The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Yep, those kids ticked me off, and I have the TV some verbal abuse.

[Show spoiler]I actually rooted for the woman when she stabbed the one kid in the neck and ran the girl over. I think if I was the director, she would have gone all "Kill Bill" on the whole lot of them.

But, without any real sense of justice or mercy, the film is successful at being invoking, and for being quite a downer all the way through. The ending just ticked me off even more, but there was a strong parallell between the group of kids and the group of adults; people never really grow up, do they?

Yep. The ending bothered me because she ended up

[Show spoiler]right back at the SAME house that she knew was iffy from the beginning of the film.

Yes, I was happy too when she 4-wheeled over that chick.

[Steve46]

My Son My Son, What Have Ye Done?

Herzog directed and Lynch produced. It's full of Lynch cronies. That seemed like a recipe for a can't miss title for me. Wrong.

Lots of inside jokes, but I didn't connect with it at all. I was just waiting for the 90 minutes to end. I'll never consider watching it again.

Sorry Ebert, I can't agree with you this time.

Overall 2/5

[SquidPuppet]

White Lion

Netflix synopsis:

2010 PG 93 minutes

When a rare white lion is born to a pride in an African valley, a Shangaan boy named Gisani (Thabo Malema) believes it his is responsibility to protect the cub, which he names Letsatsi. Tribal beliefs dictate that the lion is a messenger of the gods. But Letsatsi breaks free of his pride and must learn to survive on his own. Meanwhile, Gisani learns that a trophy hunter wishes to track Letsatsi down and kill him.

I really liked this film. The story is told by a tribal elder to a group of young children, and he serves as the narator for the filmed sequences too.

The adventures and perils that the cub experiences are quite engaging.

Some of the cinematography of the area and animals is truly breathtaking. Night photography is really well done.

Big Cats are awesome.

Only one special feature, a making of kinda gig. VERY surprising after watching the film.

PQ: For the most part was very very good, but there were many "soft" looking shots. Detail seemed fairly good but it lacked sharpness.

AQ: Tough call. Dialogue priority was all over the place and had me reaching for the remote far too often. However, the use of rears and sides for ambient sounds was fantastic.

Film: 4/5

[Batman1980]

Daughters of Darkness - 4.5/5
PQ was soft, AQ was weak but it's still a very good movie. Definitely got the feel of 70s film-making from it and such powerful performances as well. No idea if Blood Spattered Bride is any good, I would've watched it but it had no subtitles.

[Steve46]

Mission to Mars

Directed by Brian De Palma
Starring Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins and Don Cheadle
111 minutes

I didn't expect to like this at all. Not sure why. It quickly establishes the story and then we see the crew leave Earth. No messing around. There are obvious nods to 2001, such as the voice of the computer. Special effects aren't particularly special, but get the job done.

I was emotionally moved once or twice and the story held my interest throughout. It played as a sci-fi mystery.

The presentation was very strong, being the imported Studio Canal version, but it's locked to region B and has forced subtitles, so I won't be buying it.

Good fun overall, 4/5

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Mission to Mars

Directed by Brian De Palma
Starring Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins and Don Cheadle
111 minutes

I didn't expect to like this at all. Not sure why. It quickly establishes the story and then we see the crew leave Earth. No messing around. There are obvious nods to 2001, such as the voice of the computer. Special effects aren't particularly special, but get the job done.

I was emotionally moved once or twice and the story held my interest throughout. It played as a sci-fi mystery.

The presentation was very strong, being the imported Studio Canal version, but it's locked to region B and has forced subtitles, so I won't be buying it.

Good fun overall, 4/5

I actually hated it, when movies don't reach me at all emotionally, they simply fall flat and this one simply bored me. Hated 2001 also so that may be part of it.

[lDlisturb3d]

It's been a while and ive seen a lot of films but here's the lasted or whats on my mind. First

Source Code 3.5/5. Cool reminded me of Donnie Darko a bit just more current and futuristic.

Black Swan 5/5. Simply amazing

Tron 3.5/5. Fun movie, good experience. Your sub will get the workout of a life time!!! But still a cool little movie

Harry Potter 1-6. All I have to say is I'm engaged! These movies are really entertaining

The Fountain 4/5. I'm going to need to make a separate post about this one because I have a few questions. Darren is THE MAN

Requiem for a Dream 4.5/5. I don't love due to it's message, I promised myself I woulnt watch it again but it's soooo powerful. Odd but Amazing!!

Social Network 4.5/5 David fincher did a great job with this film I was fully engaged te entire time.


