The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Romulus]

Good review, Hep.

I was, however, severely disappointed with Defiance. I would only give it a 2.5/5. One element of the film that left me ridiculously confused was

[Show spoiler]the constant shift between languages... in the same conversation! I understand it's done in other films, but in Defiance it's done at the most bizarre times.

What's in the spoiler wasn't my biggest problem with the film, just something that stuck out like a sore thumb to me.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Next greatest random selection:

“Hard Boiled.”

[Show spoiler]This is a classic essential piece of action filmmaking. It’s also one of the best (if not THE best) film John Woo has made. And it’s probably an essential piece of Hong Kong cinema. Why? Because at the very least, this film totally rocks.

The action scenes are freaking awesome and wicked! The gunfights are nonstop, the stunts are wild, the explosions are huge, and the body count is through-the roof! At times, it can be so insane and over-the-top that it might come off as cheesy. But one thing is for sure: the action is frequent and very entertaining. And with John Woo’s use of slow-motion and motifs, the visuals are stunning.

As far as the story goes, it generally works. The first half features the more dynamic investigation-plot while the second half is mostly a non-stop shoot-out. Characters have their moments throughout. But altogether, it’s a loosely-connected story. It feels like the audience is plopped in the middle of everything, and you just go with the flow.

The film has good photography throughout. Acting is good; Chow Yun Fat is practically iconic as Tequila, and the rest of the cast is brilliant too. Writing is okay. Production value seems pretty decent. Music seems pretty dated to me, but it is groovy.

4.5/5 (entertainment: 5/5, story: 3.5/5, film: 4.5/5)

Recommendation: For most folks, yep. For action junkies, hell yeah!!!

This film has never fared well on home video, and from what I understand it hasn’t been kept in great condition. And coming from Vivendi/Dragon Dynasty, the company that put out “The Killer” in rather substandard quality, “Hard Boiled” might not seem like a good investment for Blu-Ray.

But rest assured, the film is not that bad. It does show an awful lot of noise and grain, quite a few scratches and specks, and some rather hazy scenes. But it looks adequately clean, colors are pretty good, and sharpness is pleasing. It could certainly benefit from some cleaning up, but I was pleased for the most part. This video looks a bit cropped, as it is on other home video releases. Sound quality seems okay; the sound effects and music seem dated, but the dialogue is mostly clear.

PQ: 3.5/5, AQ: 3.5/5

I've gotta see this flick. I've heard so much about it! Thanks for the review Al.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Hep

Defiance

[Show spoiler]The plight of the Jews in 1941 Belarus is brought to life in this historical piece. I say historical piece, because I feel this is where its strengths lay. It contains great acting, directing, cinematography, score, and story. Of all the strong elements in this film, the decision to tell the story as it happened, warts and all, while not to succumbing to Hollywood cliché rises above all else. The Bielski brothers lead a group of defiant Jews into the Belarus wilderness to survive. Their survival necessitates defence, and that combined with vengeance inevitably leads to malevolence. Col Kurtz noted in Apocalypse Now that if he had an army of men unbound by morality, the war would be over very quickly. Being bound by societal norms and laws of civilized warfare can thwart victory when fighting an aggressor who is not likewise bound. The tendency toward this heart of darkness is exactly what the Bielski brothers (and fellow survivors) struggled with while balancing the absolute need to survive against the desire to maintain their humanity.

It would have been so easy for Zwick to go down the road of portraying the Bielski brothers as typical Hollywood action movie heroes, and I for one am so glad he did not. Tuvia is the eldest brother and becomes the defacto leader of the partisan resistance movement. He and his brother (Zus) have a complicated competitive relationship that is well handled and nice acted. They’re portrayed as conflicted men, living by their wits and struggling to come to terms with their new responsibilities and performing base acts. This of course inevitably leads to cognitive dissidence in today’s passive movie audience. The brothers are initially portrayed as morally astray and often cold, making an emotional connection somewhat difficult. In my mind, sticking to the realism of the characters, rather than making them into a preconceived notion of what a hero ought to be, is the true strength of this movie. As the story unfolds at its modest pace, the need to maintain a sense of community and humanity bleed back into the group, at a time when circumstance is trying to force it the other way. Even at the very end, Tuvia refused the notion that he was a holy protector, but rather knew he was simply a normal man rising to the task under extraordinary circumstances.

