The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Still not gonna happen

I'll be renting Super 8 this week...hopefully that works better for me

I personally loved Super 8, it such an awesome movie

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

I'm surprised you didn't at least enjoy the

[Show spoiler]train fight scene. That was my favorite and I thought the use of the stop motion at the time of each impact was done well.

No, I wasn't cheering for the

[Show spoiler]dragon.

Hopefully Super 8 works for me as well since it will be on my doorstep on Tuesday.

I liked the Robot action scene as well, any time it was inventive with it's camera work or style I enjoyed the film

And like I said with Super 8, it's awesome, FULL STOP

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

I'm surprised you didn't at least enjoy the

[Show spoiler]train fight scene. That was my favorite and I thought the use of the stop motion at the time of each impact was done well.

No, I wasn't cheering for the

[Show spoiler]dragon.

Hopefully Super 8 works for me as well since it will be on my doorstep on Tuesday.

I guess it was at least in part because by that point I just wanted the movie to end.




The trailer looked okay to me, but a few members on here highly recommended it to me, so I'll use what's left of my Amazon credit to give it a shot.

Thanks for helping make me look like a .

[Show spoiler]

Any time

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Didnt you like the German soldiers getting wAIsted () by the girls? I thought the steam explosion deaths were creative and cool.

Can't say that I did. I actually disliked the entire WWII section.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Can't say that I did. I actually disliked the entire WWII section.

No wonder you didnt like it. You were confused. It's WWI time frame. Go watch it again and it will makes sense now.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

No wonder you didnt like it. You were confused. It's WWI time frame. Go watch it again and it will makes sense now.

That changes EVERYTHING

[Show spoiler]

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I guess it was at least in part because by that point I just wanted the movie to end.

Fair enough I suppose since it was the last one.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Fair enough I suppose since it was the last one.

I think he was talking about the dragon

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I think he was talking about the dragon

No

Me - "I'm surprised you didn't at least enjoy the

[Show spoiler]train fight scene. That was my favorite and I thought the use of the stop motion at the time of each impact was done well.

"
Diesel - "I guess it was at least in part because by that point I just wanted the movie to end."

Me - "No, I wasn't cheering for the

[Show spoiler]dragon.

"
Diesel - " "

Me - " Thanks for helping make me look like a .

[Show spoiler]

"
Diesel - "Any time "

[Diesel]

^
Correct

[jvince]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Panic Room - 4/5

[Show spoiler]Very interesting to see David Fincher tackle this kind of thriller, and while it definitely succeeds in a lot of ways, it tries to be a bit over the top yet lacks some of the awesomeness that he usually brings in his films. Or maybe it's just the characters... I didn't care for any of them as much as I did with other Fincher films, that may be where it stumbled for me. As is the case with just about everything he's done, it's very well crafted and his signature style is quite evident (which added to my enjoyment and appreciation of the film) but it doesn't quite add up to anything amazing, though it's a very solid film.

A very underrated film, imo. I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites, but whenever it's on TV, I watch it.

Originally Posted by Diesel

I had some Amazon Instant Video credit to use so I gave Sucker Punch a shot.

I want my credit back.

Originally Posted by Foggy

The man speaks SENSE!

Originally Posted by Foggy

(Now watch Kick-Ass or Scott Pilgrim)

What's wrong with Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim? They're both awesome.

Originally Posted by tbizzle

This one caught my attention, glad to hear your praise, just bumped it up in the queue

Win Win is pretty good. It just feels like it's missing a little something to make it a great film.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Raising Arizona

[Show spoiler]Snagged it at Costco a few weeks ago for $7.

If you dont like the Coen brothers, stay away.

[Show spoiler]This is their second (directorial) film, dating back to 1987, and its one of their most deliberately odd and quirky ones. Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter are an odd couple to begin with. When it is determined that they cant have a child on their own, they decide to steal one from a couple that has "too many". Ridiculous insanity ensues. Full of crazy camera work, slapstick humor, goofy narration, car chases, hand grenades, convenience store robberies, (for diapers) wacky family members and general nutty stuff.

