The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[menaceuk]

Originally Posted by tanujdua

Great read, I pretty much agree with you . Thought it was a slower paced Taken but still really good.

My favourite line is

[Show spoiler]I didn't forget everything. I remember how to kill you, *******.

Can't be a slower Paced Taken. Taken is all about the action and Unknown has about 10 minutes of that.

The Build up to the action is dull and the the moment he remembers everything is just way too cheesy and fortunate.

Was such a disappointment but January Jones helps ease that some

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Diesel

You would think the nitwits geniuses running the studios would have figured out by now every time they get overly involved the movie tends to not turn out well and often just flat out sucks....on top of doing poorly at the box office.

The culprit is most of the time Fox
Though the others throw their hats into the ring...WB tried it most recently with Lantern

Yeah, I saw that "Fox" put "Babylon AD" out, and I suddenly remembered the trouble they went through with "Star Wars," "Wolverine," etc...

It's a shame about WB though. Between "The Matrix," "Watchmen," and many others, I thought they were good at letting the directors do their own thing. I guess that trend is changing.

[volcomsocal]

Originally Posted by tanujdua

My favourite line is

[Show spoiler]I didn't forget everything. I remember how to kill you, *******.

Mine too!!! lol

And to the other people in this thread, I could have given Unknown a 3.5/5, but I felt like bumping it up a small notch. I will say this though: no replay value. Taken on the other hand has good replay value.

[tanujdua]

Originally Posted by volcomsocal

Mine too!!! lol

And to the other people in this thread, I could have given Unknown a 3.5/5, but I felt like bumping it up a small notch. I will say this though: no replay value. Taken on the other hand has good replay value.

and out of 5 I would give it a 4/5 but out of 10 I would give it a 7.5/10! I don't believe in quarters when doing a /5 scale.

I'd give taken a 5/5 or 9.5-10/10 . Man, I love that film.

[volcomsocal]

Originally Posted by tanujdua

I'd give taken a 5/5 or 9.5-10/10 . Man, I love that film.

agreed.

[Al_The_Strange]

“Captain America: The First Avenger.”

With the imminent “Avengers” movie coming next year, only one hero’s origin story remains untold…until now. Falling in line with “Thor,” “Iron Man,” and “The Incredible Hulk,” “Captain America” showcases the rise of Steve Rogers as the title character. Unlike the other films, which take place in modern times, this one goes way back to WWII, showing the Captain kicking Nazi butt! With a lot of “Wolfenstein” style occult mystique and a slight “Indiana Jones” sense of adventure, this movie has a number of solid action sequences, and plenty of imaginative special effects and setpieces. It might take some stretch of the imagination to believe that Nazis could be this futuristic, but for a superhero movie, it’s all good fun.

The story in this case is pretty solid. The main character shows strong development, and for most of the movie, you really root for him. There’s nothing more thrilling than watching the underdog getting the upper hand. As it goes on, much of the character drama and story development gets pushed aside by the action, but it still works. By the end, voila, we have the lead-in for the “Avengers” film.

If there’s any chief complaint for this film, it’s that there could have been more. Whether it needs a stronger action setpiece or a more invoking sense of drama, I’m not sure, but something seems missing, and nothing really makes this film stand over any of the other superhero films that have come out so far.

The film is competently made, with decent (but never exceptional) photography. Editing is good for the most part, but I am not a fan of the montage in the middle of the film that makes the entire war campaign whiz by. A couple of action scenes seemed a little sloppily-edited, but it’s hardly noticeable. Acting is swell; Chris Evans is surprisingly strong as the main character, and I enjoyed Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, and Hugo Weaving in their roles. Writing seems pretty good. Production value is high, featuring lots of good (if not overly-slick) sets, props, costumes and special effects. Music is appropriately upbeat and adventurous.

In the end, I’d say the film met my expectations, but never fully exceeded them. But it, along with an all-too-short sneak preview after the credits, provide the necessary bridge to the “Avengers” film.

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

Recommendation: Sure, why not?



