The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[SquidPuppet]

From Up On Poppy Hill



Another wonderful Ghibli flick.

It stars kids, but it's a great film for adults.

4.5/5

[SquidPuppet]

Star Trek Into Darkness





I loved the first one, but...

Maybe it's just me, but this felt like TONS of MEGA ACTION with almost nothing connecting it.

Was there a story?

Everything else was excellent. The cast really nails their roles. Awesome effects. Rockin' audio. Great shots.

But... It felt repetitive and I was yawning.

Film 2.5/5
PQ and AQ were 5/5

[Al_The_Strange]

After watching The Shining and Room 237 back-to-back, I made whatever notes and observations I could and tried my best to figure things out with that crazy movie. If at all interested, feel free to read more about my findings on my blog.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Star Trek Into Darkness





I loved the first one, but...

Maybe it's just me, but this felt like TONS of MEGA ACTION with almost nothing connecting it.

Was there a story?

Everything else was excellent. The cast really nails their roles. Awesome effects. Rockin' audio. Great shots.

But... It felt repetitive and I was yawning.

Film 2.5/5
PQ and AQ were 5/5

The more I think about this movie, the less memorable and less original I find it. I really wish they didn't use

[Show spoiler]Khan

all over again.

[jvince]

Audition (1999)
dir. Takashi Miike

The Good: I told myself I'd never watch this again, but here we are. What the **** was I thinking? Audition is still as disturbing as I remembered, but within lies the allure of Miike's infamous masterpiece. Yes, it's a ****ed up film, yet, at the same time, it's also a rather brilliant one. (But, yeah, it's really, really ****ed up.) Audition seamlessly transitions from drama to romance to mystery and ultimately to horror, where we're bombarded with severed tongues, vomit eating, acupuncture torture, needles on the eyes, foot mutilation (by a wire saw, no less), and... holy shit, did that sack just move?! I'm never watching this again...

The Bad: First half is a bit slow.

The Bottom Line: Halloween douche prank: get an unsuspecting friend to watch Audition. Tell him/her it's a romantic film. Watch his/her reaction. Audition comes recommended.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Star Trek Into Darkness





I loved the first one, but...

Maybe it's just me, but this felt like TONS of MEGA ACTION with almost nothing connecting it.

Was there a story?

Everything else was excellent. The cast really nails their roles. Awesome effects. Rockin' audio. Great shots.

But... It felt repetitive and I was yawning.

Film 2.5/5
PQ and AQ were 5/5

This sums up my feelings on the film. Although, I think the cinematography is pretty terrible (par for the course for Abrams). I think I posted something more extensive after I saw it for a second time (free tickets are the devil).

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

The more I think about this movie, the less memorable and less original I find it. I really wish they didn't use

[Show spoiler]Khan

all over again.

I knew that 4.5/5 rating was tainted

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I knew that 4.5/5 rating was tainted

Unfortunately, a lot of my reviews for this year's movies might be "tainted."

Upon reflection, I think my score for ST:ID will drop to a 4/5.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by jvince

Audition (1999)
dir. Takashi Miike

The Good: I told myself I'd never watch this again, but here we are. What the **** was I thinking? Audition is still as disturbing as I remembered, but within lies the allure of Miike's infamous masterpiece. Yes, it's a ****ed up film, yet, at the same time, it's also a rather brilliant one. (But, yeah, it's really, really ****ed up.) Audition seamlessly transitions from drama to romance to mystery and ultimately to horror, where we're bombarded with severed tongues, vomit eating, acupuncture torture, needles on the eyes, foot mutilation (by a wire saw, no less), and... holy shit, did that sack just move?! I'm never watching this again...

The Bad: First half is a bit slow.

The Bottom Line: Halloween douche prank: get an unsuspecting friend to watch Audition. Tell him/her it's a romantic film. Watch his/her reaction. Audition comes recommended.