John Goodman, Frances McDormand, and a host of Coen regulars have roles that add to the lunacy.

If you are in the right mood it works.

Film 4/5
PQ 4/5
AQ 4/5

I wouldn't say that because I didn't like the Coens at all, but I watched this and I absolutely loved it. Hell, I'd even put it up there as one of my all-time faves. I just wish they made more movies like this.

Originally Posted by Diesel

I'll be renting Super 8 this week...hopefully that works better for me

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Hopefully Super 8 works for me as well since it will be on my doorstep on Tuesday.

Originally Posted by Foggy

I personally loved Super 8, it such an awesome movie

And like I said with Super 8, it's awesome, FULL STOP

Yes, Super 8 is awesome. I've seen it twice already. Still a perfect 5 out of 5 for me.

[volcomsocal]

Mr. and Mrs. Smith - 2005

boring. dull. blah.

PQ - 4/5
AQ - 3.5/5

2/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Showed off the "Citizen Kane" Blu-Ray to my folks on the weekend. They fell asleep.

Whatever, my old review still applies.

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

“Citizen Kane.”

[Show spoiler]
If you think you’ve seen the ultimate in cinema experience, think again! “Citizen Kane” is the greatest movie in the world! Behold as, for the first time ever, the camera shows ceilings in every room! OH MY GOD! Watch as the story is told…from multiple perspectives! It’s a totally extreme nonlinear plot structure, for the most extreme viewing experience ever! Listen as the film starts one conversation…and is then overlapped with another! Two conversations going on at once, WTF is going on?!! And what’s this? Things are in focus in the foreground…and the background too! AT THE SAME TIME?! This is awesome!!!

In all due seriousness, you must have lived under a rock your whole life if you’ve never heard of this film. Even if you truly haven’t, chances are that you’ve seen its influences everywhere, from the works of Kurosawa or Spielberg, to the pop-culture parodies of “The Simpsons.” The AFI has listed this as the #1 greatest film of all time; whether or not it really deserves that title is arguable, and to be perfectly honest, this isn’t the most exciting film ever made. I found it a little dull at first glance, and I suspect that most modern, casual audiences will find it equally off-putting (I suspect that folks like Diesel, the man who gave “Psycho” a 1/5 , wouldn’t like it either).

The film does its best to make a seemingly-plain subject and make it extraordinary. It doesn’t really have a consistent source of conflict or tension, but on the plus side, this gives the film some loose freedom to contort the story with an unconventional narrative. Mixed-up with a random assortment of comedy, drama, singing, dancing, loud scenes, quiet scenes, and lots of trippy imagery, the film manages to maintain at least a minimal level of interest. If you find yourself enjoying the characters, the acting, and the imagery, then chances are that you’ll be hooked. Otherwise, you probably won’t care one way or another.

The story is one worth telling. Based on a man named William Randolph Hearst (who went to great lengths to try and shut down the film’s production ), the character of Charles Foster Kane is presented as a rather complex figure; it’s pretty interesting and invoking to see him go from a passionate and idealistic young rebel to a bitter and miserly old man. The corruptive power of greed, wealth, and material possessions provide some great thematic fodder, underscoring just how shallow and unhappy people become under such influences. At the core of the film, however, is the mystery of the “Rosebud,” which not only provides the necessary mystery aspect to drive the film, but also provides the necessary insight on Kane’s character, if not the character of every living man. Using multiple flashbacks, the film presents this biographical account in a radically mixed-up fashion. My main complaint for this film (as it is with most other life-story films like this) is that there is no central conflict to congeal or drive the story. But in this case, perhaps such conflict is unnecessary, given the story’s nebulous nature.