The video and audio quality is reference, or near reference, so no problems there. The other thing I will praise this film for is the setting. It was filmed very near the actual forests of Belarus where the struggle took place. The cinematography is often stunning with beautiful use of natural lighting. Details of the clothing and encampments were perfect.

I tend to love films that don’t shy away from showing humans for what we really are: self aware animals caught in the midst of the conflict resulting from our evolutionary transition to a bigger cranium. As much as I appreciated the character arcs, and understand the importance of hearing this real world story, overall it just didn’t punctuate the lessons as much as other films like Apocalypse Now. On that note, I’ll recommend this film especially for anyone interested in history or exploring the human condition.

4/5

Nice. I liked this movie a lot too. The tension between the brothers felt real. I never understood the poor critical reception it got.

[Diesel]

Ocean's Thirteen

• 2007 | PG-13 | 122 Minutes
  
  
• Director: Steven Soderbergh
  
  
• Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon
  
  
• Crime | Thriller

This is my first rewatch of a movie in about a week or so now. I've only seen it once before. The first time I saw it I enjoyed it more than the first but since then I've rewatched Ocean's Eleven and after watching this one again last night I've come to the conclusion that I was wrong the first time

I really enjoy these movies. Well the 1st and 3rd at least, I don't remember exactly how I felt about the second since I only watched it once but it wasn't as good as the other two for sure.

I like that in this one we get back to the personal "revenge" job sort of like the first one instead of competing with the other guy like in the second film. It just makes for a much more interesting movie.

The cast works great together, especially Clooney and Pitt. They are just together. My favorite scene in the film is when he and Pitt

[Show spoiler]are watching Oprah

Each member of the team is really enjoyable in each movie and I love the interactions between all of them

I love each and every one of the main characters (the little Asian guy is my least favorite) in the movies and am so glad that they got each of them to be in each movie and didn't lose any of them (unless you count Julia Roberts but I meant the crew).


The movies are very fun and enjoyable watches. I've thought about buying them a few times but have never pulled the trigger. Maybe I will one day...maybe I won't.


Rating - 4.25/5

[lDlisturb3d]

Ok Its been a long time but I just wasted 2 hrs of my life!

Atonement

Director: Joe Wright
Writers: Ian McEwan , Christopher Hampton
Mains: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Brenda Blethyn

"One lie can do a lot of damage"

Plot (IMDb): Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. Based on the British romance novel by Ian McEwan.

My Take: This movie started off pretty good and the story was solid but it started to loose ALLOT of gas during the mid point. The entire war part of the movie could of been substituted with him being in jail or building a little character development. He clearly could of went backwards to build the characters a bit more being that he was telling some of the stories and a non linear way. The story was somewhat interesting and the acting was good but I didn't give a crap about the characters. There was no deep messages or underline themes. This movie just made her family look pretty damn stupid. Trusting a 13 year old girl in such as serious case?!?!?!?!?! Plot holes, inconsistencies and above all the lack of character development. This has to be one of the worst movies i've seen in a long time. I guess i've just seen better drama's and twisted love stories for this one to have no effect on me. The movie wasnt completely bad, there where parts that grabbed my attention and I thought the ending was pretty powerful but besides that this could of been done allot better. I would of gave this movie 5/5 if he would of broke her neck like he said Jk it still would of been 2.5/5.

Conclusion: I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone, well maybe drama addicts that just don't care about the story, just wanting to see a couple make it or not. I've seen plenty of dramas that out class this movie. This is probably why i couldn't get into the film. What makes a film bad? Seeing a movie done the right way!

PASS

2.5/5

[Marcus Wright]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Ocean's Thirteen

• 2007 | PG-13 | 122 Minutes
  
  
• Director: Steven Soderbergh
  
  
• Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon
  
  
• Crime | Thriller

[Show spoiler]This is my first rewatch of a movie in about a week or so now. I've only seen it once before. The first time I saw it I enjoyed it more than the first but since then I've rewatched Ocean's Eleven and after watching this one again last night I've come to the conclusion that I was wrong the first time

I really enjoy these movies. Well the 1st and 3rd at least, I don't remember exactly how I felt about the second since I only watched it once but it wasn't as good as the other two for sure.

I like that in this one we get back to the personal "revenge" job sort of like the first one instead of competing with the other guy like in the second film. It just makes for a much more interesting movie.

