The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Diesel]

I'm writing a couple short reviews for movies I've watched recently on blu-ray but haven't really reviewed in here yet, think I'll copy/paste them here after I'm done with them.

Originally Posted by Batman Begins

Casino Royale 9/10

Great flick, watched Quantum either yesterday or the day before.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

There are a lot of objective masterpieces that divide people, not just in film.

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Like I said, I hope I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like the kind of film that you'd like. By all means watch it, I was just warning you that it probably won't be the "masterpiece" that you might expect

Btw, happy Bday tomorrow!

Tbizzle thanks for the happy b-day.
I just bought Days of Heaven and Summer Hours . I hope i like them.

Ohh ive got about 8 CC movies but im waiting to watch them with my wife. Especially Summer Hours. I might check Yojimbo out myself.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I'm writing a couple short reviews for movies I've watched recently on blu-ray but haven't really reviewed in here yet, think I'll copy/paste them here after I'm done with them.



Great flick, watched Quantum either yesterday or the day before.

i love them both equally, he's the best bond IMO.

[Diesel]

Its not quite as good as Casino imo, but still pretty good.

Now that I use the .25 I give Casino Royale a 4.75/5 and Solace is a 4.5/5 for me.


Edit: They actually are two of the short reviews I just wrote.

https://www.blu-ray.com/community/?a...eviews&u=53636

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Its not quite as good as Casino imo, but still pretty good.

Now that I use the .25 I give Casino Royale a 4.75/5 and Solace is a 4.5/5 for me.

Well i understand why people like the first one more. I just really enjoy the uncut action in the 2nd. He was more smooth in the 1st one. But like i said i like them both.

[Steve46]

Green Zone 1.5/5

I almost bought this without having seen it. Luckily I watched it at a friend's house and saved $20. What a mess. Incoherent. Didn't care about anyone or anything that was happening. A great cast totally flopped.

[iam1bearcat]

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (dvd rental)

FIRST TIME VIEWING.

let me get this out of the way first. this is a good film. fresh, original, inspires hope, also extremely sad, touching and memorable. so if i was giving a score based off of just these items, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly would probably get a score around 4/5, or 4.5/5.

but it won't.

because at the end of the 107 minutes, i just didn't like the film very much. i appreciate it for what it is and respect those who do like it and score it highly, but while my score might seem high, personally it is not a favorite and is towards the bottom of my short list, but will likely fall farther down as more are added.

the film follows the true events of Mr. Bauby who awakens after being in a coma for 3 weeks. he suffered a stroke that left him with a rare condition known as "locked in syndrome" which left him only able to communicate by blinking his left eye. the film opens with what feels like shaky cam because it's from "his view" so the camera shakes, moves and swings wildly like it would if you had just woken up in a hospital bed. i loved that. i loved the "what in the hell is happening?" feeling that we the audience had as did Mr. Bauby.

i also like that the film is about hope, perseverance, struggle and the will to live and not let a life altering situation effect you. but, now this may sound strange, i also hated it for that reason. you see, i would never be able to do anything any of the people in the film do. from the specialist who help Mr. Bauby for hours on end to Mr. Bauby himself who learns to live in his imagination and not drown is sorrow and pity. that wouldn't be me. i'd want to die every second of every day if i was in his position.

there were a few moments in the film that made me really enjoy the film and sucked me in, but there were also moments that made me just ansy and anxiously awaiting the end of the film. there were moments i was simply bored by the story and characters who i cared little about. and then there was the most annoying part of the film. something that got so under my skin it almost drove me crazy:

[Show spoiler]the damn alphabet scenes just listening to the specialist and visitors say the same damn letters over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again made my skin crawl and made me wince. i hated it. absolutely hated it.

and there were so many of these scenes. i couldn't look past them. it got under my skin and made me want to rip my hair out. and unless that was the point of those scenes, it damaged the film for me and quickly made me think "i will probably never be able to sit through this again".

but like i said, a well made, original, depressing yet ambitious and inspiring film. but it just wasn't my cup of tea and didn't click, but i know a well made film when i see one.

acting: A, score: A, directing: B, story: A... and my score?

