The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Netflix has been kind to me today.

1. Californication: Season 3: Disc 2 Shipping today

2. Elite Squad: Shipping today

3. Antichrist: Shipping today

I've been MIA but i cant wait to see your review on this one!

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Hmmm. Sorry. For me, since the events changed history, I was well engaged.

So was i i really enjoyed Troy!

[lDlisturb3d]

[QUOTE=Al_The_Strange;4005252]Finally got enough free time to revisit a timeless classic epic masterpiece…

“Shichinin no Samurai,” aka (“The Seven Samurai”).

[Show spoiler]Clocking in at three-and-a-half hours, this is one of those movies that seems long and daunting, but really isn’t (you know, like “LOTR,” “Red Cliff,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Gladiator,” and other fine lengthy epics; I rank this film about as high as all of those). “The Seven Samurai” is long, but it hardly has a dull moment. Its story is simple, but the movie has so many characters and subplots that it becomes one thing after another. Combined with some wonderful photography and plenty of kick-butt action scenes, this movie succeeds at being rather entertaining, despite everything.

Even though I said it’s a simple story, it’s one well told, with an excellent cast of characters. The story serves as an excellent platform to present ideas about war and society that could easily apply anywhere in the world; the villager’s rebellion against the bandits might as well be a retelling of the American revolution, or the French resistance, or any other case where a population rises against tyranny. The issues get even more intriguing in this film, because it deals with samurai specifically, which are a class of their own; the clashes between them and the lower-class peasants make for additional drama. This is not just a bunch of guys fighting; it’s a very thick story.

As I said above, the film is very well-made with splendid cinematography, quality writing, and some fine acting. Toshiro Mifune stands out in particular; his character is easily the most likable in the group, and his acting is phenomenal. Takashi Shimura is cool too. Production value is adequate. Music is pretty swell too.

5/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 5/5, film: 5/5, intellectual impact: 3/5)

Recommendation: Hell yeah!!!

This Blu-Ray is the best thing since rice. The image does show some flickering here and there, and a few scratches and specks here and there. One scene in the last third of the movie had an extraordinary amount of print damage and iffy contrast. But other than that, the movie has superb contrast and about 90% of it looks absolutely clean and darn near perfect. Sharpness and detail are excellent. Sound quality seemed a bit noisy and muffled at the beginning, but proved to be very clean and crisp as it went on.

PQ: 4.5/5, AQ: 4.5/5[/

QUOTE]

This has been sitting around in my collection. Im losin it. (Just been busy lately)

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Triangle

[Show spoiler]year: 2009

watched Triangle again earlier today with the gf (her first time watching it, which was real fun as she began stating such things as: "wtf is going on?", "whoa, what?", "oh i bet that means something!", and my personal favorite "wtf i totally had this figured out and now i'm lost again" oh how we've all been there)

still a great structured film and i don't have any issues with it. however, when it comes to purchases and my collection i'm trying to only buy / keep films that will have long lasting replay value and i just don't know how much Triangle has for me this is my fifth or sixth viewing in about 5 months of owning it, but usually i only watch it to show someone how crazy and intense it is to follow and construct. but if i'm just sitting around, i have yet to reach for Triangle, so i'm still deciding on keeping it or not.

we all know the story and have discussed it to great lengths in the Triangle thread, so i won't do the same here. i will say, i love the eerie atmosphere. honestly i actually love it a lot more before

[Show spoiler]they're on the boat and Jess is running around

. not that the

[Show spoiler]boat

scenes are bad or anything, the feeling at times is just something that is almost too familiar for the rest of the film and its uniqueness.

+ the atmosphere. love the eerie, haunting opening music and credit sequence. could listen to that forever.

+ the ending. loved it.

+ melissa george. great actress, great role and i couldn't even fathom trying to understand how to play her character to the great depths that she does. masterful performance by her. i would have read the script and had a brain aneurysm before even deciding to sign on or not i would have been so confused

PQ: 4/5 - very solid
AQ: 4.5/5 - also very solid

5/5

One of my favorites!!!!!! Good review

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

This has been sitting around in my collection. Im losin it. (Just been busy lately)

Get on that! Or else you'll have to deal with Kyuzo!

[Show spoiler]

[Psychonaut]

Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) - 2/5 Starts out okay but then the wheels come off for the last 2/3 of the movie. Stupid parents begat stupid children. New Freddy had some decent lines but he'll never replace the original. Aside from the rehashed iconic shots, almost zero imagination and the same ending as 53,256 other movies.

[Al_The_Strange]

My Criterion Collection haul from the B&N sale finally arrived!





Of these, three are blind-buys (the top three ). I’ll start off with the one blind-buy that interested me the most…

“House.”

In all the Japanese movies/shows I’ve seen, they’ve all had their share of interesting elements. Some of them have perky young school girls who are very cute and sweet (like, I don’t know, “Chobits” or something? I don’t usually watch the girly stuff. But with the girly characters, the crazy transitions, and music, the first part of “House” reminded me a bit of “Excel Saga” for whatever reason. And I started wondering if this would be a live-action anime of sorts ). Some of the Japanese horror movies are very trippy and wild, with blood and guts galore (“Tokyo Gore Police,” anyone? ). And no matter how gnarly or raunchy it gets, the Japanese know how to make really nice classy music (“Evangelion” and “RahXephon” come to mind; excellent scores in those shows ).

