The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

“Batman Begins.”

This is the game-changer. No more campy wacky kiddie crap. No more romanticist gothic crap either. Christopher Nolan presents a new and improved Batman movie more heavily grounded in reality (or about as real as a comic-book hero film can be), and with a stronger emphasis on in-depth storytelling and style.

Fortunately, the film is still entertaining; perhaps even moreso than all the other films before it. Action is frequent and impressive. Some of the fights might be hard to see with the shaky cameramanship, but the car chase, the stuntwork, the (few) special effects, and the finale are all very noteworthy.

That is my complaint about the film. The fights are horribly filmed (beginning in prison and then in by the shipping containers)

In between the major action scenes, the story moves with a fast and tight pacing. There’s hardly a dull moment.

Agreed.

At its core though, this telling of “Batman” presents a very strong story, filled with deep characters, strong themes, and detailed nuances. The story itself is pretty solid, for as the mystery unravels it proves to be cleverly sublime and tight. What is most important is the character development though; Bruce Wayne’s origins are explored in depth and with solid reasoning behind his ascension into a masked vigilante. Going hand-in-hand with this portrayal are strong themes about fear, morality, and ultimately the value of decisive action. And as the Batman character comes into a fully-realized being, a lot of interesting concepts are poured into it like hot iron filling an ingot; using fear as a weapon, the principles of ninjutsu, the power of symbols, to name a few. And on top of all that, the physical genesis of the character is explored more thoroughly than ever before; we finally see where he gets all his cool gadgets from, where his costume came from, how he gained the trust of key law enforcement officers, among other things. All of these concepts work together to make the story more believable, whereas in previous movies nothing was defined and everything about the character simply existed without any basis. The movie gets high marks as it is for utilizing previously unused opportunities. I’d give it even higher marks for its strong themes.

Agreed again

As a film, it is interesting. Photography is superb throughout, with plenty of unique imagery and camera angles. Editing is very rough, with some choppy action scenes, but most of the time it works to create a unique and frenetic style. Acting is excellent all around; Christian Bale shows both aggression and subtlety in his dual-natured role,

Correction...there is three distinct characters he plays...even if Katie Holmes tells us its two

1. Batman - The hard***, scary as hell crime fighter who gets things done regardless of the "rules"
2. Playboy Bruce - Public face of what he has to put out there as the "real" him.
3. Bruce Wayne - The true Bruce. The one we only see with Alfred, Rachel and Ra's. Wants to do good but knows he can't and is forced to create Batman. My favorite Bruce of the three.

Michael Caine makes for a wise and witty butler (a good change from the nice old man in previous films, who proved to be a security hazard more than anything. Seriously, the old Alfred kept on revealing Batman’s identity and let the Riddler into the house! Come on! ), Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson are cool as the villains, and Gary Oldman is perfect as Jim Gordon.

All approved

It’s also pretty cool seeing Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, and Rutger Hauer in the mix (and I never realized until now that Ken Watanabe is in there too! The guy likes to leech off of Nolan these days ). Production value is very high, with loads of excellent sets, props, costumes, weapons, cars, gear, and everything else. The music score is epic!

I prefer Katie Holmes as Rachel. She is much better with Bale than Maggie G. is. And I didn't care for Maggie G.'s performance as a whole either.

5/5 (entertainment: 5/5, story: 5/5, film: 4.5/5, intellectual impact: 3/5) Increased from 4.5/5, putting it on the same level as “TDK.”

4.5/5 from me.

The Blu-Ray is engineered well. It seems like I see some folks complaining about it, but from what I see the image is very sharp, detailed, clean, and pleasing to watch. Colors and contrast are a little dulled, but I remember the DVD being the same way. There is some fine noise in certain spots, but I hardly find it an issue. Sound quality seems good, but doesn’t have a huge punch to it.

PQ: 4.5/5, AQ: 4/5

I gave the PQ a 4/5, which is better than general. It looks fine but could definitely be stronger.

