Movie Review Thread

[Ser Clegane]

Samurai Banners (1969) is a Japanese movie staring Mifune Toshiro about Yamamoto Kansuke who was a trusted general of Takeda Shingen. He even incorporates the limp, which Kansuke may have had, in his portrayal. He gives a very good performance as does everyone involved. It's an epic story that stays true to history, and the banners portrayed are supposedly accurate and quite spectacular. The armies are not of one homogenous color and banner as there are various factions and auxiliaries involved. The battle scenes are well done, but the movie is more about the strategy involved in the Takeda conquests over a 20 year period. I think this is an excellent movie, and has recently been released on DVD.

I am still waiting for that one to be released on DVD in Europe - saw it about 20 years ago on TV and have not seen it since (what a shame).
Well perhaps one can hope (after all Ran and Kagemusha were released on DVD not that long ago here in Europe)

[Geoffrey S]

Ah, Ran. That's one I've been meaning to watch for some time. I loved Kagemusha.

Back to Alexander, if it'd been less bombastic it'd have reminded me quite a lot of the Renault books (must reads for anyone interested in the chap), which is a good thing. It had the same feel to it when he was older, showing his faults but also his motivation; the bits when he was younger fell flat in that regard. Like econ21, I liked the portrayel of his parents, but I beg to differ about Alexander when he was younger. Colin Farrell just didn't look young enough, and came across as a whining git, it absolutely wasn't clear how he inspired so many Makedonians. More sequences with his future generals (Ptolemy, younger Hephaistion, etc.) would have helped, also perhaps showing brief bits of him fighting and inspiring others; perhaps against the Sacred Band.

[Fragony]

I forgot how I stopped watching the Phantom menace and the attack of the clones after 10 minutes, and watched the Sith Lords.

It is actually Starwars, no need for further comment.

[Avicenna]

Frag: The Sith Lords.. as in the video game? ... and, checking out your nephew? :inquisitive:

Anyway, Lord of War is great, being quite realistic. It's about a gun dealer and how he does his business and how the government deals with people like him.

[Fragony]

Frag: The Sith Lords.. as in the video game? ... and, checking out your nephew? :inquisitive:


It's not my nephew, I am his father. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo not the videogame, I mean the Revenge of the Sith of course.

Thank you for pointing out my mistake.

























How dare you.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

The director's cut of Alexanderis much better than the theatrical release. The flashbacks are better placed to show how Alexander's relationships with his parents shaped his character. I thought the film did an excellent job of conveying Alexander's personality and what motivated him as best we can understand it from the historical record which is, unfortunately, composed of secondary sources since all the primary sources were lost when the Library of Alexandria was destroyed.after watching Alexander again (this time with subtitles some times i dunno what there saying) i really enjoyed it acting was nice battles were nice. i thinked i liked it a lot more now cause i didnt understand it before.

[Goalie]

Pretty much all I have heard about Lady in the Water, is that is was stupid and I dont plan on seeing it any time soon. I am not a big fan of M Night, Signs was one of the most boring and stupest movies I have ever seen.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

every time i here M Night (whatever) i always think its a movie. M Night's name sounds like a movie to me.

[Puzz3D]

after watching Alexander again (this time with subtitles some times i dunno what there saying) i really enjoyed it acting was nice battles were nice. i think i liked it a lot more now cause i didnt understand it before.
Although the movie captures the reason Alexander was wounded, it altered the details to save time. Here is a well written account of how Alexander was actually wounded: Battle of the Hydaspes River (http://www.historynet.com/magazines/military_history/3027066.html)

[The Spartan (Returns)]

i wish Alexander said "to the best" more clearly.


Just finished seeing Shindeler's List today and it was a pretty good movie. acting wasnt bad, good story. what can i say?

[Zalmoxis]

Just saw Kingdom of Heaven, and I liked this one. Good acting, a nice story about that time period with an interesting main character. Though I don't know how historically accurate it is, and am too busy to check now, I think it is a great movie, so you know, go see it.

[econ21]

Just saw Kingdom of Heaven, and I liked this one. Good acting, a nice story about that time period with an interesting main character. Though I don't know how historically accurate it is, and am too busy to check now, I think it is a great movie, so you know, go see it.

When you have time there was a good thread on this a while back - I think in the monastery. I posted a link to a good historical account of what really happened. Needless to say, it was a lot more complicated and the film can't be taken as a literal representation of history. However, some of the essence was right - for example, IIRC, the guy who's throat Saladdin cut does seem to have been a villian and yes, Saladdin did kill him like that.

Incidentally, I think Brendan Gleason stole the film as the villain. For example, derangedly playing hopscotch in jail when the other villain approaches: "Give me a war" and Gleason answers lightly "It is what I do". :2thumbsup:

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Glad to see my thread lives on! :2thumbsup:

[The Spartan (Returns)]

Incidentally, I think Brendan Gleason stole the film as the villain. For example, derangedly playing hopscotch in jail when the other villain approaches: "Give me a war" and Gleason answers lightly "It is what I do". :2thumbsup:actually its That is what i do. :yes: (yes smily means he nods)

[Geoffrey S]

Seen some pretty good movies recently.

Chronicles of Riddick - I loved Pitch Black and was somewhat worried about watching this one, since it sounded pretty awful. It is an entirely different kind of movie, and Riddick loses some of his charm now he's not really half villain, half saviour. But the film more than makes up for that with spectacular sets and special effects, definitely one of the more overwhelming sci-fi movies I've seen recently. Action is great, quite decent acting (particularly from Vin Diesel) but suffers from a too cliched plot, with some bad sudden switches between scenes when Riddick suddenly moves from one planet to the next; particularly right at the end, that is jarring.

But I'm glad I bothered to watch it, it's very spectacular and a very good movie to watch if you're in the mood for a good action movie.

...also...

The Jacket - I'd been hoping to see this one for a while, and it didn't disappoint. Adrien Brody shines as a former gulf war veteran locked in an asylum after apparently committing a crime. He finds out he can travel to the future when locked in solitary confinement, and uses that to find a way out of his mess. Incredible acting from all lead actors, nice camerawork, and in general a clever and moving plot. It reminded me a lot of a slicker Twelve Monkeys. Also had a great ending, one of the most satisfying in a while.

Fantastic track on the closing credits, too.

...also...

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Typical Wes Anderson movie, with fantastically original camerawork and a very surreal atmosphere. Good acting all-round, particularly from Bill Murray as misanthropic marine life documentary maker, in the kind of part he's great at. It's very funny in a strange kind of way, with lots of moments that seem slightly out of touch with reality, helped along by the carefully understated acting by all characters.

[R'as al Ghul]

https://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2023/58mdx1.jpg

I saw M by Fritz Lang again yesterday.
It's an amazing German thriller from 1931. Set in Berlin the police fails to catch a murder that preys on little girls. The police is helpless and has no eye-witnesses and no conclusive evidence. Annoyed by the high police activity and frequent round-ups, the underworld bosses team together to get rid of the killer who is at large in their city and bad for their business. When they finally get him he's put in front of a gangster tribunal.
Apart from the tense story, the lighting, camera-perspectives and acting is supreme. I had to laugh when the fat police officer was introduced in one scene with the camera looking up from under his table. A perspective quite unusual, even today. It sure gave a good characterization. Another thing that strikes you is the insane amount of cigarettes and cigars being smoked throughout the film. During a longer passage where the police and underworld each hold council on how to get to the killer, the smoke fumes are as thick as if they'd burn tires. :stunned:
Another interesting thing is the language. I was surprised how many slang expressions survived till today. Highly recommended.

R'as

[Cowhead418]

Nevermind.

[drone]

Didn't they already make that movie? Farah Fawcett played a similar role in The Burning Bed, made in 1984.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087010/

Come on Hollywood, come up with some new ideas....

[Puzz3D]

V for Vendetta (2005) (action, drama, socio-political thriller) I saw this in the theater and thought it was very good despite Alan Moore divorcing himself from the production. The ending is idealized and not true to the graphic novel, but I thought the message that you aren't going to easily change a political system that's in power came through anyway. It was just released on DVD this week. There is a thread in this forum about this movie here (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=63119).

"Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot;
I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot."

[Cowhead418]

Nevermind

[Alexanderofmacedon]

I saw Dumb and Dumber (for the 100th time), but this time it was different. I watched it with two of my friends who'd never seen it, which seemed to make it more funny...:inquisitive:

Great comedy classic!:2thumbsup:

[The Spartan (Returns)]

dumb, dumber, dumbest. :laugh4:


just a joke!

[Beirut]

V for Vendetta

9/11 + 1984 + Shakespeare = Great movie!

[Puzz3D]

V for Vendetta

9/11 + 1984 + Shakespeare = Great movie!
I think it's a good movie, but if the producers had stuck to the novel's theme that it is justifiable to fight for one's liberty it would have been a great movie. Instead, they were afraid to send that message and created an extremely corrupt government as the justification for V's actions.

[Strike For The South]

Talladega Nights The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. The funniest film of all time

[Zalmoxis]

Haven't seen that, but heard it made $47 million in it's opening weekend, so it's probably good.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

or it could be alot of people who saw it and afterward said it sucked. but seriously Ricky Bobby looks very funny.

[Cowhead418]

10 more days until Snakes On A Plane comes out! It could be the best or worst movie of all time with how much hype it has received. Regardless of how good (or bad) it is going to be, it's hilarious seeing everyone get so worked up over this film.

"There's mother****** snakes on this mother****** plane!":laugh4:

[The Spartan (Returns)]

it sounds really cool, but the teasers are stupid (the one where you get a call from Samuel Jackson)

[Alexanderofmacedon]

I eat snakes.

[Moros]

I think it's a good movie, but if the producers had stuck to the novel's theme that it is justifiable to fight for one's liberty it would have been a great movie. Instead, they were afraid to send that message and created an extremely corrupt government as the justification for V's actions.
Yeah I like the movie a lot too.

Tough Pyyz3D I think the comics were better ofcourse.They always are but the reason they depicted the government differently is not so surprising but understandable. The times the comics were being made were completely different times. It was the time of Tatcher and the vision of the future was different then now. We have completely different fears the we have then. Everything changes, even our fears and 9/11 only made the change go faster.

[Puzz3D]

We have completely different fears the we have then. Everything changes, even our fears and 9/11 only made the change go faster.
The theme of liberty is even more relevent post 9/11. The film would have you believe that democracy is the answer. We are witnessing now how fear can be used to erode liberty even in a democracy.

[Moros]

Liberty yes. But you can't say you're fearing a government like that from the commics now? Are you?

[Puzz3D]

Liberty yes. But you can't say you're fearing a government like that from the commics now? Are you?
It's possible to put a fascist government into power by democratic means. The idea of giving up liberty for your protection appears attractive when fear is capitalized upon.

Moore remarked that his comic had been "turned into a Bush-era parable by people too timid to set a political satire in their own country". I watched the interviews with the filmakers on the DVD. Of course, they all said their changes to the story were improvements, and they never once mentioned Alan Moore who has removed his name from the film and severed ties with DC Comics. I've tried to watch the movie on DVD several times, but I loose interest at the start of the final act because I know that silly ending with the masks is coming. The end should have looked like the massacre on the steps at Odessa in the movie Potemkin (1925).


The Descent (2005) is a well done adventure/horror released last year in Britian, but delayed until now in the USA so that The Cave could have it's theatrical run. The USA distributor, Lion's Gate, also prevailed in its attempt to alter the ending to cater to USA audience sensibilities by cutting off that last minute of the film which leaves the viewer with a completely different impression. I feel the original ending is much better.

[Moros]

It's possible to put a fascist government into power by democratic means. The idea of giving up liberty for your protection appears attractive when fear is capitalized upon.

Indeed it is possible. History has proven that.


Moore remarked that his comic had been "turned into a Bush-era parable by people too timid to set a political satire in their own country". I watched the interviews with the filmakers on the DVD. Of course, they all said their changes to the story were improvements, and they never once mentioned Alan Moore who has removed his name from the film and severed ties with DC Comics. I've tried to watch the movie on DVD several times, but I loose interest at the start of the final act because I know that silly ending with the masks is coming. The end should have looked like the massacre on the steps at Odessa in the movie Potemkin (1925).

The ending with the mask I quite a descendo, yes. But I still think that it is a decent movie. Yes they changed it and made it less (hmm what's the word...) shocking (well not the right word but I can't find any better. me non native) but they did send out a message. Perhaps not as bold as moore was but at least it did send some message.

by the way wasn't it that Moore asked to be removed but that he still was on the titles or something?

[edyzmedieval]

Anyone seen the following movies:

Click
Cars
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Garfield 2: The Tale of the 2 Kitties

I really want to see them all, so I wonder what are your opinions about them. :balloon2:

[Fragony]

The end should have looked like the massacre on the steps at Odessa in the movie Potemkin (1925).

I recently watched this movie like it should be watched, with a full orchestra in the Amsterdam concerthall. Very impressive, and louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud.

[Puzz3D]

I recently watched this movie like it should be watched, with a full orchestra in the Amsterdam concerthall. Very impressive, and louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud.
Alexander Nevsky (1938) would no doubt be impressive on the big screen as well.

After seeing V for Vendetta (2005), I think I'll watch Ivan the Terrible Part I (1944) and Part II (1948) since I've never seen these two highly regarded movies of Sergi Eisenstein.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Escape from New York isn't very good, but it inspired Solid Snake from the Metal Gear series. I'm only vaguely familiar with it and I got it immediately. Kinda cool just for that, although it's mostly pure corny distopian future/action movie.

[doc_bean]

Joe Somebody is one of the worst movies ever made.

[TB666]

Just saw Silent hill.
And all I say is AWESOME !!
Easily the best game/movie made so far.
It really captured the feeling of the game and it doesn't hold back on the blood and gore either.
Also pyramid head kicks major butt in the movie.

[Moros]

Joe Somebody is one of the worst movies ever made.
you saw that one on tv, no? Well itsn't the worst film if you ask me. But it really comes close.

[Puzz3D]

Queen Margot (1994) is a very good adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel of the same name which focuses on the story of Marguerite de Valois during the events immediately prior to the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in Paris in Aug, 1572 and covers about a 2 year period after that. The people and most of the events in the story are true, although the cause of death of Charle IX is incorrect and changed for dramatic purposes. Some of the conspiracies can't be known for sure, and the film portrays one of several possible viewpoints. Some of the dramatic romanticism is fictional. The acting and production are both excellent. The movie is in French with English subtitles.


Children of the Century (1999) is the story of the love affair between George Sand and Alfred de Musset in the 1830's. It's very well acted by the real life lovers, Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel. It doesn't try to cover their contribution to creative literature or from where their creative talent sprang. The film is in French with English subtitles.

[doc_bean]

you saw that one on tv, no? Well itsn't the worst film if you ask me. But it really comes close.

Well, I saw parts of it, I just couldn't keep watching it.

The problem with the movie is that it struggles with its 'morals' and is also less believable than LOTR.
First the guy gets beat up in the parking lot, then instead of suing (duh !) he challenges the 'bully' to a fight.
Everyone in the company cheers him on instead of making fun of him for even trying.
In the end he doesn't fight the guy because 'violence is not the answer', but then he does hit a guy for saying something about his girlfriend ? :dizzy2: Way to drive the message home...

[Peasant Phill]

I don't want to bash American movies but they always seem to want to teach us something (=> the moral of the story). A lot of times this is succeful without being annoying, but sometimes it really is to much. In the case of Joe Somebody it is just to much.

