The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[jvince]

The Wolverine (2013)
dir. James Mangold

The Good: Solid acting, including star-making turns from Rila Fukushima and supermodel Tao Okamoto. Some nice action sequences. "She's asking if you want the dungeon, the nurse's office, or the mission to Mars." "He's a veterinarian... student." Hands down, the best stinger of the year. Remember to stay for the end credits.

The Bad: Overlong. Lags a lot. Predictable twist. 3D conversion is unnecessary; I suggest watching the 2D version instead. Bland storytelling. Bland cinematography. Bland everything. The whole time, I just kept wondering how Aronofsky's take would've been like.

The Bottom Line: A summer blockbuster that's refreshingly more concerned with telling a story rather than cramming as much CGI and explosions as possible. It's just too bad the story is presented without much spark and pull, making Mangold's The Wolverine simply a serviceable comic book movie. Nothing new, nothing memorable, nothing "wow." Oh well, at least it's better than the shitfest that is X-Men Origins.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by jvince

Oh well, at least it's better than the shitfest that is X-Men Origins.

That's all that matters. I predict either a 3.5/5 or 4/5 from me.

[Tony208]

Planet of the Apes (1968)

As a huge sci-fi fan, I can't believe it took me this long to get around to this film. Early on I knew I was going to like the film and some of my favorite scenes were

[Show spoiler]Taylor laughing his ass off at Landon for putting up an American flag and clinging on to ideals that don't matter anymore, the group circling a footprint like a pack of primates, the apes posing for a picture, and the courtroom scene.

Small moments like these and all the societal, political, and religious parallels that can be drawn from the movie make this a must watch in my book. Only after watching this did I realize just how many nods to the original were in the 2011 preboot, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

5/5

[Abdrewes]

From the FilmVice blog:

The Cell (2000)

How to describe the haunting allure that saturates the mental landscapes of Tarsem Singh's 2000 masterpiece. At one brimming with tactile threat and eccentric wonder, it is impossible not to get caught up in the nightmarish world he creates for us. Drawing inspiration from Kubrick's 2001, the films of Alexandro Jodorowski, and the 1930's surrealist paintings of Salvador, The Cell nevertheless carves a unique place for itself in the cannon of serial killer thrillers.

Our introduction to this gilded, primary colored space comes in the form of several panoramic shots of the nubile dunes that protect Namibia's Deadvlei. With the gateway of a virtual reality device, Dr. Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez), clad in white sequin dress, ventures through the deserted recesses of a comatose child's mind in the hopes of awakening him. After several failed attempts, the parents of the child withdraw funding from the Campbell Center's experimental treatment. However, the operation is not down for the count. Concurrent events will force them to play God once again.

The FBI is in hot pursuit of a man whom has been draining the melanin of his twenty-something year old female victims, perpetrating a number of contact free necrophilic acts with them before disposing of their ghostly corpses in a nearby river. Brief images of a hulking Carl Rudolph Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio) suspended by body piercings over his lifeless victims provide a window into one of the most tortured minds in film history. It's all the more bone chilling when you stop to consider that such characters have inhabited our world. The acts Jeffrey Dahmer committed between 1978 and 1991 can attest to that. D'Onofrio's committed turn establishes a direct line of contact with a perversion that is all too real and inescapable. It far eclipses the unhinged lunacy he provided in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. Whereas that role at times felt too grandstanding, especially when he integrated Kubrick's trademark upturned eyes into his mannerisms, here he is suitably restrained. The full depravity of his malevolent id is not fully revealed until Dr. Deane taps into uncharted territory.

That these two plots strands will meet in this fashion should not come as a surprise. The FBI team, headed by Special Agent Peter Novak, will eventually ask for Dr. Deanne's aid after apprehending Carl. Now fully unconscious due to a deep trauma which brought back his Weyland's Infatuation complex, the combined forces at the Campbell Center will attempt to find information in Carl's mind that will lead them to the whereabouts of his latest victim. Confined in a 9 foot by 9 foot holding cell that will eventually fill with water, time is of the essence.

