The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

That's a classic. I've been going through HD Collection playthroughs myself. I finished DMC 3 over the holidays and going to start Ico/Shadow of the Colossus soon.

Cool. I got those as well, since I always heard good things about those series. My gaming backlog is huge.

Chances are that I'll be putting it all on hold when inFamous: Second Son comes out soon.

[Spirit Zero]

Guns, Girls and Gambling (2012)

First thing that hit me here...this is a rip off of '3000 Miles to Graceland' surely, it even stars Christian Slater who does yet more Elvis mincing. On top of that guess what...its another crime heist, but this leans more towards the comedic side admittedly.

Ah Mr Tarantino you have a lot to answer for, so many films now use your jumbled up crime plot route its ridiculous, and here we go again. A group of Elvis impersonators are after a native Indian relic, so are some crooked cops, a cowboy hitman, a female assassin and a crime kingpin called 'The Rancher'. They all think Slater has it but he doesn't, no one knows who has it and naturally they're all trying to kill each other left right n centre.

This film follows the trail of so many other heist films these days. It starts off randomly with sub plots and main plots that link into each other later. Characters are introduced like a videogame with their names popping up on screen alongside hokey graphics which looks so tacky now. All the characters are cliched unoriginal and mundane...'The Rancher' who looks like 'Boss Hog', 'The Cowboy' 'The Chief' 'The Indian' 'The Blonde' all speak for themselves really, oh geez!. Then of course you have the four Elvis impersonators, an Asian, a black midget, a homosexual and Gary Oldman who clearly can't do Elvis impressions.

The film pretty much consists of all these characters running around shooting at each other and beating up Slater. The comedy attempts to be quirky and witty with freeze frame moments, flashbacks, bits of dialog on screen and a lot of silly hammy action and one liners. I must admit some of the gun action is quite good, there is some blood and gore at times which does make the film feel better than it should...or more exciting anyway. Had this been a PG-13 it would have been pretty tiresome, just like the Red franchise. Obviously they included a hot blonde female assassin in a figure hugging black catsuit to attract more viewers...OK OK it worked.

As with a lot of these straight to DVD crime heist flicks its an ensemble cast which is impressive, clearly everyone thought they might be in the next big crime comedy. Powers Boothe, Oldman, Jeff Fahey, Chris Kattan (where has he been?!), Tony Cox and Slater, OK so a few big names and a few B-movie stars. And if you haven't already guessed, as with many of these types of films, there are plenty of twists and turns as the ending looms. I would say its keeps you on your toes but you know damn well there will be twists, its so predictable, you know the main bad guys and the main good guys will have plot twists.

We've seen all this stuff before time and time again, Hollywood is running out of plot ideas quicker than you can say Hollywood is running out of plot ideas. The only thing here which is remotely interesting are the Elvis impersonators, but even that has been done before in '3000 Miles to Graceland' and much better. There definitely needed to be more of Kattan as 'gay Elvis'.

4/10

[bluearth]

The Impossible (2012)

Sad to say, after the water hits the film disintegrates into a mindless 'Where's Waldo' chase with little else. Really surprised Naomi Watts got nominated for an Academy award. She just cried and moaned the entire movie. But again this is the academy we're talking about.

1/5

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by bluearth

The Impossible (2012)

Sad to say, after the water hits the film disintegrates into a mindless 'Where's Waldo' chase with little else. Really surprised Naomi Watts got nominated for an Academy award. She just cried and moaned the entire movie. But again this is the academy we're talking about.

1/5

Really?

She was a part of a natural disaster!

[bluearth]

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

Really?

She was a part of a natural disaster!

I expect more range out of someone to get nominated. I felt 100 other actresses could have stepped into her shoes and do the job just as well.

[Spirit Zero]

The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)

Being one of the worse box office bombs ever isn't a good start really is it. Yet to look at the trailer, the sci-fi fantasy aspect and the films title you could be fooled into thinking this might not be too bad. The title is pretty sweet if you ask me, definitely an 80's movie title right there.

