Movie Review Thread

[Fragony]

Ever watched the tv series? Movie didn't quite live up to my expectations - missed the charm of the series.

Just finished series, yes I most definatily agree.

[Fragony]

Oh BUMP

Cloverfield, meh to the ending, I strongly doubt that was the ending the makers wanted, if there ever is an director cut it will probably end when they leave with the helicopter, feels tagged on by suits. If you want to go independent please do so. As for the rest, great fun, a realistic Godzilla-clone. Ah what? Well that.

[Martok]

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Well it didn't flat-out suck, but neither was I impressed. The dialog, the acting, the action/battle scenes were all....okay. Eddie Izzard as the voice of Peepicheek (leader of the Talking Mice) was among the few standout performances, if that gives you any indication. I can claim a modicum of enjoyment from watching the movie, but I wasn't even remotely pulled in as much as I was with 2005's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Adamson definitely seems to have lost his touch this time around.

Also, I have to say that as a book-to-film adaptation, Prince Caspian (to be brutally honest) blew chunks. For reasons I can't begin to fathom, the movie makes Peter needlessly headstrong and arrogant, especially with regards to Caspian. Even worse, one of the major scenes in the movie never happened in the book at all -- it seems like the sole reason it was included was to highlight Peter's sudden personality shift (again, as portrayed in the film) -- and all it really does is add an unnecessary 20+ minutes to an already-long movie.

Bottom line: I'd say just rent this when it comes out on DVD, if at all. Fans of C.S. Lewis' Narnia series may still enjoy Prince Caspian, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

[Puzz3D]

The Golden Compass is another big budget adaptation of a fantasy novel. I haven't read the novels, but I didn't think much of the movie due to the story telling technique which amounts to hand holding as though the audience is incapable of following a story without everything being spelled out in the dialog beforehand. The drama lacks suspense, and just about every dire situation is resolved with deus ex machina to an extent that even that is predictable. The cinematography is excellent and the acting is fine.

[Beirut]

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The woman and the kids went to see it today. None of them liked it. They all said 2+ hours of swordfights got really boring.

[Gaius Scribonius Curio]

The Golden Compass is another big budget adaptation of a fantasy novel. I haven't read the novels, but I didn't think much of the movie due to the story telling technique which amounts to hand holding as thought the audience is incapable of following a story without everything being spelled out in the dialog beforehand. The drama lacks suspense, and just about every dire situation is resolved with deus ex machina to an extent that even that is predictable. The cinematography is excellent and the acting is fine.

I have to say that I have read the books and agree entirely with Puzz3D's assessment. As a visual spectacle it is impressive and the realisation of the fantastical world of Phillip Pullman's novel is exceptional. However, the storyline from the book is almost ignored, and many of the layers that Pullman inserts into the story are removed. The movie ends two-thirds of the way through the book, which removes most of the suspense and all of the tragedy of Lyra's unwiting betrayal (won't go into details and ruin it).

I highly recommend Pullman's books, but the movie itself is flashy and disappointing. 2 out of 5, at best.

[Martok]

The woman and the kids went to see it today. None of them liked it. They all said 2+ hours of swordfights got really boring.

See my revised score & review.

I'd originally decided to be kind and try to be more objective (particularly for the sake of those who've not read the books), but then I decided screw it -- I'll be as subjective as I want to be. In terms of both unfulfilled expectations and overall quality, this is easily one of the more disappointing movies I've seen in the last few years.



Re: The Golden Compass: I watched the movie before I read the books -- I'm actually in the middle of reading The Subtle Knife as we speak -- so I was (fortunately) free from the burden of any expectations. Having recently finished the first novel, however, I'm now retroactively outraged that I paid money to watch such drivel. What's a real shame is that the film had such an excellent cast, but their talents were mostly wasted.

[naut]

Oh BUMP

Cloverfield, meh to the ending, I strongly doubt that was the ending the makers wanted, if there ever is an director cut it will probably end when they leave with the helicopter, feels tagged on by suits. If you want to go independent please do so. As for the rest, great fun, a realistic Godzilla-clone. Ah what? Well that.