Now that it got me thinking about it, I've been wondering how "The Avengers" will turn out. I posted this question as a poll, so feel free to post your views here:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/movie-poll...gers-suck.html

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by volcomsocal

Mine too!!! lol

And to the other people in this thread, I could have given Unknown a 3.5/5, but I felt like bumping it up a small notch. I will say this though: no replay value. Taken on the other hand has good replay value.

I've seen Unknown three times and still enjoy it. I'm weird like that

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I was going to provide some sort of well thought out humorous response...but when I read your final sentence I started laughing too much and figured, "Oh screw it"

Imtellugunt.

[Foggy]

Brought Limitless today, but can't watch it because it doesn't play on my piece-o-crap Blu-Ray player and my prick of a brother broke my playstation!

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

“Captain America: The First Avenger.”

[Show spoiler]With the imminent “Avengers” movie coming next year, only one hero’s origin story remains untold…until now. Falling in line with “Thor,” “Iron Man,” and “The Incredible Hulk,” “Captain America” showcases the rise of Steve Rogers as the title character. Unlike the other films, which take place in modern times, this one goes way back to WWII, showing the Captain kicking Nazi butt! With a lot of “Wolfenstein” style occult mystique and a slight “Indiana Jones” sense of adventure, this movie has a number of solid action sequences, and plenty of imaginative special effects and setpieces. It might take some stretch of the imagination to believe that Nazis could be this futuristic, but for a superhero movie, it’s all good fun.

The story in this case is pretty solid. The main character shows strong development, and for most of the movie, you really root for him. There’s nothing more thrilling than watching the underdog getting the upper hand. As it goes on, much of the character drama and story development gets pushed aside by the action, but it still works. By the end, voila, we have the lead-in for the “Avengers” film.

If there’s any chief complaint for this film, it’s that there could have been more. Whether it needs a stronger action setpiece or a more invoking sense of drama, I’m not sure, but something seems missing, and nothing really makes this film stand over any of the other superhero films that have come out so far.

The film is competently made, with decent (but never exceptional) photography. Editing is good for the most part, but I am not a fan of the montage in the middle of the film that makes the entire war campaign whiz by. A couple of action scenes seemed a little sloppily-edited, but it’s hardly noticeable. Acting is swell; Chris Evans is surprisingly strong as the main character, and I enjoyed Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, and Hugo Weaving in their roles. Writing seems pretty good. Production value is high, featuring lots of good (if not overly-slick) sets, props, costumes and special effects. Music is appropriately upbeat and adventurous.

In the end, I’d say the film met my expectations, but never fully exceeded them. But it, along with an all-too-short sneak preview after the credits, provide the necessary bridge to the “Avengers” film.

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

Recommendation: Sure, why not?



Now that it got me thinking about it, I've been wondering how "The Avengers" will turn out. I posted this question as a poll, so feel free to post your views here:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/movie-poll...gers-suck.html

Glad you enjoyed it.

I posted in the thread. Quite long too

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Imtellugunt.

Random question of the day: What ever happened to Mr. Got Em!! ?
Haven't seen him around in quite some time.



Also, heading to see Rise of the Apes in a bit. Review later tonight.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Glad you enjoyed it.

I posted in the thread. Quite long too

It was a good post.

Originally Posted by Diesel

Random question of the day: What ever happened to Mr. Got Em!! ?
Haven't seen him around in quite some time.

Also, heading to see Rise of the Apes in a bit. Review later tonight.

He finally got 'em, I guess. Well, I hope "em" didn't get him, or whatever.

"RotPOTA" might be the last biggest movie I'm looking forward to this year, so I'll be interested to see what you think. Did you see the other six films?

[tanujdua]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Brought Limitless today, but can't watch it because it doesn't play on my piece-o-crap Blu-Ray player and my prick of a brother broke my playstation!

Maaan, you need a new blu player :/

Hopefully you have some way of gaining access to one soon. I loved that film!

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by tanujdua

Great read, I pretty much agree with you . Thought it was a slower paced Taken but still really good.

My favourite line is

[Show spoiler]I didn't forget everything. I remember how to kill you, *******.

