The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Man i cant stand B&N online. They are trash. I ordered A Thin Red Line on the 1st and it still hasnt shipped. WTF?????? If the store doesnt have it, i have them order it and i'll pick it up. They usually honor the 50% off if the sale has ended too.

I've been getting the run around from the local stores. Last week, an employee at a local B&N said their Thin Red Line shipment will be coming in the next day so I reserved a copy. I called the next day and suddenly it's on back order, ETA 4-6 weeks. I called another store on Sunday when I was online and saw that it was available in store. They told me that the shipment would come in yesterday, and when I called today they told me it could possibly be another two weeks.

That sucks about the wait, have you contacted them for an update? I'm a temporary member so I selected the free 1-3 day express shipping. Hopefully it won't take too long

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by killowertz

Same here actually. There's only two movies that he was in that I like, and those are Old School and Zoolander. Those weren't starring roles though. I'm not counting Wedding Crashers since he was hardly in that. I am blind buying The Other Guys, which will hopefully mark the first movie that he is the star of that I actually like.

I forgot he was in Zoolander actually.

He was easily the worst part of Wedding Crashers imo.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I forgot he was in Zoolander actually.

He was easily the worst part of Wedding Crashers imo.

[Show spoiler]MOM! MEATLOAF!! F*CK!!!

Haha I love that part. I'm not a huge fan of Ferrell but I like him. At times he's great, but I agree that in some ways he was bad in Wedding Crashers. It was a pretty funny cameo though

[two40]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i wouldn't call it a stupid idea, just one that would be tricky to pull off.
i don't know how much free time everyone has, if everyone has access to netflix / the movie in question, and how would we choose the movie? and we all have pretty vast tastes, so eventually some of us would be watching a movie we might not have any interest in and then, it will feel more like work than fun imo, but of course not all the time.

not to mention if some of us have already seen the film chosen, what will those people do? watch it again? or would they watch something else?

sorry for all the pessimism, it's just in my nature

Not at all. All points to consider.

If free time is an issue a fortnightly movie might work better. It would also give everyone more time to source the film.

Choosing the movie could be done via a quick 2 day poll. We could have an action week with a small selection for the poll, followed by a mystery week, anime week, horror week and so on even using themes like Paul Thomas Anderson week, Italian week or time travel movies week etc etc.

Yes I agree there will be some weeks where some of the members will not be able to access the film or they might not wish to take part but you can't please everyone all the time and besides, I see this as a bit of an exploration where we go out of our comfort zone and watch new films we would never seek out normally. Doing it in a group, with the discussions that follows, will broaden not only our understanding of films but also our appreciation of different genres, directors, themes, cultures etc.

Maybe a week is too short a time and a fortnight will serve better...?

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by two40

Not at all. All points to consider.

If free time is an issue a fortnightly movie might work better. It would also give everyone more time to source the film.

Choosing the movie could be done via a quick 2 day poll. We could have an action week with a small selection for the poll, followed by a mystery week, anime week, horror week and so on even using themes like Paul Thomas Anderson week, Italian week or time travel movies week etc etc.

Yes I agree there will be some weeks where some of the members will not be able to access the film or they might not wish to take part but you can't please everyone all the time and besides, I see this as a bit of an exploration where we go out of our comfort zone and watch new films we would never seek out normally. Doing it in a group, with the discussions that follows, will broaden not only our understanding of films but also our appreciation of different genres, directors, themes, cultures etc.

Maybe a week is too short a time and a fortnight will serve better...?

Two weeks sounds good to me.

[Diesel]

Unstoppable


Saw this today at the theater. It was me and 3 friends plus about 7 people who looked to be 60+. No cell phones/blabbing.


I wasn't sure what to expect going in, I saw the trailer several months ago but forgot about its details and went in really only remembering its about a runaway train.

Ended up highly enjoying it

It's got some good scenes imo. It might not work for everyone but it definitely did for me and my friends, we were sucked in the whole time watching.

There's some humor here and there to break up the tension a little, but its never disruptive to the events at hand.

Washington and Pine work very well together and both do solid jobs I thought.

There's other characters like Rosario Dawson and other supporting characters, but you'll definitely be all about these two (and maybe one named Ned) when you watch it.