[Geezer57]

Anyone seen the following movies:
Click
Cars
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Garfield 2: The Tale of the 2 Kitties
I really want to see them all, so I wonder what are your opinions about them. :balloon2:
The only one I've seen is Pirates, which I didn't think was up to the original. It's non-stop, frantic action - with little or no time for characterization, etc. There's no concession given to the time lapse between the 1st and 2nd films, so it starts out assuming you remember many details of the first episode. The movie is still fun, but take time to watch the first film just before going to see the second - otherwise, you'll just be confused by what's happening so fast on-screen.

[Puzz3D]

Night Watch & Day Watch: Two great Russian fantasy movies. Very dark, very cool, modern era. Also have the coolest subtitles of any movie I've seen, when the vampire is calling the boy the subtitles are red and dissolve like blood etc.
I saw Night Watch and had a hard time staying with it since I found it confusing. On my 3rd attempt to watch it, I inadvertendly turned on the novelist's comments about 1/3 of the way into the film and it explained what was going on in the movie. I then watched the last 1/3 without reading the comments. In the end, I thought it was a very interesting film which questions the common conceptions of good and evil, and how a person can be used as a pawn in a larger scheme without him realizing it. I wish I had watched it without the comments first and then a second time with the comments, but my feeling is the movie is too confusing to grasp all the nuances without the comments. There are a few things in the movie that the novelist points out are inconsistent with his concept of an "other". He said the movie focused in and explored certain characters whereas the novel dealt more with the overall forces that were in opposition, but he liked the movie very much.

[nokhor]

i just saw oldboy a movie about veangeance. it starts out with a man being abducted and imprisoned in a room. he doesn't know by whom or why. it lasts 15 years. and then things really start getting twisted.

[Fragony]

i just saw oldboy a movie about veangeance. it starts out with a man being abducted and imprisoned in a room. he doesn't know by whom or why. it lasts 15 years. and then things really start getting twisted.

That's a fun one :balloon2:

Not a movie, but I bought the second season of Lost. Great television, and I just love this chick,

http://wallpapers.skins.be/michelle-rodriguez/michelle-rodriguez-1024x768-22046.jpg

Nobody, and I mean nobody looks cooler when holding a gun

[R'as al Ghul]

Fragony, I hope you haven't bought the second season only because of her.
You're in for a surprise.
It's a brilliant TV-series, I can hardly wait for the next season.

[Fragony]

Fragony, I hope you haven't bought the second season only because of her.
You're in for a surprise.


She's not going to die I hope? I enjoy watching here. I have 12 episodes, and there was no surprise, is there more goodness? Oh and YES shannon dies. Can't stand the type.

Anyway, El Elemein, italian WW2 movie.

Best warmovie ever, I would have liked to see some gore a la Saving Private Ryan for some reason, but it's still GREAT. Very little war in this movie, just the last 10 minutes. The way it builds up though, terrifying sweat in your hands tension when nothing really happens.

[Quid]

The only one I've seen is Pirates, which I didn't think was up to the original. It's non-stop, frantic action - with little or no time for characterization, etc. There's no concession given to the time lapse between the 1st and 2nd films, so it starts out assuming you remember many details of the first episode. The movie is still fun, but take time to watch the first film just before going to see the second - otherwise, you'll just be confused by what's happening so fast on-screen.

Watched that one too. It's a typiacal 'second' in a trilogy. No particular beginning and no particular ending. Just have to watch it so that you know what the third partis going to be about.

The whole was more of the same, really. Almost slapstick parody, very hectic and Ms. Knightly has lost too much weight.

Overall, on ok film.

Anyone watched Miami Vice? If you haven't, don't.

Quid

[R'as al Ghul]

She's not going to die I hope? I enjoy watching here. I have 12 episodes, and there was no surprise, is there more goodness? Oh and YES shannon dies. Can't stand the type.

I was also happy about Shannon's death. :2thumbsup: :laugh4:
About Ana-Lucia:
Serious Spoiler:
I'm afraid I've to tell you that she gets shot.....
even more serious spoiler:
....by Michael.

[Dutch_guy]

Recently saw the movie Crash, and must say it was a great movie. It really got to me at times, which was not only due to the neatly interwoven story lines but also due to the great cast. I mean, Even Ludacris' good :yes:

Racism isn't an unfamiliar theme for a movie to have, and more often than not those movies depict the exact same clichés and actually don't differ from eachother in any way other than the title. Crash however does, believable characters (major and minor ones) and a very well written script make the film stand out from the rest.

:balloon2:

Crash, in my opinion, deserves it's oscar.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

really? heard Miami Vice wasnt bad.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I heard it made 62% less it's 2nd weekend...a very bad sign.

I watched Good Will Hunting again, it really is an excellent movie.

[Quid]

really? heard Miami Vice wasnt bad.

Naturally, you're free to invest money into seeing it but my advice is, don't. It really isn't worth it. I went to see it on the opening in England and it's simply boring. I would have left the cinema (I never do that) if it hadn't been for summer course students I was looking after.

Sad to say, none of them enjoyed it either and that is generally a bad sign...

Quid

[doc_bean]

Underworld evolution

-Kate Beckinsale in leather
-Kate Beckinsale iwithout leather
-lots of fight scenes
-lack of sword fights

I give it :balloon2: :balloon2: :balloon2:

[Puzz3D]

Watched Ju-on (2003) a Japanese horror movie late last night alone. It's a remake of a Japanese TV movie from 2000, which I've seen part of, and was itself remade as The Grudge in 2004, which I haven't seen, all by the same director. It was effectively spooky focusing on fear and apprehention rather than plot and character development and certainly not gore. If you believe in spirits, this can be an unsettling movie because the victims are all just ordinary people doing ordinary things and are targetted by the malevolent spirit simply because they happened to come into contact with it. The house is ordinary and has people living in it, and the spirit isn't confined to the house. If it targets someone, it will go looking for that person, and spirits are really good at finding people.

[Blodrast]

Seen The Grudge. I guess it's quite okay, as in the atmosphere is quite spooky and everything. So that part is good. Can't say I was too excited about Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting, but maybe that's just me.
If you're into The Ring-like scary movies, you will probably find this a reasonable way to spend 90 minutes or so.

Beowulf and Grendel (has this been spoken of here already ? I forget...): pretty good for those who enjoy movies in "historical" settings. The movie is obviously based on the anonymous "Beowulf" saga.
Overall most people really enjoyed it (myself included).
Pluses: great landscape, absolutely fabulous soundtrack (esp. the ending song), quite decent acting for the most part.
Minuses: some accents (Sarah Polley's in particular) were not appropriate for the time and place; also, it's hard to be surprised by the plot, since everybody knows the story, more or less.
I enjoyed it, and wouldn't mind seeing it again.

[Fragony]

Problem with Ju-on, and many other asian horrormovies is that it tries to creep you out every damn scene. Especially in Dark Water it just gets annoying after a while, hey asians, pacing?? There are some gems though, if you can find it, and that is very unlikely, 'Gemini'. And of course 'Audition', kidididididididdidi :scared:

[Beirut]

Underworld evolution

-Kate Beckinsale in leather
-Kate Beckinsale iwithout leather
-lots of fight scenes
-lack of sword fights

I give it :balloon2: :balloon2: :balloon2:


I thought it was a great flick. Great in a Kate Beckinsale (goodness is she lovely) in leather, vampires fighting werewolves sort of way. There were at least a dozen times during the movie where I pulled a Buthead; "Huh-huh... cool!"

Excellent pizza movie.

[Ja'chyra]

Got to agree on the evaluation of Miami Vice, it could be one of the worst films I've ever seen, paid £25 for 2 of us to go and see it and wishes I'd stayed in the cocktail bar round the corner. Very slow, poor acting and people applauding in the audience all added to the badness :inquisitive:

[Fragony]

Well yesterday was the before -5 years, and to honor those that have fallen our statechannel broadcasted Fahrenheit 9/11 and Loose change, and a few other conspiracy theories. Oh and a 2 minute interview with a fireman for good meassure.

About Fahrenheit, very amusing, but he should have just called it Bush, would have been more accurate a title. Moore's style is once again hilarious, I am a sucker for cheap shots so I had a great time. I can understand why it pissed of a lot of people though, a little bit too much sugestion for my taste.

[doc_bean]

Fahrenheit is the one where he aks senators why their kids aren't fighting in the war (Afghanistan back then ?) isn't it ?

Moore is funny, but he's too obviously one sided, I still say the people from the daily show are far better at lampooning politicians than he is. Probably because they have less of a mission...

[Puzz3D]

Just saw Silent Hill. And all I say is AWESOME !!
I just saw Silent Hill (2006) on DVD and it was very atmospheric. No doubt it was even moreso on the big screen, but this is a movie I passed over going to see in the theater. I don't know anything about the game on which the movie is based. The screenplay was weak and the plot required a lengthy voice over exposition near the end, but there was great sense of fear throught the film and the visuals were very well done and quite scary. I thought the acting, especially by the lead actress, conveyed the sense of terror very well. It was interesting how the police seemed to be more interested in covering things up than finding the missing people, and how religious righteousness was portrayed as a path to evil.

[GoreBag]

I went with the bittie and my drummer to see Crank and Beerfest on a double-bill. I enjoyed myself.

A shame that the cinema downtown stopped showing Kurosawa films, though. I've managed to buy Rashomon on VHS, but nothing else so far.

Oh, and I saw Running Scared on the weekend. 'Twas good. The bittie was a little disturbed at certain parts, though. We also rented the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, but we turned it off after an hour. It was pretty boring.

[doc_bean]

I just saw Dreamcatcher, it's typical Stephen King stuff and not very interesting. However it does feature aliens growing inside of humans and coming out of their rectums, rather violently. :help:

[Fragony]

However it does feature aliens growing inside of humans and coming out of their rectums, rather violently. :help:

About time someone makes a movie about that.

Anyway, Jarhead is great. Warmovie without war, they want to kill so badly but never get to fire a shot and go kinda nuts.

[Puzz3D]

The Passenger (1975) directed by Michelangelo Antonioni is a very interesting film about identity presented from an existentialist viewpoint. On the surface, it's a thriller but with a very unusual pacing and little dialog as most of the clues are visual, and many shots contain symbolic meaning. What dialog there is can be ambiguous and requires the viewer to think about what it means. It's quite demanding on the viewer, and probably has to be seen more than once to catch everything because Antonioni sometimes uses distraction to make the viewer miss something and you might also be less attentive due to the slow pacing. Not a film for people who want crystal clear storytelling and unambiguous characters. I did get a bit confused right near the end, but everything is there to figure it out.

[Puzz3D]

Kiss Me Deadly (1955) by director Robert Aldrich is a very hard hitting, late film noir adaptation of a Mickey Spillane novel. Aldrich alters the story quite a bit. Some people think this is the ultimate film noir for it's camera work, complex narrative and immorality of just about every character in the in the movie including the protagonist, Mike Hammer. If you ever wanted to slam a desk draw closed on someone's hand because they hesitated getting you something out of the draw or slap around a 70 year old desk clerk because he wouldn't answer a question, this is a movie for you. This isn't one of the bad guys doing this. It's the protagonist! The bad guys are much worse, and the police are incompetent. I watched this movie thinking there was going to be a moral to it, but there isn't. It's just Mike Hammer trying to find an item out of greed because he assumes it's valuable since other people are trying very hard to find it, but he doesn't know what it is. No big name actors in this except possibly the lead, but everyone does a good job with the quirky character they play. Overall I would say the pieces of this movie are better than the whole, but the climax is certainly startling and much better with the restored ending.


Fury (1936) by Fritz Lang (his first movie after leaving Germany) is a drama that is an indictment of mob violence. It has remarkabley strong criticism for the townspeople who try to protect the rioters after the fact. Good performances by the leads, Spencer Tracy and Silvia Sydney. This movie kept my interest all the way through. It has the typical, quickly wrapped up ending on a positive note usually insisted on by the studios.

[The Wizard]

really? heard Miami Vice wasnt bad.

It isn't. Great movie, but beware if you prefer your action movies with as little talking as possible and as much as possible explosions and flying bullets. But the camera work is wonderful, as well as the pacing and the way in which events were grouped.

Just don't expect the Miami Vice you knew. The director said in an interview that he made "the Miami Vice as I saw it" in the first episodes (which he directed). It's not a remake, but more a reinvention.

Also, snakes. On a plane. Sixteen Oscars. Easy.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Ahh! My thread goes on forever! Flourish my thread offspring! :laugh4:

Anyway, I just saw two movies rescently. Flyboys and Jackass2. Flyboys is amazing. Historical accuracy wasn't something I went into it expecting, so I wasn't dissapointed. Actors did well in all aspects.

Jackass 2, is well...halarious. Some parts are pretty gross and have you wanting to almost puke with them, but it's still dang funny. :2thumbsup:

[The Wizard]

Flyboys is amazing. Historical accuracy wasn't something I went into it expecting, so I wasn't dissapointed. Actors did well in all aspects.

Sorry if I'm a bit sceptical when it concerns a movie about WW1 planes that blow up. Blow up. :wall:

[Puzz3D]

L'Avventura (The Adventure, 1960) by Michelangelo Antonioni is a landmark film that deals with the difficulty of male/female relationships in an afluent world of modern values which are portrayed as less enduring than the old values which no longer work in the modern world. The direction, acting, cinematography and framing of the scenes is all of the highest order. The story is told almost entirely by the visual imagery and the motions of the characters. Space is used to convey emotional separation, and passage through an arch or doorway serves to portray a change in emotional state of the protagonist. In a way, the narrative is a mystery in reverse beginning with a solution and ending with the dilemma. The theme is a search for identity by the protagonist, and this itself was revolutionary at the time considering who the protagonist turns out to be. This film has been very influential. It probably requires two viewings to grasp the significance of every scene, but if you recognize the style of filmaking, you can do it with one viewing.


La Notte (The Night, 1962) by Michelangelo Antonioni is a drama which also deals with a male/female relationship this time about midway through it. The social setting is again alfluent society with the two principal characters on the edge of this, and in a position to choose to enter this society or not. In that society, value is seen as external to the individual while outside that society value is seen as intrinsic to the individual. The couple, portrayed by the excellent actors Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau, are leaning in different directions on this choice, and they also face the crisis of loss of passion for each other. The film's pacing is slow and requires patience to watch, but the question it poses will tell viewers something about themselves depending on how they answer it. As usual, Antonioni doesn't provide an answer. BTW, Lidia is not wandering around Rome aimlessly as some film critics seem to think. What she does is go back to the neighborhood where she and her husband lived when they were first married searching for an emotional connection to her past feelings.


L' Eclisse (The Eclipse, 1962) is Michelangelo Antonioni's final entry into this trilogy of films about the male/female relationship. This film begins with the breakup of a relationship, and follows the woman in her hesitant and uncertain quest for a new relationship. This film takes a great deal of patience to watch; perhaps more than any other film I've seen. It paints a bleak, but honest picture of what many people face in life. Once again it's from the female perspective. The final sequence is powerful in what it suggests about the personal relationship, and the general relationship of people within the environment they have created.


Lady Vengeance (2005) is a drama/thriller by Korean director Chan-wook Park. It's a very well done film about how a quest for vengeance, which is attainable, becomes a quest for redemption which is probably not attainable. There are definite Antonioni influences here, and the film was even released in a black and white version which may indicate that these are direct influences.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I just saw The Departed. Very good movie. I liked Infernal Affairs (which is the where Scorcese got the story from) better though, it was a little slicker. The Departed has an entirely different flavor to it though, so I enjoyed it very much even though I knew what the plot was going to be. Also, there were some dramatic moments that were handled better in IF and I liked the ending better. You also have to like the cover with the scantily clad girl who isn't even in the movie. The Departed had some nice action scenes and some great, funny dialogue.


