The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[SpartanX]

The Dark Knight

Well I watched this right until the interrogation scene. I have totally drained the hell out of this movie's replay value. TDK was the only film I used to watch once a month, but since today I haven't seen it in 6 months.

Because, for some weird reason, TDK is a hit-or-miss for me on multiple viewings. Every time I watch it I either come out blown away, or feeling that it was just merely ok.

[jvince]

V/H/S/2 (2013)
dir. Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Gregg Hale,
Eduardo Sanchez, Timo Tjahjanto, Adam Wingard

The Good: If I had to choose the least shittiest from a pile of shit, I guess I'd pick 'A Ride in the Park' and 'Alien Abduction Slumber Party.' They're the most decent segments here, although neither are as electric as the original's haunted house finale, '10/31/98.' 'Park' (directed by Eduardo Sanchez of The Blair Witch Project) is a flawed but interesting take on the zombie genre as it follows the point of view of the undead, while 'Slumber Party' (from the director of Hobo with a Shotgun, Jason Eisener) gets straight to the action and sustains a fun energy throughout.

The Bad: Not scary. Mostly stupid. Acting in general is amateurish. Creature designs look fake. The wrap-around story is pretty shitty once again. The first segment, 'Clinical Trials,' is absolutely atrocious, it makes the remake of The Eye look good. 'Safe Haven' (by Gareth Evans of The Raid) is messy, clunky, and overlong.

The Bottom Line: And here I was thinking there's no way but up for this franchise. All concept, no satisfaction (mostly just frustration). V/H/S/2 isn't up to snuff, it's a waste of time.

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by jvince

V/H/S/2 (2013)
dir. Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Gregg Hale,
Eduardo Sanchez, Timo Tjahjanto, Adam Wingard

The Good: If I had to choose the least shittiest from a pile of shit, I guess I'd pick 'A Ride in the Park' and 'Alien Abduction Slumber Party.' They're the most decent segments here, although neither are as electric as the original's haunted house finale, '10/31/98.' 'Park' (directed by Eduardo Sanchez of The Blair Witch Project) is a flawed but interesting take on the zombie genre as it follows the point of view of the undead, while 'Slumber Party' (from the director of Hobo with a Shotgun, Jason Eisener) gets straight to the action and sustains a fun energy throughout.

The Bad: Not scary. Mostly stupid. Acting in general is amateurish. Creature designs look fake. The wrap-around story is pretty shitty once again. The first segment, 'Clinical Trials,' is absolutely atrocious, it makes the remake of The Eye look good. 'Safe Haven' (by Gareth Evans of The Raid) is messy, clunky, and overlong.

The Bottom Line: And here I was thinking there's no way but up for this franchise. All concept, no satisfaction (mostly just frustration). V/H/S/2 isn't up to snuff, it's a waste of time.

This is real shame, not to mention missed opportunity, given the directorial talent on-board. The first was by no means even or balanced, but at least every segment had some kind of redeeming factor about it.

[Abdrewes]

This is the End

This is the End manages to feel like even more of a success because of the various hurdles it had to clear before working narratively. The gambit of actors playing themselves, second rate apocalyptic special effects almost as unconvincing as those seen in Mimi Leder's apocalyptic tear jerker, Deep Impact, and cinematography that is sufficient at best—the films of Adam McKay almost look Kubrickian by comparison—could have all meant sure death, but the screenplay by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (the pair also directed and produced) manages to deliver full bellied laughs and a pinch of emotion.

A weary Jay Barouchel arrives in Los Angeles with the hopes of amending his friendship with Seth Rogen. After smoking enough marijuana to clear a retirement home's worth of cataracts, they make their way to a bristling party at James Franco's mansion. Much of this sequence plays out like the worst possible version of the film as much of the impact derives from rather mild jabs at the dichotomy between the on-screen and off-screen personas (although a cocaine snorting, womanizing and overbearing Michael Cera is the source of some great laughs, especially to detractors of his cloyingly congenial act) of the celebrities that populate Franco's pad. Jonah Hill's patronizing remarks and the crowd's general indifference toward Jay eventually gets to him as his feelings of inadequacy force him to prematurely leave the party. While Seth tries to coax him back to the party while at a convenience store, the apocalypse strikes. The deafening crackle of the earthquake stirs the duo while dozens of customers and nearby pedestrians are beamed up sky bound via blue beam. Is it an alien invasion? The rapture? They are dumbfounded as they frantically make their way through the streets of panic.

After a moment of incredulity—even Seth Rogen denies Jay's preposterous claims—, Franco's famous house guests realize that the end is indeed nigh. As the earthquake reaches their location, dozens of celebrities are offed in various creative ways. To detail them would be a great disservice to you, my reader, for it is at this point where the film stopped being a limp self-congratulatory farce and started being legitimately hilarious in a crude and raunchy way.