The film’s greatest strengths are in its composition. The photography and editing for this film are considered groundbreaking for its time; its use of unique camera angles and deep focusing are visually impressive. It’s also made ample use of unique sound designs, expert model-work and matte paintings, quality make-up effects, all of which have helped break the mold, and help make the film appear epic. Acting is swell; I love Orson Welles as the main character, and most other actors put on a good performance. Writing is pretty strong. Music is quite classy too.

Given the film’s slow pacing, I still think it’s a stretch to call it the best film ever made. But it is a film of quality.

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

Recommendation: It’s worth seeing at least once.

This Blu-Ray looks darn near perfect, and sounds decent.

PQ: 4.5/5, AQ: 4/5

The packaging for this is gorgeous! And holy crap, there’s like two extra films included!

In other news, a bunch of Criterions arrived today. Yay!!!

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Foggy

But here is a film Diesel enjoyed...me, not so much

Green Lantern

Well, you certainly get the high points for thoroughness...

Originally Posted by Foggy

When ever trouble is going down, Hal Jordan ends up turning up with no explanation, and the moment the film really cemented itself as a piece of shit is a scene about hour and a half in where Hector Hammond starts killing scientists, and then Hal Jordan turns up. Keeping in mind that this is a secret base that we have no idea where it is, he magically knows where abouts it is. This happens again later on in the film

As I recall, didn't the magic green ring flash/beep at Hal and guided him to wherever the danger is?

Originally Posted by Foggy

Most the action scenes in here are pretty pointless and hollow to be honest, in every single on of them they have little context as to what happens, in a bar brawl, we are told that these three guys told Reynolds to watch his back because it's his fault they were laid off work, really, when did this happen? And plus he kills one of these guys, he physically kills him with a brick wall

Those guys were part of the company that the military contracted to build those unmanned fighters that Hal destroyed earlier. Because he's responsible for destroying them (using unconventional tactics and breaking the rules nonetheless), their contract wasn't rewarded, thus they lose out, so they blame Hal.

Makes sense to me, but it's still a bit of a moment. Contractors come and go in the government; they don't beat the crap out of people for it.

Originally Posted by Foggy

And a scene involving a helicopter and the, sure to be, infamous hot wheels scene, is started with a bust water pipe busting, what are the actual chances of that happening

The bad guy made it happen with his psychic powers. And he has superb aim.

Originally Posted by Foggy

And I really like the scenes on the green corp planet, it's very well done, it's a tad cliched at times, but it's the only time there is an actual heart and soul in the film, they really brought that place to life, even the special effects (which is horrendously bad at time) are at it's best on that planet. The character designs are fantastic, the script is loosened up and is a lot of fun and it's the only time where action scenes are well done and make sense, even though there is no physical danger in them. Bad thing is, these only make up about 10 minutes of the entire film

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Foggy

I can physically tell where Green Lantern went wrong, it was the moment some producer at Warner saw Iron Man and said, "that's popular, lets make an Iron Man film with one of our characters". It's a complete failure of a film, it's a mess, a very big mess, it's not fun, it's not enjoyable, and the biggest problem, it could of been a really great film if it followed it's opening 10 mins

2/10

That's the same impression I got; too much studio intervention.

I enjoyed the film and gave it a pretty high score, but I got to admit that my second viewing wasn't as fun as the first, and it is a bit of a mess.

[Lepidopterous]

A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas

Don't ask.

0.5/5

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jvince

I wouldn't say that because I didn't like the Coens at all, but I watched this and I absolutely loved it. Hell, I'd even put it up there as one of my all-time faves. I just wish they made more movies like this.

Have you seen Intolerable Cruelty? It has a lot of the same koo-koo humor.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Showed off the "Citizen Kane" Blu-Ray to my folks on the weekend. They fell asleep.

Pass my on to your parents.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas

Don't ask.

0.5/5

In Time and Harold and Kumar, you're on a roll!

