The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by killowertz

Juno is quite possibly the best blind buy I've ever made on Blu-ray and is now one of my favorite films.

Yep, as soon as I hear the opening bars and see the titles, I start smiling. I didn't expect to like it at all. What a great surprise.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Yep, as soon as I hear the opening bars and see the titles, I start smiling. I didn't expect to like it at all. What a great surprise.

I dismissed it when it first came out because I thought it was too "girly". I'm glad I decided to come to my senses two years ago. I've only watched it twice, but if I had a smaller collection and/or didn't buy anything for a while, I'm sure I could easily watch it over and over again without any problems. I definitely need to watch this again soon.

I understand some people don't like it because of the dialog, but I find it hilarious. I also couldn't imagine anyone else as Juno other than Ellen Page.

[iam1bearcat]

Youth In Revolt

80 something minutes

Year: 2010
Director: Miguel Arteta
Writer: Gustin Nash
Starring: Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Ari Graynor, and Zach Galifianakis

a friend of mine came over and said, "let's watch this, it's super funny and will cheer you up!"

by the time it ended, i simply said, "how in the F was this supposed to cheer me up?!"

Youth In Revolt is an odd film. it's created an odd little niche world for itself where some will love every second, get the odd quirky humor, love all the song and dance it delivers and enjoy the intellectually above average writing of the script. others will be wondering why it is so, so bad and be pissed that this isn't like Superbad. or even Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.

the film is about Nick Twisp (Cera) who is a virgin and has no life. his love of oldies music and other odd habits i guess make him a loner. the film doesn't really explain much. he has a best friend named Lefty who's... member turns left (that's for telling us! ) and his mom dresses ridiculously slutty for a 47 year old and dates a dead beat.

when they go on vacation he meets Sheeni who he quickly falls in love with.

now, here's where the film REALLY gets into stupidity territory, to me: when Nick and his family go back home, the plan that he and Sheeni come up with to stay together (err... get back together) is that Nick must do bad things to make his mother send him to live with his father (which is where Sheeni lives. same town). so... because they're infatuated with each other, Nick must cause hell for his mother.

of course, they do this in a "humorous" way so we're not supposed to care, but my god what an awful plot. and sadly, i can only imagine the number of 16 year olds that think this is logical and sadly, behave in this way. but being 23 i saw it as stupid. yes, in a way, i guess if you're in "love" you'd do anything for that person and to be with that person, and maybe that's what i'm supposed to think? no idea, but i didn't buy it.

in the end, it didn't make a lot of sense and some scenes get REAL strange and scary and the story kind of goes nowhere and runs in place.

i really enjoyed the scenes between Nick and Sheeni, but sadly, they only share limited screen time together while most of the film is Nick running around doing dumb things in his underwear (or having his "Francois" bad boy image in white pants who smokes who also has a mustache talking to him) which gets old fast.

most disappointing is Justin Long's cameo he's one of my favorite actors on a comedy level and even he doesn't bring anything to the table here. his character in The Break Up was excellent, as well as his stoner performance in Strange Wilderness, but this was a waste.

a plus for the film is its uniqueness and soundtrack. soundtrack was awesome and i loved it. really meshed well with the film and the visuals

i've seen a lot worse, was expecting a bit more, but overall i didn't hate it like i know many will. if it ever hits... $5 or so () then it would be mine.

2.5/5

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by killowertz

I dismissed it when it first came out because I thought it was too "girly". I'm glad I decided to come to my senses two years ago. I've only watched it twice, but if I had a smaller collection and/or didn't buy anything for a while, I'm sure I could easily watch it over and over again without any problems. I definitely need to watch this again soon.

I understand some people don't like it because of the dialog, but I find it hilarious. I also couldn't imagine anyone else as Juno other than Ellen Page.

I almost said that in my review. I could watch it again now and it's only been 24 hours.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Steve46

I almost said that in my review. I could watch it again now and it's only been 24 hours.

Well, don't add it to your review because I came up with it.

This is also the movie that made me a fan of Ellen's. I think out of all of the movies of her's I have watched since, I have probably only disliked one.

I'm all caught up on the movies in my collection, so maybe I'll end up watching it again sometime this week. It'll be nice to watch it again since it's been a while.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Yuck. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope things improve quickly.

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Dang, sorry to hear that dude.

thanks guys it certainly sucks, but is always a very possible outcome for relationships, so it is what it is.

The franchise is definitely getting more and more stale. I'll definitely agree that there's no new story here, some of the CGI is still fake-looking (but I still thought the rollercoaster in #3 was worse), and there's nothing great in terms of acting, direction, etc.

