The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[SquidPuppet]

ParaNorman

As I sat in the theater watching this, I kept asking myself "Why am I not enjoying this more?"

It had great visuals, an excellent score, the story wasnt the freshest thing in the world, but it was fine, the voice acting was good, some crazy cool characters, kiddy and adult humor, and some terrific messages to boot.

Not sure if its me or the film, but we just didnt click, and I cant point to anything "wrong" with the movie. Dunno.



Check it out though because you may dig it.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

ParaNorman

As I sat in the theater watching this, I kept asking myself "Why am I not enjoying this more?"

It had great visuals, an excellent score, the story wasnt the freshest thing in the world, but it was fine, the voice acting was good, some crazy cool characters, kiddy and adult humor, and some terrific messages to boot.

Not sure if its me or the film, but we just didnt click, and I cant point to anything "wrong" with the movie. Dunno.



Check it out though because you may dig it.

It sounds like something I might love, I remember we didn't really agree on Rango so maybe this might be a similar case

[Woodsy]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

ParaNorman

As I sat in the theater watching this, I kept asking myself "Why am I not enjoying this more?"

It had great visuals, an excellent score, the story wasnt the freshest thing in the world, but it was fine, the voice acting was good, some crazy cool characters, kiddy and adult humor, and some terrific messages to boot.

Not sure if its me or the film, but we just didnt click, and I cant point to anything "wrong" with the movie. Dunno.



Check it out though because you may dig it.

I felt the same thing during Coraline. ParaNorman was enjoyable for the most part though, imo.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Foggy

It sounds like something I might love, I remember we didn't really agree on Rango so maybe this might be a similar case

I was thinking about mentioning Rango for the same reason. I didnt hate it by any means, and couldnt list any faults, yet I couldnt get into it.

Originally Posted by Woodsy

I felt the same thing during Coraline. ParaNorman was enjoyable for the most part though, imo.

At least with Coraline I could identify what I didnt care for. Seemed a bit dark having a childs own

[Show spoiler]Mother be the super scary monster.

[BladeRunner2007]

Drag Me to Hell 4/5

Loved it big time. Sam Raimi proved that he still got it. CGI was real bad, but oh well. Everything else was just awesome.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

At least with Coraline I could identify what I didnt care for. Seemed a bit dark having a childs own

[Show spoiler]Mother be the super scary monster.

Oh, all she wanted

[Show spoiler]was to stick massive needles into Coraline's eyes and sew gigantic buttons on them

. Isn't that sweet?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Oh, all she wanted

[Show spoiler]was to stick massive needles into Coraline's eyes and sew gigantic buttons on them

. Isn't that sweet?

I saw Psycho and The Birds on TV when I was about 5 or 6 and I loved them. But I think Coraline would have messed me up for a few days.

[KilloWertz]

I get to disagree with 4 people this time. While I will never think of it as one of the best films ever made like it is commonly considered because of my opinion of the "romance" in the film, I do still highly enjoy it. At least Foggy somewhat agrees with me.

[Lepidopterous]

I blind-bought Don't Be Afraid of the Dark at Best Buy today for $7.99.

I went looking for a copy after reading

[Show spoiler](my signed copy of )

Del Toro's fantasy book of the same name. Ready to pay $19.99 minus $15 RZ certs, I couldn't find a single copy on the floor. So they brought out more copies from the back that had a $7.99 price-tag. Apparently California law requires them to honor the presented price . Maybe it's an upcoming price for Labor Day weekend.

Looking forward to viewing it as I've heard it's an atmospheric horror as opposed to a reliance on cheap scares.

[jvince]

Jackie Brown (1997)
dir. Quentin Tarantino

The Good: Classic Tarantino dialogue. Great performances from the ensemble cast. Robert de Niro cast against type as a pot-smoking dimwit. The real money exchange sequence.

The Bad: The build-up takes way too long; it could've been at least a half an hour shorter. It also lacks that trademark coolness and spark present in Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs.

