The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Numbers 11-20 can be found in this thread or on my blog.

My Top 20 science fiction movies (continued)

[Show spoiler]10. Blade Runner (1982)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young



Blade Runner is set in Los Angeles in the year 2019 and it’s the kind of film that makes you think. There’s not an abundance of action, but there’s enough to keep the story moving. It’s slower than most science fiction films, but that’s a positive in this case. Deckard (Ford) is a Blade Runner; a man charged with finding and killing six replicants. Replicants are androids who are hard to tell from humans. Ridley Scott is asking us to consider what makes someone human. Some of the actions of the replicants suggest that they are human, so it’s a difficult task telling the two apart. The film is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. This isn’t Star Wars, so don’t expect to see Ford running around defying the odds. The first time I saw the film, I didn’t like it at all. It’s gradually grown on me over the years and is worth looking at a second or third time if you didn’t like it the first time you saw it. The Blu-ray presentation makes one of the best cases for upgrading to HD. I wouldn’t be surprised if I rank Blade Runner higher when I have seen it a few more times.



9. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon and Teri Garr



Spielberg likes to make movies with mass appeal and Close Encounters of the Third Kind certainly fits into that category. It grossed $304 million worldwide and ranks 69th on the all-time list (adjusted for inflation). So why did so many people pay to see the movie? The title suggests that we will see a lot of close encounters, but that’s not the case. Spielberg shows a few spaceships at the beginning of the movie and almost two hours pass before we see any others. The movie works because of the suspense it creates. When Roy (Dreyfuss) has a close encounter, he starts to behave oddly. What is he doing and why is he doing it? Will he persist even though it threatens his marriage? Although the pacing never feels slow, there’s almost no action in the entire movie. The story is built around two people who feel compelled to travel to a certain destination. It was a plus to see François Truffaut in front of the camera rather than behind it and he was convincing as a French scientist. Spielberg has delivered a suspense movie disguised as science fiction. It works wonderfully. The Blu-ray looks and sounds almost perfect and includes all three versions of the movie.



8. War of the Worlds (2005)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins



I ranked the 1953 version of War of the Worlds at number 18 and I usually can’t stand seeing classics remade, but I like what Spielberg did with the 2005 version. First of all, it isn’t exactly a remake. It’s set in this century and includes modern technology. He sticks to the rules established in the first movie, but it’s shown from the viewpoint of a different set of characters. The special effects leave very little to the imagination and you’ll see people disintegrate before your eyes rather than simply vanish. The Martian machines are deadly and convincing and the acting is so much better than what we saw in the original version. The pacing is excellent and the action rarely lets up. Ray Ferrier (Cruise) tries to keep his children safe. He’s never completely earned their respect, but he steps up when the crisis develops and finally earns their trust. Spielberg respects the original movie by delivering a similar ending. It won’t appeal to everyone, but I’m glad he didn’t change it too much. You might have found yourself laughing at the original version, but there’s not much to laugh at here. It’s a suspenseful action movie with good special effects. The Blu-ray is a little grainy, but decent, and the sound quality alone makes it worth the upgrade.



7. The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Directed by Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving



The three Matrix movies often leave viewers divided. While most people like The Matrix, Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions commonly meet with criticism. I like all three and consider each part of the trilogy vital to make all three work effectively. This middle entry is almost as good as the first in my opinion. Agent Smith becomes an even more interesting character and it’s good to have some background information showing how and where the crew lives. It also boasts one of the best chase scenes I’ve seen. I respect the opinion of those who were disappointed by the sequels, but this is my list and I would be lying if I failed to include The Matrix Reloaded. The Blu-ray presentation is highly-detailed and the sound mix is bold. Both definitely add something to the intensity of the overall experience.



