The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Empress Em

Nice review. I also loved the movie but i am a huge Ellen Page fan.

thanks i believe this is the only film i've seen of her's and the only thing that bugged me about her (performance wise, not the character she plays) is her damn haircut. it's so atrocious!

[Empress Em]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

thanks i believe this is the only film i've seen of her's and the only thing that bugged me about her (performance wise, not the character she plays) is her damn haircut. it's so atrocious!

I kind of thought the hair cut was cute. And have you seen Inception? I thought see was great in it along with Juno, Whip It and everything else she does.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

thanks i believe this is the only film i've seen of her's and the only thing that bugged me about her (performance wise, not the character she plays) is her damn haircut. it's so atrocious!

If that is indeed true, you need to remedy that. She's been in some good movies. While I didn't like Hard Candy that much, I am a fan of her's.

[jvince]

Genre: Drama / Family / Comedy
Synopsis: A 10-year-old boy goes on a search for God after his grandfather dies.
Running Time: 88 minutes

Director: M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense)
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan (Unbreakable)
Stars: Joseph Cross (Milk), Timothy Reifsnyder (Hearts in Atlantis), Dana Delany (China Beach), Denis Leary (Rescue Me), Robert Loggia (Scarface), Rosie O'Donnell (Tarzan), Julia Stiles (The Bourne Ultimatum)

Wait, what? "The Sixth Sense" is not Shyamalan's first movie?

Yes, apparently it isn't. A lost and criminally underappreciated little film called "Wide Awake" is, in fact, his first. And after finally seeing his feature debut, I couldn't believe how such a wonderfully touching film still remains to be forgotten.

First off, ignore the poster, it gives the wrong impression. "Wide Awake" is first and foremost a drama; a surprisingly deep coming-of-age film. Second, O'Donnell, Delany, and Leary aren't really as prominent in the film as the poster makes them out to be. It's really centered on the little boy played pitch-perfectly by Joseph Cross as he goes on his own search for God. And lastly, while it is labeled as a family film, it is actually geared more towards the older members and maybe their inquisitive children. The lead may be a young little boy, but the movie is more mature than juvenille. The result is a sweet and charming philosophical film that asks the eternal questions you've surely thought about at least once in your life.

"Wide Awake" easily ranks up there with "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" as Shyamalan's greatest works to date. Not only does it make you wonder why Shyamalan doesn't make magical movies like this anymore, it also makes you wish Hollywood hasn't forgotten about the family genre and that, hopefully, they would continue to make good old family films just like they used to. "Wide Awake" is essential viewing for the entire family and it comes highly recommended for those searching for some good drama with actual substance and for those who have dealt with loss and pondered on life's purpose and the existence of God. A sweet little film that will surely make you feel good about yourself and everything else.

Rating: **** out of 5

[Q?]

Winter's Bone

Jeez, I've never yawned as much in my life ever before, seriously. The pacing was horribly and deliberately slow, a cheap way of trying to make a well respected serious drama movie. All of the characters were depressed and talked with a low voice, the abc way of acting, even amateur locals were used throughout . The fugly lead Jennifer Lawrence was unbelievable, what acting class did she attend to? She never captivated me once, nothing more than a opportunistic Oscar hungry "actress", crying her eyes out just at the right moments, for us to be deeply affected by.

It's slow, boring and nothing ever happens, stay far away.
9/10

[Show spoiler]

[volcomsocal]

Into The Wild - 2007

What a POWERFUL movie! 2 and a half hours of beautiful art. Such a great,

[Show spoiler]albeit sad

, story. Gorgeous cinematography, great script, great acting, great characters, and good directing by Sean Penn. The soundtrack to this movie was PERFECT. Eddie Vedder did a wonderful job writing songs for this movie. It had the perfect emotional feel to back up a movie that had strong ties to mother nature. Quite simply, I thoroughly enjoyed Into The Wild.