The plot is set in 2080 and mainly on the moon which is now called Little America. A location where gambling, girls, criminals and all things seedy are rampant, a bit like Las Vegas in the old days. Eddie Murphy is a retired smuggler who runs a nightclub on the moon and wants a quiet life, but this is all messed up when some goons come along and force Murphy out by destroying his club under the orders of a mysterious kingpin. Its now up to 'Pluto Nash' to find out why, who is the man behind it all and try to get his club back, or what's left of it.

I think the first issue with the film are the visuals. The film is oldish but not that old and unfortunately the CGI effects are pretty poor. Shots of the moon, moving vehicles, the lunar surface and of course Little America just look average and obviously CGI. When we close in on the urban areas the sets aren't too bad in design but again its terribly obvious its all sets. It all looks like a very mediocre attempt at a 'Blade Runner-esque' grimy neon lit urban district. The colour palette doesn't really help with everything being grey and boring, yes I know its the moon and the moon is typically grey but come on. There were some nice 50's-esque designs on some buildings and vehicles though, there was that element throughout the film but it still felt drab and lifeless, virtually black and white.

Then you have all the interior sets, design and costumes...its all grey!! everything is grey! flippin' eck!. Not only that but the interior designs look so dated, like its all been reused from a 60's TV sci-fi show. I understand that doesn't necessarily make it bad, there are plenty of examples where films have deliberately gone down the homage route or retro design/vibe which can work wonders giving a great charm factor. The problem here is the film had a massive budget and you wonder what they actually used it on.

Take the robot character played by Quaid (and the maid robot character). What they have done is simply apply a lot of makeup to Quaid to give him a doll-like appearance, then he merely acts out the robot role. Now again this can be done and it can work but probably best in low budget films that have little choice. In a big production it just tends to feel lackluster, the maid robot was the same but dressed up in a sexy French number as if that makes it more acceptable. I did quite like the 50's sci-fi sense I got from Quaid's robot though, like a butch Robbie the Robot in human form...kinda hehe.

Whilst watching I also found the plot to be a tad confusing really, or at least it didn't make much sense because it was all a muddle of grey. There are a lot of character names flying about here, a lot of seemingly pointless stuff, aimless boring dialog and not much action believe it or not. We just move from one cheap looking grey set to the next with little to laugh, disappointing seeing as its supposedly a Murphy sci-fi action romp.

But is it? you think it is but its not really, its more like a 1950's nightclub murder noir homage, 'Harlem Nights' in space perhaps. I must admit to thinking of 'Total Recall' at times whilst watching, it has that kind of vibe going on, minus all the excellent action and blood of course. Do I get the feeling this was made and acted the way it was on purpose?...was it?! I'm not sure, I'd like to think that but deep down I really doubt it. I just think it was a poorly executed movie which had potential to become a bit of a classic. I can see why people might enjoy bits of it like Quaid's cheesy robotic performance and the minor visual gags dotted throughout, but end of the day this really feels like its trying to achieve what 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai' achieved.

I'm still not really sure whether or not this film was intentionally made like a low budget sci-fi B-movie for artistic reasons, or it just came out that way. The more I think about it, this might have worked much better as a short TV series, it certainly has the look and feel.

4.5/10

[Spirit Zero]

Born to Race (2011)

I only found out about this film after a fellow reviewer reviewed it. Did this even get a cinematic release? anyway I liked the poster and it seemed to centre around import racers so that's me in. Yep as you may have guessed after what I just typed, I'm a Jap car fan, so be weary that I will most definitely be biased in my review of the automobiles on display here (broad grin).

OK so the plot...well lets just skip this shall we, I think we all know very well this type of film is not gonna have a deep plot. No one goes to see a film about boy racers expecting a solid story line, they go to see sweet super saloons melting tarmac. But if you really must know, a young tearaway teen who just happens to own a super turbo charged Subaru Impreza WRX STi, goes to live with his divorced dad because his mum can't handle his dangerous driving antics. He must content with a new school, new bullies, new temptations and his poor relationship with his father. So naturally he ends up getting into more trouble racing and causing much friction, but at the end of the day he overcomes all adversities with an all round happy ending. Yep its the standard 'Karate Kid' plot with cars.

