The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

"Caddyshack."

The best golfing comedy ever made. In fact...it's the only one I know of besides the sequel, which I heard stinks.

And even after all these years, it's still quite funny. The dialogue is fun, witty, perhaps a little silly, and quite memorable overall. There are few sight gags and just a few silly antics; not as much as a movie like "Airplane" or anything, but enough to keep it funny, entertaining, and somewhat grounded in reality. And with modest amounts of rampant sex and cursing, the film has a bit of an edge to it. It's about as effective as other great 70s comedies like "Vacation."

The story is pretty simple and doesn't realy on a whole lot of conflict or tension. Perhaps this easy-going attitude is what helps make the film work. At its heart though, the movie does feature a cast of great goofy characters and an inherent slobs-vs-snobs theme. In the end, this theme emerges as a subtle message concerning quality of character (is it better to be an angry uptight rich man or a humble free-lovin' poor man? You be the judge).

The film has solid photography, great acting, a seemingly-limited production value, and an interesting (if not dated) soundtrack.

4/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 3.5/5, film: 3.5/5)

The Blu-Ray looks pleasingly sharp and detailed with better color and contrast than I remember from this film. Sound quality is good. In fact, I heard dialogue I never distinguished before. But, it's not reference quality or anything.

PQ: 4/5, AQ: 4/5



"Be the ball Danny. Be the ball. ...you're not being the ball Danny."

"I want a cheeseburger, and I want ice cream, and I want potatoes..." "YOU GET NOTHING AND LIKE IT!"

"Don't just stand there, get some glue!"

"WELL?!! WE'RE WAITING!!"

You sold me on it, if it's on blu-ray I will get it soon, some of those jokes sound like they were copied by Happy Gilmore.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

You sold me on it, if it's on blu-ray I will get it soon, some of those jokes sound like they were copied by Happy Gilmore.

Ah man, that's one golfing comedy I haven't seen yet. I'll have to check it out.

Hope you enjoy "Caddyshack" if you decide to get it. I think the Blu-Ray is cheap right now (well, $15... )

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

You sold me on it, if it's on blu-ray I will get it soon, some of those jokes sound like they were copied by Happy Gilmore.

It is on Blu-ray.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Caddyshack-Blu-ray/187/

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

"Caddyshack."

The best golfing comedy ever made. In fact...it's the only one I know of besides the sequel, which I heard stinks.

[Show spoiler]And even after all these years, it's still quite funny. The dialogue is fun, witty, perhaps a little silly, and quite memorable overall. There are few sight gags and just a few silly antics; not as much as a movie like "Airplane" or anything, but enough to keep it funny, entertaining, and somewhat grounded in reality. And with modest amounts of rampant sex and cursing, the film has a bit of an edge to it. It's about as effective as other great 70s comedies like "Vacation."

The story is pretty simple and doesn't realy on a whole lot of conflict or tension. Perhaps this easy-going attitude is what helps make the film work. At its heart though, the movie does feature a cast of great goofy characters and an inherent slobs-vs-snobs theme. In the end, this theme emerges as a subtle message concerning quality of character (is it better to be an angry uptight rich man or a humble free-lovin' poor man? You be the judge).

The film has solid photography, great acting, a seemingly-limited production value, and an interesting (if not dated) soundtrack.

4/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 3.5/5, film: 3.5/5)

The Blu-Ray looks pleasingly sharp and detailed with better color and contrast than I remember from this film. Sound quality is good. In fact, I heard dialogue I never distinguished before. But, it's not reference quality or anything.

PQ: 4/5, AQ: 4/5



"Be the ball Danny. Be the ball. ...you're not being the ball Danny."

"I want a cheeseburger, and I want ice cream, and I want potatoes..." "YOU GET NOTHING AND LIKE IT!"

"Don't just stand there, get some glue!"

"WELL?!! WE'RE WAITING!!"

:rofl

:

Al, have you ever seen Happy Gilmore? I really enjoy it.

Edit: The guys beat me to it.

There are some very very funny scenes.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

You sold me on it, if it's on blu-ray I will get it soon, some of those jokes sound like they were copied by Happy Gilmore.

a majority of them were, even the look of scenes and where characters are standing. kind of paying homage to Caddyshack in a lot of ways.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Al, have you ever seen Happy Gilmore? I really enjoy it.

Right on!

...oh wait, ugh!

I owe the SquidPuppet/Maetherion conglomerate a quarter...

[Al_The_Strange]

"Bolt."

First, we're introduced to some kind of superdog who can make shockwaves by barking, run super-fast, lift heavy cars in his jaws, and everything else. It's so crazy silly and over-the-top that it'll either make you laugh or roll your eyes in disbelief (hopefully both).

