The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Red Cliff (international edition) (blu)

[Show spoiler]

PQ: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

AQ: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Film: 4 stars (out of 4)

Rottentomatoes: 89%


This was an easy film to score, as it immediately places itself among the great epics of all-time. The film was riveting for the entire 5 hours, and never once felt long or drawn out. The 89% rating it has on RT is for the 2 1/2 hour American cut, in which many of the reviewers state that the pacing is perfect and that they can't imagine what was left out, with half the film being cut. I've read about some of the things cut out, and while they may seem minor, they enhance the movie in many ways. The biggest difference, from what I've read, is that the 5 hour version allows for greater human interaction with the characters, making the movie much more than a war film. I find it amazing that even without the character development, the film still got such a great RT rating. The reason for that is due to the excellent action sequences.

Zhuge Liang (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro), the strategist, has to be one of the most interesting characters to ever grace an epic or action film. His character is fascinating, as are many other characters in the film. In one of the extras, John Woo stated that he idolized many of the heroes in this film and that that was a common thread among Chinese youths.

One other thing I must mention is that the military strategy and tactics in this film are easily the most interesting I've seen on screen. From the sun reflecting shields, to the turtle formation, to getting the arrows, etc. Genius.

This is a must own.

Agreed; this film rocks! I can't even imagine what that cut version omitted; every scene seemed necessary.

It might become my new favorite Asian film.

[AKORIS]

[QUOTE=Diesel;3351387]$12 is a lot of money to just spend on something I've never seen. I don't believe in blind buys.
That's money I could end up throwing down the drain if I don't like it. Critics' opinions mean nothing to me, as I've hated movies the critics loved and the other way around.

Diesel, not picking on you, it's just that your post is a great example of a question that's bugged me forever around here---

do you see movies in the theatre? Isn't that a risk of throwing away money as well? You've already said you can't trust critics so there is no way you can confidently shell out $$$ at a theatre without the "blind buy" risk...

anyone else please chime in as well-- I just don't get this mentality

[Q?]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Agreed; this film rocks! I can't even imagine what that cut version omitted; every scene seemed necessary.

It might become my new favorite Asian film.

I saw the cut version, it was a mixed experience, from awesome to meh, I'm getting the real version because I just know it'll be better.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

I sent this movie back home instead of keeping it with me. Imma have to rent this one seriously, im really curious about johnny deeps role as the mad hatter.

How come you decided to send it home before watching it?

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

Lucky...wish I could get DirecTV over here, oh well. I gotta remember that rule that if "Movie" is in the title, it probably sucks.

I have to disagree as there are some very good movies with "Movie" in the title such as Midnight Movie & Scary Movie. Got Em!!

[jhiggy23]

Sergio (HBO on demand)


2009 documentary about Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Brazilian UN diplomat who worked in the UN for 34 years and was appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2002. He worked in virtually every major conflict zone, from Bangladesh, Cyprus, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, East Timor, and others. He was known for his smile, his good looks (he resembles Clooney), his fluency in five languages, and his propensity to get down and dirty in his assignments (he was the first UN rep to actually meet with the Khmer Rouge, he cleared landmines in Cambodia and Yugoslavia). In 2003 he was appointed special representative of the UN in Iraq.

In 2003, a truck bomb was driven into the UN building in Baghdad, hitting right under Sergio's office. Twenty-two people died, including Sergio.

This is a great documentary about a great individual. If you don't tear up at the live footage 15 minutes into the film, or at the end, something is seriously wrong with you.

Highly recommended.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Agreed; this film rocks! I can't even imagine what that cut version omitted; every scene seemed necessary.

It might become my new favorite Asian film.

My mom saw the US version and absolutely loved it, as did the critics. Can you imagine Lawrence of Arabia or Seven Samurai being cut in half??? I think it speaks to the quality of the film when it can still be considered great after being cut in half.

