The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Batman1980]

Finished Enchanted, still think it's one of the best live action princess movies ever. Watching Enemy of the State, one of my favourite films of the 90s and I consider it one of Smith's better performances as well. Up next is the great Enter the Dragon
Enchanted 5/5
PQ and AQ 5/5
Enemy of the State 4.5/5
PQ 4.5/5, AQ 5/5
Enter the Dragon 4/5
PQ and AQ 3/5

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I caught that when I got into that review.

I might be seeing the Kings Speech today. I dig Rush and Firth, so I'm eager to see it. Thanks for the reviews.

Enjoy!

I'm about to watch Dawn Treader with a friend.

Black Swan on Saturday.

[Marcus Wright]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Let Me In [109 minutes]

Year: 2010
Director: Matt Reeves
Starring: Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Richard Jenkins

this... this is not a horror film.

[Show spoiler]i was very concerned when i blind bought Let Me In. some part of me said i would enjoy it, and another part of me was worried that this was going to be a standard, cliche riddled Americanized horror film. now, i have never seen Let the Right One In, so i had nothing to compare this to. so i went in knowing very little about this film. all i really knew was that it was slower paced and was about

[Show spoiler]vampires

...and i'm not even sure if that should be in spoiler tags

i ended up LOVING Let Me In because of the relationship dynamic between Owen and Abby

the story is about a young girl who moves to a new city and makes friends with a lonely boy named Owen who is an outcast at school. and while Abby is also an outcast in a much different way, she contains a deep well of strength that she teaches Owen to have as he grows as a person. honestly, the most memorable and touching scenes i will take away from Let Me In are the scenes between Abby and Owen on the playground. beautiful lighting, wonderful acting, and a haunting and somber score make it a magical setting that few films achieve. i could go on and on but will sum it up with saying this: the relationship of two outsiders bonding and finding strength together is one of my favorite cinematic relationships ever. made even more touching by the sheer innocence of them being 12 and bonding over the simplest and most mundane things, while also connecting on an emotional level that few achieve. you really feel that these two are connected in a sense and it's made all the more believeable by the awesome job Kodi and Chloe do.

speaking of which, these two are gonna be megastars one day. Chloe easily is the better of the two as she has extreme talent and will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come - if she so chooses. but Kodi is no slouch either. the only downside for Kodi is he is playing a role very similar to his role in The Road, so i haven't seen much range from him, but he is a gifted actor and will improve overtime - again, if he so chooses.

meanwhile, the individual merits of Let Me In are outstanding as well. the film has a very lonely, desolate feel and atmosphere to it, which never lets up. Abby and Owen are two lonely children and the film expresses this well in obvious and not so obvious ways.

lighting, directing, writing and acting are all massive plusses

are there some eerie, extremely tense, scary scenes? yes. but not a whole lot. honestly, the film reminded me a lot of Antichrist with looking eerie, creepy and haunting, but not necessarily being a scary / horror film. people expecting a straight up generic horror film will be left incredibly angry and bored. sucks to be them, but i loved the film for what Reeves represented, and definitely makes me want to see Let the Right One In sooner than later.

*** no real complaints about the film. maybe a few questionable pacing and structuring issues, but nothing severe, and the 109 minutes flew by.

EDIT: for those who have seen it, the only laughable, oddly illogical question i had was the school setting:

[Show spoiler]since when are 12 year-olds in class with apparently 16-17 year olds? and what 12 year olds have swimming classes and weight lifting?!

although since this is a remake of a Swedish film, maybe they do those things at that age in Swedish schools, but i know most U.S. schools don't do this until much, much later.

very, very much so recommended

PQ: 4/5 a lot of dark scenes of course, but i love the use of orange, blues and whites in numerous scenes
AQ: 4/5 a very quiet soundtrack with a lot of quiet dialogue, so my volume was quiet high and not a lot of loud scenes, but when they arrive, you know they're there.