As per the advice given by the local news, James Franco (further making amends after the Z-grade effort shown in Sam Raimi's Wizard of Oz prequel), Jay Barouchel (seemingly channeling the vocal inflections and detached cool of early Christian Slater), Seth Rogen, an effeminate and narcissistic Jonah Hill, and the amiable Craig Robinson lock themselves in the mansion. In essence, the film turns into the stoner-comedy makeshift version of Night of the Living Dead, nail biting suspenseful set pieces replaced with with an endless stream of pop culture references and gross out gags. What carries this most impressive stretch into sublimity is the cast's fine tuned ability to bounce off each other with the comfort of the Marx Brothers. They sell what would otherwise be tepid jokes centered around survivalism, homophobia, celebrity and movie parody—comic contortions of iconic scenes from Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist only earn laughs only because of the cast's commitment, but the intercutting of a 127 Hours-style confessional with all the cast making individual appearances earns its full parodic potential. Throughout, This is the End proves the rule of more is more.

Goldberg and Rogen, however, do misstep when the post-apocalyptic scale seems to evade their grasp. As filmmakers, they simply do not have the visual panache (or budget) to milk the late scenes where the gang starts to venture outside the safe abode of their full comic and dramatic potential. I did admire the go-for-broke recklessness in presenting their vision unfiltered and uncut as there are very button-pushing elements in the final third that could have never secured a major studio's full blessing. Conceptually, though, the shaggy dog visual style ultimately comes off as a strength for it is in tune with the film's general irreverent spirit. This is the End fearlessly aims to go as far as the drug induced hallucinations that inspired the screenplay, and I am grateful. I will mark this one a future cult classic and a strong candidate for the best comedy of 2013.

½ (three and a half stars out of four)

[Foggy]

Interestingly enough, the positive reviews seem to say the film starts of weak but once the end if the world occurs the film kicks into hilarity, while the negative once tend to say it starts off strong at the party and plummets once the end of the world kicks in.

From what I can remember the same complaints and compliments was used towards Pineapple Express, which I was on the plus side of that one since that was one of, if not the, funniest comedy of that year.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Interestingly enough, the positive reviews seem to say the film starts of weak but once the end if the world occurs the film kicks into hilarity, while the negative once tend to say it starts off strong at the party and plummets once the end of the world kicks in.

From what I can remember the same complaints and compliments was used towards Pineapple Express, which I was on the plus side of that one since that was one of, if not the, funniest comedy of that year.

Don't get me wrong, the ending is fantastically funny, but it just can't sell the scale properly. Eventually I'll come to the realization that it was all by design as I forgive all of its shortcomings by the fifth viewing

I have a strong feeling you will like this one

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Don't get me wrong, the ending is fantastically funny, but it just can't sell the scale properly. Eventually I'll come to the realization that it was all by design as I forgive all of its shortcomings by the fifth viewing

I have a strong feeling you will like this one

Same, as much as I like melancholic and existential pieces of work, sometimes a blunt piece of low brow comedy will do nicely if done well, which sounds to be the case.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Same, as much as I like melancholic and existential pieces of work, sometimes a blunt piece of low brow comedy will do nicely if done well, which sounds to be the case.

Kind of blows you Brits won't get it until the 28th, I don't want to overhype it.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Kind of blows you Brits won't get it until the 28th, I don't want to overhype it.

Ah it doesn't worry me too much, we've got great films like Man of Steel and World War Z and...yeah, a bit of a drag.

[Al_The_Strange]

Superman III

The first two Superman films with Christopher Reeve were enjoyable and imaginative romps. Without Richard Donner behind the wheel, however, the task fell upon Richard Lester to continue the series. The man previously touched up Superman II for its release, so why not?

The problem is, Superman III cranks up the camp and cheese so much that all sincerity is stripped away. Even the film's opening credit scenes are a long-running joke...literally, it's one comedic slapstick gag after another, strung together in an almost Vaudeville fashion. The rest of the film is littered with similar gags, and they often aren't that funny. At the center of it all is Richard Pryor, for some odd reason; the man seems totally out-of-place in this picture, with all his bumbling, mumbling, and unfunny antics. Oh, there is action as well, but it is of an absurd nature. The climax is a series of cheesy and unlikely events that pushes this film into bad B-movie sci-fi territory.

To be fair, the story has its merits. It does touch upon some interesting ground, first by taking Superman back to Smallville for a while, and secondly be having him literally battle himself. The film also touches upon a few clever ideas, regarding oil dependency, the advent of computers, and the notion that a computer could become self-aware (I think having Superman battling a powerful AI is an inherently cool idea, but the film plays it out so cheesily that it falls way short). Otherwise, the film's story is strangely unremarkable; most of the side characters are shoved to the side, in favor of a new cast of rather uninteresting people, and most of the story is displaced by the comedy and camp.

