The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Diesel

You don't know the POWER of the .25 scale.

Attachment 26703

Lol, nope. Just have no desire to ever use it. If I really like a movie but don't feel it quite deserves that 5, then I give it a 4.5.

[Show spoiler]Also, it's just fun to keep making smart remarks about using that scale.

Originally Posted by Diesel

Watched my next new purchase this morning.


Live Free or Die Hard

[Show spoiler]
This one and the original Die Hard are the only ones I've seen in the series. I suppose I'll see 2 and 3 eventually, but they are far from a priority for me. Between the first and fourth though, I actually prefer this one; which is probably an unpopular opinion, but do you think a guy with the screen name Diesel cares?

[Show spoiler]

Bruce Willis is in his bad*** mode again for this movie and I love every minute of it....well almost every minute of it. Has anyone ever noticed HOW MANY FREAKING TIMES he says a "STAY DOWN!" or some variation of that? It has to be at least 40. But that's really my only gripe for the character in the movie, Willis is great in the role of McClane of course, good action stuff from him and some lines.

I really like Olyphant as the villain. He's pretty good at playing a cold, heartless, calculating b*****d.

It's been a few years since the movie came out, so I don't remember really what the reception was for Justin Long's character but I like him. He's hilarious and a great contrast to the "manly man" of McClane because he's such a little pansy

And it has what I always mention when I watch action movies...ITS FUN. Some good action sequences and one that is so absurd its cool imo. I love watching Bruce Willis kick peoples' ***.


On top of my liking the movie a lot, its a great disc! Well worth the $5 I finally picked it up for

Rating - 4.5/5

Hmmm, maybe we are back to agreeing on movies again since this is at least two in a row.

It's been so long since I've seen the original three Die Hard movies that I can't really put them in order, but I know this is definitely a nice bookend to the series along with Die Hard like Bruce says in the Kevin Smith interview on the disc. I think I liked it a little better when I watched my Blu-ray copy of it earlier in the year than when I first saw the movie. The

[Show spoiler]jet sequence bothered me a little the first time, but I was able to overlook it this time and it didn't bother me at all.

I also remember seeing that some people didn't like Mary Elizabeth Winstead as his daughter, but I thought she was fine.

[AKORIS]

one thing we can probably all agree on is that LFODH has an awesome blu-ray transfer!!

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Die Hard 2: Die Harder isn't necessarily a bad film. but following the excellent first film, it certainly doesn't live up to what the first established. but is it bad? i don't think so. it's still enjoyable. but the villain isn't as good as the first (none of the villains in almost ANY action movie aren't as good as Hans ) and the story is a bit muddled.

but still pretty good fun if watched with an open mind and not expecting Die Hard 1.5 or anything

I'll keep that in mind when I watch it...eventually

Originally Posted by killowertz

Lol, nope. Just have no desire to ever use it. If I really like a movie but don't feel it quite deserves that 5, then I give it a 4.5.

[Show spoiler]Also, it's just fun to keep making smart remarks about using that scale.

You shall convert one day

...or maybe you'll fake convert for a second to shock us and then tell us it was just a gag

[Show spoiler]

Hmmm, maybe we are back to agreeing on movies again since this is at least two in a row.

Possibly, possibly.

It's been so long since I've seen the original three Die Hard movies that I can't really put them in order, but I know this is definitely a nice bookend to the series along with Die Hard like Bruce says in the Kevin Smith interview on the disc. I think I liked it a little better when I watched my Blu-ray copy of it earlier in the year than when I first saw the movie. The

[Show spoiler]jet sequence bothered me a little the first time, but I was able to overlook it this time and it didn't bother me at all.

I also remember seeing that some people didn't like Mary Elizabeth Winstead as his daughter, but I thought she was fine.

Yea but what about her acting?

Originally Posted by AKORIS

one thing we can probably all agree on is that LFODH has an awesome blu-ray transfer!!

The audio is great...even in Lossy (which is all I can play). The Lossless must be insane

[Marcus Wright]

Originally Posted by Diesel

The audio is great...even in Lossy (which is all I can play). The Lossless must be insane

Here is a true story.
When I first saw Live free or die hard, I didnt know what to expect both from the movie and BD quality.
So my home theatre was cranked up very high and before the room explosion and shooting scene finished, I think i made unrecoverable damage to my ears.

