The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Like the word choice? Thank you dictionary.com for solving all my posting needs.

[jhiggy23]

Disturbed, what's the next Criterion you're watching and when will you be watching it?

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Steve46

As Good As It Gets 5/5

It's not often that a romantic comedy gets Oscar consideration. This was nominated for seven, with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt winning.

It works because everything comes together. The script is smart, without being insulting to the audience. The acting is superb with Nicholson, Hunt, Greg Kinnear and Cuba Gooding Jr. all on top form.

Nicholson plays a dysfunctional author with OCD and a whole lot of prejudices. He doesn't think much of people in general and despises his homosexual neighbor (Kinnear). Hunt's character saves him and makes him take stock of his miserable life.

The interplay between the the three main characters is excellent. You end up feeling sorry for all three and then hopeful. These are people to care about.

It's currently No. 28 on my all-time list. I'm hard to please when it comes to comedy. Basically, I don't like any of the dumb stuff that's forced down our throats. I find that comedy works best when it's inserted into dramas. This is one of those occasions.

One of my favorite lines in any movie of any genre happens to be in this movie:

[Show spoiler]Q: How do you write women so well?
A: I just think of a man and take away all reason and accountability

I'm not sure that Nicholson, Hunt and Kinnear have done better work than this, and that's saying a lot.

Release it on blu-ray immediately!

+1 I love this movie

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Like the word choice? Thank you dictionary.com for solving all my posting needs.

I love plethora, I dont use it often enough.

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest rental: “Kick Ass.”

Here it is, a kick-ass movie inspired by a kick-ass comic book; I always heard this movie kicked ass! (okay, enough with the puns!)

I have to say, yes, the film is quite entertaining. The pacing is brisk, the action is swell (especially in the last half), the photography and editing style are top-notch. Comic moments were plentiful, though it only made me laugh a few times. If anything, I was surprised as to how bright and light-hearted the film seemed overall; it’s almost like “Superbad” or something. The story is original and decent, and the characters are decent. Writing is good and the acting is great. Music choices are interesting.

It’s a happier slappier film than I expected, but still laden with bits of dark comedy, wicked violence, and perhaps a bit of social introspect. I worried that the brighter elements would contrast too much with the darker parts, but if anything, the film wound up being about as much fun as “Kill Bill.”

Compared to the comic, the film was mostly faithful, with only a few severe changes. These changes turned out to be mostly good (I was pretty happy to see

[Show spoiler]Dave’s romance with Katie blossoming

). My only complaint is with

[Show spoiler]Big Daddy’s backstory being truncated

. Maybe it doesn’t matter.

In the end, it’s nowhere near as hard-edged or disturbing as I imagined, but it’s highly entertaining and well-made.

4.5/5 (entertainment: 5/5, story: 4/5, film: 4.5/5)

The Blu-Ray looked and sounded darn near reference quality; I could not find any faults worth mentioning.

PQ: 5/5, AQ: 5/5

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Next greatest rental: “Kick Ass.”

[Bizdady]

Last night it was finally time to introduce my 9 year old daughter to Lord of the Rings. She already loves Star Wars & Narnia so I knew she would love the movie. This was just the regular Blu-ray not extended DVD cut but we clearly enjoyed watchng it in High Def together. We started around 10pm so we had a long night up watching Fellowship of the Ring.

AQ 5 (we watched at 11pm so we had to keep the volume somewhat low)
PQ 4 (the upgrade over my SD dvd was as clear as day and night, cant wait to watch the others as their PQ is significantly better.)

Overall a 10 score for a great movie experience with ones daughter lol Future techy in the making

[bingtau]

Not a bad film with a strong performance by John Hurt. I caught this on HD movies also starring Elija Wood. It's a murder case who dun it type of movie but has a couple of clever twists. The story is a little over board in parts but it keeps you watching wanting to know what happens in the end. Overall film is a 6/10 but the peformance by John Hurt is worth the time. Elija Wood is ok as well.

