The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[surfdude12]

Chungking Express

Film: 4/5
-loved the realism of the asian urban environment: very realistic/believable; very citylike; great "urban direction", with techniques like keeping the camera wobbly while zooming on the girl working at the take-out, with pedestrians cutting in and out as they walk in front of the camera...just one example of really putting the audience in the city
-could really relate to the first cop: a mind-wanderer who tends to focus on small details. i found myself smiling many times in reading his subtitles.
-another "not meant to be understood" and/or "journey over destination" film

PQ: 3/5 (a foggy/smokey layer was annoying and was present during many scenes. this is distinct from grain. it made the colors look more washed out. perhaps it was intended, but i didn't like it)

AQ: 4/5 (good, this is just a dialogue heavy movie)

[CZAR]

The Shining - Finally watched my blu copy of this film which I havnt seen since I was a kid. Still a great film. A bit slower than I remember but its a 2 1/2 hour film plus its directed by Kubrick who has his share of slow films under his belt! Still love the climax as it gets real intense! Great acting on all accounts! Very nice transfer as far as PQ goes! Now about the ending and such I remember there was a thread about this. Before I get to that I have a question..............

[Show spoiler]How does Jack get out of the food room which she locked him in? Does he breakout but Kubrick wants u to think the imaginery guy unlocked it for him? As for the ending what I took from it was, the killer was always Jack and when people come to caretake for the hotel in the winters he would take over their spirits and cause the killings. That would point to the reason why he could see the last guy who killed his family in 1970!

Im sure there are a lot of interpretions out there. Anyhoo if anyone can answer the first question and then give their take of what they took from the ending it would be appreciated! I would rate the film 4/5 Got Em!!

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

Chungking Express

Film: 4/5
-loved the realism of the asian urban environment: very realistic/believable; very citylike; great "urban direction", with techniques like keeping the camera wobbly while zooming on the girl working at the take-out, with pedestrians cutting in and out as they walk in front of the camera...just one example of really putting the audience in the city
-could really relate to the first cop: a mind-wanderer who tends to focus on small details. i found myself smiling many times in reading his subtitles.
-another "not meant to be understood" and/or "journey over destination" film

PQ: 3/5 (a foggy/smokey layer was annoying and was present during many scenes. this is distinct from grain. it made the colors look more washed out. perhaps it was intended, but i didn't like it)

AQ: 4/5 (good, this is just a dialogue heavy movie)

I see you're making your way through the Criterions, my friend...

I haven't seen Chungking but will do so soon. Nice review, like usual.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by CZAR

The Shining - Finally watched my blu copy of this film which I havnt seen since I was a kid. Still a great film. A bit slower than I remember but its a 2 1/2 hour film plus its directed by Kubrick who has his share of slow films under his belt! Still love the climax as it gets real intense! Great acting on all accounts! Very nice transfer as far as PQ goes! Now about the ending and such I remember there was a thread about this. Before I get to that I have a question..............

[Show spoiler]How does Jack get out of the food room which she locked him in? Does he breakout but Kubrick wants u to think the imaginery guy unlocked it for him? As for the ending what I took from it was, the killer was always Jack and when people come to caretake for the hotel in the winters he would take over their spirits and cause the killings. That would point to the reason why he could see the last guy who killed his family in 1970!

Im sure there are a lot of interpretions out there. Anyhoo if anyone can answer the first question and then give their take of what they took from the ending it would be appreciated! I would rate the film 4/5 Got Em!!

Nice review. I haven't seen it on blu yet but I'll be buying it when October comes around.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by CZAR

The Shining - Finally watched my blu copy of this film which I havnt seen since I was a kid. Still a great film. A bit slower than I remember but its a 2 1/2 hour film plus its directed by Kubrick who has his share of slow films under his belt! Still love the climax as it gets real intense! Great acting on all accounts! Very nice transfer as far as PQ goes! Now about the ending and such I remember there was a thread about this. Before I get to that I have a question..............

[Show spoiler]How does Jack get out of the food room which she locked him in? Does he breakout but Kubrick wants u to think the imaginery guy unlocked it for him? As for the ending what I took from it was, the killer was always Jack and when people come to caretake for the hotel in the winters he would take over their spirits and cause the killings. That would point to the reason why he could see the last guy who killed his family in 1970!