But the deaths kept me entertained. Between the crazy NASCAR crashes (yeah, like that happens all the time at the races ), the guy getting sucked into the pool thing (), the guy getting chopped through the chain-link fence (), the escalator scene (), I thought the deaths were great.

I expected worse.

i definitely agree. it held my interest and attention (being 77 minutes helps ) and i completely forgot about the pool death that was great!

for as bad as it was at times though it never got on my nerves or made me want to turn it off. i just kind of thought, "this is what i expected, but i actually thought this would be a lot worse" so it wasn't a complete loss. and some may find this strange, but if they release a full Final Destination anthology deal, i'd pick it up

Originally Posted by Steve46

My movie blog had 100 page views for the first time yesterday

Thanks to anyone who may have visited.

I'll be adding my Top Dramas #11-15 later, but here's today's first entry:

Juno (drama, comedy, romance)

[Show spoiler]Directed by Jason Reitman
Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman and J.K. Simmons

20th Century Fox | 2007 | 96 min | Rated PG-13 | Released Apr 15, 2008

Video:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:
English SDH, Spanish

Disc:
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Digital copy

The Film 5/5

Juno was nominated for four Oscars, winning for best original screenplay (Diablo Cody). It was a competitive year with No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood dividing six of the major categories between them, but Ellen Page was unlucky not to win in her category. Shot on a budget of $7.5 million, it made $143 million in the USA alone and a further $88 million worldwide.

Director Jason Reitman was also responsible for Up in the Air in 2009, which, along with Juno, dealt with subjects in which I had very little interest. But Reitman’s mix of drama and comedy works well in both movies and the witty dialogue drives both.

Juno is funny throughout, but it’s never dumb comedy and it never resorts to gross humor. The story works because we care about the characters and their one-liners fit both their personality and the situation. In short, it feels real. Many comedies assault the viewer with a stream of contrived jokes and it falls flat (for me at least).

Juno MacGuff (Page) is 16 and newly-pregnant. We are shown a flashback showing how it happened and who the father is. It turns out to be one of her best friends, Paulie Bleeker (Cera). After telling him, she decides that an abortion is the best course of action, but she changes her mind following a visit to the clinic. She’s a smart girl and feels capable of making her own decisions, eventually deciding that adoption may be the best thing for her and the baby.

She finds potential parents in an ad and then has the task of telling her father (Simmons) and stepmother (Allison Janney) that she’s pregnant. This is where the movie first defies our expectations. Instead of anger and shock, her parents are calm and accepting. They even joke about the situation when she reveals the father. It’s so refreshing to see supportive parents rather than the usual stereotypes.

Her father wants to go with her to meet the prospective foster parents, Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) and Mark (Bateman). Vanessa desperately wants a baby and is skeptical that Juno will honor the agreement, while Mark is more relaxed about everything. He bonds with Juno when she sees his guitar and they end up singing together.

Juno keeps in touch with the couple and forms a friendship with Mark because of their common love of music and movies. I particularly like this sequence because I’m passionate about both subjects and know the power of sharing and talking about such things. It’s the main reason that I write about movies. Mark introduces her to Sonic Youth (my favorite band) and Juno shares some of her classic rock and punk albums. It seems that the two might enter into a more serious relationship.

Her stepmother teaches her about food supplements and defends Juno when she goes to the hospital and is insulted by the ultrasound technician. It’s further evidence that she’ll be supported in her choices all the way.

Bleeker's face lights up every time he sees Juno. Cera plays the part well and doesn’t go over the top. It’s a quiet and understated performance, but he makes it clear that she’s special to him. She suggests that he date a different girl, but is angry when he does. The two have a showdown and it again becomes clear that they really feel something for each other.

There’s a touching scene in the shopping mall where Juno encounters Vanessa and sees her playing with a little girl. We see Juno forming the opinion that Vanessa will make a good mother. The scene develops with a meeting between the two in which Vanessa talks to Juno’s belly.

Her arrangement with Vanessa and Mark is threatened by one occurrence and we wonder how everything will turn out. I won’t reveal that here, but it’s a good resolution.

Another great scene involves a chat between father and daughter. It’s a potentially life-changing talk played perfectly by Page and Simmons. It sets into motion events that shape Juno’s immediate future. Simmons is so talented. If I were a writer/director, one of the first things I would do is create a starring role for Simmons. He’s made his mark with supporting roles, but has so much more to offer.

As for Page, what a remarkable talent. She carried such films as Whip It and Hard Candy, and had a major supporting role in Inception. At 24, she has most of her career ahead of her and I’m excited to see how she develops. She’s already capable of showing so much emotion and her comic timing is perfect. It will be fun to see what happens over the next decade.

