The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

I'm usually quite balanced between agreeing and disagreeing with critics, but there are sometimes spates where I lean with one side on multiple movies in a row...this seems to be one of those times

Honestly, if you've seen the trailer and expect you'll like it, you probably will -- the critics were obviously looking for something that was not there, but it's a tremendous film nonetheless.

Obviously...

The trailer is what I'm going by.

I plan on renting it the week it comes out. I would have done a blind buy, but since it's not held back on Netflix, I might as well do that and wait for a sale.

[legendarymatt92]

Mama (dir. Andres Muschietti, 2013)

"Daddy, look! There's a woman outside...and she's not touching the floor."


The Good Points: Extremely well-developed atmosphere and terrific suspense throughout. Proves that Spanish concepts are still the greatest in the horror genre. Superb performance from Chastain and both young actresses. Incredibly chilling moments, crafted to near-perfection by first-time helmer Muschietti. Favours tension over gore. For two-thirds of its run-time, it's some of the most suspenseful and creepy film-making of the last decade. Great cinematography and score.

The Bad Points: Slightly ridiculous last 30 minutes, which systematically works to try and ruin most of the tension that has been built. Too many location shifts in the third act and the pacing skews because of the rushed denouement.

An imaginative, original concept, Mama is an eerily beautiful, creepy chiller that works by getting under your skin and staying there -- even though it suffers major tonal problems in the final act.

8/10

[Abdrewes]

^^^
Pretty much agree with your points.

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

^^^
Pretty much agree with your points.

[jvince]

The Hunt for Red October (1990)
dir. John McTiernan

The Good: Slow but engrossing. Fantastic performances from the ensemble cast, which includes Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Sam Neill, Scott Glenn, Tim Curry, James Earl Jones, and Stellan Skarsgård. Assured direction by John McTiernan. Excellent cinematography by Jan de Bont. Epic musical score by Basil Poledouris. Great sound editing and mixing. Impressive set designs.

The Bad: Having the Russians suddenly speak perfect English threw me off a little and took a while to get used to. It was clearly a move to attract American audiences, but I felt if they stuck with the subtitles, it would've been a better film.

The Bottom Line: McTiernan sure does know how to make a fine thriller. Add Tom Clancy into the equation and bam, Hollywood magic. Who knew watching submarines play chess underwater for over two hours could be so intense and engaging?

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

Mama (dir. Andres Muschietti, 2013)

[Show spoiler]"Daddy, look! There's a woman outside...and she's not touching the floor."


The Good Points: Extremely well-developed atmosphere and terrific suspense throughout. Proves that Spanish concepts are still the greatest in the horror genre. Superb performance from Chastain and both young actresses. Incredibly chilling moments, crafted to near-perfection by first-time helmer Muschietti. Favours tension over gore. For two-thirds of its run-time, it's some of the most suspenseful and creepy film-making of the last decade. Great cinematography and score.

The Bad Points: Slightly ridiculous last 30 minutes, which systematically works to try and ruin most of the tension that has been built. Too many location shifts in the third act and the pacing skews because of the rushed denouement.

An imaginative, original concept, Mama is an eerily beautiful, creepy chiller that works by getting under your skin and staying there -- even though it suffers major tonal problems in the final act.

8/10

Agreed as well, except I'd give it a slightly lower score because the ending bothered me even more.

I doubt I'll ever get over the stupidity of

[Show spoiler]the youngest girl yelling out to Mama when everything was going to be ok. I get her attachment to Mama, but I still found it dumb.

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Agreed as well, except I'd give it a slightly lower score because the ending bothered me even more.

I doubt I'll ever get over the stupidity of

[Show spoiler]the youngest girl yelling out to Mama when everything was going to be ok. I get her attachment to Mama, but I still found it dumb.

Yeah, it was a major blemish on the film, and I completely agree with you. Another bothersome aspect was the fixation on showing Mama and ruining all the mystery surrounding her.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

Yeah, it was a major blemish on the film, and I completely agree with you. Another bothersome aspect was the fixation on showing Mama and ruining all the mystery surrounding her.