4/5
i hope i explained myself well enough as to why it has a high score but is not a personal favorite of mine. if not, and if you want me to explain better, please ask and i will try again

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Green Zone 1.5/5

I almost bought this without having seen it. Luckily I watched it at a friend's house and saved $20. What a mess. Incoherent. Didn't care about anyone or anything that was happening. A great cast totally flopped.

i don't really have high expectations for this, but i didn't think it could be THIS bad! it's somewhere in my queue... around the 350 mark, so i'll get to it eventually

[Diesel]

https://www.blu-ray.com/community/?a...eviews&u=53636


Finished up adding in the reviews for the titles I watched recently enough to remember scores for PQ/AQ (most of which didn't have reviews in this thread).

These are my quick reviews from the user review section that (I think) aren't posted in this thread already. I obviously don't expect you guys to read them all (but if you do, great )

Spoiler tagged for space saving.

The Fast and the Furious

[Show spoiler]I really like this movie (duh!).

For me it was never actually about the cars and the races, it was about Toretto and the people around him (at least to me it was, I'm sure a lot of people look at it as about the cars and races).

Sure the racing and cars was probably what a lot of people saw/liked it for, but not me (though I definitely enjoy them).

It's no secret that Paul Walker isn't the best actor in the world, and that's shown here as he does a passable job, but he definitely wasn't close to bad enough to take me out of the movie.

I thought the best part acting wise (while it definitely isn't exactly an incredibly well acted movie) was when Vin Diesel's character was telling Brian about his father.

I like the relationship between the characters of Dom and Brian, Brian and Mia, Brian and the lawmen.

The movie is a fun watch. It's a kick back and enjoy it movie.

Taken

[Show spoiler]This movie seems to fly bye, not just because its pretty short (about an hour and a half) but
because its a very fun movie that you get pulled into while watching.

The story of the movie is quite simple. Daughter captured, father has to go kick ***.

The simplicity really works for the movie. Its pretty straight to the point.

Liam Neeson is absolutely fantastic in this film, legitimate scary as hell.

The light switch scene...the light switch scene...

Toy Story 2

[Show spoiler]A lot of people seem to think the sequel took what was great about the first and just made it better, but I don't quite see it that way. Toy Story 2 is by no means a bad movie, it is quite good in fact, but just doesn't rival the quality of the first for me. The voice acting, writing, characters, story, etc. are all very strong again and a pleasure to watch/listen to but its just missing that "something" that nudges it up to a 5/5.

Toy Story

[Show spoiler]There's not much to say that hasn't already been said.

The movie features great animation for its time, incredible voice acting by its talented cast, very good writing, music and story. It's all around great and I have nothing in the movie that I dislike.

Casino Royale

[Show spoiler]I've never been a bond fan before Casino Royale. This movie is incredibly good and very well made.

First of all, Daniel Craig is fantastic as an early 007. He's tough, he's rough and he's actually pretty funny when he has humor lines in the film.

The rest of the acting in the film is very good, no complaints from me. The entire cast does an admirable job.

The story of the film is great as well. I loved the card game scenes watching Bond and Le Chiffre stare each other down and trade wit back and forth. The movie actually feels like two separate films after the parts at Casino Royale are over. The last major action scene is very well done and very fun to watch.

Quantum of Solace

[Show spoiler]I thought this movie was very good. A lot of people seemed to dislike it but I thought it stands next to Casino Royale very respectably. And when watched back to back form one long fantastic movie.

Yes the action scenes may not be set done or filmed as well as Casino and the editing is pretty quick and I guess the word is choppy, but it didn't bother me at all.

The story is good and the acting is just as strong as in Casino imo.

The Last Samurai

[Show spoiler]This movie is pretty good, but not as great as I thought it was the first time I watched it. I still enjoy it, just not nearly as much as that first time.

Cruise is very good, but not great, in his role and Watanabe is great in his.

The script and directing are pretty good and the cinematography is very well done.

The Day After Tomorrow

[Show spoiler]The natural disasters may be what the people first watched the movie for, but I like the story of the father and son more than those parts...though I do enjoy those too. Quaid and Jake G. did well with their roles and definitely make this movie. This an Emmerich film though, so some people are sure to hate it...