[Foggy]

Horrible Bosses

After the horrific failure of yesterdays rental, today I went for something a bit more up beat, and something I had way more interest in. I wanted to watch Horrible Bosses over the summer, but with it getting released so close to Harry Potter over here (I think it was 2 days before, or a week after) it just fell into the vacuum left by that film and everything that came out just wasn't acceptable to most. Which is a great shame, since this was the best comedy I've seen in a while (and definitely this year), and I was left wondering how much of a better time I would of had watching it with a like minded audience.

Comedies are usually hard things to review, they either come down to two things, they are funny or they're ain't, and pulling a lengthy review saying what makes it great is pretty pointless, because it's going to come down to two things, did I find it funny, and if so how funny?

The answer is yes, and very!

However, Horrible Bosses is better than most comedies on other levels as well. Horrible Bosses is a well directed film above from a comedy. It's got a very interesting plot that isn't too far from a Hitchcock film itself, it's full of very well done twists and turns and it's good to see a comedy that has great characters that you care what happens too, and you really want to see how they get out of the problems they get in, if anything, it should push it way beyond a "watch if you're feeling a bit down" to a "Must see right now"

Only problem I had was that it had a very weak ending (as in it was very anti-climatic) and the dick jokes do get a bit redundant as they get used time after time

I really enjoyed the film, and I will be keeping a solid eye out for when it hits the sales

9.5/10

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Raising Arizona

Snagged it at Costco a few weeks ago for $7.

If you dont like the Coen brothers, stay away.

[Show spoiler]This is their second (directorial) film, dating back to 1987, and its one of their most deliberately odd and quirky ones. Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter are an odd couple to begin with. When it is determined that they cant have a child on their own, they decide to steal one from a couple that has "too many". Ridiculous insanity ensues. Full of crazy camera work, slapstick humor, goofy narration, car chases, hand grenades, convenience store robberies, (for diapers) wacky family members and general nutty stuff.

John Goodman, Frances McDormand, and a host of Coen regulars have roles that add to the lunacy.

If you are in the right mood it works.

Film 4/5
PQ 4/5
AQ 4/5

This is a great one, Goodman and Forsythe crack me up!

[jvince]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Have you seen Intolerable Cruelty? It has a lot of the same koo-koo humor.

Yeah, I've seen it before but I didn't like it. Raising Arizona is the only Coen movie I enjoyed. I guess they did something on this one that clicked for me. It felt like one of those old cartoons, and the acting and dialogue were hilarious.

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest blind-buy: "Kuroneko,"aka "Black Cat."

This is probably one of the very few samurai movies I've seen that doesn't focus on any clan warfare, epic fights, or complicated politics. Using these things as a backdrop, this film is basically a ghost story; the combination of folklore and the feudal Japanese setting makes for a rather classy story and a visually interesting film. By only big gripe is that, despite an excellent first act and a decent final act, I felt the middle dragged quite a bit.

The story for this is pretty easy to follow and sensical, with quality characters. Its implemenation of folklore is great, and the film has a genuine quality to it. It can be especially tragic to watch the ghost characters become demonic, and the main character become a samurai that the ghosts hate so much, and inevitably they all turn on each other.

The film is quite slick, with quality photography and editing, all in glorious black-and-white. Some of the cutting may seem cheap, but it has an extraordinary theatrical flair, especially when the ghostly characters float around majestically with their clothes fluttering in the wind. Acting seems decent, and the writing is okay. This production has good-looking sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Music is good.

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

Recommendation: Sure, why not?

This Blu-Ray has a few soft spots here and there, but other parts look darn near perfect. Sharpness and detail are great most of the time. Contrast is quite high; the black levels look great, but I felt the white levels seemed a little too high, almost to the point of appearing washed out. I can spot some occasional specks, damage, and some strange patterned flickering; it's still quite clean, but not immaculate. Sound qualtiy seems good.

PQ: 3.5/5, AQ: 4/5