The Illusionist and Little Miss Sunshine were good as well.

[Dooz]

I vouch for The Departed and The Illusionist, excellent stuff.

[Beirut]

Yep, The Departed was first rate.

Two Thumps Up. :2thumbsup:

[The Spartan (Returns)]

saw Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift
liked it a bit but the choice of main character is a bit funny. acting is okay.
good races but didnt like the last ones location.

HOT girls were a big +

overall: the story goes in weird loops

[De' Medici]

Ninja Scroll, first class anime (I'm not a fan of this genre though).

Running scarred - a very good thriller with Paul Walker.

Barry Lyndon - State of the art, directed by Stanley Kubrick, a drama set in the 18th century. This movie is a living painting. I haven't seen such images in a movie.

I'm planning to see Lawrence of Arabia, with Peter O' Toole (shame on me for not seeing this movie yet :embarassed: )

[Gawain of Orkeny]

, and was itself remade as The Grudge in 2004, which I haven't seen

Dont bother to watch the Grudge. I just got free tickets for a sneak preview of Grudge 2 and did it suck.


Beowulf and Grendel (has this been spoken of here already ? I forget...): pretty good for those who enjoy movies in "historical" settings. The movie is obviously based on the anonymous "Beowulf" saga.


I enjoyed it also. Some nice costumes as well.

You want to see a good movie get Lucky # Slevin (http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/trailer.html?v_id=320190)

http://graphics8.nytimes.com//images/section/movies/amg/dvd/cov150/drt800/t830/t83056xzxfd.jpg

If you like stuff like Pulp Fiction and Usual Suspects this is for you.

[Blodrast]

Agree about Lucky Number Slevin. And on the same note, DO check out The Way Of The Gun - one of the best crime/thrillers with a plot (and what a plot!) I've seen in a long time. It's at the very least on par with The Usual Suspects and such. Benicio del Toro and James Caan have great parts, imo.

[Puzz3D]

Dust Devil (1992) The Final Cut (2006) by writer/director Richard Stanley is a visually striking and interesting but sometines confusing melding of South African myth with a spagetti western type noname character who could be the physical embodiment of an ancient evil spirit. The music score added to the hypnotic and omminous mood of the film. The acting is understated which could be due to limitations of the actors. The full symbolic meaning in the visuals, including the choice of colors, is probably lost on most viewers not familiar with the African myths. Voiceovers help explain things at certain points, but are also intrusive. Slow moving by Hollywood standards it was originally cut down to 87 min by Miramax for the US release. Stanley has reconstructed the film back to a length between the European version (125 min) and the US version (87 min) at his own expense, and it was recently released in a Limited Edition DVD set which also contains a 130 min working print and 3 documentaries one of which is the search for the Holy Grail by SS officer Otto Rahn during WWII who was possibly the inspiration for the Indiana Jones movies.

[Mithradates]

I dont think its been reviewed however i must put in a good word for Children of Men. The film is set in a future where the entire human race is infertile. The film protrays and extreme dystopian future and its pretty grim. However there a nice single shot through a city fight in a british sea side town. Highly reccomend anyone who like sci fi or just provocative film to watch it.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Oldboy: Great revenge story. Very powerful. Only criticisms are hypnosis as a plot device and a slightly overdone begging scene.

[Puzz3D]

Oldboy: Great revenge story. Very powerful. Only criticisms are hypnosis as a plot device and a slightly overdone begging scene.
After seeing Lady Vengeance which I thought was very good, I'm going to get Oldboy. It's due out in a special edition DVD in a few weeks.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Taxi Driver: Amazing performance. Interesting movie. A bit to depressing and morbid for me to enjoy.


Also, I have a new place to go for movie reviews:

http://capalert.com/capreports/#HLIST

Check out part of their review of sin city:


Wanton Violence/Crime (W)
# multiple bullet impacts with blood, splatter and body part loss
# multiple instances of slicings, lacerations, incisions, impalements, avulsions and amputations
# cartoon images of firearm and blade assaults
# child abduction by a pedophile
# fist fighting
# assault with metal pipe
# gunfire cutting off forearm and to the male privates
# scene of multiple gunfire injuries, graphic
# scene of multiple gunfire killings, graphic
# threat to kill, repeatedly
# action violence, repeatedly
# planning murder, repeatedly
# assault on police, multiple, graphic
# assault to eyes
# firearm threat, repeatedly
# pistol whipping, repeatedly, graphic
# gunfire to privates
# dragging man by car with face against the pavement
# attempted murder by car, numerous times with sight of victim being thrown and bouncing each time
# attempted gunfire murder, repeatedly
# surviving impossible gunfire injuries that would result in death, repeatedly
# assault with sledge hammer, graphic
# heads of five disembodied women mounted as trophies, victims of cannibalism, repeatedly
# woman speaking of man who had eaten her hand while she watched
# assault with a rock
# assault with axe to the private parts
# many gunfire injuries of varying severity, repeatedly
# gore, repeatedly
# beating assault
# man hitting a woman, repeatedly
# double amputation
# dog eating stubs of amputations
# severed head, repeatedly, sometimes talking/moving
# man kissing severed head
# beating with baseball bats
# talk of eating women
# arm breaking assault
# electrocution execution
# many threats of many kinds
# illegal flight to avoid lawful capture
# firearms for offense, many
# killing/injuring with slicing weapons, repeatedly, some graphic
# beheading
# more amputation
# gushing/splattering of blood, repeatedly
# impalement injuries, repeatedly, some graphic
# bodies strewn about
# slicing up five bodies to be able to fit them into a car trunk
# semiautomatic pistol slide rack impaled into forehead
# dead bodies talking
# assault by strangulation of woman
# another severed head, repeatedly, sometimes talking
# knife impalements, repeatedly
# gunfire to kill, repeatedly
# biting gore
# brutality, repeatedly
# victim joking with spear and arrows protruding through him
# blood lust
# extortion with wife's life
# beating gore, repeatedly
# severed finger
# admission of contemplating suicide
# threat to kill with broken window pane glass
# manually ripping male private parts off a man

Impudence/Hate (I)
# 76 uses of the three/four letter word vocabulary
# lusting for murder
# wish to kill
# lies, repeatedly
# stuffing head in toilet with feces to intimidate, twice
# calling murder an art
# "Power comes by lying"
# sadism
# torture with whip as "foreplay"

Sexual Immorality (S)
# graphically descriptive talk of rape and murder of an 11 year old girl
# making out
# intercourse with nudity
# nudity, upper female, repeatedly
# nudity, female rear, repeatedly, some close-up
# sex talk
# thong nudity, repeatedly
# homosexual reference
# ghosting of female anatomy through thin clothing, repeatedly
# translucent nudity
# women as toys
# sensuous dance, repeatedly
# dressing to maximize the female form and/or skin exposure, repeatedly
# nude woman with appendages hiding gender-specifics
# anatomical references, repeatedly
# man and woman in bed together
# cohabitation
# sexual threats
# camera angle to force viewer on private parts, repeatedly
# prostitutes, many and prostitute dress, repeatedly
# soliciting prostitution, repeatedly
# talk of showing privates to each other
# offer of sex, repeatedly
# inappropriate touch
# pedophile
# threat of sexual torture
# full male nudity with privates hidden by shadows, repeatedly, many angles
# sexual innuendo

Drugs/Alcohol (D):
# smoking, repeatedly
# drinking, repeatedly
# drunkenness, repeatedly
# bar, repeatedly
# booze, repeatedly
# abuse of prescription medication

Offense to God (O)
# "Goldy [a prostitute] worked the clergy"
# speaking of eating not only flesh but souls as well
# name calling with "fool" [Matt. 5:22]
# eight uses of God's name in vain with the four letter expletive and six without

Murder/Suicide (M)
# gunfire murder, at least 13 individual plus a multiple, graphic
# axe to forehead murder, graphic
# neck twist murder
# beating murder, at least two, graphic
# squeezing head murder
# blade murders, at least six, graphic
# arrow murder, at least three, graphic
# murder by slicing off top of head, graphic
# gunfire suicide, graphic




If that isn't a recommendation I don't know what is ~:)

[R'as al Ghul]

Also, I have a new place to go for movie reviews:

http://capalert.com/capreports/#HLIST

Check out part of their review of sin city:
[/spoil]

If that isn't a recommendation I don't know what is ~:)

:laugh4:

Stay informed ...OBJECTIVELY...on what Hollywood feeds your kids.

The movie is rated "R" which doesn't allow minors, so what business does a "Ministry of the ChildCare Action Project" have watching this film?
To see if it's really not for minors?
Cover your eyes, Nancy. Cover your eyes...

https://img134.imageshack.us/img134/3185/sclith2ml6.jpg

I'm sure Miller had a ball reading their list of offenses. :wink:

[Puzz3D]

Shurayukihime (Lady Snowblood, 1973) is a drama/action story about revenge, and was a big influence on Kill Bill (2003/2004). This can set up high expectations which the film can't meet given it's low budget. A lot of effort went into explaining the historical context of the story which takes place during the Meiji Restoration which is admirable, but it slowed the pacing of the first two chapters to a crawl. A lot of voiceover is used during this part of the film. The movie picks up considerably in the last two chapters and builds to a strong climax. The cinematography varied from good to ok. The choreography of the fights was good, but you've seen better. The final confrontation was well done. Meiko Kaji, who plays Lady Snowblood, did a good job of conveying both a desire for revenge and fear with her eyes, and it's her mysterious character that makes the story compelling.

[Spino]

Hostel - Two young Americans and their extraverted Icelandic buddy are backpacking throughout Europe until some shady freak in Amsterdam points them in the direction of an out-of-the-way hostel in Slovakia where the chicks are reputedly bonkers for foreigners. Once they arrive they find the chicks are indeed hot for foreigners but things at the hostel aren't quite what they seem. Eventually our adventurous trio discover that screaming, torture and gruesome ends are main tourist attraction and just when you think things can't get any worse the filmmakers kick the film into high gear. As far as horror films go Hostel isn't a classic but it had plenty of chills and thrills to keep me interested and on the edge of my seat throughout most of the film. Hostel isn't as well done as Saw or The Descent but is impressive nonetheless, especially considering its limited budget.

The Departed - Two young cops of different backgrounds and ideologies share a common bond in their connection to an Irish mob boss named Costello. The 'good' cop goes to great lengths to keep his true identity hidden so he can bring Costello down, the 'bad cop' does the same except his goal is to keep Costello one step ahead of the law.

First let me say that I believe that Martin Scorcese is one of America's greatest filmmakers. Secondly let me say that this 'one of the greatest' label only applies to the films he made before Cape Fear. Virtually everything Marty has done after Cape Fear is either forgettable or downright terrible. 'Casino' was forgettable, 'Bringing Out the Dead' was pointless and hollow, 'Gangs of New York' sucked eggs and 'The Aviator' was as soulless and shallow a biopic that has ever been financed by Hollyweird. Before watching The Departed I was hoping to catch a glimpse or two of the Scorcese of yesteryear, instead I got 2 1/2 hours' worth! :thumbsup:

Everything about The Departed looks and feels like it was shot during Marty's heyday back in the 80s. Great performances (yes, even the mediocre DiCaprio impresses here), excellent direction and editing and a kick ass (although somewhat intrusive) soundtrack.

Hollyweird cheated Marty out of a best director Oscar for Raging Bull (hands down the crowning achievement of his career). Something tells me he'll finally get a golden statue for The Departed.

[Geoffrey S]

Found time to watch Battle Royale recently, absolutely breathtaking. A brilliantly horrific idea is made into a movie containing more powerful moments than I've seen before. It's caried by the excellent young cast, who deliver the well-written script perfectly. A shocking, beautiful movie.

[Fragony]

Found time to watch Battle Royale recently, absolutely breathtaking. A brilliantly horrific idea is made into a movie containing more powerful moments than I've seen before. It's caried by the excellent young cast, who deliver the well-written script perfectly. A shocking, beautiful movie.

Hated the part where that creepy kid holds the megaphone at the mouths of these dying girls. That was pretty wtf. Good movie, not going to watch it again though.

[Blodrast]

Found time to watch Battle Royale recently, absolutely breathtaking. A brilliantly horrific idea is made into a movie containing more powerful moments than I've seen before. It's caried by the excellent young cast, who deliver the well-written script perfectly. A shocking, beautiful movie.

Agree, definitely cool movie to watch. However, the sequel, as most sequels, disappoints.
It's more of the same, but somehow it feels that there's less - and it struggles to create a plot, where one wasn't probably really necessary. The violence and gore are as good as in the first one, but there's less of the artistic part, and the atmosphere, if you want.

[Puzz3D]

Zatôichi (1989) by Shintaro Katsu, who wrote, directed an starred in the film, is an excellent samurai movie. The final fight is absolutley spectacular, but the film is also very good in it's character studies. Unlike the newer Zatoichi The Blind Swordsman (2003) which uses a lot of comedy and is light entertainment by comparison, this older movie takes a serious approach to the story. It's interesting, well paced and well photographed. I backtracked on some scenes and watch them in slow motion to see if they had cheated on some of Zatoichi's faster moves, but it all looked very good and he actually carried out the moves. These are well choreographed fights.

Match Point (2005) written and directed by Woody Allen is a very clever film especially when contrasted with the movie A Place in the Sun (1951). The line about the difference between love and lust is priceless. I thought Scarlett Johanssen was very good in this film, but maybe I'm biased. ~:) The acting, pacing and photography are all very good, Highly entertaining, and it wold be unfair to give any of it away.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Over the Hedge: I thought it was going to be a little kids movie but it's not. Was really funny.

[doc_bean]

Eurotrip (2004) a semi sequel to Road Trip, which was definitely one of the better teen movies (one of my guilty pleasures :embarassed: ) of the last decade. Eurotrip is, however, not nearly as good. It's essentially 90 minutes of making fun of stereotypes (both about Americans and Europeans), it does have its moments, but the situations keep getting absurder and absurder (not in a good way) and it just becomes incredibly unbelievable, even within its own reference frame (I thought not another teen movie managed to be believable in its own reference frame, except towards the very end, for reference :book: ). It's more a series of (often bad) jokes than a movie. Still it's probably better than the American Pie movies...

EDIT: CAP has an awesome endorsement of this movie though:


Other than a subjective comment that this celluloid cyanide is not worth the time it took to make it, I have nothing to say about this film. The listing in the findings/Scoring section tells enough. I will tell you that I left after 49 minutes. The findings and scoring apply to just the first 49 minutes of the film. And I cannot imagine how DreamWorks got connected with this putrid sex flick. Randomly selected R-rated movies in the comparative baseline database of movies earned CAP influence density figures between 0.75 and 2.1, the higher the figure the more dense the assaults on wholesome morality. Maybe the CAP Influence Density of 4.96 earned by Eurotrip in just 49 minutes is enough to convince you to stay away from this one.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Noooo Eurotrip is awesome...maybe it's aimed more at Americans.

Scotty doesn't know...

[doc_bean]

Noooo Eurotrip is awesome...maybe it's aimed more at Americans.


Perhaps, I felt my knowledge of the actual places and culture kinda ruined it. I thought it was pretty decent until Bratislava. There were some decent moments there, but the sexual open mindedness of Europeans was getting a bit overplayed (the club owner), the incest thing was just gross and after that, the Hitler kid in Germany might have worked better if the scene had been a bit shorter and the Vatican part was just too ridicoulous.