OK I won't linger on the story much but the one thing that always makes me laugh with these car racer flicks is the fact the characters have easy access to these super cars. In the Fast n Furious franchise there is literately a never ending stream of them, here the main character is 17 years old and still goes to school!. How the hell can he afford to run a Subaru with no job??. The fact he's a whiz kid with mechanics helps of course because he can mod his own car but he still needs money to pay for equipment and parts. The other thing that kinda surprised me was the fact his high school has a high performance car modification class? and a fully equipped garage to host it? is this an American thing?. Oh and this class encourages pupils to take part in a highly dangerous drag racing competition?...wut?! do they need permission slips from their parents for this death ride?.

This leads me to the fact that the main character (a really sulky po-faced ugly little creep) is trying to get his life on track and stay away from dangerous driving. His father, mother and teachers are trying to help him, yet one teacher wants him to race in this competition. Doesn't that present a conflict of interests? surely getting the kid involved in a drag race competition will surely get him more involved in street racing or taking risks, the temptation will be high no?.

Moving on...the cars, the competition, the street racing...it does the job well. Yes believe it or not this film is solid in terms of actual racing just like the first and third Fast n Furious films. The visuals aren't quite as slick as said franchise, you can tell the cars aren't going at genuine speeds in some sequences and the actors aren't really driving. But the cars on show are lovely and they do get shown off well.

The finale competition is also quite well done, again expect the typical 'Karate Kid' scenario I'm afraid, no surprises here, you know who's gonna win. That aside the cars get good cam time and you get a really nice range of models. The film is basically import vs American muscle which I find amusing really. The race commentator refers to the Subaru as 'the little Subaru', just like they referred to the VW Beetle in the Herbie franchise, because its the underdog of the competition. Dear oh dear they have no clue.

Half of the American cars on show are old battle-axes in my opinion, they look like they just rolled off the set of Happy Days. Most of these cars look like bricks and probably handle like it too, all show and no go, noise before power, in my humble opinion any properly modded 370Z, Skyline or Evo would kill all of them quite easily...let alone the Subaru. There's even one race where the young protagonist must race a flippin' pickup truck! looks like some hick hay bale carrier, laughable.

So basically if you like fast cars, slutty b*tc*y cheerleader types, a good stereotypical A-hole bully and a good stereotypical brooding hero...or if you just wanna see fast cars, then you will like this. I think its holds its own against the Fast n Furious brand because its more grounded and a little more believable, kinda. 'FnF' has lost its way recently and become a comicbook superhero flick in my eyes, its no longer about the cars.

Yes this story is unbelievably predictable, unbelievably cliched and generally piss poor, but it does what it sets out to do which is provide good racing action with a nice explosive final crash stunt at the end. No big stars and not many big flashy show off stunts or effects, its basic racing and it works pretty well.

6.5/10

Born 2 Race - Trailer - YouTube

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by bluearth

I expect more range out of someone to get nominated. I felt 100 other actresses could have stepped into her shoes and do the job just as well.

There was more to her role than just laying there crying and moaning, including everything leading up to her ending up in the hospital bed. To each their own of course, even if this is the second out of left field 1/5 review for a movie that is widely considered to be a great movie. Shit happens though.

[Spirit Zero]

Homefront (2013)

Jason Statham, fighting, guns, errr...more fighting, yet not so much profanity. Predictable action packed romp you say? oh no don't be silly you silly filmgoer you, oh wait.

So Statham is the new guy in a small redneck town who is just trying to live a quiet life after his rambunctious time as a DEA undercover agent. After his little girl beats up some fat kid Statham finds himself in trouble with the fat kids hick parents, doesn't help that he floors the kids dad. So the fat kids trailer trash mum goes to see her brother who just happens to be the local drug dealer bad guy which as you can guess equals action time for Statham and his big hairy muscles. Believe it or not this is actually based on a novel amazingly.