And it just so happens that “House” embodies all these elements. It’s partly sweet, with all the school girl characters. It’s partly freakish, growing increasingly weird and wild as it goes on, until it becomes a totally psychedelic creepshow (with some cheesy kung-fu fighting nonetheless!). And it has some rather pleasant music (sometimes very poppy), which combined with some of the imagery and transitions give the film a rather classy feel, at least for the first half. As it goes on, it gets crazier and crazier, with some bloodiness too (thankfully not as much as “Tokyo Gore Police,” or “The Evil Dead”).

The semi-wild and semi-classy nature of this distinctive film makes it rather entertaining and artsy by default. Can’t say this is a really great story though, and I feel that the characters are pretty flat. But, given everything mentioned above, the film is fairly well-made. Some of the editing and SFX may come off as cheap, but it definitely has character. Photography is not bad though, and the production design is splendid. And of course, the music is lovely. Sound design sounds like something from an anime; it’s pretty weird.

4/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 3/5, film: 4/5)

Recommendation: Recommended for anybody who enjoys weird Japanese films like I do, or maybe for folks who simply enjoy Japanese cinema in general. For everybody else, rent it if you dare!

This Blu-Ray is fine and dandy. The image has a fair amount of grain to it, with maybe some softness and one or two hazy scenes. But for the most part, it is a splendidly sharp and clean, with solid colors and mostly-good contrast. Sound quality seemed a bit weak in some parts, but still adequate.

PQ: 4.5/5, AQ: 4/5

[two40]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

One could make a solid argument that

[Show spoiler]Plainview

is the nobler one of the two, since at least he's merely

[Show spoiler] robbing people of material goods

while

[Show spoiler]Eli is robbing people of their ideals, faith, and hope

, turning them into walking zombies. I'd prefer to be defrauded by

[Show spoiler]Plainview

. I couldn't look at footage of myself after being

[Show spoiler]conned by Eli

, at least with

[Show spoiler]Plainview

I could pick myself up and find more money

Well said.

I liked his name, Plainview. It's like a bad pun because nothing he does is in plain view or plain by our way of thinking. Nice little joke there by the script writer.

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

have you seen the rest of Anderson's work?

I believe I've seen most of them. TWBB, Punch-Drunk Love, Magolia (my fav) and Boogie Nights. All quality films.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

My Criterion Collection haul from the B&N sale finally arrived!

[Show spoiler]



Of these, three are blind-buys (the top three ). I’ll start off with the one blind-buy that interested me the most…

“House.”

In all the Japanese movies/shows I’ve seen, they’ve all had their share of interesting elements. Some of them have perky young school girls who are very cute and sweet (like, I don’t know, “Chobits” or something? I don’t usually watch the girly stuff. But with the girly characters, the crazy transitions, and music, the first part of “House” reminded me a bit of “Excel Saga” for whatever reason. And I started wondering if this would be a live-action anime of sorts ). Some of the Japanese horror movies are very trippy and wild, with blood and guts galore (“Tokyo Gore Police,” anyone? ). And no matter how gnarly or raunchy it gets, the Japanese know how to make really nice classy music (“Evangelion” and “RahXephon” come to mind; excellent scores in those shows ).

And it just so happens that “House” embodies all these elements. It’s partly sweet, with all the school girl characters. It’s partly freakish, growing increasingly weird and wild as it goes on, until it becomes a totally psychedelic creepshow (with some cheesy kung-fu fighting nonetheless!). And it has some rather pleasant music (sometimes very poppy), which combined with some of the imagery and transitions give the film a rather classy feel, at least for the first half. As it goes on, it gets crazier and crazier, with some bloodiness too (thankfully not as much as “Tokyo Gore Police,” or “The Evil Dead”).

The semi-wild and semi-classy nature of this distinctive film makes it rather entertaining and artsy by default. Can’t say this is a really great story though, and I feel that the characters are pretty flat. But, given everything mentioned above, the film is fairly well-made. Some of the editing and SFX may come off as cheap, but it definitely has character. Photography is not bad though, and the production design is splendid. And of course, the music is lovely. Sound design sounds like something from an anime; it’s pretty weird.

4/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 3/5, film: 4/5)

Recommendation: Recommended for anybody who enjoys weird Japanese films like I do, or maybe for folks who simply enjoy Japanese cinema in general. For everybody else, rent it if you dare!

This Blu-Ray is fine and dandy. The image has a fair amount of grain to it, with maybe some softness and one or two hazy scenes. But for the most part, it is a splendidly sharp and clean, with solid colors and mostly-good contrast. Sound quality seemed a bit weak in some parts, but still adequate.

