The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Oateyboat]

Had a bit of a catch up day for Thor and Fast & Furious 5 (or Fast Five as it's more well known, I guess they thought us in the UK wouldn't be able to figure out it's the same franchise )

Iron Man
The first, and so far best, out of Marvel Studio's movies. The story, and character of Tony Stark is very memorable. One of the only gripes I have with this film is that the villain isn't anywhere near as memorable. I found his character interesting, up until

[Show spoiler]the twist when he became the villain. Jeff Bridges did an excellent job at making us love him and then hate him, but his motives seem a bit thrown in there just to make him out to be the villain.

The same is said for the final battle (which is also a complaint for it's sequel, despite the arguably much more interesting villain). However, despite a disappointing villain and third act, it's definitely a very entertaining film. 4.5 / 5.

The Fast and the Furious
I haven't seen this film since Fast and Furious came out, but I've missed it. For me, what grabs me isn't the racing, or the girls, or any of that. What grabs me in this film is the story following the characters of Dom, Brian, Mia, Letty, and so on. I guess this is an excellent explanation on why I love this and the fourth instalment so much, think the second is good, and while thinking the third is enjoyable, it's certainly not up the the quality of these films. While watching this, I loved watching the relationship between Dom and Brian grow, and I loved seeing Brian's conflict between

[Show spoiler]his responsibilities as a cop and his love for Mia and new found respect and understanding for Dom

. In terms of the F&F series, I think this is the best one, but is very, very close to Fast & Furious, and, if the trailers are anything to go by, Fast & Furious 5 will be at the same quality as this. 4 / 5

[iam1bearcat]

i wonder where some the regulars are? we've been missing Riff, Q?, DjMethod, and tbizzle for quite some time now

[jvince]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Closer (blu)

PQ: 4.5 (out of 5)

AQ: 4 (out of 5)

Film: 3 1/2 (out of 4)


I'm sure I've reviewed it before. Excellent film with great acting and better dialogue.

Haven't seen this yet.

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Black Swan (second viewing)

Film: 3 (out of 4)

Didn't improve from the first time I saw it. Still a good movie with great camera movement, but it's not a modern masterpiece and its hokey moments bring it down.

Yeah, sure, it may have borrowed some themes from others, but I still liked it much better.

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Tell No One

Film: 3 1/2 (out of 4)

Still one of the best modern thrillers.

Great movie.

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

FYI:

My girlfriend got me Yi Yi for Easter. You know she's a keeper when she spends a few hours researching Criterion films and then buys me one of the ones I wanted! The film topped many critics best of 2000 lists, including the New York Times. It won the National Society of Film Critics top film of the year. It's ranked the third best film of the 2000s decade on theyshootpictures. Can't wait to see it.

I love Yi Yi. The cinematography, the acting, the pacing... I love it. I can't wait to own the Criterion blu-ray. Yang's other film, the 4-hour () "A Brighter Summer Day," is on my list of movies to watch.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by jvince

Haven't seen this yet.

put it near the top of your "must see" list. NOW.

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Thor

And Thou Diesel will strike down in furious anger on the unwilling Foggy for he watched Thou film named Thor before he doust

Reviews are pretty much spot on, this is a total blast!

It isn't as good, or memorable as Iron Man (pretty much the biggest flaw) but it is a worthy entry into the superhero genre, and one that sets the bench mark fairly high for the others to come this year. (First one to jump that hurdle being X-Men: First Class, wouldn't wholly be surprised if it gets other it)

If you look at Thor's story, it's very predictable, sure it's adequate enough but it isn't going to blow any minds with it's thought provoking plot Hero is very powerful, but it naive, loses power and sent away, learns lesson but it's too late as jealous Brother has taken over yada yada yada. It's the films biggest problem and it's one of the problems that I think keeps the character of Thor from making an amazing movie, the whole idea around what happens to him isn't really new. Sure the story serves it's purpose and the character of Thor is awesome (it's hard to f**k up the God of Thunder after all) but compared to Iron Man and how he plays upon the real world with terrorism, and Hulk with science creating a monster, there isn't a whole lot interesting things you can do with Thor in a modern world, it just comes across as a fish out of water sort of thing, than an interesting stance of unpredictability.

