The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

Dont knock my boy Freeman!

No but seriously, I would disagree with this although I 100% understand your argument and see why you think that. In Shawshank, we meet Freeman

[Show spoiler]20 years after his murder

, so he's not a

[Show spoiler]murderer

, he's a

[Show spoiler]institutionalized (one of main themes of film) guy. Remember he said that if he saw the murderer version of him who is just a "scared kid", "I'd wanna talk to him, I'd wanna tell him...". So that quote right there tells you Freeman isn't the murderer anymore -- he looks at that young kid who murdered that victim and wants to reach out and contact him, to try and reach him.

My only thing is the themes are a little fuzzy:

[Show spoiler]Insitutionalized? Great. Got it. If you come to prison, and stay a while, you'll have trouble re-entering society and may lose hope that you can function out there. But what does this have to do with the ending and Andy? Andy told Red to have "hope", Red responded that "hope is a dangerous thing". Was Andy's offer to Red to look under the tree and then the invite to the becahtown all an offer of hope? I guess. The only other option was despair. Its almost too simple for intellectual gymnastics but more importantly: the themes arent significant enough or deep enough for me to award it top 10 or even top 50 films of all time

Dude -- get on Green Mile!!! Better film IMO (very close though. I could flip-flop every day you ask me)

I agree with the fuzziness. It didnt really connect that well. But you are correct The Green Mile is AWESOME. It scared the shit out of me when i was little

[Show spoiler]seeing that guy get electrocuted to death

the really did its toll on me. But now im all grown and dont watch barney anymore i can fathom it....

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

I think i've made up my mind. Im gonna buy Antichrist. I need to see what the fuss is about. It has to be somewhat of a ground breaking movie because its apart of the Criterion Collection (dont bash me ) so imma give it a swing.

Squid i didnt sell Paris, Texas. Someone ordered it from me today but i canceled it. Hopefully you are correct (most of the time you are like 86.7% )

I liked Paris Texas a lot and I'm thinkin it will grow on me when I see it again. I hope it's the same for you.

And yes, definitely check out Antichrist. If you have Netflix, it's a Watch Instantly in HD.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

who else watched it?? Anxiously awaiting the Squid review

You? Tbizzle, Romulous, and Jhiggy. No?

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

I liked Paris Texas a lot and I'm thinkin it will grow on me when I see it again. I hope it's the same for you.

And yes, definitely check out Antichrist. If you have Netflix, it's a Watch Instantly in HD.

I'd be abusing Netflix right now but im on a military base and the internet is super slow so its really no need.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

who else watched it?? Anxiously awaiting the Squid review

I think my review was what fueled all of the interest lately.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I have only seen a handfull of his films, but I would describe them as intense. Throughout the film, I never have that "Its all going to be OK" security feeling. Spirited Away was a nailbiter.

Spirited Away is pretty out of this world

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

I think my review was what fueled all of the interest lately.

yeah, you liked it right? I think the score is 2-2.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Steve46

A Very Long Engagement

[Show spoiler]2004 - 133 minutes
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring Audrey Tautou
French with subtitles

I love Amélie and it's now in my Top 20, so I decided it was time to see something by the same director with the same leading actress.

I don't like war films and knew that this dealt with WW1, but I hoped that Jeunet would use some of the storytelling techniques used in Amélie.

Full disclosure: I could happily stare into Audrey Tautou's eyes for...years. She can express so much just using her face.

The only Blu-ray version of this is French and costly to import for a blind buy, so I borrowed the DVD from the local library.

I spent the last three hours watching the movie and special features.

The opening titles hint at what it is to follow and it's because the atmosphere is set by Angelo Badalamenti's score. The music was excellent throughout.

Like Amélie, this was a visual feast. The film is vast in scope and includes period shots of Paris and many shots of the French countryside. The use of color really stood out too.

The opening scenes were gruesome as Jeunet made his intentions clear. War is not pretty. The mud and rain in the trenches illustrate just how desolate the lives of the soldiers had to have been. Hard to maintain any kind of hope under the circumstances.

The story is built around five soldiers who

[Show spoiler]are sent into no man's land after being found guilty of faking wounds, although one is innocent

. The main viewpoint is that of Mathilde (Tautou) who is engaged to one of the soldiers. It's a tale of hope and desperation as she refuses to believe that he's dead. She hires an investigator and makes enquiries of her own.

Tautou had to learn how to play the tuba for the part. The only instrument capable of sounding a distress call. She also had to learn to run with a limp as her character had polio as a child.