Im sure there are a lot of interpretions out there. Anyhoo if anyone can answer the first question and then give their take of what they took from the ending it would be appreciated! I would rate the film 4/5 Got Em!!

[Show spoiler]
on getting out of the locker: no, i think he was let out by a ghost/spirit. this is smoking-gun evidence that jack is not just imagining all these visions, and that there are actual, active spirits in this hotel that are manipulating him (and apparently, are also capable to opening meat lockers). they started on him right when he took no more than 10 steps into the hotel! in the initial interview (or in the first portion of the film), he said "i feel like i've been here before". the ghosts/spirits were playing his emotions/memory like a musician playing a guitar, from day 1.

on the end: yeah, theres lots of interpretations. my favorite is that the hotel is kind of like a fraternity for ghosts. when jack arrived, the ghosts basically told him: if you want to join our club, you gotta do the initiation (in this case, killing his family, or "correcting them", as the dude says in the bathroom). this theory is also supported by the meat locker unlocking, when, after having already been told to murder his wife and failing, the ghost says something like (i'm paraphrasing): you're not doing what we asked, you're letting us down, blah blah, to which jack reassures them he will fulfill it. now, even though the family got away, i like to think that the president of the ghost/spirits gave him entry, based on an A for effort once he was "admitted" into the club, he was "absorbed" into the grounds of the hotel, including into the paper of the photo.

other cool theories i heard were: that since the hotel is on an american indian burial ground (said earlier in the film, where they talk about the original owners having to repel an indian attack). hence, the ghosts/spirits may be traced back to those tormented american indian souls, and the blood spilled down the hallway represents this aspect of history.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

I see you're making your way through the Criterions, my friend...

I haven't seen Chungking but will do so soon. Nice review, like usual.

yeah, thanks dude. i only have 2-3 more to see. i was disappointed with Man Who Fell to Earth and Last Metro (last metro was ok, but not great. i felt detached from the characters). so it was good to see a good one tonight.

i'm really glad that i got great suggestions from the criterion people (perhaps you were one of them) when that B&N criterion sale was going on and i snagged the best ones i've seen back then.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

[Show spoiler]
on getting out of the locker: no, i think he was let out by a ghost/spirit. this is smoking-gun evidence that jack is not just imagining all these visions, and that there are actual, active spirits in this hotel that are manipulating him (and apparently, are also capable to opening meat lockers). they started on him right when he took no more than 10 steps into the hotel! in the initial interview (or in the first portion of the film), he said "i feel like i've been here before". the ghosts/spirits were playing his emotions/memory like a musician playing a guitar, from day 1.

on the end: yeah, theres lots of interpretations. my favorite is that the hotel is kind of like a fraternity for ghosts. when jack arrived, the ghosts basically told him: if you want to join our club, you gotta do the initiation (in this case, killing his family, or "correcting them", as the dude says in the bathroom). this theory is also supported by the meat locker unlocking, when, after having already been told to murder his wife and failing, the ghost says something like (i'm paraphrasing): you're not doing what we asked, you're letting us down, blah blah, to which jack reassures them he will fulfill it. now, even though the family got away, i like to think that the president of the ghost/spirits gave him entry, based on an A for effort once he was "admitted" into the club, he was "absorbed" into the grounds of the hotel, including into the paper of the photo.

other cool theories i heard were: that since the hotel is on an american indian burial ground (said earlier in the film, where they talk about the original owners having to repel an indian attack). hence, the ghosts/spirits may be traced back to those tormented american indian souls, and the blood spilled down the hallway represents this aspect of history.

[Show spoiler]In the context of the original story, I think you're both right. I see it as, the hotel is a fraternity of spirits, and they've taken over Jack's body. In the book and miniseries, he had to struggle with them to regain his former self and save his family, and ultimately sacrifice himself.

I love Kubrick's movie, but it is vastly different in this regard; the spirits seem highly diminished in favor of showing Jack going crazy. I think the perfect adaptation of this story would have to incorporate Kubrick's style with the story/characters of the miniseries. But heck, they're both not bad as they are.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Q!