Gah, I keep forgetting to add this one to my rent list.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

The more I think about this movie, the less memorable and less original I find it. I really wish they didn't use

[Show spoiler]Khan

all over again.

I felt similar when I watched it again on Blu. 4/5 is my rating as well.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I felt similar when I watched it again on Blu. 4/5 is my rating as well.

Nobody cares how you felt...

[Show spoiler]Seriously, who cares?

[Show spoiler]I know I don't...

[Show spoiler]

[Al_The_Strange]

Just got this movie in the mail: one I seriously didn't think I'd ever find on home video:

Mindwarp

First time I saw Mindwarp on the TV, I kinda hated it. Mostly because I thought it was a cheap and gaudy film, made grotesque by the excess of blood and gore, with ideas that were interesting but never profound. Despite disliking the film, however, it stuck with me, partly because it did have scenes and ideas that were inherently interesting and worth watching, and mostly because this is actually one hard film to find on home video. I have never seen a DVD release for this film; it's currently only available on VHS, or, shockingly, as a limited-edition Twilight Time Blu-Ray. That brief showing on TV was my one and only exposure to this movie, up until I got my mitts on Blu-Ray #471 of 3,000.

To be fair, the movie makes for a fine piece of pulply schlock sci-fi, the likes of which could make for a great comic strip in the Heavy Metal magazine, or a short story in some anthology. As a film, it has some promise; the bulk of it takes place in a nightmarish post-apocalyptic wasteland, full of bloodthirsty cannibals, parasitic fish, and sick cults. This hard-edged adventure is book-ended by a really slick bit of utopic cyberpunk, for even though the world has been nuked, a number of inhabitants spend their time in a virtual dream-world. Sound familiar? It makes me wonder if Mindwarp could have been an influence on the Watchowskis when writing The Matrix saga...

The film is neat, and its story is inherently sound. What makes it work are its characters; it is interesting to watch the main heroine get a serious dose of reality when she's expelled from her utopic home and forced to confront the harsh realities of a nuclear wasteland. Things come in full circle by the end, thanks to a neat little plot twist, but the overall message never felt right to me (almost an antithesis to The Matrix, which was all about liberation). That's really the only problem I see with the plot: a certain lack of refinement, for despite the key themes of reality and fantasy, and the coming of age, the film seems really small in scale and it seems like some things could have been better.

The film is as I remember: gaudy and ugly. It's filmed with adequate photography and editing, but most of the settings, props, and locales appear cheap, drab, and somewhat ugly. Even the futuristic scenes in the utopic city are rather ugly-looking. Acting and writing are rather weak all around; Bruce Campbell is a pretty standard hero guy here. Despite a few iffy lines, I was rather fond of Marta Martin. Angus Scrimm steals the show throughout. Music for this film is rather gaudy too.

To me, this film has always been the pure definition of a B-movie: cheap, ugly, gory, strangely hard-to-find, and strangely somewhat hard to forget. For those who have an interest in such low-grade cinema, or are a fan of the actors, or just want a good piece of trashy pulp sci-fi, Mindwarp should be worth a look, if you can find it.

3/5 (Entertainment: Pretty Good | Story: Average | Film: Poor)

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I felt similar when I watched it again on Blu. 4/5 is my rating as well.

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Nobody cares how you felt...

[Show spoiler]Seriously, who cares?

[Show spoiler]I know I don't...

[Show spoiler]

Don't worry, I care. Because two great minds think alike.

[Josh B]

Plan 9 From Outer Space─ 2.5/5

It's not the worst movie ever made, but good grief what a silly movie. I gave it a 2.5 because it set me on course to track down the 3 issue comic book sequel, and situations like that are always fun.

[jvince]

Imprint (2006)
dir. Takashi Miike

The Good: Takashi Miike is one sick ****. If you thought Audition was messed up, you probably haven't seen Imprint. I am not exaggerating when I say the torture scene in this film is the most gruesome I have ever seen. Imprint makes Audition look like a Disney movie. Abortion, incest, rape, child abuse, torture, murder -- it's all here. The images will forever be seared in your mind. Imprint is like the worst nightmare caught on film.