The Matrix

[Show spoiler]Its the only one of the three I like, I didn't loathe the other two, but didn't really care for them that much. But the original was a great movie. Keanu isn't the greatest actor in the world by a long shot, but he was very good for this role. Fishburne as Morphius is also great as the leader of the characters. The story and concepts in the film are very good.

Avatar

[Show spoiler]Avatar may not be a masterpiece outside of the technical sense, but it is still a good movie imo. The story, though told before in its basic elements like all stories, is enjoyable. Jake is a decent enough main character. Is some of the dialog corny? Yes, of course it is, its a James Cameron movie. The acting quality varies, ranging from the boss guy (annoying) to Saldana (great).

The movie overall is just generally "good".

2 Fast 2 Furious

[Show spoiler]A lot of people hate this movie, but I really like it regardless if Paul Walker sounded like he was
reading note cards the entire movie . The stunts are pretty over the top, sure but I don't care.
People complain about Tyrese a lot, but I thought he was hilarious in the movie. The movie was
fun and enjoyable, and that is all I asked of it and exactly what I got. But it definitely isn't for
everyone and I can understand that.

21

[Show spoiler]21 is a movie about a MIT student who is accepted to Harvard Medical School...but can't afford
to get in. He is applying for a scholarship to fund his whole time there but he has to "dazzle"
the professor in charge of the scholarship to earn it. So he tries to find other ways for money
and ends up joining his professor's black jack team in Las Vegas to try and earn that money.
He is only there until he gets the $300,000 he needs and then that's it...or so he says.

Sturgess does well enough as the lead, but Spacey is without a doubt the best performance of
the movie. Bosworth and Yoo also do well in their parts and Yoo is hilarious.

The movie is pretty interesting and an enjoyable watch with good replay value...if you like it.

Fellowship of the Ring

[Show spoiler]I love the movie as a whole, but I'm not the biggest fan of the Shire scenes (as the Hobbits
are my least favorite of the main characters) and that is a 'dull' part in the movie for me, even
though it isn't bad...just not as good as the rest. From the time they meet Aragorn (my
favorite character) until the end, however, its great.

The Two Towers

[Show spoiler]A much higher ranking 4.5/5 than Fellowship, one which is only given because Two Towers
falls just short of being worthy of a 5/5 imo. The battle sequences are fantastic, the movie is
more even throughout quality wise and it introduces four of my favorite characters of the films
in Treebeard, Eomer, Theoden and Faramir (but also one of my least favorite, Gollum...though
he is mentioned and briefly seen in the first movie for a very short time). It also sets the stage
for the finest of the trilogy....

Return of the King

[Show spoiler]IMO, Return of the King takes what the first two got right and builds upon it by upping the
ante. The movie clocks in at 200 minutes including credits but it blows bye when I watch it. It
is without a doubt my personal favorite movie of all the films I've seen. To finally see the
conclusion of the journey the characters you grow to love (well most of them) throughout the
first two, to see the Battle of Pelennor Fields, the Black Gate scene, Aragorn's speech,
Theoden's speech, etc. etc. It is all around fantastic.

Next time I watch the Lord of the Rings movies I'll definitely be writing longer, full on reviews to post here

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i don't really have high expectations for this, but i didn't think it could be THIS bad! it's somewhere in my queue... around the 350 mark, so i'll get to it eventually

It's not that bad at all. I'd say it's a solid 3.5, but for me, I would dock it a bit to 3.25 due to a few unrealistic Military aspects of the film. But yeah, it's definitely a solid film and I enjoyed it in the theater

[iam1bearcat]

holy moses Diesel! how long did it take you to create that post?!

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

holy moses Diesel! how long did it take you to create that post?!

I just copy pasted them form the user review section

The only ones that I wrote tonight are The Fast and the Furious, Taken, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

The rest were already written just never posted in here

[iam1bearcat]

Diesel:
(i was gonna quote your post but because the reviews are other quotes it only quotes the new writing )

agree with Toy Story, Toy Story 2. i think my biggest complaint about TS2 is

[Show spoiler]Jess.

i don't know why, but i really didn't like her the first few times i saw the film, but she's grown on me over time. also i always find it weird how

[Show spoiler]Woody pretty much changes his feelings on what he is. in the first film he informed Buzz that he "is a toy!" and then in the second one he think he's different because he was on Woody's Roundup always kinda puzzled me...

not that it ruins the film. chances are i might still give it a 5/5, but who knows.

and i know we discussed The Last Samurai before. i remember saying how i gave it a 5/5 on my first viewing - even though it has many flaws. chances are it would still be AT LEAST 4/5 from me now, but it's not 5/5 worthy for me imo. although the film flies by. its run time always astonishes me.