The cast works great together, especially Clooney and Pitt. They are just together. My favorite scene in the film is when he and Pitt

[Show spoiler]are watching Oprah

Each member of the team is really enjoyable in each movie and I love the interactions between all of them

I love each and every one of the main characters (the little Asian guy is my least favorite) in the movies and am so glad that they got each of them to be in each movie and didn't lose any of them (unless you count Julia Roberts but I meant the crew).


The movies are very fun and enjoyable watches. I've thought about buying them a few times but have never pulled the trigger. Maybe I will one day...maybe I won't.

Rating - 4.25/5

Could never get into this movie. Never had the will power to finish it.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wright

Could never get into this movie. Never had the will power to finish it.

OTOH
It's a Trap! 4.5/5
PQ/AQ 5/5
Excellent spoof of what should've been a much better finale to the SW trilogy, much funnier than most people say, maybe they just need to give it another go.

[CZAR]

Well I woke up this morning and had a bowl of Puffed Wheat with powdered milk. Was pondering having a peanut butter and syrup sandwich but chose otherwise. Anyhoo while snacking I was deliberating what I should view in the foreseeable future.

Nominees consist of Leonard Part 6, Weekend at Bernies, Men at Work, or the infamous Crying Game. Votes will be based on criteria, contribution and consistency. To be announced. Got Em!!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

No. It makes you TMOAWTHASOOWOTO.

I'll let you work on that for a few.

Originally Posted by Diesel

Originally Posted by Diesel

Ocean's Thirteen

Maybe I will one day...maybe I won't.

This is a clue to solve the above.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Ok Its been a long time but I just wasted 2 hrs of my life!

Atonement

[Show spoiler]Director: Joe Wright
Writers: Ian McEwan , Christopher Hampton
Mains: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Brenda Blethyn

"One lie can do a lot of damage"

Plot (IMDb): Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. Based on the British romance novel by Ian McEwan.

My Take: This movie started off pretty good and the story was solid but it started to loose ALLOT of gas during the mid point. The entire war part of the movie could of been substituted with him being in jail or building a little character development. He clearly could of went backwards to build the characters a bit more being that he was telling some of the stories and a non linear way. The story was somewhat interesting and the acting was good but I didn't give a crap about the characters. There was no deep messages or underline themes. This movie just made her family look pretty damn stupid. Trusting a 13 year old girl in such as serious case?!?!?!?!?! Plot holes, inconsistencies and above all the lack of character development. This has to be one of the worst movies i've seen in a long time. I guess i've just seen better drama's and twisted love stories for this one to have no effect on me. The movie wasnt completely bad, there where parts that grabbed my attention and I thought the ending was pretty powerful but besides that this could of been done allot better. I would of gave this movie 5/5 if he would of broke her neck like he said Jk it still would of been 2.5/5.

Conclusion: I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone, well maybe drama addicts that just don't care about the story, just wanting to see a couple make it or not. I've seen plenty of dramas that out class this movie. This is probably why i couldn't get into the film. What makes a film bad? Seeing a movie done the right way!

PASS

2.5/5

Jhiggy will be along with his castration tools in hand....

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

This is a clue to solve the above.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

You must be thinkin' real hard, I can smell the sawdust burnin'.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

You must be thinkin' real hard, I can smell the sawdust burnin'.

The little hamster is spinning his wheel like crazy









______


Today's viewing: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

The little hamster is spinning his wheel like crazy









______


Today's viewing: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Oh my. Remember, the fight has to be FAIR. No dirty stuff.

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Well I woke up this morning and had a bowl of Puffed Wheat with powdered milk. Was pondering having a peanut butter and syrup sandwich but chose otherwise. Anyhoo while snacking I was deliberating what I should view in the foreseeable future.

Nominees consist of Leonard Part 6, Weekend at Bernies, Men at Work, or the infamous Crying Game. Votes will be based on criteria, contribution and consistency. To be announced. Got Em!!

Those are some pretty weird nominee's. I haven't thought about leonard part six in some time. Wonder how that's holding up?
I await with baited breath.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Well I woke up this morning and had a bowl of Puffed Wheat with powdered milk. Was pondering having a peanut butter and syrup sandwich but chose otherwise. Anyhoo while snacking I was deliberating what I should view in the foreseeable future.

