The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Steve46]

Watership Down is on YouTube if Netflix doesn't have it:

Watership Down (Full Lenth Film) - YouTube

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Steve46

It's a breeze compared with Grave of the Fireflies. Rabbits get hurt and a few die

Well, I have a soft spot for animals. Their suffering bothers me much more than the suffering of humans. Will I survive?

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Well, I have a soft spot for animals. Their suffering bothers me much more than the suffering of humans. Will I survive?

I love animals too and I survived. They are heroic characters.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Steve46

I love animals too and I survived. They are heroic characters.

Thanks. Netflix has it so I slotted it right behind the TV shows I am working on.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Thanks. Netflix has it so I slotted it right behind the TV shows I am working on.

I'm pretty sure you will love it.

Two of my friends liked The Guard yesterday so I could be on some kind of roll.

[Steve46]

Continuing my 100 movies list:

28. Die Hard (1988)
Action, Thriller, 131 minutes
Directed by John McTiernan
Starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and Reginald VelJohnson



Nominated for four technical Oscars, Die Hard is one of the movies from this list which fun to watch without having any real substance or profound message. It's a guilty pleasure.

The plot is predictable and simple. A gang of terrorists, led by Hans Gruber (Rickman) decides to take hostages in a high-rise building while attempting to steal bonds from the vault. John McClane (Willis) is on vacation to visit his estranged wife and she's one of the hostages. McClane makes a base on the upper floors and tries to pick off the gang one at a time. His only contact is a radio link with a police officer (VelJohnson).

This movie is pure action with a little suspense. Do you think McClane will succeed? Like I said, it's predictable. But Willis plays this role well. Complete with one-liners and a recurring catchphrase, the four-movie franchise is extremely corny. Somehow it doesn't matter because it's fun. Sometimes I like to watch something where I don't have to ponder the plot and guess what will happen next. If you just want some mindless entertainment with good acting and decent execution, Die Hard fits the bill.

If you like Die Hard:

Look no further than the other three films in the franchise: Die Harder, Die Hard with a Vengeance and Live Free or Die Hard. Each plot becomes less believable, but they are all fun and Willis reprises his role as John McClane in all of them.

No. 29 is so good that I am watching it again tonight before I write about it.

[Foggy]

Squidpuppet: You've never heard of Watership Down

[Al_The_Strange]

WTF is "Watership Down?"

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest blind-buy: "Confucius."

These Chinese folks shared a bowl of soup. Those communists bastards!!!

0/5 (entertainment: 0/5, story: 0/5, film: 0/5)

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Next greatest blind-buy: "Confucius."

These Chinese folks shared a bowl of soup. Those communists bastards!!!

0/5 (entertainment: 0/5, story: 0/5, film: 0/5)

Are you sure you watched a film and didn't just go to a restaurant

Good review!

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Are you sure you watched a film and didn't just go to a restaurant

Good review!

Real review is here:

Next greatest blind-buy: "Confucius."

I got this thinking it'd another fine and dandy historical epic; maybe it'd even shed some light on the life and teachings of Confucius. Then I read online here that it's a communist propaganda film. Uh oh...

As I went through the film, thankfully, the communist agenda never really bashed me over the head or anything. There is maybe one or two scenes where it seemed really evident (especially the soup-sharing scene, which brought to mind the sharing of the wealth), but overall, I didn't think it was any worse than the Soviet Union's "Ivan the Terrible."

On its own merits, "Confucius" is more entertaining than I expected. It does have a few decent battle/war scenes in it, and much of the film is quite stylish. It drags in a few spots, but I've seen far worse.

The story, unfortunately, suffers a little. Actually, it suffers a lot. The biggest concern is that, with me being unfamiliar with the history of Confucius and ancient China, I have no idea how much of the story is embellished. I'm assuming that the whole lot of it may be unrealistic or inaccurate. The film does succeed in tossing out some Confucian sayings and philosophy, but the film never really makes a theme out of them or anything. As far as the plot goes, it meanders just as much as Confucius himself does, giving it no substantial structure or point. That just leaves the character development, which is not bad.

Cinematically, it looks swell. Photography is quite slick and wonderful, with good editing. Acting is great; Chow Yun Fat is surprisingly effective in the title role. Writing is okay. This production has plenty of good-looking sets, props, costumes, and some semi-fake-looking special effects. Music is alright.

3.5/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 2.5/5, film: 4/5)

Recommendation: As a rental. Best viewed to see Chow Yun Fat's performance, not so much the story or educational value.

This Blu-Ray looked and sounded really good.

PQ: 4.5/5, AQ: 4.5/5

UK edition is region-free!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Squidpuppet: You've never heard of Watership Down

I didnt read for entertainment as a youth, so I had never heard of the book. And somehow the movie just never hit my radar. Dunno

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Next greatest blind-buy: "Confucius."

These Chinese folks shared a bowl of soup. Those communists bastards!!!

0/5 (entertainment: 0/5, story: 0/5, film: 0/5)

It must be BAD beyond belief for you to not even waste your time to slam it. Yikes.

Edit:

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Real review is here:.............

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

It must be BAD beyond belief for you to not even waste your time to slam it. Yikes.

I was going for "one-sided and pretentious beyond belief." Some folks might still think that for this film, but it wasn't as bad as I expected.

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I should clarify that it's reminiscent of French New Wave through the more narrative functions, but not the editing techniques such as jump cuts.

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Squidpuppet: You've never heard of Watership Down

To be fair, this is the very first time I've heard of it as well.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Romulus

To be fair, this is the very first time I've heard of it as well.

Maybe I'm just old? And British (until Feb 9 when I will be Canadian).

[Pondosinatra]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I didnt read for entertainment as a youth, so I had never heard of the book. And somehow the movie just never hit my radar. Dunno

The only reason I heard of it was that it was in Donnie Darko....and I consider myself fairly well versed in English literature.

[Pondosinatra]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Maybe I'm just old? And British (until Feb 9 when I will be Canadian).

Welcome to the club 'eh!

[Pondosinatra]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Watership Down is on YouTube if Netflix doesn't have it:

Watership Down (Full Lenth Film) - YouTube

No wonder they're trying to pass SOPA.....an entire film on YouTube?