The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

If your list obsession shows back up, try and limit it to say, 10 or 15 that way its a manageable number...well for you of course, I couldn't even get to 6, 5 was a struggle.

it also doesn't help that for whatever reason i can't mix in Pixar's, animated films and comedies (although Pixar's and animated films in general are much harder than comedies). don't know why but i just can't figure it out even though i know i like The Fast and the Furious more than say, Cars, and i know i like Toy Story more than The Fast and the Furious, when i'm actually making the list it suddenly becomes impossible

i tried taking 10 films at a time and putting them in order, then another 10 and then converging them, but that didn't work either so i'm just gonna relax, realize that i don't need a definitive list, and if i love it, i love it. as simple as that. i hope

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

it also doesn't help that for whatever reason i can't mix in Pixar's, animated films and comedies (although Pixar's and animated films in general are much harder than comedies). don't know why but i just can't figure it out even though i know i like The Fast and the Furious more than say, Cars, and i know i like Toy Story more than The Fast and the Furious, when i'm actually making the list it suddenly becomes impossible

i tried taking 10 films at a time and putting them in order, then another 10 and then converging them, but that didn't work either so i'm just gonna relax, realize that i don't need a definitive list, and if i love it, i love it. as simple as that. i hope

Be careful where you put Toy Story if you do place it....t

[Show spoiler]hose toys see eeeeeeverything

As for the bold, that's generally my approach after 1) Return of the King and 2) The Dark Knight, but I forced myself to make a Top 5. I'm done after that, I have no official rankings below #5.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Be careful where you put Toy Story if you do place it....t

[Show spoiler]hose toys see eeeeeeverything

i'm surprised i can type this on my keyboard after giggling chocolate milk all over it you owe me a new keyboard Diesel! no seriously, you do

[Show spoiler]seriously

[Show spoiler]

As for the bold, that's generally my approach after 1) Return of the King and 2) The Dark Knight, but I forced myself to make a Top 5. I'm done after that, I have no official rankings below #5.

as weird as it may sound (as i should probably be put on medication for it ) but if i don't have some sort of list i feel like then there's no difference between a great film like Revanche and an abomination like pauly Shore Is Dead. and just stopping after 10-15 means the rest are all just swimming in a pool together when they shouldn't be anywhere near each other (like a class system for films ).

so if, you're thinking, "what the fudge is he talking about?" yes, i think of my list like the movies being at a pool party:

top 25-50: these are the hot shots who run the pool area and have the best lounge seats in the best spots to get sun

51-100: they get the best spots in the pool - mainly against the wall in the deep end

101-200: the deep end where all the fun and the diving board is

201-250: middle of the pool, kind of mingling with the top of the line films but also realizing they aren't that great because they're still close to the mediocre and awful films

259-350: the shallow end

351-549: the really shallow end with the stupid stairs that when you sit on the water just constantly hits you in the crotch when there's a wave or a splash

555-???: outside of the fenced in pool party area desperately wishing they were inside with everyone else

yes. that is how i see it "visually" in my head. and if i didn't have some sort of list, then everyone would be jumbled together. and you can't have Fight Club trying to do a cannonball when shipwrecks like Rest Stop (or Iron Man 2, but IM2 brings the ladies so that has friends who are higher ups ) are bothering them!

so it's like, "who do you want mingling with who?" hmm... maybe i should use that train of thought to make my list...

insanity? i'm quite sure they'll say "yes" one day

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Sin Nombre (netflix instant)

year: 2009
director: Cary Fukunaga
starring: Edgar Flores (Willy / "Casper"), Kristian Ferrer (Smiley), Paulina Gaitan (Sayra)

[Show spoiler]plot summary: a teenager (Casper) brings a young boy (Smiley) into his gang, El Mara, to teach him the ropes. but when the leader of El Mara finally pushes Casper to the breaking point, how far is he willing to go, knowing his life is on the line?

the film follows Casper and Smiley as the two main characters in this fantastic foreign drama. for 90 minutes it packs a lot of punch and while not necessarily a hyper active action, intense film, there are quite a few moments that had me on the edge of my seat in anticipation Sin Nombre does this excellently. something most common drama / thrillers don't do well at all.