I definitely recommend checking it out, highly enjoyable

No new entry to the One and Done Collection this time; not sure on the replay value, so I don't know if I'll buy it, but I'll definitely see it one more time whether it be a rent or watching it when a friend does.


Rating - 4.5/5

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I forgot he was in Zoolander actually.

He was easily the worst part of Wedding Crashers imo.

It's probably been a while since you've seen Zoolander, so I'll let you slide on that one.

I didn't mind him in his short time in Wedding Crashers, but I think highly enough of the movie that even if he was the worst part it wouldn't have mattered to me.

[Show spoiler]Him crashing funerals was a bit much, but oh well.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by two40

Not at all. All points to consider.

If free time is an issue a fortnightly movie might work better. It would also give everyone more time to source the film.

Choosing the movie could be done via a quick 2 day poll. We could have an action week with a small selection for the poll, followed by a mystery week, anime week, horror week and so on even using themes like Paul Thomas Anderson week, Italian week or time travel movies week etc etc.

Yes I agree there will be some weeks where some of the members will not be able to access the film or they might not wish to take part but you can't please everyone all the time and besides, I see this as a bit of an exploration where we go out of our comfort zone and watch new films we would never seek out normally. Doing it in a group, with the discussions that follows, will broaden not only our understanding of films but also our appreciation of different genres, directors, themes, cultures etc.

Maybe a week is too short a time and a fortnight will serve better...?

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Two weeks sounds good to me.

as long as we got a solid group together, i would be game for this. if people are constantly dropping out and being added and suddenly it doesn't have a group feel to it, then i think it would fall apart pretty quick and not be too much fun. but if we get some of us from this thread, it would be great fun

[two40]

Alright, let's give it a go. Since I'm the newbie I don't mind stepping back if you guys want to take charge. Happy to do whatever.

[jhiggy23]

Paths of Glory (Criterion blu)


Synopsis:

Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory is among the most powerful antiwar films ever made. A fiery Kirk Douglas stars as a World War I French colonel who goes head-to-head with the army’s ruthless top brass when his men are accused of cowardice after being unable to carry out an impossible mission. This haunting, exquisitely photographed dissection of the military machine in all its absurdity and capacity for dehumanization (a theme Kubrick would continue to explore throughout his career) is assembled with its legendary director’s customary precision, from its tense trench warfare sequences to its gripping courtroom climax to its ravaging final scene.



PQ and AQ: 4 stars (out of 5)

Film: 4 stars (out of 4)


While 2001, imo, is Kubrick's masterpiece, I believe Paths of Glory is his best pure film (still have to see The Killing and Barry Lyndon). Clocking in at under 90 minutes, the film moves at a swift pace but is always interesting. The direction is exceptional and you really get a taste for later Kubrick with the tracking shots, which are very effectively done. I love that you never see the enemy, which adds to the themes of the film.

Overall, this is a very powerful film regardless of your opinions or viewpoints on war. So very pleased to have blind bought this at the recommendation of my trusted confidantes, Rich and surfdude. Thanks guys.

[jhiggy23]

Before Sunrise (dvd)


Film: 2 stars (out of 4)


Sorry squid! I found this film to be incredibly overrated and uninteresting. While I think there was good chemistry between Delpy and Hawke, I never felt a "love connection." I enjoy films that rely on dialogue, but the dialogue here went nowhere at all and didn't lead to any sort of deep characterization. By the end of the film, I didn't feel like I knew the characters at all. I also found the direction to be stagnant and uninvolving, except the well-directed scene in the record store.

Maybe it's because I recently saw and fell in love with Room in Rome that I didn't like this film very much. Room in Rome is unbelievably better on every conceivable level that it makes this film look juvenile. In that film, the direction was phenomenal and engaged the audience. The performances were award worthy. The love, despite being over one nite, felt profoundly and movingly real. The dialogue felt just as real as in Before Sunrise, but at the end of the film you felt intimately familiar with the characters.

Before Sunrise is a film that has an engaging concept, one in which I truly love to think about. But at the end of the day, the film was a major disappointment.


Note: my lady friend also thought the film was extremely mediocre.

[tbizzle]

It's been a while, but I remember thinking the same thing. It never really went anywhere for me, though I liked the story. I definitely liked the second more than the first.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by two40

Not at all. All points to consider.

If free time is an issue a fortnightly movie might work better. It would also give everyone more time to source the film.