One important component of the movie is the soundtrack. Kimya Dawson contributes nine of the songs in the film and they fit the mood and Juno’s character perfectly. There’s a well-placed Kinks song and bands such as Cat Power and Belle & Sebastian also fit the mood. The highlight is Sonic Youth covering the Carpenters’ Superstar, and it’s an important part of the plot.

Juno isn’t a film that will appeal to everyone. Some argue that the dialogue isn’t realistic, but I found it so. Who is it aimed at? Teens? Women? Pregnant girls? Many will write it off as falling into one of those categories. That would be a shame because it has a lot more to offer. I’m a 48-year-old man and I found it utterly charming, refreshing, intelligent and genuinely funny.

There’s a chance it may upset some people because it turns a serious situation into an amusing comedy. Is it saying that it’s acceptable to be pregnant at 16? How would you feel as a parent who faced a similar situation? How would you feel if you were a pregnant teen and didn’t receive that kind of support and understanding from your parents? I would hope that it can be taken for what it is; a fictional situation. It’s more about how the characters react to the situation than anything else.

Video Quality 4/5
For such a low-budget movie, the look is surprisingly good. The transfer is clean and free from damage, colors are well-represented and detail is good in the vast majority of scenes. I can’t quite justify a 4.5, but it’s certainly worth a 4. Don’t expect a visual feast and you should be pretty happy with the overall look.

Audio Quality 4/5
Juno is a dialogue-heavy movie that’s quiet for the majority of its running time, but the sound still plays an important part. The songs are presented well and when sound is called for, such as in amplified effects in the clinic waiting room, it comes across convincingly.

Special Features 5/5

It’s rare that I watch a movie and immediately tackle all of the special features, and even rarer to watch them again on subsequent viewings. Juno is an exception. I like this world and the quality of the extras makes it worth seeing them more than once, even though they are all in standard definition.

Commentary with Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody

Deleted Scenes (20:23) – It would be great to see an extended version of the film at some point and most or all of these scenes would fit well. My favorites include Juno singing a song about Paulie in a bar and her real thoughts about Sonic Youth.

Gag Reel (5:11)

Gag Take (1:57)

Crew Music Video (3:12) – A song featuring members of the cast.

Screen Tests (22:35) – See how Page, Cera, Thirlby and Simmons earned their roles.

Way Beyond "Our" Maturity Level: Juno-Leah-Bleeker (8:59)

Diablo Cody is Totally Boss (8:35) – Showing how Cody went from blogger to writing the screenplay.

Jason Reitman for Shizz (8:08) – Showing how Reitman came to direct the movie.

Honest to Blog!: Creating Juno (13:01) – Reitman, Cody and some of the cast talking about how the movie came to be made.

Fox Movie Channel presents world premiere…Juno (5:26)

Fox Movie Channel presents Casting Session: Juno (7:51)

Watching Juno is like spending time with an old friend. It’s warm and familiar and makes me grin throughout. I would like to see Juno at 26 to find out how her experiences and decisions shaped her life. If you like quirky, intelligent humor and good acting, Juno will probably work for you too.

Overall score 5/5

i still have yet to see this

Originally Posted by Foggy

Never Been Kissed (nudge, nudge, )

[Show spoiler]Love this film, as it was on my top 15 a few pages back and was one of the best Blu purchases I've made in a while (£10 for an infinitely re-watchable movie with a great transfer).

I find it hard to find flaws in this film, it's near impossible, mainly because the film is so unique and unlike anything else out there. You can't really complain at the film, because you can't really find anything that does what it does better. But of course, the film purely works from it's direction and acting.

Fincher's style is definitely one for Blu-ray, he's just a nasty guy who makes fairly nasty films, the fact that his nicest looking film is set in Harvard University and still looks like people have puked up on the set shows how gritty his style is. And this film is as gritty as the his films go, probably because they hired someone to actually throw up on the set

And this is my fave film from Brad Pitt acting wise, although he is wildly entertaining in Basterds, this is that film that shows why he is so successful today. He is that guy every man wants to be, and he embodies the character so well that he alone is what makes people believe it's the manliest movie ever, when really, you're not supposed to side with him.

As far as I'm concerned, I love this film, it's one of those films that is never the same every time you see it, considering this is my third time watching it, I've always come away loving it and enjoying it as much as the first, but never really for the same reasons. Can I understand why someone wouldn't like this film (EHEM! Diesel), yeah, I guess, but I'll never know why...