This also comes across in the jokes. A lot of the jokes here are pretty much stuff you can find in other places, but I can't complain because I laughed

Enough bi*ching however (one of my friends put me in a bad mood after watching it, I said it was really good and he said it was amazing and started attacking me but I'll come back to that in a min) time to talk about the awesome stuff.

Acting-Gasums are all over this movie, especially in Asgard. I loved it, almost everyone talks through shout, it's brilliant. Chris Hemsworth really holds his own compared to Antony Hopkins, and you do get a good feel for his character through his acting, he's fun but never campy or over the top. And whenever it calls for a serious moment, he feels genuine, as genuine as Gods can get like, but still Everyone else is pretty good, Natalie Portman doesn't have all that much to do sadly but she does whats she does well. Supporting cast is great, only person who stand out from them was the guy who played Natalie Portman's scientist friend, there is just something so likable about him

Scripting fairly decent, I liked the nods to

[Show spoiler]Tony Stark

and

[Show spoiler]Bruce Banner

and how they didn't feel forced, or had to know the characters beforehand to follow what is being said

Special Effects are amazing, especially over Asgard, I saw this film in Digital (not 3D though) and I think it's the second one (I think my nearest cinema may have converted to it, since it came up before Source Code, but the other cinema I went to to watch this made a big deal out of it on it's website, just think what it'll be like when we finally get an Imax screen) and most the action scenes are great, there are very few times where you aren't having fun watching the action scenes. However, when it comes to best action scenes of the year, I don't think we will be seeing this film on many, if any lists. But yet again, this isn't a film that relies on action spectacle.

Asgard scenes and Earth scenes flow together perfectly as well, the best thing about the film is how well balanced and handled they both are

I really liked the film, it was a ton of fun to watch, I just feel like the film wasn't trying to be amazing, I felt as if it was "the next step" towards The Avengers I think that's the biggest flaw to it.

Great film though you should all check it out next next Friday

8.5/10

And yes my friend was a right and utter douche, I hate it when I like a film and someone else likes it more and feels the need to argue about it like it will make me like it more, when it ends up making me dislike it more (8.5/10 was the score that hovered over my head just before it was ending, so don't worry, it hasn't been affected). What I hated more was that he played the "film" card on me, saying I was looking for deep meaning in Thor and that said some stuff about it breaking Superhero conventions in a film where at the climax the

[Show spoiler]villain is hanging of the side and the hero helps him up to wind up being a trick

(not really a spoiler, but it is something that happens) come on, a little bit of decency, especially since he's more of a deep meaning film guy than me

Anyway, Diesel can now get off my back

Next film I'll be watching...

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]Whoops

[Show spoiler]

Nice to know Thor is fun. I can't see Marvel topping Iron Man though. Would you say Thor is better than Leterrier's Hulk?

For some odd reason, I'm compelled to watch Fast Five now. I was never a fan of the series (Tokyo Drift was the most entertaining of them all, imo, but that's not saying much). But 8.1 at iMDB and 79% at RT? Is this some elaborate joke?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i wonder where some the regulars are? we've been missing Riff, Q?, DjMethod, and tbizzle for quite some time now

Romulus, Quasidojo, Hep............

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by oat-a-bix

Had a bit of a catch up day for Thor and Fast & Furious 5 (or Fast Five as it's more well known, I guess they thought us in the UK wouldn't be able to figure out it's the same franchise )

Iron Man

[Show spoiler]The first, and so far best, out of Marvel Studio's movies. The story, and character of Tony Stark is very memorable. One of the only gripes I have with this film is that the villain isn't anywhere near as memorable. I found his character interesting, up until

[Show spoiler]the twist when he became the villain. Jeff Bridges did an excellent job at making us love him and then hate him, but his motives seem a bit thrown in there just to make him out to be the villain.

The same is said for the final battle (which is also a complaint for it's sequel, despite the arguably much more interesting villain). However, despite a disappointing villain and third act, it's definitely a very entertaining film.

4.5 / 5.