As in Amélie, Jeunet throws a lot of detail at the viewer. In particular, he goes into the background of his characters and makes them feel more real.

There are some amusing moments mixed in with the despair and sadness in what I believe is Jeunet's style. He also refers to character traits mentioned early in the film and they become more powerful throughout the story.

Like many good films, this has the ability to make you laugh and cry. The story flies by at just over two hours. There's a cameo from Jodie Foster acting in French and her character has an important role.

It's not quite as good as Amélie, but then not many films are. If you liked that, it's certainly worth investing your time to see this.

Now I have to figure out how to import the Blu-ray without breaking the bank.

Overall score 4.5/5

Such a great film. I have to revisit this soon. Thanks for the review.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

I'd be abusing Netflix right now but im on a military base and the internet is super slow so its really no need.

Bummer.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

I agree with the fuzziness. It didnt really connect that well. But you are correct The Green Mile is AWESOME. It scared the shit out of me when i was little

[Show spoiler]seeing that guy get electrocuted to death

the really did its toll on me. But now im all grown and dont watch barney anymore i can fathom it....

no wonder that scared you as a kid! That scared me at age 17-18!

I also love the "story within the story" structure, and how

[Show spoiler]they have Hanks' old character start and end the film.

I Love films that do that like NOtebook, Saving PRivate Ryan, etc. It really reinforces the historical aspect.

[Hep]

Hereafter

Clint Eastwood’s latest film is good... not great... but solid when all is considered. The movie is technically polished - great acting and directing. The supernatural elements make a nice canvas for Clint to paint his thoughts on life, and specifically the end of life. He wisely kept on the secular path. The only problems I had with the movie were more of my making, and not really an issue with the movie itself.

Clint does not leave any room for interpretation of the supernatural elements, and proceeds to set this in an environment that felt really well grounded in the real world. I found myself fighting the urge to shake my head at this contradiction of reason. I really enjoy a good fantasy or sci-fi movie, but those often construct a parallel world to our own; here Clint seems to beg us to actually buy the supernatural element as reality. Like I said, as a story telling vehicle, it works very well, I just couldn’t quite go where he wanted me to.

The pace is slow and deliberate, which I enjoyed, but many won’t. It seems Clint was going for a Babel type of interrelated story telling model, which complimented the pacing. This movie will suffer the fate of false expectations; it’s not a thriller. Saying that this is my least favourite Eastwood movie of the past decade is not a bad thing considering his many successes.

For me the movie as a whole I would rate about 3.5/5.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Elite Squad (dvd)

[Show spoiler]year: 2007
director: Jose Padilha

ladies and gentlemen! a new addition to my Top 15 Favorite Films "of All Time"

"i come here to fix what you f**k up"

words cannot express how effin amazing this film is. this is the type of film that makes you love film to begin with and want to find everything like one of these great gems, just to remind you how great another great film is. this is one of those films.

Elite Squad is one of the Top 5 best films i've ever seen on a directing, writing, acting, story, atmosphere and cinematography standpoint. and while there are some films i surely like more, Elite Squad is a truly elite movie. i know that sounds cheesy and cheap, but honestly i can't put it any other way.

i encourage anyone and everyone to put this in their queue and put it instantly in the top 10. do not put this movie on hold, do not say "eh, i'll get to it. move it up. maybe even to #1 and enjoy a masterful film."

looking back, the structure of the story is genius and i loved how it came together, and i loved how it ended. some may be able to see how the story "unfolds" (not that it's a big mystery, but i don't really think i got it until i was shown it) but the ride was magnificent! so many twists and turns, the film feels like 5 different films all rolled into one. but not 5 at once, they all come and are shown their own screen time and every single one of them is amazing. the film, somehow, got better and better as it went on. but it started perfect and ended perfectly

i'm shaking with excitement just typing this! just so people can know how awesome and terrific this film is!

the story, which i should probably cover takes on a wild ride through the police department and a special group of higher up's called BOPE, in the slums of Brazil. a unique, tough, no non-sense, brutal group of almost mercenary type officers who work relentlessly to take out criminals - mainly of the drug dealer variety. the captain of BOPE Nascimento (Wagner Moura) is about to be a father, and thus, wants to retire. but because BOPE is a close knit family, he's not just going to leave and let someone else choose his replacement. he has to choose the person, and he has to make sure it's the right person. for himself, for the safety of his group and so he can let go and be a family man. the road to finding his replacement is absolutely jaw dropping and wonderful.

huge, deliciously brutal and tense action scenes that make the best scenes of the Bourne series look like child's play. and this is coming from a HUGE Bourne fan! so many tense moments, so many great shoot outs. but the film i wouldn't classify as action. i'd classify it as drama, but it has some very brutally honest moments.

the writer of the film used to be an elite squad member for 19 years! and knowing that while watching the movie made it all the more real and frightening.

i could ramble off for hours about the genius of this film (the intensity, the grimy, edge of your seat action in a dangerous, vicious hostile world for one), but seriously, just add it to the queue and enjoy when it arrives i want, demand, this on blu-ray NOW because it would look and sound spectacular i'm sure. i guess if i had one minor issue, it would be that the film is so hectic and frenetic at times, that i sometimes can't read the subtitles fast enough but THAT'S IT. much like how i feel The Lives of Others is one of the best films of all time - on every level - and is in my Top 5, Elite Squad may also make it's way up the list. it certainly won't be dropping from my top 25 i'm sure.

the film is no nonsense. it's tough, cerebral, real and genuine fear fills every scene. there's one absolutely great moment that shows just how tough and no nonsense the BOPE are: one of the students falls asleep during a lesson and the Captain's way of keeping him awake for the remainder of the lesson is having him hold on to a live grenade!

incredible on every level. a masterpiece of elite proportions. (okay, that was kind of cheesy i'll admit it )

5/5

Welcome to the BOPE.

[Show spoiler]

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

OMG did you see my spoiler on Marion!! Without that, I would have really loved it. I still like it a lot, but that really killed it from being great. Did you also see

[Show spoiler]the pre-K class charging behind her?

.

Regarding the action, great points you make. For me, I don't weigh the action that heavily, and weigh the dialogue/themes/etc more heavily. This is why I prefer Kingdom of Heaven as my favorite of Scott's work, which is heavy on character development/dialogue, and less heavy on action.

I'm gonna watch Robin Hood: PRince of THieves now, to compare...

You guys ever do that: watch two versions of the same film back-to-back? ITs fun! Like watch Planet of Apes original and remake in one night, or watch all 3 BTTF's in one night!!! THat's good times right there!

Haha yeah that whole charge scene was ridiculous and cheezy. Another part I thought was lame was when he was talking with von Sydow and trying to remember what happened to his father. (It's been a while so I don't quite remember the specifics). At this point, he's gone his entire life without remembering what happened that day when he was a boy. Then he sits down with von Sydow and

[Show spoiler]20 seconds later, he magically has this detailed flashback and recalls the entire event!

This had me sittin there goin "who the hell writes this stuff?"

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

I think my review was what fueled all of the interest lately.

I want to check it out too.

[Show spoiler]

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

no wonder that scared you as a kid! That scared me at age 17-18!

I also love the "story within the story" structure, and how

[Show spoiler]they have Hanks' old character start and end the film.

I Love films that do that like NOtebook, Saving PRivate Ryan, etc. It really reinforces the historical aspect.

Yeah stories told like that are very unique and i love that with a passion!

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

yeah, you liked it right? I think the score is 2-2.

Yeah, Squid was enticed after seeing how greatly our opinions differed from jhiggy's. Bladerunner2007 and Realist01 posted on it a while back and they both liked it a lot, actually giving higher scores than we did.

I know CZAR, Disturbed and now DJMethod are interested. Can't wait to hear what they think.

[iam1bearcat]

Hard Eight (netflix instant)

year: 1996
director: the great Paul Thomas Anderson
writers: the great Paul Thomas Anderson
starring: Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson

for awhile i was hesitant to watch Hard Eight, Paul Thomas Anderson's very first film because i loved all his other films so much (5/5's for all 4) i was worried that this first outing, while being good, wouldn't be AS good and thus, kind of dampen my spirits. and while that's completely stupid and illogical even if it would have been true, it wasn't. this is a simple, yet outstanding first outing by the man who a few weeks ago became my favorite director. and he will be staying here for quite awhile

the film, although simple in plot, story and execution, are all done superbly i don't know what it is but the writing alone gets me hooked and sinks me in, even without any big fancy explosions or chaos going on. much like how Tarantino uses a lot of dialogue in his film, that's what Anderson does, only much, much better and with less dialogue. sometimes less is more, and Anderson has mastered making great films that say a lot, without saying a whole lot with pages and pages of dialogue.

the film centers around Sydney (Hall), an older man who meets John (Reilly) who was trying to win money in Vegas for his mother's funeral. Sydney is a kind, quiet, and patient old man who teaches John his tricks about making a lot of money with a small amount of money, but without having people catch on or become suspicious. a few years later Clementine (Paltrow) joins the group, (as does a man named Jimmy (Jackson)) since Sydney and John spend their lives at casinos and have Clementine has their waitress. again, Sydney helps out Clementine who is low on money and barely has enough to pay bills and resorts to do doing less than pleasant things. but why is Sydney so nice? we find out and it's a great end to a great film

the simple beginning with Sydney and John in a restaurant booth talking had me memorized and i think Anderson has the same effect on me as Kubrick has on Surf

the performances by all 4 main characters are outstanding! some may see that Jackson plays a role he has many times (loud, brash, "in your face" at times) but that doesn't diminish the greatness of his small, but powerful performance. Hall is great as always (although he seems a lot like his character in Magnolia, not that that's a negative) and Reilly continues to impress and amaze me. and he's much better in serious roles (Hard Eight, Magnolia, Boogie Nights) than when he does comedy imo.

another easy addition to my Top 50 Favorite Films, which makes Anderson now 5/5 with all of his films being that list. and i have no fear that whatever he decides to do next will be pure genius.

Anderson fans should definitely check it out (unless they all already have and i'm the only one late to the party ) and anyone who enjoys a great, slow burning drama. is it the best film ever? no. but for being Anderson's first film, the small cast, terrific performances and great story (about

[Show spoiler]redemption and making up for your sins and helping others

) makes it well worth it. i love it. hope it gets a blu release some day soon

5/5

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Room in Rome and Sin Nombre are reason enough to get a region free player.

have you seen Elite Squad? i'm guessing you have, but if not, see it asap. and that will make your list as another reason to have a region free player for sure

Originally Posted by surfdude12

Dont knock my boy Freeman!

No but seriously, I would disagree with this although I 100% understand your argument and see why you think that. In Shawshank, we meet Freeman

[Show spoiler]20 years after his murder

, so he's not a

[Show spoiler]murderer

, he's a

[Show spoiler]institutionalized (one of main themes of film) guy. Remember he said that if he saw the murderer version of him who is just a "scared kid", "I'd wanna talk to him, I'd wanna tell him...". So that quote right there tells you Freeman isn't the murderer anymore -- he looks at that young kid who murdered that victim and wants to reach out and contact him, to try and reach him.

My only thing is the themes are a little fuzzy:

[Show spoiler]Insitutionalized? Great. Got it. If you come to prison, and stay a while, you'll have trouble re-entering society and may lose hope that you can function out there. But what does this have to do with the ending and Andy? Andy told Red to have "hope", Red responded that "hope is a dangerous thing". Was Andy's offer to Red to look under the tree and then the invite to the becahtown all an offer of hope? I guess. The only other option was despair. Its almost too simple for intellectual gymnastics but more importantly: the themes arent significant enough or deep enough for me to award it top 10 or even top 50 films of all time

Dude -- get on Green Mile!!! Better film IMO (very close though. I could flip-flop every day you ask me)

yeah, Czar schooled me earlier about the whole Freeman thing and you both are dead on correct. i don't know why i didn't see that myself i can come up with some wacky theory on Mulholland Dr. but i can't see that Freeman

[Show spoiler]was 20-30 years younger when he did the murder so maybe he's changed?!

what a fool i am

i think the themes were what you said, but

[Show spoiler]i think Red said "hope is dangerous" because it gives you a false sense of hope for when thy get out (if you get out)? and Andy never lost his hope so he knew he was able to get back into society and be a normal man. unlike the old librarian who didn't know how to function? or something like that i think

all you guys keep throwing films at me! give me some f****** time! "oh bearcat! watch this! watch that! watch this! watch that!" i only have so many hours in a day! and then i gotta come on here and type up 600,000 word reviews because i'm ocd! that takes up even more damn time!

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

I want to check it out too.

[Show spoiler]

Definitely give it a shot. If you've seen In the Realm of the Senses, some of the graphic stuff that's been mentioned here is similar to what occurs in that film. However, not nearly as much of the graphic sex.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

who else watched it?? Anxiously awaiting the Squid review

same! i'm debating watching this tonight or something else. but since Antichrist is 100 minutes i might go with that than Solaris (almost 3 hours )

Originally Posted by surfdude12

yeah, you liked it right? I think the score is 2-2.

maybe i should wait to watch, i don't want to disrupt the balance

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Welcome to the BOPE.

[Show spoiler]

THANK YOU for the recommendation DJMethod!
a spectacular film on all levels. words cannot describe how great. where does it rank (roughly) for you?