as to be pretty much expected of foreign films the directing, the performances, the atmosphere, cinematography and themes are all A+ across the board. the atmosphere and cinematography especially are absolutely spectacular! and even on netflix instant it looks gorgeous, i would love to see this on blu-ray

the realistic feel of the film alone is something Hollywood imo never gets right in 90% of its films. sure, some films feel real (Training Day, Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypse Now) but there's something about the feel of foreign films that are just more gritty and real. it's not about over the top characters or explosions, it's about people, the places and the story. and Sin Nombre excels that that. just like Elite Squad, The Lives of Others and Revanche do in their respective films.

it's an easy film to give a score to, and that was before the terrific ending:

[Show spoiler]i LOVED the show down between Smiley and Casper and was really wondering if Smiley was going to kill him or if he was just saying that. but man! he shoots him 3 times! that kid definitely meant business and was not kidding around just to save his own life (i believe, because if he killed him just to save himself, he could have just shot him once, not 3 times)

i just wish it would have been a bit more drawn out. after all that build up it was over relatively quickly but that's just a minor nitpick.

i watched Sin Nombre with the gf and some friends and after it ended we had an interesting discussion about what some films show us from their characters / situations. nothing gruesome so to speak, but we actually had 2 people leave the room and refuse to watch the movie because one of the story lines was about

[Show spoiler]illegal immigrants trying to sneak in to the United States

. after the film ended we had a discussion about being open to watching different types of films. without making this a debate that is off topic i will say that i stand firmly on one side of the discussion, the one that dislikes what the characters were doing, but i had no issue watching the movie i even have a friend who won't watch Final Destination because he's a big believer in faith and "the devil isn't in control of that, that's nonsense" and within 2 minutes of watching the film and him reading the back cover of the dvd, he demanded we turn it off!

i personally have no issue WATCHING A FILM that has situations / themes maybe i don't believe in or accept or like, but it's a film. yes, some films are fantasy, but then there are also films that show real life in a very realistic manner, like Sin Nombre. just because i may not like or agree with someone characters are doing in a film doesn't mean i won't watch it. but i was surprised as fudge that some of our friends actually left! i personally think that's nonsense, but to each their own i guess.

is it another edition to my top 50 Favorite Films? eh, maybe? but it's definitely in the top 100 somewhere. and if this would come out in a U.S. release i would pick this up asap highly recommended.

5/5

Glad you liked it man, you should check out the National Geographic documentary about the MS13. It's called The Most Dangerous Gang in the World and it's on a Watch Instantly on Netflix

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

If I remember right

[Show spoiler]the people who nabbed him (all the gangstas in the town) performed a trial of sorts underground and sentenced him. I think they passed him off to the proper authorities for punishment. I remember the guy had a rather passionate speech at that point, in which he exclaims that he's only doing what he loves to do (or something to that effect; is that the speech you're talking about?), and the final shot is a hand holding a gavel and pounding it. It's a pretty abrupt ending, but justice is served

.

It's been a while since I saw it, but I remember loving the film and ranking it as one of my top favorite film-noir films. Fritz Lang was the man!

Thanks. About his speach (which was great btw), he was saying that he

[Show spoiler]was mentally ill and couldn't help himself.

[lDlisturb3d]

My Cousin Vinny (Netflix Instant)

Director: Jonathan Lynn
Writer: Dale Launer
Mains: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei and Fred Gwynne

"So obviously it takes you 5 minutes to cook your breakfast."


Plot: Stan and Bill get accused and arrested for murder in Alabama. To prove their innocents they will need a good lawyer. They dont have much money so they seek help from a family member within the law field. Cousin Vinny.

My Take: This movie is freaking hilarious with a good story. I absolutely loved Vinny (Pesci) but really loved Mona (Marisa). From the very beginning of the film you already have the mind set of here we go another movie making fun of the south but i really doesn't turn at the way. The film is focused around Vinny's obnoxious attitude and his very Intelligent finance'. This movie is funny from beginning to end with several amazing punchlines to keep you involved. The court house scene will stick to me forever. Also the breakfast scene, also the guy he gets into a argument with over the 200 dollars he was in debt to with Mona. "If you cant convince him confuse him".

