The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Dont you know? That is not an acceptable excuse around here.

I just can't be like you, driving through ice and snow and extreme stormy weather...hardcore.

[Hep]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Dont you know? That is not an acceptable excuse around here.

Grab your pitch forks and load in the car, I smell another Black Swan road trip!

BTW Al, you'll have to give us directions to Ishbal, I don't know if we need to drive for fly?

[CZAR]

Man it would be hella cool if we could all meet up and check out a film or so. Cats would be driving from every which-a-way hahaha. Got Em!!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I just can't be like you, driving through ice and snow and extreme stormy weather...hardcore.

You know whats funny about that. I dont fear the "danger" of a possible crash. Its not injury I worry about. I have always enjoyed extreme sports and high performance motorcycles and cars. I'm a bit of a danger junkie. My concern is experiencing a disabled vehicle and the hours spent in 4 degree weather while dealing with the aftermath and making arrangements to get home. Its the exposure that scares me, not the crash itself. I am a total sissy when it comes to cold weather. Brrrrrrr.

Seriously though Al, if you can make it to the theater for this, it'll be a treat. I sat a little closer than I usually do to add to the immersion, and it was really something on the big screen.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Hep

Grab your pitch forks and load in the car, I smell another Black Swan road trip!

BTW Al, you'll have to give us directions to Ishbal, I don't know if we need to drive for fly?

Get to da choppa!

[Diesel]

16 Blocks

• 2006 | PG-13 | 105 Minutes
  
  
• Director: Richard Donner
  
  
• Starring: Bruce Willis, David Morse, Mos Def
  
  
• Action | Crime | Drama

Willis plays a cop (SURPRISE!!!!) who has to get a witness 16 blocks (SURPRISE!!!!) by 10 a.m. so that he can testify in court. The bad guys don't want that to happen. Guns are shot, Bruce Willis tells people to hang on to stuff and

[Show spoiler]David Morse is a bad guy;

not many surprises there

There was one surprise though, that

[Show spoiler]Willis was actually one of the cops that Bunker was testifying against

I didn't expect that.

The movie is mildly entertaining but not really all that good. I found some of it hard to believe.

[Show spoiler]An entire precinct being corrupt that is chasing a witness and one of its own detectives across town trying to kill them, yet no one (especially the ones at the courthouse) seems to really care even though Willis calls it in. This seemed like it was supposed to be a pretty big case yet when he said they were being attacked the ADA just passed off the note to some random cop guy instead of making sure that something is being done, heck get the freaking FBI or SWAT if you have to.

Then the whole bus thing happened and STILL the ADA didn't call it in to anyone, I mean the bloody Commissioner of Police was there, don't you think he should have been filled in on what was happening?

Bunker escaped simply by changing his clothes. If the cops were seriously worried about not getting found out they would have stopped everyone that was bald/black coming off of that bus not just the one that had the blue shirt on.

I feel like I'm forgetting some other stuff, but that's enough to get the point across I suppose.

If you sit there and just watch the film to be entertained its possible that it will achieve that for you, but once you start saying, "Hey...wait..." things start to fall apart.


The acting is pretty typical of what you would expect to find here.

Willis is doing his cop thing as usual, except this time he's drunk and co-stars with a mustache (that thing was scary).

David Morse is the

[Show spoiler]"Hey, I know he's a bad guy before I even see him do something bad"

guy. He just has THAT look to him.

Mos Def is INSANELY ANNOYING. I wanted to shoot him myself. If you are prone to violent acts, do not watch this movie because when he is on screen for prolonged periods of time then you will by reflex punch your TV.


I'm calling it worth watching on TV, but not worth renting.


Rating - 3.25/5

[SquidPuppet]

I have decided to give myself an award. A prize.

I spend a lot of time ragging on Musicals and have bashed Dance movies for ages.

Uh..... I just saw, and gave Black Swan a 5 star rating. Er... um... Dancing from beginning to end.

Therefore, I believe that I have earned a award. I'll wear it proudly since we dont have a "Cone of Shame" smiley.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I have decided to give myself an award. A prize.

I spend a lot of time ragging on Musicals and have bashed Dance movies for ages.

Uh..... I just saw, and gave Black Swan a 5 star rating. Er... um... Dancing from beginning to end.

Therefore, I believe that I have earned a award. I'll wear it proudly since we dont have a "Cone of Shame" smiley.

[Show spoiler]

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Hep

Grab your pitch forks and load in the car, I smell another Black Swan road trip!

BTW Al, you'll have to give us directions to Ishbal, I don't know if we need to drive for fly?

Don't you know about Ishbal dude? It's Southeast Amestris, Eastern Desert?

