The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Lepidopterous]

I have been going through How I Met Your Mother (I'm almost all the way through) and slowed down my blu-ray buying since I'm not watching them as often--I've seen four movies in the past two months.

Summarized and not-so-fresh thoughts follow:

A Separation - This is a thoroughly absorbing and heavy drama about the complications and moral terrors of an ending marriage. It gives so much weight and richness to each character, you can feel the director's love and attention from the first frame to the last. Without a doubt a masterpiece--I give it my highest recommendation. 5/5

Jeff, Who Lives at Home - A predictable but personal and touching story that keeps a light mood with its comedy and drama mix. Quite the opposite of the film above, but definitely a great watch. 3.5/5

X-Men: First Class - Massively entertaining, well-directed, and the cast was fantastic. Also, great special effects! 4/5

American Reunion - All I can say is I got what I expected. Some more Stifler, some more of his mom, some more nudity, and... 30-something-year-olds crashing an 18-year-old birthday party... Overall, I didn't regret the experience so I'll still give it a 2 (it was a free screening though so I also didn't pay for it), but avoid if possible. The "closure" at the end is not even worth it. 2/5

Originally Posted by surfdude12

dude, I got sidetracked with Game of Thrones. some chick made me put it to top of my queue, that Da Skin film is like #4

Watch that movie!

Originally Posted by volcomsocal

Like Crazy - 2011

[Show spoiler]
In a world of cookie-cutter romantic films, here's a breath of fresh air. This is no chick flick.

American guy. English girl. Guy and girl meet at an L.A. college. Guy and girl fall in love. English girl overstays her student Visa. Girl goes back home to London. Problems ensue.

Like Crazy does an amazing job at capturing human emotion, young love, and desire. It's a pretty realistic look at how a long distance relationship could possibly be. You want them to work out. You want them to be together. But things don't always work out perfectly.

The two main actors, Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, deliver excellent performances. You can truly feel the chemistry between them. The love they have is so passionate and so beautiful, all you can do is root for them.

Of course, there are obstacles that come up, and things may or may not work out for the best. But watching it all unfold is the entertaining part. Thing is though, the ending is probably not going to make you happy. It sure didn't make me happy. Now, I'm not saying Like Crazy is another Blue Valentine. But, it's simply how the movie ended is what left me upset.

There could have been just a couple tweaks here and there to make Like Crazy simply perfect. It would have been so easy to make this a completely wonderful movie. But for whatever reason, the director or writer slightly messed up this gem of a film. And it's too bad, because it could have been so completely wonderful.

I still really, really liked this movie. And I really got into the characters and their relationship. It's just too bad that such a small change could have made Like Crazy that much better.

PQ - 4.5/5
AQ - 4/5

4.5/5

I really liked this movie as well. It does go a bit overboard with the sappiness but I didn't find it all that bothersome. Otherwise, remarkable. Like you said, it's about watching it all unfold. Not just the feel-good parts but the ugly side of it too. And I have never seen Blue Valentine but the girl I saw it with called it the PG-13 Blue Valentine in terms of how emotionally draining she found it to be.

Some of my thoughts from a while back.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

...thanks for sharing.

[Show spoiler]

CHEWIE'S BACK!

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Steve46

93. The Warriors (1979)
Action, Crime, Thriller, 92 minutes
Directed by Walter Hill
Starring Michael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly and Deborah Van Valkenburgh



Sometimes I see a movie which I shouldn't like, and I end up loving it.

[Show spoiler]The Warriors is a story about nine gang members who are struggling to reach their home turf. There's hardly any dialogue and the actors are largely unknown. There are fight scenes and other violent elements present which normally wouldn't appeal. But, for a variety of reasons, The Warriors is something that I watch once or twice a year.

The movie is 33 years old so I am not going to avoid spoilers. If you want to see the movie without knowing what happens, please stop reading now.

The story is supposedly based on events in 401 BC when the Persian army was cut off on all sides and trying to get home. The Warriors is set in New York and begins with a meeting of rival gangs. The Gramercy Riffs are the most organized gang and they arrange a truce. Approximately 100 gangs are invited to send nine unarmed members to represent them at a speech given by Riffs' leader Cyrus.