Scotty doesn't know...

Oh yeah, that part does make the movie worth seeing ! If you have nothing better to do and it's on tv

[Puzz3D]

The Blue Light (1932) written, directed and featuring Leni Riefenstahl is an allegory about man's encroachment on natural beauty. It's a simple story and somewhat slow moving, but told in an artistic visual style with impressive cinematography and lighting. The final act picks up the pace and is very well done, and features climbing scenes presented in a very effective montage style. The freestyle rock climbing looks quite dangerous to me, and Leni Riefenstahl appears to do all her own climbing just as she apparantly did in Arnold Fanck's "mountain" pictures. This movie doesn't usually get good reviews because up until now it hasn't been generally available in a good quality print, but the recently released DVD has a good image quality German sound version with English subtitles. I was hoping that a blue tint would be used to show the blue light, but that wasn't done.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Brick: Really awesome. Like Dashiell Hammet except set in high school.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for make benefit glorious nation of kazahkstan

Excellent. He manages to keep up the humor throughout the movie. Also, quite a lot of it is unscripted.

[Beirut]

MI:3

A porker, but still better than MI:2. Why Tom and the film studio and their collective billions cannot take advantage of the MI theme and make a honking good spy movie is beyond me. Cruise said he wanted romance in the story. What a shmoo. As my buddy said, Cruise simply does the Top Gun movie over and over. Top Gun, Top Bartender, Top Lawyer, Top Samurai, Top Spy.

Mind you, there were a few very good scenes in MI:3. Loved the way he got over the wall at the Vatican. That was just neat. (Even though it was ripped off of James Bond.)

[Puzz3D]

Flags of Our Fathers (2006) directed by Clint Eastwood, based on the well researched book of the same name by James Bradley, is a drama which tells the true story of the men pictured in the inspirational photograph of the flag raising during the Battle of Iwo Jima. The movie is very well done and extremely faithfull to the book which was exhaustively researched by the son of one of the flag raisers. Interestingly, his father never spoke of the war, wouldn't speak to reporters, never told his family that he had won the Navy Cross and didn't display the picture in his home. The reason why is made clear by the movie. James Bradely found the Navy Cross and newspaper articles about the flag raising in a cardboard box in the attic of his father's house after his father died, and decided to write a book telling the story. My mother, who was 16 when WWII started, said this was the first WWII film she's seen which depicted the people as they actually were. I recommend the film, and I also recommend the book which additionally covers the childhoods of these men and more details about the other men in the marine platoon.

The Departed (2006) directed by Martin Scorsese is a crime drama already recommended by Spino. It's outstanding filmmaking with a powerhouse cast who all give excellent performances. It's a rewrite of the foreign film Infernal Affairs (2002) with more complex characters than in the earlier film and a new character added. The screen play is great, and the narrative moves along fast and twists and turns never lingering in any one place. Highly entertaining for the full 2 and 1/2 hours. I would expect this film to win something at the Academy Awards.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: A classic. Best western ever made.

Lord of War: I'm not that interested in gun running and have no desire to watch a documentary about it or learn the history. The previews should have made it clearer what this was. Quit halfway through.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

LOTR: Return of the King Extended Version t'was a major improvement over the old one. dunno know why they had to take scenes out from the original. all great imo.

[Puzz3D]

I found Oldboy (2003) by director Chan-wook Park disappointing possibly because I was hoping it was as good as Lady Vengeance (2005). To me the story is highly contrived and the character's actions don't make sense, and this extends to the character who is not hypnotized. However, the final message about the dangers of starting rumors is a strong one.

[Craterus]

Saw Trainspotting for the first time about a week ago. I really liked it, but I'm interested about what other people think.

I've asked a few people at school, got mixed reviews.

So, if you've seen it, what did you think?

[drone]

Saw Trainspotting for the first time about a week ago. I really liked it, but I'm interested about what other people think.

I've asked a few people at school, got mixed reviews.

So, if you've seen it, what did you think?
I saw it back in 1999, I thought it was pretty good. Not for the squeamish, but funny and with good dialogue. I should probably rent it again, to see if it aged well. The book was good as well, but hard for this Yank to read at times. Reading phonetic Scottish slang = :dizzy2:

[Fragony]

I saw it back in 1999, I thought it was pretty good. Not for the squeamish, but funny and with good dialogue. I should probably rent it again, to see if it aged well. The book was good as well, but hard for this Yank to read at times. Reading phonetic Scottish slang = :dizzy2:

Trainspotting is in normal english, I think you are confusing it with The acid house.

[Aenlic]

The Prestige

I read the book, so I knew what was going to happen, which perhaps dampened the plot twists a bit for me; but the movie was very well done. As always, Michael Caine gave a wonderful performance. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as the two main characters really brought them to life. The biggest surprise for me was David Bowie as Tesla. I was pleasantly surprised at how good he was. The movie even has my favorite character actor, Andy Serkis, in it too. Guess playing Gollum finally got him noticed after years of incredible performances. I'm not going to say anything else that might reveal the plot. The book itself was wonderful too. Christopher Priest is a great writer.

Coming soon:

Beowulf

A new version that is in post production now. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. An amazing cast, it looks like. Ray Winstone as Beowulf, Crispin Glover as Grendel, Anthony Hopkins as King Hrothgar, Brendan Gleeson (Hamish in Braveheart) as Wiglaf, John Malkovich as Unferth and many more. It uses performance capture for the animation, as in Zemeckis' The Polar Express.

[doc_bean]

Hostel (2005). A typical movie about a bunch of American college guys looking to get laid in Europe. They go to Amsterdam, they go to Bratislava, things go a bit wrong...

Seriously, this is one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen (and I didn't see what the big deal was about Saw) BUT it's also one of the better movies I've seen this year. There are a few problems with it

Mostly how fast people can recuperate from serious physical harm

But overall i highly recommend it to anyone who can stomach this kind of film. Makes the debate about violence in videogames seem laughable :2thumbsup:

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Can this be stickied?

Watched the Spongebob Movie. Now I know what you're thinking, but I do find Spongebob (as well as many kids my age) to be a quite funny show. I loved the movie.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Eyes Wide Shut: Visually very nice but a bad movie. Tom Cruise makes every scene he's in very awkward with his creep smile and creepier laugh. He also consistently does the wrong thing. They didn't bother writing a score for the dramatic moments they just had someone pound on one key on a piano over and over. It's starts off as a movie about marriage and trust and stuff and jumps into this whole cult/mystery thing that is never satisfactorily resolved because it's only a side plot and ends with some goofy speech about dreams and everything is happy now.

[Beirut]

Can this be stickied?



We can put it in the "Links to popular threads" sticky perhaps.

[Fragony]

Hostel (2005). A typical movie about a bunch of American college guys looking to get laid in Europe. They go to Amsterdam, they go to Bratislava, things go a bit wrong...

Seriously, this is one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen (and I didn't see what the big deal was about Saw) BUT it's also one of the better movies I've seen this year. There are a few problems with it

Mostly how fast people can recuperate from serious physical harm

But overall i highly recommend it to anyone who can stomach this kind of film. Makes the debate about violence in videogames seem laughable :2thumbsup:

Hated it, nothing but sadistic crap.

[doc_bean]

Hated it, nothing but sadistic crap.

It's definitely not for everyone. There aren't even that many 'sadistic' scenes in the movie, the ones that are in are just very effective. It's more a thriller than a horror movie imo.

[Masy]

Saw Trainspotting for the first time about a week ago. I really liked it, but I'm interested about what other people think.

I've asked a few people at school, got mixed reviews.

So, if you've seen it, what did you think?

I loved it, it was hysterical and shocking in equal amounts. Many people claim its all down to Ewan MacGregor, but I think Robert Carlyle's Begbie absolutely steals the show.

Has anyone seen the new Borat movie? I laughed so much some wee almost came out...

I can understand why it would not be to everyone's tastes though, so comments?

[Vladimir]

What's worse than the new Star Wars movies? Buying the last one on DVD. I would give this movie a 50% rating if I had gotten up and defecated during the parts I disliked (hello, it's a vulcanic moon. WHAT ARE THEY BREATHING?!) The fact that I actually sat thru those parts forces me to give it another 10%. Do I dare watch the special features?

I admit that I finally got into it when Anakin was dubbed Darth Vader. I even had chills go up my spine when he was leading the troopers into the temple. That lasted until he chopped up the little kids. It had to be done (plot wise mind you) but was a real buzz killer.

GAH, the acting!!one1unoetc:thumbsdown: :rtwno:

Edit: HAHA, Obi Wan, trainspotter.

[Geoffrey S]

Watched The Departed in the cinemas on sunday, mainly due to excellent reviews. What a let-down: a poor and contrived plot, a vulgarity-laden script, and one of the most pointless endings I've seen made this a movie I found a chore to sit through. The acting is generally excellent, particularly DiCaprio was a pleasant surprise, but everything else is second-rate and just left a bitter taste.

[Puzz3D]

Watched The Departed in the cinemas on sunday, mainly due to excellent reviews. What a let-down: a poor and contrived plot, a vulgarity-laden script, and one of the most pointless endings I've seen made this a movie I found a chore to sit through.
It wasn't contrived except for the two spies being involved with the same woman. The way cops and gangsters spoke in the movie is the way they speak around here. The police and the gang had spies in each other's organizations for decades here in Boston, and they probably still do. The gangleader portrayed by Jack Nicholson has a real life counterpart in Boston's criminal underworld. The Leon DiCaprio character makes a bad decision at the end which I had trouble understanding, but he is under a lot of stress. I don't know what should be done with the Matt Damon character. It could have been ended several different ways. There isn't any moral message in this movie. It comes down to dog eat dog.

[Fragony]

go. watch. this.

http://www.imech.ac.cn/education/student/gu/images/The%20Merchant%20of%20Venice.jpg

absolutily fantastic, all I can say is WOW

[King Henry V]

It is an excellent and opulent production with some very fine acting from Al Pacino. Well worth seeing and even owning on DVD.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

The Shining: Really Good. You can't go wrong with a Nicholson + Kubrick combination. At first I thought the wife was doing a poor job, but here her helplessness and fear really made it more tense.

[Adrian II]

go. watch. this.


Merchant of Venice

absolutily fantastic, all I can say is WOWYup. Unsurpassed. Pacino has to be the best screen actor around at the moment. Even the poster picture is revealing. That is Shylock, the essence of the man is right there in the eyes, in that look of mournful distrust.

"I am not bound to please thee with mine answers" ...

[Fragony]

Pacino has to be the best screen actor around at the moment.

Yes, and this is by far his most impressive role, it's amazing how they give life to these old texts, I am not a fan of sheakespear, too bombastic for my tastes, but in this movie I didn't even notice, that's class. Jeremy Irons is immense as well, perfect for this role (I want his voice). When the credits roled, the only apropiate reaction was watching it again.

Best movie I have seen in a long long time.

[Avicenna]

Yes, and this is by far his most impressive role, it's amazing how they give life to these old texts, I am not a fan of sheakespear, too bombastic for my tastes, but in this movie I didn't even notice, that's class. Jeremy Irons is immense as well, perfect for this role (I want his voice). When the credits roled, the only apropiate reaction was watching it again.

Best movie I have seen in a long long time.

It's that good? So far all Al Pacino roles I've seen played are, IMO, the best I've seen.

[naut]

Casino Royale

4.5/5,

A great movie! It lacks those ridiculous gadgets. Fight scenes that aren't cliché. A captivating storyline. Over-layered with a "darker" feel.

IMHO a must see.

EDIT:(Daniel Craig is a good 007 too.)

[Red Peasant]

Casino Royale

4.5/5,

A great movie! It lacks those ridiculous gadgets. Fight scenes that aren't cliché. A captivating storyline. Over-layered with a "darker" feel.

IMHO a must see.

EDIT:(Daniel Craig is a good 007 too.)

The torture scene, OUCH!. I think every bloke in the theatre was winceing and shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

--

Agree too about Merchant of Venice, storming performances and production. Then again, I love Shakey, but a top production with excellent actors always brings the best out of the poetry and it all makes sense. You should see more good stuff, Frag. ~;)

[Fragony]

Oh I have seen more modern adaptations, Polanki's MacBeth for example was pretty good as well, but it lacks that little extra. The Merchant of Venice really has that awesome tranquil mood amd beautifull music/camarawork, and beautifull actors that are just too perfect for their roles, reduce it to production values if you want but I'll just consider it value.

Loved it, can I :beam:

[doc_bean]

Bandwagon: The merchant of Venice. I've seen it based on the recommendations in this thread. easily one of the best movies I've seen this year.

though it too suffers from the major Sakespearian drawback of people disguising themselves and not being recognized, Superman is definitely based on Shakespeare !
Also, not familiar with the play, I was rooting for Pacino's character and found the ending somewhat unsatisfying.

[Fragony]

Also, not familiar with the play, I was rooting for Pacino's character and found the ending somewhat unsatisfying.

The jew the jew the jew, kind of hard to swallow nowadays isn't it, I was also more like cut him up curly. Funny detail, in the version I read Shylock was morish, recently bought the complete work of the Grimm brothers, and there it was explained that in many old works jewish villains had been replaced by morish villains because the jews had some breathing issues somewhere in the last century, funny how pc backfires sometimes :beam:

[littlelostboy]

Just watched Casino Royale. Makes me want to see more. Here's my short criticism. :2thumbsup:

Casino Royale did what Batman Begins did. A reboot of the franchise, it lived up to the James Bond name. Just as Batman Begins explores the origins and the beginnings of Batman, Casino Royale explores how James Bond became James Bond.

Instead of relying on high GCI effects, this movie relys mostly on gritty parts, showing James Bond killing with his hands most of the time instead of high tech weapons. The only high tech stuff was his car and the machine used to start up his heart. It was a true portray of how the inexperience James Bond handle situation, violence with more violence. And usually in the Fight Club-quese style.

Daniel Craig. Hmmm, this actor is just so darn serious as the 007 spy. Half the time he doesn't even acknowledge the beautiful women surrounding him. And if he does, its usually to greet them politely or to charm the secrets out of them. And the way he acted during the torture, fantastic. Most actors would show James Bond stoutly receiving the abuse but Daniel Craig shows the Bond is human too. He screams, yells, pants and crack jokes to irritate Le Chiffre.

And there was a plot and storyline too. Compared to other Bond movies, especially the Pierce Brosan ones, this one was intriguing, with full of twists and turns enough to keep you on the edge of your seat and full of backstabbing. The way one situation unfold unpredictably helps to keep the pace of the movie fast, tense and action-packed.

All in all, I'll give 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

And yes, people, watch Merchant of Venice. Fantastic production of a Shakespeare play.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Yeah I liked Casino Royale a lot. Much less fantastical than the pierce brosnan ones...no more of this giant outer space laser stuff. And less virtual wanking over fancy cars.

Although I was disappointed that he won the card game with a straight flush...essentially through luck. I do like the breaking of bond traditions though, no Q and he tells the waiter he doesn't care if his martini is shaken or stirred.

The parkour chase scene was great.

[Fragony]

This one is only good for the dutchies and lesser-dutchies~;)

'Van god los', a pretty gritty gangstermovie with a few scenes that are quite shocking. Better then most dutch movies, more grim as well.

[Dave1984]

Trainspotting is in normal english, I think you are confusing it with The acid house.


Nup, got it in front of me, it's definitely phonetic Scottish.