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

They're just mad because it's a port of the HD DVD and not a new master for blu-ray.

Incorrect.

A new master is not needed, the master is fine. What it needs is a new encode that isn't bitrate starved. The encode used for the blu-ray is the exact same as the 30GB HD-DVD. It has 20GB more room to breath on blu-ray so a new encode for the 50GB disc would allow it to look better.

[menaceuk]

Bit Rate only goes so far.What is the Bit rate of the HD DVD

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by menaceuk

Bit Rate only goes so far.

And the distance it goes is what would improve the BD of Begins

It's not a bad disc, just an solid one that could be better instead of being held back by them just porting over the HD DVD.

What is the Bit rate of the HD DVD

Whatever the bit rate of the Blu-ray is or very close to it since it was a port.

[Marcus Wright]

Scent Of Women

While it could be considered a little bit predictable at times, as well as a little bit naive for usage of some over the top moves to attrack the younger audienece as well, this movie has nevertheless mastrepiece written all over it.

Without any doubt I think this is Al Pacinos best perfomance, worth the Oscar he got. He was really beleivable in his role. It tried to stay realistic and interseting at the same time, which is very hard to do but it sucseeded in.
I really appreciate the honesty with which this movie was made.

Oh, and the now iconic dance. I think that is one of the most emotional moments ever captured in any movie. That simple.

Lovers of dramas and serious tragedy movies, as well as fans of Al Pacino, you are certainly recomended to see this movie.


5/5

[Diesel]

The Crucible

• 1996 | PG-13 | 124 Minutes
  
  
• Director: Nicholas Hytner
  
  
• Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield
  
  
• Drama | History
  
  
• Repeat Viewing

I saw this movie when I was in high school after reading the play. I thoroughly enjoyed the play; it was one of the few assignments for our English class that most of us enjoyed. We would each take a role for an act (until there were no more) and read it out in class and it was a blast. After we were through we watched the film and I thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

The film is centered on the Salem Witch Trials of the 17th century. Many of the teenage girls in the town begin to proclaim other citizens as witches that have made deals with the Devil. An outside clergyman and judiciaries are brought in to determine the validity of these claims and hold proceedings for those accused.

The story the film tells is very good and the film is very well written. There are some aspects from actual history that have remained intact but others have been changed to suit the needs of the play and then the film.

The film feels closer to a 90 minutes film than a two hour film as it flies by (for me at least. The film is based around the Witch Trials but the characters are by far what makes this film. From the sniveling Reverend who is concerned only about his reputation to the farmer John Proctor. The main characters are all interesting in their own way and the relationships, both good and bad, among those characters draw you in even farther and really make you care for certain characters and have a growing disdain for others.


With a few exceptions the acting among the main cast is great.

Daniel Day-Lewis is by far my favorite and also plays my favorite character in the film. He is great in the film. My favorite part of the film is his speech about his name.
This is the first movie I saw with Day-Lewis. The next time I saw him in a film (Last of the Mohicans) I said, "Hey, its that guy from The Crucible!"


If you haven't seen this film I highly recommend it if you are a fan of the subject, any of the main actors or just want to see a good movie


Rating - 4.75/5

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Diesel

The Crucible

[Show spoiler]

• 1996 | PG-13 | 124 Minutes
  
  
• Director: Nicholas Hytner
  
  
• Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield
  
  
• Drama | History
  
  
• Repeat Viewing

I saw this movie when I was in high school after reading the play. I thoroughly enjoyed the play; it was one of the few assignments for our English class that most of us enjoyed. We would each take a role for an act (until there were no more) and read it out in class and it was a blast. After we were through we watched the film and I thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

The film is centered on the Salem Witch Trials of the 17th century. Many of the teenage girls in the town begin to proclaim other citizens as witches that have made deals with the Devil. An outside clergyman and judiciaries are brought in to determine the validity of these claims and hold proceedings for those accused.

