The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

IE Bros

[volcomsocal]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I agree.

You must be excited that they are talking about a sequel for Taken.

I am excited, but the plot has to be believable to make a good sequel. Luc Besson is working on it as we speak.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

the best film of 2004 imo. and my second fav.

but, what about the ending was mediocre to you?
and what does Groundhog Day have to do with ESOTSM?

I thought it would of been better they way the movie started. It was too much and it made it a little bland.

[Show spoiler]Kristen Dunst was a AHOLE and a selfish little B!TCH. She exposed everyone because of her emotions. Something they all asked for. I hated her for that.

The whole relationship thing. But they really dont having anything in common.. 500 Days of Summer does though.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Being wrong is nothing to be ashamed of.





Definitely

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

same!

i get it's well made and all, but i just don't care can't stand the movie. probably had to sit through too many times so it's ruined any chance of enjoying it now a days, even though it was never something i liked much to begin with.

Precisely

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

IE Bros

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

I thought it would of been better they way the movie started. It was too much and it made it a little bland.

[Show spoiler]Kristen Dunst was a AHOLE and a selfish little B!TCH. She exposed everyone because of her emotions. Something they all asked for. I hated her for that.

The whole relationship thing. But they really dont having anything in common.. 500 Days of Summer does though.

gotcha. i didn't hate her for doing that though. she didn't

[Show spoiler]force anyone to listen to the tapes, she just gave them to the people so they could find out if they wanted.

which is partly why i love the film because of the universal question it asks:

[Show spoiler]would you erase a relationship that ends badly, or keep it? keeping it leaves it there so you can learn from it an grow, but to be able to erase the pain, anger, confusion and loss might be attractive to some. and while Kirsten's character maybe shouldn't have done what she did, she obviously changed her mind and felt having memories erased was a bad choice of doing things.

and i liked how it showed that

[Show spoiler]even though you can have your memory erased of some things, you could ultimately find yourself back in that position again, which makes you wonder, is it true love? she fell in love with the doctor at least twice. which may mean something

[Diesel]

Inception

Click here before beginning the review

Ok, now you're ready to continue


Going into it today I made sure to disregard my thoughts on the film from when I saw it in July and approach it with a fresh mind and no expectations at all; to just take the film as it was given to me.

And that lead to a much more enjoyable experience this time


Is this movie actually completely original and truly not like anything that has come before it like some uber-fans (or band-wagoners) claim? No, no its not (the guy who wrote the bloody thing says it isn't). But that doesn't matter. It's not about being the first film to ever present a story, its about what you do with your own story and if you can endear that story to your audience. And this time around, Christopher Nolan succeeded in that with me.

I highly enjoyed the plot this time around since I didn't go in expecting a mind bender; especially because Inception is far from a mind bender. In fact, it's not really complicated at all. If you pay attention to the characters' explanation of how things work and have even the most basic of reasoning skills, you will have no problem following what's going on in the film. So it's not a highly complicated mind bender, but it isn't a "brainless" block buster. I've seen it called a "Thinking Man's Blockbuster" somewhere, and I'd say that is the most accurate assessment.

That's all I'm going to say about the story, because this is one of those movies its best to go in without knowing hardly anything in my opinion. No prior ideas, just a blank canvas for Nolan to work on (for better or worse).


The actors and characters are really good across the board. Nothing outstanding though performance wise; just good to very good. Are all of the characters particularly deep? Nope, but they don't need to be, they are the constants while the two characters who are meant to have an arc do (Fisher and Dom). That doesn't mean they are bad characters though, I firmly believe the opposite. I really enjoyed each one and especially liked how each one has a role to play in this job and it can't work without a single one.

DiCaprio is definitely the strongest of the cast (and also has the character who gives him the most to work with); the very good. The interaction between Gordon-Levitt and Hardy's characters is good stuff. Page is definitely the weakest link in the chain as far as I'm concerned, but she isn't bad in any way; the good.


The effects in the movie are quite good as well. I love the weightless and slow-motion stuff we get in the film. When Page's character first finds out where they are and the "explosions" that ensue are very cool looking. Everyone knows about the folding city. My favorite is definitely Gordon-Levitt's fight scene late in the film which was filmed with no green screen or anything; it was done on a practical set by practical means and it looks awesome


I really enjoy the score of the film; Zimmer's 'powerful' but not overbearing music is great; I love the way it sounds.


I liked the movie the first time (4/5); but was disappointed because I didn't love it like I was hoping. This time though...I did. It's amazing how much your opinion of a film can change based on simply having a different mindset going into it.