Cyrus delivers a rousing speech. He points out there there are at least 60,000 gang members on the streets and only 20,000 cops. Why can't the gangs stop fighting each other over a few feet of turf when they can have it all? His speech is convincing, but the dream ends when Luther (David Patrick Kelly), a member of The Rogues, shoots and kills Cyrus. He then points at the Warriors' leader, Cleon, and accuses him of shooting Cyrus.

The result is absolute chaos. Police intervene to break up the gathering and The Riffs make it known that they want The Warriors captured dead or alive. Cleon is engulfed immediately and is killed.

So we are left with eight people who are stranded 27 miles from their Coney Island home. They are unarmed and unfamiliar with the area. What they don't realize is that they are being hunted by the cops and by every other gang because they have been framed by Luther. The Warriors worry about whether the truce will hold, but they don't appreciate just how much trouble they are in.

The story takes place over the course of just a few hours and so most of the action happens at night. We get a glimpse of how the group thinks when Swan (Beck) takes over as the leader. He's initially challenged by Ajax (Remar), but Ajax quickly backs down when the others support Swan.

We're shown a variety of encounters with rival gangs as the eight Warriors try to make their way home. Some encounters merely involve a lot of running and our heroes escape on foot, but other scenes involve battles. Each gang has its own distinctive image and colors.

An early encounter shows The Warriors negotiating passage through territory controlled by The Orphans, who were too insignificant to be asked to the meeting with Cyrus. It appears as though they will be allowed to cross The Orphans' territory until a woman, Mercy (Van Valkenburgh), speaks up and demands that they give up their colors. The result is a brief clash ending with The Warriors making it through. Mercy decides to join them.

I found myself wondering whether the whole hunt could have been avoided if The Warriors had just removed their colors and taken the train home, but that wouldn't have been good entertainment. After all, the eagles didn't fly Frodo directly to Mount Doom. We wouldn't have had a story.

The Warriors is the tale of a journey. The setting and the progress of the characters is more important than the history of anyone involved. Because we see everything from the viewpoint of one gang, we root for them. They may be rapists, thieves or murderers, but we care about what happens to them because they have been wronged.

If you ask people to name the most memorable rival gang, the most popular answer would probably be The Baseball Furies. They wear baseball uniforms and metallic face paint and their weapon of choice is a baseball bat. They are involved in perhaps the best fight scene in the movie. The action is clearly choreographed and isn't particularly violent or hard to watch. In the Ultimate Director's Cut, comic book images are used to separate one scene from another. This is a movie about style rather than absolute realism.

The early death of Cleon makes us doubt whether all of the remaining members will make it home and not all of them do. One of the biggest dangers is represented by The Rogues, who do not want to see The Warriors captured alive in case they reveal who was really responsible for the death of Cyrus. David Patrick Kelly gives a memorable performance as Luther.

In a chilling sequence, Luther uses three beer bottles to strike fear into The Warriors when The Rogues finally catch up with them. Kelly apparently improvised the scene on the spot when director Walter Hill told him that the scene required something more than was in the script.

The overall mood of the movie is helped by the score, the lighting and the use of the camera.

Barry De Vorzon used synthesizer's during some of the fight scenes and throughout most of the journey. Instead of sounding dated, it still sounds eerie and atmospheric.

After depicting a New York summer shower, the remainder of the outdoor scenes were shot on wet streets and pavements. This enabled the lights to reflect off the wet ground and added to the unique feel of the movie. A long sequence in Central Park had to be shot in the dark, so portable lights were clipped to the trees to provide lighting. You can easily see them if you look.

The character of Mercy shows up in a coat at one point and says that she stole it to avoid being noticed by the police who were looking for a woman in a pink shirt. The truth is that she had broken her wrist and Hill had to find a way to hide her cast in the remaining scenes.

It does strike me as odd that we never see any other gang members when The Warriors make it back to Coney Island. Weren't there supposed to be 120 of them? I guess it wouldn't have added anything to the story.

The characters look as if they can take care of themselves in a fight. The actors were required to do a few physical scenes and spent much of the movie running.

The Warriors is a timeless movie. The choice to shoot it at night was inspired and the use of humor diffused some of the tension caused by the more violent scenes. The whole blend adds up to a story which almost defies explanation, but I'm sure that I will always like it.