Sure, the film is suffuse with pop psychology, pandering diagnostic scenes, but it's presence here can prove deceptive. The corridors of the human mind are much too expansive to give credence to such facile readings, and the filmmakers are well aware of that. Such scenes serve as an ironic counterpoint of what is to come. The spaces traversed in Carl's mind are unlike anything Dr. Deane's team have ever encountered. Inside, she has no orientation, no map to these perpetually ascending stone stairways and damp, under-lit hallways. The layout of the gilded chambers she enters take on an amorphous quality as geographical features shift the second she averts her gaze.

Provided, this is a universe without much logic, it is quite a feat to successfully built an aura of threat around it. Traditional horror films use restricted narration to build suspense—something lurks just outside our limited point of view in a concrete space—yet The Cell reveals each threat with absolute clarity and remains such an unnerving experience. Chief among the reasons it holds such pulse-pounding effect is the appropriately grotesque production design by some of the most talented prop, costume, and make-up designers in the business. Paul Laufer's sweeping camera and ordered mise-en-scène captures this extensive labyrinth of pain and masochistic pleasure. A world which anoints Carl as a deity.

Outside the films of David Lynch or Luis Buñuel, The Cell is one of the few to embrace the "ordered chaos" of the mind. Several Freudian visual elements form neat parallels to the real world—Carl's abused upbringing and the images of the psychopathic behavior it wrought—but it doesn't imbue the realm any clear guiding order. This methodology is in stark contrast to the way Christopher Nolan visualized the mind in 2010's Inception. However thrilling as a summer blockbuster, the film is too bogged down with creating a literal, navigable place—often through cold exposition. The near mathematical relationship between each dream level left little to the imagination.

Unlimited in scope, this is is film brimming with imagination—a slow motion shot of a dog shaking off pools of blood which saturate his fur, an upright horse is sliced into a dozen pieces by descending glass panels in an antiseptic chamber populated by ticking clocks, the subsequent shot of its bloody valves caught in an act of suction after each heart beat. These scenes may read as empty flourishes, but they gradually accumulate into a portrait of Carl's fractured psyche.

Once the various narrative strands are adjoined, The Cell channels past innovation in a feverishly involving denouement. The crosscut, D.W. Griffith's finest gift to cinema, is birthed new potential. It's use here is less geared toward clarifying each plot strand, but bridging two distant space time intervals by swift editing and propulsive score. Each second has the potential to bestow a euphoric trance and is damn well intended to. Consider it a suitably flamboyant coda to an hour and forty minutes of unmatchable psychotic artistry.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Tony208

Planet of the Apes (1968)

As a huge sci-fi fan, I can't believe it took me this long to get around to this film. Early on I knew I was going to like the film and some of my favorite scenes were

[Show spoiler]Taylor laughing his ass off at Landon for putting up an American flag and clinging on to ideals that don't matter anymore, the group circling a footprint like a pack of primates, the apes posing for a picture, and the courtroom scene.

Small moments like these and all the societal, political, and religious parallels that can be drawn from the movie make this a must watch in my book. Only after watching this did I realize just how many nods to the original were in the 2011 preboot, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

5/5

And one of the best climaxes in the history of cinema.

[CoolRanch]

Pulp Fiction

My Two Cents:

I finally got around to watching Tarantino's masterpiece, with that said I am now officially a Tarantino fan. Pulp Fiction contains some of the best dialogue that I have ever heard in a film, the script is a work of art. Add to that some great performances, great cinematography, and an inspiring story of redemption, and you have one of the best films of the 90's, that only gets better with multiple viewings. With only a few minor complaints (the scenes with Butch and his girlfriend drag a little bit, a couple of randomly bizarre conversations) I give Pulp Fiction a 9/10.