Throw me into the mix as another person who liked Unknown. I decided to blind buy it during the Best Buy coupon run and I enjoyed it (as did the rest of the family). You and I seem to be in the minority here about Unknown though.

I don't consider it a slower paced Taken though. Even though it was marketed as such, it isn't. I knew that going in, so it didn't bother me.

I liked that line too.

[Steve46]

The Green Mile (Drama, Fantasy)
Directed by Frank Darabont
Starring Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan and David Morse

Warner Bros. | 1999 | 188 min | Rated R | Released Dec 01, 2009



Video:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Audio:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish: Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles:
English SDH, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German SDH, Greek, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish

Disc:
Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc

The Film 5/5

If you read my Top 20 Drama articles, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of Frank Darabont’s Stephen King adaptations. The Shawshank Redemption ranks second and The Green Mile is just behind in fourth.

Watching a Darabont movie is like entering another world. He takes his time with the story and the development of the characters. Don’t expect fast cuts and short scenes; each film is a work of art that is meant to be savored.

Before I talk about the film, I have to mention a funny story. Stephen King decided to write the book in a series of six installments. King was inspired by Charles Dickens, who also liked the serial novel format. I found the first installment in a supermarket and kept the receipt. A scan of it is shown below. See if you can spot the unusual item (five items from the top). It’s amazing what you can buy in supermarkets these days. I guess I was low on junk food that week? What a terrible diet I had back then.



The Green Mile is set in a Louisiana prison, but, unlike The Shawshank Redemption, the inmates can only interact by talking and never leave their cells to mingle. Each prisoner is condemned to death and is awaiting a meeting with Old Sparky, the electric chair.

The story is narrated by Paul Edgecomb (Dabbs Greer and Tom Hanks), the head warder, and the vast majority of the story is told through the use of flashback and is set in 1935. He explains how he met a huge black prisoner named John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan). Coffey is a simple man and seemingly gentle despite his size, but he was found guilty of murdering two little girls. His behavior doesn’t do anything to suggest that he was capable of such an act.

Coffey has a secret, but I can’t reveal it here without ruining the movie. His nature becomes apparent about an hour into the film and it changes everything.

The story revolves around Edgecomb’s role in running the prison and how he reacts when he finds out Coffey’s true nature. Prison life is fairly quiet, but Edgecomb has to deal with an annoying warder called Percy Wetmore. We are told that Wetmore has connections and so the other warders have to tolerate him or risk losing their jobs. Another thing that upsets Edgecomb’s routine is the addition of a new prisoner, 'Wild Bill' Wharton (Sam Rockwell), who likes to make as much trouble as possible.

One part of the story concerns the appearance of a mouse. The reaction of the individual warders reveals something about their own nature and it’s a brilliant plot device. Unfortunately, I can’t say anything more about the mouse without ruining the story.

The Green Mile isn’t what it seems. It begins like a hard-hitting drama, but things change as we discover more about the characters. In the end, the story is about trust and belief. It’s very powerful and some of the characters do extraordinary things. The warders, with the exception of Percy, are a close-knit group. They demonstrate the kind of trust that can only occur between close friends. The stakes are high and the story is compelling.

I’ll say no more about the plot other than that the conclusion is very satisfying.

Darabont draws strong performances from every member of the cast. Hanks is superb as usual, but the story wouldn’t work without Michael Clarke Duncan’s performance and his Oscar nomination was well deserved. I could mention at least 15 actors who played their role to perfection. Darabont was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay and the film deserved all of the recognition it received. The mouse should have won an Oscar.

The film has a couple of disturbing scenes, such as one of the executions, but is generally a series of character studies. You’ll be sucked into the story because of what the characters do, rather than for any special effects or shocking scenes. The story has a lot of heart and will stay with you long after the credits roll. At 189-minutes, many will be wary of watching the film. Don’t let that put you off. Good films never feel too long, and this is a very good film.