The Fast and the Furious

[Show spoiler]I haven't seen this film since Fast and Furious came out, but I've missed it. For me, what grabs me isn't the racing, or the girls, or any of that. What grabs me in this film is the story following the characters of Dom, Brian, Mia, Letty, and so on. I guess this is an excellent explanation on why I love this and the fourth instalment so much, think the second is good, and while thinking the third is enjoyable, it's certainly not up the the quality of these films. While watching this, I loved watching the relationship between Dom and Brian grow, and I loved seeing Brian's conflict between

[Show spoiler]his responsibilities as a cop and his love for Mia and new found respect and understanding for Dom

. In terms of the F&F series, I think this is the best one, but is very, very close to Fast & Furious, and, if the trailers are anything to go by, Fast & Furious 5 will be at the same quality as this.

4 / 5

I give both a 4.5/5.

Originally Posted by jvince

Nice to know Thor is fun. I can't see Marvel topping Iron Man though. Would you say Thor is better than Leterrier's Hulk?

I'm the opposite of most people. I think both Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 topped the original Iron Man.

For some odd reason, I'm compelled to watch Fast Five now. I was never a fan of the series (Tokyo Drift was the most entertaining of them all, imo, but that's not saying much). But 8.1 at iMDB and 79% at RT? Is this some elaborate joke?

[Show spoiler]

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Romulus, Quasidojo, Hep............

i guess i should have said, "first batch or regulars" but yeah... where is everyone?

[Oateyboat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I give both a 4.5/5.

I must ask you, with you being you, which Fast and Furious do you think was the best? I have my days where I think the fourth sometimes tops the first I can't make my mind up

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by oat-a-bix

I must ask you, with you being you, which Fast and Furious do you think was the best? I have my days where I think the fourth sometimes tops the first I can't make my mind up

I watched them both last night and addressed this exact question

https://forum.blu-ray.com/movies/127...ml#post4655255


After first seeing the 4th it took me a while to finally decide which was my favorite.


The 4th film is the one that inspired the screen name Diesel

[Hep]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

For any of those interested in Malick's Tree of Life, here is a website that has 30 short clips from the film. Impossible not to get excited.


http://www.twowaysthroughlife.com/

First off, thanks for the link. I'll admit to being a Malick fan and feel no shame . So far The Tree of Life looks to be everything I love about his approach to movie making (the very same approach others seem to dismiss).

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i wonder where some the regulars are? we've been missing Riff, Q?, DjMethod, and tbizzle for quite some time now

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Romulus, Quasidojo, Hep............

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i guess i should have said, "first batch or regulars" but yeah... where is everyone?

LOL, I may be a second tier regular, but I really enjoy lurking here even when I don't have the time to dedicate toward writing my own reviews. Truth is I'll be a bit of a light user until my move to a new house (and new HT ) is complete in July. Life just got busy .

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Hep

LOL, I may be a second tier regular, but I really enjoy lurking here even when I don't have the time to dedicate toward writing my own reviews. Truth is I'll be a bit of a light user until my move to a new house (and new HT ) is complete in July. Life just got busy .

i wouldn't call you "second tier", just that about a year ago or so we had a strong group of regulars and then some of them seem to have left, or gotten busy. and then yourself and a few others came in and "filled the void" so to speak.

definitely understand about life getting busy. and i hope you enjoy your new home and HT!

[Marcus Wright]

Gullivers Travel 3D.

Stupid movie, but funny nevertheless.
I liked the graphics quiet much.

The cheeseness was very enjoyable, and while some melodramatic movies where not handeled properly, I still like the movie overall.

4/5

[volcomsocal]

Conviction - 2010

This was a nice heartwarming movie. It's a true story about a wrongfully convicted man. His sister tries to set him free by becoming a lawyer and proving his innocence. A little slow on the pacing of the story, but it turned out to be good.

PQ - 4/5
AQ - 3.5/5

3/5

[volcomsocal]

Toy Story 2 - 1999

I watched the first one last week, because it had been a long time since I'd seen it last. So naturally, I wanted to see number 2.