Ah well, you'll need to create a transdimentional portal that crosses through the life/death barrier into the alternate universe in which alchemy supercedes science. And then you'd hire a cab or take a train to drive a few thousand miles.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

You know whats funny about that. I dont fear the "danger" of a possible crash. Its not injury I worry about. I have always enjoyed extreme sports and high performance motorcycles and cars. I'm a bit of a danger junkie. My concern is experiencing a disabled vehicle and the hours spent in 4 degree weather while dealing with the aftermath and making arrangements to get home. Its the exposure that scares me, not the crash itself. I am a total sissy when it comes to cold weather. Brrrrrrr.

That's understandable. In fact, that could be a good basis for a survivalist movie...

I've heard stories about people stuck in traffic in Germany for as long as 10 hours. Without food or water, it can be very drastic indeed.

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Diesel

16 Blocks

[Show spoiler]

• 2006 | PG-13 | 105 Minutes
  
  
• Director: Richard Donner
  
  
• Starring: Bruce Willis, David Morse, Mos Def
  
  
• Action | Crime | Drama

Willis plays a cop (SURPRISE!!!!) who has to get a witness 16 blocks (SURPRISE!!!!) by 10 a.m. so that he can testify in court. The bad guys don't want that to happen. Guns are shot, Bruce Willis tells people to hang on to stuff and

[Show spoiler]David Morse is a bad guy;

not many surprises there

There was one surprise though, that

[Show spoiler]Willis was actually one of the cops that Bunker was testifying against

I didn't expect that.

The movie is mildly entertaining but not really all that good. I found some of it hard to believe.

[Show spoiler]An entire precinct being corrupt that is chasing a witness and one of its own detectives across town trying to kill them, yet no one (especially the ones at the courthouse) seems to really care even though Willis calls it in. This seemed like it was supposed to be a pretty big case yet when he said they were being attacked the ADA just passed off the note to some random cop guy instead of making sure that something is being done, heck get the freaking FBI or SWAT if you have to.

Then the whole bus thing happened and STILL the ADA didn't call it in to anyone, I mean the bloody Commissioner of Police was there, don't you think he should have been filled in on what was happening?

Bunker escaped simply by changing his clothes. If the cops were seriously worried about not getting found out they would have stopped everyone that was bald/black coming off of that bus not just the one that had the blue shirt on.

I feel like I'm forgetting some other stuff, but that's enough to get the point across I suppose.

If you sit there and just watch the film to be entertained its possible that it will achieve that for you, but once you start saying, "Hey...wait..." things start to fall apart.


The acting is pretty typical of what you would expect to find here.

Willis is doing his cop thing as usual, except this time he's drunk and co-stars with a mustache (that thing was scary).

David Morse is the

[Show spoiler]"Hey, I know he's a bad guy before I even see him do something bad"

guy. He just has THAT look to him.

Mos Def is INSANELY ANNOYING. I wanted to shoot him myself. If you are prone to violent acts, do not watch this movie because when he is on screen for prolonged periods of time then you will by reflex punch your TV.


I'm calling it worth watching on TV, but not worth renting.

Rating - 3.25/5

Yea i enjoyed this film. Loved Mos Def's talking and voice haha. he did a great job with that. Not a great film but enjoyable. Probably 3 1/2 stars. Got Em!!

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I have decided to give myself an award. A prize.

I spend a lot of time ragging on Musicals and have bashed Dance movies for ages.

Uh..... I just saw, and gave Black Swan a 5 star rating. Er... um... Dancing from beginning to end.

Therefore, I believe that I have earned a award. I'll wear it proudly since we dont have a "Cone of Shame" smiley.

Now go watch Saving the Last Dance haha. Got Em!!

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by killowertz

I'm sure you're referring to Mr. "I Don't Do Sparkle".

Czar will be happy to hear that I liked Eclipse. I'm still not sure which of the three I like best out of the series as I like things about all three of them, but Eclipse gets my approval. I always have went back and forth on which I liked best between the first two and now having another one to choose from doesn't help at all.

Going into a slight bit more detail, but still not a review, this was the one with the most action. No, the action scenes do not rival Underworld. Yes, it is still a drama first. All of that was expected, although I probably did expect a little more action given how people were talking about this one.

[Show spoiler]The chase scene near the beginning of the movie where the Cullens and the wolves are chasing Victoria

was pretty good and well done though. The wolves looked better in this movie as well.

Given the fact that it had a little less action than I expected, I won't say it will change your opinion of the series, but you should still like it the best of the three. I didn't expect it would all of a sudden make you a fan though anyways. I'd give the movie a 4/5, but that is coming from a fan of the series.

What did you give the first two? 4/5 as well?

If it can reach a 3/5 or a 3.25/5 for me that will be a success.

I saved the biggest not really a spoiler spoiler for last...

[Show spoiler]Michael Sheen is not in it at all.

Click

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I warned you that it was long and contemplative. I'm glad you found things to enjoy.

Yes....yes you did

At least I gave it a good score, another bad score for a well liked movie around here and I think I would have been booted out

[Show spoiler]

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by killowertz

I'm sure you're referring to Mr. "I Don't Do Sparkle".

Czar will be happy to hear that I liked Eclipse. ]

Originally Posted by Diesel

What did you give the first two? 4/5 as well?

If it can reach a 3/5 or a 3.25/5 for me that will be a success.]

You Sparkly kids are cracking me up.

[Show spoiler]

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

You Sparkly kids are cracking me up.

Ay man u just gave yourself an award for dance films. Go watch Eclipse and u just might give yourself a bowl of cheerios lol. Got Em!!

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest rental: "Floating Weeds" 1959.

It's much like the 1934 version. Only with color! And sound! Holy crap!

At first glance I even wondered if it was shot-by-shot the exact same. It really isn't, but both films have very similar stories and pacing. The cinematic style is pretty solid in this remake, and the acting is swell (although if I was really picky I think it could have been better, and the writing probably could have been better too, but I did find the story easier to understand in this version).

Otherwise, my experience with this film is the same as with the original; it's slow, doesn't have much going on, but it does have its moments, especially in the last half. Truth is, I watched both of these at 1.5 speed; they're fine films, I just find them slow!

3.5/5 (entertainment: 3/5, story: 3/5, film: 4.5/5) Same as the original; the two would go together very well.

Recommendation for both films: For anybody who enjoys foreign films, artsy films, dramas, or anything in the Criterion Collection, rent it.

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Latest and greatest rentals:

“A Story of Floating Weeds.”

Holy crap, it’s a silent movie….in Japanese!

It’s visually impressive; the camera angles are fantastic, the lighting is solid, the sets, props, costumes, etc. give the entire film a distinctive (Japanese) flavor. I love the look of it; it seems ahead of its time.

But regarding the film’s story, I didn’t feel that there was much there. Sure, it’s a drama with strong emotional conflicts, but I don’t think it fully emerged until the last half. As such, I felt that this short 90 minute film was a bit long and dragged out. The story itself still feels a bit weak to me, even though it does have a decent cast of characters. I can tell that it has some theme going for it; the movie deals a lot with hardships, money, and perhaps a bit on alcohol abuse and domestic abuse (though I never fully understood why

[Show spoiler]the master felt it necessary to beat on his son and his son’s girlfriend; he could have just spoken his mind, jeez! I guess it was the way things were back then?

).

3.5/5 (entertainment: 3/5, story: 2.5/5, film: 5/5)

Blu-Ray on this would be sweet (doubt I'll get a copy though). I think the remake is on my queue as well.

[Batman1980]

Piranha - 4.5/5
Yes it's cheesy and full of guts and boobs and gore but it works. Jessica Szohr and Elisabeth Shue and Dina Meyer are all at their skimpy best. Movie was better than I thought it'd be, especially with McQueen from Vampire Diaries as the main character. Hoping there will be a sequel and I hate to admit this but I bet it would've looked great in 3D.
PQ and AQ 4/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Piranha - 4.5/5
Yes it's cheesy and full of guts and boobs and gore but it works. Jessica Szohr and Elisabeth Shue and Dina Meyer are all at their skimpy best. Movie was better than I thought it'd be, especially with McQueen from Vampire Diaries as the main character. Hoping there will be a sequel and I hate to admit this but I bet it would've looked great in 3D.
PQ and AQ 4/5

Sold!

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Piranha - 4.5/5
Yes it's cheesy and full of guts and boobs and gore but it works. Jessica Szohr and Elisabeth Shue and Dina Meyer are all at their skimpy best. Movie was better than I thought it'd be, especially with McQueen from Vampire Diaries as the main character. Hoping there will be a sequel and I hate to admit this but I bet it would've looked great in 3D.
PQ and AQ 4/5

Sequel due out this summer. Piranha 3DD. Got Em!!

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Sold!

Just blind bought it and will watch this weekend. Got Em!!

[Batman1980]

Time Cop - 4/5
Was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, really felt like Van Damme's version of Jet Li's The One. Not quite as good of course but still a solid movie about time travel with a couple of hot women and some solid action and drama thrown in. Recommended for those who haven't seen it yet, is $12.99 at Best Buy right now, bundled on the same disc as the excellent Bloodsport which I'm about to watch.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Next greatest rental: "Floating Weeds" 1959.

It's much like the 1934 version. Only with color! And sound! Holy crap!

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Time Cop - 4/5
Was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, really felt like Van Damme's version of Jet Li's The One. Not quite as good of course but still a solid movie about time travel with a couple of hot women and some solid action and drama thrown in. Recommended for those who haven't seen it yet, is $12.99 at Best Buy right now, bundled on the same disc as the excellent Bloodsport which I'm about to watch.

This is the only Van Damme film I actually liked. Got Em!!