6. Moon (2009)
Directed by Duncan Jones
Starring Sam Rockwell and the voice of Kevin Spacey



It’s difficult to talk about Moon without giving away too much of the plot, so I’ll keep this brief. Sam Bell (Rockwell) works for a mining company based on the far side of the moon. He can contact Earth by sending videos, but his only source of companionship on the station is Gerty (Spacey); a computer similar to HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Gerty talks to him, prepares his meals, cuts his hair and takes care of him if he gets hurt. Sam’s contract runs for three years and he’s only got two weeks to go. One day, he suffers an accident while on a routine mission to the surface, and wakes up in the infirmary. He’s unable to remember certain details and may even be hallucinating. We’re unsure whether he’s suffered brain damage or permanent injury. Director Duncan Jones has a few surprises in store. The feel of the movie is distinctly old school, and is similar to 2001 in some ways. Jones uses convincing models to portray events on the surface. Rockwell plays a difficult role extremely well, but I can’t describe the details without ruining the plot. The Blu-ray presentation looks great considering the film had a budget of just $5 million. Jones’ debut feature is a significant achievement and it was good to see him work with a bigger budget and other established actors in his second movie, Source Code.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I did NOT like War of the Worlds...


But...it showcases Tom Cruise's true talent more than his other movies....his epic running

[Show spoiler]

I enjoy Matrix: Reloaded, but it's definitely not as good as the original imo.

I also don't enjoy Moon as much as most around here.

And to top it off, I didn't like Blade Runner at all. Not a bit.

Aside from your correct statement about War of the Worlds and Tom Criuise's marathon man energy performance, you Diesel, are sooooooooooo NSE

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Aside from your correct statement about War of the Worlds and Tom Criuise's marathon man energy performance, you Diesel, are sooooooooooo NSE

Didn't you also enjoy Matrix: Reloaded? More so even than the original? That, my friend, makes YOU NSE

[Show spoiler]Marathon man

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Didn't you also enjoy Matrix: Reloaded? More so even than the original? That, my friend, makes YOU NSE

[Show spoiler]Marathon man

That makes me MTSE!

[Show spoiler]More Than Sufficiently Evolved

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I did NOT like War of the Worlds...


But...it showcases Tom Cruise's true talent more than his other movies....his epic running

[Show spoiler]

I enjoy Matrix: Reloaded, but it's definitely not as good as the original imo.

I also don't enjoy Moon as much as most around here.

And to top it off, I didn't like Blade Runner at all. Not a bit.

I haven't seen War of the Worlds or Moon, but I can definitely agree with you on Blade Runner. We share an unpopular opinion about the movie, but I unfortunately found it boring.

I liked Matrix: Reloaded as well. I'm just not quite sure which Matrix movie I like best since I haven't seen them in many many years.

[iam1bearcat]

Took me two viewings to appreciate Blade Runner. First time I guess I was expecting a more adventurous, faster paced actiony film for some reason and when it finally ended I was abysmally bored and let down. But I couldn't stop thinking about it!

Then a year after that or so watched it again and was in awe at how great it was (at least to me). Still have to get the blu. Wish it wasn't always 30 bucks oh well. That's what amazon points are for!

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by killowertz

I haven't seen War of the Worlds or Moon, but I can definitely agree with you on Blade Runner. We share an unpopular opinion about the movie, but I unfortunately found it boring.

I liked Matrix: Reloaded as well. I'm just not quite sure which Matrix movie I like best since I haven't seen them in many many years.

Yea, I was through just about all of it. Bored and uninterested. I wanted to like it, as I tend to enjoy Harrison Ford films, but it just didn't work for me at all.

I like all three but the first is definitely my favorite. I rate them 4.5, 4 and 4.

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Took me two viewings to appreciate Blade Runner. First time I guess I was expecting a more adventurous, faster paced actiony film for some reason and when it finally ended I was abysmally bored and let down. But I couldn't stop thinking about it!

Then a year after that or so watched it again and was in awe at how great it was (at least to me). Still have to get the blu. Wish it wasn't always 30 bucks oh well. That's what amazon points are for!

I didn't expect that going in then...I went in blank ready to be filled with awesomeness
...but it never happened

[Show spoiler]

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Yea, I was through just about all of it. Bored and uninterested. I wanted to like it, as I tend to enjoy Harrison Ford films, but it just didn't work for me at all.

I watched it streaming on Netflix and it took me two days to watch it. Maybe if I rented it on Blu-ray and gave it a second chance I'd like it better, but I have my doubts. Just not my cup of tea I guess.