I found that Cloverfield didn't live up to the hype, and I'm thankful that it was incredibly short. Sort of lame Godzilla/Alien/War of the Worlds(crap movie btw), mix that was ok in some parts, but so boringly predictable I wanted to claw my eyes out at parts. And in all honesty the ending was so lacklustre, it left me wanting my money back.

I've got Juno here, and I'm gonna watch that tonight, it's meant to be good, and as it's got Michael Cera in it I have high expectations.

[Fragony]

Juno is great, very moving, and the lead character is simply adorable.

As for War of the Worlds, I must be the only orger who liked it, it's a genuinly frightening movie with a few scenes that border on genius. The burning train, abandon all hope, brrrrrr. The machines were as creepy as can be, a great nightmare, I love the apocalypse genre.

[Geoffrey S]

Nah, not the only one. That film is riveting. One major set-piece action sequence after another. Rarely seen a movie that can be quite that scary - often it really did feel like there was no hope at all. Special effects were, and are, incredible.

[Conradus]

Nah, I rather liked that movie too. It's perfectly scary especially the lightning scene and everything with the tripods.

[Puzz3D]

I also thought War of the Worlds (2005) was well done. The machines are visualized as H.G. Wells describes them in his novel as is the blood farming by the aliens. The breakdown of society is also conveyed very well, and Tom Cruise is well cast as a whack-o. However, one thing I couldn't swallow was the high tech way the machines were re-inhabited by the aliens. Also, try walking from Albany, N.Y. to Boston, MA sometime. It was a very neat touch to have Ann Robinson and Gene Barry in the final scene.

I made sure to see this new version of War of the Worlds in the theater because I saw the 1953 version in the theater as a kid and it made a big impression on me. That version is also very well done, and it was one of the better sci-fi films released during the 1950's. A recent commemorative DVD release of that version has a good full length commentary by Ann Robinson. The machines, while different than those in the novel, are imaginatively created and the special effects are well done. Movies produced by George Pal always had well done special effects. You also get to see Jack Northrop's Flying Wing drop an atomic bomb which was rather advanced technology at the time. The method the Martians use to travel to earth is as described in the novel, although, their purpose is simply to wipe out all human life from the planet which is not consistent with the novel. The novel, written in 1898, is actually a criticism of Britain's imperialistic foreign policy at the time, and the idea that more technologically advanced cultures have a right to dominate less technologically advanced cultures.

H.G. Wells was incorrect regarding the pathology of the recently discovered existence of germs. Germs which evolve over time in a symbiotic relationship with a species develop methods for infiltrating specific cell structures. It's not simply a matter of a species not having immunity to a microorganism because there is no need to have immunity to microorganisms that haven't developed a method of attacking the cells the species.

[naut]

Wow, I'm the only one who didn't like War of the Worlds. So nobody found it cliché and the storyline obvious. The bit with the girl peeing by the stream, my mate said "I bet bodies will float down", obviously they did, "oh wow I didn't see that coming". The boat part, obvious too. I'm not denying it had its moments, but they were few and far between. But to be honest, the ending sucked, the plot sucked too, bacteria, bah, rubbish.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The beginning/end was funny with the bacteria, they looked like sperm. Me and my mates couldn't stop laughing, aliens killed by sperm!

Juno was excellent, damn funny, with good character development and believable characters. Had me cracking up, especially:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Dad: Did you see that coming?
Step-mum: Yes, but I was hoping she was going to tell us she got expelled or was into hard drugs.
Dad: Yeah, me too!

[LittleGrizzly]

Juno was excellent, damn funny, with good character development and believable characters. Had me cracking up, especially:

im more into my action films so it was a bit slow for me but still a funny film, that line had me cracking up as well...

[Fragony]

Spunk. Meh. Another futile american attempt at the english vigilante genre.

Get it into your head:

english lowlifes : cool
american lowlifes : not cool.

Stop trying.



The Bucket List. Morgan Freeman. Jack Nickelson. Should be win right? Well it isn't.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Narnia: Prince Caspian
Very enjoyable. Nearly 2 1/2 hours long, but certainly didn't feel like it.

As mentioned, quite different from the books. Re-reading the books will probably lessen my enjoyment.

Iron Man was very good.