10/10

PQ - Every puke mark that is one that set shows up in glorious Hi-Def - 9.5/10

AQ - I think it's one of the best audio tracks in my collection, it's brutal, you hear every crack and shatter of bone, every spurt and splatter of blood on a solid floor, very effective use of Blu-Ray - 10/10

Entire Disk - 10/10

P.S. If you are confused by this review, then you should of got

[Show spoiler]Fight Club on blu-ray!

to be honest, you got me. once i read Fincher's name i was like, "wait... what?"

btw: happy birthday Foggy! sorry i missed the official celebration the other day

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Dang, fooled me again!

same!

Originally Posted by Foggy

Yeah, somehow one of my friend's favorite movie is Boondock Saints (Which I'm certain isn't even out over here, I can't find it anywhere, yet I did come across the Sequel in a supermarket) but has never heard of A Bug's Life or Toy Story up until recently Same age as me as well

i know we all have our tastes and opinions, but come on. seriously?

I've got a list of films I'm going to pick up tomorrow (hopefully):

127 Hours
Taxi Driver

And maybe...

Se7en
Black Swan

, I want them all, but I don't want to be bankrupt too soon, especially since I need to get Apocalypse Now next week also

all 4 =
even though Black Swan is my least favorite and recommended it's still recommended if that makes sense

Originally Posted by Steve46

I own and love all four of those. There's a Black Swan review on my blog. I might do 127 Hours soon too as it exceeded all my expectations.

same. very glad i own 127 Hours. not a film i'll watch often, but a very memorable film that i've remembered VERY well after only two viewings, which, in my mind, is a great sign of a great film

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Youth In Revolt

80 something minutes

Year: 2010
Director: Miguel Arteta
Writer: Gustin Nash
Starring: Michael Cera,

I stopped reading right there

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

late wednesday night the gf and i broke up
the next few days were spent helping her pack up her stuff and moving her back to her folks' house and clearing her name off of the lease and the bills we had... which are now all mine, again. and after a few days of doing nothing but laying around sleeping, yesterday some friends came over and decided it was time for me to not sleep another day away.

Sorry to hear about that; (almost) always tough

so we rented some blus. the first film we watched, is a film i chose because i really enjoyed the show and the first two films, and the gf would NEVER watch this with me and she would've been pissed if i even had it in the house as a rental! but, because my home is now just MINE, i can watch whatever i damn well please.

MAN CAVE!!!!!!

______________________________

Buried

91 minutes

Year: 2010
Director: Rodrigo Cortes
Starring: Ryan Reynolds

wow. what an ending! bravo for making me want to kill myself Rodrigo Cortes! honestly, i said to myself and my friends when it ended, "well. that felt an entire waste of 91 minutes of my life", which i rarely feel about a movie i enjoy and like. it's just... maybe i wasn't in the mood to see such an ending? who knows.

Perhaps not the best post-break up choice

some other thoughts...

some really stupid people Paul reaches on the phone. i mean, mind bogglingly AWFUL dialogue and reaction to his predicament.

Clearly you underestimate the true level of idiots in the world. Considering people I've dealt with over the phone for things and hearing the horror stories my mom has had over the years...I found them all quite believable and possible that that could actually happen.

the terrorist he speaks with. sounds overly fake and cliched, and the writing for this character is also awful

[Show spoiler]"five million, 9:00pm." twenty minutes later, "okay, one million, 9:00pm"

Cliches come about for a reason

i didn't know a pen could write on wood for so long! i mean, i've tried it and after like, five numbers the pen would die out. so i want to know what special Iraq truck driver pen he has!

I'm with you on this one. That pen was definitely mightier than the sword.

[Show spoiler]See, I told you Cliches are known for a reason

claustrophobia. i never got a sense of panic or worry or tension or anything from the actual idea of being in the coffin. i know a lot of people got uncomfortable while watching since the film takes place all in the coffin, but i never felt uneasy by it.

You have to think what would YOU do in this situation, how would YOU feel. Just watching the movie will most likely not do the trick

very solid directing, especially with such limited space

Reynolds was solid, but i think he's been much better in other roles and if, for some reason, someone wanted to know how he compares to James Franco in 127 Hours (both films mainly have one character for the entire film) i would say Franco wins in a landslide. not saying Reynolds was bad, but Franco was exceptional.

I highly enjoyed both performances...I'm not sure who I would give the win to for certain. Seeing 127 Hours much more recently, I'm kind of leaning towards Franco.

i may not have gotten claustrophic, but the film has many, many tense scenes that made me go for much of the film.

[Show spoiler]SNAKE!!!!

for a film starring one person it passes very quickly. oddly enough i think it goes by faster than 127 Hours, but i think 127 Hours is the better film ...probably because 127 Hours was more tragic moments to it...?