Then reality sets in (turns out it's all a show), the dog is accidentally whisked away, and what follows is a tale of discovery as the dog sees the real world for the first time and struggles through it without superpowers. With a premise like this, the comedy is a surefire hit. Throw in some hilarious characters and a heartfelt road-trip plot, and we got ourselves a movie that's thrilling, touching, and entertaining.

The film is splendidly animated with quality voice-acting and solid production designs. It comes pretty close to a Pixar quality film, and would probably be on the same level as a good Dreamworks animated film.

4.5/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 4.5/5, film: 4.5/5)

Recommendation: Yep!

The Blu-Ray looks and sounds darn near perfect!

PQ: 5/5, AQ: 5/5

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

"Bolt."

First, we're introduced to some kind of superdog who can make shockwaves by barking, run super-fast, lift heavy cars in his jaws, and everything else. It's so crazy silly and over-the-top that it'll either make you laugh or roll your eyes in disbelief (hopefully both).

Then reality sets in (turns out it's all a show), the dog is accidentally whisked away, and what follows is a tale of discovery as the dog sees the real world for the first time and struggles through it without superpowers. With a premise like this, the comedy is a surefire hit. Throw in some hilarious characters and a heartfelt road-trip plot, and we got ourselves a movie that's thrilling, touching, and entertaining.

The film is splendidly animated with quality voice-acting and solid production designs. It comes pretty close to a Pixar quality film, and would probably be on the same level as a good Dreamworks animated film.

4.5/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 4.5/5, film: 4.5/5)

Recommendation: Yep!

The Blu-Ray looks and sounds darn near perfect!

PQ: 5/5, AQ: 5/5

I love Bolt.

The cat has a lot of funny lines, especially when

[Show spoiler]she's teaching Bolt how to act like a dog

I liked the Pigeons too.

Better than a few Pixar titles for me.

[SquidPuppet]

Gladiator

I finally got around to watching my exchanged "Remastered" copy of Gladiator. I never watched the screwed up version, but bought it when it dipped to $10.00 in hopes that a remaster/exchange program night occur, and it did. Yeah, I'm a genius like that.

[Show spoiler]

I wont review the film itself because its been done to death, so I'll just comment on the BD. They got it right!! Looks and sounds fantastic. TONS of bonus material.

5/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Steve46

I love Bolt.

The cat has a lot of funny lines, especially when

[Show spoiler]she's teaching Bolt how to act like a dog

I liked the Pigeons too.

Better than a few Pixar titles for me.

Yes, Mittens is funny, and the pidgeons are hilarious; I love their accents!

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Gladiator

I finally got around to watching my exchanged "Remastered" copy of Gladiator. I never watched the screwed up version, but bought it when it dipped to $10.00 in hopes that a remaster/exchange program night occur, and it did. Yeah, I'm a genius like that.

[Show spoiler]

I wont review the film itself because its been done to death, so I'll just comment on the BD. They got it right!! Looks and sounds fantastic. TONS of bonus material.

5/5

Exchanging the "Gladiator" disc was probably the most gratifying thing I ever did. The original looked passable to me, but it always bothered me thinking it's been DNRed to death and it could have been better. The new disc definitely rocks!

[SquidPuppet]

Triangle

Just had the itch to revisit it last night. Its a lot of fun to dissect after knowing what we know.

This time around I paid more attention to the AQ and PQ and both are darn good. Not reference, but really good.

A very satisfying rewatch.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Triangle

Just had the itch to revisit it last night. Its a lot of fun to dissect after knowing what we know.

This time around I paid more attention to the AQ and PQ and both are darn good. Not reference, but really good.

A very satisfying rewatch.

i LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE the opening song
and the film of course

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

"Bolt."

[Show spoiler]First, we're introduced to some kind of superdog who can make shockwaves by barking, run super-fast, lift heavy cars in his jaws, and everything else. It's so crazy silly and over-the-top that it'll either make you laugh or roll your eyes in disbelief (hopefully both).

Then reality sets in (turns out it's all a show), the dog is accidentally whisked away, and what follows is a tale of discovery as the dog sees the real world for the first time and struggles through it without superpowers. With a premise like this, the comedy is a surefire hit. Throw in some hilarious characters and a heartfelt road-trip plot, and we got ourselves a movie that's thrilling, touching, and entertaining.

The film is splendidly animated with quality voice-acting and solid production designs. It comes pretty close to a Pixar quality film, and would probably be on the same level as a good Dreamworks animated film.

4.5/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 4.5/5, film: 4.5/5)

Recommendation: Yep!

The Blu-Ray looks and sounds darn near perfect!

PQ: 5/5, AQ: 5/5

i've been meaning to see this for years now, keep forgetting about it

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i've been meaning to see this for years now, keep forgetting about it

Bolt to the nearest video rental store!