New Rating - 4.5/5

[Diesel]

My updated list of scores for movies I've seen this year:

[Show spoiler]

1. Toy Story 3 - 5/5
   
   
2. Iron Man 2 - 4.75/5
   
   
3. Inception - 4.5/5
   
   
4. Unstoppable - 4.5/5
   
   
5. The Fighter - 5/5
   
   
6. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - 4.25/5
   
   
7. How to Train Your Dragon - 4.25/5
   
   
8. Frozen - 4.5/5
   
   
9. The Book of Eli - 4.25/5
   
   
10. Despicable Me - 3.5/5
    
    
11. Charlie St. Cloud - 3.5/5
    
    
12. She's Out of My League - 3/5
    
    
13. Clash of the Titans - 3/5
    
    
14. Robin Hood - 2/5
    
    
15. The Losers - 1/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Inception

[Show spoiler]
Click here before beginning the review

Ok, now you're ready to continue


Going into it today I made sure to disregard my thoughts on the film from when I saw it in July and approach it with a fresh mind and no expectations at all; to just take the film as it was given to me.

And that lead to a much more enjoyable experience this time


Is this movie actually completely original and truly not like anything that has come before it like some uber-fans (or band-wagoners) claim? No, no its not (the guy who wrote the bloody thing says it isn't). But that doesn't matter. It's not about being the first film to ever present a story, its about what you do with your own story and if you can endear that story to your audience. And this time around, Christopher Nolan succeeded in that with me.

I highly enjoyed the plot this time around since I didn't go in expecting a mind bender; especially because Inception is far from a mind bender. In fact, it's not really complicated at all. If you pay attention to the characters' explanation of how things work and have even the most basic of reasoning skills, you will have no problem following what's going on in the film. So it's not a highly complicated mind bender, but it isn't a "brainless" block buster. I've seen it called a "Thinking Man's Blockbuster" somewhere, and I'd say that is the most accurate assessment.

That's all I'm going to say about the story, because this is one of those movies its best to go in without knowing hardly anything in my opinion. No prior ideas, just a blank canvas for Nolan to work on (for better or worse).


The actors and characters are really good across the board. Nothing outstanding though performance wise; just good to very good. Are all of the characters particularly deep? Nope, but they don't need to be, they are the constants while the two characters who are meant to have an arc do (Fisher and Dom). That doesn't mean they are bad characters though, I firmly believe the opposite. I really enjoyed each one and especially liked how each one has a role to play in this job and it can't work without a single one.

DiCaprio is definitely the strongest of the cast (and also has the character who gives him the most to work with); the very good. The interaction between Gordon-Levitt and Hardy's characters is good stuff. Page is definitely the weakest link in the chain as far as I'm concerned, but she isn't bad in any way; the good.


The effects in the movie are quite good as well. I love the weightless and slow-motion stuff we get in the film. When Page's character first finds out where they are and the "explosions" that ensue are very cool looking. Everyone knows about the folding city. My favorite is definitely Gordon-Levitt's fight scene late in the film which was filmed with no green screen or anything; it was done on a practical set by practical means and it looks awesome


I really enjoy the score of the film; Zimmer's 'powerful' but not overbearing music is great; I love the way it sounds.


I liked the movie the first time (4/5); but was disappointed because I didn't love it like I was hoping. This time though...I did. It's amazing how much your opinion of a film can change based on simply having a different mindset going into it.

New Rating - 4.5/5

You and a few other folks here have made the claim that this film is not that deep, not much of a mind-bender, has shallow characters, etc. I won't argue against it either.

But, my co-worker recently said he saw it and said "Man, that's the first time I ever had to think while watching a movie!"

Really? I didn't know whether to congratulate him or laugh in his face.

[Show spoiler]Seriously though, I was proud of him. Coming from a guy who enjoyed "G-Force" and "The Last Airbender," "Inception" is a huge step up.

I agree that the story/characters have their weaknesses, but it's not necessary to enjoy the film. Heck, most of my favorites aren't that deep.

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

eesh. guess none of said anything about not eating during the film, so you said something none of us did!



i still don't even know what that means / is



the opening song is so haunting and sets a great mood.



great points. i didn't really think of what you mentioned, but you make great points about the lack of character development of caring what happens to them.

great review Riff
did you find the first half of the film slower and "worse" than the second half? i know a few of us felt like the film was a 2/5 or so and it was too slow and then once they were at the cabin that's when the film really kicked in and got good.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

You knew enough about the film to avoid that mistake.

Just OK then eh?

Did you enjoy the opening scene?

Well dammit, i had heard it was grody, but i got real hungry about 30 minutes in and nothing really weird had happened yet. I thought i was safe and then BAMMMM!!! My wife gets home from work right in the middle of the craziness and i'm just frozen like a statue with half a chicken breast hanging out of my mouth. Stunned at what i was witnessing.