Yep this is most definitely your bog standard action thriller that could of easily starred anyone of the classic big name action heroes. Same could be said for the bad guy role, anyone could of played it, it makes no difference. The story plods along at the usual cliched rate with the usual things you know are bound to happen. Lots of face to face confrontations where Statham shows the locals who's boss, sneaky breaking and entering from the bad guys, intimidation and dirty low down tricks to unnerve our hero and eventually a big shoot out and kidnapping of Statham's little girl.

Despite the outrageously corny plot and corny hard man act by Statham I must admit to enjoying the film and its vicious fights. When Jay is approached by these big lunkheads you know the outcome from the start, but you gotta admire the choreography involved bringing these rucks to life. The sound effects are blisteringly realistic as Statham chins these guys whilst smashing them against hard objects. I gotta say I liked it and found myself inadvertently cheering Jay on.

The bad guys are weak though, the bikers are pretty gritty and the local hick muscle is nicely intimidating but Franco as the main bad guy is weak. He doesn't actually do anything for the entire film accept scowl and look unwashed. He never fights Statham! all he does is pinch the little girls kitten (yet doesn't harm it) and then pinch the little girl (yet doesn't harm her). He mainly watches from the sidelines keeping out of the way, which is odd, he's not even remotely intimidating. The other weird thing is he actually shows signs of concern for what he's doing, as if he doesn't really wanna go down this route but is forced too. Its like he's not really that bad a guy, he just wants to deal his drugs in peace.

So despite being a total JCVD-type vehicle I found this film entertaining in a typically ruthless tooth loosening kinda way. We've seen it all before of course, Statham isn't really the perfect likeable hero lets be honest, he growls too much and isn't pretty. Franco is rather limp here and Ryder's character seems pointless but the violence is top notch and the film has a good steamy atmosphere. What I still find amusing is everything that happens in this film is all because of the little girl slapping that fat kid in the face at school. That's some chain of events right there!.

6/10

[Al_The_Strange]

Almost done reading the book by Robert E. Howard, so now it's time for...

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Fantasy films are rarely bold in spirit. Most of them offer colorful, vivid spectacles in wonderful places, but when drawing on ancient myth and legend, very few truly recognize that our history is full of darkness and savagery. In the 1930s, Robert E. Howard created a legend of his own, channeling all the primal brutality and bloodshed of the ancient times into one savage hero: Conan, the Cimmerian who would become a warrior, a pirate, a conqueror, and eventually a king. Conan's adventures in literature took him across all corners of the ancient Earth, to battle countless enemies, vicious monsters, and the darkest magic. Films with this same rawness seem to only come once in a great while.

1982's cinematic debut of Conan is a welcome break from the typical sugar-coated fantasy fare; the film doesn't hold back on showing brutal warfare, liberal bloodshed, rampant sex, and savage landscapes. Right from the beginning, the savagery is palpable. At the same time, the film is not all that trashy about it; is uses only as much blood and gore as it needs to to tell the story. Using only a light amount of excess, the film progresses through a lengthy adventure full of cool battles and memorable scenes, with the right pacing and an appropriate tone that's not too bleak but not too lightweight. As it is, this incarnation of Conan is fun and awesome to watch, and even after a sequel, remake, and video game, it hasn't been matched since.

The original stories can get a bit derivative: Conan usually appears somewhere to slay some bad guys, get the girl, get the treasure, defeat evil, blah blah blah. This film ventures into the same formulaic territory, but before doing so, it lays the groundwork by chronicling Conan's origins, in a tragic opening sequence that's so fundamental in nature that it's been seen before. From then on, the film maintains a solid pathos that allows us to follow and root for Conan on his sprawling quest of vengeance. Conan is a fundamental hero to the core, and the film expresses all his characteristics - his strength, his beliefs, his motivations - aptly. The side characters he picks up are lovable, and their enemies are bad guys we love to hate. The plot is pieced together using some scenes inspired by the original stories, but it all flows really well, thanks mostly to the characters and their chemistry. It's all set in a world that looks primal, but not quite as dark or magical as the original stories.