[CZAR]

The Day After Tomorrow - My 2nd viewing of this film as my first viewing was in theaters back when it was released. Loved it just as much as I did the first time. I am a big fan of Roland Emmerich. He just may be the disaster film king! With films like this and 2012 under his belt, the man knows how to make a disaster film. Not to mention his historical accurate masterpiece of 10,000 B.C.!!!

As for this film......the special effects are amazing and I loved the cast. U actually cared for certain characters and the film was realistic and not to over the top! When I first viewed the film I only had one issue. That issue was

[Show spoiler]the belief that the father would actually be able to walk all the way to New York from DC in that disaster?

After watching it again it is more believable as he is a scientist and he knows how to prepare for that type of thing. Not to mention it did take a

[Show spoiler]few days to get there. And the trip wasnt smooth sailing as well.

Film - 4 stars (out of 5)

PQ - 4 stars (out of 5)

AQ - 4 1/2 stars (out of 5)

Got Em!!

[The_Basterd]

Punch-Drunk-Love.
2nd Viewing and still 10/10.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by killowertz

How come you decided to send it home before watching it?

I didnt want to be selfish, my wife and child are back home and im pretty sure they will enjoy that movie so i wanted to share. "silly me lol" Im probably just gonna rent it from block buster or somethin.

[Al_The_Strange]

"Prom Night" 2008, was a BD on clearance that I thought would be another fine gory flick to accentuate the other God-awful horror flicks in my collection. Meh...

So while all these kids are dancing around whining about their drama, there's a killer upstairs killing people. Great story man...

Overall, this films seems excessively bland, average, and shallow...even by slasher movie standards. Nothing about the characters really caught my interest, much less the story (which I suddenly realized was rather dull and halfway ridiculous anyway). Lots of dumb parts, and parts where people are acting dumb. Filming is not bad, but not great either.

2.5/5 (entertainment: 2/5, story: 2/5, film: 3/5)

Will need to rent the original version to see how it compares.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

I didnt want to be selfish, my wife and child are back home and im pretty sure they will enjoy that movie so i wanted to share. "silly me lol" Im probably just gonna rent it from block buster or somethin.

Makes sense if you didn't have time to watch it before you decided to send it home. Damn nice side of, well, at least some of us.

[lDlisturb3d]

Saving Private Ryan

Movie 4.5/5

Very great movie, direction and acting was on point, never mind the AMAZING cast. This is one of my favorites, but it still doesnt top my all time favorite war movie, We Were Soliders. Once again i believe that is movie is seriously underrated, but thats another discussion. Back to Saving Private Ryan very good, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

"Prom Night" 2008, was a BD on clearance that I thought would be another fine gory flick to accentuate the other God-awful horror flicks in my collection. Meh...

So while all these kids are dancing around whining about their drama, there's a killer upstairs killing people. Great story man...

Overall, this films seems excessively bland, average, and shallow...even by slasher movie standards. Nothing about the characters really caught my interest, much less the story (which I suddenly realized was rather dull and halfway ridiculous anyway). Lots of dumb parts, and parts where people are acting dumb. Filming is not bad, but not great either.

2.5/5 (entertainment: 2/5, story: 2/5, film: 3/5)

Will need to rent the original version to see how it compares.

agree on every point

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

"Prom Night" 2008, was a BD on clearance that I thought would be another fine gory flick to accentuate the other God-awful horror flicks in my collection. Meh...

So while all these kids are dancing around whining about their drama, there's a killer upstairs killing people. Great story man...

Overall, this films seems excessively bland, average, and shallow...even by slasher movie standards. Nothing about the characters really caught my interest, much less the story (which I suddenly realized was rather dull and halfway ridiculous anyway). Lots of dumb parts, and parts where people are acting dumb. Filming is not bad, but not great either.

2.5/5 (entertainment: 2/5, story: 2/5, film: 3/5)

Will need to rent the original version to see how it compares.