[Show spoiler]I guess they figured that was a more emotional ending? Even though some people may disagree, happy endings aren't a bad thing, especially in horror.

True, they did show her too early and often. It didn't bother me anywhere near as much as the ending though.

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

[Show spoiler]I guess they figured that was a more emotional ending? Even though some people may disagree, happy endings aren't a bad thing, especially in horror.

True, they did show her too early and often. It didn't bother me anywhere near as much as the ending though.

That could possibly be the reason;

[Show spoiler]I understand that she was the most feral and had the hardest job readjusting to normal life, and she never completely accepts Chastain as easily as her sister does, but you'd think that some aspect of rationale would play into her decision at the end. It creates this tonal dichotomy because you're not sure whether you should be happy one was saved or unhappy one left.

[Steve46]

I came up with a current Top 50 (alphabetical order):

12 Angry Men
Amelie
American Beauty
As Good as It Gets
The Birds
Blue Velvet
Control
The Dark Knight
The Departed
The Descendants
Dog Day Afternoon
The Double Life of Veronique
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fargo
Gran Torino
Grave of the Fireflies
The Green Mile
Headhunters
I Am Legend
In Bruges
Inglourious Basterds
Inside Man
Juno
Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2
The King's Speech
The Lives of Others
Memento
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
Moonrise Kingdom
Mulholland Dr.
My Neighbor Totoro
No Country for Old Men
Once
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Prestige
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Reader
Rushmore
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shining
The Silence of the Lambs
Silver Linings Playbook
Taxi Driver
The Three Colors Trilogy
Up in the Air
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

[Riddhi2011]

I recently re-watched Superman Returns, here are my thoughts on revisiting a Great Superman movie-

Saw Superman Returns yesterday, after a long time! All those memories from years ago began flowing back to me!
Watching the movie made me very emotional!
I know that most people disliked SR because Superman didn't punch anything. But as I think now, I never liked movies filled with relentless fighting and destruction, and mind-numbing violence of chaotic visuals and sound.
Superman Returns is a powerful movie, because of the story! Its a epic tragedy, but uplifting at the end!
To me the core of the movie is the character and that one particular scene-
When Superman takes Lois for a nostalgic trip in the sky-
This-
"You know my, Richard, he's a pilot. He takes me up all the time"
"Not like this."
Or this-
"I forgot how warm you were."
and-
"Listen, what do you hear?"
"Nothing."
"I hear everything!"

And the greatest line ever spoken that completely defines who Superman is-
"You wrote that the World doesn't need a saviour, but everyday I hear them crying for one."
And the way Brandon speaks those few dialogues is just magic! He makes me feel I can fly!

And how can anybody forget the scene when Superman is beaten by common thugs and stabbed by Luthor. Its excruciatingly painful to watch and does what it sets out to do!
That our world doesn't appreciate a true saviour or friend, when he's there for us. It doesn't accept a good man, because it doesn't believe in goodness anymore! this is why many potential Christ-figure are stabbed everyday as they try to help others, putting their lives at risk, or facing ridicule. Because the common humanity doesn't believe in goodness anymore! That's a huge statement to make, one that grounds the character to a human being, not a God!

The greatness of the film lies in its heart; in the emotional journey of isolation, alienation and return that he undertakes. I undertook that journey with him as well. Christopher Reeve had made me admire Superman, and be completely mesmerized by his charm as Superman. Brandon Routh made me love and respect the character.
And Goyer said that Superman was always like a King in a throne; worshipped and reverred but never identified with, and that Man of Steel was the first movie to make him relatable. I absolutely do not agree with his statement at all!
I can relate to Superman's condition in SR more than in MOS, because MOS treats him almost as an alien. He's wearing human clothes, but has a stern unemotional look, then the things he does before becoming Superman, makes him feel alien and not human. The fact that we only see little Clark in flashbacks, we are not able to connect with him in a way that we could have if we saw him grow. In contrast Superman never feels like an alien in SR because he's always so warm and human at his core, in his relation with Lois or Jimmy.
I know what it is to lose someone whom you love, to someone else. And I know how difficult it is to digest that fact (It makes one physically sick,;snatches away sleep for real) I absolutely connected to Brandon as Superman! He was great! It was just misfortune that the film was misunderstood by most! People failed to see its heart.