[Fragony]

Hmmm weird, must have read a translation then :idea2:

[scooter_the_shooter]

I finally got around to seing pulp fiction (yeah i realize its been out for a while but i just never got around to seeing it)


spoilers beware.


Wow words can't describe the movie. During the "gimp" scene I was literally yelling at bruce willis on the tv "get the *expletive* out" over and over and over until the scene was over.

After seeing the trivia version I like it even more. (it explains the whole movie)


IE when Bucth and vince are in the bar, Butch wants to fight vince but he doesn't. He gets his revenge by keying Vince's car(it does not show this or hint at it in the movie.) Vince later complains that some one keyed his car.


Many people think The scene where bucth kills vince is stupid because a professional like vince wouldnt leave his gun out......but he didn't. That was Marsellus's gun, thats why we see him later walking towards the apartment with two cups of coffee. (the movie is literally full of this sort of thing that people never found out, but the dvd explains)

....................

I also saw clock work orange for the first time....stupidest movie ever, that's all i got to say. Doesn't live up to the hype at all.

........................


Now jericho. this is a show on cbs where a nuke has hit in the USA. But it isn't like watching the sum of all fears or anything like a tom clancy plot.


It is about the after math of the nuke. It takes place in a smalltown called jericho. The citizens have to deal with government soldiers taking supplies, roving gangs of survivalist and hungry refugees.

If you like mad max but would like a show that is better, more realistic, and not so damn weird, watch jericho. (check out my sig, its free to see with no downloads if you missed it on tv! check it out!)



I put it in the sig because the jericho forum I go to is looking for more members,



Sorry about the grammar I typed this quick.

[Beirut]

I also saw clock work orange for the first time....stupidest movie ever, that's all i got to say. Doesn't live up to the hype at all.



Horrorshow! You didn't like it? I thought it was a masterpiece. So much originality, so much humanity in the inhumanity. I never cease to be amazed by this flick.

[scooter_the_shooter]

Horrorshow! You didn't like it? I thought it was a masterpiece. So much originality, so much humanity in the inhumanity. I never cease to be amazed by this flick.


spoilers beware.


Really? I didn't like how they tried to make the rapist look like the good guy....It seemed like they wanted you to feel sorry for him. I also hated most of the other characters though....they wanna be the tough guy after our narrator is drugged up and brain washed:thumbsdown:

these were my thoughts the whole movie.

Shoot that thug (the beginning)

Those people shouldn't be messing with him like that. He needs to beat em' down. (that was some cold blooded stuff they did....all of them from the bums to his old "friends", I'd liked it better if they just shot him and got it over with)

Then he is back to normal at the end and I went back to "shoot that thug"


spoiler


One thing though. There are 3 different endings to this movie. I saw the one where the prime minister makes the "i will help you if you help me" deal and they bring the media in. What happens in the other two?

[Fragony]

Sir you should be shot. Clockwork Orange is a masterpiece.

[Fragony]

Anyway, belgium broadcasted The Big Labowski, never saw it before.

absolute genius, consider me your loyal fan Coen brothers. I haven't laughed like this since a Fish called Wanda, which untill now I considered to be the funniest comedy ever made. buhbuhbye. I just love their absurd style, no straight shooters but hilarious situations non-stop, sometimes I don't even understand why I am laughing.

AAA comedy :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup:

[naut]

You see more mvies in a week than I've seen my entire life. :dizzy2:

[Peasant Phill]

Anyway, belgium broadcasted The Big Labowski, never saw it before.

absolute genius, consider me your loyal fan Coen brothers. I haven't laughed like this since a Fish called Wanda, which untill now I considered to be the funniest comedy ever made. buhbuhbye. I just love their absurd style, no straight shooters but hilarious situations non-stop, sometimes I don't even understand why I am laughing.

AAA comedy :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup:


If you haven't seen it yet, you should definitly see 'Fargo' to. Another Coen masterpiece.

[Lorenzo_H]

I don't know if anyone here has seen Stormbreaker?

I enjoyed it because the entire thing apart from the london shots were done on the Isle of Man. I just got a kick out of identifying all the places I know. As a matter of fact, the compound Alex goes to when he meets Darius Sayle is actually the island's Incinerator, with a very modern design. Both the exterior and interior were used.

Also, Nadia Vole tells Alex "this is Port Erin" when they are driving through Castletown, both real towns.

The bike chase scene was done on Port Erin beach.

The part at the beginning when Ian Rider is shot was filmed on the TT circuit, in the northern coastal road.

The classroom scenes were filmed at Ballakermeen, a school many of my friends go to.

Alex Rider escapes from a building which is actually my school.

All that and more, so you can imagine why I liked it.

[econ21]

If you haven't seen it yet, you should definitly see 'Fargo' to. Another Coen masterpiece.

Seconded - absolutely fantastic film. I love Margie: "And all for what? A little bit of money." :no:



:yes: :2thumbsup:

[Fragony]

Ya fantastic, I absolutily love the soundtrack, it's so tragic. They have made many a good movie, 'Blood Simple' and 'Raising Arizona' are great as well, the first is somewhat more grim but with the same lovely weirdness (as well as their usual fetish actors)

[doc_bean]

X-men 3: The last stand : Argh they ruined a perfectly good saga !!!!

The movie does just about everything wrong what the other Xmen movies did right. There's just no emotional attachment to the characters (who are mere shadows of their selfs from former movies). It's clear fan service, tries to combine two or three stories from the X-men universe (Phoenix, cure for mutations, and Magneto thrown in for good measure, believe me, I'm spoiling nothing here) but alters (and ruins) them all. (I'm not a fanboy here, only read one comic, just watched the cartoon series a lot as a kid, the alterations are all by far inferior)

Clearly Brian Singer must be a very talented director, seeing as how some other director manages to screw up what he had built up so badly.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I liked it...

Mind you I didn't have any emotional attachment to the characters in the first two.

[doc_bean]

I liked it...

Mind you I didn't have any emotional attachment to the characters in the first two.

But there is almost no character development in this one ! Don't tell me you cared what happened to Jean, or freeze guy, or the flame guy, or anyone else for that matter. It only works as a special effects extravaganza (especially the ending scene feels like another attempt at 'real' anime), and even as such there are a lot of movies that do it better (I recently saw Matrix Revolution again and realised that no movie that I've seen in recent years even comes close to the Matrix movies when it comes to special effects or action sequences, too bad the plot sucks).

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Well to be honest I wasn't expecting more than special effects action sequences with cool mutants.

I liked how the "bad mutants" were all dressed like goths. lol.

[doc_bean]

I liked how the "bad mutants" were all dressed like goths. lol.

Heh, to be fair, the bad mutants were always a weak point in the X-men movies.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Heh, to be fair, the bad mutants were always a weak point in the X-men movies.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/funny_cat_pictures_78187.jpg

[Puzz3D]

Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut (2005) is the 194 min version of Ridley Scott's historical epic set in Jerusalem of the late 12th century. It's very good, and a much better film than the theatrical release in it's character development and narrative flow. However, the Battle of Hattin, 4 July 1187, is still not shown in a way that conveys just how large a disaster it was for the Christians. The main characters in the movie, Balian and Sybilla, are highly fictionalized versions of the real people they represent, and they didn't have the romantic relationship depicted in the movie. In reality, Balian was married to the mother of Sybilla's half sister, and he returned to Jerusalem after surviving the Battle of Hattin to get his wife and two children out of Jerusalem. Sybilla and her two daughters went with her husband Guy of Lusignan when he went to siege Acre in 1189. She and her daugthers died there about a year later during the siege when an epidemic swept through the encampment. Modern religious sensibilities abound which didn't exist in the religious absolutism of the middle ages, and 20th Century Fox forced the writer to change the ending he had planned to a more "feel good" ending. If you can get past all the historical inaccuracies, of which there are many, it's a well made film that can be enjoyed as it is. You can always read up on the actual history after watching the movie.

[Puzz3D]

The Black Dahlia (2006) is a film noir style crime/thriller by director Brian de Palma adapted from the novel by James Ellroy who also wrote the novel from which L. A. Confidential (1997) was adapted. While not as good as that film, The Black Dahlia has high production values and is interesting because it strictly adhears to the film noir/expressionistic style of telling the story through the eyes of the protagonist. The story is very complicated, and since you are only seeing one character's point of view, it is confusing. In the end it's all explained, and that requires almost 30 minutes of screen time which is no doubt a record for a film noir. This will probably not appeal to viewers who want a chance to solve the mystery before the end because I don't think you can do that with this movie.

Unfortunately, the actor who plays the protagonist, Josh Hartnett, is not up to the task of portraying this complex character. I don't know if the problem is his limitations as an actor, the direction or the screenplay. The character does strike me as a psychological impossibility because he embodies contradictory qualities. In most scenes, Josh Hartnett displays nothing in terms of facial expression or body movement to convey his inner state. As a result, I couldn't really understand this character. Even his extreme loyalty to his partner on the police force wasn't convincing to me. I couldn't even tell you why he wants to be a cop. For an outstanding example of how to portray a conflicted cop, watch Dana Andrews in Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950) which was the first of a rash of bad cop movies that came out that year.

There is some exploitation of a lesbian angle by de Palma, but I think a bit of exploitation is pretty much expected by people who see his films. Dressed to Kill (1980), which I think is quite good, had some of this.

The film is ok, but could have been much better.

[The Wizard]

The Departed, Martin Scorsese's newest movie, was excellent. Take an oldskool tragedy (i.e. everyone's dead at the end), add the Irish Mob (i.e. crazy white boys with guns) and Jack Nicholson (i.e. madness), and you're well on your way to exploring Boston's gritty underside. A wonderful tribute to the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, Scorsese managed not to make me yawn and whine "been there, done that." Great \o

[Fragony]

War is a bad thing but at least it makes for good movies.

Underground, from former Yugoslavia. Movie starts at WW2 and ends with the Balkan war. In the opening scene a zoo is bombed. I can take human suffering in movies but please not the tigers, looked way to realistic.

The movie has a clever way of kicking you in the teeth, the WW2 part is just a little too heroic, the characters a bit too huggable, you know there is something wrong with that after the extremily realistic openingscene. See it for yourselve, not going to spoil it for you. After that the movie moves to the cold war and ultimatily Yugoslavia's breakup, and these part of the movie are much more realistic and gritty. As I said before, this movie has a clever trick, iy makes the later parts almost unbearable to watch, but you should try it anyway.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Blood Diamond - I saw this today and it opened my eyes more. I've known what was going on, but seeing it in such detail made it even more powerful. I was with some ignorant friends of mine, who would laugh at certain parts, which was annoying. After we got to his house they both were making fun while throwing food away "Oops, those poor africans!". Made me sort of sick...
...anyway, it was a GREAT movie. I loved it.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Night at the Museum is great. Consistantly funny, a few hilarious bits, wraps up all the story ends neatly, great concept.

[Csargo]

I went and saw The Pursuit of Happiness last weekend and I just saw this thread. It's a good movie in my opnion. Kinda sad though.

[Motep]

I know this one is kinda old...The Inside Man I just love it. It is suspenseful...brilliant concept.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Battlefield Earth is just so terrible. Get a bunch of people together who appreciate and mock terrible films and watch it for entertainment.

[doc_bean]

I watched Superman Returns yesterday. it's a difficult movie to rate, since it does many things *so* right yet does some other things so *very* wrong.

I didn't know much about the movie so I was surprised that it was actually about Superman returning home after a search for his home planet, and not about the rise of Superman, although there were a few flashback scenes thrown in. Overall I think this was a good idea, since it makes the movie a little different from all those other superhero movies that have come out recently.

The good: the atmosphere, adding just the right bit of nostalgia, the action sequences

the bad: the overall plot, people act pretty 'unnatural' just for plot reasons, a lot of their actions really don't make sense, pretty much everything related to Lex Luthor feels wrong, especially his 'master plan'. Also, a car mysteriously changes colour as Superman lifts it up...

Overall I did find the movie to be enjoyable, there were quite a few things I wish they did differently, but it's fun none the less.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

I just rented Syriana and I liked it a lot. A bit hard to follow, but overall I got it.

[Puzz3D]

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005) is a dramatic recreation which stays very close to the actual events of what happened to her for being caught distributing anit-war literature in Germany in 1943. It's based on the transcript of her interrogation and personal recollections of various people, and is very effectively portrayed by actress Julia Jentsch. The courage this young woman displayed is remarkable and very moving. There appear to be a few dramatic liberties taken but they are not overdone. The movie has an authentic and chilling feel to it especially when what is happening is legal. The interrogator, Mohr, survived the war and continued to be a policeman afterwards. His son said his father would never speak about his wartime service to the Nazis.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Just watched the Shawshank Redemption. It's a decent movie, but I'm amazed that it's #2 movie of all time on imdb. I can think of hundreds of better movies, it's about 7/10 I'd say. Half an hour too long and waaaaay to sappy. There was sentimental voice over during the scene in which he was being anally raped I kid you not. Three guys are kicking him and god knows what else and morgan freeman's voice comes on: "I'd like to say andy put up a good fight and drove the anal rapists off, but that would be a lie, in fact he's being raped right now which makes you wonder why I sound so happy" https://img128.imageshack.us/img128/6800/emotwtcae8.gif

*spoilers*

I also found it amusing that there were only 3 or 4 "bad" prisoners in the prison and all the others were just good guys, the kind of guys you'd want to sit around and have a beer with. The way the bad guys got their comeuppance was a huge stretch, the guard mysteriously became a good guy for a brief moment (in between brutally killing innocent people, prison guards are the real bad guys remember) to get upset by the way the one guy was picking on tim robbins and take him out. Then at the end they way the warden and him mysteriously get arrested for the murder which would have been impossible to prove is ridiculous. It also glosses over the way tim robbins is living off a bunch of stolen money now but oh the pacific is so beautiful :wall:

*/spoilers*

I don't mean to sound so down on it, I enjoyed it, but it has major flaws and it irks me to see it so highly rated.

[naut]

There was sentimental voice over during the scene in which he was being anally raped I kid you not.
Uhh... ~:shock: :inquisitive:

[sapi]

I agree with Sasaki on Shawshank - it just wasn't that great, and it definitely doesn't deserve no2 spot on imdb

[Craterus]

What's no. 1?

[Ser Clegane]

It's a decent movie, but I'm amazed that it's #2 movie of all time on imdb
An odd thing about this ranking is the rather high number of votes (highest number among the top 250 movies) ... this smells a bit ...


What's no. 1?
The Godfather (http://www.imdb.com/chart/top)

[Craterus]

I'll check it out some other time. My internet can only really handle one window at a time at the moment.

Thanks Ser. :bow:

[Geoffrey S]

Hoodwinked. Great start with som hilarious moments, but it trails off halfway through. Worth it for the first half though.

Layer Cake. Loved it. Brutal, stylish, along with The long good friday this is now at the top of my favourite British crime flicks. Daniel Craig shines as the nameless anti-hero.

Casino Royale. Way, way better than the previous attempt. Again with Daniel Craig, who portrays James Bond as I've always wanted to see him. The opening is very strong, as is the finale. And finally a Bond movie with a good script! Only real complaint is that after the torture sequence, and before the finale it loses the plot too much, it needed more direction at that point.