The story the film tells is very good and the film is very well written. There are some aspects from actual history that have remained intact but others have been changed to suit the needs of the play and then the film.

The film feels closer to a 90 minutes film than a two hour film as it flies by (for me at least. The film is based around the Witch Trials but the characters are by far what makes this film. From the sniveling Reverend who is concerned only about his reputation to the farmer John Proctor. The main characters are all interesting in their own way and the relationships, both good and bad, among those characters draw you in even farther and really make you care for certain characters and have a growing disdain for others.


With a few exceptions the acting among the main cast is great.

Daniel Day-Lewis is by far my favorite and also plays my favorite character in the film. He is great in the film. My favorite part of the film is his speech about his name.
This is the first movie I saw with Day-Lewis. The next time I saw him in a film (Last of the Mohicans) I said, "Hey, its that guy from The Crucible!"


If you haven't seen this film I highly recommend it if you are a fan of the subject, any of the main actors or just want to see a good movie

Rating - 4.75/5

I love the movie, probably rate it about a 4/5 though, still waiting for the blu-ray to come. Watching Braveheart, which I consider to be a lot better than a movie it is frequently compared to. Gorgeous transfer, phenomenal cast, excellent movie. 5/5 all around for the best movie Mel Gibson will ever do, only knock on this movie is it butchers the tale of William Wallace.

[LordCrumb]

The Green Hornet

Not a bad film, very funny in most parts, but the action was really cool. In depth review huh? lol

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Correction...there is three distinct characters he plays...even if Katie Holmes tells us its two

1. Batman - The hard***, scary as hell crime fighter who gets things done regardless of the "rules"
2. Playboy Bruce - Public face of what he has to put out there as the "real" him.
3. Bruce Wayne - The true Bruce. The one we only see with Alfred, Rachel and Ra's. Wants to do good but knows he can't and is forced to create Batman. My favorite Bruce of the three.

I prefer Katie Holmes as Rachel. She is much better with Bale than Maggie G. is. And I didn't care for Maggie G.'s performance as a whole either.



4.5/5 from me.

I gave the PQ a 4/5, which is better than general. It looks fine but could definitely be stronger.

I totally forgot to comment on the alter-ego theme. There's just so much going on in this film!

I agree; Maggie G just didn't do the character as good justice.

[Show spoiler]It's just as well, her character gets killed off in "TDK."

I used to knock 0.5 off my score for the jittery action scenes, but it didn't seem to bother me this time around. The new "Batman" movies are becoming huge favorites; it might turn my holy trinity of favorites ("LOTR," "Star Wars," "Matrix") into a quadrinity.

I almost gave the PQ a 4/5, but I probably felt it was more like a 4.25 and I rounded up.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by KaiGusto

The Green Hornet

Not a bad film, very funny in most parts, but the action was really cool. In depth review huh? lol

Sometimes that's all we need.

What would you say the score would be numerically? Or as an alphabet grade? Or as a food item?

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Man it would be hella cool if we could all meet up and check out a film or so. Cats would be driving from every which-a-way hahaha. Got Em!!

I'm not that far from you bro, and DJ is right near me. If anyone's interested, maybe a future meetup could work.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Yea i enjoyed this film. Loved Mos Def's talking and voice haha. he did a great job with that. Not a great film but enjoyable. Probably 3 1/2 stars. Got Em!!

I enjoyed this one too, I'd probably give it a 4/5

I thought Mos Def did a good job in this role

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by BladeRunner2007

Agreed. I was a HUGE Van Damme fan when I was a kid. Bloodsport was definitely one of my favorite movies. I must have seen it 100 times. Lionheart is a good movie too.

Haha, same here. Watched ALL of his films when I was younger. My brother and I used to watch Double Impact, Lionheart, Bloodsport, Universal Soldier and Hard Target all the time

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Brokeback Moutain cereal review

Sorry if its offensive.

