Did you get annoyed at the under use of the tear drop character ? He is built up to be a badass and all he can do is break a windshield
That, really annoys me.
Hmmmm....
Maybe you missed the part where he stared down an officer of the law with his gun drawn and didn't even think twice about; he wanted it to happen. Yeah, he'd tear you a new one pretty quick.
"Is this gonna be our time?"
Quoting this movie is my new favorite pastime.
Last edited by Riff Magnum; 12-30-2010 at 09:42 PM.
For sure. I could see how others might think that there's something missing, or it's too simple or too short. I thought they did exactly what they set out to do. Nothing more and nothing less.
How about this quote:
"Are we gonna eat those parts."
"Not yet."
Its wasnt too simple or too short for me. It just seemed akward that the one clan was so hell bent on protecting their secret, and with almost no reason or motivation, spun 180 degrees. There was a spark missing for me. Even though the look of despair, wretched environment, overwhelm and hoplessness were depicted, I never felt it. Not saying it was poorly done, because it wasnt, I just didnt get sucked in. Dunno why. Maybe it was all the crack I smoked before the movie.
For sure. I could see how others might think that there's something missing, or it's too simple or too short. I thought they did exactly what they set out to do. Nothing more and nothing less.
How about this quote:
"Are we gonna eat those parts."
"Not yet."
My girl was flipping out when they shot the squirrels and started getting them prepared to eat lol. Got Em!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SquidPuppet
Its wasnt too simple or too short for me. It just seemed akward that the one clan was so hell bent on protecting their secret, and with almost no reason or motivation, spun 180 degrees. There was a spark missing for me. Even though the look of despair, wretched environment, overwhelm and hoplessness were depicted, I never felt it. Not saying it was poorly done, because it wasnt, I just didnt get sucked in. Dunno why. Maybe it was all the crack I smoked before the movie.
Its wasnt too simple or too short for me. It just seemed akward that the one clan was so hell bent on protecting their secret, and with almost no reason or motivation, spun 180 degrees. There was a spark missing for me. Even though the look of despair, wretched environment, overwhelm and hoplessness were depicted, I never felt it. Not saying it was poorly done, because it wasnt, I just didnt get sucked in. Dunno why. Maybe it was all the crack I smoked before the movie.
I think they finally realized she wasn't gonna squeal and didn't really have any ideas of blood atonement. Once Ree found out the why's, she didn't really care about the who's, what's, when's, or where's. She just wanted to keep the land and the house. If those trees were white oaks (did Teardrop mention this?) that shitty looking plot could've been worth a ton of money. I honestly felt like the other cookers (the clan, as you say) really liked Ree and her father. Maybe this was their way of giving some comfort to their guilty conscious.
I'd be lying if i said i never ate squirrel before.
[Show spoiler]Directed by Mike Nicholls
Starring Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Jude Law and Julia Roberts
104 minutes
I used to confuse this film with Control (a Joy Division biopic), because Closer is also the name of Joy Division's last studio album.
Mike Nichols (The Graduate) was in his 70s when he directed Closer and times have changed a lot since the days of The Graduate (1967). Both are excellent films though, despite the change.
What elevates Closer from the pack is the writing. Patrick Marber wrote the play and also adapted the screenplay. If you have ever seen a TV series starring Steve Coogan, Marber probably wrote it. He has a talent for writing comedy and it's the type of comedy I like. That said, Closer is not a comedy; it's a drama with plenty of humor in it.
Good actors can't really succeed without good writing, but this has both. All four do good work here. It has the feel of a Woody Allen film in some ways and also reminds me of Glengarry Glen Ross as both were adapted from plays. The dialogue comes at you at a fast pace and the actors play off one another well. Some conversations are a joy to experience.
Both men sleep with both women (not at the same time) and the story deals with the relationships in an amusing way. The main point of the film is to show how much people lie to one another. Even when they think they are speaking absolute truth, it often turns out to be a lie. Are they saying these things to convince themselves of their good intentions? Are lies preferable to truth in some instances?
The 104 minutes seem to pass very quickly. I was caught up in the story and the lives of these four people. It's more a romantic drama than a romantic comedy, despite the witty lines that appear throughout the story.
I'm not sure which character I liked the most. They all have redeeming qualities. It's just a fun thing to experience and the writing is smart. I think the actors enjoyed delivering this wonderful dialogue. Owen and Portman received Oscar nominations for their performances.
4.5/5
Recommend a blind-buy? Not sure which is greater. My love for Natalie Portman or my hatred for Julia Roberts. They will probably balance out into a Netflix rental.
[Show spoiler]Funny note... My girlfriend's comment on the news of Portman's pregnancy: "Looks like you're stuck with me!"
Its a long, slow, psychological character study of the twisted minds of Jesse and his "wannabe badass" gang member Robert Ford. I loved it.
Really want to see this. I heard it was a great movie with a great score. And speaking of psychological and twisted, someone recently recommended Jacob's Ladder to me. Seen it?
I think they finally realized she wasn't gonna squeal and didn't really have any ideas of blood atonement. Once Ree found out the why's, she didn't really care about the who's, what's, when's, or where's. She just wanted to keep the land and the house. If those trees were white oaks (did Teardrop mention this?) that shitty looking plot could've been worth a ton of money. I honestly felt like the other cookers (the clan, as you say) really liked Ree and her father. Maybe this was their way of giving some comfort to their guilty conscious.
I'd be lying if i said i never ate squirrel before.
Really want to see this. I heard it was a great movie with a great score. And speaking of psychological and twisted, someone recently recommended Jacob's Ladder to me. Seen it?
