The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Damn all you regulars...I caved in and bought Jack Reacher. My expectations are still very low.

I thought it was good, not great.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I thought it was good, not great.

Matt begs to differ. He claimed it was the greatest action film of the last__ years! at $6.67 + Tax, what the hell. I'll bill him later

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Matt begs to differ. He claimed it was the greatest action film of the last__ years! at $6.67 + Tax, what the hell. I'll bill him later

And I stand by that

I'm sure you'll love it, 'Drewes...and, if you don't, you're just plain wrong

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

And I stand by that

I'm sure you'll love it, 'Drewes...and, if you don't, you're just plain wrong

Link to your original review for later, my good friend?

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Link to your original review for later, my good friend?

Of course. It's one of Jvince's patented short reviews, so there isn't too much explanation, but I do keep meaning to write a longer piece on it at some point.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...er#post7579120

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

Of course. It's one of Jvince's patented short reviews, so there isn't too much explanation, but I do keep meaning to write a longer piece on it at some point.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...er#post7579120

(Chants) write it. Write it. Write it.

(I'm tempted to write about Side Effects, but again, time sensitivity. Plus, I won't top my Girlfriend Experience review, however underdeveloped some of my points were.)

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Damn all you regulars...I caved in and bought Jack Reacher. My expectations are still very low.

Originally Posted by Foggy

I thought it was good, not great.

I'm with the Fogster; it's good, not great.

It should still be interesting to see how you interpret it. I thought it did have an interesting case with interesting characters.

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

(Chants) write it. Write it. Write it.

(I'm tempted to write about Side Effects, but again, time sensitivity. Plus, I won't top my Girlfriend Experience review, however underdeveloped some of my points were.)

Any Soderbergh film automatically lends itself to a long writer session, he's such a unique and varied director. Side Effects was an absolute masterpiece and the best film of 2013 (so far) IMO, so I'm sure anything you write on it will be an amazing read

P.S. I've downloaded Mud and I can't wait to check it out. I know it's one of your favourites from this year.

[CoolRanch]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

That is one weird trippy movie. I am a proud owner of it through, on both the Criterion DVD and Universal Blu-Ray (although I never bothered to get the full-blown Criterion Blu-Ray; I figure the Universal one is great as it is ).

As brutal and gnarly as it is, it's still not the worst I've seen. I think Naked Lunch is meaner, Requiem for a Dream is more brutal, and many other films are grosser yet. I never let brutality and unpleasantness get in the way of my buying decisions.

Fair enough, and I usually don't let brutality affect my purchasing either (see Passion of the Christ, No Country for Old Men, The Thing), but the general depravity of the final act, especially the scene where

[Show spoiler]they are deciding what to do with the girl in their hotel room

, kind of put me off the movie.

It's just a first impression I got anyways, I may end up getting it in the future. I usually do.

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I'm with the Fogster; it's good, not great.

It should still be interesting to see how you interpret it. I thought it did have an interesting case with interesting characters.

Come on, Al, going against me after we agreed about Burt Wonderstone

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by CoolRanch

Fair enough, and I usually don't let brutality affect my purchasing either (see Passion of the Christ, No Country for Old Men, The Thing), but the general depravity of the final act, especially the scene where

[Show spoiler]they are deciding what to do with the girl in their hotel room

, kind of put me off the movie.

It's just a first impression I got anyways, I may end up getting it in the future. I usually do.

I honestly don't even remember that last scene. Must rewatch it again.

Well, different things do offend different people, so I can understand that. I just thought you were talking about the overall insanity of the thing; taking issue with a specific attrocity is perfectly understandable.

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

Come on, Al, going against me after we agreed about Burt Wonderstone

I will give the film leeway, because I might like it better on repeat viewings.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

Any Soderbergh film automatically lends itself to a long writer session, he's such a unique and varied director. Side Effects was an absolute masterpiece and the best film of 2013 (so far) IMO, so I'm sure anything you write on it will be an amazing read

P.S. I've downloaded Mud and I can't wait to check it out. I know it's one of your favourites from this year.