PQ - 4/5

AQ - 4/5

5/5

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Hard Candy

101 minutes

year: 2005
director: david slade
starring: ellen page & patrick wilson

[Show spoiler]

first time i've watched my blu of Hard Candy.

first time seeing the film in about 5 years. and i must say, the film has held up exceptionally well! right from the get go there are some cringe worthy scenes that make you shake with fear, anger, disgust and a million other things. and those feelings very rarely let up.

i honestly think david slade creates a very Hitchcock-esque type film. and what i mean by that is that i hear that Hitchcock creates films where you find yourself sympathetic to the character you are least likely to connect and feel sorry for. and that his films sometimes come off as one thing and quickly turn into something else. i've only seen Psycho of his, which starts off almost as a romance and turns into a murder / horror suspense title. and Hard Candy is a lot like that.

you hear a film is about a 14 year old girl and a 32 year old man who seems interested in her, and you suddenly feel vile, sick, and hate the 32 year old. but, as Hard Candy plays out, neither character seems as they are. now, i'm not saying either character is "right" in what they do, but man, when Hayley (Page) and Jeff (Wilson) are

[Show spoiler]on the roof and Jeff has to decide to hang himself so Janelle doesn't find out about he may have done, does, or did

i was really sympathetic towards Jeff, which really doesn't make a lot of sense, but i thought of it on a level maybe others didn't

performance wise, Page and Wilson are TERRIFIC. Page is wise beyond her years and while a few lines of dialogue are a bit cliche or cringe worthy (almost ripped from a comic book), the film succeeds and is carried to high heights by the performances of the two main leads. i think Wilson is the better of the two though because of the character he has to play and has more subtleties than Hayley's character.

well worth the $9.99 and i cannot wait to listen to Page and Wilson's commentary track. that's gotta be good

highly recommended for thriller / psychological suspense fans, but subject matter might turn some off, but for the wrong reasons. this is not a film filled with blood, violence or gore. sure, there are some scenes that make you tense up because of what is being talked about, done off camera, but none of it is ever shown. genius film making

4.5/5

I suppose the haircut was to make her seem younger. She was 17 and playing a 14-year-old.

My ranking was also 4.5/5. Juno gets better every time I see it and she salvages Whip It. She was in a little movie called Inception too

I'm interested to see what Page does over the next few years. How much range will she have and will she be believable playing adult roles rather than using her small stature to play teens?

[Al_The_Strange]

Will movies continue to deteriorate in quality and be aimed solely at the biggest demographic?
I doubt it. I just think Hollywood's in a creative slump right now, and it's far more profitable for them (especially in an economically unstable era) to maintain the status quo with stuff that's gaurenteed to sell (building on existing franchises) rather than taking risks with scary new ideas.

I predict that, as with the late 60s and throughout the 70s, Hollywood will start to loose revenue as movies continue to become tiresome and unoriginal, and audiences loose interest. If they're smart, the studios may then give more creative control to the directors, and more original work will be pumped out.

Even if that never happens, the law of diminishing returns will take effect (if it hasn't already) and the industry will suffer.

Will the aging population eventually force things to change?
Maybe if they start boycotting movies.

Can we do anything about it?
We can boycott movies too. Supporting, or even creating, independent films might become a new fad.

Does anyone care?
I think we do, but Hollywood is not exactly a customer-focused business. It creates entertainment for what it perceives as the target audience and demographic (usually a PG-13 group). But I sometimes wonder if it would suit them to survey the audience and make movies based on what the people say and think.

Will it make us even dumber than we are now?
Sometimes I wonder if it has already. I overheard somebody in HMV say that "King Kong" was made in the 60s.

Is it acceptable to throw together a few explosions, large breasts, and watch people get hit in the groin repeatedly?
Yes. It's great entertainment value! But it is low-brow stuff and carries zero artistic, cinematic, or storytelling value.