4/5 - loved it

Ok, I have to comment on this movie.
For some reason this movie just doesnt work for me at all. I dont find a relationship between a boy and a vampire girl intrguing or romantic at all. I dont know why. It just doesnt appeal to me.

As doesnt work as a horror as well, although truth be told it was scarier than the original Swedish movie.

And most importantly, I dont get why they needed to copy/paste the orginal, literally. Dont they have anything more original and new to make?
It seemed like watching the same movie literally. For me it was waste of resources.

That said, I can understand why some might enjoy the movie, but it still was pointless considering the existence of the original one, which was superior to it IMO.

[Q?]

The Great Escape (dvd)
I rather enjoyed it, but tried to ignore the awful sillyhappy score for the movie. That was the biggest annoyance of this movie, the score... I mean I can't believe they actually made music like that then. I also couldn't tolerate how they made it a "light" movie despite the difficult subject, nazi prison camp for soldiers, people dying and stuff. The actual escape I found exciting, made the movie worthwhile for me and the great cast, but mostly it was a wasted potential for me.
6/10

Papillon (dvd obviously)
Funny, another movie featuring Steve McQueen escaping a prison. This one was fantastic, loved how it was a horrible grueling experience. The solitary confinement sequence was my favourite part, also Steve did a great performance there and much more realistic than Steve McQueen's solitary confinement scenes in The Great Escape, Dustin Hoffman is always a pleasure to watch. All in all it's a well crafted movie and I hope it'll be released on blu soon! If you haven't seen it definitely check it out. Recommended dudes!

The only thing I didn't like

[Show spoiler]was when he escaped and hanged out with the indigenious people. That felt so unrealistic and their wooden acting didn't help. Their "rituals" didn't seem genuine and that tattoo scene with all the people watching as if it was some sort of important event made me baffle. Why was Papi held in high regard, did I miss something?

9/10

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (blu-ray) "Seriously Ultimate Edition"

This movie delivered, made me feel uneasy and sick. It wasn't horribly gratuitous but it did the job. Great direction and the low-budget feel helped it for me also, the ambient eerie music was sick, love experiemental stuff. I was actually surprised there wasn't any unnecessary naked scenes in this movie, that I actually liked, although I wouldn't have minded Sally having a few of those She was hawt. The pathetic wheelchair guy I couldn't stand though, what was the reason for him to be so fricking annoying and unlikeable? It seemed perfect for him to be a likeable character that you actually cared for. LOVED the last shot of the movie, perfect ending for me. I want to explore more great low budget movies, not necessarily in the horror genre. If it's good, it's good. Check it out if you haven't.

The blu looks like crap, like it should as it was shot with 16mm, sound in mono. Great features in the disc and it's region free, definitely get it if you're a fan.
9/10

You satisfied squid?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Q?

[

[Show spoiler]B]The Great Escape[/B] (dvd)
I rather enjoyed it, but tried to ignore the awful sillyhappy score for the movie. That was the biggest annoyance of this movie, the score... I mean I can't believe they actually made music like that then. I also couldn't tolerate how they made it a "light" movie despite the difficult subject, nazi prison camp for soldiers, people dying and stuff. The actual escape I found exciting, made the movie worthwhile for me and the great cast, but mostly it was a wasted potential for me.
6/10

Papillon (dvd obviously)
Funny, another movie featuring Steve McQueen escaping a prison. This one was fantastic, loved how it was a horrible grueling experience. The solitary confinement sequence was my favourite part, also Steve did a great performance there and much more realistic than Steve McQueen's solitary confinement scenes in The Great Escape, Dustin Hoffman is always a pleasure to watch. All in all it's a well crafted movie and I hope it'll be released on blu soon! If you haven't seen it definitely check it out. Recommended dudes!

The only thing I didn't like

[Show spoiler]was when he escaped and hanged out with the indigenious people. That felt so unrealistic and their wooden acting didn't help. Their "rituals" didn't seem genuine and that tattoo scene with all the people watching as if it was some sort of important event made me baffle. Why was Papi held in high regard, did I miss something?

