The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[menaceuk]

Originally Posted by jvince

Jennifer Lawrence was amazing in this. Beats her performance in Winter's Bone by a mile. But I gotta say Bradley Cooper was really surprising. I didn't know he was capable of that. If he keeps doing quality stuff like this, I might actually... turn into a fan. What the hell is happening? Ben Affleck is now a highly respected director and Bradley Cooper is a great actor?

That is a pretty big Claim Her performance in Winters Bone was terrific.

Definitely watching it now

[jvince]

Originally Posted by menaceuk

That is a pretty big Claim Her performance in Winters Bone was terrific.

Definitely watching it now

Yeah, if you love comedy, you'll love her in this. The reason I prefer her performance in Silver Linings is because she showcases a wide variety of emotions and does all of them excellently, unlike in Winter's Bone where she's all serious and solely in drama mode.

[Hellraiserfan]

Originally Posted by menaceuk

I always have a look here

http://www.avsforum.com/f/187/offici...y-disc-reviews

Not sure if the link is allowed. If not I am sorry

Thanks!

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

DVDBeaver? But they seem to lean more on the technical side of things

The technical side of things is what I want for the most part. Need to learn a bit more.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Hellraiserfan

Anyone know of any good Blu-ray review sites? I read the reviews on here but would also like some other opinions on transfers so I have an idea if a film does indeed have good PQ and AQ.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/

An industry Pro who focuses on the technicals in great detail.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by jvince

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
dir. David O. Russell

[Show spoiler]

The Good: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Wow. They are, hands down, the main reason to go see this film. Amazing on-screen chemistry. Their back-and-forths are some of the most awkward yet gut-bustingly hilarious conversations I've ever seen. Easily their best performances to date; both deserve nominations and awards. Also easily the best thing De Niro has done since the late nineties. Heck, even Chris Tucker is pretty great in this. Fresh concept. Flawless first half. Fantastic soundtrack. The dance (oh my goodness...). The letter. "What the f*ck?!"

The Bad: It stumbles towards the end as it gets a bit messy and goes to predictable routes (pretty much like Garden State, minus the hipsterness).

The Bottom Line: Silver Linings is your typical David O. Russell film -- superb performances, fascinating concept, but formulaic execution. In spite of that, it's still one of the better films of the year and a potential awards contender. Recommended for fans of rom-coms and character-driven dramas.

Really looking forward to seeing this, and not just because of the awards hype this has been getting for a while. I'm quickly becoming a fan of Jennifer Lawrence, and while I wouldn't quite say the same for Bradley Cooper, I like him. Not sure if it will be in the theater as I don't see a whole lot there, but a blind buy on Blu-ray for sure if it comes down to that.

Going off topic... I saw Moonrise Kingdom today...

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Going off topic... I saw Moonrise Kingdom today...

Good feelings or bad feelings?

[menaceuk]

Originally Posted by jvince

Yeah, if you love comedy, you'll love her in this. The reason I prefer her performance in Silver Linings is because she showcases a wide variety of emotions and does all of them excellently, unlike in Winter's Bone where she's all serious and solely in drama mode.

I do like a nice bit of comedy and a wide variety of it too from the immature Jim Carrey stuff to more mature, clever, type comedy.

[jvince]

Grizzly Man (2005)
dir. Werner Herzog

The Good: Timothy Treadwell. Very fascinating character study and video footage. Some absurdly funny moments (I know, it may be sort of wrong, but the man did say some pretty hilarious shit in his recordings).

The Bad: Some of the talking heads feel scripted and unnatural (most notably the coroner and the part where Herzog listens to the tape). Didn't like Herzog's narration.

The Bottom Line: Grizzly Man is a solid documentary that's worth a watch for the subject alone.

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest (semi) blind-buy: Rosemary's Baby

[Best Fat Bastard Impression] Baby...with rosemary...it's what's for dinner! Baby...the other other white meat! [/Impression]

I caught part of this before and remember thinking it was rather dull and gaudy-looking...just like The Omen. But since this sucker came to Criterion and they had a sale and everybody seems to love the film, I figured, why not? I'll just get it and give the whole movie another try.

Bad news first: the film is rather dull. In fact, after seeing Repulsion, I got the impression that this film is just more of the same. In both cases, it seems like the characters meander and d*ck around for long stretches of time without ever advancing the story.