I guess I am adding to the problem by owning or planning to own nine of the top 11. But seriously, should we continue to reward cynical decisions to put out complete crap?
I probably own too much of the new stuff they keep releasing. Especially when there are bargains. But I never really consider the implications to Hollywood's economy when I buy a movie; I'm just getting what I enjoy. I do agree that quality in movies (at least in terms of creativity) is nowhere near as fresh or original as it seemed to be in the 80s and 90s (and earlier). But as long as newer films entertain, I'll be watching.

On a related note, will texting soon rob people of the power to communicate properly?
btw wtf itzall good u now? now im afk. X-P

Yes, I'm getting old.
Maybe the word you're looking for is "wise."

Great, now here's my list:

Blue: Personally owned and recommended for everybody!
Green: Personally owned and recommended only as a rental.
Purple: Personally owned and not recommended to anybody else. All for me and nobody else!
Orange: Do not own, but recommended to others as a rental or buy.
Red: Do not own, not recommended to anybody else unless it's in spite.
Pink: Looks bad, sounds bad...I assume it's bad.

1 Toy Story 3 (Disney) $415,004,880
2 Alice in Wonderland (2010) (Disney) $334,191,110
3 Iron Man 2 (Paramount) $312,128,345
4 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Summit) $300,531,751
5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (Warner Bros.) $294,735,705
6 Inception (Warner Bros.) $292,576,195
7 Despicable Me (Universal) $251,513,985
8 Shrek Forever After (Paramount / DreamWorks) $238,395,990
9 How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount / DreamWorks) $217,581,231
10 Tangled (Disney) $196,675,983
11 The Karate Kid (2010) (Sony / Columbia) $176,591,618
12 TRON: Legacy (Disney) $171,590,201
13 True Grit (2010) (Paramount) $169,459,796
14 Clash of the Titans (2010) (Warner Bros.) $163,214,888
15 Grown Ups (Sony / Columbia) $162,001,186
16 Megamind (Paramount / DreamWorks) $148,415,853
17 Little Fockers (Universal) $148,410,330
18 The Last Airbender (Paramount) $131,601,062 (I SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW WHY I BOUGHT IT!!! )
19 The King's Speech (Weinstein Company) $129,762,441
20 Shutter Island (Paramount) $128,012,934 (saw it recently, will review )
21 The Other Guys (Sony / Columbia) $119,219,978
22 Salt (Sony / Columbia) $118,311,368
23 Jackass 3D (Paramount) $117,229,692
24 Valentine's Day (Warner Bros. / New Line) $110,486,000
25 Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) $106,032,171
26 Robin Hood (Universal) $105,269,730
27 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Fox) $104,146,318
28 The Expendables (Lionsgate) $103,068,524
29 Due Date (Warner Bros.) $100,539,043
30 Yogi Bear (Warner Bros.) $98,826,848
31 Date Night (Fox) $98,711,404
32 The Social Network (Sony / Columbia) $96,962,694
33 Sex and the City 2 (Warner Bros. / New Line) $95,347,692
34 The Book of Eli (Warner Bros.) $94,835,000
35 The Fighter (Paramount) $93,051,862
36 The Town (Warner Bros.) $92,186,262 $23,808,032 (blind-bought, but haven't seen yet )