[volcomsocal]

Bedtime Stories - 2008

What an enjoyable surprise. Disney makes another great movie. I'm not the biggest Adam Sandler fan, but every once in a while, he makes a movie really worth seeing.

Sometimes it's nice to have a whimsical, innocent, family-friendly, and funny movie to entertain us for a couple of hours. It wasn't oscar worthy, but it was a very fun movie to watch. To put Bedtime Stories into a word, I would call it lighthearted.

I sort of felt like a kid again watching this, as the kids' stories brought our imaginations to life. I laughed out loud numerous times, which I don't do often, even in comedies. Job well done.

PQ - 4.5/5
AQ - 4/5

4/5

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I did NOT like War of the Worlds...


But...it showcases Tom Cruise's true talent more than his other movies....his epic running

[Show spoiler]

I enjoy Matrix: Reloaded, but it's definitely not as good as the original imo.

I also don't enjoy Moon as much as most around here.

And to top it off, I didn't like Blade Runner at all. Not a bit.

I feel the same way then you about War Of The World. Mostly I have been less then happy with a lot of the remakes of these older scifi movies. Lot's of good special effects but missing something, a soul or something, it's hard to explain.

Overall I do not like the entire Matrix series, I don't hate but I sure don't care enough about it to buy it. Mostly it's because of Keanu I "know kung fu" "for the last time no you don't" Reeves.

I really enjoyed Moon but I sure understand why so many people would not.

Never been much of a fan of Blade Runner, not a bad movie but I can't say I am a fan.

[Steve46]

Takers

No acting, no story, no point.

1/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Takers

No acting, no story, no point.

1/5

Straight, to the point review. Good job!

I didn't really get "Takers" either. Wasn't paying that close attention anyway. Meh...

I know Czar liked it though. Speaking of which, where is he....?

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Straight, to the point review. Good job!

I didn't really get "Takers" either. Wasn't paying that close attention anyway. Meh...

I know Czar liked it though. Speaking of which, where is he....?

Hehe thanks. I curbed my wordy tendencies.

Yep, where are Czar and half the former regulars?

[Foggy]

Paul

Uggh, I thought this was so much more entertaining than it was

I didn't hate it by any means, it still a pretty enjoyable flick, but by god it doesn't stand up to repeatability. The jokes feel stale, it has zero subtlety compared to the works of Pegg and Frost from previous. And it's all a bit silly.

Same complaints stick, it's very VERY Cliche for a road film, with a lot of stereotypes and same zany hijinks. However, it works a lot better than most those films due to the sci-fi spin and the chemistry between the main characters including Paul, which is the best, most impressive thing about the film. A believable CGI Character, not through special effects but through writing (although special effects are really spectacular for an R Rated comedy).

It's still funny, just not as funny, never boring, constantly moving although a slow start. Well worth watching, not sure on it being worth owning.

7/10 (over the original 8/10 first time)

After this I had the same teacher for a different class in which I forced him to let us watched Spaced and it shows how much improvement Nick Frost and Simon Pegg are with the hand of Edgar Wright working the camera

[Diesel]

The Prestige

[Show spoiler]

5/5

[tanujdua]

Did a review of HP7 Part 2.

Posted it in the HP thread but may as well put it here too. Spoiler free.

Hi guys, I saw it earlier today and I've written a

[Show spoiler][pretty amateur]

review of it below!

Please feel free to read & tell me what you think, it contains no spoilers . (I've spoilered it out here so that it doesn't take up the whole screen while you're scrolling through if you aren't interested!).

[Show spoiler]

Also I'd give it a 4-4.5/5 or 8.5/10. If I could count Part 1 and 2 as one big piece of epicness then 5/5

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by tanujdua

Did a review of HP7 Part 2.

Posted it in the HP thread but may as well put it here too. Spoiler free.

Thanks for the review. I was disappointed with 7, part 1, so I'm hoping they work better when viewed together. Can't wait to see it and own it.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by tanujdua

Did a review of HP7 Part 2.

Posted it in the HP thread but may as well put it here too. Spoiler free.

This might be the only other HP film I'll be seeing in theaters (the other was #3). It looks like a heck of a finale. Thanks for the review!

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest rental: “Sucker Punch.”