[Show spoiler]The comparisons have been made through and through again before I had seen this film. When the trailer debuted many people compared it to the classic Rocky or Ron Howard's take on boxing in Cinderella Man. While I've never been a huge fan of Rocky, I've always personally enjoyed Cinderella Man on many levels. While The Fighter is a story that's been told on paper before, it doesn't make the journey any less exciting.
The strongest aspect of The Fighter is undoubtably the performance of the cast. In what may be the strongest performance of Christian Bale's career, he absolutely nails the character of Dicky. Trying to come up with a sentence to describe the nature of Dicky is borderline impossible. Dicky bounces around camera with an exuberant personality that's covers the entire emotional spectrum. Not to be outdone is a stellar performance from Melissa Leo as Alice, the mother of Dicky and Micky. Leo plays an intimidating character who is the essentially the heart and soul of the entire Eklund family. This is played out in that wherever Alice goes, her entire entourage of daughters follow her around. Not to mention that the husband is absolutely terrified of her. It's also important to note that one of the daughters is none other than the sister of Conan O'Brien, and there is no mistaking as they look exactly the same. Amy Adams gives a solid role as Micky's girlfriend and is able to hold her own ground. Mark Wahlberg is another story, sadly. I quite frankly didn't like his acting at all. Compared to Bale, Leo, and Adams -- his is noticeably worse.
While the story has inevitably been told before, The Fighter is hardly predictable. Sure we know the ending, but we have absolutely no idea how the journey is going to unfold or what turns it's going to take. This alone is what impressed me the most and shows how strong of a film it is. At multiple points in the film I wanted to jump to conclusions and guess where the film would go, only to be completely wrong.
David O. Russel's direction for the most part was very well executed. There would only be a few things that I didn't particularly like, but that would be nitpicking to it's finest. Russel has crafted a fantastic film in The Fighter which contains a great cast with great peformances (minus Wahlberg) and a story that takes on an exhilarating ride, even when we know the destination.
4.5/5
Quote:
Originally Posted by SquidPuppet
The Fighter
[Show spoiler]Short and sweet. I dug it. There is a (3 layer) story within a story within a story going on here. Cool.
Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), older brother to Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg), trains his younger sibling for boxing matches. Simple. But not really. The movie is about family and personal struggles. There is a ton of heavy and emotional stuff going on under the surface here. A family coming apart at the seams struggles to stay connected, but its tough, really tough. We get to watch all the highs, some very, and all the lows, some very very low.
For me, the movie was at least as much Dickys story as it was Mickeys. I deeply cared about each mans future and the challenges each faced. I felt a special empathy towards Dicky and I rooted for him all they way.
The film looks gritty, production values match the mood, and the soundtrack is from the era itself (1980s-1990s). All good stuff here.
Mark Wahlberg did a fine job here, as did Adams and the rest of the supporting cast.
But Bale, Oh My God. Right from the first moment of the film, Bale was off the charts great. Just unreal. He transformed himself into the character. Physically, emotionally, speech patterns, tics, body language, accent. Words dont work here. It had to be difficult because the character is the polar opposite of Bale in every way (except for anger issues ). I was blown away indeed.
5/5 Dont miss it.
Question for those who saw it.....
[Show spoiler]When Dicky was in prison and had finished the withdrawls, he walked down that hallway and dropped to his knees and adopted a "praying" position. To me, this moment was epic as he was surrendering and was breaking out of the denial of his drug addiction. He was coming to terms with the bad reality of his past, and the need to change for the future.
Is it me, or did the director cut away WAY TOO soon? I wish he would have let the camera linger a lot longer. I think it would have been way more impactful and poignant.
Great reviews gentlemen! Squid: I agree.
[Show spoiler]Although I think you just couldn't get enough of Bale in general.
I just watched this again. This time on Blu-ray. It was a present from a friend in Australia
The presentation is excellent. It's Region B-locked, but well worth buying if you can play it.
Not fair!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange
“Kung Fu Panda.”
[Show spoiler]A lot of the animated Dreamworks titles have seemed like a hit-or-a-miss, and back in the day I went into this one expecting more of the same. Instead, I found myself blinded by awesomeness!
Personally, I find the comedy to be a bit of a hit-or-a-miss. Some of it makes me chuckle; there are plenty of sight gags, a few funny lines, and some slapstick antics. But to me this is more of a light-hearted martial arts film; there are quite a few excellent fight scenes, all very thrilling and inventive. Combined with some unique environmental designs and set pieces, and with a fairly fast pace, this film had my attention the whole time.
The story is surprisingly strong too. It is a fairly simple one, but it is a heartfelt one, loaded with strong characters. At its core, there are some strong messages about self-confidence, talent, and destiny.
The animation quality is superb. The cast is impressive and their voice acting is great. Production value is high, and the designs deserve huge props for replicating Chinese culture, architecture, myth, and aesthetics really well (not sure if any of it is accurate or stereotypical, but it definitely has the right flavor). Music is pretty good too.
4.5/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 4.5/5, film: 4.5/5) Increased from 4/5. Potentially my favorite Dreamworks animation title (next to "Over the Hedge").
Recommendation: Yep!
This Blu-Ray looks and sounds darn near perfect!
PQ: 5/5, AQ: 5/5
I finally saw Bolt the other day. Good movie but I still like Kung Fu Panda much more. And I agree with your score too. I think the cast was awesome. Great chemistry and absolutely hilarious.
It was pretty average. You do have to go in expecting a semi-serious movie though. Like a CG Harry Potter or something. I'm big on barn owls though so it's a keeper for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SquidPuppet
They dont come much more twisted.
I'll check it out then. Btw, my God, Mad Men is really good. I like the characters a lot, Jon Hamm's above all. It's very well made. Each episode makes me crave it more and more and it oozes with flavor and authenticity... like smoking a rich cigar that never ends.
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are you pulling a Gandalf?
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