Nominees consist of Leonard Part 6, Weekend at Bernies, Men at Work, or the infamous Crying Game. Votes will be based on criteria, contribution and consistency. To be announced. Got Em!!

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Jhiggy will be along with his castration tools in hand....

haha, yep.

[Romulus]

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

I've grown up with two brothers who are at times obsessed with Anime. I tried watching a few shows and movies with them but never found myself a huge fan. Over the years I've come to realize that there has to be good Anime out there, I'm just not finding it. The first time I realized this was when I watched Akira (1988). For some reason, however, I never actively pursued great Anime titles. I'm just a little convinced that it's not a animation style for me.

Thankfully, Ghost in the Shell is one of the better Anime's I've watched. I didn't have the honor of watching the much acclaimed Blu-ray with the original Japanese language, so I had to suffice with the Netflix stream and English dubs. It came to my knowledge through my brother that all the voice actors in the film are the same ones in the show. Needless to say the voice acting was good, but at some point I would like to go back and watch it correctly.

Watching Ghost in the Shell felt a lot like watching an early version of The Matrix and for good reason: The Wachowski Brothers watched the film and "want[ed] to make the real thing". The film follows Motoko Kusanagi in Tokyo in the year 2029. Kusangi, a cyborg officer, tracks down an elite hacker known as the Puppet Master. Through the investigation Kusangi begins to question her own existent as an A.I.

Overall I enjoyed the story, but found other elements such as the soundtrack to be the best part of the film. I particularly loved the sequences in which the soundtrack

[Show spoiler] would be the only sound playing as we observed the life of people in Tokyo. One particular instance when two cyborgs are escaping on the highway and the film cuts to shots of helicopters, people working at HQ, and subsequent shots of the city

. I always love it when the soundtrack and shots do the work to layout the tone and setting for the film, and here it was done perfectly.

Ghost in the Shell offers the basic themes such as "what is the point of life and existence?" portrayed through a cyborg with no emotion.

[Show spoiler]As Kusangi tracks down the Puppet Master, we inevitably see the transformation of her character and the completion of the character arc. While watching the film, my mother happened to be walking by and notice a verse from the Bible which read:

1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

It seems to me that it wasn't until Kusangi merged with the Puppet Master that she was able to complete the transition from a child into a man. Kusangi questioned much about the world in the way an adolescent does, but when she fused with the Puppet Master and found her answers, she looked upon the world with certainty.

Overall I found this to be a very enjoyable film. Thanks for the great recommendation, DJ Method.

4/5

[Batman1980]

Maybe I need to give GiTS another go, I always liked the show but for some reason I never liked the movie, is the blu-ray reasonably priced?

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Ok Its been a long time but I just wasted 2 hrs of my life!

Atonement

[Show spoiler]
Director: Joe Wright
Writers: Ian McEwan , Christopher Hampton
Mains: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Brenda Blethyn

"One lie can do a lot of damage"

Plot (IMDb): Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. Based on the British romance novel by Ian McEwan.

My Take: This movie started off pretty good and the story was solid but it started to loose ALLOT of gas during the mid point. The entire war part of the movie could of been substituted with him being in jail or building a little character development. He clearly could of went backwards to build the characters a bit more being that he was telling some of the stories and a non linear way. The story was somewhat interesting and the acting was good but I didn't give a crap about the characters. There was no deep messages or underline themes. This movie just made her family look pretty damn stupid. Trusting a 13 year old girl in such as serious case?!?!?!?!?! Plot holes, inconsistencies and above all the lack of character development. This has to be one of the worst movies i've seen in a long time. I guess i've just seen better drama's and twisted love stories for this one to have no effect on me. The movie wasnt completely bad, there where parts that grabbed my attention and I thought the ending was pretty powerful but besides that this could of been done allot better. I would of gave this movie 5/5 if he would of broke her neck like he said Jk it still would of been 2.5/5.

Conclusion: I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone, well maybe drama addicts that just don't care about the story, just wanting to see a couple make it or not. I've seen plenty of dramas that out class this movie. This is probably why i couldn't get into the film. What makes a film bad? Seeing a movie done the right way!

PASS

2.5/5

Jhiggy is not going to be pleased with you.

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

Maybe I need to give GiTS another go, I always liked the show but for some reason I never liked the movie, is the blu-ray reasonably priced?

Amazon has it listed for 15 dollars, which is not bad at all.

http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Shell-Bl...3829914&sr=8-1