Choosing the movie could be done via a quick 2 day poll. We could have an action week with a small selection for the poll, followed by a mystery week, anime week, horror week and so on even using themes like Paul Thomas Anderson week, Italian week or time travel movies week etc etc.

Yes I agree there will be some weeks where some of the members will not be able to access the film or they might not wish to take part but you can't please everyone all the time and besides, I see this as a bit of an exploration where we go out of our comfort zone and watch new films we would never seek out normally. Doing it in a group, with the discussions that follows, will broaden not only our understanding of films but also our appreciation of different genres, directors, themes, cultures etc.

Maybe a week is too short a time and a fortnight will serve better...?

just for clarification:

-would we have a different thread? not sure if Diesel/mods want us using this thread.

-as I recall, the reason the "movie of the month" club died was: (a) you'd have 20-30 people casting votes on what the movie should be, then (b) only 2-3 reviews would be posted after 3 weeks. IN other words: people either weren't watching the film or watched it but didn't write a review. As long as everyone who votes commits to write a review, we'll be fine! my 2 cents.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Paths of Glory (Criterion blu)

Film: 4 stars (out of 4)


While 2001, imo, is Kubrick's masterpiece, I believe Paths of Glory is his best pure film (still have to see The Killing and Barry Lyndon). Clocking in at under 90 minutes, the film moves at a swift pace but is always interesting. The direction is exceptional and you really get a taste for later Kubrick with the tracking shots, which are very effectively done. I love that you never see the enemy, which adds to the themes of the film.

Overall, this is a very powerful film regardless of your opinions or viewpoints on war. So very pleased to have blind bought this at the recommendation of my trusted confidantes, Rich and surfdude. Thanks guys.

Awesome dude -- glad you loved it!! It is a gem. I will admit I was disappointed that they didn't

[Show spoiler]expose that Douglas' commander was promised a leadership position in exchange for capturing that hill. That would have been even more damaging than the attempted attack on his own troops!

. However, this is splitting hairs, as overall its a GREAT film. I'm sure you liked the courtroom scene too -- Douglas' closing that

[Show spoiler]the judge's guilty verdict would haunt each of them for the rest of their lives made me physically choke up on the couch!

[surfdude12]

Everlasting Moments

Film: 4.5/5
-second viewing. Gave it 3.5/5 on first viewing, as I felt the screenwriter/director were a tad too manipulative with the score (does chime in at deep moments) and characters (polarizing so not much room for interpretation). I was also admittedly frustrated with some of the decisions of the main character.
-HOwever, on this viewing, I honestly felt none of that. Its like I was watching a completely different film. I think this film is just one of those films you MUST watch more than once (hint: great replay value ), as the first viewing can be "jolting" (can't think of a better word) as you are digesting the plot/characters for the first time, and its hard for it all to go down smooth. ON this viewing, the film was like pie a la mode
-The lead actress' performance was incredible. ONe of the best I've seen in the past few years.
-Maria's father was probably

[Show spoiler]the chief reason she didn't leave Siegg, by injecting her with religious guilt on the marital commitment, although deep down she probably loved his good side more than she hated his bad side.

DJ method (or someone else?) wrote a great review this past week that explains her emotional wiring better than I ever could.

PQ: 5/5 (I previously rated it 4/5, but I've come to love the old-photographic style)

AQ: 4/5

[two40]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

just for clarification:

-would we have a different thread? not sure if Diesel/mods want us using this thread.

-as I recall, the reason the "movie of the month" club died was: (a) you'd have 20-30 people casting votes on what the movie should be, then (b) only 2-3 reviews would be posted after 3 weeks. IN other words: people either weren't watching the film or watched it but didn't write a review. As long as everyone who votes commits to write a review, we'll be fine! my 2 cents.

It would have to be a new thread for each fortnight. I image it would be titled:

Posted on the 1st
Horror | Nov 1/2 | Voting Due 3rd | Review Due 15th
Posted on the 15th
Japanese | Nov 2/2 | Voting Due 18th | Review Due 30th

As for the voters vs reviews submitted, well, you can't force people to submit a review but as long as they join in on the discussion then at least they're contributing and learning something along the way. It might be a mess initially but with a bit of dedication and a few core backers, it can be a really fun experience.