If you like The Warriors:

The Warriors is all about the look and feel of the movie as the characters make their way home. Escape From New York has a similar feel, although it's about one man trying to escape rather than a gang. Both films have elements of humor and don't take themselves entirely seriously.

Wow, great choice! No shame there. This movie's awesome!

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Wow, great choice! No shame there. This movie's awesome!

Thanks. I never get tired of that movie.

[Steve46]

The second supplemental entry in my 100 movies series:

97. Apollo 13 (1995)
Drama, History, 140 minutes
Directed by Ron Howard
Starring Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton



"Houston, we have a problem."

Are you old enough to remember the space race and the first time an American set foot on the Moon? The Apollo 11 crew achieved that feat in July, 1969 and were followed by Apollo 12 in November, 1969. Apollo 13 attempted the trip in 1970, but an accident early in the mission prevented the landing. Instead, the mission became one of survival. Would the three astronauts make it back to Earth?

Jim Lovell (Hanks), Fred Haise (Paxton) and Ken Mattingly (Sinise) were set to make the trip, but Mattingly was replaced by Jack Swigert (Bacon), because it was feared that Mattingly might develop the measles on the trip. Gene Kranz (Harris) was in charge of Mission Control on the ground.

I remember the broadcasts of the Apollo 11 trip, but the American public were not particularly interested in seeing live footage by the time the Apollo 13 mission took place. We see the crew filming each other for TV, but they don't know that the pictures aren't being shown live. That all changed the moment the accident occurred. Instead of being a boring event, lives were suddenly at stake. TV crews scrambled to cover the unfolding events.

Hanks, Harris, Paxton, Sinise and Bacon are at their best in Apollo 13. We see the importance of trusting in the overall ability of the team, both in space and back in Houston. Director Ron Howard does a good job of showing how events aboard the ship affected things on the ground. The accident gave both teams several problems to overcome and it wouldn't have happened if either team had failed to contribute.

It's hard to imagine three men sitting in a confined space holding our attention for over two hours, but that's exactly what happens. You may not know how the original events unfolded, but the tension builds effectively even if you know how the story will end.

The overall look of the movie feels authentic. Shots of space are particularly effective. It's almost impossible to listen to the sound of the launch without feeling moved in some way.

The movie is structured in such a way that we feel that the three astronauts have something to lose other than their own lives. The first 30 minutes show Lovell interacting with his wife, Marylin (Kathleen Quinlan), and their children. We also see other crew members and it gives us a glimpse of their personalities. This segment is so effective and adds a lot to the remainder of the movie. Howard makes us feel as though we are back in 1970 and that we are part of Lovell's family or immediate friends.

If you like Apollo 13:

There are plenty of movies which take place in space, but 2001: A Space Odyssey captures the same feel as Apollo 13 for some of the film. It shows in detail how astronauts adapt and what some of the dangers of space flight can be.

[Foggy]

3 more days and then I can unleash all my thoughts on the list

SPOILER:

[Show spoiler] It's pretty good

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Foggy

3 more days and the I can unleash all my thoughts on the list

SPOILER:

[Show spoiler] It's pretty good

[volcomsocal]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

And I have never seen Blue Valentine but the girl I saw it with called it the PG-13 Blue Valentine in terms of how emotionally draining she found it to be.

That's very correct. Not nearly as draining emotionally and mentally as Blue Valentine, but about half that level. Blue Valentine is an excellent film. I highly recommend it.

But honestly, how cute and sexy was Felicity Jones? RAWR!

[Foggy]

Infernal Affairs

Small confession, I watched The Departed a few years ago and after this I think that did this story better.

This felt very crampt and rushed, with a lot of the subtle foreshadowing becoming spelt out for the audience. Regardless, it still remained a big rollercoaster ride of twists and turns, and parts still shocked me although I've watched the American remake. I think if I did watch this before The Departed I would of enjoyed it more, since I really felt that film had room to breath and develop, but this is still well worth watching

7/10

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by volcomsocal

Like Crazy - 2011

[Show spoiler]In a world of cookie-cutter romantic films, here's a breath of fresh air. This is no chick flick.