This film boasts some good-looking photography. It can be pretty murky and drab at times, but the camera angles are great and the imagery overall is solid. Editing has a few weak parts, but is still mostly good. Acting can be a bit silly, but Arnold Schwarzenegger fits Conan both in body and spirit. I love Sandahl Bergman's performance as Valeria. James Earl Jones is literally hypnotic as the main villain, and everybody else does okay. Writing has a few weak spots, but there are still quite a few good lines. This production uses some limited, but very real-looking and detailed sets, props, and costumes. Basil Poledoris' music score is epic, grand, and a thing of beauty in itself.

Conan the Barbarian is one of the very few epic/fantasy films that's so raw and brutal, but it's still a fine adventure with lovable characters and solid plotting. Some may call this film overly violent or stupid, especially in the way it revels in savagery. But I've always valued the beauty of savagery, for I believe there is something compelling about the primal nature of this character. If you enjoy stuff like this - like the 300 series, the Berserk manga, the God of War video games - then Conan should be a must-see.

On home video, the unrated cut of the movie includes a few bonus scenes that elaborate a bit more on the characters, but aren't really all that necessary for the plot.

4.5/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Good)

Recommendation: For anybody wanting a real brutal fantasy experience; not for girly-men.

On Blu-Ray, this film will probably always have a drab, gray color scheme and some soft scenes, but parts of the film look great with good sharpness and detail. DNR might have been applied (stupid Universal...). Sound quality is a bit weak with the dialogue (which ought to be expected for a title this old with so much dubbed voices). Music sounds great though.

PQ: 3.5/5, AQ: 3.5/5

Looking at some extras now, for a change. Deleted scenes are pretty useless (not sure why they killed the king off in the original script), but the documentary's pretty decent. Pretty surprising to hear that Arnold was bit by a dog and Sandahl almost lost a finger during shooting.

Extras: 4/5

[Spirit Zero]

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

Gilliam must be the king of fantasy films, his filmography lists some true cults and this tale of tall stories is no exception. What I find fascinating about this film is the fact its actually based on a real person and what he actually claimed. An 18th Century German nobleman who spoke or boasted of his outrageous adventures whilst at war against the Ottoman Empire. Whether of not this chap was possibly a bit tipsy at time I don't know but its quite amazing to think this man made himself into a bit of a legend through these tall tales.

The films plot starts off in the present day of the film and then briefly as a short story told by Munchausen himself. It then leads back into the present day of the film again and carries on as an adventure, presumably the same adventures adapted from the Barons own stories. In short we follow the Baron and a little girl as he goes off to find his close friends so he can then return to this unnamed European city and save them from the attacking Turks.

Surreal isn't the word...or maybe it is, as this film is right out there with Gilliam's other bizarre fantasy worlds. Of course the film is based on the novels that recount the tall tales of the real man in question so I'm guessing that what we see is actually the real Munchausen's imagination and Gilliam has just recreated it, with some artistic license I'm sure. What is accurate to the source material I can't say as I have not read the books.

So the main plot point is for Munchausen to find his four compadres who are scattered around in this bizarre universe. We follow the Baron as he travels to the Moon of all places, to the South China sea, the belly of a huge sea monster (familiar story line for fairytales) and deep below the Earth in the realm of the Roman God Vulcan. A heavily character driven movie with each little venture being hosted by new outlandish people. I think most viewers may have forget that Robin Williams was in this film as the headless King of the Moon...and oh my is he annoying, yep its that old Williams routine that makes you wanna slap him. I guess he suits the crazy character but it just feels like the Robin Williams show.

Another performance that felt a little weird was Oliver Reed as the God Vulcan. I'm not entirely sure Reed even knows he's in a film here, he plays the character as an oafish quick tempered stereotypical British northerner, whilst also coming across like a simpleton and a bit drunk, so that's just an aging Reed then. A young Uma Thurman portrays his wife Venus which stuns you because she was actually pretty back then, doesn't say much though.