Video Quality 4/5
The VC-1 transfer looks very good for the most part. Detail in close-ups is exceptional and, apart from a few soft scenes, detail is generally strong throughout. Black levels are problematic on occasion. Darabont uses plenty of dark shots using blacks, grays and browns. Sometimes, shadows obscure some of the detail. I’m very happy with the upgrade, but it could have been slightly better. Owners of the DVD will be relieved that the Blu-ray comfortably contains the entire film, so you won’t have to flip the disc over as you did with the DVD.

Audio Quality 4/5
The English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is quiet and I found myself increasing the volume by 10 decibels over my normal level. Once that adjustment was made, everything sounded clear. It’s a dialogue-driven film, but the surrounds do play a part when required. Listen to the sound of the mouse running across the floor and you’ll hear the fine detail in the mix. One electrocution is particularly noisy and you’ll feel like it’s happening right in front of you. I couldn’t detect any imperfections in the track at all.

Special Features 5/5

The extras all appear in standard definition:

Commentary by Director Frank Darabont

Walking the Mile: The Making of The Green Mile (25:30)

Miracles and Mystery: Creating The Green Mile (1:42:54) – If the commentary and “Making Of” features weren’t enough, here’s an in-depth look at every aspect of making the film. It’s split into six parts if the running time seems daunting:

Stephen King: Storyteller
The Art of Adaptation
Acting on the Mile
Designing the Mile
The Magic of the Mile
The Tail of Mr. Jingles

Deleted Scenes (3:38) – Two scenes which didn’t make it into the film.

Michael Clarke Duncan's Screen Test (8:26)

Tom Hanks' Makeup Tests (5:30)

Trailers

The Green Mile is a film about hope, trust, friendship and the power of belief. It’s a stunning achievement and the story never feels boring despite the long running time. I give it a spin every three months or so and am always glad to visit that world once again. Anyone who enjoys good acting, master storytelling and emotional drama would probably find a lot to like in this film.

Overall score 5/5

[Diesel]

Rise of the Apes

Still calling it by the name before they changed it


I've only had knowledge about this film for a little over a month...maybe a month and a half as I may have seen the trailer with Green Lantern. I don't really remember. Either way, I haven't had interest in it very long, but when I first saw that trailer I thought, "I'm there!"

I had some moderately high expectations because the trailer made it look quite good. I would have been really let down if it was anything less than a 4/5 after I saw it.

I was not let down.

If you thought the trailer for this looked really good, the movie is even better.


The story follows a young scientist named Will (James Franco) early on but this film is not about him, it is about his friend (not pet) Caesar. Caesar is a remarkably advanced chimpanzee who lives with Will and his father. I won't go farther than that, go see the movie to find out where the story goes after that

It's got mixtures of , , and throughout.

The pacing of the film was very good and it did a lot with its sub-two hour run time. My theme this year has been "I wish it was longer..." and I can say that a little bit for this one as well. I don't want another 15-20 minutes, maybe another 5 or so.

I wish the part from the trailer where

[Show spoiler]Franco tells Caesar, "Never let them find you..." was still in the film and we didn't get to see Caesar finding the female chimp that we were shown briefly in the cage that was then empty during Caesar's break out. They included him stopping to look at the tag and figuring out where she went and we saw them break into there, but we didn't see them together ever in the film. It would have given us an even deeper connection to Caesar's story and his mission.

But those are just some small "complaints" and I'm sure we'll see them in the deleted scenes.

There was actually a part or two where a few people in my audience clapped.
Then there was the kicker:

[Show spoiler]Caesar shouting NO!!! to Felton's character!

YOWZA!!!
There was a collective gasp when it happened.


The acting for the human characters is good enough, though Franco has a pretty terrible narration part that he sounded very strange/unnatural in. There's nothing really that significant for them to sink their teeth into, but that's fine. It allows the real star to shine with the largest amount of screen time.

Andy Serkis is fantastic as Caeser. Such powerful emotion delivered through a silent performance. I really hope he finally gets some real recognition for his performance that he didn't receive for Gollum...or even Kong. For anyone who is still clinging to the "mocap is not acting" bull, watch the behind the scenes videos of his performance. That's ALL him in this role. Wonderful, wonderful performance.