I agree with Sasaki on Shawshank - it just wasn't that great, and it definitely doesn't deserve no2 spot on imdb
I was somewhat disappointed too, particularly so since I'd recently watched The Green Mile, a movie which I rank among my favourites of all time.

absolute genius, consider me your loyal fan Coen brothers. I haven't laughed like this since a Fish called Wanda, which untill now I considered to be the funniest comedy ever made. buhbuhbye. I just love their absurd style, no straight shooters but hilarious situations non-stop, sometimes I don't even understand why I am laughing.
They are good. Fargo is their classic, but a very close second for me is The man who wasn't there. Gripping, and with their trademark beautiful visual style.

The Departed, Martin Scorsese's newest movie, was excellent. Take an oldskool tragedy (i.e. everyone's dead at the end), add the Irish Mob (i.e. crazy white boys with guns) and Jack Nicholson (i.e. madness), and you're well on your way to exploring Boston's gritty underside. A wonderful tribute to the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, Scorsese managed not to make me yawn and whine "been there, done that." Great \o
No. No no no. If there's one movie I've seen recently that I absolutely loathed, that's the one. The only thing I enjoyed was the opening sequence, but apart from that I found the script banal, the direction sloppy, and the leads Damon and DiCaprio wasted and uninspired. Nicholson could have been good, but his performance really does make a case for overacting ruining a potentially stunning role; for me, only the supporting actors managed to introduce some subtlety to their parts, some kind of acting. I've tried to like Scorsese's work, but just like The Aviator I came away feeling rather disappointed.

At the risk of sounding like one of the many IMDB snobs, Infernal Affairs is better, though the two movies can't really be compared except on the basic premise.

[sapi]

The departed would have been much better if it was an hour shorter.

[Puzz3D]

The The Departed which I found to be very entertaining strikes me as a black comedy, although the somber situation it portrays does or did exist in Boston. Jack Nicholson's character is no less brutal and long lived than the real life person it parallels, and that person has never been aprehended precisley because he was an FBI informant and was tipped off when the jig was up and he went into hiding. Just about every scene is charged with emotional displays. Infernal Affairs is a serious crime drama with much more subdued and contemplative acting, but without the multiple police departments, coincidentally comic love interest or extra male character added in The Departed. I saw it after seeing The Departed, so the suspense in the story was lost which hurt.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Casino Royale really lived up to the Bond name. An excellent film, showing both a witty and a dark side to Bond, was extremely well made. The excellent theme song in the opening credits really sets the tone well.

9/10. Daniel Craig is tied with Sean as the best Bond in my opinon.

[Fragony]

They are good. Fargo is their classic, but a very close second for me is The man who wasn't there. Gripping, and with their trademark beautiful visual style.


Thx for the tip, never heard of it

[Kralizec]

The Departed, Martin Scorsese's newest movie, was excellent. Take an oldskool tragedy (i.e. everyone's dead at the end), add the Irish Mob (i.e. crazy white boys with guns) and Jack Nicholson (i.e. madness), and you're well on your way to exploring Boston's gritty underside. A wonderful tribute to the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, Scorsese managed not to make me yawn and whine "been there, done that." Great \o

Agreed, The Departed was great :2thumbsup:

[Fragony]

Well had no money this weekend so I watched some tv. Saw two american movies, one with all that's bad about Hollywood and one that's all that's good.

Deep Rising, dear god so terrible that it was great in a way. Must be the worst movie ever made, but it was quite horrific and it has Famke Jansen. Now we all make mistakes but if I see my baby swasting her dutch genes on such a atrocity she will just have to be rich famous and beautifull without me.

After that, 'What's Cooking', fantastic. It follows 4 different american family's at thanksgiving, black family, jewish family, asian family and a white family. It almost had me ordering chinese and bring it to the local fallafal bar and order a fallafal for a turk.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Saw The Devil Wears Prada. A decent movie about a girl who wants to be a journalist and gets sucked into the fashion industry.


It's a decent movie, but I'm amazed that it's #2 movie of all time on imdb. I can think of hundreds of better movies, it's about 7/10 I'd say. Half an hour too long and waaaaay to sappy. There was sentimental voice over during the scene in which he was being anally raped I kid you not. Three guys are kicking him and god knows what else and morgan freeman's voice comes on: "I'd like to say andy put up a good fight and drove the anal rapists off, but that would be a lie, in fact he's being raped right now which makes you wonder why I sound so happy"

Goodness gracious, #2! It's just an ok film and certainly doesn't deserve that.

Once Upon a Time in the West was so much better - great acting, plot and story. Great cinematography from Siergo Leone (sp?). Classic.

Watched The Replacement Killers - an action flick starring Chow Yun Fat. Nothing too special, but fun for a night.

Saw The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel, The Whole Ten Yards, recently. Good, funny movies with Bruce Willis. A cut above the ordinary movie, though the second is noticeably sillier than the first.

CR

[Fragony]

Ah, even more goodness, bought a lot of movies lately.

The constant Gardener, it's about the naughty pharmacy industry testing experimental medicine on africans, the wife of the english ambassador finds out and gets whacked, and in the movie the grand scheme slowly unfolds. I can see this happening for real, and two hours after the movie I was still thinking of how hot Rachel Weisz really is.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Children of Men is a great apocalyptic movie.

[Crazed Rabbit]

I forgot, I also saw Lady in the Water and The Visitors recently.

Lady was a dissapoint, for me at least. Basically, these water nymphs (called a 'narf') come to our world just to see someone to help them do something. A weird wolf made of grass (called a 'scrunt') tries to eat the nymph, but isn't very good at it. This, and much more, is revealed by an old eastern 'bedtime story' which is 100% accurate at explaining the narfs, scrunts, evil tree monkeys and bollywoggles.

Of course, Shamalan can't have something that simple and so adds all sorts of silly and nonsensical contrivances to the plot, a large part of which seems to be written just to insult movie critics. Also, there is no skepticism by anyone that the 'lady in the water' might not be a mythical being from another dimension sent here to help humanity. No 'that seems unlikely' or 'you're joking, right?'

It may just be me that has a strong dislike for this film, though.

On a better note, I saw the French film The Visitors, about a knight (Jean Reno) and vassal who get transported forward and time and must find their way back. Mishaps ensue. A good and funny movie, even though I don't speak French. Was humorous without being silly or ridiculous (cough*mel brooks*cough).

CR

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I forgot, I also saw Lady in the Water and The Visitors recently.

Lady was a dissapoint, for me at least. Basically, these water nymphs (called a 'narf') come to our world just to see someone to help them do something. A weird wolf made of grass (called a 'scrunt') tries to eat the nymph, but isn't very good at it. This, and much more, is revealed by an old eastern 'bedtime story' which is 100% accurate at explaining the narfs, scrunts, evil tree monkeys and bollywoggles.

Of course, Shamalan can't have something that simple and so adds all sorts of silly and nonsensical contrivances to the plot, a large part of which seems to be written just to insult movie critics. Also, there is no skepticism by anyone that the 'lady in the water' might not be a mythical being from another dimension sent here to help humanity. No 'that seems unlikely' or 'you're joking, right?'

It may just be me that has a strong dislike for this film, though.


I walked out during the scene where the boom is taking up the top quarter of the screen. I also thought it was hilarious how shyamalan wrote himself in as a "misunderstood artist". Terrible movie.

[Spino]

Ah, even more goodness, bought a lot of movies lately.

The constant Gardener, it's about the naughty pharmacy industry testing experimental medicine on africans, the wife of the english ambassador finds out and gets whacked, and in the movie the grand scheme slowly unfolds. I can see this happening for real, and two hours after the movie I was still thinking of how hot Rachel Weisz really is.

You wouldn't say that if you saw her without makeup... :dizzy2:

[Masy]

Anyone seen Mel Gibson's Apocalypto yet? I'm not too sure about going to see a subtitled film, but I heard it was quite good.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Anyone seen Mel Gibson's Apocalypto yet? I'm not too sure about going to see a subtitled film, but I heard it was quite good.

https://img251.imageshack.us/img251/2158/emotpsyduckvv0.gif

[naut]

Mel Gibson can go...

I saw Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels again.

"Fea'ferduster"? That's not any Cockney/London slang I know of. An' I grew up in London, so that's some bollocks, innit. Know whot I mean?

[Fragony]

You wouldn't say that if you saw her without makeup... :dizzy2:

That would be great, morning honey

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I hate to be down on another imdb favorite, by 2001:A space odyssey was unimaginative and extremely boring. Except for HAL. HAL was really cool, well worth fast forwarding through the rest of it. It starts with 3 minutes of blank screen with horrible "kubrick-music" and then 10 minutes of monkeys and then 10 minutes of spaceships floating. Jesus. Apparently the obelisk thing made the monkeys evolve into men, and then we were watching men evolve into giant space babies. Wheee.

:no:



The Prestige I think edges out The Departed for best movie of the year. Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson. Director of Memento. Jackman and Bale are rival magicians, obsessed with one upping each other. Really well done, great acting and full of surprises.

Boondock Saints was pretty goofy, and most of the side characters were overdone. Would have been more effective if the other roles had been played straight. Gotta love the irish brothers reciting baddass prayers before shooting a bunch of people though, fun movie.

[Subedei]

Anybody seen "Miller´s Crossing"?

It is by the Cohen brothers [Big Lebowski, Fargo...] and it is one of the Gangster/Film Noir movies I have ever seen. Awesome characters & a hell of a plot. Photography and cutiing are great too. Long live the Brothers Cohen....

[drone]

Anybody seen "Miller´s Crossing"?

It is by the Cohen brothers [Big Lebowski, Fargo...] and it is one of the Gangster/Film Noir movies I have ever seen. Awesome characters & a hell of a plot. Photography and cutiing are great too. Long live the Brothers Cohen....
Miller's Crossing is a great movie (like most of the Coen brothers' movies). "Always put one in the brain". ~D

[doc_bean]

I hate to be down on another imdb favorite, by 2001:A space odyssey was unimaginative and extremely boring. Except for HAL. HAL was really cool, well worth fast forwarding through the rest of it. It starts with 3 minutes of blank screen with horrible "kubrick-music" and then 10 minutes of monkeys and then 10 minutes of spaceships floating. Jesus. Apparently the obelisk thing made the monkeys evolve into men, and then we were watching men evolve into giant space babies. Wheee.



I thought it was alright except for the ending: 20minutes of flashing lights or whatever that was supposed to be...

[drone]

I thought it was alright except for the ending: 20minutes of flashing lights or whatever that was supposed to be...
As befitting the Kingdom of Peace and Love, I'll bring in some Floyd trivia here. The song "Echoes" from Meddle synchs to the ending of 2001. I think it's supposed to be watched while on acid, that's the only thing that makes sense. :inquisitive:

http://www.pinkfloydonline.com/echoes2001_synchs.html

[Puzz3D]

I hate to be down on another imdb favorite, by 2001:A space odyssey was unimaginative and extremely boring. Except for HAL. HAL was really cool, well worth fast forwarding through the rest of it. It starts with 3 minutes of blank screen with horrible "kubrick-music" and then 10 minutes of monkeys and then 10 minutes of spaceships floating. Jesus. Apparently the obelisk thing made the monkeys evolve into men, and then we were watching men evolve into giant space babies. Wheee.
It's a philosophical movie, but it doesn't translate visually to the small screen. I saw this in the Cinerama Theater three times when it was originally released. That theater was like a concert hall and had the widest screen in existence which was also curved and thus engaged your peripheral vision, and they had an Altec Voice of the Theater sound system which has never been equaled except possibly by IMAX theaters. IMAX screens are flat and not nearly as wide as that Cinerama screen. Nothing that spectacular had been seen in sci-fi before, and no movie had ever shown existence in space that realistically. As I recall, there were 27 special effects shots used which was unprecedented, so historically it's an important picture in that respect. People did get stoned in the theater for the colorful psychedlic sequence near the end.

I find the ape sequence very moving. Possibly the monolith caused the ape to evolve, but the monoliths are also beacons pointing to the next evolutionary step for intelligent life on the planet. The mechanism of this evolutionary process isn't explained, but it's clear that an advanced civilization visited Earth and in abstentia is helping intelligent life to evolve. It's probably doing this where ever it encounters life in the universe. Philosophically, it's akin to the absentee landlord theory for God. The baby at the end is symbolic of the next evolutionary step. Homo-sapiens will become extinct and be replaced by a new species.

In the mist of this is a warning against giving artificial intelligence too much control over human destiny. HAL (which is IBM one letter removed in the alphabet) wants to maintain the status quo between humans and itself, and tries to sabotage the mission. HAL believes it is intellectually superior to humans because it doesn't make mistakes, but it can't evolve. The sole surviving astronaut gets into a situation where he has to do something practically impossible in order to prevail against HAL, and come up with the courage to take the risk.

The modern music used in the film is by the highly regarded Hungarian composer György Ligeti who just died last year. He was initially influenced by the composers Bartok and Kodály.

From the Sony classical site:

"The success of Apparitions (1958-59) was confirmed by Atmosphères (1961) and the organ work Volumina (1961-62), making it clear that Ligeti was forging for Western music a powerful alternative to post-Webern serialism. A key feature of his style was the use of extraordinarily dense polyphony, which he called "micropolyphony", resulting in complexes of musical colour and texture so rich and intense that they virtually dissolved the distinctions of melody, harmony and rhythm. At the same time, Ligeti extended his experiments in polyphony in a different direction, to include a kind of fabricated, colouristic language, built on the kaleidoscopic use of articulate speech sounds and inflections." "The Requiem (1963-65) and Lux aeterna (1966) add a contrapuntal complexity to Ligeti's evocative sound-world." "Two years after its premiere, Lux aeterna - along with Atmosphères and the Requiem - reached a mass audience when an excerpt from the score was used on the soundtrack and the best-selling soundtrack recording of the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey."

I now consider the use of The Blue Danube Waltz by JohannStrauss which accompanies the docking of the shuttle with the space station as indicating the obsolescence of that technological and biological level of existence because man was about to take a giant evolutionary step.

[Puzz3D]

Just saw Pan's Labyrinth (2006) by director Guillermo del Toro. It is a drama/fantasy set in Spain 1944 just after the end of the Spanish Civil War. It's a story about an 11 year old girl who uses fantasy to help her cope with the violent world around her. She has come with her pregnant mother to a government outpost, which is fighting against rebel remnants in the hills, because the Captain of the outpost is the father of the baby. This is a spectacularly filmed movie with parallel storylines which weave in and out of each other seamlessly, and which has very fine acting all around. It's rated R for violence and is not for children, and is in Spanish with English subtitiles. The subtitles were easy to read, and I don't think they detracted from the film experience. Worth seeing on the big screen, but is in limited release right now.

I would say the film is anti-fascist without being explicitly political, but that may be simply because the fascists have the upper hand. If the other side had won, there is a suggestion there would have been the same brutality in reverse because that's what war brings out on both sides.

[Puzz3D]

Way Down East (1920) by D.W.Griffith is a Victorian melodrama taken from a stage play that was popular in 1897, so it's old fashioned even by 1920. However, this story is lifted to a high emotional level by Griffith's pioneering film technique and the virtuoso acting of Lillian Gish and good acting by the other principle players. By 1922 Griffith told her that he couldn't pay her what she was actually worth, and she went to MGM signing a 1 million dollar contract and making several very fine films there including La Boheme (1926), The Scarlett Letter (1926) and The Wind (1928) all of which I've seen and can say they are very good.