There are so many characters in this film I couldn't possibly go through them all. Pryce is the perfect choice as the snivelling city official, Eric Idle and Jack Purvis take to this extreme fantasy like a duck to water with all their previous fantasy film/Gilliam experience but its John Neville who steals the show as the Baron. For a start the makeup is brilliant and really captures those typical aristocratic features, they really nail the real life caricature of Munchausen. I also loved that old fashioned gentlemanly lordly performance by Neville, both dashing and flamboyant in his beautiful period attire, sword at his side, elegant facial hair and perfectly pompous wig. One could say a dignified pirate appearance. Its a bit odd how his age keeps changing from time to time depending on the specific escapade they are on but every time Neville looks terrific. It really is quite incredible how he actually resembles some real historic images from the era.

The film can't help but look a bit dated these days I'm afraid, for its time the film was top of its game but these days the cracks show. Not to say that dampens your enjoyment of the film, if anything it heightens it and adds to the delightful charm of all you see. There is something about Gilliam films, that unique look that has carried through with other projects like 'Time Bandits' and 'Jabberwocky', its almost crappy looking, obvious effects yet somehow it just works. This film has it all with the added bonus of some lovely period costumes and that wonderful theatre set opening.

I must admit the film doesn't quite hold up the wonder it used to have for me when I was but a mere sprog. The fantasy element is excellent and feels more like a traditional fairytale or dream more than anything, not so much like an Indy type adventure. I think some bits work and some don't, the whole Moon part feels a bit stupid in all honesty and I didn't like Reed's God, but getting swallowed by the sea monster is the quintessential time-honoured fantasy fodder that I liked. There are many golden classic images and sequences in this film that have stood the test of time. That along with Neville's grand performance and some sumptuous sets and costumes you can see why this film was nominated for so many awards.

7.5/10

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Cool. I got those as well, since I always heard good things about those series. My gaming backlog is huge.

Same.

I finally finished Ni No Kuni back in January (one year after its release). Fantastic experience and definitely a new all-time favorite of mine. A Studio Ghibli RPG from the people who made Dark Cloud? I couldn't ask for anything more.

[Abdrewes]

Soooo, I guess you guys can officially mark me down as a fan of The Fountain. I was pretty moved by it (to tears, actually) this time around (though I still had a couple quibbles with the writing).

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Soooo, I guess you guys can officially mark me down as a fan of The Fountain. I was pretty moved by it (to tears, actually) this time around (though I still had a couple quibbles with the writing).

Is this your second viewing? It didn't fully hit me until my second time around, unlike his other films.

We'll see how Noah stacks up this weekend...

Pi 3.5/5
Requiem for a Dream 5/5
The Fountain 5/5
The Wrestler 5/5
Black Swan 5/5
Noah ?/5

[KingRad]

In the Mood for Love

Kar Wai Wong created a film that is, in every sense, cinematic poetry. In the Mood for Love is both alluring and brilliantly crafted. A movie such as this has great potential to fall into the cliched rut that many drama/romance films find themselves; however, thanks to the compelling script and superlative acting, In the Mood for Love breathes fresh air into the genre. Additionally, the elegant soundtrack places an exclamation point on this remarkable masterpiece.

½/

[KingRad]

Gravity

*Warning: Contains Possible Spoiler*


Prior to seeing this film, I assumed that I would succumb to the hype, and consequently I presumed I would not be able to enjoy this film as much as I should, or could. Contrary to my surmise, I lapped up every second of Gravity. Gravity is a sophisticated spectacle at every turn. This movie is one of those films--like Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, 2001: A Space Odyssey--that raises the bar for visual effects. Simply put, Gravity may have James Cameron crying tears of envy.