I thought that the sequel was a little better than the original. It was a bit longer, and I really did feel the extra length in this movie. It could have been 5-10 minutes shorter, but that didn't put too big of a damper on it.

Just another solid Pixar Toy Story movie. Nothing spectacular here, just good old fun. I felt that the picture was sharper than the first Toy Story, probably due to the technology being better in '99 than it was in '95. So yeah, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again. (same thing can be said for the first Toy Story)

The main reason I watched Toy Story 1 and 2 was because I've heard nothing but excellent reviews for Toy Story 3. So I figured I better watch the first 2 before Netflixing the third.

PQ - 4.5/5
AQ - 5/5

3.5/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest movie seen on TV: “Lady Jane.”

Another fine and dandy historical drama. It is pretty long, without a whole lot of physical or external conflict; much like “Elizabeth,” it’s more dialogue-intensive with focus on medieval politics. As such, “Lady Jane” does have a decent amount of intrigue, suspense, and a sense of tragedy. It’s not bad for a drama of this kind.

The story’s interesting and worth telling, touching upon a piece of English history that likely gets overshadowed under the reigns of Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scotts, and Queen Elizabeth. In between those monarchs, Queen Jane reigned for a grand total of nine days. Yes, that is all. She was a placeholder to the throne more than anything; a mere pawn in a complex conspiracy of lords to wield the power of England and run things their way. The film appears to accurately portray this history, while humanizing the characters substantially; it is quite engaging watching Jane’s romance bloom, before struggling with the powers that be. A few liberties are undoubtedly taken, but not many, and nothing that really detracts from the story.

As a film, it’s pretty cool. Photography is good, with lots of cool angles. Lighting and locales appear genuine, almost on the same level as “Barry Lyndon.” What really interested me is the acting; it’s very surprising to see a very young Helen Bonham Carter playing the lead, and she shows off some seriously mad acting skills even as this age! Patrick Stewart is the man too, and with a few other familiar faces the rest of the cast is solid too. Production value appears genuine, accurate, and detailed. Music is okay.

4/5 (entertainment: 3.5/5, story: 4.5/5, film: 4/5)

Recommendation: Sure, why not? It’s an interesting bit of history worth checking out.

[iam1bearcat]

nice selection of Criterions on sale (as you should all be able to see by the sales bar up top ) placed an order for:

8 1/2
Army of Shadows
Blow Out
The Seventh Seal

can't wait for them to arrive

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

nice selection of Criterions on sale (as you should all be able to see by the sales bar up top ) placed an order for:

8 1/2
Army of Shadows
Blow Out
The Seventh Seal

can't wait for them to arrive

I noticed that sale too. I would have considered The Darjeeling Limited and Videodrome, but the price didn't drop on those.

I ordered:

Blow Out
Au Revoir les Enfants
Kes
Broadcast News
Tell No One

It cost an extra $33.10 to Canada with shipping and duty, but I still saved about $68.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

nice selection of Criterions on sale (as you should all be able to see by the sales bar up top ) placed an order for:

can't wait for them to arrive

Once I get home, I plan on ordering:

"8 1/2," didn't think I'd want to own it, but I can't stop thinking about it.

"Army of Shadows," would be a blind-buy, but I think I've heard good things about it.

"Breathless," would be a blind-buy, but I hear it's the more accessible Godard film, so I'll give it a try.

"Le Cercle Rouge," would also be a blind-buy, but if it's anything like "Le Samourai," then it should be cool.

So whadya think?

[SquidPuppet]

The Cincinnati Kid

1965 NR 103 minutes

Netflix synopsis:

In Depression-era New Orleans, cocksure stud poker player Eric Stoner (Steve McQueen) -- the titular Cincinnati Kid -- challenges longtime champ Lancey "The Man" Howard (Edward G. Robinson) to a showdown at the table, where a war of wills -- and nerve -- ensues. Leading up to the suspenseful, high-stakes final hand, Stoner fends off the seductive advances of his best friend's girl (Ann-Margret) in this gripping drama directed by Norman Jewison.

Ann Margret....Grrroowwll.

The rest of it was just OK.

Great looking for a DVD.

3/5