[CZAR]

The Collector - This was a very good horror/slasher flick! I hear they are doing a sequel as well. This is for the hardcore horror fans and it doesnt disappoint. I wasnt a big fan of the PQ but I read it was meant to look that way. This film had all the elements that a horror film should have. The antagonist/Collector in the film was very brutal and I loved his brilliancy on setting up his plan! Also loved the main character as well as he was very convincing and loved how his emotions changed based on what was taken place. Again this was a very good horror film and its perfect for those hardcore horror/slasher fans!

Film Rating - 4 1/2 stars (out of 5)

PQ - 3 stars (out of 5)

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

Got Em!!

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Diesel:
(i was gonna quote your post but because the reviews are other quotes it only quotes the new writing )

agree with Toy Story, Toy Story 2. i think my biggest complaint about TS2 is

[Show spoiler]Jess.

i don't know why, but i really didn't like her the first few times i saw the film, but she's grown on me over time. also i always find it weird how

[Show spoiler]Woody pretty much changes his feelings on what he is. in the first film he informed Buzz that he "is a toy!" and then in the second one he think he's different because he was on Woody's Roundup always kinda puzzled me...

not that it ruins the film. chances are i might still give it a 5/5, but who knows.

and i know we discussed The Last Samurai before. i remember saying how i gave it a 5/5 on my first viewing - even though it has many flaws. chances are it would still be AT LEAST 4/5 from me now, but it's not 5/5 worthy for me imo. although the film flies by. its run time always astonishes me.

She's grown on me a little on repeat viewings. I originally listed her as one of my complaints for TS2 as well. But don't really mind her anymore, I don't particularly like the character that much (original toys are definitely the best characters) but at least she doesn't irritate me.

Yea I remember discussing that. I too gave it a 5/5 the first time, and as a first time viewing it was a 5/5 movie. But its just not so for repeat viewings.



I've gotten Lord of the Rings fever earlier than I anticipated (I watched them EACH 3 times in 3 weeks or so back in April, two times per theatrical and once each extended) and was burnt out on LotR and expected I wouldn't feel like seeing them again until September but I really want to watch them again.

BUT, I want to work on getting the rest (or at least most) of my titles reviewed, so I'm going to start watching movies that haven't been reviewed yet.

Probably going to start with Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as it is the shortest one I need to review and I haven't seen it in a while.

There are a few though that I didn't review but have watched fairly recently (The Day the Earth Stood Still, Fantastic Four) that will have to wait a while for me to rewatch/review them.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by CZAR

The Collector - This was a very good horror/slasher flick! I hear they are doing a sequel as well. This is for the hardcore horror fans and it doesnt disappoint. I wasnt a big fan of the PQ but I read it was meant to look that way. This film had all the elements that a horror film should have. The antagonist/Collector in the film was very brutal and I loved his brilliancy on setting up his plan! Also loved the main character as well as he was very convincing and loved how his emotions changed based on what was taken place. Again this was a very good horror film and its perfect for those hardcore horror/slasher fans!

Got Em!!

i don't know if you know or not Czar, but someone was telling me this was made by the same people who made Saw (or one them). i don't know if it was a writer / director / producer, but friends said this had a very "Saw feel" to it. any truth to that? otherwise what horror films (feel / plot wise) would you say this resembles?

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I've gotten Lord of the Rings fever earlier than I anticipated (I watched them EACH 3 times in 3 weeks or so back in April, two times per theatrical and once each extended) and was burnt out on LotR and expected I wouldn't feel like seeing them again until September but I really want to watch them again.

BUT, I want to work on getting the rest (or at least most) of my titles reviewed, so I'm going to start watching movies that haven't been reviewed yet.
Probably going to start with Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as it is the shortest one I need to review and I haven't seen it in a while.