Conclusion: This was my first viewing of this film and i know its praised highly as one of the greatest comedies well i'd have to say that this didnt fall far from its hype and reputation. My Cousin Vinny offers humor and quotes that you will never ever forget. The dialogue from Mona is worth the viewing along. Of course Vinny is great but she was amazing (Hence the Oscar). Overall this is a great classic comedy that comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by yours truly.

4.5/5

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

see my comments in your spoiler

Ok, it seems like you jumped on a bunch of my points without reading my whole post first, and then agreed with me at the end when I stated that they were just college kids so a lot of their depicted actions were realistic in nature. I'll just respond to a few of your points and give you some survival knowledge

[Show spoiler]??? TUcking it in your jacket?? And that solves the problem?? I don't think so. Her hand would still be exposed , plus when she falls asleep, it would easily slip out...which is what happened!!

I'm sure you've been in cold weather and needed to pull your hands inside your sleeves to keep them warm. Or if they were really cold, tuck them inside your jacket/sweatshirt under your armpit. This is what she would've done and her hand would've been fine. And how is her hand gonna slip out when her arm is in her jacket?

were you out for 2-3 days???

Yes, and longer.

again, we're talking 2-3 days here, I really don't think "where is my right hand located" is top priority on her mind. she's eaten nothing. she may even be hallucinating. when looked at in context, anything is possible. so the hand on the rail is realistic. IMO, if it stayed tucked in her sleeve the entire time, that would be grossly unrealisitci!

When your hands or feet are that cold, it HURTS. Trust me, you don't just forget about it. The pain will wake you up as well, our bodies wouldn't just let you sleep through something like that. And no, you don't experience hallucinations without having eaten for only 12 hours or so, come on now.

?? hours?? you mean days??

I was just pointing out that it's unrealistic that they'd been stuck out there for a matter of hours and basically hadn't not moved at all, yet they were more or less fine. Days is far more unrealistic.

You mean to tell me they never read "Surviving in Frozen Temperatures for Dummies"!?!??! How unrealistic!!!!! no, that just reinforces the realism!!! who would know to do that?? you do perhaps, but 1 in 100 would, hence it being more realistic. movies get unrealistic when ORDINARY PEOPLE DO UNREALISTIC THINGS, like standing up in a ski car and suddently knowing leg warming techniques in the cold

Seriously? It's not rocket science man. When you're extremely cold, your body tightens up the veins and restricts bloodflow to your extremities, redirecting the blood to your core to keep your organs operating. Your body is a machine and this is one of it's finely tuned survival mechanisms. Same as shivering, which expends energy and creates movement. Movement = bloodflow = warmth = survival. There's no way you can sit still on a chair lift that high up in the air with your legs dangling while you're exposed to the elements and be okay.

Their legs would've frozen, not to mention that without movement, your body's gonna freeze.?? not sure how you could know that? wouldn't that depend on the temperature, the thickness of their pants, etc?

This is how their gear works (same principle as a blanket). It retains your body heat and keeps you warm. When your body temperature drops, your gear becomes less effective because there's significantly less amount of warmth to be held in. When you're out in cold weather like that, especially way up in the air exposed to high winds in a blizzard, your body temp is gonna drop. You're gonna need a lot more than snow gear to keep you warm if you're doing ZERO movement. Zero movement in those conditions = frozen people.

??? dude really???? what were you expecting??? a self-made banner with christmas lights??? I'm kdding but seriously, I thikn you're expecting waaaaaayy too much from these characters: THEY ARE ORDINARY KIDS. realistic = what an ordinary kid would do, not what an expert survivor on a survivor reality show would do

Your argument's pretty thin here. They wasted so much time yelling, it was retarded. If I were in that situation, even as a "regular college kid", i wouldn't be yelling at a guy in a closed cab... of a LOUD machine.... in a blizzard!!

