The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by jvince

Yeah, what's even weirder is that, here, he plays the serious guy.

That will definitely be an adjustment whenever I finally do blind buy it and watch it.

Man, I've been hyping this movie in this thread for over a year now...

I knew I recognized the title of the movie when Bearcat posted that. I guess it was from that.

As many things as I've been looking into, blind buying, and watching, it's easy to lose track of some movies. As long as I don't forget about it again, I'll watch it at some point.

[Al_The_Strange]

The other day, the local shoppette had a bunch of old rental Blu-Rays on sale for $5 each. I nabbed six of them: two of which I had seen before and wanted ("In Time" and "The Thing" 2011), so I knew I'd at least get 1/3 of a good deal.

Thus, my next greatest blind-buys are...

"Jonah Hex"

Well, I heard this was bad, so why did I buy this crap? Simply, because I was hoping for another "so bad it's good" or at least a "so exciting it's good" type of movie...you know, like "Wild Wild West" or "Priest" or something. Well, Jonah has some action and stuff, but nothing that really stood out. The story never fully captured my attention, much less make much sense. The film looks good and slick, but once again, nothing that really stands out.

2.5/5 (Entertainment: Average | Story: Poor | Film: Marginal)

Recommendation: Nah.




"Haywire"

Now why did I buy this crap? Because the trailer made it look badass, especially regarding the main character. I should have learned by now that Soderbergh's films are never accurately represented by their trailers. Damn you Soderbergh!

Good news? Yeah, the film has some action and looks good. Bad news? Didn't care for the story, the main character is nowhere near as badass as I expected, and the movie overall felt way more uneventful than I wanted.

2.5/5 (Entertainment: Marginal | Story: Poor | Film: Average)

Recommendation: Nah.




"The Mechanic"

I figured that this Jason Statham action movie could be something. It does have its share of action and stuff, but like the above movies, nothing ever really stood out. The story seemed average. The film looks fine and dandy, but nothing really stands out. In fact, that's the running theme to all these reviews: nothing stands out.

3/5 (Entertainment: Average | Story: Average | Film: Average)

Recommendation: Action and crime drama fans can rent it.




Damn, that makes three bad eggs out of a half-a-dozen. I'm still not sure if I want to keep these stinkers and try them again or not.

Hopefully, my last blind-buy in the batch will be worthwhile..."5 Days of War"...

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Diesel

How Prometheus Should Have Ended - YouTube


One of their best


Post credits scene...literally how the movie SHOULD have ended.

Most of it was , but

[Show spoiler]Toy Story alien

was !

[jvince]

Branded to Kill (1967)
The weirdest action film I have ever encountered. Almost like a cross between David Lynch and Takeshi Kitano. It's fascinating but a little hard to follow due to its schizophrenic style. Features some really nice looking shots. Tons of sex and nudity. I can't believe Jim Jarmusch ripped that awesome sink drain scene in Ghost Dog off of this film (but still, I prefer Ghost Dog over this ). I may need to revisit this film again someday.

[jvince]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

by the way, in your blu-ray wishlist you can get Mulholland Dr. via the German release which is region free and looks and sounds superb (granted it comes in the "David Lynch Collection" with Inland Empire and Lost Highway, but it's not like that's a negative, just a bit more pricey)

I could wait for the eventual US release. Maybe Criterion will release it, which would be awesome (they already have Eraserhead on Hulu Plus, so that title might be on blu-ray soon).

I've also been pretty frugal lately anyway. The Dark Knight BBY steelbooks are the only blu-rays I've bought this year. I even skipped the Criterion sale.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by jvince

I could wait for the eventual US release. Maybe Criterion will release it, which would be awesome (they already have Eraserhead on Hulu Plus, so that title might be on blu-ray soon).

I've also been pretty frugal lately anyway. The Dark Knight BBY steelbooks are the only blu-rays I've bought this year. I even skipped the Criterion sale.

me too!

and i drive by one about once a week so i've been tempted but nothing really grabs my attention that i need it right now. i've bought a few more blus than you this year, but i've certainly died down with the purchases. don't know why, just have

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Diesel

How Prometheus Should Have Ended - YouTube


One of their best


Post credits scene...literally how the movie SHOULD have ended.

Ahhhhhh, what a missed opportunity.

Great video though.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

How Prometheus Should Have Ended - YouTube


One of their best


Post credits scene...literally how the movie SHOULD have ended.

"The Claaaaaw!!"

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Ahhhhhh, what a missed opportunity.

Great video though.

Definitely

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

"The Claaaaaw!!"

[jvince]

The Alphabet (1968)
ABC!... ABC!... ABC!... A David Lynch short. A very f*cked-up nightmare. Not a good idea to show to your kids for educational purposes, unless you want to scar them for life.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by jvince

The Alphabet (1968)
ABC!... ABC!... ABC!... A David Lynch short. A very f*cked-up nightmare. Not a good idea to show to your kids for educational purposes, unless you want to scar them for life.