Now im poping in Moon.....

[42041]

Hanna

I thought this movie was pretty great, my favorite of the year so far. Not much of a plot, but it's just pure cinematic craft. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

4.5/5

[iam1bearcat]

wonder where everyone is today...

_______________________

The Incredibles

108 minutes

Year: 2004
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, and Samuel L. Jackson (voices)

newest addition to the collection. newest blind buy.

was supposed to see this on opening night waaaaaay back in 2004, but some crazy events happened and wasn't able to happen. oddly enough, i never got around to seeing it until today.

easily one of the more action packed Pixar films. it's amazing how they went from this to something as thoughtful and slow moving as Wall-E. and it's amazing how the crew at Pixar master each and every type of feeling, structure and genre in their films.

now, i don't think The Incredibles is the cream of the crop for Pixar, but this damn well is enjoyable!

superb audio and animation (big shocker, right?) kick off a very fun, exciting tale about a family of superheros living in a world that shuns superheros after some incidents involving a main character. sure, that's a bit like the story from X-Men 3 (and probably countless comics), but who cares? it didn't feel old and run down to me.

a few things surprised me though about the film:

1) i was surprised at how long it took to

[Show spoiler]"get to the point" with the villain. i mean, we didn't even really get to know who the villain was or what the main "clash" was until over an hour in!

although, that's not a negative, i was just surprised by it. and then, when we find out

[Show spoiler]who the villain is

i thought that 'surprise' was well done, and i didn't see it coming at all.

2) for being called The Incredibles, i was surprised at how

[Show spoiler]little the whole family is involved. i mean, we don't see the whole family together, fighting "bad guys" until the last act!

again, not a negative per se, just a surprise.

one thing i've been thinking about lately is that films that i love and become favorites really have an emotional hold on me. any type of emotional impact is a great plus, no matter how bad the acting, directing or writing may be. and one film that lacks that a lot i saw recently is The Illusionist (Norton one, not the animated one. and that 4/5 i gave it will definitely drop lol) and while watching The Incredibles today, i realized that while i do really enjoy it, the emotional impact was very little. barely anything. but then again, The Incredibles isn't pulling at your heart strings like Toy Story, so i don't say this as a comparison, but The Incredibles, while being a very fun watch, didn't really stay "with me" long after the credits rolled.

also, not a thought so much on the film, but on Pixar is: what's up with the lack of families in their films? aside from this, all of their films oddly, suspiciously, or maybe purposely, all miss a "standard" family figure.

• Toy Story series - no father figure
• A Bug's Life - no father figure for the Princess / no parents for Flik
• Monster's, Inc. - no time spent with the girls parents looking for her
• Finding Nemo - Nemo's mom
  [Show spoiler]dies early on
• The Incredibles - the one exception
• Ratatouille - we meet Remy's dad, but not mom
• Wall-E - well, Wall-E doesn't have parents lol
• Up - no father figure involved, mom never even seen either!
• Cars - no parents for any of the characters (if i recall)

also, all of the main characters are male. i wonder if this is to counter Disney and their princess / female main character way of doing things? or is there something else behind this? maybe because most of the creators are male, it would be more difficult to write for a female character?

anyways...

The Incredibles

4/5

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

wonder where everyone is today...

_______________________

The Incredibles

[Show spoiler]108 minutes

Year: 2004
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, and Samuel L. Jackson (voices)

newest addition to the collection. newest blind buy.

was supposed to see this on opening night waaaaaay back in 2004, but some crazy events happened and wasn't able to happen. oddly enough, i never got around to seeing it until today.

easily one of the more action packed Pixar films. it's amazing how they went from this to something as thoughtful and slow moving as Wall-E. and it's amazing how the crew at Pixar master each and every type of feeling, structure and genre in their films.

now, i don't think The Incredibles is the cream of the crop for Pixar, but this damn well is enjoyable!

superb audio and animation (big shocker, right?) kick off a very fun, exciting tale about a family of superheros living in a world that shuns superheros after some incidents involving a main character. sure, that's a bit like the story from X-Men 3 (and probably countless comics), but who cares? it didn't feel old and run down to me.

a few things surprised me though about the film:

1) i was surprised at how long it took to

[Show spoiler]"get to the point" with the villain. i mean, we didn't even really get to know who the villain was or what the main "clash" was until over an hour in!

although, that's not a negative, i was just surprised by it. and then, when we find out

[Show spoiler]who the villain is

i thought that 'surprise' was well done, and i didn't see it coming at all.