I admit that it was useless to remake the "land" plot from Superman The Movie,and probably even the kid, but it was still a great story!

Such a daring and risky, but mature portrayal of The Last Son of Krypton. And look at how Richard white is treated, again with respect for what he is-a true companion of Lois; a brave man! He's not your average cliched rival/bad guy!

The last scene when Superman kind of Baptizes his son as his successor, was Great and quite beautiful! Though it had a sense that His days as Superman are numbered, and soon his son'll take over his legacy!

It was also, as many have aptly pointed out, a great closure to the Donner Superman stories(if treated like that). The editing is also fluid and doesn't create problems(unlike MOS).
And finally, a great score by John Ottman (the newly rendered William's themes including)!
And for the first time I noticed how beautiful the framing composition is by Newton Thomas Siegel! Though I am not a fan of the amber colour palette!

I just absolutely love this movie, unfairly maligned by the audience in my opinion- A movie that treats Superman with the utmost respect it deserves!
And I sincerely hope those who'll see it will try to appreciate the Goodness and greatness it has to offer, rather than action sequences!

P.S: The plane Rescue scene was undoubtedly the most thrilling scene ever, in Superman Movie history! I didn't elaborate on it or any of the action sequences because this is not a straight-forward review, more of a reflective piece.

[Abdrewes]

Riddhi, I love the film too!

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Steve46

I came up with a current Top 50 (alphabetical order):

[Show spoiler]12 Angry Men
Amelie
American Beauty
As Good as It Gets
The Birds
Blue Velvet
Control
The Dark Knight
The Departed
The Descendants
Dog Day Afternoon
The Double Life of Veronique
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fargo
Gran Torino
Grave of the Fireflies
The Green Mile
Headhunters
I Am Legend
In Bruges
Inglourious Basterds
Inside Man
Juno
Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2
The King's Speech
The Lives of Others
Memento
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
Moonrise Kingdom
Mulholland Dr.
My Neighbor Totoro
No Country for Old Men
Once
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Prestige
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Reader
Rushmore
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shining
The Silence of the Lambs
Silver Linings Playbook
Taxi Driver
The Three Colors Trilogy
Up in the Air
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Horrible list...

[Show spoiler]even though I own 13 of them and plan to buy at least 5 more of them.

[Abdrewes]

Hey guys, The Heat is really damn funny, you should check it out! It's almost as good as Bridesmaids (Feig's last film)

BIG THUMBS UP! It's shaping up to be a great year for comedies.

[jvince]

The Big Sleep (1946)
dir. Howard Hawks

The Good: Superb performances from its charismatic cast, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers, and Dorothy Malone. Witty dialogue.

The Bad: Convoluted and confusing. (I admit I had to read the film's Wikipedia page afterwards.)

The Bottom Line: An adequately engaging film noir carried by its two superstars. Well worth a look.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by jvince

The Hunt for Red October (1990)
dir. John McTiernan

[Show spoiler]
The Good: Slow but engrossing. Fantastic performances from the ensemble cast, which includes Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Sam Neill, Scott Glenn, Tim Curry, James Earl Jones, and Stellan Skarsgård. Assured direction by John McTiernan. Excellent cinematography by Jan de Bont. Epic musical score by Basil Poledouris. Great sound editing and mixing. Impressive set designs.
The Bad: Having the Russians suddenly speak perfect English threw me off a little and took a while to get used to. It was clearly a move to attract American audiences, but I felt if they stuck with the subtitles, it would've been a better film.
The Bottom Line: McTiernan sure does know how to make a fine thriller. Add Tom Clancy into the equation and bam, Hollywood magic. Who knew watching submarines play chess underwater for over two hours could be so intense and engaging?

Man, it's been a long time since I saw this one. I will rewatch it. Good review, comrade.

Originally Posted by Steve46

I came up with a current Top 50 (alphabetical order):

[Show spoiler]
12 Angry Men (4/5)
Amelie (4/5)
American Beauty (4/5)
As Good as It Gets (4/5)
The Birds (4/5)
Blue Velvet (4/5)
Control (4/5)
The Dark Knight (5/5)
The Departed (4/5)
The Descendants
Dog Day Afternoon (4/5)
The Double Life of Veronique (4/5)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (4/5)
Fargo (4/5)
Gran Torino (5/5)
Grave of the Fireflies (4/5)
The Green Mile (4.5/5)
Headhunters
I Am Legend (4/5)
In Bruges (3.5/5)
Inglourious Basterds (4.5/5)
Inside Man (3/5)
Juno
Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 (5/5)
The King's Speech (3.5/5)
The Lives of Others (3/5)
Memento (5/5)
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
Moonrise Kingdom
Mulholland Dr. (4.5/5)
My Neighbor Totoro (3.5/5)
No Country for Old Men (4/5)
Once
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (5/5)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Prestige (5/5)
Psycho (4.5/5)
Pulp Fiction (4/5)
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Reader
Rushmore
The Shawshank Redemption (4.5/5)
The Shining (5/5)
The Silence of the Lambs (5/5)
Silver Linings Playbook
Taxi Driver (4.5/5)
The Three Colors Trilogy
Up in the Air
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Respectable list, boss. There's quite a few on there I agree with (and still a bunch I haven't seen).

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Hey guys, The Heat is really damn funny, you should check it out! It's almost as good as Bridesmaids (Feig's last film)

BIG THUMBS UP! It's shaping up to be a great year for comedies.

I will probably go see that one. The trailer amused me.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Respectable list, boss. There's quite a few on there I agree with (and still a bunch I haven't seen).

I forgot to add (and I can't edit my post without everything dissapearing for some odd reason), my own top 100 list has changed a little since I last compiled it (still visible on my blog). Most of it remains the same, but it looks like Man of Steel, Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit, Love Exposure, Upstream Color, and others will creep up there. That also means that a few existing ones will get bumped off (most likely Army of Darkness, Downfall and Lord of War, to name a few).

Conversely, my bottom 100 list has changed a lot. Seen probably 10 - 20 new films that would qualify (chief among them, Hirokin, Deadgirl, Teeth, and stuff like that), and some of the ones that probably don't deserve to be on there will likely be pushed out.

Won't make any official updates yet though; I only made these lists last year. I'm thinking in another year (or maybe even another four years) I'll redo the numbers and see what happens. I'm interested to see how radically my lists change after seeing more films.

[legendarymatt92]

Paranormal Activity 4 (dir. Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman, 2012)

"He does not like you."


The Good Points: Some decent jump scares. It's kind of entertaining, for the most part.

The Bad Points: Tenuous link with any of the other instalments. The premise isn't durable or complex enough to stretch out this far, and it's seriously showing its wear. The episodic structure -- day then night, day then night -- comes off less as inspired and more as just tedious. Monotonous and meandering. Terrible plot. The Xbox Kinnect crap.


After a surprisingly creepy and interesting third instalment, Paranormal Activity 4 provides almost nothing aside from a handful of scares and some mediocre performances, with its premise bled completely dry -- maybe it's time this demon was exorcised.

3/10

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Hey guys, The Heat is really damn funny, you should check it out! It's almost as good as Bridesmaids (Feig's last film)

BIG THUMBS UP! It's shaping up to be a great year for comedies.

Bridesmaids? You mean the movie with diarrhea in the sink jokes? And throwing cake jokes?

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Bridesmaids? You mean the movie with diarrhea in the sink jokes? And throwing cake jokes?

The Oscar nominated diarrhoea in the sink jokes.