American guy. English girl. Guy and girl meet at an L.A. college. Guy and girl fall in love. English girl overstays her student Visa. Girl goes back home to London. Problems ensue.

Like Crazy does an amazing job at capturing human emotion, young love, and desire. It's a pretty realistic look at how a long distance relationship could possibly be. You want them to work out. You want them to be together. But things don't always work out perfectly.

The two main actors, Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, deliver excellent performances. You can truly feel the chemistry between them. The love they have is so passionate and so beautiful, all you can do is root for them.

Of course, there are obstacles that come up, and things may or may not work out for the best. But watching it all unfold is the entertaining part. Thing is though, the ending is probably not going to make you happy. It sure didn't make me happy. Now, I'm not saying Like Crazy is another Blue Valentine. But, it's simply how the movie ended is what left me upset.

There could have been just a couple tweaks here and there to make Like Crazy simply perfect. It would have been so easy to make this a completely wonderful movie. But for whatever reason, the director or writer slightly messed up this gem of a film. And it's too bad, because it could have been so completely wonderful.

I still really, really liked this movie. And I really got into the characters and their relationship. It's just too bad that such a small change could have made Like Crazy that much better.

PQ - 4.5/5
AQ - 4/5

4.5/5



*this movie introduced me to Felicity Jones for the first time. Wow. Just, wow. She is an angel. She's one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen. end of story.

The ending is one of the major problems I had with this movie, but it was such a problem with me that I couldn't take just a half a point off the rating. It actually ruined the movie for me completely and I put it up for sale almost right after I watched it.

[Show spoiler]It goes completely against how the movie was advertised, both in trailers and on the Blu-ray case itself. Don't advertise the movie as a happy love story and then have it end with them unhappy and likely never to be happy in the end. I know there would be obstacles that they would have to overcome that would obviously keep the whole movie from being happy, but don't show the wedding at the end of the trailer and have both people together smiling on the poster and cover if it's going to end like that. It's also almost as if they forced a sad ending in the movie because they didn't want the "typical" happy ending.

I could actually sit here and pick the movie apart for a while, but the fact that this was my second biggest disappointment of 2011 is enough. I'm genuinely glad you really enjoyed it though.

[Diesel]

Just saw this on Youtube, worth sharing:

How Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows Should Have Ended - YouTube

[Show spoiler]Throat punch! Throat punch! Throat punch!!!!

Stay until after the "end" for a surprise.


If you've never watched the videos before, take a look through their list, some really great ones in there.

[volcomsocal]

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - 2011

I watched the original first. I've never read the books.

The remake was a small step worse than the original. This version felt a little bit rushed at times. I didn't feel the chemistry as much as the original, but it was still really good. The buildup to the suspenseful climax wasn't done as well as the original either. And then there was the ending. *sigh* Why, WHY, did the remake end this way?? Why didn't it follow the original's ending? I thought that the American version's ending was a huge downer. It really made my heart ache. I much preferred the ending of the original Swedish version.

BUT, this wasn't to say that I didn't like the remake, because I surely did. The cinematography, overall style, and direction was great. And the acting was great, just like the original. Then there was Rooney Mara. She was fantastic, her body that is. Hers was a lot sexier than Noomi Rapace's. But Noomi's face was hotter than Rooney's. Sure, I'm being a bit superficial here but hey, I'm a guy who likes beautiful women.

All in all, the remake was a fantastic film. I just enjoyed the original just a little more. I was really upset with how the American version ended, but I'll deal with it because I know there will be two sequels.

PQ - 4/5
AQ - 4/5

4/5

[Pondosinatra]

Quite possibly the best movie I've ever seen...

[Pondosinatra]

Originally Posted by volcomsocal

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - 2011

I watched the original first. I've never read the books.

The remake was a small step worse than the original. This version felt a little bit rushed at times. I didn't feel the chemistry as much as the original, but it was still really good. The buildup to the suspenseful climax wasn't done as well as the original either. And then there was the ending. *sigh* Why, WHY, did the remake end this way?? Why didn't it follow the original's ending? I thought that the American version's ending was a huge downer. It really made my heart ache. I much preferred the ending of the original Swedish version.

