The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

How in the world do you squeeze in 10 hours with all the 500 Days of Summer watching!?

[Show spoiler]

let's just say some days, all my free time gos to (500) Days of Summer... it just hypnotizes me!

Originally Posted by surfdude12

I hate you guys , so many good reviews that I'll have to blind buy
I see on Rotten Tomatoes that its only 61% from the reviewers. Oh well. I trust you guys more!

i believe you'll enjoy it Surf
while i believe you'll love the realistic action, writing, responses and ideas the film presents, i don't think it'll get past 4/5 for ya, but obviously that doesn't mean it's bad. and if you like depressing themes in movies, Frozen has them, but not in the super negative sense like torture porn movies and what not. this is depressing, but at the same time hopefully and shows the heart and strength of people fighting to stay alive in a brutal situation

done blabbering now

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Dark Moses

I haven't reviewed a movie in a while..

I've watched Frozen

Which was a great movie and pretty intense all the way around. There was one thing that ruined it for me though....

[Show spoiler]Wolves eating people

4.5/5

What u dont think a

[Show spoiler]pack of wild wolves will eat u if u are caught out in the woods alone?

Got Em!!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

And you're still in the bandwagon?

If popular opinion can throw talent like this out of a talent show, I think I'll stick with my own judgment.

Correct. After I see a movie, I check around to see what the majority consensus is, then I climb on board whether I agree or not.

-----------------------------------------------

That girl lost????????????? All the other contestants should have just packed their stuff and gone home the minute she opened her mouth.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

No one really says that King is a good writer in terms of the art of writing; people praise his approach to a large cast of characters and his perceived ability to make you feel like you're in a small town (for his town books) and for the range of genres he's been able to be successful in. There's no doubting his success and commercial appeal, but he's far from a good writer. His prose is juvenile, his dialogue is laughable, and his characters are cardboard. BUT his stories are able to translate into film and his quirky nature, especially when he first began, has led to hoardes of devoted fans who have blinded themselves to his lack of literary quality.

As for the film, my opinion is just that--an opinion. I wouldn't place this film in the "films I don't understand how ppl like" category. I can certainly understand ppl liking the film and being moved by the ending. It just didn't work for me.

Do you feel that way about his older stuff, like The Stand?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Director: Sidney Lumet
Writer: Kelly Masterson
Mains: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei

Gritty Thriller, Great Acting But it fail short.

To be honest i dont know why i couldnt connect with this film. The last 45mins was great but leading up to that point i never made any connections. This is also my 2nd time trying to watch this movie and credit it for what its worth but i just cant find any liking in the film. The acting was great and the story was good but i think what killed it was the Direction. I really cant put my finger on it but i wanted to like this movie but i just can cope with it.


3.5/5

Didnt work fo me either. It was too dreary with all the characters being weasels.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Watched Kingdom of Heaven to reassess my 5/5 rating I gave the Director's Cut upon first viewing.

I've decided to lower the score slightly to a 4.75/5 after a repeat viewing.


So my scores for the discussion spurred by Higgy's Gladiator review are now as follows:

Gladiator - 5/5
Kingdom of Heaven DC - 4.75/5
Braveheart - 4.5/5
Last Samurai - 4/5

Haven't gotten to Troy yet.

I cant remember, do you have Troy?

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Didnt work fo me either. It was too dreary with all the characters being weasels.

I didnt care for this film either. I didnt even get through it although I heard it gets better but oh well. Got Em!!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

Requiem For A Dream - Director's Cut

Film: 5/5
-a top 30-35 film on my all-time list
-can't say enough good things about Aranofsky's direction. I keep forgetting how good he is until I watch one of his films again. Him and PTA are neck-and-neck for my favorite active director
-everything about the film is A+: one of the greatest performances I've ever seen in Burstyn, a fantastic soundtrack, incredible direction with new techniques that really keep it interesting (split screen, walking/running cam - mounted in front of person looking at their face as they run/walk, speed up/slow down technique, I could go on forever...and EVEN ONE of these techniques would make the direction A+)
-loved the climax ending of

[Show spoiler]4 characters crashing and burning from drug use. It matters not what your age/sex/race/gender is, as each of the 4 did not have the same of each, drug addiction won't discriminate - it just wants to destroy you. The film is a great reminder for those who've never used drugs on why never to start and a greater reminder for those who have why never to re-start.

PQ: 3/5
AQ: 3/5

I saw it in the theater alone at midnight.

It will always be a 5 star film for me and ranks high on my all time list as well.

I thought the audio effects were brilliant and extremely effective.

I enjoyed how it drove home the point that drug abuse covers all the bases as far as misery and life altering consequences.

[Show spoiler]
1. Psycholgical/mental: Burstyns brain is permanently damaged
2. Legal: Wayans ends up in the joint.
3. Physical: Leto loses an arm
4. Emotional: Connelly is ruined. And if/when she stops trading her body for dope, she'll carry those scars and guilt forever.
5. Fear: They all drag fear around with themselves, all day, everyday.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

a common criticism of the film, but I'm baffled at why I don't read this for lots of other films on this site, including many new releases, such as torture porn flicks and recent "action" flicks which include such gruesome and gorey violence that it makes Requiem look PG-13. Now those films, I would agree with your post...they're disturbing and have no thematic value. With Requiem, at least there is the latter. Perhaps that's the difference: Requiem is a more genuine/realistic script, which makes it more depressing/disturbing. But why is that a bad thing if it is depressing/disturbing for a redeeming effect (

[Show spoiler]reminding us of the dangers of drugs

)? With the movies above, they're just painfully sick to watch and have no redeeming effect.