I almost gave it a 4/5, but i'm not sure what stopped me. I usually have no problem with style over substance and liking the main characters in a movie is not a must for me. I'm gonna revisit it at some point and i doubt my score will go down.

Man, i'm telling ya, i "enjoyed" most of the scenes. It just didn't resonate that well. The day after and i haven't really thought about it at all, except the three beggars.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I agree that the story/characters have their weaknesses, but it's not necessary to enjoy the film. Heck, most of my favorites aren't that deep.

i agree that the characters don't need to be completely fleshed out for the film to be enjoyable, but in a way it is a requirement for me to have the film become a top-tier, even middle-tier favorite of mine there might be some exceptions here or there, but i'd say about 99% of my favorite films have characters i love, find memorable and i can resonate with.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i agree that the characters don't need to be completely fleshed out for the film to be enjoyable, but in a way it is a requirement for me to have the film become a top-tier, even middle-tier favorite of mine there might be some exceptions here or there, but i'd say about 99% of my favorite films have characters i love, find memorable and i can resonate with.

That's a good thing.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

Well dammit, i had heard it was grody, but i got real hungry about 30 minutes in and nothing really weird had happened yet. I thought i was safe and then BAMMMM!!! My wife gets home from work right in the middle of the craziness and i'm just frozen like a statue with half a chicken breast hanging out of my mouth. Stunned at what i was witnessing.

even though i don't know what you look like, this image made me laugh and i picture your profile pic as "you" with the chicken breast hanging out of your mouth

I almost gave it a 4/5, but i'm not sure what stopped me. I usually have no problem with style over substance and liking the main characters in a movie is not a must for me. I'm gonna revisit it at some point and i doubt my score will go down.

Man, i'm telling ya, i "enjoyed" most of the scenes. It just didn't resonate that well. The day after and i haven't really thought about it at all, except the three beggars.

so the film stayed with you, eh? same happened to me. hell, probably most of us. i really appreciate films that do that and not just instantly leave your brain as soon as you eject the disc from the player.

[Al_The_Strange]

Borrowed “Wyatt Earp” from my folks. Actually had it sitting around for months, and just now got around to it.

Clocking in at over three hours, this film is pretty darn long and slow. It has its share of action here and there, but for the most part it’s a sweeping epic-length drama filled with love, loss, and turmoil. As such, it really didn’t engage me much at all, and quickly became mere background noise.

What I can say is that the story works fundamentally, it appears to have strong emotional characters, and is fundamentally touching (at least as much as most other Kevin Costner films).

The film has slick photography and a quality production value. The film has a fine cast and their performances are not bad. Production value is decent. The film overall is competently made. Just not one that really sticks out to me.

Meh, I like “Tombstone” better. This film ain’t no daisy at all.

3/5 (entertainment: 2/5, story: 3/5, film: 3/5)

Recommendation: For western fans, and folks who love lengthy life-drama epics, suggest renting it.

The Blu-Ray is not a bad deal. The PQ is sharp and adequately detailed. It has a fair amount of visual noise and grain, but is otherwise clean. Colors and contrast could be better. Sound quality is lossy and lacks any real depth or punch.

PQ: 3.5/5, AQ: 3/5

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

My updated list of scores for movies I've seen this year:

[Show spoiler]

1. Toy Story 3 - 5/5
   
   
2. Iron Man 2 - 4.75/5
   
   
3. Inception - 4.5/5
   
   
4. Unstoppable - 4.5/5
   
   
5. The Fighter - 5/5
   
   
6. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - 4.25/5
   
   
7. How to Train Your Dragon - 4.25/5
   
   
8. Frozen - 4.5/5
   
   
9. The Book of Eli - 4.25/5
   
   
10. Despicable Me - 3.5/5
    
    
11. Charlie St. Cloud - 3.5/5
    
    
12. She's Out of My League - 3/5
    
    
13. Clash of the Titans - 3/5
    
    
14. Robin Hood - 2/5
    
    
15. The Losers - 1/5

what else are you interested in seeing this year? 127 Hours? True Grit? The Town? The Social Network? that Owl movie? Tangled? others i cannot think of right now?

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

My wife gets home from work right in the middle of the craziness and i'm just frozen like a statue with half a chicken breast hanging out of my mouth.

Never a good thing when your wife catches you with a breast hanging out of your mouth.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Borrowed “Wyatt Earp” from my folks. Actually had it sitting around for months, and just now got around to it.