Yeah, I agree with that score

It's almost overrated in my opinion, I uesd to love it!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Freekman

I really tried to see what all the hype was about with the movie. I thought A LOT about what was going on more than just the literal. I understood its parallelism to reality and can see its deeper meaning. But as a movie, I didn't like it. They could have made the SFX better, as 1998 wasn't too long ago. I'll give it another try, but my 3/5 stands at this time because I was disappointed by its overrated hype.

Fair enough.

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Nice review. I haven't seen it on blu yet but I'll be buying it when October comes around.

Oh so u gonna snatch it for our regular halloween theme! I got u! Got Em!!

Originally Posted by surfdude12

[Show spoiler]
on getting out of the locker: no, i think he was let out by a ghost/spirit. this is smoking-gun evidence that jack is not just imagining all these visions, and that there are actual, active spirits in this hotel that are manipulating him (and apparently, are also capable to opening meat lockers). they started on him right when he took no more than 10 steps into the hotel! in the initial interview (or in the first portion of the film), he said "i feel like i've been here before". the ghosts/spirits were playing his emotions/memory like a musician playing a guitar, from day 1.

on the end: yeah, theres lots of interpretations. my favorite is that the hotel is kind of like a fraternity for ghosts. when jack arrived, the ghosts basically told him: if you want to join our club, you gotta do the initiation (in this case, killing his family, or "correcting them", as the dude says in the bathroom). this theory is also supported by the meat locker unlocking, when, after having already been told to murder his wife and failing, the ghost says something like (i'm paraphrasing): you're not doing what we asked, you're letting us down, blah blah, to which jack reassures them he will fulfill it. now, even though the family got away, i like to think that the president of the ghost/spirits gave him entry, based on an A for effort once he was "admitted" into the club, he was "absorbed" into the grounds of the hotel, including into the paper of the photo.

other cool theories i heard were: that since the hotel is on an american indian burial ground (said earlier in the film, where they talk about the original owners having to repel an indian attack). hence, the ghosts/spirits may be traced back to those tormented american indian souls, and the blood spilled down the hallway represents this aspect of history.

Nice take on the film man. I can see all of that now that u have explained it. He sure did leave it opened to many different possible takes also. It was weird because watching the film it seemed like a made for tv movie! I dont know how to explain it but watching it I just got that feeling the way it looked, the credits while the movie was comin on etc.....Anyone else get that feeling atleast in the beginning? Got Em!!

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Oh so u gonna snatch it for our regular halloween theme! I got u! Got Em!!




Nice take on the film man. I can see all of that now that u have explained it. He sure did leave it opened to many different possible takes also. It was weird because watching the film it seemed like a made for tv movie! I dont know how to explain it but watching it I just got that feeling the way it looked, the credits while the movie was comin on etc.....Anyone else get that feeling atleast in the beginning? Got Em!!

I can understand the opening credits being the way they are, but the rest of the film felt epic to me. The miniseries is way cheaper (and actually a bit cheesier too).

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I can understand the opening credits being the way they are, but the rest of the film felt epic to me. The miniseries is way cheaper (and actually a bit cheesier too).

Oh no I wasnt sayin it felt cheap, it just seemed like it was made for tv but that could have a lot to do with how Kubrick wanted it to look to. I know it wasnt made for tv but thats just the feel I got when it first came on. It is an epic horror/thriller film for sure! Got Em!!

[Grand Bob]

Saw "New Moon" last night.

PQ and AQ seemed to be OK. As for the movie, maybe a 5 out of 10?

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Oh no I wasnt sayin it felt cheap, it just seemed like it was made for tv but that could have a lot to do with how Kubrick wanted it to look to. I know it wasnt made for tv but thats just the feel I got when it first came on. It is an epic horror/thriller film for sure! Got Em!!

Right on.

[Al_The_Strange]

Today, I saw "Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead" via Netflix.