9/10

[Show spoiler]The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (blu-ray) "Seriously Ultimate Edition"

This movie delivered, made me feel uneasy and sick. It wasn't horribly gratuitous but it did the job. Great direction and the low-budget feel helped it for me also, the ambient eerie music was sick, love experiemental stuff. I was actually surprised there wasn't any unnecessary naked scenes in this movie, that I actually liked, although I wouldn't have minded Sally having a few of those She was hawt. The pathetic wheelchair guy I couldn't stand though, what was the reason for him to be so fricking annoying and unlikeable? It seemed perfect for him to be a likeable character that you actually cared for. LOVED the last shot of the movie, perfect ending for me. I want to explore more great low budget movies, not necessarily in the horror genre. If it's good, it's good. Check it out if you haven't.

The blu looks like crap, like it should as it was shot with 16mm, sound in mono. Great features in the disc and it's region free, definitely get it if you're a fan.
9/10

You satisfied squid?

May 24th

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Papillon-Blu-ray/20172/

[Q?]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

May 24th

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Papillon-Blu-ray/20172/

yesssssssssssssssssss


Also, this was the first time I ever felt like punching a nun in the face after this movie. lol

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Q?

yesssssssssssssssssss


Also, this was the first time I ever felt like punching a nun in the face after this movie. lol

LoL.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

LoL.

Wonder if the Marionette likes Erin Brockovich, still one of my favourite Julia Roberts movies of all-time, probably always will be. Don't think she deserved the Oscar for this performance though, she was better in Closer by far. Everyone who likes this movie should import it from the UK, it's definitely worth it.

[Steve46]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Directed by Michael Apted
Starring Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter
113 minutes

I thought the first Narnia movie was good because it introduced us to the world, it had strong actors in the adult roles and the beavers were hilarious. Prince Caspian wasn't as good, but it was decent enough. Disney got those movies right and it was a good decision to drop the series. Fox takes over for Dawn Treader and the story is nowhere near as coherent.

We know the world by now and there's not much that's new. The acting has regressed with the adults phased out almost completely. The only decent actor among the four children in the first movie was Georgie Henley when she was around eight years old. Five years later, she hasn't really progressed. The acting as a whole was weak.

The story as presented is also the weakest of the three so far. Lots of action sequences, but nothing special. Nothing like the depth or charm of the first story.

It was reasonable, but not something I would buy or ever seek to watch again. If the fourth one is made, it will need to improve to ensure the future of the series. Reepicheep was the only redeeming factor.

Overall 3/5 (4/5 for LWW and 3.5/5 for Prince Caspian)

[iam1bearcat]

well fudge. i told myself yesterday (actually, tuesday) that "no more purchases would be made until i've watched everything in my collection, along with the commentaries (i love commentaries)" and yet, i wake up this morning and i see that Deadwood is down to $86, which LOOKS expensive, but at less than $30 a season for a great, great series i haven't watched in what feels like eternity, it was well worth the asking price, so i had to buy it

BUT! i have an amazon credit card that gives you points back that you can turn in for amazon gift cards. so, since i can get a $25 gift card, i THOUGHT i could just redeem it and have it added to my account electronically, but noooo they actually send you a gift card. in the... mail so i had to actually charge the full $86 to the credit card

so NOW. no more blu-rays until... March 1st for Black Swan. long time, i know

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by killowertz

Even though I watched this around 8 times (a lot for me) back in the day, I completely forgot about what you said in your spoiler.

I'm sure you enjoyed

[Show spoiler]Jennifer Lopez in her Dolphins jersey

.

yeah, that was... okay, i guess...