The effects were pretty good throughout and at times astonishing. There are many times where the apes look very CGI, but there are other times where you would have to look twice to be sure they aren't real. The final effects in the film were definitely better than they were in the trailer.


See this movie, I highly recommend it to any action/sci-fi fan.
It was not my favorite movie of the year, but I did love it.


Rating - 4.5/5

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

It was a good post.

He finally got 'em, I guess. Well, I hope "em" didn't get him, or whatever.

"RotPOTA" might be the last biggest movie I'm looking forward to this year, so I'll be interested to see what you think. Did you see the other six films?

See above. I loved it

I have not seen the other films, but have never had any interest in them.

[volcomsocal]

Lars and the Real Girl - 2007

After 45 minutes I had to start fast forwarding this movie. I probably saved myself a good 25 minutes and didn't miss a thing. This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It had very few good moments in it. Ryan Gosling is better than this. Not recommended.

PQ - 3.5/5
AQ - 3/5

1/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Steve46

The Green Mile (Drama, Fantasy)

[Show spoiler]Directed by Frank Darabont
Starring Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan and David Morse

Warner Bros. | 1999 | 188 min | Rated R | Released Dec 01, 2009



Video:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Audio:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish: Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles:
English SDH, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German SDH, Greek, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish

Disc:
Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc

The Film 5/5

If you read my Top 20 Drama articles, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of Frank Darabont’s Stephen King adaptations. The Shawshank Redemption ranks second and The Green Mile is just behind in fourth.

Watching a Darabont movie is like entering another world. He takes his time with the story and the development of the characters. Don’t expect fast cuts and short scenes; each film is a work of art that is meant to be savored.

Before I talk about the film, I have to mention a funny story. Stephen King decided to write the book in a series of six installments. King was inspired by Charles Dickens, who also liked the serial novel format. I found the first installment in a supermarket and kept the receipt. A scan of it is shown below. See if you can spot the unusual item (five items from the top). It’s amazing what you can buy in supermarkets these days. I guess I was low on junk food that week? What a terrible diet I had back then.



The Green Mile is set in a Louisiana prison, but, unlike The Shawshank Redemption, the inmates can only interact by talking and never leave their cells to mingle. Each prisoner is condemned to death and is awaiting a meeting with Old Sparky, the electric chair.

The story is narrated by Paul Edgecomb (Dabbs Greer and Tom Hanks), the head warder, and the vast majority of the story is told through the use of flashback and is set in 1935. He explains how he met a huge black prisoner named John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan). Coffey is a simple man and seemingly gentle despite his size, but he was found guilty of murdering two little girls. His behavior doesn’t do anything to suggest that he was capable of such an act.

Coffey has a secret, but I can’t reveal it here without ruining the movie. His nature becomes apparent about an hour into the film and it changes everything.

The story revolves around Edgecomb’s role in running the prison and how he reacts when he finds out Coffey’s true nature. Prison life is fairly quiet, but Edgecomb has to deal with an annoying warder called Percy Wetmore. We are told that Wetmore has connections and so the other warders have to tolerate him or risk losing their jobs. Another thing that upsets Edgecomb’s routine is the addition of a new prisoner, 'Wild Bill' Wharton (Sam Rockwell), who likes to make as much trouble as possible.

One part of the story concerns the appearance of a mouse. The reaction of the individual warders reveals something about their own nature and it’s a brilliant plot device. Unfortunately, I can’t say anything more about the mouse without ruining the story.

The Green Mile isn’t what it seems. It begins like a hard-hitting drama, but things change as we discover more about the characters. In the end, the story is about trust and belief. It’s very powerful and some of the characters do extraordinary things. The warders, with the exception of Percy, are a close-knit group. They demonstrate the kind of trust that can only occur between close friends. The stakes are high and the story is compelling.

I’ll say no more about the plot other than that the conclusion is very satisfying.

Darabont draws strong performances from every member of the cast. Hanks is superb as usual, but the story wouldn’t work without Michael Clarke Duncan’s performance and his Oscar nomination was well deserved. I could mention at least 15 actors who played their role to perfection. Darabont was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay and the film deserved all of the recognition it received. The mouse should have won an Oscar.