[Show spoiler]

I LOL'd

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Understatement! Had to keep my ears peeled at all times.

Seriously, my ears were wide open for both In Bruges and Ondine!

[tbizzle]

Haven't posted reviews on here in a long time due to being very busy, so I'll just do a few short ones.

Red Cliff- 4.25/5

Very good epic, though I wasn't really amazed by it. At 4 hours and 40 minutes, it's definitely a great ride, full of drama and lots of action. In scale it was EPIC, but it lacked in quality. The plot and dialogue were very cliche and obvious at times, not withholding on the cheese here and there as well Technically, it was awesome and with the limited budget that they had to work with, they did an excellent job. I blind bought this a while ago and got the blu's from Netflix before I opened it, not quite sure if I want to keep this now.

North by Northwest - 4.5/5

One of the most enjoyable classics I've seen in a while. As always, Carey Grant is great, his

[Show spoiler]drunk

scene is hilarious. One complaint though, at the end of the film, it wraps up ridiculously fast and ends abruptly... it didn't really mesh with the tempo of the rest of the film.

Spanglish - 4.5/5

Very impressed with this one. There was some of the best comedic timing I've ever seen in a few scenes. Overall, very charming and warm little film. Everyone was great, including Sandler. I'd love to get the blu someday. After seeing Paz Vega in this, Sex and Lucia is coming very soon from Netflix

Pride and Glory - 4.5/5

Very good crime drama. I liked it when I saw it in the theaters, but I forgot how solid of a film it is and I enjoyed it a lot more this time around. I think this was the role where Colin Farrell changed my mind about him as an actor. I didn't care for him much before, but his performance is on par with all of his recent films. Ed Norton and the rest of the cast are very good as well, including a nice performance from Jon Voight.

Tron: Legacy - 4/5

Not great by any means, but they did an awesome job on it. One small complaint

[Show spoiler]a little too much Slo-mo that wasn't that cool,

but other than that, it was a lot of fun. I only wish I could've seen the first film beforehand, but it's still unavailable from Netflix

The 3D wasn't quite as good as Avatar, but it was still pretty kickass. I really enjoyed the score from Daft Punk, they really delivered here. Overall, lots of fun and an almost guaranteed 5/5 PQ and SQ scores for the blu, can't wait!!

[tbizzle]

Wonderful World - 3.5/5

Decent film with an enjoyable story and a good performance from Matthew Broderick.

Bam's Where the F**k is Santa - 5/5

Not sure how many people enjoy Bam's adventures, but I love em. Had a few beers and a lot of laughs with this one

The Girl Who Played With Fire - 4/5

Still enjoyed it a lot, but it's not as good as the first. I found it funny that a professional researcher/hacker kept discovering that she was wanted for murder several times from...... wanted signs posted in the streets

The Ice Storm - 4.25/5

Being that Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger are two of my favorites, I was hoping I'd really like this one. It's a very well done film from Ang Lee and I enjoyed it, but didn't have enough interest in the characters. The acting was very good, depicting very well the lost and depressed characters of a small town in Connecticut. Another reason I didn't like it as much as I was hoping to is that the story seemed to drag a bit up front. For me, the hooks weren't set till the second half of the film.

The Visitor - 4/5

Big fan of Richard Jenkins and he was great as always. It's a pretty well done film about a man who rediscovers life when a couple of illegal immigrants befriend him and help him discover music.

[tbizzle]

Black Swan - 4.75/5

Excellent film from Aronofksy and well worth the wait. The amazing crescendo of an ending really sealed the deal and I walked away loving it, but I can't quite give it a 5/5 for some reason. I didn't quite LOVE it, however I expect my rating to change upon another viewing.... can't wait for the blu!!!