[Show spoiler]Clocking in at over three hours, this film is pretty darn long and slow. It has its share of action here and there, but for the most part it’s a sweeping epic-length drama filled with love, loss, and turmoil. As such, it really didn’t engage me much at all, and quickly became mere background noise.

What I can say is that the story works fundamentally, it appears to have strong emotional characters, and is fundamentally touching (at least as much as most other Kevin Costner films).

The film has slick photography and a quality production value. The film has a fine cast and their performances are not bad. Production value is decent. The film overall is competently made. Just not one that really sticks out to me.

Meh, I like “Tombstone” better. This film ain’t no daisy at all.

3/5 (entertainment: 2/5, story: 3/5, film: 3/5)

Recommendation: For western fans, and folks who love lengthy life-drama epics, suggest renting it.

The Blu-Ray is not a bad deal. The PQ is sharp and adequately detailed. It has a fair amount of visual noise and grain, but is otherwise clean. Colors and contrast could be better. Sound quality is lossy and lacks any real depth or punch.

PQ: 3.5/5, AQ: 3/5

i have to say, besides knowing nothing of this film, this has to be one of the either most or least (or both) intriguing titles to a film ever

also, i was gonna say this before but forgot, i hope you don't mind my "technical score" score rating that i give in my reviews now. to be honest, i got the idea from you (from where you put entertainment, story, film and other options) in a sense, but also got it from watching the likes of A Clockwork Orange and The Aviator: films that are incredibly well made on a "film" level (costumes, directing, score, et cetera) but just didn't enjoy that much.

and i felt having a 'technical' score and an 'enjoyment' score would make it easier to separate. but looking at it now i see that i'm almost stealing your idea and didn't want you to think that

sorry Al if you cared or noticed at all

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Never a good thing when your wife catches you with a breast hanging out of your mouth.

another solid "lol" from me

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

I almost gave it a 4/5, but i'm not sure what stopped me. I usually have no problem with style over substance and liking the main characters in a movie is not a must for me. I'm gonna revisit it at some point and i doubt my score will go down.

Man, i'm telling ya, i "enjoyed" most of the scenes. It just didn't resonate that well. The day after and i haven't really thought about it at all, except the three beggars.

Man, I couldn't stop thinking about "Antichrist" long after I saw it. I think thanks mostly to squiddy and surfdude, who've dug up all kinds of articles on it and went on debating the theological implications of it (or lack thereof).

[Show spoiler]Why the F is it called "Antichrist?" Is it the guy? Is it the girl? Do they collectively represent the totality of the human race? If so, does this film suggest that the human race will tear itself apart? What does the dead child represent (if anything)? Are they in Hell? Are they in the garden of Eden? Or some perverse antithesis of it? What's with the wheel in the leg? What does it mean (if anything)? Why does the woman go berserk? What is with the three beggars thing? Are there any other metaphysical questions I missed?! Or am I just overthinking it?!!

I suppose different people will apply different levels of thought to a movie. But for this one, I really felt I could spend hours dissecting it and drafting a multipage essay trying to interpret it. That's just me though.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

Well dammit, i had heard it was grody, but i got real hungry about 30 minutes in and nothing really weird had happened yet. I thought i was safe and then BAMMMM!!! My wife gets home from work right in the middle of the craziness and i'm just frozen like a statue with half a chicken breast hanging out of my mouth. Stunned at what i was witnessing.

I almost gave it a 4/5, but i'm not sure what stopped me. I usually have no problem with style over substance and liking the main characters in a movie is not a must for me. I'm gonna revisit it at some point and i doubt my score will go down.

Man, i'm telling ya, i "enjoyed" most of the scenes. It just didn't resonate that well. The day after and i haven't really thought about it at all, except the three beggars.

[Show spoiler]Chaos Reigns!!!

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Man, I couldn't stop thinking about "Antichrist" long after I saw it. I think thanks mostly to squiddy and surfdude, who've dug up all kinds of articles on it and went on debating the theological implications of it (or lack thereof).

[Show spoiler]Why the F is it called "Antichrist?" Is it the guy? Is it the girl? Do they collectively represent the totality of the human race? If so, does this film suggest that the human race will tear itself apart? What does the dead child represent (if anything)? Are they in Hell? Are they in the garden of Eden? Or some perverse antithesis of it? What's with the wheel in the leg? What does it mean (if anything)? Why does the woman go berserk? What is with the three beggars thing? Are there any other metaphysical questions I missed?! Or am I just overthinking it?!!

I suppose different people will apply different levels of thought to a movie. But for this one, I really felt I could spend hours dissecting it and drafting a multipage essay trying to interpret it. That's just me though.

Laugh out loud at your rant in the middle. I asked all those questions and then decided it didn't matter. The only relevant question is: Was that a stunt dick?