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

If 4/5 is loved it, what is 5/5?

my bad. i guess i never really explained my new rating system as it is essentially two systems working side by side but having no effect on each other. let's see if the following babble helps

i loved Let Me In. so i put that, yes, i loved it.
the 4/5 is because there was nothing really wrong with the film, but it didn't feel like a masterful 5/5.

now, how does that make sense?

because i try to separate the individual merits into the numbers game, and what i feel into the 7 tier category (love it, really like it, hate it, meh... things like that) that way if i give a film a 2/5, i may still really enjoy it, but maybe it's just not a well made, award worthy film. now, chances are this won't happen very often, as usually if i love a film, then it will raise the score of it, but for Let Me In, it "felt" like a 4/5 (which will go up with future viewings i know) and yet, i loved it so i wanted to make that clear.

and yet, i'm sure that doesn't make sense, huh?
i think i'm just gonna put my feelings on it, and maybe leave out the numbers? ugh. decisions, decisions!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

well fudge. i told myself yesterday (actually, tuesday) that "no more purchases would be made until i've watched everything in my collection, along with the commentaries (i love commentaries)" and yet, i wake up this morning and i see that Deadwood is down to $86, which LOOKS expensive, but at less than $30 a season for a great, great series i haven't watched in what feels like eternity, it was well worth the asking price, so i had to buy it

BUT! i have an amazon credit card that gives you points back that you can turn in for amazon gift cards. so, since i can get a $25 gift card, i THOUGHT i could just redeem it and have it added to my account electronically, but noooo they actually send you a gift card. in the... mail so i had to actually charge the full $86 to the credit card :

so NOW. no more blu-rays until... March 1st for Black Swan. long time, i know

$2.39 per hour. CHEAP!!!! Enjoy.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wright

Ok, I have to comment on this movie.
For some reason this movie just doesnt work for me at all. I dont find a relationship between a boy and a vampire girl intrguing or romantic at all. I dont know why. It just doesnt appeal to me.

understandable. i realize looking back that i didn't look at it as a "human and vampire" relationship, i looked at it as two isolated, lonely children who bonded together because of their difference. which was awesome imo.

As doesnt work as a horror as well, although truth be told it was scarier than the original Swedish movie.

as i read in a review, "the film isn't a horror film. it's a romance with a horror setting" which i think states it perfectly, which is why i'm glad there are very few typical horror type scenes.

And most importantly, I dont get why they needed to copy/paste the orginal, literally. Dont they have anything more original and new to make?
It seemed like watching the same movie literally. For me it was waste of resources.

yeah, i haven't seen the original, which probably helped me enjoy Let Me In more than maybe i would have. i have no idea how much alike it is. i hear varying opinions on everything from "it's a shot for shot remake" to "this one is deeper and more character driven" to all sorts of in between. i'm eager to see Let the Right One In and will go in with an open mind

That said, I can understand why some might enjoy the movie, but it still was pointless considering the existence of the original one, which was superior to it IMO.

i don't know if the relationship dynamic will be better, but we'll see. since i stated that Abby and Owen's relationship was one of the greatest i've witnessed in film, i think that will be harder for the Swedish film to top, but again, we'll see when the time comes.

[Marcus Wright]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

understandable. i realize looking back that i didn't look at it as a "human and vampire" relationship, i looked at it as two isolated, lonely children who bonded together because of their difference. which was awesome imo.



as i read in a review, "the film isn't a horror film. it's a romance with a horror setting" which i think states it perfectly, which is why i'm glad there are very few typical horror type scenes.



yeah, i haven't seen the original, which probably helped me enjoy Let Me In more than maybe i would have. i have no idea how much alike it is. i hear varying opinions on everything from "it's a shot for shot remake" to "this one is deeper and more character driven" to all sorts of in between. i'm eager to see Let the Right One In and will go in with an open mind



i don't know if the relationship dynamic will be better, but we'll see. since i stated that Abby and Owen's relationship was one of the greatest i've witnessed in film, i think that will be harder for the Swedish film to top, but again, we'll see when the time comes.

The thing I liked more about original was the characters.
I thought the lead children where more appealing in that movie, especially the girl, (see is so believable as a vampire) although the new movie actors do a good job as well.

I am in the camp that says it was a scene by scene remake.