I liked this one more than 127 Hours.

and again, the ending. what a kick to the junk!

honestly don't know if i'd buy it. would be a long time before i watch this again, but if i do i will definitely wait till it hits $10 at the absolute most.

recommended.

3.5/5

Gave it a 4.5/5.

_______________________

The Final Destination

[Show spoiler]77 minutes

Year: 2009
Director: David R. Ellis
Writer: Erix Bress
Starring: Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Nick Zano, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella, and Haley Webb

"I WAS MEANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE!" *explosion*



honest to god, the line above is from the movie, said before a character dies. while at the movies. a 3D movie no less

you would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of the first two films than me. now, while the first has not aged well at all (i think i gave it a 3/5 last time i saw it) it was still smart, original, well created, has many suspenseful moments, a great cast and some memorable characters. something the sequel had doses of (a long with the greatest premonition sequence ever ) and the last two films have absolutely failed at.

is this worse than the direct to video third film? maybe. i only watched that film twice and it was YEARS ago, so i can't and hopefully never will be able to, compare the two.

now, The Final Destination, has two things i like about it.

1. the opening credit sequence. fans who have seen the first three films will definitely enjoy the x-ray montage of previous kills. excellent stuff and yet, is the BEST part of the film

2. Shantel VanSanten in her underwear

now, on to the bad. mind you, i surprisingly enough didn't hate the movie, but it is awful. and i'm a sucker for the franchise in a lot of ways.

• the terrible use of too much CGI. awful, awful visuals. just... god awful. it's 2009 people! (when this was made). i would expect bad visuals in the first film, but oddly enough, the more the series goes on, the worse the visuals get!
  
• crap-tastic 3D. ugh. i HATE 3D! why bother making this in 2D if you make it crappy already in 3D? just like for Jackass, tons of crap that looks like crap, thrown at the screen because it was made for the 3D format, yet, because The Final Destination must have had a budget that cost as much as a box of cereal, it looks AWFUL.
  
• generic kills. first two films has many awesome kills, 3 i think has a good one or two, but this one just suuuuuuucks. honestly, we watched this a mere hours ago and i can only remember the last two because.... well, they were the last two and the freshest in my memory bank.
  
• the generic, idiotic rehashing of previous story lines. "i think we stopped it from happening!" / "if we save her, we're all okay then!" they f*&%$$!@* said that / tried that in the first two films! maybe even all three! and they even mention how "this has happened before" yet don't really mention or read up on what they did, other than, they all died it's almost like David R. Ellis (director of this and the underrated sequel) knows that this is #4, but somehow wants to make people think this is a new franchise or something

the worst part? the name. THE Final Destination, and yet, surprise, surprise, there is a 5th one coming soon

as bad as the film is, i don't hate it and have no ill will towards it. it's just an awful movie on every single level

1.5/5

If all you had wrote was "The Final Destination: Sucks" it would have been a perfect review
By far the weakest of the series. Some liked it...not me, not in the slightest.

[Diesel]

I DVR'd six movies in the last couple days:

Patriot Games
Clear and Present Danger
The Sum of All Fears
Green Mile
Gran Torino
Presumed Innocent



I've not seen any of them....thoughts?

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I DVR'd six movies in the last couple days:

Patriot Games
Clear and Present Danger
The Sum of All Fears
Green Mile
Gran Torino
Presumed Innocent



I've not seen any of them....thoughts?

I've only seen Gran Torino but it was very good
I gave it either a 4/5 or a 4.5/5. No real issues. One of those films for me that was very well made on every level but would never go down as a personal favorite. Not a knock on it, just saying.

I know some people hate the acting of the main kid neighbor, but I didn't see anything awful with him and I thought his performance made the film feel more honest and real.

[Diesel]

I've heard good things about it...but you know me, that doesn't mean a thing, I could come back here and give it a 1/5

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I DVR'd six movies in the last couple days:

Patriot Games
Clear and Present Danger
The Sum of All Fears
Green Mile
Gran Torino
Presumed Innocent



I've not seen any of them....thoughts?

I second Bearcat's opinion of Gran Torino. As for the others, I did like the three Tom Clancy movies you listed. I've never seen Green Mile, and I'm not really sure if I've ever seen Presumed Innocent.

[Clippins]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I DVR'd six movies in the last couple days:

Patriot Games
Clear and Present Danger
The Sum of All Fears
Green Mile
Gran Torino
Presumed Innocent



I've not seen any of them....thoughts?

I've seen them all except Presumed Innocent.

Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger are both pretty decent Jack Ryan/Tom Clancy movies. Sum of all Fears...not so much. I mean it's fine, but I prefer Harrison Ford and even Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan to Ben Afflecks weak version. Between Patriot Games and CLear and Present Danger it's a toss up as to which would be the better movie. I like them equally and feel they both stand up to a proper Jack Ryan/Tom Clancy movie in the same vein of Hunt for Red October.

Green Mile and Gran Torino will probably battle as the 2 best movies out of the list of movies you have above. Both are very emotionally moving and very well acted. I'd say Green Mile probably is a little better than Gran Torino, but both are very good. When I saw Gran Torino at the theater, it started out very slow for my taste and felt that I was going to be in for a boring ride, but it gets much better as it goes a long. You may feel the same way so be prepared to just let the movie follow along it's natural course. Here's how I'd rank them

Green Mile 4.5/5
Gran Torino 4/5
Patriot Games 4/5
Clear and Present Danger 4/5
Sum of all Fears 2.5/5

[iam1bearcat]

Scream 3

110 minutes

Year: 2000
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Ehren Kruger
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Patrick Dempsey, and Scott Foley

Ahh… the third film in a franchise. Has there ever been a great one? It seems almost impossible to find a third film, a “capper” as you may, that is great. Not to say the third film in a franchise (especially if it is JUST trilogy, which seems very hard to come by these days ) is bad, but people go in with moderate expectations. Something that will entertain them, but certainly not live up to the greatness of the first, or maybe even second films.

It seems, as with most trilogies, the each subsequent film gets “worse”. We as the audience generally just accept and acknowledge this and it makes me wonder if one day there will be a great third film in a trilogy. Or maybe there is but I just haven’t seen it yet.

Oh wait. Just thought of one: The Bourne Ultimatum.

The Godfather Part III, Jurassic Park III, Back to the Future III, The Matrix Revolutions, Final Destination 3, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Spider-Man 3, Austin Powers in Goldmember… the list goes on and on. Films that are varying degrees of good, but better than the first film? Or even the second? You’d be hard pressed to find many who would say yes.

But, just like the Final Destination series, Scream has been recently rejuvenated with a fourth film. While that may or may not be a good thing remains to be seen (I haven’t seen it yet), for a long time Scream 3 was looked at as the final film in this franchise. The first film, a certified gem of horror and in my mind cinema as a whole was never going to be reached again. The sequel, while fun and good in its own right, wasn’t perfect, and this, the third film, is the same caliber.

Nothing great, but certainly not awful. Some will hate the motivation behind the killer’s motivations and “what the…” twist it gives us. I like the direction they chose, but ultimately it feels a bit cheap and underwhelming in execution.

I do love the constant connections to the film in the film, “Scream 3: Return to Woodsboro”, and the characters that portray the “real” people, which was touched on in Scream 2, but fully realized in Scream 3

David Arquette I believe gets worse as an actor as the years go on. At times he was downright terrible here, but oddly enough he never bugs me enough to piss me off. But he gets close.

Some of the kills are neat and the film holds my attention well for being a bit “watered down” at times and a bit too sappy with some awful music, but overall I enjoy the film and enjoy the trilogy tremendously.

And then there is that one scene where we see

[Show spoiler]Sidney’s mom come through the fog and up to the window.

That scene STILL scares me just as bad as it did when I saw it in theaters years ago! Freaky, freaky stuff. I like moments that stay with me forever and make the hair stand up on my legs.

A solid entry and solid ending, but it really is missing the magic, charisma and energy that built the first one into the classic it really is. But then again, how many third films in a franchise have that type of magic?

3/5

[volcomsocal]

Originally Posted by Steve46

I like the two detectives and how they make Paltrow's character so likable.

Gweneth Paltrow is cute as a button in that movie. Too bad it

[Show spoiler]all goes to crap at the end.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by killowertz

I second Bearcat's opinion of Gran Torino. As for the others, I did like the three Tom Clancy movies you listed. I've never seen Green Mile, and I'm not really sure if I've ever seen Presumed Innocent.

Originally Posted by Clippins

I've seen them all except Presumed Innocent.

Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger are both pretty decent Jack Ryan/Tom Clancy movies. Sum of all Fears...not so much. I mean it's fine, but I prefer Harrison Ford and even Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan to Ben Afflecks weak version. Between Patriot Games and CLear and Present Danger it's a toss up as to which would be the better movie. I like them equally and feel they both stand up to a proper Jack Ryan/Tom Clancy movie in the same vein of Hunt for Red October.

