here my longer review of Vanilla Sky that i wasn't able to write earlier.

a wonderful film! genius! mesmerizing! shocking. jaw dropping. and totally wacky and confusing and one i will have to revisit very, very soon. i loved that it was a romantic comedy, mixed with psychological existentialism i didn't even think that was possible!

another addition my my top 50 favorite movies list!

loved it. want it, need it, demand it on blu now
and to see this got negative reviews on RT and metacritic? once again shows just how worthless and wrong those websites usually are. a shame it took me this long to see this. Tom Cruise gives another terrific performance, along with Penelope Cruz (who i usually can't stand) and Cameron Diaz.

i can't even describe how much my mind was blown during the last half hour. the entire last 30 minutes or so i sat about 2 feet away from the screen, jaw on the floor, afraid to blink for fear of missing any crucial details. it was so effing awesome how many times i went back and forth with what i believed was happening.

[Show spoiler]was it really a dream and that David was in? or was it something else and his mind was breaking down?

i remember i was distinctly believing that

[Show spoiler]it was 100% a dream and then something happened and i was like, "wait, wait, wait. hold on!" and i was instantly reversed, and then reversed back again!

the the the the and the my mind was going a million miles an hour and my thoughts couldn't keep up. i'm pretty sure some synapses were blown because once the credits rolled and i was made clear what was happened, i didn't move for about 10 minutes. i was just... "wow. now THAT is a film!"

a beautiful story, wonderful performances and a million other things. i also LOVED the score. at times it felt very "early 200's" (which is when the film was made, 2001) but it never felt cheesy. and the fact the film ends with a song by Sigur Ros, one of my Top 5 favorite bands?! it was a match made in heaven! and it asks you the question:

[Show spoiler]would you stay in the dream sequence? or would you wake up and live life? and i would probably choose to stay in the dream, because that's where the girl is. but if he does live, he will die eventually (he won't age, but he could still get hit by a bus or something and die right? or was the none aging just when he was frozen, which is obvious?) and then he will see Sofia in another life. but i don't know if i could do that when in the dream world, she's there NOW, but yes, it isn't really her. man, touch decision for me!

to explain how i was during the film it was kind of like:
"okay, this is neat.... i'm really liking this. i'm really intrigued... whoa... wait a minute...


it's definitely a film that you can't wait to go back and watch again and soak everything up again. as Ebert said in his review: "This is the kind of movie you don't want to analyze until you've seen it two times." and that's exactly right.

honestly i think the last time i had my mind blown so much in the last half hour was Fight Club. now, that's not to say other films are puzzling or have a "holy ****!" moment (Triangle instantly comes to mind), but i wasn't expecting to experience what i did with Vanilla Sky, and i hope that isn't giving away too much because i want everyone to see this wonderful film. but with films like Triangle, and other films of that nature, you go in and usually pretty quickly you can tell something is up and you have to think about what you're seeing. and then there are some films that suddenly pull the rug out from under you and dropkick you in the face with such a passion and shock that you literally have your brain melt out your nose. maybe few others had the same experience as i did, but Vanilla Sky makes that list.

my highest recommendation.

5/5

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Vanilla Sky

[Show spoiler]alright, here my longer review of Vanilla Sky that i wasn't able to write earlier.

a wonderful film! genius! mesmerizing! shocking. jaw dropping. and totally wacky and confusing and one i will have to revisit very, very soon. i loved that it was a romantic comedy, mixed with psychological existentialism i didn't even think that was possible!

another addition my my top 50 favorite movies list!

loved it. want it, need it, demand it on blu now
and to see this got negative reviews on RT and metacritic? once again shows just how worthless and wrong those websites usually are. a shame it took me this long to see this. Tom Cruise gives another terrific performance, along with Penelope Cruz (who i usually can't stand) and Cameron Diaz.

i can't even describe how much my mind was blown during the last half hour. the entire last 30 minutes or so i sat about 2 feet away from the screen, jaw on the floor, afraid to blink for fear of missing any crucial details. it was so effing awesome how many times i went back and forth with what i believed was happening.

[Show spoiler]was it really a dream and that David was in? or was it something else and his mind was breaking down?

i remember i was distinctly believing that

[Show spoiler]it was 100% a dream and then something happened and i was like, "wait, wait, wait. hold on!" and i was instantly reversed, and then reversed back again!

the the the the and the my mind was going a million miles an hour and my thoughts couldn't keep up. i'm pretty sure some synapses were blown because once the credits rolled and i was made clear what was happened, i didn't move for about 10 minutes. i was just... "wow. now THAT is a film!"

a beautiful story, wonderful performances and a million other things. i also LOVED the score. at times it felt very "early 200's" (which is when the film was made, 2001) but it never felt cheesy. and the fact the film ends with a song by Sigur Ros, one of my Top 5 favorite bands?! it was a match made in heaven! and it asks you the question:

[Show spoiler]would you stay in the dream sequence? or would you wake up and live life? and i would probably choose to stay in the dream, because that's where the girl is. but if he does live, he will die eventually (he won't age, but he could still get hit by a bus or something and die right? or was the none aging just when he was frozen, which is obvious?) and then he will see Sofia in another life. but i don't know if i could do that when in the dream world, she's there NOW, but yes, it isn't really her. man, touch decision for me!

to explain how i was during the film it was kind of like:
"okay, this is neat.... i'm really liking this. i'm really intrigued... whoa... wait a minute...


it's definitely a film that you can't wait to go back and watch again and soak everything up again. as Ebert said in his review: "This is the kind of movie you don't want to analyze until you've seen it two times." and that's exactly right.

honestly i think the last time i had my mind blown so much in the last half hour was Fight Club. now, that's not to say other films are puzzling or have a "holy ****!" moment (Triangle instantly comes to mind), but i wasn't expecting to experience what i did with Vanilla Sky, and i hope that isn't giving away too much because i want everyone to see this wonderful film. but with films like Triangle, and other films of that nature, you go in and usually pretty quickly you can tell something is up and you have to think about what you're seeing. and then there are some films that suddenly pull the rug out from under you and dropkick you in the face with such a passion and shock that you literally have your brain melt out your nose. maybe few others had the same experience as i did, but Vanilla Sky makes that list.

my highest recommendation.

5/5

I've never seen it. I heard it has the most atrocious acting by Cruise though.