The Bad: Bad acting. And why is everyone talking in English?

The Bottom Line: Miike's Imprint is a film you'll never forget, whether you like it or not. You'll want to wash your eyes (and soul) after watching this.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by jvince

Imprint (2006)
dir. Takashi Miike

The Good: Takashi Miike is one sick ****. If you thought Audition was messed up, you probably haven't seen Imprint. I am not exaggerating when I say the torture scene in this film is the most gruesome I have ever seen. Imprint makes Audition look like a Disney movie. Abortion, incest, rape, child abuse, torture, murder -- it's all here. The images will forever be seared in your mind. Imprint is like the worst nightmare caught on film.

The Bad: Bad acting. And why is everyone talking in English?

The Bottom Line: Miike's Imprint is a film you'll never forget, whether you like it or not. You'll want to wash your eyes (and soul) after watching this.

Doesn't sound too far off from Ichi the Killer. Is that one coming up next?

[Foggy]

Won a film and TV pub quiz today with 106 points...NAILED IT!

[SquidPuppet]

World War Z



Decent popcorn zombie flick.

I liked that the zombies did not care about

[Show spoiler]eating people, and that they just wanted to bite and infect as many as possible.

I thought I would hate the fact that the zombies were speedy, but I actually really enjoyed that they were psycho aggressive and fast as hell. It upped the tension. I also enjoyed the dozens of high quality super hard NFL flying tackles.

The story was as simple as it gets, which is what I expected.

Acting was satisfactory.

Characters do really lame things. Expected.

Dialogue was queso mas grande.

Score was tension inducing.

VFX were decent.

All in all I got what I expected, an OK popcorn flick.

Film 3/5
PQ 4.5/5
AQ 3/5. Surrounds, pans, and LFE were nice, but dialogue from center channel was muddy and unclear.

[jvince]

The Ten Steps - YouTube

The Ten Steps (2004)
dir. Brendan Muldowney

The Good: So simple yet so brilliant. The Ten Steps is one tight, well thought out horror flick that deserves more attention. A teenage girl is babysitting her little brother while her parents are out having dinner when the power goes out. She calls her dad for help and he tells her to fix the fuse in the cellar. Thing is, the one time she went down there, she had a panic attack. Why? I don't want to spoil it any further. You just have to watch the film. The girl does a wonderful job as the lead, the tension builds up perfectly, and the ending is genius. It has this spooky Twilight Zone/campfire story vibe that I absolutely love.

The Bad: You will want to see more (but it feels complete and it's perfect as it is. I suggest you keep watching as the credits roll).

The Bottom Line: Going down a flight of stairs has never been scarier. The Ten Steps just might be one of the best horror films of the past decade -- and it's only 10 minutes long. Please go check it out.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jvince

The Ten Steps - YouTube

The Ten Steps (2004)
dir. Brendan Muldowney

The Bad: So simple yet so brilliant. The Ten Steps is one tight, well thought out horror flick that deserves more attention. A teenage girl is babysitting her little brother while her parents are out having dinner when the power goes out. She calls her dad for help and he tells her to fix the fuse in the cellar. Thing is, the one time she went down there, she had a panic attack. Why? I don't want to spoil it any further. You just have to watch the film. The girl does a wonderful job as the lead, the tension builds up perfectly, and the ending is genius. It has this spooky Twilight Zone/campfire story vibe that I absolutely love.

The Bad: You will want to see more (but it feels complete and it's perfect as it is. I suggest you keep watching as the credits roll).

The Bottom Line: Going down a flight of stairs has never been scarier. The Ten Steps just might be one of the best horror films of the past decade -- and it's only 10 minutes long. Please go check it out.

The 'bad' twice?