Additionally, the cinematography is out of this world (pun intended). Nearly every scene is riddled with details that contribute to the allure of Gravity. I found my eyes becoming lost in the canvas--much like Ryan (Sandra Bullock) hopelessly hurdled through the astonishing backdrop of the film—and one can argue that the beauty of Gravity’s cinematography alone solidifies the film as an exemplary marvel in filmmaking. A scene in particular comes to mind: Ryan finds herself floating in the fetal position, and the background is reminiscent of a membrane and an umbilical cord. The scene is symbolic of an embryo, and more specifically, rebirth (as the film allegorically nods at throughout); Alfonso Cuarón gives his audience time to ruminate on this particular scene, and it’s moving as much as it is elegant.

I know many moviegoers have already experienced Gravity, but if you haven't, believe the hype.

/

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Same.

I finally finished Ni No Kuni back in January (one year after its release). Fantastic experience and definitely a new all-time favorite of mine. A Studio Ghibli RPG from the people who made Dark Cloud? I couldn't ask for anything more.

I finished that one just last month, and it was great! I geeked out at all the Studio Ghibli references, but it was a very good story on its own merits too.

The only bad thing is, that game will make me work for those last three trophies.

Just got inFamous: Second Son earlier today, collector's edition. After spending money on the PS4 and spending time on waiting, it is totally worth it! The last couple of hours playing it were awesome.

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Soooo, I guess you guys can officially mark me down as a fan of The Fountain. I was pretty moved by it (to tears, actually) this time around (though I still had a couple quibbles with the writing).

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Is this your second viewing? It didn't fully hit me until my second time around, unlike his other films.

Same here, although I think it was jhiggy's post buried somewhere in this thread that really helped me understand it fundamentally. It's become a favorite since; the visuals have always been captivating, but the emotional power is pretty significant.

Originally Posted by DjMethod

We'll see how Noah stacks up this weekend...

[Show spoiler]
Pi 3.5/5
Requiem for a Dream 5/5
The Fountain 5/5
The Wrestler 5/5
Black Swan 5/5
Noah ?/5

Yep, I can't wait to check it out either.

My Aronofsky rankings currently look like:

Pi: 4/5 (rewatch pending; was probably more like a 3.5/5 at first glance)
Requiem for a Dream: 5/5 (top 20 material)
The Fountain: 4.5/5, maybe 5/5 (top 100 material)
The Wrestler: 4.5/5 (rewatch pending)
Black Swan: 4.5/5
Noah: anticipating a 4/5 minimum, 5/5 maximum

[SilentDawn]

My ramblings on Drive, Refn's masterpiece of neon and bright red blood.

[starman15317]

I haven't written an actual, lengthy review in a while (just a few sentences of my thoughts), but you can check out my reviews at http://letterboxd.com/starman/

[Spirit Zero]

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Part two of the quest by 'Bilbo' and his party of dwarfs to pinch a jewel from within the lair of the well spoken aristocratic dragon 'Smaug', the adventure continues. Most definitely a controversial trilogy as we move through this second part which really should probably be the final chapter but as we all know it isn't. So do the liberties taken by Jackson and co work or do they stand out as easy filler?.

I really found myself enjoying the film as it starts out in Bree on a dark rainy night, a warm glow emanates from the dirty tavern windows and street lanterns. As the film continues we meet up with new characters and finally into the Mirkwood forest where we get the first bit of real action. I gotta be honest I loved the giant spider sequence in this film, I think its safe to say this whole idea is probably a popular phobia for many folk and its really creepy. The spiders are visually excellent and damn scary to boot! no kids innocence spared here!. I really like how we hear the arachnids talking to each other when Bilbo puts on the ring, even though they did all sound like 'Gollum'.

Up to this point I'm loving the film, the travelling band of heroes are a quirky fun bunch, Mirkwood forest is nicely realised and perfectly atmospheric, the spiders made my skin crawl and 'Beorn' the skin-changer was...hmmm OK I guess, bit 'Twilight-ish'. Everything falls apart in a reasonably big way when 'Legolas' and the newly created 'Tauriel' come along and save the group. Within seconds the film goes from being a really decent sensible fantasy to dumbed down superhero crapola just like the original trilogy, in places. Yes I dislike the way Legolas is portrayed in these films, as if he's some kind of invincible super God-like character who can do virtually anything such as defy gravity.