I almost beg to differ.

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

[Show spoiler]David Lynch Short Films Collection

I randomly ordered this from Amazon, just out of curiosity. Surely, the man who gifted us all with “Eraserhead” must have had some interesting short films in his time. As it turns out, “interesting” is an understatement; these shorts are freaking weird! And I don’t just mean weird in style, they also come in varying film stocks and sources. One of them isn’t even made as a film; Lynch’s first film was made to be projected onto a statue he built. After watching these, I’ve come to realize that the man is an artist in the truest sense of the word; his films aren’t meant to be watched and enjoyed, but experienced to invoke thought and feeling.

“Six Men Getting Sick” is the statue thing I mentioned above, and is Lynch’s first foray into cinema. It amounts to one minute of animated images, showing six statues changing color, getting sick, and then vomiting profusely. It’s got some annoying alarm sound with it too, and it loops six times. After seeing it twice, I got the idea, and skipped to the next one…

“The Alphabet” is a strange little ditty. It’s based on a nightmare, so naturally, it plays out as a nightmare, showing random images (some of which are very freaky and gross), while some lady recites the alphabet. Were it not for the blood and stuff, it could almost be requisite learning material for preschool kids.

[Show spoiler]“The Grandmother” is a solid twenty-minute narrative of the weirdest sort, providing exactly the same kind of insanity that went into “Eraserhead.” It amounts to people literally sprouting from the ground, grunting at each other, abusing each other, and then this kid hatches his very own grandmother from some plant thing. Yeah, it’s a little odd.

“The Amputee” didn’t really thrill me that much; Lynch got some spare tape and used it to show some lady reciting a letter she’s writing, filled with all kinds of accusations and emotions, while some guy tends to her missing legs (which start bleeding).

“The Cowboy and the Frenchman” is probably the most entertaining thing here, with a group of absolutely ridiculous and over-the-top cowboys encountering a stereotypical Frenchman and acting all stupid about it. A hoe-down ensues.

“Lumiere” is another short experimental thing; Lynch was doing some job in which he could only film 55 seconds worth of material without any editing, so he strung some wild images together. Expect to see some mean-looking men, some lady on a couch, some lady in a glass tube, some fire, and God-knows what else.

Whether or not these stories have a plot or a point is purely subjective. I’d say I liked a few of these and disliked the others; it’s much more of a mixed bag than I realized.

3.5/5 (entertainment: 3.5/5, stories: 3/5, films: 4/5)

Recommendation: For all you David Lynch fans…if you dare…

[Foggy]

Ted

Oh hell yeah,

[Show spoiler]Flash Goddamn Gordon

is in this film!!!

I find it really hard to write lengthy reviews for comedies, they either make you laugh or they don't, that's the point to a comedy.

I laughed a lot at Ted.

I'm not crazy into Family Guy, that craze has ended to me, and every now and again whenever I catch the show, it's a little funny, but not all that great. Cleveland Show sucks and American Dad doesn't get much out of me. So I wasn't expecting great stuff from Ted.

And while, as a comedy, I doubt it'll be remembered as well in a few years, I think it's a film that has a few aces up it's sleeve, from it's stylistic direction, 80's pop culture knowledge and likeable characters, it all works pretty well for a film that aims to make you giggle at the sight of poo.

The comedy it goes for is a little low brow (well really low brow) but it all works in context and all are done well enough. Sure there are about a couple fart jokes that show how thin some of the material is spread, and the jokes die out towards the final third like most comedies end up, and the cutaway Family Guy type of humour that pops up in the films opening 30 mins are a bit jarring and unnecessarily crammed in. But there is a lot of gold, that I won't spoil here.

Also, Patrick Stewart does the narration, awesome

8.5/10

[Al_The_Strange]

Last greatest $5 blind-buy: "5 Days of War."

Oh boy, a Renny Harlin film! Or, oh boy, a Renny Harlin film!

Thankfully, it's not as much of a dumb action flick as the director's other pictures (like "Cliffhanger" or "12 Rounds"); this is an earnest attempt to craft a compelling war movie with a serious central issue. The film underscores the dangers the press go through when documenting the war zone (and in this case, the war zone is Georgia). It's a noble attempt to be an inspiring, based-on-real-events type of film. And I did find the film acceptably interesting for the last hour or so. If there's any problems, it's just that the film seems really slow in the first half-hour (it feels twice as long as it is), the cinematic style seems rather plain (heck, all of the director's films are), and the action was never really invoking (which is a shame, coming from this director).

3/5 (Entertainment: Pretty Good | Story: Average | Film: Average)

Recommendation: As a rental.

[Al_The_Strange]

Last greatest $2 blind-buy: "The Cat Returns." Frakk yeah, cheap Studio Ghibli, ftw!!!