By this time after working with Griffith since 1912 in 67 films including his major productions, Lillian Gish (b 1893) had developed a naturalistic acting style, unusual for silent film actors, without the usual gesturing and raised eyebrows. She could portray a wide range of emotions and transition back and forth between conflicting emotions in a very touching way. She called these kind of characters that she usually had to play "ga ga girls", and although she got tired of doing them, she was very good at them. Lillian Gish was devoted to her acting profession, and put all of her energy into these films not seeking star recognition for herself. She was the only actor who could stand up to Griffith and do her scenes her way. She could take on a character so well that she claims she never used those 'glycerin' tears. Griffith had old fashioned values and so did Lillian Gish, and they are front and center in this film. They may seem out of step for people today, but Gish lived her whole life of 99 years by these values and they stood her well. Try as historians might, the most dirt they've ever dug up on Lillian Gish was that she fibbed about her age.

If you are at all a romanticist, I recommend seeing this film. Get the DVD version on Image restored by David Shepard to it's original 146 min, color tinting and original orchestral score. The sequence on the river at the end is famous, and Lillian Gish actually sustained permanent nerve damage to her right hand which she didn't blame Griffith for because it was her idea to dangle her hand in the freezing water. She described working on this part of the film in her autobiography:

"Our house was near the studio, and I was to report for work at any hour that snow started to fall, as we had both day and night scenes to film." "The blizzard finally struck in March. Drifts eight feet high swallowed the studio." "To hold the camera upright, three men lay on the ground, gripping the tripod legs. A small fire burned directly beneath the camera to keep the oil from freezing." "Again and again, I struggled through the storm. Once I fainted - and it wasn't in the script. I was hauled to the studio on a sled, thawed out with hot tea, and then brought back to the blizzard, where the others were waiting. We filmed all day and all night, stopping only to eat standing near a bonfire." "At one time my face was caked with a crust of ice and snow, and icicles like little spikes formed on my eyelashes, making it difficult to keep my eyes open.

Above the howling storm, Mr. Griffith shouted: 'Billy, move in! Get that face! That face - get that face!' "

"The scenes on and around the ice were filmed at White River Junction, Vermont, where the White River and the Connecticut flowed side by side. The ice was thick; it had to be either sawed or dynamited, so that there would be floes for each day's filming. The temperature never rose above zero during the three weeks we worked there."

References:
Lillian Gish's account appears in: Gish Lillian, Ann Pinchot, The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me (1969); Brownlow, Kevin, The Parade's Gone by ... (1983).

"Making Movies, 1920," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2002).

[Masy]

https://img251.imageshack.us/img251/2158/emotpsyduckvv0.gif

Hey, no need to be like that...I just am not keen on reading script for a 2 hour period.

[Fragony]

Road to Guatamolo, shocking indeed

hehehe

[Beirut]

I hate to be down on another imdb favorite, by 2001:A space odyssey was unimaginative and extremely boring. Except for HAL. HAL was really cool, well worth fast forwarding through the rest of it. It starts with 3 minutes of blank screen with horrible "kubrick-music" and then 10 minutes of monkeys and then 10 minutes of spaceships floating. Jesus. Apparently the obelisk thing made the monkeys evolve into men, and then we were watching men evolve into giant space babies. Wheee.

:no:


gasp...sputtter...wheeze...

You're going to give me an asthma attack posting like that.

2001 was/is an extraordinary film.

The part with the monkeys was showing the nature of man before there was man.

The segue from monkey to spaceship was stunning. An imaginative and seamless jump millions of years into the future. The spaceship docking sequence to the strains of the Blue Danube is one of the most gorgeous pieces of film ever. A ballet of physics and technology. Turn off the lights, pump up the sound, and marvel at special effects that still carry the day decades later.

The obelisk did not make the monkeys evolve into men. It was watching them evolve into men. Then, on the moon, it watched the next step of man's evolution as he conquered space. The obelisk, as Clark wrote, serves as a cosmic Swiss Army Knife for an advanced alien race. In this case, it acted as a remote outpost/observatory.

2001 is based upon a short story, The Sentinel, By Arthur C. Clark. That story was picked up on by himself and Kubrick and made into 2001. Clark said straight off that he wanted to make the best science-fiction movie ever. He did.

I read the Sentinel, 2001, the book about making the film 2001, 2010, 2061, and 3001. All good books. Over the course of the books you get a deeper understanding of the story than is possible with the film. But the film was a benchmark in science-fiction. Granted, it's no action pic, but it does explore the human condition in a marvelous way.

No doubt the movie is enigmatic, but so is the universe. That's the point.

[Adrian II]

I just watched Oliver Stone's Alexander, three years late and not a day too soon I might add.

It seems that Stone never heard of the eclipse of the moon that won Alexander's battle at Gaugamela, as the Persian Astronomical Diaries recount (29th Ahû tablet of Enuma Enlil, 59-61).

But then I never knew Alexander was Irish. Or that he had an Austrian shrink.

I learn every day. :dozey:

[Alexanderofmacedon]

I watched Letters from Iwo Jima and I have to say I loved it!

I can't believe my thread is still going strong.:2thumbsup:

[Ice]

I watched Letters from Iwo Jima and I have to say I loved it!

I can't believe my thread is still going strong.:2thumbsup:

So it is worth seeing? It looks pretty good. What is the action/non action ratio?

[Geoffrey S]

All this talk of 2001 reminds me of Dark Star. Great, pitch-black comedy by Carpenter. And Silent Running, a moving film.

[doc_bean]

Series 7: The Contenders (2001): is a 'fake' reality show (marathon) about a group of randomnly selected people (and a survivor from the previous series) having to go around killing eachother. It sticks extremely close to the reality show formula (without all the stupid repetition) and manages to feel pretty damn realistic (and gritty) because of it. It's a bit like a cross between Battle Royal and C'est arrivé près de chez vous though not quite as good as either of those movies (they are absolute classics to me), what it does better than c'est arrivé... is show the absurdity of reality tv and the way the camera men are just there without participating. It does slow down in the latter middle part, but the end is brillant.

This movie comes very highly recommended

:2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup:

[Fragony]

You have a thing for sadistic movies don't you Doc_Bean, being similar to Battle Royale doesn't work as a recommendation for me, I like nice and fluffy :beam:

(unless the violence is functional and not a goal am sich like you see in the likes of Hostel and Battle Royale)

[Beirut]

All this talk of 2001 reminds me of Dark Star. Great, pitch-black comedy by Carpenter.

Great movie! Loved the beach ball alien and the psychotic bomb with delusions of godhood.

[doc_bean]

You have a thing for sadistic movies don't you Doc_Bean, being similar to Battle Royale doesn't work as a recommendation for me, I like nice and fluffy :beam:

(unless the violence is functional and not a goal am sich like you see in the likes of Hostel and Battle Royale)

It's not very bloody or graphic imo. It's more disturbing in the 'How is this happening ?' sense. I think it's less violent than your average action movie.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

So it is worth seeing? It looks pretty good. What is the action/non action ratio?

Oh yeah it's deffinetly worth seeing. Most of it is action actually. I just liked the movie all around though.

[Csargo]

I just saw Clerks II last night it's the funniest movie I've seen in a while. It's great if you like stupid comedy's with some serious parts thrown in. Great movie.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I just saw The Fountain, it's good. It starts very badly, he doesn't give you a clue what's going on until much later than he should have. But it deals with life and death quite well, and is beautifully made. Hugh Jackman is really good.


I also watched about half of Scarface before getting bored. I guess the story just didn't grab me. Pacino's character wasn't likable, and neither was the girls.

Enemy at the Gates was a lot of fun. Although the opening sequence was familiar. It's odd how this random hot girl also happened to be a sniper, but she was cute so that's ok.

Match Point I liked a lot up until a point (although there were a few terrible lines) where it went haywire and became very uncomfortable to watch. I felt it threw away it's potential.

3rd season of the Wire is awesome, naturally. Basically a cop show done HBO style, a set of awesome characters and intense social commentary.

Sahara is one of the most enjoyable action movies ever. Indiana Jones quality. I liked the way it doesn't even attempt to take itself seriously.

Easy Rider was enjoyable, even if it did meander quite a bit. Doesn't really pick up until nicholson gets there.

[Puzz3D]

L'Atalante (1934) by Jean Vigo. The title refers to the greek goddess who was fleet of foot, and would only marry a suitor who could outrun and catch her. Movies just don't get any more romantic than this, and there are no heroes or victims in the story. It's about the individual expectations of a newly married couple, and what happens when they aren't being met. Timeless stuff, and beautifully photographed by a cinematographer who would go on to shoot On The Waterfront (1954). There isn't much dialog as the story is told mostly visually and musically.

The movie was hacked to shreds by the publisher when it was originally released. Since Vigo died within days of its release, he could do nothing, and the movie wasn't restored to the best estimate of his original vision until 1992. I think it's a very good restoration. Jean Vigo knew he was dying and worked hard, sometimes from a stretcher, to finish the film, but there is no hint of morbidity in the movie. It's about living. When Vigo, who was 29 years old, died his wife was lying next to him on the bed. She jumped up and ran down the hall intending to leap from the window, but friends who were at the end of the hall stopped her.

[Fragony]

Primer: ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh How ingenious!

Epidemic: Hehehe Lars von Trier has to be the most self-absorbed filmmaker there is, but it looks good on him. He is the first moviemaker I have heard of that makes a movie about how good his script is. Full of the usual not at all pretentious observations delivered with the clever use of language that makes no sense but sounds great.

[LuckyDog Trojan]

Just saw Munich and would highly recommend it. I guess you have to be interested in politics or current affairs to get a lot out of it, but it had a lot more action, characterisation and drama in it than I was expecting. Critics who have damned it for not being exciting enough must have watched too much hyperactive wham-bam conventional Hollywood products. The action is very well done but then ever since seeing the garage lot shoot-out in Sugarland Express, I have been convinced Spielberg is a genius at depicting violence as real and terrifying. The opening depiction of the Munich Olympic kidnapping and its subsequent portrayal through flash-backs are gripping and horrifying. The film has an excellent acting ensemble, with some intriguing characters (if anyone can tell me who or what Louis and his father were, I'd be indebted). Personally, I found it politically neutral, raising but not necessarily answering the question about whether assasinations of terrorist suspects are justified. All sides are depicted as human - the Palestinians assassinated often appear mature, urbane and humane. While some of the Israelis come to doubt their mission, what the film hammers home is the intrinsically awful nature of taking a life, rather than a wider political agenda.

I agree with Econ 21: This IS an excellent movie. It is deep and heady - so pay attention. Another one I'd like to mention - while about a different subject material but of a similar vein is - Syriana. This movie also explores some of the cultural misunderstandings between the 'west' and the 'middle-east'.

[Fragony]

Just watched Munich, good indeed. The most chilling murder scene ever, bad Mossad killing dutch babes, even if they are assasins.

[Puzz3D]

Crank (2006) is an action movie staring Jason Stratham and he's good in this. He plays an anti-hero character who is a hit man for the underworld and who has himself become a target, and somehow has a very naive girlfriend who is just there to set up some comic sexual situations one of which is pretty outrageous. The movie is very frenetic with a lot of camera movement and fast cutting, but quite hilarious. The action was more believable than it was in Transporter 2, and the CGI not as obvious. Non-stop adreneline rush is the way I'd describle this movie which doesn't take itself seriously. I think it only crossed the line into too silly in a couple of places, but nothing like that silly fight with the hose and the ladder in Transporter 2 or the fight on the CGI airplane at the end.

[Puzz3D]

Bay of Angels (1963) is an interesting French New Wave film about the addiction of gambling. The good performances of Claude Mann and Jeanne Moreau maintained my interest. I thought the allure of gambling, and the rationalizations that people use to justify their addiction were conveyed very well. The obstacle that the addiction presents to personal relationships is also a focus of the film. The main characters, while flawed, are not wholey unlikable, and have attractive characteristics in their personalities. As with many new wave films, the ultimate ending is up to the viewer to decide.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Rome: HBO series. Just watched season one, it's fantastic. The Roman culture is so different, and the set of characters is excellent. Marc antony was my favorite.

Pan's labyrinth: Reminded me a lot of "The devil's backbone". Beautifully shot. I didn't really like it though. It was just sort of neat.

Jarhead: Really good. I kept expecting there to be an action sequence and the soldiers kept expecting to fight and it never materialized. Nice deviation from standard war movie.

[doc_bean]

Clerks II: I liked it better than the original (which I only recently saw) and it's one of Kevin Smith's best. Dante and Randall are back, and haven't changed much (or anything) after ten years. While the story is of secondary importance, I think it's a decent one. Dante and randall are given surprising depth, if you read between the lines. The dialogue is old style Kevin Smith and probably the most edgy he's ever done. It's sad to see him reduced to making straight to dvd movies though (here it was one at least).

[Fragony]

Rome: HBO series. Just watched season one, it's fantastic. The Roman culture is so different, and the set of characters is excellent. Marc antony was my favorite.

Don't miss out on 'I-Claudius' then, even better imho. John Hurt is one excellent Caligula.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Brokeback Mountain: Just got around to watching this. Very sad movie, tragic even. Star crossed lovers kind of thing. Jake Gyllenhall's character is kind of minor but Heath ledger does an amazing job.

Black Snake Moan: Just came out a couple of days ago I believe. The previews for it are fun but don't really do it justice. About getting your [stuff] together. Girl is hot too.

[Decker]

Brokeback Mountain: Just got around to watching this. Very sad movie, tragic even. Star crossed lovers kind of thing. Jake Gyllenhall's character is kind of minor but Heath ledger does an amazing job.

Black Snake Moan: Just came out a couple of days ago I believe. The previews for it are fun but don't really do it justice. About getting your [stuff] together. Girl is hot too.
Black Snake Moan huh, was it comedic or a little of comedy and dramaish??

And BM???:inquisitive: ???? Serious:inquisitive: :inquisitive: :inquisitive: :no: I just don't understand that one. Never gonna watch it btw. I still don't see how a person could watch it(no offense or anything).


Crank (2006) is an action movie staring Jason Stratham and he's good in this. He plays an anti-hero character who is a hit man for the underworld and who has himself become a target, and somehow has a very naive girlfriend who is just there to set up some comic sexual situations one of which is pretty outrageous. The movie is very frenetic with a lot of camera movement and fast cutting, but quite hilarious. The action was more believable than it was in Transporter 2, and the CGI not as obvious. Non-stop adreneline rush is the way I'd describle this movie which doesn't take itself seriously. I think it only crossed the line into too silly in a couple of places, but nothing like that silly fight with the hose and the ladder in Transporter 2 or the fight on the CGI airplane at the end.
Agreed. That movie is a bit underrated it did have it's hilarious moments(like when he went charging out of the hospital lol, funny times).

[Pannonian]

Hot Fuzz: Like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz sets a genre film in little England. In this case, it's the action film/cop/buddy movie, set in rural England, which if anything is even more parochial than the suburbs. Entertaining, if a bit gory.

[Fragony]

Gangs of New York. As a gangstermovie it is ok, nothing we haven't seen before, but as a whatsitcalled of an era it's simply irresistable. How little do I really know about american history, never knew of the gangs, the riots, shame on me.

[Beirut]

Watched Borat yesterday. Oh my...

Some of it was insanely funny, some of it was just ok. The naked fight with his producer was... was... well, just hope you can get some of the scenes out of your mind.

I'm amazed he didn't get killed while filming that movie.

[sapi]

:laugh4:

It had its moments, but that scene was definitely not one of them

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Watched Borat yesterday. Oh my...

Some of it was insanely funny, some of it was just ok. The naked fight with his producer was... was... well, just hope you can get some of the scenes out of your mind.

I'm amazed he didn't get killed while filming that movie.

Supposedly he had to flee from the mob after the rodeo bit.