[jvince]

Se7en (1995)
dir. David Fincher

The Good: Dark, disturbing, and relentlessly intense. Outstanding performances from Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, and -- spoiler -- Kevin Spacey. Assured direction by David Fincher. Excellent screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker (Sleepy Hollow). Howard Shore's menacing score. Darius Khondji's (The City of Lost Children) gritty, grungy camera work. Amazing title sequence by Kyle Cooper (The Walking Dead, American Horror Story). Completely engrossing from start to finish; two hours just fly by. I also love how it seamlessly segues from a horrifying crime thriller into a gut-wrenching play on morality. "What's in the box?!!!" High replay value. Awesome shit I just noticed: Anton Karas' zither theme for The Third Man plays in the background during the diner scene.

The Bad: Nothing major.

The Bottom Line: One of the greatest neo-noirs of all time. Essential viewing.

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest rental: Tetsuo: The Bullet Man

Tetsuo: The Iron Man - A film so manic, hyper, weird, and stylish, it represented the epitome of an experimental film. David Lynch would have gouged his eyes out.

Tetsuo II: Body Hammer - A sequel so intense and crazy, it took the strange visions of the first film and spat them out at the viewer in a refreshing barrage of insanity.

The third Tetsuo film, The Bullet Man, is pretty much more of the same. You can certainly expect the film to break out in hyperactive bombardments of flashing rapid-fire images. You can certainly expect the main character to mutate into a metal monster and wreak some havoc (and this time, he spits bullets! ). You can certainly expect this to be weird and crazy.

However, this Tetsuo film is notably different, and not in a way that's refreshing or necessarily good. In between the manic freak-out scenes, the film slows down drastically, trying its best to weave in some semblance of an actual story with actual characters and actual reasons behind the madness. With the terrible dialogue, short runtime, and overall freakiness of the film, I really don't think this story works as well as it wants to. The film really wants to give a compelling vengeance story (the exact same type that went into the last two films), it really wants to give us emotional characters, and it wants to give us some kind of background to the "Tetsuo Project" and its connection to the characters. In the end though, it comes off as being too short and underdeveloped for its own good.

The experience of the film overall is pretty agitating. Granted, the other Tetsuo films are agitating as hell, but The Bullet Man seems to be a grade worse. Nearly every scene is shot with a camera that never sits still. Given the other issues listed above, I was rather apathetic about the film overall. I actually value the other two films for their remarkable styles and visions, even though they are pretty hyperactive in their own right, but this third film never felt like it brought anything new to the table.

In addition to being really hyper and annoying, the film is rather drab-looking, with lots of dark lighting and gray settings. Photography is among the worst I have ever seen, and the editing is crazy. I was personally appalled by the acting and writing; most of the dialogue is terrible, with very stupid lines and absurd delivery. On the plus side, the sets, props, and costumes are pretty decent, and it's especially cool to see that the filmmakers preferred to use practical effects rather than cheap CGI. Music consists of lots of airy noises and metallic banging, further adding to the annoying experience.

As much as I value the first two Tetsuo movies, I couldn't bring myself to enjoy The Bullet Man as much as I wanted to. I halfway wonder if Shin'ya Tsukamoto is purposefully trying to make the most annoying movie possible. Established Tetsuo fans will probably enjoy The Bullet Man, but casual viewers will probably want to keep their distance. I personally recommend the first film, if at all interested.

2/5 (Experience: Annoying | Story: Very Poor | Film: Marginal)

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest rental: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Don't feel like doing a full-blown review, so here's the short review:

It's pretty funny stuff. I did laugh at a few of the lines and situations. The story is pretty fun overall. But, it does feel strangely uneven. It never really felt like it hit a proper climax. Characters are generally okay; you can tell that Steve Carrell's character is intended to change throughout, but in the end, he winds up turning into...Steve Carrell, for better or for worse. Jim Carrey is surprisingly awesome in his role, effectively parodying that Mindfreak guy. The film overall never felt that substantial, but it did have its moments.