37 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Disney) $90,759,676
38 Red (2010) (Summit) $90,380,162
39 Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Fox) $88,761,720
40 Paranormal Activity 2 (Paramount) $84,752,907
41 Unstoppable (2010) (Fox) $81,562,942
42 Eat Pray Love (Sony / Columbia) $80,574,010
43 Dear John (Sony / Screen Gems) $80,014,521
44 The A-Team (Fox) $77,222,099
45 Knight and Day (Fox) $76,423,035
46 Dinner for Schmucks (Paramount / DreamWorks) $73,026,337
47 The Tourist (Sony / Columbia) $67,631,157
48 The Bounty Hunter (Sony / Columbia) $67,061,228
49 Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Fox) $64,003,625
50 The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Disney) $63,150,991 (another poorly-chosen blind-buy )
51 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) (Warner Bros. / New Line) $63,075,011
52 The Last Song (Disney) $62,950,384
53 The Wolfman (Universal) $61,979,680
54 Get Him to the Greek (Universal) $60,974,475
55 Resident Evil: Afterlife (Sony / Screen Gems) $60,128,566
56 Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? (Lionsgate) $60,095,852
57 The Tooth Fairy (Fox) $60,022,256
58 Secretariat (Disney) $59,713,955
59 Easy A (Sony / Screen Gems) $58,401,464
60 Takers (Sony / Screen Gems) $57,744,720
61 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (Warner Bros.) $55,675,313 (another fine blind-buy I haven't gotten around to yet )
62 Life As We Know It (Warner Bros.) $53,374,681
63 Letters to Juliet (Summit) $53,032,453
64 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Fox) $52,474,616
65 Predators (Fox) $52,000,688
66 Hot Tub Time Machine (MGM) $50,288,000
67 Kick-Ass (Lionsgate) $48,071,303
68 Killers (Lionsgate) $47,059,963
69 Saw 3D (Lionsgate) $45,710,178
70 Cop Out (Warner Bros.) $44,875,000
71 Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (Warner Bros.) $43,585,753
72 Edge of Darkness (Warner Bros.) $43,313,294 (I might not be keeping this )
73 Death at a Funeral (2010) (Sony / Screen Gems) $42,739,347
74 Gulliver's Travels (2010) (Fox) $42,667,214
75 Step Up 3D (Disney) $42,400,223
76 The Last Exorcism (Lionsgate) $41,034,350
77 Legion (Sony / Screen Gems) $40,122,704
78 Burlesque (Sony / Screen Gems) $39,440,655
79 The Crazies (Overture) $39,123,589
80 For Colored Girls (Lionsgate) $37,729,698
81 The Back-up Plan (CBS Films)$37,490,007
82 Vampires Suck (Fox) $36,661,504
83 The American (Focus) $35,606,376 (also in my blind-buy pile... )
84 Green Zone (Universal) $35,053,660
85 Marmaduke (Fox) $33,644,788
86 Devil (Universal) $33,601,190
87 Hereafter (Warner Bros.) $32,746,941
88 When in Rome (Disney) $32,669,056
89 Love and Other Drugs (Fox) $32,367,005
90 She's Out of My League (Paramount) $31,628,317
91 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Universal) $31,524,275
92 Charlie St. Cloud (Universal) $31,162,545
93 Morning Glory (2010) (Paramount) $31,011,732
94 How Do You Know (Sony / Columbia) $30,212,620
95 Daybreakers (Lionsgate) $30,101,144
96 Nanny McPhee Returns (Universal)
97 The Switch (2010) (Miramax) $27,779,426
98 Brooklyn's Finest (Overture) $27,163,593
99 Machete (Fox) $26,593,646
100 Ramona and Beezus (Fox) $26,167,002