What's throwing me off is that I've kept my blog entries to under appreciated gems/releases currently in theaters. I don't wanna break the established format.

My prediction: Mud gets a 9 from you.

[CoolRanch]

Brazil

My Two Cents
Brazil is a magnificent retro dystopian sci-fi opus, complete with likable characters, a fantastic score, spectacularly bizarre visuals (gosh I love Terry Gilliam's style), and a brilliant conclusion (the best I've seen in a while). 9/10

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by CoolRanch

Brazil

My Two Cents
Brazil is a magnificent retro dystopian sci-fi opus, complete with likable characters, a fantastic score, spectacularly bizarre visuals (gosh I love Terry Gilliam's style), and a brilliant conclusion (the best I've seen in a while). 9/10

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by CoolRanch

Brazil

My Two Cents
Brazil is a magnificent retro dystopian sci-fi opus, complete with likable characters, a fantastic score, spectacularly bizarre visuals (gosh I love Terry Gilliam's style), and a brilliant conclusion (the best I've seen in a while). 9/10

This was shown in one of my lectures where it was met with out cry from students hoping to learn more about cinema, calling it the most boring and pointless film in the world. People studying film production at a degree level couldn't even read into this film or respect it in anyway, I was so ashamed by all of them. You have my up most respect, the film is fantastic.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Matt begs to differ. He claimed it was the greatest action film of the last__ years! at $6.67 + Tax, what the hell. I'll bill him later

The quiet action scenes were neat.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Foggy

This was shown in one of my lectures where it was met with out cry from students hoping to learn more about cinema, calling it the most boring and pointless film in the world. People studying film production at a degree level couldn't even read into this film or respect it in anyway, I was so ashamed by all of them. You have my up most respect, the film is fantastic.

Dude, what the frakk was wrong with your classmates? I hope they all got F's.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

The quiet action scenes were neat.

The car chase was cool, precisely because it wasn't overblown or wild, it played out pretty realistically. Reminded me of older action movies, like Bullit or something.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

The car chase was cool, precisely because it wasn't overblown or wild, it played out pretty realistically. Reminded me of older action movies, like Bullit or something.

Yep that's the one I was thinking of. You hear nothing but muscle.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by jvince

The Spectacular Now (2013)
dir. James Ponsoldt

[Show spoiler]

The Good: Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are absolutely perfect in this. I can't imagine anyone else as Sutter and Aimee. They both breathe life into their characters, infusing their performances with loads of charm and personality. Their chemistry is so spot-on, I could just watch them talk all day. Two of the finest performances of the year. Wonderful supporting turns from Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brie Larson, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Fantastic screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, the duo responsible for the 2009 indie hit (500) Days of Summer. Near-perfect balance of comedy and drama. Everything is believable and naturalistic, from the lack of makeup right down to the emotionally raw sex scene. I especially like how none of the kids are totally stereotypical. Funny one-liners: "Arrivederci, f*ck you." "F*ck off, Crystal!" "What? Are you kidding me? That's awesome." The gift. The "oh, shit!" moment. Some technically impressive camera work by Jess Hall (Hot Fuzz). There's this one scene in particular -- the tracking shot during the prom -- where Teller and Woodley are walking and talking against glass while the camera remains invisible. Awesome soundtrack.

The Bad: Same main problem as Ponsoldt's previous film, Smashed -- the conclusion feels rushed. Seeing Saul Goodman and being reminded that Breaking Bad is coming to an end.

The Bottom Line: While the film tackles on the ills of alcoholism like Smashed, this one feels more assured and personal, and, most importantly, sympathetic. Despite having a familiar story, the tremendous work by everyone involved, most notably its two leads, elevates the material into something great. The Spectacular Now stands atop this year's quality crop of teen coming-of-age movies and is one of the best films of the year. Recommended.

A very positive review from jvince means it must be really good then.

Really looking forward to watching this given how much I love 500 Days of Summer and the cast being as solid as it is. Whenever I get to that is...