3.5/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Average | Film: Pretty Good)

Thanks to legendarymatt for the recommendation.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Next greatest rental: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Don't feel like doing a full-blown review, so here's the short review:

[Show spoiler]It's pretty funny stuff. I did laugh at a few of the lines and situations. The story is pretty fun overall. But, it does feel strangely uneven. It never really felt like it hit a proper climax. Characters are generally okay; you can tell that Steve Carrell's character is intended to change throughout, but in the end, he winds up turning into...Steve Carrell, for better or for worse. Jim Carrey is surprisingly awesome in his role, effectively parodying that Mindreak guy. The film overall never felt that substantial, but it did have its moments.

3.5/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Average | Film: Pretty Good)

Thanks to legendarymatt for the recommendation.

Lazy...

I enjoyed this as well when I watched it last month. Got it for a good deal on eBay and was glad I did.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Lazy...

That weirdo Tetsuo movie took it out of me.

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

I enjoyed this as well when I watched it last month. Got it for a good deal on eBay and was glad I did.

I'm still thinking about whether or not I'll want to own it. Might jump on it if it's a really good sale.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I'm still thinking about whether or not I'll want to own it. Might jump on it if it's a really good sale.

I managed to get it brand new for $13 shortly after release, so I can't complain.

[jvince]

Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
dir. Jeff Wadlow

The Good: First off, there are two things that Kick-Ass 2 does better than the original: (1) although it doesn't have a sequence as epic as the 2010 film's hallway shootout, the sequel is packed with more action and fun; and (2) there is minimal use of CGI, and yes, no more cheap-looking visual effects. There are also plenty of hilarious moments and one-liners. Solid cast. Standouts are Christopher Mintz-Plasse as The Mother F*cker and Ukranian bodybuilder Olga Kurkulina as Mother Russia. The sick stick. (I want one. You'll want one.) The shark. The needle.

The Bad: Writing is not as fresh and tight as the original. Plot progression is predictable. Movie drags a bit at times. They try to cram in as much storylines as they can into a two hour movie that most end up not being fleshed out.

The Bottom Line: Kick-Ass is a property that thrives on shock value. Part of the novelty of the first film is seeing a little girl cuss like a sailor while single-handedly taking down groups of thugs. Now that that character has grown, you'd expect they'd find other ways to keep it fresh and outrageous while keeping its tongue firmly in cheek, and while the sequel manages to amuse, one can't help but feel like things have been toned down. Still, despite all its shortcomings, Kick-Ass 2 is the best superhero movie of the year thus far.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by Tony208

Planet of the Apes (1968)

As a huge sci-fi fan, I can't believe it took me this long to get around to this film. Early on I knew I was going to like the film and some of my favorite scenes were

[Show spoiler]Taylor laughing his ass off at Landon for putting up an American flag and clinging on to ideals that don't matter anymore, the group circling a footprint like a pack of primates, the apes posing for a picture, and the courtroom scene.

Small moments like these and all the societal, political, and religious parallels that can be drawn from the movie make this a must watch in my book. Only after watching this did I realize just how many nods to the original were in the 2011 preboot, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

5/5

I'm one of the few who loved the 2001 Burton remake. I thought the story was great and the time travel plot was a real brain-twister that made the film excellent, in spite of sub-stellar acting.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by jvince

Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
dir. Jeff Wadlow

The Good: First off, there are two things that Kick-Ass 2 does better than the original: (1) although it doesn't have a sequence as epic as the 2010 film's hallway shootout, the sequel is packed with more action and fun; and (2) there is minimal use of CGI, and yes, no more cheap-looking visual effects. There are also plenty of hilarious moments and one-liners. Solid cast. Standouts are Christopher Mintz-Plasse as The Mother F*cker and Ukranian bodybuilder Olga Kurkulina as Mother Russia. The sick stick. (I want one. You'll want one.) The shark. The needle.

The Bad: Writing is not as fresh and tight as the original. Plot progression is predictable. Movie drags a bit at times. They try to cram in as much storylines as they can into a two hour movie that most end up not being fleshed out.