PQ: 4.5/5, AQ: 4/5

I love Criterion porn! I'll post mine when I finally get The Thin Red Line

[Batman1980]

Transformers 2007 4/5 movie, 5/5 transfer
Transforms 2009 3.5/5 movie, 5/5 transfer
Transformers 1986 5/5 all around, only knock is lack of subtitles but it's pretty easy to understand what they're saying

[two40]

This thread's title has the word club in it but it's little more than a thread of reviews and discussion. Why don't we make it more like a club where we vote on a 'movie of the week' and we all watch it and discuss it? In week 3 we vote on a film for week 4 while discussing week 3's film. Week 4 we vote on week 5's film while discussing week 4's film and so on.

Or is there something like that already on this forum and I've just not come across it yet? Or is that a completely stupid idea?

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Talladega Nights

80% of the time I hate Jack Black, I found him tolerable in Year One, Mars Attacks and Tropic Thunder.

[Gamma_Winstead]

You got Charade! I just watched it. GREAT film. Audrey is still my pick for best actress.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by two40

I believe I've seen most of them. TWBB, Punch-Drunk Love, Magolia (my fav) and Boogie Nights. All quality films.

only one you're missing is Hard Eight, which, if you have netflix, is on netflix instant i was hesitant to see it because i thought it was a super cheap indie film, but tbizzle and some others informed me it wasn't.

another great PTA film in my book. and a terrific cast: john c. reilly, philip baker hall, gwyneth paltrow, samuel l. jackson great stuff. feels just like a PTA film, no doubt about it. definitely check it out sometime. god knows when / if it will hit blu-ray

and i really wish Criterion would have chose this Anderson over Wes Anderson

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

only one you're missing is Hard Eight, which, if you have netflix, is on netflix instant i was hesitant to see it because i thought it was a super cheap indie film, but tbizzle and some others informed me it wasn't.

another great PTA film in my book. and a terrific cast: john c. reilly, philip baker hall, gwyneth paltrow, samuel l. jackson great stuff. feels just like a PTA film, no doubt about it. definitely check it out sometime. god knows when / if it will hit blu-ray

and i really wish Criterion would have chose this Anderson over Wes Anderson

Heh, wasn't me. I still haven't seen Hard Eight.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Heh, wasn't me. I still haven't seen Hard Eight.

oh lol well then

[tbizzle]

I still need to see Hard Eight and Magnolia, as well as revisit Boogie Nights. Saw it when it first came out so I don't remember too much.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Steve46

The 400 Blows
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy and Guy Decomble
99 minutes
Black and white - French language

This was my second time seeing The 400 Blows. I initially gave it a 4/5 and found it interesting, but it's growing on me.

The story is bleak, but very realistic, which isn't surprising considering that it's semiautobiographical. Truffaut's early life must have been hard. His parents tried at times, but treated him badly or with indifference at other times.

Much of the early part of the film is set in a classroom and we meet his classmates and learn his general attitude toward school. The discipline was very different than what we might expect today. He has one particular friend who encourages him to

[Show spoiler]skip class

and we see

[Show spoiler]their shared experiences on the streets of Paris

.

The friend is partly responsible for

[Show spoiler]leading him astray and encouracging him to steal

which leads into the second part of the story where we see

[Show spoiler]the consequences of his bad behavior and his lies

.

Some of the school scenes remind me of my childhood, although I had a much happier upbringing.

The main thing that brings Antoine happiness is

[Show spoiler]cinema

and the happiest time spent with his parents involves

[Show spoiler]a trip to see a film

.

The film also provides a snapshot of Paris in the late 50s. Shot in black and white and told from Antoine's viewpoint, we often see exactly what he sees through the choice of camera angles. His perspective also shows us that he thinks of himself in very different ways from the way in which he is viewed by others. We can empathize with his situation completely.

The film demonstrates how frightening, daunting and impossible life can seem when you're growing up.

Truffaut died aged 52 after making 21 features and this makes me want to see more of them.

PQ 4/5 (excellent for the vintage)
AQ 5/5 (the music really added to the experience and everything was clear)

Overall 4.5/5

Arguably the greatest film about childhood (kind of a broad category). I'd also throw in Au Revoir Les Enfantes (Criterion, please release the blu of this) and, if you consider it a childhood movie, To Kill a Mockingbird (BLU NOW!). Love the ending too.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - 4.5/5

Great film. It actually started off kinda slow for me and I wasn't even hooked until around the 30 or 40 minute mark. Everyone was great, but Noomi was fantastic! I agree with you Jhiggy in that Liz is an extremely interesting (and addicting) character. The cinematography, score, direction and performances were all captivating. I was fascinated with the scene towards the end

[Show spoiler]when Martin gave his little speech about the look in the victim's eyes when they realize that they're going to die. Peter Haber really shined there!

I love the story! I'm hooked, bring on the next one.

One of the most universally praised films on this site for good reason.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by two40

Well said.

I liked his name, Plainview. It's like a bad pun because nothing he does is in plain view or plain by our way of thinking. Nice little joke there by the script writer.

Ita not about us, its about him. His view is plain, or more precisely, on a plain. Danil's plain. Its Daniels way, or no way.

Thats my pun anyway.