Green Mile and Gran Torino will probably battle as the 2 best movies out of the list of movies you have above. Both are very emotionally moving and very well acted. I'd say Green Mile probably is a little better than Gran Torino, but both are very good. When I saw Gran Torino at the theater, it started out very slow for my taste and felt that I was going to be in for a boring ride, but it gets much better as it goes a long. You may feel the same way so be prepared to just let the movie follow along it's natural course. Here's how I'd rank them

Green Mile 4.5/5
Gran Torino 4/5
Patriot Games 4/5
Clear and Present Danger 4/5
Sum of all Fears 2.5/5

That makes quite a bit of recommendation from people on this site for Torino. Hopefully it lives up for me

Also, thanks for the detailed thoughts Clippins
I'll be writing up a review for each film to let you guys know what I think of each. I'm very much inclined to believe the Ford movies will be better than the Affleck one.


I started tonight with Presumed Innocent as no one said they've seen it.


Preview: You should.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Diesel

That makes quite a bit of recommendation from people on this site for Torino. Hopefully it lives up for me

Also, thanks for the detailed thoughts Clippins
I'll be writing up a review for each film to let you guys know what I think of each. I'm very much inclined to believe the Ford movies will be better than the Affleck one.


I started tonight with Presumed Innocent as no one said they've seen it.


Preview: You should.

Add me to the Torino loving group, fantastic film, I think you'll be surprised by how much you enjoy it/why you will enjoy it

I know I was when I watched it in the cinema a few years ago, that was a good visit to the cinema, it was filled full of adults all there to watch the film, no texting or talking, just the noise of people laughing at the the right moments

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Steve46

I own and love all four of those. There's a Black Swan review on my blog. I might do 127 Hours soon too as it exceeded all my expectations.

I've seen them all except Taxi Driver, which I've been dying to see (Always make it up to the half an hour mark before getting interrupted and turning it off, now I can't watch it for some reason and out of them all I love 127 Hours the most. Those are the two I'll definitely get, the other 2 are kinda get if they are cheap enough films

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Youth In Revolt

80 something minutes

Year: 2010
Director: Miguel Arteta
Writer: Gustin Nash
Starring: Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Ari Graynor, and Zach Galifianakis

[Show spoiler]a friend of mine came over and said, "let's watch this, it's super funny and will cheer you up!"

by the time it ended, i simply said, "how in the F was this supposed to cheer me up?!"

Youth In Revolt is an odd film. it's created an odd little niche world for itself where some will love every second, get the odd quirky humor, love all the song and dance it delivers and enjoy the intellectually above average writing of the script. others will be wondering why it is so, so bad and be pissed that this isn't like Superbad. or even Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.

the film is about Nick Twisp (Cera) who is a virgin and has no life. his love of oldies music and other odd habits i guess make him a loner. the film doesn't really explain much. he has a best friend named Lefty who's... member turns left (that's for telling us! ) and his mom dresses ridiculously slutty for a 47 year old and dates a dead beat.

when they go on vacation he meets Sheeni who he quickly falls in love with.

now, here's where the film REALLY gets into stupidity territory, to me: when Nick and his family go back home, the plan that he and Sheeni come up with to stay together (err... get back together) is that Nick must do bad things to make his mother send him to live with his father (which is where Sheeni lives. same town). so... because they're infatuated with each other, Nick must cause hell for his mother.

of course, they do this in a "humorous" way so we're not supposed to care, but my god what an awful plot. and sadly, i can only imagine the number of 16 year olds that think this is logical and sadly, behave in this way. but being 23 i saw it as stupid. yes, in a way, i guess if you're in "love" you'd do anything for that person and to be with that person, and maybe that's what i'm supposed to think? no idea, but i didn't buy it.

in the end, it didn't make a lot of sense and some scenes get REAL strange and scary and the story kind of goes nowhere and runs in place.

i really enjoyed the scenes between Nick and Sheeni, but sadly, they only share limited screen time together while most of the film is Nick running around doing dumb things in his underwear (or having his "Francois" bad boy image in white pants who smokes who also has a mustache talking to him) which gets old fast.

most disappointing is Justin Long's cameo he's one of my favorite actors on a comedy level and even he doesn't bring anything to the table here. his character in The Break Up was excellent, as well as his stoner performance in Strange Wilderness, but this was a waste.

a plus for the film is its uniqueness and soundtrack. soundtrack was awesome and i loved it. really meshed well with the film and the visuals

i've seen a lot worse, was expecting a bit more, but overall i didn't hate it like i know many will. if it ever hits... $5 or so () then it would be mine.

2.5/5

Perfect review, this film is like a hardcore indie film thrown together with a lame mainstream comedy, so it does both OK but never quite works together

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

to be honest, you got me. once i read Fincher's name i was like, "wait... what?"

btw: happy birthday Foggy! sorry i missed the official celebration the other day

same!

i know we all have our tastes and opinions, but come on. seriously?

all 4 =
even though Black Swan is my least favorite and recommended it's still recommended if that makes sense

Yeah, you missed all the awesomeness of that day, you should be disappointed with yourself

Also, that shows how great my taste in movie is

[Diesel]

Presumed Innocent



I stole the image idea from Bearcat...partially


I'm surprised that this movie is over 20 years old now...and I've never even heard of it until I saw it on the schedule on TNT.