2) for being called The Incredibles, i was surprised at how

[Show spoiler]little the whole family is involved. i mean, we don't see the whole family together, fighting "bad guys" until the last act!

again, not a negative per se, just a surprise.

one thing i've been thinking about lately is that films that i love and become favorites really have an emotional hold on me. any type of emotional impact is a great plus, no matter how bad the acting, directing or writing may be. and one film that lacks that a lot i saw recently is The Illusionist (Norton one, not the animated one. and that 4/5 i gave it will definitely drop lol) and while watching The Incredibles today, i realized that while i do really enjoy it, the emotional impact was very little. barely anything. but then again, The Incredibles isn't pulling at your heart strings like Toy Story, so i don't say this as a comparison, but The Incredibles, while being a very fun watch, didn't really stay "with me" long after the credits rolled.

also, not a thought so much on the film, but on Pixar is: what's up with the lack of families in their films? aside from this, all of their films oddly, suspiciously, or maybe purposely, all miss a "standard" family figure.

• Toy Story series - no father figure
• A Bug's Life - no father figure for the Princess / no parents for Flik
• Monster's, Inc. - no time spent with the girls parents looking for her
• Finding Nemo - Nemo's mom
  [Show spoiler]dies early on
• The Incredibles - the one exception
• Ratatouille - we meet Remy's dad, but not mom
• Wall-E - well, Wall-E doesn't have parents lol
• Up - no father figure involved, mom never even seen either!
• Cars - no parents for any of the characters (if i recall)

also, all of the main characters are male. i wonder if this is to counter Disney and their princess / female main character way of doing things? or is there something else behind this? maybe because most of the creators are male, it would be more difficult to write for a female character?

anyways...

The Incredibles

4/5

Same score I gave it. But I wouldn't buy it. The Toy Story movies are the only Pixar movies I own...and the only ones I want to own of their work thus far. Of course, I also don't drink the Pixar Kool-Aid as much as some around here

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Same score I gave it. But I wouldn't buy it. The Toy Story movies are the only Pixar movies I own...and the only ones I want to own of their work thus far.

your reasoning of what to buy confuses, puzzles and astounds me

Of course, I also don't drink the Pixar Kool-Aid as much as some around here

are those little beady eyes lookin' at me?

[Show spoiler]

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

are those little beady eyes lookin' at me?

[Show spoiler]

Maybe

[Show spoiler]

On a side note: You changed your avatar...I liked the previous one, looked like the little fellow wanted a high five

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Maybe

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

On a side note: You changed your avatar...I liked the previous one, looked like the little fellow wanted a high five

haha! that's what i thought as soon as i saw the picture

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

your reasoning of what to buy confuses, puzzles and astounds me

You edited this in after I replied

When it comes to buying, things have to have a lot of replay value for me. I can love a movie, but if I wouldn't want to rewatch it much I don't buy. Recent example: The Fighter. Gave it a 5/5 but didn't buy.

And even some of the ones I buy end up getting sold off because I end up feeling different about them down the line (I'm shipping a few off to Amazon tomorrow).

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

[Show spoiler]

haha! that's what i thought as soon as i saw the picture

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

You edited this in after I replied

damn right i did!

When it comes to buying, things have to have a lot of replay value for me. I can love a movie, but if I wouldn't want to rewatch it much I don't buy. Recent example: The Fighter. Gave it a 5/5 but didn't buy.

And even some of the ones I buy end up getting sold off because I end up feeling different about them down the line (I'm shipping a few off to Amazon tomorrow).

i see. that's good logic. kind of used to be mine, until i sold off a few that a few months later i wanted to watch and then i had to rent them which sucked because i was like, "oh great. now i get to waste gas and money and time renting this effin' disc that i used to own, but sold off because i didn't feel i'd watch it very much. great job self!" so i decided that as long as i don't hate it, chances are i will one day own it - for the right price.

i would have paid $24.99 at BB for The Incredibles if need be, but the $10 coupon and my $5 RZ certificate made it an easy solution for $10.99 out the door.

but for some, most, i will gladly wait till they hit $8 or $10, but not more than that. that's why when i went crazy and picked up 14 titles two fridays ago, they were all $10. very few of those i would have picked up for any more than that, but glad i own them, even if i don't love all of them

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

damn right i did!

i see. that's good logic. kind of used to be mine, until i sold off a few that a few months later i wanted to watch and then i had to rent them which sucked because i was like, "oh great. now i get to waste gas and money and time renting this effin' disc that i used to own, but sold off because i didn't feel i'd watch it very much. great job self!" so i decided that as long as i don't hate it, chances are i will one day own it - for the right price.