[Big-byrd]

CARS

i picked up when they had that car, monsters inc and up for 30 bucks.
finally got aroung to watching it. way way better than i thought.

8.5/10

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I love plethora, I dont use it often enough.

The only word I prefer more is misanthrope, and the derivation misanthropic.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Will you be watching the sequels?

Nope, even though I loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Seriously though, yes, I will be watching them. Hopefully they announce a US release date for The Girl Who Played with Fire on Blu-ray sometime soon.

[BladeRunner2007]

Apocalypse Now 4/5

Watched the Theatrical Cut. Much shorter and much more surreal that way. I liked it better than the Redux Version. A classic.

[GLaDOS]

Watched: Origins: Spirits Of The Past - 4.25/5

Great anime flick!

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Disturbed, what's the next Criterion you're watching and when will you be watching it?

Im watching Sanjuro as we type and its no where as good as Yojimbo. Ill write a review after.

I know you want me to watch some of the other acclaimed elite movies but the longer i wait the better it will be

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

After reading a couple of your post ive come to the conclusion that you hate Tarantino. Right? But why? I think he knows how to entertain very well.
Did you like any of his movies? This question is for you too jhiggy

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by bladerunner2007

apocalypse now 4/5

watched the theatrical cut. Much shorter and much more surreal that way. I liked it better than the redux version. A classic.

+1, but don't let jhiggy see you saying that.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Im watching Sanjuro as we type and its no where as good as Yojimbo. Ill write a review after.

I know you want me to watch some of the other acclaimed elite movies but the longer i wait the better it will be

After my disappointment with Yojimbo, I had little desire to see Sanjuro. Interested to see your review.

As for your second comment, we shall see. You haven't delved into the "real" Criterions yet.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

After reading a couple of your post ive come to the conclusion that you hate Tarantino. Right? But why? I think he knows how to entertain very well.
Did you like any of his movies? This question is for you too jhiggy

I've answered this question many times before. I respect Tarantino's film knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium, but he's essentially an unoriginal thief. It's true that almost every movie is at least partially based on those that came before it, but Tarantino takes it to an entirely different level. It's one thing for a film to be similar in plot to other films--that's inevitable. It's another to blatantly and openly steal entire scenes, dialogue, and concepts from prior films and then to consider yourself special for doing so. I'm not saying it's easy to do, bc if it was everyone would do it. But just because he's able to do it and make critically acclaimed films in doing so doesn't change the fact that he's the Dane Cook of directors. I have zero respect for him as a director.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by repete66211

+1, but don't let jhiggy see you saying that.

Ah, it's a matter of preference. There are prob more pros for the regular version than there are for the uncut, but for whatever reason I prefer it. I do agree that the flow isn't quite as good and the Bunny scenes are unneeded.

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

he's the Dane Cook of directors.

Bravo jhiggy. That comment is like a lighting bolt. So true. I agree with what you have to say but would like to add a couple of things. First, his dialog can be cute and witty at times--mostly due to artifice--but A LOT of it is just plain bad. That's what killed Kill Bill for me. I would just burst out laughing at some of the lines and then realize they weren't meant to be funny. However, I really like True Romance, so if you take a QT story and filter it through a sensible director/producer you can end up with some really good stuff.

Probably the #1 reason I don't think too much of him is a bad reason to not like a director--because of the hype that surrounds him. He's directed what, 6 movies in the last 20 years? I really like Reservoir Dogs. Pulp Fiction is one of the most overrated movies in recent history (and I hate using the "o" word). Kill Bill was poorly written, poorly acted and derivative. Jackie Brown was better than I thought it would be. The opening scene of Inglorious Basterds was top-notch movie making and IMO QT's best work, but then the movie turned into a cartoon (which I still enjoyed, but nothing approaching Greatness).

I guess what I'm saying is what pisses me off most about QT is how he produced throngs of fanboys who act like movies didn't even exist prior to Pulp Fiction.