The Bottom Line: Kick-Ass is a property that thrives on shock value. Part of the novelty of the first film is seeing a little girl cuss like a sailor while single-handedly taking down groups of thugs. Now that that character has grown, you'd expect they'd find other ways to keep it fresh and outrageous while keeping its tongue firmly in cheek, and while the sequel manages to amuse, one can't help but feel like things have been toned down. Still, despite all its shortcomings, Kick-Ass 2 is the best superhero movie of the year thus far.

So it's not as shocking as the Comic Book sequel then?

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Foggy

So it's not as shocking as the Comic Book sequel then?

That's probably a good thing. Some of the stuff that evil kid did was...just...

[jvince]

Feherlofia (Son of the White Mare) - YouTube

Fehérlófia (1981)
dir. Marcell Jankovics

The Good: Wow, wow, wow... A mix of two of my favorite things in the world -- fables and amazing visuals. This is defintely up there with The Man Who Planted Trees as one of the most mind-blowingly gorgeous animated films I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. A stunning kaleidoscope of bright, vibrant colors forming some incredible, unforgettable, dreamlike imagery. And the symmetry! My god... Marcell Jankovics, you, sir, are a f*cking wizard.

The Bad: All the butt-slapping threw me off a bit. They also went a little overboard with all the phallic and yonic symbols. Dicks and vaginas everywhere.

The Bottom Line: There's nothing quite like Fehérlófia, I can assure you of that. If you love animation, you just have got to see this right away (and by right away, I mean now). An 80-minute psychedelic, visual orgasm. This obscure masterpiece is essential viewing.

[MrBlonde]

Originally Posted by Foggy

So it's not as shocking as the Comic Book sequel then?

I've never read the comics, are they any good? Better or worse than the film?

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by MrBlonde

I've never read the comics, are they any good? Better or worse than the film?

The first comic is very close to the first film; probably about 80% the exact same. I think the comic is a grade darker and more violent though, and there are just a few big changes between the two. The biggest change I remember is

[Show spoiler]with the girlfriend, who just kinda blows the kid off and gets him beat up in the end. I liked the movie better in this regard; the comic made her out to be a total b*tch

.

Just judging from the trailer, KA2 looks pretty close to the KA2 comic, but the comic was pretty messed-up in parts. I was appalled at what happened (in a semi-good way ). But yeah, both comics are worth reading, and I'll certainly grab the third one when it comes out, to see what happens next.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by MrBlonde

I've never read the comics, are they any good? Better or worse than the film?

Pretty much this:

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

The first comic is very close to the first film; probably about 80% the exact same. I think the comic is a grade darker and more violent though, and there are just a few big changes between the two. The biggest change I remember is

[Show spoiler]with the girlfriend, who just kinda blows the kid off and gets him beat up in the end. I liked the movie better in this regard; the comic made her out to be a total b*tch

.

Just judging from the trailer, KA2 looks pretty close to the KA2 comic, but the comic was pretty messed-up in parts. I was appalled at what happened (in a semi-good way ). But yeah, both comics are worth reading, and I'll certainly grab the third one when it comes out, to see what happens next.

The first comic elaborates on somethings like Kick-Ass' time in the hospital and Big Daddy's and Hit Girl's relationship (including a very dark twist that is left out of the film) while the film elaborates more on the villains and spends more time on them (mainly because the identity of Red Mist is a mystery through the comic, but in the film they openly include his plan). But for the most part it's very close, with many scenes being straight lifted shot-for-shot, although the comic tends to be darker and more cynical. The only other big difference

[Show spoiler]that explains her disappearance in the sequel is that Kick-Ass doesn't get with the girl at the end of the comic and gets labeled a pervert

.

It's a good comic and worth a read despite it's bitterness, but the film is better simply because it's funnier, more charming and has a FAR better conclusion.

As for the sequel book, I haven't read it yet, mainly because of the upcoming film, but the stuff I've heard is rather off putting,

[Show spoiler]the comic is supposed to feature rape and mass child murder

which is a bit . I think it was said straight off the bat they're not even considering including that stuff in the sequel.