The movie stars Harrison Ford as a deputy prosecutor who is investigating the murder of a colleague of his. And that's all I'll say outside of spoiler tags.

I wasn't sure if I was going to love this movie or be uninterested with it. Harrison Ford virtually guaranteed that I would at least be able to make it through the film. In the end, I had nothing to worry about as I was hooked as soon as the major plot kicked off.

If I hadn't read the description of the movie before watching it I wouldn't have expected

[Show spoiler]that Rusty would become a suspect. When they mentioned he had had an affair with her, I thought, "Uh-oh..."

It's not one of those movies where you have 20 people you think, "Okay, he could have done it...or her, or maybe them!!?" It's one where you (well at least I) aren't sure who murdered her because you aren't presented a large amount of erroneous details that you think are important but then turn out that it was only meant to confuse you (which is rarely actually successful). No, not this movie. The evidence that is presented throughout doesn't throw anyone out in front as the definitive suspect. Hell, you don't even know for sure

[Show spoiler]if Rusty is innocent or not until right at the end.

Sure, if you've seen many movies like this you'll make yourself think it is certain characters...but there won't be much more than circumstantial basis for the assumptions found in the film.

There was ONE line that made me think that it was

[Show spoiler]going to be the wife in the end.

I don't even remember it exactly, but it was something like

[Show spoiler]there was a call from his house to her apartment that night and he has a baffled look. I instantly thought, "Aha! It was the wife!!" But there is no follow up to that after that makes you think so again that I recall or that I caught...besides the fact that her husband was sleeping with the chick

So when it came time for the film to begin winding down, I was still wondering who the hell it was and

[Show spoiler]where the hell the glass went and who took it.

I had that one guess based on a single line of dialogue, but wasn't sure if it would turn out to be correct. The blasted movie even got me to believe

[Show spoiler]it was Rusty for a minute there at the end with the scene on the boat...and then I didn't think it was him with what he said...and then I did think it was him when he found the murder weapon...then I didn't when they showed his face...then I did when he was cleaning it off...then I knew for sure it was the wife when she saw it.

There is, however, a few things that bothered me about the ending.

[Show spoiler]Why didn't they search the basement when they searched the house? How the hell did the wife plan out ALL OF THAT and then forget to clean the weapon?

The second could be justified that it could legitimately happen...but the first is a little more of a stretch unless I'm missing something.

Still, it doesn't hinder my enjoyment much at all.


Harrison Ford was great in his role...but I'm quite biased as I will almost always say that about Ford in a movie
I was disappointed that ONE person got punched in the whole movie and he didn't do it


Everyone else was solid, no real standouts worth mentioning above the others. Though...I couldn't help but at

[Show spoiler]the squirming prosecutor. Yea, that's what is character was, but that's what I was at...the character. Good job letting the jury see you don't believe your own case.

I highly recommend seeing this film if you like dramas, quasi-mystery (it isn't the typical many suspect type of film, like I mentioned), Harrison Ford or lawyers with awesome accents.

Some might have had seen who did it a mile away instead of having a brief guess like myself...but oh well, it worked very much for me and kept me wondering up until the very end.


Rating - 4.5/5

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I DVR'd six movies in the last couple days:


Green Mile
Gran Torino




I've not seen any of them....thoughts?

The Green Mile is superb and Gran Torino is much funnier than I expected.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I DVR'd six movies in the last couple days:

Patriot Games (I remember it being pretty good. 3.5/5)

Clear and Present Danger (nuts, I don't think I've seen it yet. And I have it too! )

The Sum of All Fears (meh...the

[Show spoiler]nuclear explosion scene

is fine and dandy, but I didn't care for the rest. 3/5)

Green Mile (Excellent story; I just haven't seen it since it first came out. I'd still give it a 4.5/5, maybe even 5/5. Got a BD copy coming my way soon. )

Gran Torino (5/5. Go watch it, punk! )

I've not seen any of them....thoughts?

Thoughts are above; they should all be decent flicks. I still rank "The Hunt for Red October" as my favorite Jack Ryan movie, but I do need to rewatch "Patriot Games" and "CAPD."

Originally Posted by Diesel

I've heard good things about it...but you know me, that doesn't mean a thing, I could come back here and give it a 1/5

Great, he might pull another "Psycho" on us...