The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Black...Blu-ray/13338/

Says Region B but I don't know if its been tested by someone here.

eesh! that cover looks like a mix of Robin Hood, Gladiator, Braveheart, Timeline (yes, Timeline Diesel! ), Kingdom of Heaven and a bunch of other films. and hell, maybe that's what it's about. but Black Plague doesn't have me thinking a knight looking guy swinging swords. unless my edumacashun sistem iz a rong.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Hep

The Social Network

If you don’t know the story of The Social Network, then you probably aren’t looking in this thread for a summary; so I won’t belabour this with a long set-up of the plot. The terrific success of this movie isn’t what Aaron Sorkin has written in the way of plot, but rather how he and Fincher transmitted and amplified it into a full-on commentary of core western values. Ambition marches through the characters until it culminates in betrayal within Mark Zuckerberg’s own social network.

The acting is spot on. This is one of those movies where it’s difficult to consistently empathize with any single character, yet we can empathize with nearly all of the characters at various points. I think that is where I got drawn into this film. In reality no one is right all the time or consistently makes the right choices. In the end it left me without any great emotional attachment to the characters, but rather intellectually involved in the events and what it says about business ethics and morality.

That is not to say there is no emotional involvement in the film. By the end of the film, the tone established is so intense and the events so substantial, they provide all the required queues to produce a cathartic reaction.

I believe this success includes many different aspects of the movie. The photography is steady and simply beautiful. The score is brilliant. Being a Trent Reznor fan, I purchased the blu-ray audio of the score months ago in anticipation of watching the movie. The score is at times delicate but more often extremely tense and edgy. It is wholly atmospheric and a key element of the emotional connection I felt. The AQ on this disc is incredible; while Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker are talking at a night club the bass is so guttural that I’m surprised more people haven’t reported involuntary bowel movements.

The PQ is very nice but my concentration on the story didn’t afford me the capacity (or desire) to analyse it in any meaningful way.

This movie comes very highly recommended. 5/5

[Show spoiler]
...sorry I couldn’t find a shot with a knife stabbed into the baby back ribs .

Your review made me hungry.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

eesh! that cover looks like a mix of Robin Hood, Gladiator, Braveheart, Timeline (yes, Timeline Diesel! ), Kingdom of Heaven and a bunch of other films. and hell, maybe that's what it's about. but Black Plague doesn't have me thinking a knight looking guy swinging swords. unless my edumacashun sistem iz a rong.

I dismissed it the same way I dismissed Triangle, I didn't even realise that they were related by the same director until mentioned on this thread

[iam1bearcat]

last night we had some friends over. we were gonna go see Black Swan... and then everyone decided to tell me they had no money so we stayed in and watched...

The Social Network

my third time this week.

i don't know how people find that this has no replay value. so many subtle things (dialogue, character movements, facial expressions, jokes) you miss the first time and then pick up on.

my favorite of 2010 as of tuesday the 11th when it came out.

5/5

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I dismissed it the same way I dismissed Triangle, I didn't even realise that they were related by the same director until mentioned on this thread

Triangle cover at least looks interesting! this cover does not lol at least for me. but i will still see it because of the director.

[menaceuk]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

yep!
a great, great film. easy 5/5 in my book.

Cool.

Was looking at it today in my local Blockbuster as it was on £6 and I debated for a bit on buying/ not buying and ended up doing the latter.

Might go back tomorrow and pick it up and see how it is.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by menaceuk

Cool.

Was looking at it today in my local Blockbuster as it was on £6 and I debated for a bit on buying/ not buying and ended up doing the latter.

Might go back tomorrow and pick it up and see how it is.

I'd say it's worth, I don't love it as much as others, but it's a very tightly written narrative. The only downside I found was that the acting from the side characters is very

[Foggy]

Something intresting about Aronofsky and Batman

While doing the publicity rounds for Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky has been talking up his long-dead Batman movie, and it sounds like he might be about to breathe new life into the project.

ClothesOnFilm asked the writer-director if he had ever considered releasing his take on the character in comic book form, to which he responded...

"Well, we're actually doing one. It hasn't really been announced, I don't know if I should give you the scoop! But we're getting there. We're doing a comic book of a script that's really hard to make and we're going to do a comic version first and see what happens…"

So sounds like Aronofsky and his collaborators will test the comic waters with a view to potentially turning the story into a movie down the line. And with Christopher Nolan hinting that he'll leave the franchise following his third Batman movie, it could finally pave the pave for Aronofsky to take the reigns on the series.