Its intense. Definitely referance quality BD all around.

[lDlisturb3d]

How GOOD IS MAD MEN????? SOMEONE QUICK PLEASE LET ME KNOW

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

That's what I typically have been told, that #2 is the lowest of the series. Guess I'll find out for myself one day.









I'm about to watch my other new purchase, Mr and Mrs Smith.

I like/love all of them except 2, which I strongly dislike. I know its Die Hard, but even considering that, 2 is WAY too over the top for me. And the VFX suck.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Adventureland (dvd)


Film: 3 stars (out of 4)


A pretty good film but not great. What really made the movie were Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. Jesse Eisenberg was good in his role too but he's much too one note to ever be a great actor. Stewart isn't even worth mentioning because she can't act.

While I enjoyed the movie and thought there were funny parts, the movie failed in its characterization. It's hard to really connect to Eisenberg. Stewart's character, however, is given nothing to do and there's zero characterization for her. Why show her rich family? Why show her relationship

[Show spoiler]with an older married man?

There's never any reason shown for these actions and that's a major issue.

Overall, I'd recommend the movie.

[lDlisturb3d]

Going ape sh1t right now and i cant stop

Predators 9.99
Gran Torino 7.99 (Gift)
The Wrestler 7.99
Nine 9.99
Taken 9.99
The Book of Eli 12.99 (Gift)
GWTT 12.99
Babel 9.99
There Will Be Blood 9.99
Shark Collection Greatest Bites 9.99
Any Given Sunday 9.99 (Gift)
Harry Potter 1-6 DVD 47.99 (Gift)
The Karate Kid remake 10.00
Man on Fire 9.99 (Gift)
The Last of the Mohicans 14.99
Dr Strangelove 11.99
Black Dynamite 11.99
Teenage Mutan Ninja Turtles Collection 28.99

[Al_The_Strange]

Gotta catch up here. I saw a bunch of Christmas movies recently, but I’ll skip to the one that matters…

“It’s a Wonderful Life!”

A classic film, in full black-and-white glory. It’s a very insightful and imaginative view of one man’s life, as seen from both a street-level and a metaphysical level. At the same time it could be any man’s story. There’s probably a time when we all felt like George Bailey, for his life is filled with ups and downs. And those who’ve had ambitions that never fully materialized will relate to him even more, for he is constantly pitted against the town’s most unreasonable folk, and he is ultimately destined to be stuck there with his dreams unrealized. But even in his darkest and most stressed moment, the film pulls out its most powerful message: no matter what happens, everything turns out okay in the end. The film assets that there are indeed angels watching over us, that good men are saved, and what goes around comes around. It’s very uplifting and motivational message; if you’ve ever been at wit’s end, this film could inspire you. After all, no matter how terrible things are, they could always be worse. And of course, everybody’s life touches another; if one person is gone, a hole appears that affects every other life.

It’s a fantastic story filled with a great cast of strongly-developed characters. They are all very well-acted; Jimmy Stewart is likeable, laughable, and relatable all at once, and is great. The film maintains even pacing and remains interesting all the way through. It is well-filmed and features a quality production value. It’s become essential Christmas viewing…heck, it might even be my pick for best Christmas movie ever!

5/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 5/5, film: 5/5, intellectual/emotional impact: 5/5)

This Blu-Ray is swell. The image (for the B&W version anyway) looks sharp and clean, with good contrast. But with hardly any grain, it looks as though some DNR has been applied, and some detail is lacking. It’s not terribly over-done though. Sound quality seemed good.

PQ: 4/5, AQ: 4/5

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

How GOOD IS MAD MEN????? SOMEONE QUICK PLEASE LET ME KNOW

FIVE stars all the way.

If you hate it, you can sell it for a PROFIT in a couple weeks.

The current pricing breakes down to under $1.00 per hour of entertainment.

I'd snag WEEDS to at $9.99 as well.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Gotta catch up here. I saw a bunch of Christmas movies recently, but I’ll skip to the one that matters…

“It’s a Wonderful Life!”