[iam1bearcat]

Paths of Glory (netflix instant)

year: 1957
director: stanley kubrick
starring: kirk douglas

i'm not a big Kubrick fan from the work of his i've seen. i absolutely love 2001: A Space Odyssey, but aside from that i really don't enjoy his films. i respect A Clockwork Orange (2.5/5) and The Shining (2.5/5) but don't like the films themselves. and while i have seen Eyes Wide Shut it has been far too many years since i've viewed it to give it a proper score.

but needless to say, Paths of Glory follows the same lines as The Shining and AWO: well made, but i really don't like it.

i'm gonna try and keep this short since i dislike the film and don't want to spend a lot of time writing about it. i found the film, in one very simple word to be quite: boring. i didn't care what was happening and it didn't hold my interest at all.

the directing was superb (5/5) and the writing was good and the story... decent. but it just didn't click for me.

for being 88 minutes i was shocked and outraged at how slowly it moved and it felt like 3 hours instead of one and a half. it was ridiculous. if you're not hooked and engaged from the start, you never will be. and i wasn't. so this was quite the struggle just to finish (thank god it was only 88 minutes).

i respect the film and respect Kubrick for what he has done, and you can definitely get a sense that this is a Kubrick directed film. but this is very easily an addition to my "once is enough" collection.

very during the whole thing.

2/5

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by two40

It would have to be a new thread for each fortnight. I image it would be titled:

Posted on the 1st
Horror | Nov 1/2 | Voting Due 3rd | Review Due 15th
Posted on the 15th
Japanese | Nov 2/2 | Voting Due 18th | Review Due 30th

As for the voters vs reviews submitted, well, you can't force people to submit a review but as long as they join in on the discussion then at least they're contributing and learning something along the way. It might be a mess initially but with a bit of dedication and a few core backers, it can be a really fun experience.

i was thinking we could actually do this in one thread. of course we wouldn't be able to have an actual poll for the votes, but we could just come up with a list of films (per the genre) and then have everyone just respond via their choice.

i was thinking if we do that, then it would be neat to keep track on the first post of what films we watched and who gave what score to each. i'm a fan of lists so i would like to see that to see just how varied the scores are for a given film.

i think we could do 2-3 days for everyone to vote. and then 2 weeks for viewing, review and discussion (although discussion can go on longer than that while still discussing the new movie).

just off the top of my head, i figure the club would be - at least / roughly - me (bearcat), you (two40), surf, squid, jhiggy, tbizzle, diesel, steve46, Q! (where is Q! by the way?), probably disturbed and whomever else would like to join.

i figure and hope that they'll see these posts about this and then let us know if they're game or not and then we can discuss via PM's who should start the thread and when the whole shindig would begin.

i don't want us to keep this thread off topic

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Paths of Glory (Criterion blu)

[Show spoiler]Synopsis:

Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory is among the most powerful antiwar films ever made. A fiery Kirk Douglas stars as a World War I French colonel who goes head-to-head with the army’s ruthless top brass when his men are accused of cowardice after being unable to carry out an impossible mission. This haunting, exquisitely photographed dissection of the military machine in all its absurdity and capacity for dehumanization (a theme Kubrick would continue to explore throughout his career) is assembled with its legendary director’s customary precision, from its tense trench warfare sequences to its gripping courtroom climax to its ravaging final scene.

PQ and AQ: 4 stars (out of 5)

Film: 4 stars (out of 4)

[Show spoiler]While 2001, imo, is Kubrick's masterpiece, I believe Paths of Glory is his best pure film (still have to see The Killing and Barry Lyndon). Clocking in at under 90 minutes, the film moves at a swift pace but is always interesting. The direction is exceptional and you really get a taste for later Kubrick with the tracking shots, which are very effectively done. I love that you never see the enemy, which adds to the themes of the film.

Overall, this is a very powerful film regardless of your opinions or viewpoints on war. So very pleased to have blind bought this at the recommendation of my trusted confidantes, Rich and surfdude. Thanks guys.

lol small world. i just watched this as well. although pretty much felt the complete opposite, aside from the directing.

[Batman1980]

Star Trek III the Search for Spock 4/5
PQ 3.5/5
AQ 3/5
Excellent under-rated movie, decent transfer. Christopher Lloyd is awesome as a Klingon and the Enterprise crew is fantastic as usual.