And as for the sliced hand part, it's not like this was an Arnold film and he could tough out the pain of an injury and move on. This is the self proclaimed weakling, and he's holding his entire body weight (plus gear) on hands that look like sushi! The longer he went, the worse his hands got. It just seemed extremely unlikely that he wouldn't have wrapped his jacket around the cable and then gone from there. Btw did anyone notice that there was no blood on the rungs when he was climbing down the ladder? Like I said, I'm a realist and I look for those things

Come on man, these are your responses? You're making me type a lot just to explain simple stuff here

All in all I enjoyed it, but there was a lot of typical movie stuff in this one.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

in your spoiler i put some bolded stuff. just my thoughts and agreements mainly. glad you enjoyed it. and glad you didn't have an issue with

[Show spoiler]the wolves

unlike everyone else who apparently has never been outside

[Show spoiler]great point. i thought the same thing. i thought "at least have her rest the hand with the glove on the bar. why would she put that one?! but maybe she was tired and just so drained she didn't realize? i don't really believe that, but just saying

Read my counter to surf's response on this one

great point. i'm not outdoorsy at all so i didn't even think of dangling legs freaking

Yeah, no movement in those temperatures = frozen. I went into a lot more detail in my response to surf's post

LOL @ this because if you've seen the Frozen thread, all anyone does is b*tch about the presence of wolves, so if they would have done this, everyone would be blabbering about this as well. but this does make sense. there's videos on youtube of people who do this kind of this (jump and grab trees and then get flung into snow piles or something)

Sounds like I need to check it out. Thinking about it, there probably aren't many wolves chillin near a populated area such as a ski resort, especially near a highway. But I wasn't too concentrated on the wolves, lol.

And yeah, the wolves did find the people pretty damn fast. The people were yelling, but that probably wouldn't attract wildlife, it would more or less be a reason for them to stay away. People think of those kinds of creatures as being big, bad and scary, but they're generally more scared of us than we are of them. I'll check out the frozen thread tomorrow and read the wolf complaints

same. although i laughed because i was like "throw something!" and then they did

Yeah I was glad when they started throwing stuff, FINALLY.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i'm feeling a bit foolish right now. i spent the better part of 5 hours today trying to get my "Favorite Movies" list in order. i tried about 6 different ways of figuring out how to get a list of over 580+ movies in order. of course i didn't organize all of them, so it was easy to hack off about 350+ films, and while i was finally able to make a solid list of 1-50, because there are so many great films (and other films i believe i will enjoy) i've yet to see, making the list seems a bit futile and foolish. i knew it wasn't gonna be set in stone, but it was still extremely difficult to get this list down in an order i could sleep on tonight. so while i'm sure there will be new additions, which means some will be knocked down and out of the top 50, this is what my top 50 Favorite Films list looks like, for those who want to take a peek:

[Show spoiler]Fight Club*
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*
The Lives of Others+
There Will Be Blood
2001: A Space Odyssey
Apocalypse Now
Magnolia
Elite Squad+
Solaris (2002)+
The Blair Witch Project*
(500) Days of Summer*
The Wrestler+
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Punch Drunk Love*
Revanche
Moon
Donnie Darko*
The Rules of Attraction*
Boogie Nights
Michael Clayton
Vanilla Sky+
Adventureland+
Mulholland Dr.+
Garden State*
The Fountain+
Requiem for a Dream+
Hard Eight+
Blow*
The Last Kiss*
Zodiac*
Away We Go+
Closer
Taxi Driver+
Sin Nombre+
American Beauty*
Reign Over Me*
Into the Wild*
Triangle
I Heart Huckabees
Joy Ride*
The Butterfly Effect*
A Beautiful Mind
The Mist
Collateral
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Babel+
Brazil+
11:14+
The Last Samurai
The Crow*

+ = a film i have only seen once or twice and have seen within the last month or so, so it could easily move up the list with more viewings (and a better understanding of it, a la Mulholland Dr.) or move down and maybe i'm just giddy on it now because it's still so fresh in my mind.

* = it's on the list for a number of reasons, but most of the ones with the asterisk hold some sentimental value for me, or are just a personal favorite and have been for a long time so i hold them in high regard. i think most wouldn't be considered great films, but they're great to me for a variety of reasons and will always be a high favorite, no matter how many films i see.

The way I went about my list is:

1) Give every film a ranking when I see it. I did this on IMDB so that I have a record that I can refer to.

2) After ranking 200 or so, look at IMDB to see what I gave each film.

3) Take all the 10s and put them in a rough order, then the 9s. That gave me over 100 films.

4) Copy the list to Word format so that I can easily adjust the positions.

5) Rank every film I re-watch without referring to the list and update accordingly.

It's not perfect. No system is. I find that I rank films according to genre. What earns a 10 in horror or animation might not be better than a 9 in drama because of the depth of quality in drama. Anyway, that's the idea.