[Show spoiler]A classic film, in full black-and-white glory. It’s a very insightful and imaginative view of one man’s life, as seen from both a street-level and a metaphysical level. At the same time it could be any man’s story. There’s probably a time when we all felt like George Bailey, for his life is filled with ups and downs. And those who’ve had ambitions that never fully materialized will relate to him even more, for he is constantly pitted against the town’s most unreasonable folk, and he is ultimately destined to be stuck there with his dreams unrealized. But even in his darkest and most stressed moment, the film pulls out its most powerful message: no matter what happens, everything turns out okay in the end. The film assets that there are indeed angels watching over us, that good men are saved, and what goes around comes around. It’s very uplifting and motivational message; if you’ve ever been at wit’s end, this film could inspire you. After all, no matter how terrible things are, they could always be worse. And of course, everybody’s life touches another; if one person is gone, a hole appears that affects every other life.

It’s a fantastic story filled with a great cast of strongly-developed characters. They are all very well-acted; Jimmy Stewart is likeable, laughable, and relatable all at once, and is great. The film maintains even pacing and remains interesting all the way through. It is well-filmed and features a quality production value. It’s become essential Christmas viewing…heck, it might even be my pick for best Christmas movie ever!

5/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 5/5, film: 5/5, intellectual/emotional impact: 5/5)

This Blu-Ray is swell. The image (for the B&W version anyway) looks sharp and clean, with good contrast. But with hardly any grain, it looks as though some DNR has been applied, and some detail is lacking. It’s not terribly over-done though. Sound quality seemed good.

PQ: 4/5, AQ: 4/5

A Holiday season must.

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest rental: “Solaris” 1972.

Okay…I rented the remake years ago and hated it. Too slow and confusing for my tastes back then (and might still be; I think I’ll have to re-rent it and see). And after hearing about how slow and long this one is, I almost dreaded it…

Well, I spent the morning sticking with it. The first thirty to forty minutes certainly bored me to death.

But once they finally got to the space station, it got interesting. Then it became mesmerizing. Then I watched it all the way through in a trance-like state, no different than when I last saw “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

The movie certainly is slow as heck and long. But once it gets going, the characters take on a life of their own, the story becomes more well-defined, and the imagery becomes more unique. The film has decent and interesting photography; I like the way it pans while characters move, so that when the camera settles on them it looks like they came out of nowhere. Production value is adequate; the SFX are dated but very well-realized. The sets are great; the space station looks futuristic, but also antiquated at the same time, exactly as a Russian space station should be. The film uses some strange artistic effects that I find rather confusing; it’s stylish, but I have no bloody idea what the context is for all the black-and-white shots, all the painting shots, or why it spent so long on one thing, etc.

Cinematic merits aside, the film’s story is an intriguing one, even if it crawls like a snail. It inherently presents emotional and intellectual implications, which are further accentuated by some rather thought-provoking dialogue. There are many issues (scientific, psychological, philosophical, and possibly more!) that really keeps the brain buzzing. I’m not even sure where to start deciphering all this stuff!

In the end, I wound up adding it to my wishlist. Not only would it go good with other space-operas (“2001,” “Moon,” “Sunshine”), but the intellectual value will probably drive me to see it again).

4/5 (entertainment: 2.5/5, story: 4.5/5, film: 4.5/5, intellectual impact: 5/5)

This British DVD looked and sounded like crud, and the English dubbing is terrible (bah, watching it with subs is better anyway). I hope the Criterion DVD is of good quality (or for that matter, I hope they Blu-Ray it )!

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

FIVE stars all the way.

If you hate it, you can sell it for a PROFIT in a couple weeks.

The current pricing breakes down to under $1.00 per hour of entertainment.

I'd snag WEEDS to at $9.99 as well.

THANKS!!! Imma get Mad Men first. I've seen Weeds cheap everywhere.

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Yeah I've always been a fan of Will, but his manner of speaking in this film bugged me. And at times he was excellent, but other times he was just normal, good actor Will. I thought Thandie Newton gave an overall better performance than he did. I've only seen one of the other films that received Best Actor nominations that year, Blood Diamond, and I thought DiCaprio gave a better performance than Will did in Pursuit. I have Seven Pounds and I actually think his performance was better in that, though it's been a while since I've seen it.