The Bottom Line: Jackie Brown is a good movie, but we all know what Tarantino is capable of, so, it is also somewhat of a disappointment. Worth a look for fans of Tarantino's better-known films.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by jvince

[Show spoiler]Jackie Brown (1997)
dir. Quentin Tarantino

[Show spoiler]

The Good: Classic Tarantino dialogue. Great performances from the ensemble cast. Robert de Niro cast against type as a pot-smoking dimwit. The real money exchange sequence.

The Bad: The build-up takes way too long; it could've been at least a half an hour shorter. It also lacks that trademark coolness and spark present in Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs.

The Bottom Line: Jackie Brown is a good movie, but we all know what Tarantino is capable of, so, it is also somewhat of a disappointment. Worth a look for fans of Tarantino's better-known films. [IMG]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Full_Star_Yellow.svg/16px-Full_Star_Yellow.svg.png[/IMG]

Pretty spot on, it's probably his most laid back and mature film, but it's just so uninteresting.

[jvince]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

ParaNorman

As I sat in the theater watching this, I kept asking myself "Why am I not enjoying this more?"

It had great visuals, an excellent score, the story wasnt the freshest thing in the world, but it was fine, the voice acting was good, some crazy cool characters, kiddy and adult humor, and some terrific messages to boot.

Not sure if its me or the film, but we just didnt click, and I cant point to anything "wrong" with the movie. Dunno.



Check it out though because you may dig it.

I was gonna go see this in theaters since I'm a huge fan of Coraline, but I heard the story isn't too good, so I'll just wait instead.

[P@t_Mtl]

Arigato-san 1936 (Mr. Thank You)

Mr. Thank You is the kindly young driver of a local bus traveling from coastal villages, over the mountains, to the main town. He thanks everybody when they let his bus pass on the narrow road thus the name Arigato san. Among the passengers is a young woman, who flirts with the driver while trying to put the villagers in their place. There is also an embarrassed mother who is taking her young daughter to the train station to be sent to Tokyo to what seem a rather dark future. The bulk of the movie take's place in the bus during the travel and it's only the interraction between some main characters and minor ones who join at different interval. The movie is a pure delight to watch. The way it's done remind's me of 12 Angry Men, not in content but in how it's done. A few characters in close local who only have contact with each other. The video quality was fine but I would recommend the movie for anyone looking for a different feel and where the plot are the characters.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jvince

I was gonna go see this in theaters since I'm a huge fan of Coraline, but I heard the story isn't too good, so I'll just wait instead.

If you loved Coraline, you should give it a shot in the theater.

[Foggy]

Psycho

Probably going to take a rest from Hitchcock for a while before I get a bit burnt out on him (I might pick up the big blu-ray box set if I have the cash at the time), but so far Psycho is my fave of his.

I always come back to the trailer to Psycho when I think of Hitchcock and great trailers. The trailer basically consists of Alfred faffing about the set of the film, looking at stuff, pulling a funny face at it and then glad proclaiming when ever he comes across a bathroom, yet it created such dread within the 6 mins it goes on for. And the film really follows suit. It's consistently misguiding your attention and alluding your expectations, always creating nerve-jangling tension. It's complete praise for his use cinematography, editing, timing and set design. It's pretty much the notebook example of how to set up a scare.

Acting is also the best out the trio of Hitchcock films, with Anthony Perkins just being plain awesome and spine-tingling as everyone knows by now. And the story is constantly throwing you through loops, no matter how well the story has been covered over the years.

And just when you think the film was near perfect, they throw that dude in at the end to explain every goddamn aspect of the film. I've never seen a film throw it's arms up in the air and basically spell the entire film out for it's audience, belittling every idea they have while watching the film.

And I think I can speak for all of us when I say it was completely outrageous and unnecessary for Hitchcock to put a toilet in his film!

I came really really close to loving everything about this film, but they had to throw that one guy in. When I watch this film again, I'll probably just switch off at that part when ever he crops up, but never the less, the films genuinely scary after all these years.