Best picture nominees:

Toy Story 3 ($415,004,880) (great!)
Inception ($292,576,195) (I love it!)
True Grit ($169,459,796) (haven't seen it, but I imagine it'll be good)
The King's Speech ($129,762,441) (must be decent)
Black Swan ($106,032,171) (I WILL OWN IT! )
The Social Network ($96,962,694) (yeah, it's not bad)
The Fighter ($93,051,862) (looks decent)
The Kids Are All Right ($20,811,365) (ummm...)
127 Hours ($18,251,709) (looks great)
Winter's Bone ($6,527,448) (should be on my rent list)

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Will movies continue to deteriorate in quality and be aimed solely at the biggest demographic?
I doubt it. I just think Hollywood's in a creative slump right now, and it's far more profitable for them (especially in an economically unstable era) to maintain the status quo with stuff that's gaurenteed to sell (building on existing franchises) rather than taking risks with scary new ideas.

I predict that, as with the late 60s and throughout the 70s, Hollywood will start to loose revenue as movies continue to become tiresome and unoriginal, and audiences loose interest. If they're smart, the studios may then give more creative control to the directors, and more original work will be pumped out.

Even if that never happens, the law of diminishing returns will take effect (if it hasn't already) and the industry will suffer.

[Show spoiler]

Will the aging population eventually force things to change?
Maybe if they start boycotting movies.

Can we do anything about it?
We can boycott movies too. Supporting, or even creating, independent films might become a new fad.

Does anyone care?
I think we do, but Hollywood is not exactly a customer-focused business. It creates entertainment for what it perceives as the target audience and demographic (usually a PG-13 group). But I sometimes wonder if it would suit them to survey the audience and make movies based on what the people say and think.

Will it make us even dumber than we are now?
Sometimes I wonder if it has already. I overheard somebody in HMV say that "King Kong" was made in the 60s.

Is it acceptable to throw together a few explosions, large breasts, and watch people get hit in the groin repeatedly?
Yes. It's great entertainment value! But it is low-brow stuff and carries zero artistic, cinematic, or storytelling value.

I guess I am adding to the problem by owning or planning to own nine of the top 11. But seriously, should we continue to reward cynical decisions to put out complete crap?
I probably own too much of the new stuff they keep releasing. Especially when there are bargains. But I never really consider the implications to Hollywood's economy when I buy a movie; I'm just getting what I enjoy. I do agree that quality in movies (at least in terms of creativity) is nowhere near as fresh or original as it seemed to be in the 80s and 90s (and earlier). But as long as newer films entertain, I'll be watching.

On a related note, will texting soon rob people of the power to communicate properly?
btw wtf itzall good u now? now im afk. X-P

Yes, I'm getting old.
Maybe the word you're looking for is "wise."

Great, now here's my list:

Blue: Personally owned and recommended for everybody!
Green: Personally owned and recommended only as a rental.
Purple: Personally owned and not recommended to anybody else. All for me and nobody else!
Orange: Do not own, but recommended to others as a rental or buy.
Red: Do not own, not recommended to anybody else unless it's in spite.
Pink: Looks bad, sounds bad...I assume it's bad.