Is that something you guys would like to see?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Black Death is already avalible on Blu-Ray over here!

I don't know if it's region free or not, you guys will have to find out on your own

Weird. It doesnt even open in theaters here until March.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by menaceuk

Are you guys talking about this movie


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1187064/

Yes. Visit it for a nice session.

[menaceuk]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I'd say it's worth, I don't love it as much as others, but it's a very tightly written narrative. The only downside I found was that the acting from the side characters is very

Sounds like Gran Torino as far as acting goes and I still enjoyed that movie so will give this a go regardless.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Yes. Visit it for a nice session.

What sort of movie is it ? A horror, chiller ?

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Weird. It doesnt even open in theaters here until March.

Probably because it's very British based

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I really enjoyed it!

Some of the stuff that is mentioned throughout made me , and

It's incredible...yet frightening...what we have the means to do.

Not review worthy?

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by menaceuk

Sounds like Gran Torino as far as acting goes and I still enjoyed that movie so will give this a go regardless.




What sort of movie is it ? A horror, chiller ?

Mindy bendy Thriller

Also Black Swan is showing at my nearest theatre

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by menaceuk

Sounds like Gran Torino as far as acting goes and I still enjoyed that movie so will give this a go regardless.




What sort of movie is it ? A horror, chiller ?

Psychological thriller with horror elements.

[menaceuk]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Mindy bendy Thriller

Also Black Swan is showing at my nearest theatre

Go see it Now

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Psychological thriller with horror elements.

Cool, I like a good Psycho thriller

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by menaceuk

Go see it Now

It's not out till Friday

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Not review worthy?

I didn't feel the desire to type one up. If I had to assign a score I suppose it would get a 4.25.




I also don't feel like reviewing D3: The Mighty Ducks from last night

[Al_The_Strange]

“Batman Begins.”

This is the game-changer. No more campy wacky kiddie crap. No more romanticist gothic crap either. Christopher Nolan presents a new and improved Batman movie more heavily grounded in reality (or about as real as a comic-book hero film can be), and with a stronger emphasis on in-depth storytelling and style.

Fortunately, the film is still entertaining; perhaps even moreso than all the other films before it. Action is frequent and impressive. Some of the fights might be hard to see with the shaky cameramanship, but the car chase, the stuntwork, the (few) special effects, and the finale are all very noteworthy. In between the major action scenes, the story moves with a fast and tight pacing. There’s hardly a dull moment.

At its core though, this telling of “Batman” presents a very strong story, filled with deep characters, strong themes, and detailed nuances. The story itself is pretty solid, for as the mystery unravels it proves to be cleverly sublime and tight. What is most important is the character development though; Bruce Wayne’s origins are explored in depth and with solid reasoning behind his ascension into a masked vigilante. Going hand-in-hand with this portrayal are strong themes about fear, morality, and ultimately the value of decisive action. And as the Batman character comes into a fully-realized being, a lot of interesting concepts are poured into it like hot iron filling an ingot; using fear as a weapon, the principles of ninjutsu, the power of symbols, to name a few. And on top of all that, the physical genesis of the character is explored more thoroughly than ever before; we finally see where he gets all his cool gadgets from, where his costume came from, how he gained the trust of key law enforcement officers, among other things. All of these concepts work together to make the story more believable, whereas in previous movies nothing was defined and everything about the character simply existed without any basis. The movie gets high marks as it is for utilizing previously unused opportunities. I’d give it even higher marks for its strong themes.

As a film, it is interesting. Photography is superb throughout, with plenty of unique imagery and camera angles. Editing is very rough, with some choppy action scenes, but most of the time it works to create a unique and frenetic style. Acting is excellent all around; Christian Bale shows both aggression and subtlety in his dual-natured role, Michael Caine makes for a wise and witty butler (a good change from the nice old man in previous films, who proved to be a security hazard more than anything. Seriously, the old Alfred kept on revealing Batman’s identity and let the Riddler into the house! Come on! ), Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson are cool as the villains, and Gary Oldman is perfect as Jim Gordon. It’s also pretty cool seeing Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, and Rutger Hauer in the mix (and I never realized until now that Ken Watanabe is in there too! The guy likes to leech off of Nolan these days ). Production value is very high, with loads of excellent sets, props, costumes, weapons, cars, gear, and everything else. The music score is epic!

5/5 (entertainment: 5/5, story: 5/5, film: 4.5/5, intellectual impact: 3/5) Increased from 4.5/5, putting it on the same level as “TDK.”

Recommendation: Oooooohhhh yeah!!

The Blu-Ray is engineered well. It seems like I see some folks complaining about it, but from what I see the image is very sharp, detailed, clean, and pleasing to watch. Colors and contrast are a little dulled, but I remember the DVD being the same way. There is some fine noise in certain spots, but I hardly find it an issue. Sound quality seems good, but doesn’t have a huge punch to it.

PQ: 4.5/5, AQ: 4/5

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

“Batman Begins.”

[Show spoiler]This is the game-changer. No more campy wacky kiddie crap. No more romanticist gothic crap either. Christopher Nolan presents a new and improved Batman movie more heavily grounded in reality (or about as real as a comic-book hero film can be), and with a stronger emphasis on in-depth storytelling and style.

Fortunately, the film is still entertaining; perhaps even moreso than all the other films before it. Action is frequent and impressive. Some of the fights might be hard to see with the shaky cameramanship, but the car chase, the stuntwork, the (few) special effects, and the finale are all very noteworthy. In between the major action scenes, the story moves with a fast and tight pacing. There’s hardly a dull moment.

At its core though, this telling of “Batman” presents a very strong story, filled with deep characters, strong themes, and detailed nuances. The story itself is pretty solid, for as the mystery unravels it proves to be cleverly sublime and tight. What is most important is the character development though; Bruce Wayne’s origins are explored in depth and with solid reasoning behind his ascension into a masked vigilante. Going hand-in-hand with this portrayal are strong themes about fear, morality, and ultimately the value of decisive action. And as the Batman character comes into a fully-realized being, a lot of interesting concepts are poured into it like hot iron filling an ingot; using fear as a weapon, the principles of ninjutsu, the power of symbols, to name a few. And on top of all that, the physical genesis of the character is explored more thoroughly than ever before; we finally see where he gets all his cool gadgets from, where his costume came from, how he gained the trust of key law enforcement officers, among other things. All of these concepts work together to make the story more believable, whereas in previous movies nothing was defined and everything about the character simply existed without any basis. The movie gets high marks as it is for utilizing previously unused opportunities. I’d give it even higher marks for its strong themes.

As a film, it is interesting. Photography is superb throughout, with plenty of unique imagery and camera angles. Editing is very rough, with some choppy action scenes, but most of the time it works to create a unique and frenetic style. Acting is excellent all around; Christian Bale shows both aggression and subtlety in his dual-natured role, Michael Caine makes for a wise and witty butler (a good change from the nice old man in previous films, who proved to be a security hazard more than anything. Seriously, the old Alfred kept on revealing Batman’s identity and let the Riddler into the house! Come on! ), Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson are cool as the villains, and Gary Oldman is perfect as Jim Gordon. It’s also pretty cool seeing Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, and Rutger Hauer in the mix (and I never realized until now that Ken Watanabe is in there too! The guy likes to leech off of Nolan these days ). Production value is very high, with loads of excellent sets, props, costumes, weapons, cars, gear, and everything else. The music score is epic!

5/5 (entertainment: 5/5, story: 5/5, film: 4.5/5, intellectual impact: 3/5) Increased from 4.5/5, putting it on the same level as “TDK.”

The Blu-Ray is engineered well. It seems like I see some folks complaining about it, but from what I see the image is very sharp, detailed, clean, and pleasing to watch. Colors and contrast are a little dulled, but I remember the DVD being the same way. There is some fine noise in certain spots, but I hardly find it an issue. Sound quality seems good, but doesn’t have a huge punch to it.

PQ: 4.5/5, AQ: 4/5

They're just mad because it's a port of the HD DVD and not a new master for blu-ray.
Movies I've seen recently -
Big Fish 5/5
Book of Eli 4.5/5
Boondock Saints 4.5/5
I love all of these movies but Big Fish is the big acquired taste of the bunch, I used to find it stupid and boring.