This f***ing disc kept skipping around, so I probably missed out on half of the bloody movie! And I’m too lazy to fix the thing. Based on what I’ve seen (and because this is Zack freaking Snyder directing), chances are good that I’ll get a copy later on.

So, I went into this movie expecting (aside from a disc that actually works) something crazy and weird like “RoboGeisha” or something. At times, the film approached that level of zaniness; there are a few major fantasy sequences where hot ladies do battle with robotic tengu, mechanical-zombie-Germans, and fantasy creatures, with huge war-torn backdrops, using guns, swords, war machines, and everything else. These scenes are pretty damn imaginative and fun, full of insanely over-the-top stunt-work and special effects. If you crave this type of action, then this film shouldn’t disappoint.

However, this film gets a pretty bad rap because…surprise, it has hot ladies doing battle with crazy things…and nothing more. All action and sex appeal for the guys, and no substance. Oh God, this movie sucks forever!



But you know what…I’m going do something very strange and possibly inappropriate, especially in regards to watching films. I’m going to use…my BRAIN!



On the surface, if you take the fantasy scenes at face value, then yes the movie might suck. But I could tell that there was something else beneath the surface. After all, if you take away the fantasy scenes, what do you have? Holy crap, we have a mental-institution-drama with real characters with real problems and vulnerabilities. These scenes may not stick out well next to the far-out fantasies, but they are the real heart of the story. It’s pretty much like a cross between “Shutter Island” and “Heavenly Creatures.”

So what does it all mean?! My initial interpretation is that this whole film is open mockery of the entertainment industry. If the institution represents a studio, and the girls are filmmakers creating their own fantasies, then it goes to show that everything they (or rather, the filmmakers) make are shallow and pointless. It even goes so far as to mask the violence and language with cheap methods (gotta love how these girls stab a jillion zombies, only to have them bleed steam). But the girls themselves recognize that these “dances” are hokey; they do it anyway to appease their masters and give them what they want. They also give the audience what they want. Or what they think they want. But in the end, this film challenges the audience and asks, is this really what you want?!

In true Zack Snyder fashion, this film is pure style. You can expect lots of fantastically slick photography and editing, and lots of fantastic special effects. Acting seems decent all around, and the writing is pretty good. Production value looks decent enough, with plenty of distinctive sets, props, and costumes. Music is quite the mixed bag, but some of it is pretty darn cool.

So, if you watch this and complain that it’s all just video-game/music-video style action and violence with no substance…guess what, it’s supposed to be, you sucker! If you keep your eyes and mind open, you might just see how the film pulled a fast one on you.

4/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 4/5, film: 4/5, intellectual impact: 4/5) Score might increase with repeat viewings.

Now...I'm going to order a good Blu-Ray copy, so I can watch the whole thing and see if the ideas in this review still apply...




EDIT:
Okay, so I pulled the disc out and found some smudgey fingerprints obscuring it. Probably from my own greasy grubby little hands. It was a simple manner to clean it and put it back in.

So I watched the last half in full and got it. Dang, this film has quite a few levels it's working on. I think the Hollywood allegory still exists, but it might also touch upon something metaphysical as well. But at the very least, it's an interesting twist at the end.

[Foggy]

Pretty good review, but I still find the film rather poo, if it's empowerment to women,

[Show spoiler]then why is it only one of the girls escape and survives

, and is always helped out by the wise man

If it's condemning fetishism in geek culture, then why are they imagining themselves in all this geeky sexy costumes, and at the end of the film

[Show spoiler]gives herself up to have sex with the high roller and (as Zack Snyder said he wanted it) enjoys it

And it always looses me that she

[Show spoiler]imagined she is stuck in a brothel to re-live everything shes done in that previous week just so she can go through her crazy fantasies

And I don't understand when people say it's a good metal institution drama, half the girls are quite lame actresses, and you really only get to know 3 of the girls, the other 2 are as expendable as you can get.

It feels like a mess when you watch it, and the more I think of it, the more I hate, I came out of it digging half the ideas it portrayed, I just found the overall product hard to watch, but all those good ideas seem to lesser in my memory and the overwhelming disappointment just floods all enjoyment I can think of in the film.