I've had one or two that I felt that way about after selling off (Knowing, Superman Returns), but it went away quickly after I told myself "You sold them for a reason"

Oh and I ed at "Great job self!"

i would have paid $24.99 at BB for The Incredibles if need be, but the $10 coupon and my $5 RZ certificate made it an easy solution for $10.99 out the door.

Gotta love getting blus that cheap

but for some, most, i will gladly wait till they hit $8 or $10, but not more than that. that's why when i went crazy and picked up 14 titles two fridays ago, they were all $10. very few of those i would have picked up for any more than that, but glad i own them, even if i don't love all of them

I've yet to pay more than $20 for a blu-ray with the exception of The Dark Knight (which doesn't really count since I sold my DVD of it to my brother for $9 and bought the blu-ray for $23) and The Incredible Hulk.

And that's probably my most watched blu-ray, so I've gotten the $23 out of it

I'm not bad about waiting on a price point....heck I still haven't caved on Lost for the current $30-$32 prices for each season

[Diesel]

Also,

I haven't been watching many movies lately (busy), but I have some set to DVR over the next week and will be watching one or two at my friend's house on blu.

Blu:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (definitely watching)
  
  
• TRON: Legacy (Possibly watching)

DVR:

• Scream - Seen it
  
  
• Scream 2 - Seen it
  
  
• The Green Mile - Haven't seen it
  
  
• Clash of the Titans (2010) - Seen it
  
  
• Public Enemies - Seen it
  
  
• Jonah Hex - Haven't seen it....but need to know if it is as bad as people said.
  
  
• Sherlock Holmes - Seen it
  
  
• Slumdog Millionaire - Haven't seen it

[montereypop]

I have never posted a review here before so I thought I would start with a bona-fide masterpiece:

Tokyo Story (1953, Yasujiro Ozu)

This is an extremely emotional film- one of the most emotional of all the films that I have seen. It tells the story of two parents who decide to travel to Tokyo to spend time with their kids. However, their kids are far too busy to humor them and the only one who has time for them is their grateful daughter-in-law whose husband (their son) died in the war.

This film holds a fairly prestigious reputation so I was wary of it at first but once the style (slow or, more appropriately, calm) sinks in, the film really gets deep and affecting. The direction was fantastic with Ozu's trademark low-angle shots and long takes work very well. I think this just might be his masterpiece and if you've never seen a film by him, this is a perfect place to start.

Highly Recommended- 5/5

I watched the Criterion DVD and the PQ and AQ was very good. I'd heard that they are working on a Blu-Ray- It's sure to be a Must-Buy!

[Hep]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

wonder where everyone is today...

_______________________

The Incredibles

[Show spoiler]108 minutes

Year: 2004
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, and Samuel L. Jackson (voices)

newest addition to the collection. newest blind buy.

was supposed to see this on opening night waaaaaay back in 2004, but some crazy events happened and wasn't able to happen. oddly enough, i never got around to seeing it until today.

easily one of the more action packed Pixar films. it's amazing how they went from this to something as thoughtful and slow moving as Wall-E. and it's amazing how the crew at Pixar master each and every type of feeling, structure and genre in their films.

now, i don't think The Incredibles is the cream of the crop for Pixar, but this damn well is enjoyable!

superb audio and animation (big shocker, right?) kick off a very fun, exciting tale about a family of superheros living in a world that shuns superheros after some incidents involving a main character. sure, that's a bit like the story from X-Men 3 (and probably countless comics), but who cares? it didn't feel old and run down to me.

a few things surprised me though about the film:

1) i was surprised at how long it took to

[Show spoiler]"get to the point" with the villain. i mean, we didn't even really get to know who the villain was or what the main "clash" was until over an hour in!

although, that's not a negative, i was just surprised by it. and then, when we find out

[Show spoiler]who the villain is

i thought that 'surprise' was well done, and i didn't see it coming at all.

2) for being called The Incredibles, i was surprised at how

[Show spoiler]little the whole family is involved. i mean, we don't see the whole family together, fighting "bad guys" until the last act!

again, not a negative per se, just a surprise.

one thing i've been thinking about lately is that films that i love and become favorites really have an emotional hold on me. any type of emotional impact is a great plus, no matter how bad the acting, directing or writing may be. and one film that lacks that a lot i saw recently is The Illusionist (Norton one, not the animated one. and that 4/5 i gave it will definitely drop lol) and while watching The Incredibles today, i realized that while i do really enjoy it, the emotional impact was very little. barely anything. but then again, The Incredibles isn't pulling at your heart strings like Toy Story, so i don't say this as a comparison, but The Incredibles, while being a very fun watch, didn't really stay "with me" long after the credits rolled.

also, not a thought so much on the film, but on Pixar is: what's up with the lack of families in their films? aside from this, all of their films oddly, suspiciously, or maybe purposely, all miss a "standard" family figure.