Much unlike Repulsion, however, Rosemary's Baby does push itself forward by the second half, driven mostly on paranoia and tension. And it does a fine job of it. The final scenes are pretty darn wicked.

The story for this feels like it's been spoiled well in advanced, so there's no real surprise in the ending or anything. In fact, if there's anything I hate, it's that the film doesn't conclude itself as fully or neatly as The Omen or The Exorcist. If anything,

[Show spoiler]ending the film with just plain ol' conformity

seemed rather weak to me; I'm not sure if I'd interpret it as the filmmakers didn't know what to do with themselves after this big plot twist, or if they really did feel it was better to leave everything hanging and let

[Show spoiler]Rosemary turn to evil

. My only other complaint is the first half, which felt random and directionless to me. Otherwise, it's all golden.

This film has okay photography; a little pedestrian perhaps, but stylish enough to keep things interesting. Editing is not bad. Acting and writing are good. This production has fine looking sets, props, and costumes. Music is alright.

4/5 (Entertainment: Pretty Good | Story: Pretty Good | Film: Good)

Recommendation: Sure, why not?

This Blu-Ray looks really sharp and clean; maybe some grain and softness, but never an overwhelming amount. Sound quality is good and clean.

PQ: 4.5/5, AQ: 4.5/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest blind-buy: World on a Wire

I soooo wanted to like this. It's sci-fi, it's cyberpunk, it's got lots of philosophical dialogue and paranoia and thrills and other cool stuff that should add up to something great.

What I got was boring! It drags on for three-and-a-half hours, and strained my patience so much, I swear that I almost fell asleep at least four times.

The problem I see is that they took a story for a 90-minute feature (same as The Thirteenth Floor, in fact) and blew it up for a two-part miniseries. The whole film is padded with random, senseless scenes of meandering dialogue and wandering around with no specific direction or point. As the film goes on, it does throw out some occasional ideas and plot points that build up the basic plot structure, but the structure is so buried beneath endless minutes of stuff that it becomes harder to see.

Which is a shame, because the story is not bad, really. It's not terribly hard to figure out, but has enough thought-provoking content to stir the imagination. Characters are pretty cool.

The film has fine and dandy photography and editing. Acting and writing are decent. This production gets a little crazy with the glass and mirrors, so it has some trippy scenes where characters' reflected images appear all over the room as the camera pans across; otherwise, the film does a fine and dandy job of constructing a futuristic setting with then-modern stuff.

In the end, the film is pretty sound, but just too darn long and slow! Toward the end, I was left thinking about other movies and stories that took the same concepts and ideas, and managed to expand on the cyberpunk themes, and still be entertaining. Most especially The Matrix. Oh frakk yeah, that's the good stuff! World on a Wire may be the progenitor, but it looks to me that any derivative works took a good idea and made it better.

Hell, I actually thought Solaris was funner than this!

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

Recommendation: For diehard sci-fi and Criterion fans.

This Blu-Ray fluctuates from looking really soft and fuzzy to looking really sharp and slick. I imagine a lot of it is source issues (especially since it's from 16mm film, I believe), so the film is laden with some heavy-duty grain and noise. Colors tend to be vibrant in a lot of spots, but can also be a little hot. Contrast levels are great. Sound quality is not bad, but if I remember right, I think I heard some fuzziness or airiness in certain spots.

PQ: 3.5/5, AQ: 3.5/5

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by jvince

Grizzly Man (2005)
dir. Werner Herzog

The Good: Timothy Treadwell. Very fascinating character study and video footage. Some absurdly funny moments (I know, it may be sort of wrong, but the man did say some pretty hilarious shit in his recordings).

The Bad: Some of the talking heads feel scripted and unnatural (most notably the coroner and the part where Herzog listens to the tape). Didn't like Herzog's narration.

The Bottom Line: Grizzly Man is a solid documentary that's worth a watch for the subject alone.

i felt the same way about the coroner - especially when the camera randomly zooms out after a conversation piece and shows a body on the table next to him

and Treadwell's chasing and screaming at the baby fox who stole his hat was priceless

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Good feelings or bad feelings?