Natalie has always been a favorite of mine and it was truly a pleasure to watch her put on the performance we knew she's been capable of all these years. She was fantastic. And as stunningly beautiful as ever. Just thinkin about some of her scenes in this film is emotional and I can't wait to revisit this one. Mila Kunis was great and really showed that she has some talent. Plus, she's pretty sexy. However, Natalie is on another plane of beauty, elegance and grace and truly owned this film. Highly recommended.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

It was a good experience. Worth the drive for sure. It was a Big Screen Must for me.

Agreed, I'm really glad I got to see it in the theaters. With the digital projectors and new sound system at the new theaters near my house, it's closer to what I get to experience at home. During the club scene, I felt like I was IN the club!

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

I'm not that far from you bro, and DJ is right near me. If anyone's interested, maybe a future meetup could work.

Oh is that right? I didnt even notice. Yea man I wonder who is all in Cali thats on here anyway. That would be cool for a future meetup though. We should see who is all somewhat local and interested? Got Em!!

Originally Posted by tbizzle

I enjoyed this one too, I'd probably give it a 4/5

I thought Mos Def did a good job in this role

Yea Mos Def is actually a pretty good actor to be a rapper. Got Em!!

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Pride and Glory - 4.5/5

Very good crime drama. I liked it when I saw it in the theaters, but I forgot how solid of a film it is and I enjoyed it a lot more this time around. I think this was the role where Colin Farrell changed my mind about him as an actor. I didn't care for him much before, but his performance is on par with all of his recent films. Ed Norton and the rest of the cast are very good as well, including a nice performance from Jon Voight.

I didnt care for this film much. Got Em!!

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by Diesel

The Crucible

• 1996 | PG-13 | 124 Minutes
  
  
• Director: Nicholas Hytner
  
  
• Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield
  
  
• Drama | History
  
  
• Repeat Viewing

I saw this movie when I was in high school after reading the play. I thoroughly enjoyed the play; it was one of the few assignments for our English class that most of us enjoyed. We would each take a role for an act (until there were no more) and read it out in class and it was a blast. After we were through we watched the film and I thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

The film is centered on the Salem Witch Trials of the 17th century. Many of the teenage girls in the town begin to proclaim other citizens as witches that have made deals with the Devil. An outside clergyman and judiciaries are brought in to determine the validity of these claims and hold proceedings for those accused.

The story the film tells is very good and the film is very well written. There are some aspects from actual history that have remained intact but others have been changed to suit the needs of the play and then the film.

The film feels closer to a 90 minutes film than a two hour film as it flies by (for me at least. The film is based around the Witch Trials but the characters are by far what makes this film. From the sniveling Reverend who is concerned only about his reputation to the farmer John Proctor. The main characters are all interesting in their own way and the relationships, both good and bad, among those characters draw you in even farther and really make you care for certain characters and have a growing disdain for others.


With a few exceptions the acting among the main cast is great.

Daniel Day-Lewis is by far my favorite and also plays my favorite character in the film. He is great in the film. My favorite part of the film is his speech about his name.
This is the first movie I saw with Day-Lewis. The next time I saw him in a film (Last of the Mohicans) I said, "Hey, its that guy from The Crucible!"


If you haven't seen this film I highly recommend it if you are a fan of the subject, any of the main actors or just want to see a good movie


Rating - 4.75/5

I saw this a while back on HBO and it left me very ambivalent. I kept wanting to turn it off, but i couldn't do it. DDL is obviously great, but everyone else seems very wooden and Winona Ryder was annoying as hell. I'm sure that's how it was written, since it's based on the play, but the dialogue felt very stilted and formal. I stuck with it till the end and i'm glad i did because the end is very emotional and dark, but it was painful getting to that point. The fact that most of that stuff actually happened is the only thing (besides DDL ) the movie has going for it. God, those people were stupid! I just kept wanting to smack everybody and since it did get a rise out of me, i can't entirely dismiss it or give it a failing grade, but i really can't put a score on it without seeing it again. But i don't really wanna see it again.