Entertainment Value: 4/5. It has everything I was expecting, and more!
The comedy (though a bit slappy) was quite funny. Pacing was good. Blood and gore were plentiful, and quite nasty! There's a lot more perverse content than I expected (very nasty in some parts; even I'm grossed out!). It ultimately strikes me as a cross between "Scary Movie" and "Dead Alive," and I think it's pretty fun.

Qualities as a story: 3/5. Story is kinda dumb, but passable. Characters are pretty fun.

Qualities as a film: 3.5/5. Very much a B-movie, so the production quality has its limitations. But the movie is pretty well-filmed, acting is good for what it's supposed to be.

Emotional/intellectual value: 0/5. Dumb as dirt.

Total: 5/5!!! BEST MOVIE EVER!!!

Nah, just kidding. 3.5/5, it's a fun combination of funny comedy and gnarly gore, and would go nicely with some of the other similar films I've gathered (like "Dead Alive," "Zombie Strippers," "Tokyo Gore Police," etc). Wouldn't reccomend it to many other folks; it is pretty silly and gross.

[BluraySe7en]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Do the Right Thing - Just bought this masterpiece on blu and watched it today. What else can I say about this film that hasnt already been said! Spike Lee brings u the realism in dealing with racism issues and such! His movies always have messages. This film however is the cream of the crop and thats why its considered one of the top 100 films of all time! He never sugar coats his films and gives it to u how it is! Great acting, great chemistry in the neighborhood and it seemed like u were watching a real neighborhood that didnt know they were being recorded! This is one of my favorite films of all time and the transfer to blu is lovely. Great PQ and AQ especially for a film that came out in 1989. Overall 5/5 Got Em!!

I watched this yeasterday, gotta agree, the first time in years but still as powerful and yes the Blu looks stunning, Public Enemy just explodes out of my 5.1 set up!

All the cast are utterly mesmerising just a brilliant film!

5/5

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by BluraySe7en

I watched this yeasterday, gotta agree, the first time in years but still as powerful and yes the Blu looks stunning, Public Enemy just explodes out of my 5.1 set up!

All the cast are utterly mesmerising just a brilliant film!

5/5

Yea man gotta love Fight the Power. Probably the greatest rap song ever. Especialy in terms of how powerful it was and the impact it had on rap music and the culture in general! "Let me get 20 D batteries" Haha classic! Got Em!!

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

[Show spoiler]In the context of the original story, I think you're both right. I see it as, the hotel is a fraternity of spirits, and they've taken over Jack's body. In the book and miniseries, he had to struggle with them to regain his former self and save his family, and ultimately sacrifice himself.

I love Kubrick's movie, but it is vastly different in this regard; the spirits seem highly diminished in favor of showing Jack going crazy. I think the perfect adaptation of this story would have to incorporate Kubrick's style with the story/characters of the miniseries. But heck, they're both not bad as they are.

wow, Al, thanks for that insight!

[Show spoiler] what do u specifically mean by kubricks spirits "seem highly diminished in terms of showing jack going crazy"? that, relative to the book, they're not toying with him as much? so in the movie, what is driving him? his autonomous decision to kill? and join the ghost club?

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Nice take on the film man. I can see all of that now that u have explained it.

hey, i'm just repeating stuff i read on this site...this site rocks!

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Do the Right Thing - Just bought this masterpiece on blu and watched it today. What else can I say about this film that hasnt already been said! Spike Lee brings u the realism in dealing with racism issues and such! His movies always have messages. This film however is the cream of the crop and thats why its considered one of the top 100 films of all time! He never sugar coats his films and gives it to u how it is! Great acting, great chemistry in the neighborhood and it seemed like u were watching a real neighborhood that didnt know they were being recorded! This is one of my favorite films of all time and the transfer to blu is lovely. Great PQ and AQ especially for a film that came out in 1989. Overall 5/5 Got Em!!

good review Czar. i just watched this a few weeks ago, and know we disagree on it. i really wanted to like the film, but didn't find it good. bottom line: i just didn't find Mookie very likable (he seemed lazy at work, a deadbeat dad, and

[Show spoiler] thru the trash can that started the riot

). i can't recall one film that i consider great where the main character i didn't find likeable. it just seems like a necessary ingredient for greatness. but i realize others may have liked him, and that's just my opinion.