There are a few though that I didn't review but have watched fairly recently (The Day the Earth Stood Still, Fantastic Four) that will have to wait a while for me to rewatch/review them.

haha you sound like my friends when it comes to LotR. they would stay home sick from school and watch all 3 films (extended versions too! ) in one day. like it was a contest or something ahaha. i could never come close to doing that or what you've done, i enjoy the films, but need a serious breather between each one. fantasy isn't exactly my cup of tea.

and as for what i bolded, i know what you mean. i have some blus i want to sell, but i want to watch / review them to know for sure to sell them and that way so i don't have to netflix them later (would feel like i'm wasting time since i would've owned it before) but there are soooooo many films i want to see and watch NOW that i don't want to watch what i've already seen.

the last 17 or so films i've watched have all been first time views!

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

haha you sound like my friends when it comes to LotR. they would stay home sick from school and watch all 3 films (extended versions too! ) in one day. like it was a contest or something ahaha. i could never come close to doing that or what you've done, i enjoy the films, but need a serious breather between each one. fantasy isn't exactly my cup of tea.

Since I first saw them a couple years ago I would usually watch them twice a year I think...but earlier this year I went insane

I watched them each on DVD before getting rid of them.

Then just before the blu-rays came out I found a great deal on the extended versions (either $17 or $21 for all three brand new sealed, can't recall) so I watched those.

Then I got the blu-rays when they came out and watched them each again

Then the next week my buddy called and said, "Hey lets watch Fellowship of the Ring"

Me:

When I do watch them, I have to watch all three within a few days.
My best case scenario is usually one per day for three days. So it usually takes some time to be able to set aside enough space to watch them all.

I've never watched all three in one day though.
I think I've done the first two in one day.

and as for what i bolded, i know what you mean. i have some blus i want to sell, but i want to watch / review them to know for sure to sell them and that way so i don't have to netflix them later (would feel like i'm wasting time since i would've owned it before) but there are soooooo many films i want to see and watch NOW that i don't want to watch what i've already seen.

There were a few I tried to sell but couldn't get any interest (Superman, The Matrix, etc.)

These are what's left for me to review:

The Chronicles of Riddick
Daredevil
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Disturbia
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Green Lantern: First Flight
I Am Legend
Independence Day
Into the Blue
Iron Man
The Island
Kingdom of Heaven
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible III
The Mummy
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The Prestige
Reign of Fire
Rocky: The Undisputed Collection
Rush Hour 3
The Scorpion King
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 3
Star Trek
Superman: The Movie
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Terminator Salvation
Whiteout
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X2: X-Men United




I'll probably knock out 5-10 of them and then give in to my Lord of the Rings fever

Plus there's some other ones I'll be watching (500 Days of Summer, Underworld, Rise of the Lycans) that I'll be watching soon too.

So I won't be done with my collection reviews for a while...

the last 17 or so films i've watched have all been first time views!

That's a lot of first time viewings!


My next first time viewing will be 500 Days of Summer, my cousin is loaning it to me this weekend and I'll try to watch it Sunday.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

My next first time viewing will be 500 Days of Summer, my cousin is loaning it to me this weekend and I'll try to watch it Sunday.

(500) Days of Summer is a great, great film.
and are some of those films you mentioned dvd or are they all blus?
i thought some of them weren't out on blu yet (The Island), but i could be wrong.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

(500) Days of Summer is a great, great film.
and are some of those films you mentioned dvd or are they all blus?
i thought some of them weren't out on blu yet (The Island), but i could be wrong.

I'll let you guys know what I think of it after I watch.


They are all blus.

I imported The Island from the UK for like $12

The rest are domestic releases.



Like I said though, some of them will have to wait a while to get reviews because I either 1) watched them recently and forgot to review them PQ/AQ wise or 2) I just don't feel like watching them in the immediate future.


I'm about to watch Silver Surfer right now actually and will do my review tomorrow.


Some of the next few I knock out will probably be The Island, Into the Blue (I'm sure JHiggy, Surf and Squid will be waiting on the edge of their seats for that one! ), the three Terminator movies and maybe I Am Legend (I've watched that one twice since getting it in January of 09 )



Edit: Just in case you are interested in The Island, you can get it from Amazon UK right now for $16 including shipping.