1 Toy Story 3 (Disney) $415,004,880
2 Alice in Wonderland (2010) (Disney) $334,191,110
3 Iron Man 2 (Paramount) $312,128,345
4 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Summit) $300,531,751
5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (Warner Bros.) $294,735,705
6 Inception (Warner Bros.) $292,576,195
7 Despicable Me (Universal) $251,513,985
8 Shrek Forever After (Paramount / DreamWorks) $238,395,990
9 How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount / DreamWorks) $217,581,231
10 Tangled (Disney) $196,675,983
11 The Karate Kid (2010) (Sony / Columbia) $176,591,618
12 TRON: Legacy (Disney) $171,590,201
13 True Grit (2010) (Paramount) $169,459,796
14 Clash of the Titans (2010) (Warner Bros.) $163,214,888
15 Grown Ups (Sony / Columbia) $162,001,186
16 Megamind (Paramount / DreamWorks) $148,415,853
17 Little Fockers (Universal) $148,410,330
18 The Last Airbender (Paramount) $131,601,062 (I SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW WHY I BOUGHT IT!!! )
19 The King's Speech (Weinstein Company) $129,762,441
20 Shutter Island (Paramount) $128,012,934 (saw it recently, will review )
21 The Other Guys (Sony / Columbia) $119,219,978
22 Salt (Sony / Columbia) $118,311,368
23 Jackass 3D (Paramount) $117,229,692
24 Valentine's Day (Warner Bros. / New Line) $110,486,000
25 Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) $106,032,171
26 Robin Hood (Universal) $105,269,730
27 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Fox) $104,146,318
28 The Expendables (Lionsgate) $103,068,524
29 Due Date (Warner Bros.) $100,539,043
30 Yogi Bear (Warner Bros.) $98,826,848
31 Date Night (Fox) $98,711,404
32 The Social Network (Sony / Columbia) $96,962,694
33 Sex and the City 2 (Warner Bros. / New Line) $95,347,692
34 The Book of Eli (Warner Bros.) $94,835,000
35 The Fighter (Paramount) $93,051,862
36 The Town (Warner Bros.) $92,186,262 $23,808,032 (blind-bought, but haven't seen yet )
37 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Disney) $90,759,676
38 Red (2010) (Summit) $90,380,162
39 Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Fox) $88,761,720
40 Paranormal Activity 2 (Paramount) $84,752,907
41 Unstoppable (2010) (Fox) $81,562,942
42 Eat Pray Love (Sony / Columbia) $80,574,010
43 Dear John (Sony / Screen Gems) $80,014,521
44 The A-Team (Fox) $77,222,099
45 Knight and Day (Fox) $76,423,035
46 Dinner for Schmucks (Paramount / DreamWorks) $73,026,337
47 The Tourist (Sony / Columbia) $67,631,157
48 The Bounty Hunter (Sony / Columbia) $67,061,228
49 Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Fox) $64,003,625
50 The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Disney) $63,150,991 (another poorly-chosen blind-buy )
51 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) (Warner Bros. / New Line) $63,075,011
52 The Last Song (Disney) $62,950,384
53 The Wolfman (Universal) $61,979,680
54 Get Him to the Greek (Universal) $60,974,475
55 Resident Evil: Afterlife (Sony / Screen Gems) $60,128,566
56 Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? (Lionsgate) $60,095,852
57 The Tooth Fairy (Fox) $60,022,256
58 Secretariat (Disney) $59,713,955
59 Easy A (Sony / Screen Gems) $58,401,464
60 Takers (Sony / Screen Gems) $57,744,720
61 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (Warner Bros.) $55,675,313 (another fine blind-buy I haven't gotten around to yet )
62 Life As We Know It (Warner Bros.) $53,374,681
63 Letters to Juliet (Summit) $53,032,453
64 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Fox) $52,474,616
65 Predators (Fox) $52,000,688
66 Hot Tub Time Machine (MGM) $50,288,000
67 Kick-Ass (Lionsgate) $48,071,303
68 Killers (Lionsgate) $47,059,963
69 Saw 3D (Lionsgate) $45,710,178
70 Cop Out (Warner Bros.) $44,875,000
71 Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (Warner Bros.) $43,585,753
72 Edge of Darkness (Warner Bros.) $43,313,294 (I might not be keeping this )
73 Death at a Funeral (2010) (Sony / Screen Gems) $42,739,347
74 Gulliver's Travels (2010) (Fox) $42,667,214
75 Step Up 3D (Disney) $42,400,223
76 The Last Exorcism (Lionsgate) $41,034,350
77 Legion (Sony / Screen Gems) $40,122,704
78 Burlesque (Sony / Screen Gems) $39,440,655
79 The Crazies (Overture) $39,123,589
80 For Colored Girls (Lionsgate) $37,729,698
81 The Back-up Plan (CBS Films)$37,490,007
82 Vampires Suck (Fox) $36,661,504
83 The American (Focus) $35,606,376 (also in my blind-buy pile... )
84 Green Zone (Universal) $35,053,660
85 Marmaduke (Fox) $33,644,788
86 Devil (Universal) $33,601,190
87 Hereafter (Warner Bros.) $32,746,941
88 When in Rome (Disney) $32,669,056
89 Love and Other Drugs (Fox) $32,367,005
90 She's Out of My League (Paramount) $31,628,317
91 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Universal) $31,524,275
92 Charlie St. Cloud (Universal) $31,162,545
93 Morning Glory (2010) (Paramount) $31,011,732
94 How Do You Know (Sony / Columbia) $30,212,620
95 Daybreakers (Lionsgate) $30,101,144
96 Nanny McPhee Returns (Universal)
97 The Switch (2010) (Miramax) $27,779,426
98 Brooklyn's Finest (Overture) $27,163,593
99 Machete (Fox) $26,593,646
100 Ramona and Beezus (Fox) $26,167,002