The film has its share of decent photography and editing. Christopher Reeve offers the most earnest performance here, while the rest of the cast really hams it up. Writing is pretty bad. This production seems to use a lot of ambitious sets, props, and costumes, but a lot of it hasn't aged well, and parts of it look cheap and gaudy. Music is not all that great either, despite the usual reprise of John Williams' original theme.

Good for a laugh or two, but ultimately weak in so many ways, Superman III earns a marginal score from me, and represents a steep decline in quality from its predecessors.

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

Recommendation: Nah.

On Blu-Ray this film looks...great. Ugh, why do the bad ones usually look so good? Sharpness, detail, color and contrast are all decent. Sound quality is good too.

PQ: 4/5, AQ: 4/5

[legendarymatt92]

"You've got the best crew in the world standing in front of you, give them a reason to stay."

The Good Points: Bombastic, utterly delirious action sequences - well-staged and immensely entertaining. Great continuation of the story from the previous instalment. Better enemy, with better backstory. The Rock and Vin. Packs a sustained, if not entirely realised, emotional punch. Great one-liners and banter between the characters. Well-judged and balanced inclusion of street-racing elements. Just bigger, louder and more explosive than ever. That ending.

The Bad Points: Slightly unclear plot. Lots of "how the hell...?" moments. Terrible, expositional dialogue. Very little identification with characters. Some viewers may be put off by the blatent disregard for logic.

Logic and emotional effiency have never been a high-point in the Fast and Furious saga, and Part 6 is no exception, but it does contain enough daring action sequences, enough visceral thrills, and enough over-the-top and adrenaline-fuelled chases, to justify being named as probably the most exciting instalment in the series so far.

7.5/10

[jvince]

The Other Guys (2010)
dir. Adam McKay

The Good: Ridiculously funny. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg have a f*cking great chemistry together. The whole cast does a fantastic job, but its Michael Keaton who steals the show. The TLC references. The tuna versus lion argument. The whisper fight at the funeral. When Terry (Wahlberg) meets Sheila (Eva Mendes). The entire grandma scene. The Crown Heights rapist. Dirty Mike and the Boys. Christinith. Gator. Desk pop. Soup kitchen. Spite shit. Prius. Bed Bath & Beyond. Rape whistle. A shitload of quotable one-liners -- "Aim for the bushes." "Shake your dicks, this pissing contest is over!" "I feel like we're literally driving around in a vagina." "I don't like you. I think you're a fake cop. The sound of your piss hitting the urinal sounds feminine." "It's not 'Captain Gene.' I don't have a kiddie show." "Thanks for the F-shack. Love, Dirty Mike and the Boys." "My son's bisexual." "I think we all experienced our own ballet here tonight. A ballet of emotion and feelings." "Gator's b*tches better be using jimmies!" "We are gonna have sex in your car! It will happen again!" "I got big boy pants on!" "Gator needs his gat you punk ass b*tch!" "Hope you like prison food... and penis." "He's dying!" "I'm like a peacock, you gotta let me fly!" "Pimps don't cry." Surprisingly good replay value; most comedies wear out after several rewatches, but not this.

The Bad: Nothing major.

The Bottom Line: I honestly don't get the love for Anchorman. The Other Guys is, in my opinion, the best movie McKay and Ferrell have collaborated on. I've seen this so many times now, yet for some reason, it just never gets old. Such an underappreciated comedy.

[Foggy]

I'm not a big fan of The Other Guys, sure it's got lots of funny moments, but it also has plenty of moments that fall flat (characters being attracted to Will Ferrell's character gag is rather to me, so's the aim for the bushes scene, just doesn't work timing wise) but I think the thing that pisses me off so much about the film is the end credits, seriously what the hell is up with the end credits!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jvince

V/H/S/2 (2013)

V/H/S/2” is refreshingly focused, with a great amount of creepiness to spread around, not to mention offering gobs of gore to supply a few jolts. Its work to course-correct the franchise rewards with a tighter, more adventuresome sequel, smartly using hindsight to build a consistent odyssey of voyeuristic brutality.

8 out of 10. LOL

https://www.blu-ray.com/V-H-S-2/234159/?show=preview

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I'm not a big fan of The Other Guys, sure it's got lots of funny moments, but it also has plenty of moments that fall flat (characters being attracted to Will Ferrell's character gag is rather to me, so's the aim for the bushes scene, just doesn't work timing wise) but I think the thing that pisses me off so much about the film is the end credits, seriously what the hell is up with the end credits!

those end credits are are totally out of left field.

I found the first act funny, but the laughs do dissapear.

-------------

What do you guys think of this logo I just drew?

[Foggy]

Snazzy classy looking logo, what is it for?

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Snazzy classy looking logo, what is it for?

The blog I guess. Had some time to kill here at the job

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

What do you guys think of this logo I just drew?

Miami Vice ripoff.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Miami Vice ripoff.

little bit:

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

little bit: