The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[PH3AR]

The Hurt Locker 10/10

The best movie of 09 if it dosent win best picture there is something wrong with people everything about it was great!

[Lacit170]

Triangle - 8/10.... one of the weirdest, interesting movies ive seen in some time.... i still dont think i really get it haha

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Lacit170

Triangle - 8/10.... one of the weirdest, interesting movies ive seen in some time.... i still dont think i really get it haha

I want to see that one to. I might blind buy it one day. Got Em!!

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

This thread deserves a sticky

[kurtis21]

I just got back from the movies and saw Wolfman. I throughly enjoyed it. It pays homage to the classic in several ways. This isn't "The Mummy or Van Helsing"...It is more on the line with "Bram Stokers Dracula". It's a more "realistic" approach like Dracula was (If you get my drift) It comes highly recommended from me

Wolfman-8/10

[BladeRunner2007]

Haute tension aka High Tension

Aja's best film yet. Brutal, intense, suspenseful/thrilling and uncompromising. That's how horror movies should be. And yes, the ending actually DOES make sense...

[PH3AR]

Originally Posted by CZAR

I want to see that one to. I might blind buy it one day. Got Em!!

It was a blind buy for me, it was well worth it watch it about 5 times in 5 days!

[surfdude12]

Mulholland Drive (first Lynch film i've ever seen)

Movie: 4/5

Holy crapolla! and this is Lynch's simplest film?

-very good film overall
-i felt i "understood" the film until the last 45 minutes, which threw me into a tornado of plot twists, leaving me to believe that this goes in the "not supposed to get it" category (which seems to be a favorite of mine )
-after some reading, turns out

[Show spoiler] the entire film is a dream, and thus each scene or subplot should be considered individually and not as part of a whole (just like you would with a dream)

-reminded me a bit of memento
-will definitely purchase this for more viewings

[hulkreborn]

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
4 out of 5.

[toef]

Up 7/10

Second time I saw it (well, 2nd time through the full thing... I saw parts of it at a friend's house, but didn't sit through the whole thing).

I still feel the same way about it. First half is great (8 or 9/10), second half is pretty mediocre, with more than a handful of terrible jokes (a 5 or 6/10), which brings me to my overall rating.

[WyldeMan45]

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

Chris Klein has taken the throne for worst actor ever..............I haven't laughed so hard at someone trying that hard to be serious, probably ever. Between the CSI: Miami style dialogue , the nicolas cage toupee's with visible glue, Chris Klein's "intense" face, Neal McDonough's "irish" accent even though he was raised in bangkok from infancy , his "you broke my heart" line to the woman he just beat to death , and even one of the Black Eyed Peas as Vega I award this film no points, and may god have mercy on my soul................

[Zero_Cool]

Well I am about to watch drop zone. I will let you know in 2 hours.

[Al_The_Strange]

Watched "Ong Bak" for the second time ever, and I enjoyed it better this time around. The fight and chase scenes are pretty fun and impressive; the story is alright and the characters are pretty likable. I still don't think it's as good as other martial arts movies (especially other Thai ones like "The Protector" or "Chocolate"), but it's decently made and quite enjoyable. 4/5

I still wish the BD had better quality, and now I'm interested to see what the original un-edited version is like...

[STARSCREAM]

Couples Retreat. Thought it was very funny and good. I liked it alot better than The Hangover.

[SJD]

Kingdom Of Haven
7.5/10
Very well shot and wonderfully written, tho i didn't really buy Orlando bloom as the character he was portraying, i went in expecting a action heavy movie and got a story heavy movie, Still very good and worth the watch.

[,deeii]

Watched War last night with Jason Statham & Jet Li.
Movie wasn't bad, I enjoyed it!

7/10

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

Mulholland Drive (first Lynch film i've ever seen)

Movie: 4/5

Holy crapolla! and this is Lynch's simplest film?

-very good film overall
-i felt i "understood" the film until the last 45 minutes, which threw me into a tornado of plot twists, leaving me to believe that this goes in the "not supposed to get it" category (which seems to be a favorite of mine )
-after some reading, turns out

[Show spoiler] the entire film is a dream, and thus each scene or subplot should be considered individually and not as part of a whole (just like you would with a dream)

-reminded me a bit of memento
-will definitely purchase this for more viewings

My favorite film of all time. I immediately watched it again the day after I first saw it.

Here's my interpretation:

[Show spoiler]The first thing to note is that it isn't linear. It jumps around all over the place. Also, many of the events are not real and happen as part of a drug-induced dream.

The Betty played by Naomi Watts is the way she imagines herself. She thinks she is a fun, positive person, and a brilliant young actress. She sees herself as altruistic and a loyal friend. So she wants to help Rita, she nails her acting audition.

She doesn't get the part so she has to invent a reason in her mind for that failure. She assumes that the mafia have insisted that the director choose another actress over her. That sparks the hilarious coffee scene with Angelo Badalamenti.

In reality, she has been dumped by her lover, Rita (actually Camilla) who falls in love with the director Adam Kesher. She can't deal with the reality that Kesher is successful, rich, and popular, so she dreams up the scene where he is beaten up, betrayed by his wife, and his career is controlled by the mafia. He has no access to his money and he is kicked out of the house.

In reality, she decides to have Rita/Camilla murdered because she feels jilted. She hires a hitman. But she starts to feel guilty, so her dream reality makes him highly incompetent (also hilarious) and he botches the hit. In reality he kills Rita/Camilla as evidenced by the blue key in her apartment.

In club Silencio, they keep saying nothing is real, it's all recorded. This seems to represent Betty's imagined dreams.

When Betty sees the waitress, she sees the nametag Diane. In reality, Betty is Diane all along, and the waitress is called Betty.

Diane is a mediocre actress that is given parts by her more talented friend/lover Camilla (Rita). Camilla dumps her for Kesher, and also has an affair with another girl.

The bum is possibly the way Diane sees herself. Ugly.

The blue box is just a device for making a transition from dream to reality. Even Lynch says he doesn't know what it is.

The final 45 minutes show the real Diane (Betty). Deeply troubled, missing her lover. Just a desolate human being.

Faces she sees in real life take on real characters in her dreams. The cowboy is one obvious example. Our minds arrange things any way it likes when we dream.

It's also a commentary on Hollywood and the way in which young dreams are shattered. Many people end up damaged. She is confronted by her demons after arranging the hit on Camilla, and the two old people represent that (probably). She can't live with herself and so commits suicide. The rotting corpse she discovers earlier in the film is actually herself.

I bought it and watched it two days in a row. Then read about it and watched it several more times.

Whatever the conclusions, I don't really care what is correct and what isn't. But I do care about how the film makes me feel. It makes me laugh and it makes me sad. It certainly makes me think. The three people I shared it with just wanted 2.5 hours of their life back. It's not for everyone. If you like thinking, and can deal with non-linear plots such as Pulp Fiction and Memento, this might interest you. It's beautifully shot.

Naomi Watts gives probably the best performance I have seen by any actress. She is bright and bubbly as Betty and things are deliberately hokey as in a B movie, and then she becomes a totally different person as we confront her reality. She's a wrecked woman. She deserved an Oscar in my opinion.

[surfdude12]

Hunger

Film: 4/5
-very good film.
-very realistic showing of prison conditions in 1981 N. Ireland for IRA prisoners.
-disclaimer: this film is pretty graphic, so be aware of that if u rent it.

PQ: 4/5 (very good overall, nice grain, but not reference level)

AQ: 4/5 (very front heavy, didn't hear much surround usage)

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by Steve46

My favorite film of all time. I immediately watched it again the day after I first saw it.

Here's my interpretation:

[Show spoiler]The first thing to note is that it isn't linear. It jumps around all over the place. Also, many of the events are not real and happen as part of a drug-induced dream.

The Betty played by Naomi Watts is the way she imagines herself. She thinks she is a fun, positive person, and a brilliant young actress. She sees herself as altruistic and a loyal friend. So she wants to help Rita, she nails her acting audition.

She doesn't get the part so she has to invent a reason in her mind for that failure. She assumes that the mafia have insisted that the director choose another actress over her. That sparks the hilarious coffee scene with Angelo Badalamenti.

In reality, she has been dumped by her lover, Rita (actually Camilla) who falls in love with the director Adam Kesher. She can't deal with the reality that Kesher is successful, rich, and popular, so she dreams up the scene where he is beaten up, betrayed by his wife, and his career is controlled by the mafia. He has no access to his money and he is kicked out of the house.