[jvince]

I saw Taken last night, and I honestly don't know if it's a good movie, a bad movie, or an average movie. Maybe it's a little bit of each. An average, good-bad movie, I guess? I don't know.

There's no doubt the action in Taken is top-notch, but its attempts at drama and character-building is laughable. The dialogue is so cringe-inducing, I don't think I've ever seen Neeson and Janssen give such horrible dramatic performances and delivery in their careers like in this one. Surprisingly, Maggie Grace gave the best dramatic performance in this film, and I never thought of her as a good actress. I found it a much better film when there is limited-to-no-dialogue while Neeson is going around killing people. In fact, if this film shut its mouth the whole way, it would have been much, much better.

Overall, I'd say it's a 3/5 at best. Maybe a 2.5/5. It's undeniably entertaining to see Neeson's journey in finding his daughter, but its dramatic parts drag it down. A 5/5 for action, and a dismal 1/5 for drama. Revenge fans will enjoy this, but there are much better films like it out there. If you're interested in seeing this film, I'm not stopping you. But take my advice and skip the drama parts. Then afterwards, go see Ji-woon Kim and Joon-ho Bong's works, and watch modern revenge masters show you how its really done.

Rating: ***/5 (5/5: action, 1/5 drama)

[volcomsocal]

Changeling - 2008

Wow. Just, wow. Clint Eastwood, you've outdone yourself this time. Angelina Jolie, you actually CAN act well, and John Malkovich, you've proven once again that you're a great actor.

This is one of the best stories I've ever seen. This movie is near perfect. Fantastic acting, script, storyline, cinematography, and pace of the movie itself. Right from the very start, it had a genuine feel to it. I was completely pulled into the movie. For a 2 hour and 20 minute film, I never once thought, "man, this is a long movie." I've never fully enjoyed Clint Eastwood's directing, as I've mentioned here before, except for Gran Turino, but Changeling might take the cake. This movie has all the right pieces and parts to it, to make it a wonderful film.

PQ - 4.5/5
AQ -3.75/5

I highly recommend this film to anyone.

4.75/5

[Marcus Wright]

Originally Posted by volcomsocal

Changeling - 2008

Wow. Just, wow. Clint Eastwood, you've outdone yourself this time. Angelina Jolie, you actually CAN act well, and John Malkovich, you've proven once again that you're a great actor.

This is one of the best stories I've ever seen. This movie is near perfect. Fantastic acting, script, storyline, cinematography, and pace of the movie itself. Right from the very start, it had a genuine feel to it. I was completely pulled into the movie. For a 2 hour and 20 minute film, I never once thought, "man, this is a long movie." I've never fully enjoyed Clint Eastwood's directing, as I've mentioned here before, except for Gran Turino, but Changeling might take the cake. This movie has all the right pieces and parts to it, to make it a wonderful film.

PQ - 4.5/5
AQ -3.75/5

I highly recommend this film to anyone.

4.75/5

I thought it was a bad movie. one of Easywoods worst.
It was just plain boring.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i ended up LOVING Let Me In because of the relationship dynamic between Owen and Abby

the relationship of two outsiders bonding and finding strength together is one of my favorite cinematic relationships ever. made even more touching by the sheer innocence of them being 12 and bonding over the simplest and most mundane things, while also connecting on an emotional level that few achieve. you really feel that these two are connected in a sense and it's made all the more believeable by the awesome job Kodi and Chloe do.

Originally Posted by Marcus Wright

I dont find a relationship between a boy and a vampire girl intrguing or romantic at all. I dont know why. It just doesnt appeal to me.

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

understandable. i realize looking back that i didn't look at it as a "human and vampire" relationship, i looked at it as two isolated, lonely children who bonded together because of their difference. which was awesome imo.

I don't know how the remake handles this, but in the original

[Show spoiler]they're two boys.

[Marcus Wright]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I don't know how the remake handles this, but in the original

[Show spoiler]they're two boys.

I think in this one they are two boys as well.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wright

I think in this one they are two boys as well.

That's the way I see it: comaderie and tender, heartfelt friendship.