Films that are fresh in my mind tend to move up the list if they are among my favorites. Also, it accounts for my ever changing tastes.

Your Top 50 fits my taste pretty well, although only two made my Top 10 and I haven't seen half the things on your list.

Amélie moves up my list every time I see it...now at #15 after I watched it again last night.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

We are in need of a great quote here -- on the profound level of Ebert's NSE.

Justice Scalia - 60 minutes, regarding a legal issue: "Well, that's my view...and it happens to be correct." (arrogant grin) INTERVIEWER=OWNED


Time to start using that quote on our posts!! NSE is great, but this is sick!!

Here's a simple example of why subjectivity is king. I'll use a

[Show spoiler]puppy

example, since i got teased on that last week.

Person A: thinks

[Show spoiler]dogs

are great because he's grown up with them since he was a kid and has had great relationships with them. A very rationale opinion, from person A's perspective.

Person B: thinks

[Show spoiler]dogs

are bad because as an age 8 kid, he suffered a horrific

[Show spoiler]attack from a dog

and hence has an immense fear of all

[Show spoiler]dogs

. Again, a very rationale opinion, from person B's perspective.

So who is "correct"? Are

[Show spoiler]dogs

good or bad? (yes, a trick question)

My favorite Scalia quote?


"Like some ghoul in a late-night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in its grave and shuffles abroad, after being repeatedly killed and buried, Lemon stalks our Establishment Clause jurisprudence once again, frightening the little children and school attorneys of Center Moriches Union Free School District... Over the years, however, no fewer than five of the currently sitting Justices have, in their own opinions, personally driven pencils through the creature's heart (the author of today's opinion repeatedly), and a sixth has joined an opinion doing so. The secret of the Lemon test's survival, I think, is that it is so easy to kill. It is there to scare us (and our audience) when we wish it to do so, but we can command it to return to the tomb at will. Such a docile and useful monster is worth keeping around, at least in a somnolent state; one never knows when one might need him."



Ohhh how I hated the Lemon test.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Ok, it seems like you jumped on a bunch of my points without reading my whole post first, and then agreed with me at the end when I stated that they were just college kids so a lot of their depicted actions were realistic in nature. I'll just respond to a few of your points and give you some survival knowledge

[Show spoiler]??? TUcking it in your jacket?? And that solves the problem?? I don't think so. Her hand would still be exposed , plus when she falls asleep, it would easily slip out...which is what happened!!

I'm sure you've been in cold weather and needed to pull your hands inside your sleeves to keep them warm. Or if they were really cold, tuck them inside your jacket/sweatshirt under your armpit. This is what she would've done and her hand would've been fine. And how is her hand gonna slip out when her arm is in her jacket?

were you out for 2-3 days???

Yes, and longer.

again, we're talking 2-3 days here, I really don't think "where is my right hand located" is top priority on her mind. she's eaten nothing. she may even be hallucinating. when looked at in context, anything is possible. so the hand on the rail is realistic. IMO, if it stayed tucked in her sleeve the entire time, that would be grossly unrealisitci!

When your hands or feet are that cold, it HURTS. Trust me, you don't just forget about it. The pain will wake you up as well, our bodies wouldn't just let you sleep through something like that. And no, you don't experience hallucinations without having eaten for only 12 hours or so, come on now.

?? hours?? you mean days??

I was just pointing out that it's unrealistic that they'd been stuck out there for a matter of hours and basically hadn't not moved at all, yet they were more or less fine. Days is far more unrealistic.

You mean to tell me they never read "Surviving in Frozen Temperatures for Dummies"!?!??! How unrealistic!!!!! no, that just reinforces the realism!!! who would know to do that?? you do perhaps, but 1 in 100 would, hence it being more realistic. movies get unrealistic when ORDINARY PEOPLE DO UNREALISTIC THINGS, like standing up in a ski car and suddently knowing leg warming techniques in the cold

Seriously? It's not rocket science man. When you're extremely cold, your body tightens up the veins and restricts bloodflow to your extremities, redirecting the blood to your core to keep your organs operating. Your body is a machine and this is one of it's finely tuned survival mechanisms. Same as shivering, which expends energy and creates movement. Movement = bloodflow = warmth = survival. There's no way you can sit still on a chair lift that high up in the air with your legs dangling while you're exposed to the elements and be okay.

Their legs would've frozen, not to mention that without movement, your body's gonna freeze.?? not sure how you could know that? wouldn't that depend on the temperature, the thickness of their pants, etc?

This is how their gear works (same principle as a blanket). It retains your body heat and keeps you warm. When your body temperature drops, your gear becomes less effective because there's significantly less amount of warmth to be held in. When you're out in cold weather like that, especially way up in the air exposed to high winds in a blizzard, your body temp is gonna drop. You're gonna need a lot more than snow gear to keep you warm if you're doing ZERO movement. Zero movement in those conditions = frozen people.

??? dude really???? what were you expecting??? a self-made banner with christmas lights??? I'm kdding but seriously, I thikn you're expecting waaaaaayy too much from these characters: THEY ARE ORDINARY KIDS. realistic = what an ordinary kid would do, not what an expert survivor on a survivor reality show would do

Your argument's pretty thin here. They wasted so much time yelling, it was retarded. If I were in that situation, even as a "regular college kid", i wouldn't be yelling at a guy in a closed cab... of a LOUD machine.... in a blizzard!!

And as for the sliced hand part, it's not like this was an Arnold film and he could tough out the pain of an injury and move on. This is the self proclaimed weakling, and he's holding his entire body weight (plus gear) on hands that look like sushi! The longer he went, the worse his hands got. It just seemed extremely unlikely that he wouldn't have wrapped his jacket around the cable and then gone from there. Btw did anyone notice that there was no blood on the rungs when he was climbing down the ladder? Like I said, I'm a realist and I look for those things

Come on man, these are your responses? You're making me type a lot just to explain simple stuff here

All in all I enjoyed it, but there was a lot of typical movie stuff in this one.

so your ultimate conclusion is the kids' actions were realistic? you definitely fooled me! great, then we agree. however, it seems that there is about 95% of your post then that requires deleting

[surfdude12]

House (DVD)

Film: 4/5
-one of the most bizarre films I've ever seen
-I never thought I'd see as bizarre as Antichrist again, but this film makes Antichrist look very straightforward
-a girl is upset with her dad for re-marrying (her mom has been dead a few years), so decides to go on a trip with some friends to get away from her dad and soon-to-be stepmom. I won't say why or how they go where they go, but they end up at a house that is pretty wild!
-the film felt like a combo of: haunted house + Rocky Horror Picture show slapstick humor (just the mood/atmosphere, not the sex themes) + Quentin Tarantino Kung fu , all rolled into one. the house feels like the mansion in Edward Scissorhands.
-you'll never see another movie again like this, so its in the Playtime category in that regard = highly recommend from that standpoint!
-but beware: this movie is BIZARRRRREE, so adjust your expectations and dont go into it expecting routine or straightforward plots and direction

EDIT: great director interview on the DVD. He talks about how in '77, he was hired to make a film to surpass Spielberg's Jaws ('75). At the time, he was making 1-2 minute movies, and was also doing commercials. Since he was an expert on doing short films and commercials, it shows during this film: you will see zoom out shots and in the middle of a scene you might see the background suddenly go purple, the camera zoom in on one character and the character look at teh camera and give off a line --> very "commercial'ly", but for some reason it works!! i can't explain it!! check it out!! worth a rental!!

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

House (DVD)

Film: 4/5
-one of the most bizarre films I've ever seen
-I never thought I'd see as bizarre as Antichrist again, but this film makes Antichrist look very straightforward
-a girl is upset with her dad for re-marrying (her mom has been dead a few years), so decides to go on a trip with some friends to get away from her dad and soon-to-be stepmom. I won't say why or how they go where they go, but they end up at a house that is pretty wild!
-the film felt like a combo of: haunted house + Rocky Horror Picture show slapstick humor (just the mood/atmosphere, not the sex themes) + Quentin Tarantino Kung fu , all rolled into one. the house feels like the mansion in Edward Scissorhands.
-you'll never see another movie again like this, so its in the Playtime category in that regard = highly recommend from that standpoint!
-but beware: this movie is BIZARRRRREE, so adjust your expectations and dont go into it expecting routine or straightforward plots and direction

Is it scary? Hows the replay value?