And yeah Jaden was cute in this one and I thought he did a very good job. I think people hate on him because of his character in The Day the Earth Stood Still. It's been a while since I've seen it, but I don't think it was necessarily his acting that bugged people, but the annoying character he played. I'm looking forward to seeing The Karate Kid.

Yea man get on that Karate Kid and report back asap. Got Em!!

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wright

Here is a true story.
When I first saw Live free or die hard, I didnt know what to expect both from the movie and BD quality.
So my home theatre was cranked up very high and before the room explosion and shooting scene finished, I think i made unrecoverable damage to my ears.

Its intense. Definitely referance quality BD all around.

That part caught me off guard too with that big explosion.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I like/love all of them except 2, which I strongly dislike. I know its Die Hard, but even considering that, 2 is WAY too over the top for me. And the VFX suck.

But....and this is the most important thing....did it have

[Show spoiler]atmosphere

?

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

But....and this is the most important thing....did it have

[Show spoiler]atmosphere

?

very funny, Diesel.

[Show spoiler]

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Next greatest rental: “Solaris” 1972.

Okay…I rented the remake years ago and hated it. Too slow and confusing for my tastes back then (and might still be; I think I’ll have to re-rent it and see). And after hearing about how slow and long this one is, I almost dreaded it…

Well, I spent the morning sticking with it. The first thirty to forty minutes certainly bored me to death.

But once they finally got to the space station, it got interesting. Then it became mesmerizing. Then I watched it all the way through in a trance-like state, no different than when I last saw “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

The movie certainly is slow as heck and long. But once it gets going, the characters take on a life of their own, the story becomes more well-defined, and the imagery becomes more unique. The film has decent and interesting photography; I like the way it pans while characters move, so that when the camera settles on them it looks like they came out of nowhere. Production value is adequate; the SFX are dated but very well-realized. The sets are great; the space station looks futuristic, but also antiquated at the same time, exactly as a Russian space station should be. The film uses some strange artistic effects that I find rather confusing; it’s stylish, but I have no bloody idea what the context is for all the black-and-white shots, all the painting shots, or why it spent so long on one thing, etc.

Cinematic merits aside, the film’s story is an intriguing one, even if it crawls like a snail. It inherently presents emotional and intellectual implications, which are further accentuated by some rather thought-provoking dialogue. There are many issues (scientific, psychological, philosophical, and possibly more!) that really keeps the brain buzzing. I’m not even sure where to start deciphering all this stuff!

In the end, I wound up adding it to my wishlist. Not only would it go good with other space-operas (“2001,” “Moon,” “Sunshine”), but the intellectual value will probably drive me to see it again).

4/5 (entertainment: 2.5/5, story: 4.5/5, film: 4.5/5, intellectual impact: 5/5)

This British DVD looked and sounded like crud, and the English dubbing is terrible (bah, watching it with subs is better anyway). I hope the Criterion DVD is of good quality (or for that matter, I hope they Blu-Ray it )!

Glad you enjoyed it. I have the Criterion DVD but I can't comment on how it look compare to other releases. I also wish for this to be release on Blu-ray in 2011, enough French movies Criterion

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

haha I never hated her as much as other ppl. I thought she was pretty good actually in Into the Wild. I also think she did decent in the Runaways. However, she's EXTREMELY one-note. Her mannerisms and expressions are exactly the same in every movie I've seen with her.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

very funny, Diesel.

[Show spoiler]

__________


Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Grabbed this the other day for $7.99, I've only seen it once or twice before today.

I'm not inclined to write a real review for this one. I'll just say that its enjoyable to watch, has some good humor and Pitt/Jolie work well together on screen in my opinion.

Rating - 4/5

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

haha I never hated her as much as other ppl. I thought she was pretty good actually in Into the Wild. I also think she did decent in the Runaways. However, she's EXTREMELY one-note. Her mannerisms and expressions are exactly the same in every movie I've seen with her.

even though i thought she did fit well for the character in Adventureland, i agree completely that she's very one-note. she's lucky she somehow got that Twilight gig because that's all that's gonna be what makes her money, and all she will ever be known for.