If you're a cat lover, then you might think this movie is the cutest and most endearing thing ever!!! Even I found the movie supremely cute and charming (though not quite as much as "Ponyo," which might still go down as the cutest movie I've ever seen). It's the charming, adventurous tale of a school girl who winds up walking and talking with cats, and winds up becomming engaged to one. Plenty of hilarity and whimsey ensues. The imagery is nice, but it's the Miyazaki-style adventurism I found most redeeming in this film. It's short, sweet, and satisfying.

4.5/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Good | Film: Very Good)

Recommendation: Sure, why not?

[Foggy]

Vertigo

Might as well watch this newly promoted greatest film of all time (for the past day).

This is where I come clean and admit that this is my first Hitchcock movie, don't attack me yet please though.

I'm familiar with him as a practitioner, so coming into the film I already know a lot of his trademarks and craftsmanship. With that in mind, I think this is one that keeps very much in the mind set of what you'd expect when you hear the term 'Hitchcockian thriller' very low key and confined, filled with many layers and twists. Vertigo, at it's core, is a psychological study of guilt and fear, along with obsession, that I can only presume, can take a few views to really wrap your head around. The ending leaves you with a lot to chew on, as to why stuff happens, how it can be interpreted, and what happens after the credits roll, as an ending, it has to be up there with some of the best.

Everything around the films construction is stellar, camerawork and editing is slick, the now trademark Dolly Zoom included. Acting is, of course, first class for a film like this. I only have a few problems with the film, the scene following the opening features a lot of seemingly sloppy exposition dumps to force the film up into gear, and although a bit more acceptable now after the films played out, I was still wondering why that woman couldn't see that she was being followed, it was so clearly obvious at time. Doesn't really make for great detective work.

So, is it the greatest film I've ever seen?

Well it's certainly not my new favourite film, and if someone asked me what's the greatest film I've ever seen, I would struggle to give an answer, as all films have different pros and cons, plus, while I've seen a lot of films, I've barely scratched the surface of what the general consence of great films are, nevermind all films. But, I guess if I had to answer the question now, the best thing I could do is compare it to the previous title holder, Citizen Kane. If you look at Citizen Kane in a certain way, a technical standpoint, and consider when the era it was made, you can easily see why it would be hailed as the greatest. Looking at Vertigo, I'm struggling to find a viewpoint that would signal it the greatest film of all time. Vertigo feels very norm from a technical standpoint with the era it was made in considered, I guess it's a key look at the work of an auteur, and film as a psycho-study of characters, but I don't think Vertigo is the first film to do this.

But, it's truly unfair to judge a film from such dizzying hight (oh, see what I did there). Vertigo is one hell of a great film, and while not the greatest, it certainly doesn't mean it's worth knocking on.

9/10

[jvince]

Wavelength (1967)
An experimental short film where you simply stare at a room for 45 minutes. Sure to polarize -- some may find it fascinating and brilliant while others might think it's a complete waste of time. The high-pitched sound that is present in nearly the entire duration is quite unsettling, and while nothing much happens, the film is somewhat creepy and ominous. An unforgettable, one-of-a-kind experience.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Last greatest $2 blind-buy: "The Cat Returns." Frakk yeah, cheap Studio Ghibli, ftw!!!

If you're a cat lover, then you might think this movie is the cutest and most endearing thing ever!!! Even I found the movie supremely cute and charming (though not quite as much as "Ponyo," which might still go down as the cutest movie I've ever seen). It's the charming, adventurous tale of a school girl who winds up walking and talking with cats, and winds up becomming engaged to one. Plenty of hilarity and whimsey ensues. The imagery is nice, but it's the Miyazaki-style adventurism I found most redeeming in this film. It's short, sweet, and satisfying.

4.5/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Good | Film: Very Good)

Recommendation: Sure, why not?

I am a cat lover. Thanks for discovering that one. Added to my Netflix queue.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I am a cat lover. Thanks for discovering that one. Added to my Netflix queue.

It contains The Baron from Whisper of the Heart.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Steve46

It contains The Baron from Whisper of the Heart.

I havent seen that one either. Should I?

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I havent seen that one either. Should I?

Of course, it's Studio Ghibli

From my Top 20 animation article:

17. Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Directed by Yoshifumi Kondô
Starring the voices of Brittany Snow, David Gallagher, James Sikking and Cary Elwes

If you read all 20 recommendations, you’ll see Hayao Miyazaki’s name mentioned several times. Although he didn’t direct Whisper of the Heart, he wrote the screenplay, and his imprint is all over the movie. Shizuku is a girl of about 13 who doesn’t really know what she wants to do with her life. She’s clever and creative, but lacks direction. She's intrigued when she discovers that almost every library book she checks out has previously been borrowed by the same person. When she meets the boy, the story starts to take off. It’s a charming story filled with people who are generally good. Children respect their elders and the elders have time to encourage the children. Friendships are strong and meaningful and it’s a nice world to spend some time in. It’s a coming-of-age story in which Shizuku discovers her calling in life. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s a teen romance; there’s so much more going on than that. Miyazaki creates characters that you’ll quickly like and often come to love.