Best picture nominees:

Toy Story 3 ($415,004,880) (great!)
Inception ($292,576,195) (I love it!)
True Grit ($169,459,796) (haven't seen it, but I imagine it'll be good)
The King's Speech ($129,762,441) (must be decent)
Black Swan ($106,032,171) (I WILL OWN IT! )
The Social Network ($96,962,694) (yeah, it's not bad)
The Fighter ($93,051,862) (looks decent)
The Kids Are All Right ($20,811,365) (ummm...)
127 Hours ($18,251,709) (looks great)
Winter's Bone ($6,527,448) (should be on my rent list)

A+ for a thorough reply.

So, looking at who has responded so far:

Foggy thinks 13 of the top 100 are good.

Al thinks 7 of the 100 are good enough to recommend to everybody.

I think 20 have merit, although I wouldn't recommend all of those to everybody.

[Marcus Wright]

The Tears Of Sun.

Probably the war movie that I like more than any other one I have ever seen so far. Great story, tension is unbearable.

4.75/5

[dag]

Al the Strange - a BIG for your contributions to this thread.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Steve46

A+ for a thorough reply.

So, looking at who has responded so far:

Foggy thinks 13 of the top 100 are good.

Al thinks 7 of the 100 are good enough to recommend to everybody.

I think 20 have merit, although I wouldn't recommend all of those to everybody.

Originally Posted by dag

Al the Strange - a BIG for your contributions to this thread.

Thank you, it's always a pleasure.

[Al_The_Strange]

I gotta catch up!

Next greatest rental: “Shutter Island.”

Honestly, I really wasn’t paying full attention to this. But even as background viewing, I could tell that it would be a quality mystery story with lots of quality visuals. And as it went on, it got really trippy, a lot more tense, and came up as a bit of a mind-bender. In fact, with Leo DiCaprio in the mix always reminiscing about his family and stuff, it reminded me a lot of “Inception!” Dang it, Nolan ripped it off!

Seriously though, “Shutter Island” is a pretty interesting story at times. I wouldn’t say it held my attention completely, but it appeared to have strong characters, the mystery was quite intriguing, and the final reveals were brilliant!

As a film, it is quite strong. I love the visuals; the camera work is solid, and with the high quality production design it looks like a slick period reproduction overall. Acting is great; DiCaprio is the man, and Ben Kingsley is too. Writing seemed okay. Music seemed really good.

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

Recommendation: Yep.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

The Fly

[Show spoiler]
Year: 1986
Director: David Cronenberg

Another blind buy. Another success!

I love how "simple" the story is. Mainly three people in the film and one pesky screw up involving a fly. I love how simple some films can be while still holding your complete attention, and The Fly does just that.

Hell, the film kind of starts off as an odd, weird romance film. The first 30 minutes nothing really sci-fi or horror happens. We just spend a lot of time with the characters getting to know each other. But once the weird, creepy and scary stuff does happen, it REALLY happens!

+ make up / costumes. Much like how The Thing amazed me with visuals and make up, so does The Fly. A few moments yes, look very costume-like, but a lot of scenes made me cringe because it was so creepy and detailed. Awesome

+ Jeff Goldblum. Awesome in this role. He + the script = pure genius. He adds a charisma and genuine goodness to a very dark script and story. And there is also some very dark humor and LOL moments and Goldblum delivers lines terrifically.

+ atmosphere. We all know I'm a big fan and The Fly succeeds! Love the dingy, dark, cold looking world that Cronenberg creates here. Love it!

Probably gonna turn into one of my favorite horror films although labeling it as just a horror film would be an insult to the film.

4.5/5

Blind-bought this and the sequel some years ago, and loved 'em both!

Originally Posted by Marcus Wright

Just saw it.
Very great movie, drama in the first place and than only horror.

