The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by Steve46

[Show spoiler]We should do stuff like this more often.

You seem to have a very diverse taste and appreciate complex movies, as well as a lot of other stuff.

21 Grams - has similar elements to Babel (same director) and Magnolia.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (similar feel to Closer).

Lost Highway (Lynch - closest to Mulholland Dr.).

Blue Velvet (more Lynch).

Any Hayao Miyazaki based on your love of Pixar - Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro and Sprited Away are all 5/5 and I'm really curious to see what you think.

Grave of the Fireflies - no reason other than it's an animated masterpiece.

Taken - good action fun with a real actor (blows Collateral away).

[Show spoiler]Amelie - just great, not because of your faves. Full of detail, humor, quirky stories and Audrey Tautou.

I assume you have seen The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile? Same director as The Mist. Better films and stronger acting.

Vertigo - complex plot, great acting, classic Hitchcock.

Chungking Express - quirky Criterion goodness.

Doubt - story sounds boring, but it isn't. Great acting all round.

The Pursuit of Happyness - You gave Seven Pounds 4.5 and this is the same director and an even better performance from Will Smith.

The Reader - set in Germany - Winslet is superb.

12 Monkeys - You seem to like Gilliam.

I don't understand the correlation either, both are very different films. I love them both, but I think Collateral is by far the superior film.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

do you know if there is an order to the films in this trilogy? or does it not really matter what order i watch them in?

Babel and 21 Grams have similar styles, but don't have anything to do with each other. Haven't seen the third.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Babel and 21 Grams have similar styles, but don't have anything to do with each other. Haven't seen the third.

that's what i was thinking. i wonder what the correlation is between the 3 that he made these 3 part of his "death trilogy"?

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

do you know if there is an order to the films in this trilogy? or does it not really matter what order i watch them in?

I think it's loosely referred to as a trilogy based upon the film's similarities and the premise of multiple stories intertwined. I want to get familiar with his style so I'm gonna watch them in order as they were released.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tbizzle just got so schooled when he reads that he'll sizzle!

[Show spoiler] that makes no sense, i'm aware, but it rhymes

Don't quit your day job

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

I will be sure to check it out

Speaking of stalkers, know what's a great movie? Wicker Park.

I saw this in the theater with my ex, actually that was our first date. I thought it was pretty lame, but it's been 6 years so... is it worth another shot? It's 23% on rotten tomatoes

[lDlisturb3d]

hey guys i just wanted to say that John Malkovich is a beast!! Thank you for your time.

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

agreed. some people need to learn that social lives, work and outdoors are not as important as talking to strangers on the internet about films

[Show spoiler]

Not knocking anyone. I'm just a big fan of irony. Irony of the most base and totally obvious variety is even better.

I think ever since this was renamed a "club" we've all gotten big heads.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

I saw this in the theater with my ex, actually that was our first date. I thought it was pretty lame, but it's been 6 years so... is it worth another shot? It's 23% on rotten tomatoes

certainly can't hurt. if i remember it was set up kind of complex like, but didn't pull it off very well i added it to my queue it'll be interesting to see what i think this time around.

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

hey guys i just wanted to say that John Malkovich is a beast!! Thank you for your time.

I'd agree with that. He's very Willem Dafoe-like in his ability to be really fantastic in crappy movies too.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

Not knocking anyone. I'm just a big fan of irony. Irony of the most base and totally obvious variety is even better.

I think ever since this was renamed a "club" we've all gotten big heads.

haha, that probably is a little but true. probably most subconsciously.

i was thinking about this the other day: there are a close group of us who always post in here and we all pretty know what our favorites are, what we don't like and other odd things. i sometimes wonder if outsiders who visit the thread are afraid to post because we certainly are a tight knit community, but everyone's welcome to join with reviews

much like how the slipcover thread has its regulars (and i'm sure a lot of other threads as well have their regulars) we have our little movie obsessed group here

[iam1bearcat]

i can tell already i'm gonna have the same problems with netflix as i used to have:
soooo many options on netflix instant i never know what i want to watch. ADD gets the best of me there i look at one movie and i'm like "yes! watching this right now - oh wait! what's this! oh boy! this is on here?! oh man i gotta see, wait. wait. wait. what was that one movie i saw for 5 minutes in 1992 that i absolutely hated? oh yeah i wanna watch that! here it is! oh look i forgot about this movie!"

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

just made Elite Squad #1 in my queue and Closely Watched Trains is on instant, so depending on how tired i am after The Wrestler, i may watch it tonight

Impressive lineup! Hope you love em.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

I saw this in the theater with my ex, actually that was our first date. I thought it was pretty lame, but it's been 6 years so... is it worth another shot? It's 23% on rotten tomatoes

Can't really give you a solid recommendation on that one because I'm a bit hazy about it. I just remember really liking it. I dont think it's necessarily A-list material though but hey give it a shot.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Looking forward to Biutiful as well. Haven't seen Amores Perros but I just bumped it up in my queue and I remember liking 21 Grams, but it's been years. I'll watch them all in order soon, as it's about time to revisit Babel.

Great idea. I might do the same thing soon. Maybe just before I see Biutiful. I saw them in backwards order

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Can't really give you a solid recommendation on that one because I'm a bit hazy about it. I just remember really liking it. I dont think it's necessarily A-list material though but hey give it a shot.

I like the cast and I thought the McGuigan did a pretty good job with Lucky Number Slevin so I'll give it another shot someday.

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Great idea. I might do the same thing soon. Maybe just before I see Biutifuk. I saw them in backwards order

I just bumped Amores Perros up to the top, so I'll start soon.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

I will be sure to check it out

Speaking of stalkers, know what's a great movie? Wicker Park.

I can't wait to see Biutiful either. I'm not a huge Inniratu fan although he's certainly a good director, but Bardem is reason enough to see it. It still amazes me how little he's talked about on this site. I suspect ppl haven't seen all of the following: Vicky Cristina Barcelona, No Country for Old Men, Before Night Falls, and The Sea Inside. That's not even taking into account his earlier films, many of which led to great critical acclaim. He's quite simply an exceptional actor and is towards the very top in regards to range.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

I like the cast and I thought the McGuigan did a pretty good job with Lucky Number Slevin so I'll give it another shot someday.





I just bumped Amores Perros up to the top, so I'll start soon.

Lucky Number Slevin crossed my mind when I thought of Wicker Park. Didn't realize it was the same director.

I'm sure you will like Amores Perros. It's a powerful film. Needs to see a domestic blu release!

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Unimpressed with what? My opinion? Dont take it personally because of your bias. I know you think he's fantastic, and thats fine. My opinion is that he is unorganized and unfocused. His record of dragging projects out, longer and longer is well documented. I think his efforts to dwell on style over substance damages the storytelling, and ultimately the story. Those are my opinions.

I am well aware of Pocahontas' age, and you may want to watch those scenes again, more closely. And it's NOT a double. Ask yourself, would you be comfortable with your daughter in those scenes?

As for the scenes, it's impossible to state what my opinion would be in that situation, but I didn't find them to be objectionable in any regard. And that's not taking into account that it's meant to mirror some semblance of fact.

In regards to Malick, my affinity for him is well documented so my opinion on him means very little from an argument point of view.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Revanche has an AMAZING story with allot of suspense, twist and turns w/ great acting and great cinematography.

The acting is great i never bashed the acting i bashed the Director, and the Story. This story is BORING i truly dont care that he was a jack*ss and now he's trying to make things right. There's no climax there's no Grit there's no relief.

Oh my credibility only matters with recommendations. If i tell someone a movie is great then they usually like it. But im not getting paid for this so who cares

I apologize if you thought I meant your credibility as a person or as a reviewer on this site has been compromised--that's not what I meant. My comment was in regards to the review. What do I mean? I mean that it's perfectly acceptable to dislike the film and to not be engaged by the story. Happens all the time. However, credibility is lost when a blanket statement that everything in the film is "crap" is made, particularly when the film has several aspects to it that are to the point of being objective, such as the acting and writing.

For instance, I'm not a big fan of Wender's Wings of Desire. It didn't connect too much with me and admittedly, I didn't understand the socio-political themes of the film nearly as well as surf. So, while I personally found it to be somewhat boring, I think its craft in regards to its eloquent writing and memorable directing should be recognized. Pieces of the puzzle can and should sometimes be considered great even in the absence of liking the film as a whole.