• Toy Story series - no father figure
• A Bug's Life - no father figure for the Princess / no parents for Flik
• Monster's, Inc. - no time spent with the girls parents looking for her
• Finding Nemo - Nemo's mom
  [Show spoiler]dies early on
• The Incredibles - the one exception
• Ratatouille - we meet Remy's dad, but not mom
• Wall-E - well, Wall-E doesn't have parents lol
• Up - no father figure involved, mom never even seen either!
• Cars - no parents for any of the characters (if i recall)

also, all of the main characters are male. i wonder if this is to counter Disney and their princess / female main character way of doing things? or is there something else behind this? maybe because most of the creators are male, it would be more difficult to write for a female character?

anyways...

The Incredibles

4/5

I was watching The Incredibles .

This is another fantastic movie, with a great presentation on BD.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

wonder where everyone is today...

_______________________

The Incredibles

[Show spoiler]
108 minutes

Year: 2004
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, and Samuel L. Jackson (voices)

newest addition to the collection. newest blind buy.

was supposed to see this on opening night waaaaaay back in 2004, but some crazy events happened and wasn't able to happen. oddly enough, i never got around to seeing it until today.

easily one of the more action packed Pixar films. it's amazing how they went from this to something as thoughtful and slow moving as Wall-E. and it's amazing how the crew at Pixar master each and every type of feeling, structure and genre in their films.

now, i don't think The Incredibles is the cream of the crop for Pixar, but this damn well is enjoyable!

superb audio and animation (big shocker, right?) kick off a very fun, exciting tale about a family of superheros living in a world that shuns superheros after some incidents involving a main character. sure, that's a bit like the story from X-Men 3 (and probably countless comics), but who cares? it didn't feel old and run down to me.

a few things surprised me though about the film:

1) i was surprised at how long it took to

[Show spoiler]"get to the point" with the villain. i mean, we didn't even really get to know who the villain was or what the main "clash" was until over an hour in!

although, that's not a negative, i was just surprised by it. and then, when we find out

[Show spoiler]who the villain is

i thought that 'surprise' was well done, and i didn't see it coming at all.

2) for being called The Incredibles, i was surprised at how

[Show spoiler]little the whole family is involved. i mean, we don't see the whole family together, fighting "bad guys" until the last act!

again, not a negative per se, just a surprise.

one thing i've been thinking about lately is that films that i love and become favorites really have an emotional hold on me. any type of emotional impact is a great plus, no matter how bad the acting, directing or writing may be. and one film that lacks that a lot i saw recently is The Illusionist (Norton one, not the animated one. and that 4/5 i gave it will definitely drop lol) and while watching The Incredibles today, i realized that while i do really enjoy it, the emotional impact was very little. barely anything. but then again, The Incredibles isn't pulling at your heart strings like Toy Story, so i don't say this as a comparison, but The Incredibles, while being a very fun watch, didn't really stay "with me" long after the credits rolled.

also, not a thought so much on the film, but on Pixar is: what's up with the lack of families in their films? aside from this, all of their films oddly, suspiciously, or maybe purposely, all miss a "standard" family figure.

• Toy Story series - no father figure
• A Bug's Life - no father figure for the Princess / no parents for Flik
• Monster's, Inc. - no time spent with the girls parents looking for her
• Finding Nemo - Nemo's mom
  [Show spoiler]dies early on
• The Incredibles - the one exception
• Ratatouille - we meet Remy's dad, but not mom
• Wall-E - well, Wall-E doesn't have parents lol
• Up - no father figure involved, mom never even seen either!
• Cars - no parents for any of the characters (if i recall)

also, all of the main characters are male. i wonder if this is to counter Disney and their princess / female main character way of doing things? or is there something else behind this? maybe because most of the creators are male, it would be more difficult to write for a female character?

anyways...

The Incredibles

4/5

I haven't seen it since it came out on DVD originally, so I don't know where it would rank as this was actually the first Pixar movie I saw and I only have two left that I haven't seen now. I know it would be pretty high though. Either way, I'm really happy to have it in my collection and have no problem owning it unlike somebody else we know

[Show spoiler]Diesel

.