9.5/10

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Psycho

[Show spoiler]Probably going to take a rest from Hitchcock for a while before I get a bit burnt out on him (I might pick up the big blu-ray box set if I have the cash at the time), but so far Psycho is my fave of his.

I always come back to the trailer to Psycho when I think of Hitchcock and great trailers. The trailer basically consists of Alfred faffing about the set of the film, looking at stuff, pulling a funny face at it and then glad proclaiming when ever he comes across a bathroom, yet it created such dread within the 6 mins it goes on for. And the film really follows suit. It's consistently misguiding your attention and alluding your expectations, always creating nerve-jangling tension. It's complete praise for his use cinematography, editing, timing and set design. It's pretty much the notebook example of how to set up a scare.

Acting is also the best out the trio of Hitchcock films, with Anthony Perkins just being plain awesome and spine-tingling as everyone knows by now. And the story is constantly throwing you through loops, no matter how well the story has been covered over the years.

And just when you think the film was near perfect, they throw that dude in at the end to explain every goddamn aspect of the film. I've never seen a film throw it's arms up in the air and basically spell the entire film out for it's audience, belittling every idea they have while watching the film.

And I think I can speak for all of us when I say it was completely outrageous and unnecessary for Hitchcock to put a toilet in his film!

I came really really close to loving everything about this film, but they had to throw that one guy in. When I watch this film again, I'll probably just switch off at that part when ever he crops up, but never the less, the films genuinely scary after all these years.

9.5/10

I really didn't like that part too. Talk about exposition-heavy. That and Perkins' acting in the end. Those two keep me from loving this film.

[Diesel]

Now that my 2 month video game kick is over with my Gamefly and PlaystationPlus subscriptions running out, the little free time that I have for entertainment can go back to focusing on watching my blu-rays

For a long time I've been wanting to go through my collection and rewatch titles I haven't touched in a while as opposed to those I rewatch more often.

I started that tonight with:


21

The movie is about a MIT graduating senior who has been accepted to Harvard Med but can't afford the tuition. He's up for a full ride scholarship but doesn't think he has a chance because he doesn't have the "life experience" that would cause him to "jump off the page" to the decision makers. One day in his Non-linear Equations class he impresses his professor enough to get an invite to a secret black jack "team" of card counters.

I've only seen this movie three times counting tonight. My cousin got me to watch the first time, I bought it and watched it when Amazon had it on sale for $8 two years ago and its been sitting on my shelf ever since. Which is a shame, because the movie is quite entertaining and I do very much enjoy it. It just isn't one of those movies that...for consistency..."jumps off the page", or shelf, as it were.

The movie is quite entertaining with the challenge of seeing if you can keep up and figure out if you could do what they do in the movie (most of us could not ), the humor that is present throughout but never too heavy and some moments with a certain Loss Prevention agent.


The whole cast does a fine job. There's nothing amazing here, but everyone does their job adequately (the Fischer guy is the weakest) and keeps you into the story as it moves along.


It's not a heist film, but if you like those sorts of movies, I'd say check it out. I'm sure the blu-ray can be had for quite cheap these days, plus the PQ/AQ on the disc is quite good.

Rating - 4/5



Next on my revisiting list is one of my favorite movies: 3:10 to Yuma.

[P@t_Mtl]

Anma to onna 1938 (The Masseurs and a Woman)

This movie is very short at 66 minutes. It's the story of two blind masseurs, Toku and Fuku. Both a travelling from village to village offering her skills. The story mostly revolve around Toku and a woman from Tokyo that he at first mistaken as a thief. The woman is on the run but not for the reasons that Toku believe. The ending is a sad one. As I mention, the movie is short but it does a good job of presenting the characters. Video quality wise this was the best one in the set so far.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by jvince

I really didn't like that part too. Talk about exposition-heavy. That and Perkins' acting in the end. Those two keep me from loving this film.

What? I loved that look he gave the camera at the end. So creepy...