The film has a couple of disturbing scenes, such as one of the executions, but is generally a series of character studies. You’ll be sucked into the story because of what the characters do, rather than for any special effects or shocking scenes. The story has a lot of heart and will stay with you long after the credits roll. At 189-minutes, many will be wary of watching the film. Don’t let that put you off. Good films never feel too long, and this is a very good film.

Video Quality 4/5
The VC-1 transfer looks very good for the most part. Detail in close-ups is exceptional and, apart from a few soft scenes, detail is generally strong throughout. Black levels are problematic on occasion. Darabont uses plenty of dark shots using blacks, grays and browns. Sometimes, shadows obscure some of the detail. I’m very happy with the upgrade, but it could have been slightly better. Owners of the DVD will be relieved that the Blu-ray comfortably contains the entire film, so you won’t have to flip the disc over as you did with the DVD.

Audio Quality 4/5
The English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is quiet and I found myself increasing the volume by 10 decibels over my normal level. Once that adjustment was made, everything sounded clear. It’s a dialogue-driven film, but the surrounds do play a part when required. Listen to the sound of the mouse running across the floor and you’ll hear the fine detail in the mix. One electrocution is particularly noisy and you’ll feel like it’s happening right in front of you. I couldn’t detect any imperfections in the track at all.

Special Features 5/5

The extras all appear in standard definition:

Commentary by Director Frank Darabont

Walking the Mile: The Making of The Green Mile (25:30)

Miracles and Mystery: Creating The Green Mile (1:42:54) – If the commentary and “Making Of” features weren’t enough, here’s an in-depth look at every aspect of making the film. It’s split into six parts if the running time seems daunting:

Stephen King: Storyteller
The Art of Adaptation
Acting on the Mile
Designing the Mile
The Magic of the Mile
The Tail of Mr. Jingles

Deleted Scenes (3:38) – Two scenes which didn’t make it into the film.

Michael Clarke Duncan's Screen Test (8:26)

Tom Hanks' Makeup Tests (5:30)

Trailers

The Green Mile is a film about hope, trust, friendship and the power of belief. It’s a stunning achievement and the story never feels boring despite the long running time. I give it a spin every three months or so and am always glad to visit that world once again. Anyone who enjoys good acting, master storytelling and emotional drama would probably find a lot to like in this film.

Overall score 5/5

This is a good film.

Regarding your coupon...did you really buy and devour two dead girls?!

Originally Posted by Diesel

Rise of the Apes

[Show spoiler]
Still calling it by the name before they changed it


I've only had knowledge about this film for a little over a month...maybe a month and a half as I may have seen the trailer with Green Lantern. I don't really remember. Either way, I haven't had interest in it very long, but when I first saw that trailer I thought, "I'm there!"

I had some moderately high expectations because the trailer made it look quite good. I would have been really let down if it was anything less than a 4/5 after I saw it.

I was not let down.

If you thought the trailer for this looked really good, the movie is even better.


The story follows a young scientist named Will (James Franco) early on but this film is not about him, it is about his friend (not pet) Caesar. Caesar is a remarkably advanced chimpanzee who lives with Will and his father. I won't go farther than that, go see the movie to find out where the story goes after that

It's got mixtures of , , and throughout.

The pacing of the film was very good and it did a lot with its sub-two hour run time. My theme this year has been "I wish it was longer..." and I can say that a little bit for this one as well. I don't want another 15-20 minutes, maybe another 5 or so.

I wish the part from the trailer where

[Show spoiler]Franco tells Caesar, "Never let them find you..." was still in the film and we didn't get to see Caesar finding the female chimp that we were shown briefly in the cage that was then empty during Caesar's break out. They included him stopping to look at the tag and figuring out where she went and we saw them break into there, but we didn't see them together ever in the film. It would have given us an even deeper connection to Caesar's story and his mission.

But those are just some small "complaints" and I'm sure we'll see them in the deleted scenes.