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Is it scary? Hows the replay value?

scary? that's subjective. i could see someone laughing at the scary stuff in it. i didn't. i was mildly scared (less than Halloween/Shining, but more than Saw/Hostel, which dont really scare me) there is some gore (mild for 2010 standards), but that wasn't really scary -- what was scary was just the bizareness of it all and the eerieness...that's it...eerieness of the atmosphere, characters, and direction!

replay? hmm, not sure. i'm debating a purchase. for $14, i'll probably snag it. i could see myself watching it 2 times per year. but i can see a lot of people saying "its great, but i can't see myself watching it again"

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

scary? that's subjective. i could see someone laughing at the scary stuff in it. i didn't. i was mildly scared (less than Halloween/Shining, but more than Saw/Hostel, which dont really scare me) there is some gore (mild for 2010 standards), but that wasn't really scary -- what was scary was just the bizareness of it all and the eerieness...that's it...eerieness of the atmosphere, characters, and direction!

replay? hmm, not sure. i'm debating a purchase. for $14, i'll probably snag it. i could see myself watching it 2 times per year. but i can see a lot of people saying "its great, but i can't see myself watching it again"

ok, ill see if B&N has a copy. There's gotta be a reason why its in the their collection so i'll try to find out

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

ok, ill see if B&N has a copy. There's gotta be a reason why its in the their collection so i'll try to find out

you have netflix? the blu-ray is on "very long wait", but the DVD is available now. Just a thought...this one is probably in the "recommend rental first " category

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

you have netflix? the blu-ray is on "very long wait", but the DVD is available now. Just a thought...this one is probably in the "recommend rental first " category

Gotcha. But i love creative movie no matter the genre. My Barnes and Nobel has 5 copies. Its only 14 bucks i'd waste that on fast food.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by rkolinski

Glad to see you picked up Paths of Glory; please let us know what you think of the film and I hope you enjoy it. I picked up El Norte too based on recommendations from others on this site but haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I'm also waiting to receive Seven Samurai, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, Paris Texas and The Night of the Hunter (I can't wait to see that last one on BD - I wish more Robert Mitchum was available on our favorite format).

Thanks for your service again Rkolinski and all our veterans on this Veteran's Day!!!


I'm really glad I blind bought Paths of GLory...what a fantastic film. Douglas' performance was incredible. His argument

[Show spoiler]in court to the judges that "a guilty verdict against these men will haunt you (the judges) for the rest of your lives"

was breathtaking!

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Gotcha. But i love creative movie no matter the genre. My Barnes and Nobel has 5 copies. Its only 14 bucks i'd waste that on fast food.

Go for it then!!

[iam1bearcat]

Into the Wild (dvd)


year: 2007
director: Sean Penn
starring: Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Catherine Keener, Kristen Stewart, Jena Malone, Vince Vaughn

the true life adventures of Christopher McCandless (A KA: Alexander Supertramp).

when i heard they were making a movie of the adventures of Christopher McCandless i was immediately excited. i've read the book about 15 times, and the film is a great adaptation of the book, and also just a great film in general about the real life story of a man who wanted nothing to do with society, most people and technology. he just wanted to live, to experience, to be free. and that's exactly what he did.

there's always a sort of ominous tone over most scenes, which is at times haunting and saddening and also liberating. i guess it depends on what side of the fence you fall. i personally admire the hell out of the guy for what he did and wanted to do, and when i was younger, before i even heard of Christopher McCandless, i thought how cool it would be to get rid of everything you have and just live out in nature and do whatever you wanted whenever you wanted to.

but, i'm a big fan of technology and being lazy, so i could never do what he does. especially since the man was incredibly smart and easily had a ride to a major college institution and parents who would have bought him anything (although they certainly weren't perfect and helped lead to his leaving).

the film is told through a voice over by Jena Malone. her somber, almost exhausted voice here is what adds to the growing feeling (for me anyway) of despair, frustration and the great unknown that Chris will find as he ventures around the United States / Mexico.

it's in my top 50 for good reason, and i will always hold it in my allure. Emile Hirsch does a terrific job here, and it doesn't hurt that he strikes an eerie resemblance to McCandless himself. i'm surprised we don't see Hirsch in more bigger roles, the man has a terrific future in front of him if he chooses that route.

love it. highly recommended.

5/5