I've heard a lot about the infamous barrel sequence in this film and I was curious to see what it was all about. To my absolute horror it was...horrendous!. OK Bilbo and the dwarfs need to escape from the Wood Elf dungeons...even though I'm not entirely sure why they imprisoned our plucky team anyway truth be told. But hey I know, lets have the most ludicrous ridiculous videogame-like sequence we can think of just to pander to the lowest common denominator...sheesh!!. The whole idea starts off OK but it descends into such drivel I had to rewatch just to get my head around it. Yeah I know we had the same kind of nonsense in the first trilogy and first Hobbit film, but I hated that kind of stuff then too. It totally takes me out of the film every time watching Legolas leap around like Spider-Man using his bow and arrow like some kind of automatic weapon, hate every second of it.

To make matters worse Jackson felt the need to create a new character who is basically a female opposite to Legolas, this makes me think he's pandering to the female audience just to cover all the bases. Oh and that includes the annoying romance sub plot of course. Yes this female Elf is a solid character who is well portrayed within this universe but why the need to go down the Matrix route (again!) making her into another death defying, gravity defying, never misses her target super Elf overlord of justice. Why must we have this type of nonsense in an otherwise brilliant film!!.

To reach the Lonely Mountain this crack team of height restricted heroes must cross a large lake, enter this new trilogies 'Aragorn' in the form of 'Bard'. What I don't quite get is Bard takes them to the lake town of Esgaroth, but why? they wanted to cross the lake, why go to all that trouble to smuggle them into the town? just for weapons?!. Anyway the town does look really authentic, I really liked how it has this twisted kooky Monkey Island type of appearance plus you really feel the chill in the air watching. Excellent visuals and atmosphere for this old creaky wooden fishing port, and kudos on the casting of Stephen Fry as the Town Major or Master.

Finally we reach the pinnacle of the film, the part most have been waiting for, the dragon Smaug. OK I'm gonna be brutally honest here as I always am, I wasn't blown away by this giant reveal. I liked the look of the mountain interior with its hord of dwarf treasure, I think they got the scale of the dragon perfectly and I think Smaug looks good...but not great. I've been more impressed with other dragon films to be truthful, I think the dragons in 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' and 'Reign of Fire' were far superior to this frankly, and the dragon in 'Dragonslayer' still impresses. The CGI just isn't quite as believable for me, it still has that shiny plastic thing going on, but I do like the Dungeons & Dragons look n feel about him. He's not suppose to be a dark savage blood curdling monster, more of a softer traditional fantasy beast, like a unicorn (I think). The other factor is that Smaug talks, I know Tolkien envisioned this but watching this dragons jaws move to speech doesn't really work. Its a creature, a beast, so its gonna be hard to make its mouth work in sync with its speech because its not a human mouth. Would it have worked if Smaug 'thought' his dialog and Bilbo was able to hear his thoughts? risky change but I reckon Smaug would have come across a bit more convincing.

Again the casting of Cumberbatch didn't thrill me as much as the masses, I still feel this guy is merely flavour of the month (for some reason I can't quite pin down). Yes he does a solid job as the voice of Smaug but anyone could of done it really, any actor with a well spoken British accent. Off the top of my head Tim Curry for one. Lets not forget his voice will have been lowered in tone to give that deep booming frequency, so I don't quite understand the overall fever pitch with this.

Despite me picking on bits I did actually enjoy this film a lot more than the first. In fact I enjoyed it a lot more than most of the original trilogy, although much of this is down to natural progression with special effects and much less hokey-ass CGI laden action sequences. Its another visual spectacle for sure with stunning locations, perfect continuity (I like my continuity) and solid acting. I still won't defend the decision to pad out the book into three films as we all know that is purely about the money, another shitsquillion to milk out of it. That being said this film doesn't feel too elongated or forced, its not dull and its not daft either, but I don't feel entirely comfortable with the newly created bits. You know the film is stalling for time but at least Jackson has managed to do it quite well, I was surprised.

7.5/10