There was actually a part or two where a few people in my audience clapped.
Then there was the kicker:

[Show spoiler]Caesar shouting NO!!! to Felton's character!

YOWZA!!!
There was a collective gasp when it happened.


The acting for the human characters is good enough, though Franco has a pretty terrible narration part that he sounded very strange/unnatural in. There's nothing really that significant for them to sink their teeth into, but that's fine. It allows the real star to shine with the largest amount of screen time.

Andy Serkis is fantastic as Caeser. Such powerful emotion delivered through a silent performance. I really hope he finally gets some real recognition for his performance that he didn't receive for Gollum...or even Kong. For anyone who is still clinging to the "mocap is not acting" bull, watch the behind the scenes videos of his performance. That's ALL him in this role. Wonderful, wonderful performance.


The effects were pretty good throughout and at times astonishing. There are many times where the apes look very CGI, but there are other times where you would have to look twice to be sure they aren't real. The final effects in the film were definitely better than they were in the trailer.


See this movie, I highly recommend it to any action/sci-fi fan.
It was not my favorite movie of the year, but I did love it.

Rating - 4.5/5

Originally Posted by Diesel

See above. I loved it

I have not seen the other films, but have never had any interest in them.

Sounds great!

Yep, I'm a fan of the original series, and "Conquest for POTA" is my second-favorite (it also depicted the rise of Caesar and the apes, rebelling against the humans; it was quite futuristic and a little crazy). I heard they were remaking it some time ago, but decided to reserve judgment.

[tanujdua]

Originally Posted by killowertz

Throw me into the mix as another person who liked Unknown. I decided to blind buy it during the Best Buy coupon run and I enjoyed it (as did the rest of the family). You and I seem to be in the minority here about Unknown though.

I don't consider it a slower paced Taken though. Even though it was marketed as such, it isn't. I knew that going in, so it didn't bother me.

I liked that line too.

I still need to buy it . I've not seen it since it was in cinemas. Will probably get it by Christmas .

Need Taken as well .

[menaceuk]

Couple of short Impressions a few movies seen recently

Rise of the Apes 8.5/10

Simply put an awesome movie. The CGI for most part is Incredibly and even when not it is still awesome

I love the Pacing of the movie, everything moves a nice easy pace and no part of the movie drags or becomes tiresome and the overall movie allows you too Connect with Ceaser to the point where you care what happens.

A lot of the actual Human acting isn't exactly top notch but it isn't terrible either but given the nature of the movie it actually doesn't matter.

Go see this movie, even if you hate the previous movies in the franchise(Like Me), It is worth it.

For those who have seen it

[Show spoiler]The Part where Ceaser says "NO" was just an epic movie moment :apl:

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Cowboys & Aliens 7/10

This was a pretty decent movie considering the weird combination of Genres. How ever It isn't an awesome alien movie or an Awesome Western but with a very good cast and cent performances it certainly isn't a bad movie.

There were parts where I thought it dragged a little and some of the story Elements were little cheesy or just silly but the More Unique looking Aliens and surreal situation are a Big +

Overall it is a Solid movie but with nothing to really compare it too it stands alone in the movie world.


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Harry Potter and the deathly Harrows Part 2 5/10

Let me start by saying I really liked Part 1 (8/10).

Now, Part 2 for me has one big problem, Pacing. The Pacing is just way off and the movie bombs a long at supersonic pace and finally rests at the obvious confrontation which is pretty lackluster and almost laughable.

Maybe this pacing has more to do with a slower paced part 1 and maybe watching the 2 back to back would make this pacing make more sense but Honestly, I don't think it would. Part 2 screams rush Job to me.


Overall a disappointing end to what started as an awesome 2 part movie.

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Super 7/10

SHUT UP CRIME! :nd:

I was fully prepared not to like this movie one bit but it Wins you over early on and never lets up. The Brutal violence displayed by a super hero looking character is priceless and the relenting nature of the lead character is pure class.

I wouldn't say the movie is Side splitting funny but you will smile all the way through and burst out laughing in parts.