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Bolt to the nearest video rental store!

[SquidPuppet]

Restrepo

2010 R 93 minutes

Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm, teamed with photographer Tim Hetherington to spend a year embedded with the Second Platoon in Afghanistan, documenting the hard work, fear and brotherhood that come with repelling a deadly enemy. Hunkered down with the soldiers in one of the region's most strategic valleys, the filmmakers uncover the dark humor, sleepless surreality and constant anxiety of war in this Best Documentary winner at Sundance.

I enjoyed this documantary a lot, but it could have been better.

The korengal valley certainly is a dangerous and scary place. The film captures the action first hand, and I mean in the sh!t with the guys. We see everything these guys had to deal with, up close, loud and dirty. It chronicles the daily struggle against an everpresent, yet almost invisible (ghost) enemy. Al qaeda and the taliban are lurking, hiding everywhere, and brought firefights and ambushes on this group of soldiers multiple times per day during their 15 month deployment. Sleepless nights, IEDs, constant fire, RPGs, anger, frustration, fear, loss of comrades, confusion, futility, we see it all.

The film succeeds at putting us in a soldiers day, his week, his month and year. We are right there for the physical and emotional struggle.

Where I think the film fails is in its lack of explanation of the mission. Why were they there, what was their purpose and goal, and strategy to achieve the desired outcome? It felt very random and lacked direction. If this was done intentionally to give us a soldiers perspective, then it succeeds. But when I watch a documentary I want to leave the experience more knowledgable on the subject matter than when I entered.

The US prescence in the Korengal Valley is a somewhat controversial subject. I was well read on the subject before seeing this documantary and that helped fill in a lot of the holes. I cant help but wonder how these boys felt, that after all they gave, we pulled out and abandoned the mission.

I didnt write this, but it sums some of it up.

For U.S. commanders, the Korengal Valley offers a hard lesson in the limits of American power and goodwill in Afghanistan. U.S. troops arrived in 2005 to flush out al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. They stayed on the theory that the American presence drew insurgents away from areas where the United States had a better chance of fostering development. The troops were, in essence, bullet magnets.

Film 4/5
PQ 4/5 Varied a lot as you might expect, but overall very good.
AQ 4/5

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

"Bolt."

[Show spoiler]First, we're introduced to some kind of superdog who can make shockwaves by barking, run super-fast, lift heavy cars in his jaws, and everything else. It's so crazy silly and over-the-top that it'll either make you laugh or roll your eyes in disbelief (hopefully both).

Then reality sets in (turns out it's all a show), the dog is accidentally whisked away, and what follows is a tale of discovery as the dog sees the real world for the first time and struggles through it without superpowers. With a premise like this, the comedy is a surefire hit. Throw in some hilarious characters and a heartfelt road-trip plot, and we got ourselves a movie that's thrilling, touching, and entertaining.

The film is splendidly animated with quality voice-acting and solid production designs. It comes pretty close to a Pixar quality film, and would probably be on the same level as a good Dreamworks animated film.

4.5/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 4.5/5, film: 4.5/5)

Recommendation: Yep!

The Blu-Ray looks and sounds darn near perfect!

PQ: 5/5, AQ: 5/5

When the girl selects Bolt at the pet shop, I melted.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i've been meaning to see this for years now, keep forgetting about it

Its a rockin' adventure.

[Steve46]

Salt

Directed by Phillip Noyce
Starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor
100 minutes

Director Phillip Noyce teams up with Jolie for the first time since The Bone Collector. The result is a something that looks like a Bourne installment with a female lead. The fast cuts make this an adrenaline-filled story that rarely lets up.

I'm not a big fan of Jolie. She was decent in The Bone Collector and Wanted and excellent in Changeling, but that's about it. She didn't have to memorize many lines for this part as it's all action sequences and chases.

It works for its intended audience. It has one or two interesting plot points.

PQ is decent and AQ is excellent.

Overall 4.25/5

[SquidPuppet]

Exit Through the Gift Shop

2010 R 87 minutes

Filmmaker Thierry Guetta had been casually documenting the underground world of street art for years, but when he encounters Banksy, an elusive British stencil artist, his project takes a fascinating twist. Unimpressed with Guetta's footage, Banksy takes over filmmaking duties and Guetta reinvents himself as a street artist named Mr. Brainwash -- and, much to Banksy's surprise, immediately becomes a darling of the Los Angeles art scene.

This is one weird documentary. Some believe it is a "Prankumentary". Perhaps it is. Its full of oddball characters and some really surprising events. The best way I can describe it is goofy.

Its definitely worth checking out. If only to debate whether it is real or not. And if not, who is the brunt of the joke, Banksy, Guetta, or the viewer.

Film 4/5