You want replay value? I'll give you replay value.

[Show spoiler]A Yeti field goal is good for at least ten viewings.

[Foggy]

Smokin' Aces

Quite bad really, it started off so good but about the 30-45 min mark it just became a muddled mess, you didn't give a damn about any of the characters or the story. And it kept trying to be dramatic and involving, yet you have a scene with one of the worlds most annoying kids pretend fighting a guy in a bath while getting a boner, and you want this to be a serious crime thriller. I didn't mind there was some good humor in it, but it never accounted to anything. The action was quite lame as well. The whole film just felt very amateurish, like a guy liked all this stylised stuff and though it be cool to make an entire movie like that. I won't be watching this one again anytime soon

3/10

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I saw it in the theater alone at midnight.

It will always be a 5 star film for me and ranks high on my all time list as well.

I thought the audio effects were brilliant and extremely effective.

I enjoyed how it drove home the point that drug abuse covers all the bases as far as misery and life altering consequences.

[Show spoiler]
1. Psycholgical/mental: Burstyns brain is permanently damaged
2. Legal: Wayans ends up in the joint.
3. Physical: Leto loses an arm
4. Emotional: Connelly is ruined. And if/when she stops trading her body for dope, she'll carry those scars and guilt forever.
5. Fear: They all drag fear around with themselves, all day, everyday.

holy cow dude, how was that drive home at 2am?

great summation of the themes here! there is good news though with this film:

[Show spoiler]ironically, only characters like those in the film, who have truly crashed and burned, ever sum up the will to truly change. its only after someone is 110% convinced that their way of living isn't working (i.e. "sick and tired of being sick and tired") that they actually do anything about it. take someone who is far better off, but unhappy with their life: an overweight guy who can't lose weight or a workaholic who can't find balance. they haven't crashed and burned yet, so still may be still only 70-80% convinced that their way of living doesn't work. in a way, the characters in the movie are blessed...this assumes of course, that they survive

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

You want replay value? I'll give you replay value.

[Show spoiler]A Yeti field goal is good for at least ten viewings.

your spoiler: the pic doesn't come up and I've no idea what

[Show spoiler]yeti field goal is?

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

your spoiler: the pic doesn't come up and I've no idea what

[Show spoiler]yeti field goal is?

http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/mummy3.php

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

holy cow dude, how was that drive home at 2am?

great summation of the themes here! there is good news though with this film:

[Show spoiler]ironically, only characters like those in the film, who have truly crashed and burned, ever sum up the will to truly change. its only after someone is 110% convinced that their way of living isn't working (i.e. "sick and tired of being sick and tired") that they actually do anything about it. take someone who is far better off, but unhappy with their life: an overweight guy who can't lose weight or a workaholic who can't find balance. they haven't crashed and burned yet, so still may be still only 20-30% convinced that their way of living doesn't work. in a way, the characters in the movie are blessed...this assumes of course, that they survive

Yep, There are low "bottoms" and high "bottoms". Some folks experience the wake up call before going too far down. The kids in RfaD are hitting a pretty low bottom and hopefully they respond to the wake up call in a positive fashion. Or they could just get high to forget all their problems. Some people cling to that plan for a long long time.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

your spoiler: the pic doesn't come up and I've no idea what

[Show spoiler]yeti field goal is?

Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has a great scene where a Yeti kicks a human foe off into the distance between some hills or buildings (I cant remember which) and it looks like a field goal. Than a second Yeti raises his arms to cofirm it. Great popcorn flick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6z2gXo_JEc

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has a great scene where a Yeti kicks a human foe off into the distance between some hills or buildings (I cant remember which) and it looks like a field goal. Than a second Yeti raises his arms to cofirm it. Great popcorn flick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6z2gXo_JEc

O...M...G....

"popcorn flick"...I still have no idea what that means...and yet I do

[Denoku]

Originally Posted by CZAR

What u dont think a

[Show spoiler]pack of wild wolves will eat u if u are caught out in the woods alone?

Got Em!!

No I don't

[Show spoiler]Especially not how they depict in the movie. Torn to pieces insides everywhere. I'm no animal expert but I'm pretty sure Wolves don't do that. Maybe if they were threatened but to just tear apart people for no reason seems

With that said I still liked the movie, I just didn't like that aspect of it.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

The Game

it's amazing what an absolutely god awful ending can do to the overall score of a film...

worth a rental, but i could never watch this again knowing the terrible way it ends. sad really because while not perfect, it was different and pretty interesting. but now? now i feel ripped off for such an ending. i can describe or explain how over the top the ending was. ugh. what a bad taste it has left in my mouth!

2.5/5

agreed!! hated the ending as well-- I have no interest in ever seeing this flick again....

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Dark Moses

No I don't

[Show spoiler]Especially not how they depict in the movie. Torn to pieces insides everywhere. I'm no animal expert but I'm pretty sure Wolves don't do that. Maybe if they were threatened but to just tear apart people for no reason seems

With that said I still liked the movie, I just didn't like that aspect of it.

I am not no

[Show spoiler]animal expert either but we see dogs everyday tearing people apart let alone wolves. I think its very true that in that situation it would happen. Also with both of his legs broke and bones sticking out and blood everywhere, that would make the wolves even more hungry and vicious.

It seemed very real to me. Got Em!!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

agreed!! hated the ending as well-- I have no interest in ever seeing this flick again....

I saw it, but I cant remember the ending.

Someone please tell me what happened in spoiler tags.