BUT, this wasn't to say that I didn't like the remake, because I surely did. The cinematography, overall style, and direction was great. And the acting was great, just like the original. Then there was Rooney Mara. She was fantastic, her body that is. Hers was a lot sexier than Noomi Rapace's. But Noomi's face was hotter than Rooney's. Sure, I'm being a bit superficial here but hey, I'm a guy who likes beautiful women.

All in all, the remake was a fantastic film. I just enjoyed the original just a little more. I was really upset with how the American version ended, but I'll deal with it because I know there will be two sequels.

PQ - 4/5
AQ - 4/5

4/5

The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo Trilogy

Director: Niels Arden Opley, Daniel Alredson

Main Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Georgi Staykov

Rating: 5 out of 5

So I'm in Best Buy and after hearing all the buzz about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo I grab the US release. Then I notice the original Swedish Extended Edition trilogy. Which one to get? In the end I grabbed the Swedish version as the original is almost always the better film and I figured I'd get in touch with my supposed ancestry. Based on a series of novels, the movies chronicle the relationship between an investigative journalist (Nyqvist) and a messed up, social outcast (Rapace) as they end up working together to solve the mystery of a missing heiress. The first film establishes the characters while the second sets up the final film which is probably the best of the three. When they say Extended, they really mean Extended. Each entry is presented in two parts and the entire package clocks in at almost 10 hours. That's probably my only criticism. You'll be fully into the story and when the first part finishes you realize it's midnight and need to go to bed - and that kills the momentum of things. I'd recommend setting aside enough time to watch each entry in it's 2-part entirety in one sitting. So what did I think? It's a testament to how great this series is that I was willing to watch almost 10 hours of Swedish dialog with English subtitles and when it was all over feel nothing but a profound sense of disappointment that it had finished and I was left wanting more. Highly recommended.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by volcomsocal

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - 2011

I watched the original first. I've never read the books.

The remake was a small step worse than the original. This version felt a little bit rushed at times. I didn't feel the chemistry as much as the original, but it was still really good. The buildup to the suspenseful climax wasn't done as well as the original either. And then there was the ending. *sigh* Why, WHY, did the remake end this way?? Why didn't it follow the original's ending? I thought that the American version's ending was a huge downer. It really made my heart ache. I much preferred the ending of the original Swedish version.

BUT, this wasn't to say that I didn't like the remake, because I surely did. The cinematography, overall style, and direction was great. And the acting was great, just like the original. Then there was Rooney Mara. She was fantastic, her body that is. Hers was a lot sexier than Noomi Rapace's. But Noomi's face was hotter than Rooney's. Sure, I'm being a bit superficial here but hey, I'm a guy who likes beautiful women.

All in all, the remake was a fantastic film. I just enjoyed the original just a little more. I was really upset with how the American version ended, but I'll deal with it because I know there will be two sequels.

PQ - 4/5
AQ - 4/5

4/5

It not looking so good for the sequels, I think the studios are aiming to cut the budget costs by half before approching the second and third film

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Foggy

It not looking so good for the sequels, I think the studios are aiming to cut the budget costs by half before approching the second and third film

There's been no real talk of cutting the budget like that. Yes, MGM wants the budget cut, but that is all they have said so far. I don't see them cutting it dramatically like that. I still think there is a much greater chance of the sequels being made than not, and something could still be worked out to keep Fincher on board. I was actually surprised when I saw the budget was $90 million for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Not directed at you, but I'm not quite sure why MGM would release the fact that they lost money right before the movie came out on home video. It is doing really well, so their supposed loss should be gone when all things are said and done. I doubt Sony would get all of the profits.

[Diesel]

I watched Curse of the Black Pearl today.

Most of us have reviewed it at some point in this thread, so why bother retreading

It's probably the near perfect example of how to make a lighthearted, fun and adventurous movie

4.5/5

[volcomsocal]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Curse of the Black Pearl

4.5/5

WHAT?!! 5/5, easily!

[Diesel]

I don't hand out very many 5/5s. Probably somewhere around 20 total.

[volcomsocal]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I don't hand out very many 5/5s. Probably somewhere around 20 total.

I just feel that Curse of The Black Pearl is so perfect in every way. Pacing, story, acting, characters, action, humor, and overall fantasy fun. It's a classic that will definitely stand the test of time.