Yea dude I was overly disappointed by this terrible so-called remake. This wasnt even a remake. They didnt follow anything about the original. The original is much better! This may be the worst horror remake out there along with Zombie's Halloween. Got Em!!

[lDlisturb3d]

Seven Pounds

Movie 4.5/5

Yet another movie that hasn't received what it's deserved. I think the reviewer gave the movie a 2/5 wow. Anyway this movie touched me deeply almost made me cry, just to think of a person that willing to give up all he had to fix his wrong doings. Seven Pounds is a deep emotional movie, that may are may not move you but if it does it will move you deeply. Very Dramatic movie filled with romance and sorrow. Will Smith did a great job in this film. I like it better than The Pursuit of Happiness. This movie comes Recommended by yours truly.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Seven Pounds

Movie 4.5/5

Yet another movie that hasn't received what it's deserved. I think the reviewer gave the movie a 2/5 wow. Anyway this movie touched me deeply almost made me cry, just to think of a person that willing to give up all he had to fix his wrong doings. Seven Pounds is a deep emotional movie, that may are may not move you but if it does it will move you deeply. Very Dramatic movie filled with romance and sorrow. Will Smith did a great job in this film. I like it better than The Pursuit of Happiness. This movie comes Recommended by yours truly.

I think I'm one of the few ppl that actually like this film! I think its manipulative as hell and it telegraphs its ending, but it still works for me.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

I think I'm one of the few ppl that actually like this film! I think its manipulative as hell and it telegraphs its ending, but it still works for me.

yeah this is true but i bet you didnt know he was going to use his jelly fish

[bingtau]

Just revisted Pi from Darren Aronofsky. It had been like years since I last watched this film. Very solid, great performance. I'd give it a 6 out of 10 maybe 6.5. The ending defitnitly threw me for a loop as I forgot about the drill scene. Magnificent. Can't wait for Black Swan and The Tiger.

[iam1bearcat]

Seven Pounds

I almost don't know what to write here because I don't want to ruin anything for anyone thinking about watching the film, and the way I watched it was by not knowing absolutely anything at all about the story. I think that was for the best for this film. I blind bought it for $11, but didn't read the back cover and never read any reviews about the film so I had no idea what I was going into.

Some things I can say without giving away too much: Will Smith does a phenomenal job as Ben Thomas. What I gathered was that a lot of his emotion was conveyed through his eyes and facial expressions, and he did the job wonderfully expressing every feeling he needed to. Definitely an underrated performance on Smith's part.

Same goes for Rosario Dawson as Emily Posa. I don't think I've seen her in many films, but she did a masterful job here as someone who is guarded, strong but also extremely afraid and vulnerable. And the chemistry between the two characters (her and Smith) feels real.

I thought that the first hour was very well put together. Every conversation, every facial feature, every movement, every object shown seemed to serve a purpose. It's like the film is a puzzle and slowly places all these seemingly random pieces around the table. I believe some will find the cryptic nature of the film to get frustrating as some will want clear cut reasons and answers for why Thomas seems like such a broken man, but I loved it. (but maybe that's because I love very cryptic, mysterious works of art, such as LOST) Trying to figure out what the hell was going on, why all these people seemed to be so moved when they were in contact with Thomas, and what the end game was... even though the opening scene gave us a short glimpse of something that was to come.

In the end, I kind of felt at first that all the cryptic, intriguing dialogue and shots of books and newspaper articles were a bit over the top for the final outcome that came, and can see a lot of people saying, "they didn't need to do that!" but I personally loved it. They could've gone an easier, more bland route, but chances are I wouldn't have liked the film as much.

Great performances, touching story, and a happy but at the same time miserable / depressing ending fill Seven Pounds. I think it will go down as an underrated film for Will Smith and I don't believe it gets the recognition it deserves. Some I'm sure love it (and as I see a few people on here who recently reviewed it enjoyed it as well), and from the reviews - it seems a lot hated it. But I certainly don't know how anyone could not be at least a little bit moved by the story and Will Smith's performance.

4.5/5