The ending was really sad, I really felt for the hero. Almost cried.

[Show spoiler]The moment the screen said "FLY SUCCESFULLY FUSED WITH TELEPORTER," I was all like "Ah man!!!"

Then the fly-teleporter creature wanted to die, and I was all like

Yep, it was a trip!

[Monkey]

Just watched The Town. It was okay, not seeing what all the hype was about it. I'd say 2.5 to 3 stars out of 5. I'll definitely never watch it again.

Jeremy Renner was pretty good, though definitely not as good as he was in The Hurt Locker. Affleck didn't annoy me. The rest of the cast was pretty forgettable aside from the attractive bank manager. I've heard that John Hamm is good in Mad Men but it felt like a standard role in this movie.

The plot itself was interesting though towards the end it became more and more unbelievable but not really sure if they were trying to make it realistic, if they were they failed. Only one real gripe was a few times I couldn't understand what some the dialogue was due to the accents.

It was an enjoyable one time rental.


---
Yeah, The Fly is an awesome movie. I need to watch it again soon. The arm wrestling scene has stuck with me since being a little boy.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I gotta catch up!

Next greatest rental: “Shutter Island.”

Honestly, I really wasn’t paying full attention to this. But even as background viewing, I could tell that it would be a quality mystery story with lots of quality visuals. And as it went on, it got really trippy, a lot more tense, and came up as a bit of a mind-bender. In fact, with Leo DiCaprio in the mix always reminiscing about his family and stuff, it reminded me a lot of “Inception!” Dang it, Nolan ripped it off!

Seriously though, “Shutter Island” is a pretty interesting story at times. I wouldn’t say it held my attention completely, but it appeared to have strong characters, the mystery was quite intriguing, and the final reveals were brilliant!

As a film, it is quite strong. I love the visuals; the camera work is solid, and with the high quality production design it looks like a slick period reproduction overall. Acting is great; DiCaprio is the man, and Ben Kingsley is too. Writing seemed okay. Music seemed really good.

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

Recommendation: Yep.

It's interesting watching some of the reactions when you see it for a second time with full knowledge of the reveal. Lots of little details make sense. It was well done.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Q?

Winter's Bone

Jeez, I've never yawned as much in my life ever before, seriously. The pacing was horribly and deliberately slow, a cheap way of trying to make a well respected serious drama movie. All of the characters were depressed and talked with a low voice, the abc way of acting, even amateur locals were used throughout . The fugly lead Jennifer Lawrence was unbelievable, what acting class did she attend to? She never captivated me once, nothing more than a opportunistic Oscar hungry "actress", crying her eyes out just at the right moments, for us to be deeply affected by.

It's slow, boring and nothing ever happens, stay far away.
9/10

[Show spoiler]

Which one is sarcasm, your review or your score?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by volcomsocal

Into The Wild - 2007

What a POWERFUL movie! 2 and a half hours of beautiful art. Such a great,

[Show spoiler]albeit sad

, story. Gorgeous cinematography, great script, great acting, great characters, and good directing by Sean Penn. The soundtrack to this movie was PERFECT. Eddie Vedder did a wonderful job writing songs for this movie. It had the perfect emotional feel to back up a movie that had strong ties to mother nature. Quite simply, I thoroughly enjoyed Into The Wild.

PQ - 4/5

AQ - 4/5

5/5

100% flawless.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Steve46

I suppose the haircut was to make her seem younger. She was 17 and playing a 14-year-old.

My ranking was also 4.5/5. Juno gets better every time I see it and she salvages Whip It. She was in a little movie called Inception too

I'm interested to see what Page does over the next few years. How much range will she have and will she be believable playing adult roles rather than using her small stature to play teens?

My bet is she is the next Streep. Strong words, I know, but I see it.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

My bet is she is the next Streep. Strong words, I know, but I see it.

I love what I have seen so far. Juno always makes me smile. It helps having J. K. Simmons supporting you though.