Originally Posted by Diesel

Now that my 2 month video game kick is over with my Gamefly and PlaystationPlus subscriptions running out, the little free time that I have for entertainment can go back to focusing on watching my blu-rays

For a long time I've been wanting to go through my collection and rewatch titles I haven't touched in a while as opposed to those I rewatch more often.

I started that tonight with:


21

[Show spoiler]
The movie is about a MIT graduating senior who has been accepted to Harvard Med but can't afford the tuition. He's up for a full ride scholarship but doesn't think he has a chance because he doesn't have the "life experience" that would cause him to "jump off the page" to the decision makers. One day in his Non-linear Equations class he impresses his professor enough to get an invite to a secret black jack "team" of card counters.

I've only seen this movie three times counting tonight. My cousin got me to watch the first time, I bought it and watched it when Amazon had it on sale for $8 two years ago and its been sitting on my shelf ever since. Which is a shame, because the movie is quite entertaining and I do very much enjoy it. It just isn't one of those movies that...for consistency..."jumps off the page", or shelf, as it were.

The movie is quite entertaining with the challenge of seeing if you can keep up and figure out if you could do what they do in the movie (most of us could not ), the humor that is present throughout but never too heavy and some moments with a certain Loss Prevention agent.


The whole cast does a fine job. There's nothing amazing here, but everyone does their job adequately (the Fischer guy is the weakest) and keeps you into the story as it moves along.


It's not a heist film, but if you like those sorts of movies, I'd say check it out. I'm sure the blu-ray can be had for quite cheap these days, plus the PQ/AQ on the disc is quite good.

Rating - 4/5



Next on my revisiting list is one of my favorite movies: 3:10 to Yuma.

I gave "21" a 3.5/5 or so. It's pretty decent.

[CoolRanch]

Watched a bunch of movies over the week:

12 Angry Men - A masterpiece that keeps you on the edge of your seat without any explosions or gunfire, all with dialogue, and after another viewing or two, might even find a spot in my top 20 favorite movies. 10/10

The Unborn - It had a couple of good moments

[Show spoiler], the most notable being the old man on the stairs

, but the Unborn is ultimately dull, inconsistent, and even derivative at times. Not to mention it contains a few lines of dialogue that are cringe-worthy. 3/10

Dumb and Dumber - A good movie, that unlike most comedies I've seen, is consistently funny. It is fully satisfying with juvenile and scatological humor that doesn't go too far. 7/10

Spirited Away - A beautifully animated fantasy that feels like a classic Disney fairy tale. This movie had me absorbed in its magical, mysterious, and even a tad frightening land that Chihiro found herself in. Wonderful and enchanting. 9/10

Taken - What's not to like about this one? Liam Neeson kicking arse, I don't think more needs to be said. 8/10

We Have a Pope - What should have been an inspiring tale of a man overcoming fear of responsibility and acquiring the courage to accept his duty, turned out to be a movie about a man shirking his responsibilities.

[Show spoiler]The sympathetic Melville learned absolutely nothing! He was too afraid to accept his papal duty at first, which is fine, with the proper help and perseverance he can overcome this. Instead he goes into town to try and live his dreams, lies, keeps millions of people waiting for him, and at the end says that the job is not for him.

Maybe there's something in this movie that I'm just not getting, but I will say that it had a few good moments, the volleyball tournament among the old cardinals was particularly well done. And Michel Piccoli did capture the frantic feelings of the newly elected pope very well, in spite of a disappointing ending. 4/10

The Truman Show - Amusing, exciting, and thought-provoking, this movie was much better than I thought it would be. It brings up discussions of free will and the voyeuristic society we live in today. A remarkable drama/comedy with three-dimensional characters played by a great and likable cast. The movie even manages to be touching at the end. 9/10

The Raven - While not perfect, I didn't find the Raven to be as bad as the critics said it was. It was decent entertainment, suspenseful, exciting, and full of mystery. Also, Edgar Allen Poe is a very likable protagonist played with a lot of fun by John Cusack. 6/10