In reality, she decides to have Rita/Camilla murdered because she feels jilted. She hires a hitman. But she starts to feel guilty, so her dream reality makes him highly incompetent (also hilarious) and he botches the hit. In reality he kills Rita/Camilla as evidenced by the blue key in her apartment.

In club Silencio, they keep saying nothing is real, it's all recorded. This seems to represent Betty's imagined dreams.

When Betty sees the waitress, she sees the nametag Diane. In reality, Betty is Diane all along, and the waitress is called Betty.

Diane is a mediocre actress that is given parts by her more talented friend/lover Camilla (Rita). Camilla dumps her for Kesher, and also has an affair with another girl.

The bum is possibly the way Diane sees herself. Ugly.

The blue box is just a device for making a transition from dream to reality. Even Lynch says he doesn't know what it is.

The final 45 minutes show the real Diane (Betty). Deeply troubled, missing her lover. Just a desolate human being.

Faces she sees in real life take on real characters in her dreams. The cowboy is one obvious example. Our minds arrange things any way it likes when we dream.

It's also a commentary on Hollywood and the way in which young dreams are shattered. Many people end up damaged. She is confronted by her demons after arranging the hit on Camilla, and the two old people represent that (probably). She can't live with herself and so commits suicide. The rotting corpse she discovers earlier in the film is actually herself.

I bought it and watched it two days in a row. Then read about it and watched it several more times.

Whatever the conclusions, I don't really care what is correct and what isn't. But I do care about how the film makes me feel. It makes me laugh and it makes me sad. It certainly makes me think. The three people I shared it with just wanted 2.5 hours of their life back. It's not for everyone. If you like thinking, and can deal with non-linear plots such as Pulp Fiction and Memento, this might interest you. It's beautifully shot.

Naomi Watts gives probably the best performance I have seen by any actress. She is bright and bubbly as Betty and things are deliberately hokey as in a B movie, and then she becomes a totally different person as we confront her reality. She's a wrecked woman. She deserved an Oscar in my opinion.

wow dude, great explanation but here's where you confused me:

-you seem to be arguing that there are almost "layers" of dreams/imagination going on. for example, you say

[Show spoiler] naomi imagines (i assume u mean in a dream?) herself as the actress, doesnt get the role, so to cope with this, invents (now is she dreaming in her dream?) that the director is getting threatened...

.
-that's just an example (i saw a few others in your post) where you lost me b/c

[Show spoiler] i'm trying to determine if its multi-dream layers or just one real layer and one imaginary layer. i'll have to read your post and watch it again, and specifically: are there layers of dreams/imagination going on, or is there a single "real" and single "dream" world, b/c that doesnt seem possible with the layers of imagination going on in your explanation...

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

wow dude, great explanation but here's where you confused me:

-you seem to be arguing that there are almost "layers" of dreams/imagination going on. for example, you say

[Show spoiler] naomi imagines (i assume u mean in a dream?) herself as the actress, doesnt get the role, so to cope with this, invents (now is she dreaming in her dream?) that the director is getting threatened...

.
-that's just an example (i saw a few others in your post) where you lost me b/c

[Show spoiler] i'm trying to determine if its multi-dream layers or just one real layer and one imaginary layer. i'll have to read your post and watch it again, and specifically: are there layers of dreams/imagination going on, or is there a single "real" and single "dream" world, b/c that doesnt seem possible with the layers of imagination going on in your explanation...

I don't pretend to know all the answers. You can easily argue that some scenes are dreams within dreams.

But my best guess is

[Show spoiler]The Watts character is a bad actress. She continually fails to get roles. She's in love with the Harring character who is a better actress and gets the Watts character minor roles. The Watts character has a self image of herself being a great actress and the perfect friend. She concludes that the mafia told Kesher not to give her roles so that she can justify her failure. When Harring breaks off the relationship, Watts hires a killer. Then she regrets it so makes him incompetent in her mind. He is all too competent and kills Harring and leaves the blue key as proof. She imagines Kesher as a loser and invents all the bad stuff that happens to him because he stole Harring away and she was jealous that she lost her lover.

And that's my simple version

There's so much going on. I just enjoy it as an experience and don't worry about the meaning too much.