No Country for Old Men: Didn't like this as much as I thought I would. From what I hear, the script adhered very closely to the book, but there were some parts that couldn't transfer as well to a movie. I shouldn't say I didn't like it, because I thought it was a good movie, but the absence of one key scene just doesn't seem right. It was very well done though, and I think a rewatch would help me to better appreciate it. Not something that you just pop in for 2 hours of entertainment and forget about afterwards.

27 Dresses - definitely not my choice to watch. Super predictable chick-flick.

I really liked Heat as well. A great thriller.

CR

[woad&fangs]

Iron Man
Attention all Hollywood movie makers. This is how action/superhero movies are supposed to be done.

[rajpoot]

Just saw Forbidden Kingdom, pretty good. A lot better than the Myth. Jackie Chan is back to his comic antics, and Jet Li and the kid complete the picture well. Furthermore, it's short enough to not make it boring. I'd give it 3.5 out of 5.

[seireikhaan]

Iron Man
Attention all Hollywood movie makers. This is how action/superhero movies are supposed to be done.

I totally agree...

Except for the very end. That irritated the absolute hell outta me.

[Csargo]

Watched Untraceable tonight it was alright.

[Csargo]

Watched There Will Be Blood tonight. It's the best movie I've seen in a while.

[Fragony]

Incredible movie indeed. I want that guys face.

[Fragony]

Schhultze get the blues. Ok I finally know what I want for my birthday, a fat german. Great german comedy, lovingly pokes fun at the homo-sapiens germanicus. Humor along the lines of ' Songs from the second floor', semi-tragic and absurd, really recommended I laughed untill I cried.

[Geoffrey S]

Bridge to Terabithia. Heard good things about it, so watched it. What I thought might turn out to be just another children-fantasy movie turned out to me significantly more. Great kids in the lead parts, particularly the really little one, and a moving story with a genuine message. Really charming film, and certainly recommendable even without kids.

[naut]

Iron Man is great. I love the following line:

Impressive Toni I see you've upgraded your armour.... I've made some upgrades of my own.

Indiana Jones was ok, very cliché. And the fact it became wacky towards the end was annoying and had me groaning in displeasure. I did like the references to the Ark of the Covenant. Overall, very tacky, but not in a good way, as is with the earlier movies.

Anthony Zimmer, I enjoyed it, even if I had to read the subtitles.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I sat there for most of the movie thinking the woman was the man, and turns out I was wrong.

The ending was a bit tacky, and too happy for my tastes.

[Spartan198]

Rambo. Bloodiest Stallone flick yet. Period.
(think .50 caliber machine gun at point blank range, then you'll get the picture)

[Fragony]

yup. hehe

Talking of blood, yay for Doomsday. More apolcalypse goodness with an incredibly sexy lead-actress. I just can't get enough from this kind of thing. Mad Max meets 28 days later meets Gladiator meets Planet Terror.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Finally saw the infamous 300. Great photography, brilliant pictures, very well done choreography and good acting especially in the stunts' parts.

The story, the crappy political undertones and all that kind of stuff suck big time. Add excessive plagiarism from Alexander and The Lord of the Rings trio and it almost renders the good sides of the work void.

2.5 over 5
.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Watched Fido, and, as you would expect, told a story about a boy who loved his Zombie. Yes, indeed. Billy Connolly stars as the domesticated zombie in this movie set back in the atomic family 1950s, except there was a global war between mankind and the undead in the recent past. A funny little movie with some great laughs (like the magazine the dad reads in bed).

Night Watch and Day Watch - both very good movies and I would recommend them. A fantasy good vs evil struggle set in modern Moscow. I read that the third movie will likely be filmed in the US and with different actors, which made me sad, due to Fox Searchlight financing. Both of these movies had less than 5million USD budgets, and had special effects just as amazing as anything I've seen from Hollywood.

American Gangster; long, (2.5+hrs) but good. A drama about the rise to power of Frank Lucas. Good acting by the leads Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe.

CR

[Martok]

Mouza: You're far kinder to 300 then I am. For myself, it was one of the crappiest movies I've ever seen -- it easily makes it onto my "Worst 10" list. Aside from the (admittedly superb) cinematography, I can't see anything good about that film.