I know the whole audience was doing a mixture of laughing and groaning and covering their eyes during that scene.



Black Snake Moan huh, was it comedic or a little of comedy and dramaish??

Some comedy, mostly drama.

[nokhor]

not a car buff or anything but i loved The Fast and Furious III:Tokyo Drift. It was about jibber and jabber but then this car drifts up sideways UP a parking ramp spiral. then it had some more jibber and jabber about boy meets girl, evil boyfriend/bad guy hero's buddy dying in a NO scene etc. then it ended. but the 30 seconds of the car drifting up the ramp more than made up for the rest of it. i went to the dvd commentary and they even claimed that that scene wasn't CGI and was actually done in the first take which just boggles my mind.


i liked curse of the golden flower a chinese period piece kinda like the lion in winter with the royal family plotting and being dysfunctional, duplicitous and backstabbing each other while maintaining a facade of one big happy family. anyhoo, things come to a head at the chrysanthemeum festival and my favorite part of the whole movie is when the third eldest son, the least experienced and talented, and hopelessly outclassed brings his squad of about 15 men [when everybody else is bringing their own personal army of thousands] needless to say, third eldest son is brought down and brought down hard. the proverbial bringing a knife to a gunfight.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Just finished seeing 300. Badass movie. Period. Nothing else to be said.

[Beirut]

The Trailer Park Boys.

Good movie. Very funny in a Canadian sort of way. If you've seen the television series the movie just looks like a long episode, but nothing wrong with that.

There are so many little things you almost have to watch the movie twice to notice them. I saw it twice and didn't notice Ricky was using a handle of a hammer to get the Cheez-Whiz out of the bottom of the jar. (My buddy told me after he saw it.) Lots of little things like that.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Beirut and Sasaki come to this thread a lot. It should be stickied! :2thumbsup:

I got a 300 poster for my room because I liked the movie so much. :2thumbsup:

[Soulforged]

Le Samourai
by Jean-Pierre Melville (France)
with Alain Delon and Nathalie Delon
100 Minutes
1967
Score 9.0 (0 to 10)

If you're observant you'll catch the idea behind "Le Samourai" (or "The Samurai") from the opening scene. This first scene shows us what seems like an empty room, in the shadows we can actually see a mans figure, it's Jeff Costello's figure (Alain Delon), the image of the empty room will stay with you for the rest of the movie, at least the feeling it gives you will. The atmosphere is grey (neither dark nor light, neither warm nor cold), it's a romantic film, but you won't notice it until the end of the movie, and that's because the suspense is masterfully achieved.

It's the story of the lone wolf, and assassin, a paid hitman, on the edge, wich is played by Alain Delon with great precision, he never changes his face during the movie, and that's a compliment. The lone wolf has many people with him, but never partners, and opening sentence sets the atmosphere: There's no one more lonely than the Samurai...Except perhaps for the tiger in the jungle (Book of Bushido, fictional, created by the author). The assassin sets the stage for his alivi and you watch every step of it, then he commits the crime hides every clue wich could possibly connect him with it except for one, a lovely Valerie (Caty Rosier), who sees him leaving the crime scene. Surprinsingly, during the recognizement round on the police station she says that he is not the man, later we receive some clues on why she did that, however the movie will not tell you everything, and that's why you've to pay attention.

In spite of the psicologycal connections that this might suggest the movie is very light on dialog, all people here speak only when they must, in fact you'll be surprised that the first 20 minutes of the movie pass without a word been spoken, only images wich speak for the words. And the images are watered down, they show the streets of Paris and the buildings with no particular care in protraying them pretty or apealing. The whole movie is one tone, as the face of Jeff never changes during the scenes the movie doesn't change its face either. If you pay attention at various scenes on the main character's appartment you'll notice many hints on who he's and who the director wanted him to be, and also many absurdities without explanation that are placed on purpose to make us wonder what kind of hitman is Jeff (like the little bird on the cage).

The movie creates its suspense with silence, sound and image, with lack of dialog, and not a single thrilling action scene. This really has you wondering when is that the movie is gonna change its tone and has you on edge all the time expecting that scene that is never gonna come, it never releases you with lax action scenes when your brain can safely be turned off. This is suspense at its best, you won't really see the end coming, but you'll feel rewarded when it does, because the movie has tricked you again into expecting something else. The plot is pretty simple, but the movie says so little about it with words, as the character, that you won't be able to predict the next scene.

Henry: Portrait of a serial killer
by John MacNaughton (USA)
with Michael Rooker and Tom Towles
188 Minutes
1986
Score 9.2

This is one of those movies that don't receive much publicity, if only for its controversial content, wich didn't play in favor of the budget for the director of this film. Still he gets a Michael Rooker who is perfect for the roll and a nice little script with a nice little plot on its back, based on a not so nice history about a real life serial killer called Henry.

The movie is about, as said, this man, Henry, who is a serial killer, a man who kills, not for money, not because of a tormented past, not in vengeance, not because his being menaced... No he kills simply because he enjoys it. In its wake we see Henry taking on innocent bystanders, we do not see this explicity at first, wich might make the sensasionalist feel a little disappointed (but keep on). we also see his method for chosing his victims, we see everything about him, except his past, the movie is not interested in it, it's interested on this man and the atrocities he's capable of doing. We'll also see him joining his jail mate (Ottis) and the sister of his mate.

We watch Henry on almost all scenes, this is because we've to see him from our perspective, but we've to either be delighted for what he does or repelled, but we've to experience his actions first hand. We get his philosophycal approach to life, we get his psicologycal profile, everything by watching and listening, the movie is not subtle at all. The poor quality of the image (given the camera used) adds to the realistic feeling, almost like a documentary, that we get during the film. And this feeling with the personal evaluation it implies escalate as the plot progresses and it becomes more and more explicit. There's one scene in wich Henry and Ottis go out on a night looking for fun, Ottis wants to learn how it feels to kill a man (the thrill, the joy, everything Henry feels), they park on the side of a road and make signals to the passing cars, as if the car had problems and they wanted help, a man finally shows up and out of the blue Ottis shoots at him, the body falls, we here no sad music, there's nothing that overblowns the scene beyond its sheer naked strenght, empty of mercy and any human feelings.

The movie functions well as a suspense film but it does a better job as a drama. You'll be expecting a light to shine though its dark shell, an smile, a light joke to be thrown, but the script is equaly merciless with this as it's with Henry's victims. And it's this hope what will have you held to the end still expecting a redemption, leniency, but not getting it, you'll just be shocked by its sincerity.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

For anyone in the UK who hasn't seen it already, I have to recommend Hot Fuzz. It's by far the funniest film I've seen in an extremely long time. If you've an appreciation for the fine tradition of Hollywood action/buddy films, and any kind of acquaintance with the British Police Force, you'll find it side-splitting.

[CountArach]

For anyone in the UK who hasn't seen it already, I have to recommend Hot Fuzz. It's by far the funniest film I've seen in an extremely long time. If you've an appreciation for the fine tradition of Hollywood action/buddy films, and any kind of acquaintance with the British Police Force, you'll find it side-splitting.

I can back that up. I live in Australia, and even though I may not have understood some of the social stereotypes it was portraying, it was brilliant! Some great one-liners and just generally awesome situations.

:2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: /:2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup:

[Quintus Of Pompeii]

I am under the age of 15 therefore i can not see it. :no:
Boohoo.
I have heard great things though. It seems British films are getting more popular.

I recently also watched a film called Pulse yeah, it was good it was jumpy not scary. Its a good film to watch if your bored. I would recommend it to those who have seen The Grudge and The Ring. Its a good movie.

-Q

[sapi]

You're under 15 and thus can't see Hot Fuzz...so you reccomend The Ring :inquisitive:

I won't ask :grin2:

[CountArach]

You're under 15 and thus can't see Hot Fuzz...so you reccomend The Ring :inquisitive:

I won't ask :grin2:

Yeah, that was pretty much my first thought as I read it.

[Blodrast]

Le Samourai
by Jean-Pierre Melville (France)
with Alain Delon and Nathalie Delon
100 Minutes
1967
Score 9.0 (0 to 10)


On that note, I'd fully recommend ALL (or as many as possible) of Melville's films... if you're into that genre. Great stuff indeed, although a tad hard to find.

[Beirut]

Tenacious D

A gloriously stupid, excellent movie. Great music. Lots of fun. Jack Black is fantastic.

Very beer and pizza. :yes:

[Puzz3D]

You're under 15 and thus can't see Hot Fuzz...so you reccomend The Ring :inquisitive:

I won't ask
Pulse, The Grudge and The Ring are all PG-13 movies. All remakes of more restrictively rated Japanese movies.

[Soulforged]

On that note, I'd fully recommend ALL (or as many as possible) of Melville's films... if you're into that genre. Great stuff indeed, although a tad hard to find.
Oh yes, and it's also very hard to watch. The french directors are always looking for a way to challenge your mind without boring you to hell, when it works, it's a great escape from Hollywood. I'm yet to find a hitman movie as believable and intriguing as "Le Samurai", the best I've seen up to this day either fall in the bizarre category ("Hitman", with Jean Reno) wich of course lose the believable element, or fall in the cheap thrills category (as a very bad example: "Elektra") wich lose the intriguing element and the believable element.

[Fragony]

Last King of Scotland: Forrester is terrifying as a big kid, easily his best performance. Movie isn't half-bad either, a bit hard to believe that somebody can be so blind as the main character but it's entertaining allright.

[econ21]

... a bit hard to believe that somebody can be so blind as the main character but it's entertaining allright.

I'd be interested to see the film; I enjoyed the book. Amin blindsided a lot of people - for example, the British who promoted him and of course his predecessor. He had a certain charm. I've seen some striking magazine pictures of him giving a speech in front of Julius Nyerere, President of Tanzania - an intelligent and humane man who would later topple Amin. Nyerere is sat stoney faced as Amin begins, but ends up almost crying with laughter as Amin charms his audience. I imagine Forest Whitaker can do justice to the complex monster.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

Borat
saw it a week ago?
hilarious and racist.

[Blodrast]

Oh yes, and it's also very hard to watch. The french directors are always looking for a way to challenge your mind without boring you to hell, when it works, it's a great escape from Hollywood. I'm yet to find a hitman movie as believable and intriguing as "Le Samurai", the best I've seen up to this day either fall in the bizarre category ("Hitman", with Jean Reno) wich of course lose the believable element, or fall in the cheap thrills category (as a very bad example: "Elektra") wich lose the intriguing element and the believable element.

Agree, some of them have too much subtlety for "beer & pizza"-like moods. But when one is in an appropriate mood, and old enough (i.e., not 10 years old, like I was the first time I saw some of them) to appreciate their qualities (atmosphere, camera shooting style, attention to details), they're excellent :). I've watched a bunch of them when I was a kid; while I most certainly didn't "get" all the elements of the plot, and even more certainly wasn't able to appreciate (or even notice, for that matter) all the cinematographical goodness, I still enjoyed them. And I agree with you that they were more believable than a lot of the shoot 'em outs these days.

Also fully agree with you about Elektra - blech.

[econ21]

Just saw Amazing Grace, the film about William Wilberforce and his Parliamentary campaign for the abolition of the slave trade. It was very good - an inspirational film, it can actually make Parliamentary politics and evangelism interesting and attractive. The acting is top notch all round and the script is sophisticated and accomplished. The emphasis is very much on the Parliamentary politics and their toll on Wilberforce (and, incidentally, Pitt). The slave trade is presented in a rather "documentary" way, rather than being visually realised, but this is probably appropriate as Wilberforce's knowledge of it was through documentation rather than first hand observation. Anyway, the barbarity of the thing is so great, a low key presentation does not diminish it. Reading around the campaign afterwards, it seems the film is more or less accurate - but it is very much a drama rather than a dry recreation, so no doubt some liberties were taken. However, you leave the cinema informed and inspired (I'm not sure I've ever experienced that before).

[Decker]

Just saw Wild Hogs It was hilarious. It had me rolling in my seat laughin my butt off nearly every minute or so.
"Hey, I took my law enforcement course on the internet! For arms training they just told us to play Doom! "

[sapi]

Pulse, The Grudge and The Ring are all PG-13 movies. All remakes of more restrictively rated Japanese movies.
Are you being serious :inquisitive:

It got way more than that here :dizzy2:

[naut]

Are you being serious :inquisitive:

It got way more than that here :dizzy2:
In the US they don't have the M rating, so it goes straight from PG-13 to R.

[sapi]

Is that some kind of joke?

Seriously, I'm stunned.

I don't want to take this thread off topic, but I really don't see how that can hope to work...

[Puzz3D]

I don't want to take this thread off topic, but I really don't see how that can hope to work...
Pulse (2006) Certification:
Australia:M / Finland:K-15 / USA:R (original rating) / Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) / Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) / Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) / Ireland:16 / USA:PG-13 (Edited for re-rating) / Argentina:13 / Germany:16 / Taiwan:R-12 / Philippines:R-13 / Malaysia:18SG / Indonesia:Dewasa / Hong Kong:IIB / France:-12 / UK:15 / Singapore:PG / Malaysia:U (cut) / South Africa:16

The Grudge (2004) Certification:
Sweden:15 / USA:PG-13 (certificate #40750) / Malaysia:18SG / South Korea:15 / Iceland:16 / Argentina:16 / Australia:M / Brazil:14 / Canada:13+ (Quebec) / Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) / Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) / Canada:PG (Ontario) / Czech Republic:15 / Finland:K-15 / France:-12 / Germany:16 / Ireland:15PG (original rating) / Ireland:15 (video rating) / Italy:T / Norway:15 / Philippines:R-13 / Poland:18 / Portugal:M/16 / Singapore:PG / Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) / Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) / Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) / UK:15 / USA:Unrated (DVD rating) / Netherlands:16

The Ring (2002) Certification:
Malaysia:U / Canada:PA (Manitoba) / Canada:AA (Ontario) / Canada:14 (New Brunswick/Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island) / Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) / Canada:13+ (Quebec) / Portugal:M/16 / Iceland:16 / Argentina:16 / Australia:MA / Brazil:14 / Chile:14 / Finland:K-15 / France:-12 / Germany:16 (bw) / Ireland:15PG (original rating) / Ireland:15 (video rating) / Israel:16 / Japan:R-15 / Mexico:B / Netherlands:16 / New Zealand:R16 / Norway:15 / Peru:14 / Philippines:PG-13 / Singapore:PG / Spain:18 / Sweden:15 / Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) / Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) / Switzerland:16 (canton of Bern) / Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) / Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) / UK:15 / USA:PG-13 (certificate #39347) / Greece:K-17

[Martok]

Very much against my will, I was dragged to 300 this past Saturday by one of my best friends. He was insistent that I would enjoy it, historical inaccuracies and all. The guy knows me well enough that he's usually right about what movies I'll like. Unfortunately, this was one of the few times he was wrong.

Even setting aside all the ways in which the film was incorrect from a historical standpoint (and I'm sure I still caught less than half of the errors), it was still one of the worst films I've ever watched. There's so many things wrong about this movie I barely even know where to start.

Two-dimensional characters. Cheesy dialogue, dominated by bombastic rhetoric. The "Persians" are ridiculously gaudy, and portrayed as nothing more than evil pricks who are conquering everything because they can. And just an overall sense that everything in the movie was overdone and over the top. No subtlety, nothing fleshed out (unless you include the torsos of the 300!), everything extremely predictable.

Honestly, this is one of the crappiest films I've ever had the misfortune of seeing. I'm honestly dumbsquizzled (and dismayed) that so many people think this was such a great movie. :dizzy2: