The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Presumed Innocent



I stole the image idea from Bearcat...partially

damn right you did

[Show spoiler]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

hmm. i'm a pretty big fan of Harrison Ford. may have to check this out

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

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

my thoughts exactly

[iam1bearcat]

The Amityville Horror

82 minutes

Year: 2005
Director: Andrew Douglas
Writer: Scott Kosar
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Philip Baker Hall, and Chloe Moretz

it's hard for me to explain or recommend The Amityville Horror.

you see, it's not very good, it's haphazardly generic and while offers a film that is watchable, enjoyable and solidly made it's nothing you haven't seen before. tons of films that are better than it - and more memorable, and tons of films that are worse than it.

the sad part? it should have been awesome. look at that cast! Ryan Reynolds! Melissa George! Philip Baker Hall! come on! but yet, the film always ends up leaving me at best.

i think the oddest and most difficult part for the film is turning the main character against his family and having that actor be a fan favorite. see, the plot is that a house in.. Amityville...? (you know, when you just say "amityville" it sounds like something out of a cartoon ) takes place to a violent crime. one of the older kids living in the basement begins hearing voices and shotguns everyone to death in their sleep in the house. he says "voices" made him do it.

so, there is a legend about the house and the price drops. meet the Lutz' who don't have a lot of money and no idea about the history of the house. they move in, all is well, and in 28 days "none of them are the same again!" dun! dun! dun!

the problem? that Reynolds is the character that kind of goes off the deep end. having him running around trying to decapitate his family with an axe in the ran while screaming randomly (with a beard no less) doesn't quite work for everyone. you take someone who hosts the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards or something like that and than have him play a crazed murderer? maybe not the best move.

glad amazon had this on sale for $6, because to me, it's not worth more than that

3/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

[Show spoiler]
The Amityville Horror

82 minutes

Year: 2005
Director: Andrew Douglas
Writer: Scott Kosar
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Philip Baker Hall, and Chloe Moretz

it's hard for me to explain or recommend The Amityville Horror.

you see, it's not very good, it's haphazardly generic and while offers a film that is watchable, enjoyable and solidly made it's nothing you haven't seen before. tons of films that are better than it - and more memorable, and tons of films that are worse than it.

the sad part? it should have been awesome. look at that cast! Ryan Reynolds! Melissa George! Philip Baker Hall! come on! but yet, the film always ends up leaving me at best.

i think the oddest and most difficult part for the film is turning the main character against his family and having that actor be a fan favorite. see, the plot is that a house in.. Amityville...? (you know, when you just say "amityville" it sounds like something out of a cartoon ) takes place to a violent crime. one of the older kids living in the basement begins hearing voices and shotguns everyone to death in their sleep in the house. he says "voices" made him do it.

so, there is a legend about the house and the price drops. meet the Lutz' who don't have a lot of money and no idea about the history of the house. they move in, all is well, and in 28 days "none of them are the same again!" dun! dun! dun!

the problem? that Reynolds is the character that kind of goes off the deep end. having him running around trying to decapitate his family with an axe in the ran while screaming randomly (with a beard no less) doesn't quite work for everyone. you take someone who hosts the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards or something like that and than have him play a crazed murderer? maybe not the best move.

glad amazon had this on sale for $6, because to me, it's not worth more than that

3/5

I'm curious, have you seen the original from the 70s? That version had some genuinely freaky moments (and it helped that it was supposedly based on true events ).

I do like this remake, mostly for its style and intensity. But, it's been a while since I last saw it.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I'm curious, have you seen the original from the 70s? That version had some genuinely freaky moments (and it helped that it was supposedly based on true events ).

I do like this remake, mostly for its style and intensity. But, it's been a while since I last saw it.

i have, but it's been a long while. i agree it has some very freaky parts, parts that were much scarier than anything in the remake (of course the feel of the original was what really helped. it's tough getting lost in a hollywood-ish horror film for me, it really lacks a feel of reality). but it also was awful in parts because it WASN'T like an actual film if i recall (kind of like how Session 9 has freaky parts but the acting is atrocious).

yeah, i've been meaning to investigate the "true events" portion of it. i think, if i recall, it's "true events" basing was a lot like how The Texas Chainsaw Massacre says that, but it's essentially taking something from somewhere else and adding fake stuff to it (like TCM is about Ed Gein, but of course Ed Gein didn't use a chainsaw or live in Texas), i think.

fyi: since i live in Wisconsin, we have a bunch of supposedly haunted places here and i've visited over three dozen of them. some spooky spots for sure the number one scary place i visited? the foundation of Ed Gein's house. and let me tell you, the people who live in that tiny @ss community do not take kindly to strangers driving past. which i understand, but their reactions (they all stop and stare you down as you drive past) make it even creepier...!

[Steve46]

Here's today's blog review:

Fargo (drama, crime, thriller)
Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 1996 | 98 min | Rated R | Released May 12, 2009

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 2.0
French: DTS 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1

Subtitles:
English SDH, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified and Traditional), Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Turkish

Disc:
Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc

The Film 5/5

The first time I watched Fargo, I didn't know what to expect. After multiple viewings, it's still hard to pin down exactly what the film is. There's a bizarre plot focusing on Jerry Lundegaard (Macy) who works for his father-in-law's car dealership. Without ever learning why, we are told that Jerry needs money. His plan is to hire two men he has never met to kidnap his wife. He'll pay them $40,000, but he'll tell his father-in-law, Wade, that the ransom is $1,000,000. It's a simple enough plan.

Jerry's true nature is revealed early in the film when he openly lies to a customer. The two men he has hired are Carl Showalter (Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare). Buscemi plays the same type of character that he played in Reservoir Dogs, talking continually, whining and cracking jokes. Stormare barely speaks, but springs into action when he feels the situation demands it.

The plot unfolds with Jerry trying and failing to borrow $750,000 from Wade for a business opportunity. Carl and Gaear make their way into town and eventually get around to abducting Jerry's wife. It's here that Jerry's plan starts to go wrong. A cop pulls over Carl and Gaear while they have Jerry's wife tied up on the back seat of the car. Carl fails to recover the situation so Gaear kills the cop and a couple of witnesses.

After the triple-murder, the third main character is introduced. She's Marge Gunderson, a pregnant Police Chief. It's 33 minutes before her character appears, but it seems like she holds the film together. While appearing a little slow and dorky, she's actually highly-intelligent and intuitive. She quickly reconstructs the crime scene and realizes how the triple-murder happened.

Marge's intellect means that she's respected by the officers she works with, but her seemingly normal demeanor isn't threatening and the people she interviews are caught off guard. She also gives the film balance during the scenes with Norm (John Carroll Lynch), her husband. They have a wonderful relationship and each accepts the other for exactly what they are. The contrast between Marge's life at home and the way she performs at work is startling.

Jerry receives a visit from Marge at work, but manages to deflect her questions and she leaves without suspecting him. Later, we see a crucial scene where she meets an old acquaintance from school. He blatantly lies about his life and Marge leaves with a sense of unease. It's a reminder that people don't always tell the truth and she decides to visit Jerry again.

One of the funniest things about the film is Jerry. He's pretty dumb and almost every word that leaves his mouth is a lie. But Macy talks about the character in the special features and notes that Jerry never gives up. One disaster follows another, but he always revises his plan and believes that he can pull it off. It's interesting to see what he'll try next.

The film's supporting cast is full of intriguing characters. Wade insists on delivering the ransom money himself and that's exactly what someone with his personality would do. Marge interviews some hookers who spent an evening with Carl and Gaear and there's a funny exchange: She learns that one of the men was kinda funny looking. She presses for more information and is told that he wasn't circumcised. The film is full of this kind of dark humor.

There's quite a bit of violence, but it is confined to short bursts. I counted seven murders in all, but the quirky humor and tongue-in-cheek presentation never make the violent scenes too jarring. This is a film that should be viewed as a dark comedy more than anything.

Marge's closing monologue is simple and effective; it asks us to contemplate why people commit crimes and puts things into perspective somewhat. McDormand won an Oscar for her performance and thoroughly deserved it. Macy was also nominated and the film's screenplay was given another Oscar.

Video Quality 4/5
Roger Deakins' cinematography perfectly captures the desolate scenery and the Blu-ray presentation is pleasing to the eye. Detail is strong, and the ever-present grain is never too heavy. There are a few white speckles at the beginning of the film, but the image quickly improves. The upgrade over the DVD is easily worth the price of the Blu-ray.

Audio Quality 4.5/5
Although there's a lot of dialogue, the supporting sound effects are an important part of the film. It's particularly evident when the characters walk in the compacted snow and we hear a pleasing crunch. When shots are fired, they ring out clearly. Most of the track is front-heavy, but that's where most of the action is. The violin used in the score is particularly effective.

Special Features 2.5/5

The features are all presented in standard definition.

Commentary with Director of Photography Roger Deakins

Minnesota Nice Documentary (27:47) - The Coen brothers and main cast talk about the film, likening Minnesota to Siberia with family restaurants. Learn what the actors thought of their roles and how they enjoyed working with the directors.

Photo Gallery - Stills from the shoot.

Theatrical Trailer (1:58)

TV Spot (0:31)

American Cinematography Article - A series of stills discussing the work of Roger Deakins.

Fargo is an odd film. It grabs your interest early and slowly increases the tension as the story unfolds. You'll see a glimpse of what life might be like in small-town America, and you'll laugh. The Coen brothers have made some very good films and a couple of great ones. This falls into the second category. The Blu-ray presentation is a good upgrade and I strongly recommend the film itself.

Overall score 5/5

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Here's today's blog review:

Fargo (drama, crime, thriller)
Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi

[Show spoiler]Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 1996 | 98 min | Rated R | Released May 12, 2009

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 2.0
French: DTS 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1

Subtitles:
English SDH, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified and Traditional), Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Turkish

Disc:
Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc

The Film 5/5

The first time I watched Fargo, I didn't know what to expect. After multiple viewings, it's still hard to pin down exactly what the film is. There's a bizarre plot focusing on Jerry Lundegaard (Macy) who works for his father-in-law's car dealership. Without ever learning why, we are told that Jerry needs money. His plan is to hire two men he has never met to kidnap his wife. He'll pay them $40,000, but he'll tell his father-in-law, Wade, that the ransom is $1,000,000. It's a simple enough plan.

Jerry's true nature is revealed early in the film when he openly lies to a customer. The two men he has hired are Carl Showalter (Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare). Buscemi plays the same type of character that he played in Reservoir Dogs, talking continually, whining and cracking jokes. Stormare barely speaks, but springs into action when he feels the situation demands it.

The plot unfolds with Jerry trying and failing to borrow $750,000 from Wade for a business opportunity. Carl and Gaear make their way into town and eventually get around to abducting Jerry's wife. It's here that Jerry's plan starts to go wrong. A cop pulls over Carl and Gaear while they have Jerry's wife tied up on the back seat of the car. Carl fails to recover the situation so Gaear kills the cop and a couple of witnesses.

After the triple-murder, the third main character is introduced. She's Marge Gunderson, a pregnant Police Chief. It's 33 minutes before her character appears, but it seems like she holds the film together. While appearing a little slow and dorky, she's actually highly-intelligent and intuitive. She quickly reconstructs the crime scene and realizes how the triple-murder happened.

Marge's intellect means that she's respected by the officers she works with, but her seemingly normal demeanor isn't threatening and the people she interviews are caught off guard. She also gives the film balance during the scenes with Norm (John Carroll Lynch), her husband. They have a wonderful relationship and each accepts the other for exactly what they are. The contrast between Marge's life at home and the way she performs at work is startling.

Jerry receives a visit from Marge at work, but manages to deflect her questions and she leaves without suspecting him. Later, we see a crucial scene where she meets an old acquaintance from school. He blatantly lies about his life and Marge leaves with a sense of unease. It's a reminder that people don't always tell the truth and she decides to visit Jerry again.

One of the funniest things about the film is Jerry. He's pretty dumb and almost every word that leaves his mouth is a lie. But Macy talks about the character in the special features and notes that Jerry never gives up. One disaster follows another, but he always revises his plan and believes that he can pull it off. It's interesting to see what he'll try next.

The film's supporting cast is full of intriguing characters. Wade insists on delivering the ransom money himself and that's exactly what someone with his personality would do. Marge interviews some hookers who spent an evening with Carl and Gaear and there's a funny exchange: She learns that one of the men was kinda funny looking. She presses for more information and is told that he wasn't circumcised. The film is full of this kind of dark humor.

There's quite a bit of violence, but it is confined to short bursts. I counted seven murders in all, but the quirky humor and tongue-in-cheek presentation never make the violent scenes too jarring. This is a film that should be viewed as a dark comedy more than anything.

Marge's closing monologue is simple and effective; it asks us to contemplate why people commit crimes and puts things into perspective somewhat. McDormand won an Oscar for her performance and thoroughly deserved it. Macy was also nominated and the film's screenplay was given another Oscar.

Video Quality 4/5
Roger Deakins' cinematography perfectly captures the desolate scenery and the Blu-ray presentation is pleasing to the eye. Detail is strong, and the ever-present grain is never too heavy. There are a few white speckles at the beginning of the film, but the image quickly improves. The upgrade over the DVD is easily worth the price of the Blu-ray.

Audio Quality 4.5/5
Although there's a lot of dialogue, the supporting sound effects are an important part of the film. It's particularly evident when the characters walk in the compacted snow and we hear a pleasing crunch. When shots are fired, they ring out clearly. Most of the track is front-heavy, but that's where most of the action is. The violin used in the score is particularly effective.

Special Features 2.5/5

The features are all presented in standard definition.

Commentary with Director of Photography Roger Deakins

Minnesota Nice Documentary (27:47) - The Coen brothers and main cast talk about the film, likening Minnesota to Siberia with family restaurants. Learn what the actors thought of their roles and how they enjoyed working with the directors.

Photo Gallery - Stills from the shoot.

Theatrical Trailer (1:58)

TV Spot (0:31)

American Cinematography Article - A series of stills discussing the work of Roger Deakins.

Fargo is an odd film. It grabs your interest early and slowly increases the tension as the story unfolds. You'll see a glimpse of what life might be like in small-town America, and you'll laugh. The Coen brothers have made some very good films and a couple of great ones. This falls into the second category. The Blu-ray presentation is a good upgrade and I strongly recommend the film itself.

Overall score 5/5

Peter Stormare is excellent in every damn thing he does - from Jurassic Park: The Lost World to Prison Break to his classic dialogue in Armageddon, sheer excellence and his character here is no different. he barely says anything but his comments about pancakes in the car always has me rolling with laughter.

i really should buy this asap. i loved it right from the get go (even though i remember when i was very young my parents rented it and absolutely hated it, which doesn't surprise me seeing what their tastes are, they definitely didn't get the humor), and is easily in my top 50 favorite films... somewhere.

and while i'm not a huge Coen brothers fan, this is, to me, by far their very best work. it just feels like everything was perfect for the film and came together easily and there was a magic in the script, cast, directing and atmosphere.

a film i could watch very often and never get sick of

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Peter Stormare is excellent in every damn thing he does - from Jurassic Park: The Lost World to Prison Break to his classic dialogue in Armageddon, sheer excellence and his character here is no different. he barely says anything but his comments about pancakes in the car always has me rolling with laughter.

i really should buy this asap. i loved it right from the get go (even though i remember when i was very young my parents rented it and absolutely hated it, which doesn't surprise me seeing what their tastes are, they definitely didn't get the humor), and is easily in my top 50 favorite films... somewhere.

and while i'm not a huge Coen brothers fan, this is, to me, by far their very best work. it just feels like everything was perfect for the film and came together easily and there was a magic in the script, cast, directing and atmosphere.

a film i could watch very often and never get sick of

Yeah, Stormare was funny in Armageddon. The Coens wanted him for Miller's Crossing (he would have played, The Swede), but he was committed elsewhere.

I also rate Fargo as their best, but it's closely followed by No Country for Old Men.

Buy it. Buy it now! Buy it twice in case one disintegrates.

[Foggy]

Out of the 4 films I wanted to get I only got 1 - 127 Hours

Black Swan was sold out, although I don't think I would of got it anyway
Se7en was a little too expensive, especially since 127 Hours was a little bit too much as well
Taxi Driver was nowhere to be seen, however I am trying to pick that one up tomorrow hopefully

[SquidPuppet]

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?

Powerful.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Out of the 4 films I wanted to get I only got 1 - 127 Hours

Black Swan was sold out, although I don't think I would of got it anyway
Se7en was a little too expensive, especially since 127 Hours was a little bit too much as well
Taxi Driver was nowhere to be seen, however I am trying to pick that one up tomorrow hopefully

You probably know about this site, but just in case...

http://www.cheapbluraymovies.co.uk/

The Green Mile £5.99
Se7en £7.99

[Sarge]

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?

Green Mile and Gran Torino are fantastic. Presumed Innocent was the next best of that bunch, with the Sum of All Fears being the worst of the Clancy flicks. All are worth watching.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i have, but it's been a long while. i agree it has some very freaky parts, parts that were much scarier than anything in the remake (of course the feel of the original was what really helped. it's tough getting lost in a hollywood-ish horror film for me, it really lacks a feel of reality). but it also was awful in parts because it WASN'T like an actual film if i recall (kind of like how Session 9 has freaky parts but the acting is atrocious).

yeah, i've been meaning to investigate the "true events" portion of it. i think, if i recall, it's "true events" basing was a lot like how The Texas Chainsaw Massacre says that, but it's essentially taking something from somewhere else and adding fake stuff to it (like TCM is about Ed Gein, but of course Ed Gein didn't use a chainsaw or live in Texas), i think.

Yeah, the key word was supposedly based on true events.

I read this book a little while ago; its validity is questionable regarding the actual murders (it ultimately asks the reader to symphasize with the killer, at least a little, to understand that the family was mean and nasty, and he only intended to kill the mother and father...well, it's still brutal..., but supposedly the guy never intended to kill the entire family, and he claims to have had a confession beaten out of him by the police. I don't know what to believe myself...)

But it does confirm that the actual hauntings are BS. It sounds like the guy and his lawyer conspired to make up this haunted house story to make some extra money.

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

fyi: since i live in Wisconsin, we have a bunch of supposedly haunted places here and i've visited over three dozen of them. some spooky spots for sure the number one scary place i visited? the foundation of Ed Gein's house. and let me tell you, the people who live in that tiny @ss community do not take kindly to strangers driving past. which i understand, but their reactions (they all stop and stare you down as you drive past) make it even creepier...!

Man, now I know to stay away from Wisconson!

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Steve46

You probably know about this site, but just in case...

http://www.cheapbluraymovies.co.uk/

The Green Mile £5.99
Se7en £7.99

I haven't, thanks a million

[Diesel]

Gran Torino




It was NOT Psycho


It was an iffy start for me, I didn't like Eastwood's character and all his growling and grunting. It wasn't working for me.

[Show spoiler]Little did I know that was the design

I didn't really know what the movie was going to be about....I tend to say this a lot about movies I end up liking

I grew to love Eastwood's character and

[Show spoiler]was legitimately sad when he died.

His

[Show spoiler]growth as a person in his relations with the neighbors

made for some surprisingly hilarious moments as I wasn't really expecting comedy. I didn't care for the little guy's story much, but I did care for it at least somewhat because it was connected to Walt...er...Wally

Saddest part of the movie....

[Show spoiler]the dog's face after he left her with the neighbors

I'm a sucker for stuff like that...

Once we get beyond the beginning of the film, I really enjoyed Eastwood's performance. Unlike Harrison Ford in Presumed Innocent...he actually punched someone!
Also like Ford, this guy is up there in the years department...and I'd still be scared to mess with him

The little guy was fine...except when he was

[Show spoiler]locked in the basement and started screaming

....that was horrible.

I liked his sister

Rating - 4/5

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Steve46

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

I might save Green Mile for last and watch the three Jack Ryan movies next.

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

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."


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

See my review's first line

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

damn right you did

You didn't copyright

hmm. i'm a pretty big fan of Harrison Ford. may have to check this out

Just remember...he didn't punch anyone...ANYONE

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Powerful.

Originally Posted by Sarge

Green Mile and Gran Torino are fantastic. Presumed Innocent was the next best of that bunch, with the Sum of All Fears being the worst of the Clancy flicks. All are worth watching.

Hooray! Someone else who has seen Presumed Innocent

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I might save Green Mile for last and watch the three Jack Ryan movies next.

3 hours and 10 minutes and I always want more.

[Foggy]

127 Hours

Not a film to eat some Jam Roly Poly with (3rd time in a week I've mentioned Jam in a review)

I reviewed this when I saw it at the cinema and gave it a 10/10 although that was one of the worst cinema going experiences ever. The cinema was filled full of people my age who were hoping for a proper gore-fest, only hearing about the unfortunate

[Show spoiler]arm-cutting

scene Needless to say, every time it was hinted at, about 20 girls in a screen of 50 would gasp, bury their heads into their hands and repeat "NO, NO, NO, NO!" (screen was filled full of 50 Shia LeBeouf's ) and because it isn't exactly an action packed film, every teenage guy in there would try and be funny and crack a joke every minute suddenly I was mader than a MaCruz or Mr. J

So, with that in mind, the film was either A) Really good to beat those guys or B) Ok, but I warmed up to it way too much due to the unfair situation I was viewing it from. (Same sort of thing happened in Black Swan, when I had to get my friend to go watch it with me so I told him Lesbian Sex, and every time there was a lesbian pun leading to it, he would utter the words "Yes, Yes, Yes, YEESS!!!", god I wish I got someone else to watch that film with me, but that's how you get a guy to watch a film about ballet)

Well, first things first, this must be a much wider thing, because the first thing/mistake is that I decided to watch this with my Dad, and again, every time it was hinted, he proclaimed either "Oh here we go" or "Oh No!". I'm sorry but it's with in the first 20 mins from the title card that it is implied he will attempt to

[Show spoiler]cut of his arm

, if you know that that will happen, then for Christ sake, you must be able to work out that it's been about half an hour in to the film, a day hasn't passed within the film, he's not going to

[Show spoiler]cut

it off them, it'll be a really short film and a lie within the title UGH!!!!

And of course when it did happen, it didn't even register until he started planting the

[Show spoiler]knife into his skin

, sure he just

[Show spoiler]broke his arm

for the fun of it

Now, for me to actual give my real verdict on the film...

Still as good as I said it was. In fact, it's probably might become one of my favorites as time goes by It's a film that hits me a bit like a magic trick really. The editing is telling you constantly you're watching a film, a reconstruction as such, but the camera work, direction and acting keeps sucking you in, turning your stomach over and over repetitively with it's intensity, it this what I love. It's always has a unique way of showing everything, never ever shutting down to give you the normal view.

A great thing I pick up from the cinematography is that at the start it shows the landscape from a long way away, to show how vast and large it is, however towards the landscape becomes James Franco's big face, as the story becomes far more personal, yet more vast in scale to this one guy, there is a whole world around this guy and it's shows more and more as the film progresses. This is something that will never become apparent to those people who sat in the same screen as me, my dad, my sister who left after 10 mins and any of my friends who said "I didn't find the amputation scene all that bad at all"

This isn't a damn film about some geezer who got his hand stuck and cut it off as it was advertised everywhere This is about the celebration of life, what it means to survive, why we survive, and in a certain respect, why do we waste so much of our lives.

I love this film so much, I find it perfect, some people might find the downing dream a bit of a cop out and wasteful padding (like those damn teens and and most certainly ) but is shows the characters regret and motivation

As Diesel put it previously with all his smiles (of which I'm trying to beat him with) it's a film fuelled by gut emotion, you feel , and . You feel , and and by the end of course you feel , and .

This is a film I could praise forever and ever and ever, although it's a shame the only person I can really watch it with is myself, since EVERYONE else only wants to see if they can sit through a guy cutting his own arm off

10/10

PQ - You can see every single lovely pour on James Franco's big face, every single little bubble of that delicious pissand every single fragment of bone, torn skin and ripped out nerves - 10/10

AQ - Nothing overly impressive in terms of audio, but it does the job fairly well - 9/10

Overall - 10/10

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Gran Torino

[Show spoiler]


It was NOT Psycho


It was an iffy start for me, I didn't like Eastwood's character and all his growling and grunting. It wasn't working for me.

[Show spoiler]Little did I know that was the design

I didn't really know what the movie was going to be about....I tend to say this a lot about movies I end up liking

I grew to love Eastwood's character and

[Show spoiler]was legitimately sad when he died.

His

[Show spoiler]growth as a person in his relations with the neighbors

made for some surprisingly hilarious moments as I wasn't really expecting comedy. I didn't care for the little guy's story much, but I did care for it at least somewhat because it was connected to Walt...er...Wally

Saddest part of the movie....

[Show spoiler]the dog's face after he left her with the neighbors

I'm a sucker for stuff like that...

Once we get beyond the beginning of the film, I really enjoyed Eastwood's performance. Unlike Harrison Ford in Presumed Innocent...he actually punched someone!
Also like Ford, this guy is up there in the years department...and I'd still be scared to mess with him

The little guy was fine...except when he was

[Show spoiler]locked in the basement and started screaming

....that was horrible.

I liked his sister

Rating - 4/5

I agree about the little boy, really bad actor in terms of screaming

Glad you liked the film, something told me you would

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Foggy

127 Hours

[Show spoiler]Not a film to eat some Jam Roly Poly with (3rd time in a week I've mentioned Jam in a review)

I reviewed this when I saw it at the cinema and gave it a 10/10 although that was one of the worst cinema going experiences ever. The cinema was filled full of people my age who were hoping for a proper gore-fest, only hearing about the unfortunate

[Show spoiler]arm-cutting

scene Needless to say, every time it was hinted at, about 20 girls in a screen of 50 would gasp, bury their heads into their hands and repeat "NO, NO, NO, NO!" (screen was filled full of 50 Shia LeBeouf's ) and because it isn't exactly an action packed film, every teenage guy in there would try and be funny and crack a joke every minute suddenly I was mader than a MaCruz or Mr. J

So, with that in mind, the film was either A) Really good to beat those guys or B) Ok, but I warmed up to it way too much due to the unfair situation I was viewing it from. (Same sort of thing happened in Black Swan, when I had to get my friend to go watch it with me so I told him Lesbian Sex, and every time there was a lesbian pun leading to it, he would utter the words "Yes, Yes, Yes, YEESS!!!", god I wish I got someone else to watch that film with me, but that's how you get a guy to watch a film about ballet)

Well, first things first, this must be a much wider thing, because the first thing/mistake is that I decided to watch this with my Dad, and again, every time it was hinted, he proclaimed either "Oh here we go" or "Oh No!". I'm sorry but it's with in the first 20 mins from the title card that it is implied he will attempt to

[Show spoiler]cut of his arm

, if you know that that will happen, then for Christ sake, you must be able to work out that it's been about half an hour in to the film, a day hasn't passed within the film, he's not going to

[Show spoiler]cut

it off them, it'll be a really short film and a lie within the title UGH!!!!

And of course when it did happen, it didn't even register until he started planting the

[Show spoiler]knife into his skin

, sure he just

[Show spoiler]broke his arm

for the fun of it

Now, for me to actual give my real verdict on the film...

Still as good as I said it was. In fact, it's probably might become one of my favorites as time goes by It's a film that hits me a bit like a magic trick really. The editing is telling you constantly you're watching a film, a reconstruction as such, but the camera work, direction and acting keeps sucking you in, turning your stomach over and over repetitively with it's intensity, it this what I love. It's always has a unique way of showing everything, never ever shutting down to give you the normal view.

A great thing I pick up from the cinematography is that at the start it shows the landscape from a long way away, to show how vast and large it is, however towards the landscape becomes James Franco's big face, as the story becomes far more personal, yet more vast in scale to this one guy, there is a whole world around this guy and it's shows more and more as the film progresses. This is something that will never become apparent to those people who sat in the same screen as me, my dad, my sister who left after 10 mins and any of my friends who said "I didn't find the amputation scene all that bad at all"

This isn't a damn film about some geezer who got his hand stuck and cut it off as it was advertised everywhere This is about the celebration of life, what it means to survive, why we survive, and in a certain respect, why do we waste so much of our lives.

I love this film so much, I find it perfect, some people might find the downing dream a bit of a cop out and wasteful padding (like those damn teens and and most certainly ) but is shows the characters regret and motivation

As Diesel put it previously with all his smiles (of which I'm trying to beat him with) it's a film fuelled by gut emotion, you feel , and . You feel , and and by the end of course you feel , and .

This is a film I could praise forever and ever and ever, although it's a shame the only person I can really watch it with is myself, since EVERYONE else only wants to see if they can sit through a guy cutting his own arm off

10/10

PQ - You can see every single lovely pour on James Franco's big face, every single little bubble of that delicious pissand every single fragment of bone, torn skin and ripped out nerves - 10/10

AQ - Nothing overly impressive in terms of audio, but it does the job fairly well - 9/10

Overall - 10/10

Foggsworth has proved to be a worthy successor to the Smiley King throne

Originally Posted by Foggy

I agree about the little boy, really bad actor in terms of screaming

Glad you liked the film, something told me you would

I wouldn't buy it but I'm definitely glad that I finally saw it

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Foggy

127 Hours

[Show spoiler]Not a film to eat some Jam Roly Poly with (3rd time in a week I've mentioned Jam in a review)

I reviewed this when I saw it at the cinema and gave it a 10/10 although that was one of the worst cinema going experiences ever. The cinema was filled full of people my age who were hoping for a proper gore-fest, only hearing about the unfortunate

[Show spoiler]arm-cutting

scene Needless to say, every time it was hinted at, about 20 girls in a screen of 50 would gasp, bury their heads into their hands and repeat "NO, NO, NO, NO!" (screen was filled full of 50 Shia LeBeouf's ) and because it isn't exactly an action packed film, every teenage guy in there would try and be funny and crack a joke every minute suddenly I was mader than a MaCruz or Mr. J

So, with that in mind, the film was either A) Really good to beat those guys or B) Ok, but I warmed up to it way too much due to the unfair situation I was viewing it from. (Same sort of thing happened in Black Swan, when I had to get my friend to go watch it with me so I told him Lesbian Sex, and every time there was a lesbian pun leading to it, he would utter the words "Yes, Yes, Yes, YEESS!!!", god I wish I got someone else to watch that film with me, but that's how you get a guy to watch a film about ballet)

Well, first things first, this must be a much wider thing, because the first thing/mistake is that I decided to watch this with my Dad, and again, every time it was hinted, he proclaimed either "Oh here we go" or "Oh No!". I'm sorry but it's with in the first 20 mins from the title card that it is implied he will attempt to

[Show spoiler]cut of his arm

, if you know that that will happen, then for Christ sake, you must be able to work out that it's been about half an hour in to the film, a day hasn't passed within the film, he's not going to

[Show spoiler]cut

it off them, it'll be a really short film and a lie within the title UGH!!!!

And of course when it did happen, it didn't even register until he started planting the

[Show spoiler]knife into his skin

, sure he just

[Show spoiler]broke his arm

for the fun of it

Now, for me to actual give my real verdict on the film...

Still as good as I said it was. In fact, it's probably might become one of my favorites as time goes by It's a film that hits me a bit like a magic trick really. The editing is telling you constantly you're watching a film, a reconstruction as such, but the camera work, direction and acting keeps sucking you in, turning your stomach over and over repetitively with it's intensity, it this what I love. It's always has a unique way of showing everything, never ever shutting down to give you the normal view.

A great thing I pick up from the cinematography is that at the start it shows the landscape from a long way away, to show how vast and large it is, however towards the landscape becomes James Franco's big face, as the story becomes far more personal, yet more vast in scale to this one guy, there is a whole world around this guy and it's shows more and more as the film progresses. This is something that will never become apparent to those people who sat in the same screen as me, my dad, my sister who left after 10 mins and any of my friends who said "I didn't find the amputation scene all that bad at all"

This isn't a damn film about some geezer who got his hand stuck and cut it off as it was advertised everywhere This is about the celebration of life, what it means to survive, why we survive, and in a certain respect, why do we waste so much of our lives.

I love this film so much, I find it perfect, some people might find the downing dream a bit of a cop out and wasteful padding (like those damn teens and and most certainly ) but is shows the characters regret and motivation

As Diesel put it previously with all his smiles (of which I'm trying to beat him with) it's a film fuelled by gut emotion, you feel , and . You feel , and and by the end of course you feel , and .

This is a film I could praise forever and ever and ever, although it's a shame the only person I can really watch it with is myself, since EVERYONE else only wants to see if they can sit through a guy cutting his own arm off

10/10

PQ - You can see every single lovely pour on James Franco's big face, every single little bubble of that delicious pissand every single fragment of bone, torn skin and ripped out nerves - 10/10

AQ - Nothing overly impressive in terms of audio, but it does the job fairly well - 9/10

Overall - 10/10

i think i just suffered a full on seizure when i saw this review! holy F with the similies Foggy!

great review man makes me want to throw in my copy right now and watch it. i gave it a 4.5/5 on my first two viewings and am trying to get some friends to watch it this weekend (we always end up choosing something else for some reason ). i can remember almost every single scene and line of dialogue from it and yet, haven't watched it in months! and have only seen it twice!

that's damn impressive to me and shows how powerful the film is.