It took a while for me to start to care about whether the two kids actually succeeded, which I would consider to be an obvious negative. Also, another thing that bothered me was

[Show spoiler]the French kissing scene with the touching since they were so young.

Once I did start to care, it clicked for me though. That would be right around the time you find out he's

[Show spoiler]an orphan.

All in all, even with the two negatives mentioned, I couldn't help but really like it by the time the credits began. I'll be buying it when somebody has it for a decent sale. It'll be nice to take it in again, especially the many positives that ended up easily overtaking the minimal negatives.

It's only the third Wes Anderson movie I've seen of his (The Royal Tenenbaums and Bottle Rocket being the other two), and although I know this has been said to be his most accessible one, maybe I should reconsider my thoughts about his movies being too quirky.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

It took a while for me to start to care about whether the two kids actually succeeded, which I would consider to be an obvious negative. Also, another thing that bothered me was

[Show spoiler]the French kissing scene with the touching since they were so young.

Once I did start to care, it clicked for me though. That would be right around the time you find out he's

[Show spoiler]an orphan.

All in all, even with the two negatives mentioned, I couldn't help but really like it by the time the credits began. I'll be buying it when somebody has it for a decent sale. It'll be nice to take it in again, especially the many positives that ended up easily overtaking the minimal negatives.

It's only the third Wes Anderson movie I've seen of his (The Royal Tenenbaums and Bottle Rocket being the other two), and although I know this has been said to be his most accessible one, maybe I should reconsider my thoughts about his movies being too quirky.

Rushmore is rather excellent. Glad you enjoyed Moonrise.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Rushmore is rather excellent. Glad you enjoyed Moonrise.

Thanks.

I was considering picking that up during the latest Barnes & Noble sale, but it looks even weirder than any of the three that I mentioned. After watching Moonrise Kingdom, it has me thinking about it again.

[dag]

I saw Holy Motors tonight, and I have absolutely no idea whatsoever what it was about.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Thanks.

I was considering picking that up during the latest Barnes & Noble sale, but it looks even weirder than any of the three that I mentioned. After watching Moonrise Kingdom, it has me thinking about it again.

I reviewed Rushmore a few weeks ago:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=29288

[jvince]

Wendy and Lucy (2008)
dir. Kelly Reichardt

The Good: Michelle Williams. The security guard. Excellent character work. Hardcore depression. So harsh, but so good. Simple yet potent. Very relevant and absorbing (especially if you put yourself in the main character's shoes).

The Bad: Just some minor stuff, like how Wendy goes through an unbelievable string of bad luck (but then again, life can be like that sometimes).

The Bottom Line: Wendy and Lucy is recommended for those who are into character-driven, slice-of-life type of dramas. Just don't forget your Prozac.

[jvince]

Originally Posted by dag

I saw Holy Motors tonight, and I have absolutely no idea whatsoever what it was about.

That seems to be the most common reaction to the film which is also what is keeping me from checking it out in the theater. It looks intriguing, but I know I'll likely just end up hating it.

[menaceuk]

Originally Posted by jvince

Wendy and Lucy (2008)
dir. Kelly Reichardt

The Good: Michelle Williams. The security guard. Excellent character work. Hardcore depression. So harsh, but so good. Simple yet potent. Very relevant and absorbing (especially if you put yourself in the main character's shoes).

The Bad: Just some minor stuff, like how Wendy goes through an unbelievable string of bad luck (but then again, life can be like that sometimes).

The Bottom Line: Wendy and Lucy is recommended for those who are into character-driven, slice-of-life type of dramas. Just don't forget your Prozac.

That could be Interesting and Michelle williams usually rocks her roles.

Will give that a watch Monday if Blocky B have it for rent

[jvince]

Originally Posted by menaceuk

That could be Interesting and Michelle williams usually rocks her roles.

Will give that a watch Monday if Blocky B have it for rent

Well, you seem to love The Pianist, so yeah, you'll likely appreciate this one.

And Michelle Williams is always amazing. Brokeback, Synecdoche, heck, even in Shutter Island she was great. But my favorite performance of hers has to be Blue Valentine. I don't know if you've already seen it, but if you haven't, it's better (and more depressing) than Wendy and Lucy. Williams is up there with Carey Mulligan as my favorite actresses working today.