Movie Review Thread

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Originally Posted by R'as al Ghul

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

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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.

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Originally Posted by Geezer57

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.

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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

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Originally Posted by Fragony

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.

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I was also happy about Shannon's death. :2thumbsup: :laugh4:
About Ana-Lucia:
Serious Spoiler:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I'm afraid I've to tell you that she gets shot.....

even more serious spoiler:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

....by Michael.

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.

really? heard Miami Vice wasnt bad.

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.

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Originally Posted by The Spartan

really? heard Miami Vice wasnt bad.

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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

Underworld evolution

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

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

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.

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.

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:

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Originally Posted by 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:

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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.

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:

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.

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...

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Originally Posted by TB666

Just saw Silent Hill. And all I say is AWESOME !!

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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.

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.

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:

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Originally Posted by doc_bean

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

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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.

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.

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.

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Originally Posted by The Spartan

really? heard Miami Vice wasnt bad.

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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.

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:

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

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

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.

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.

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

Yep, The Departed was first rate.

Two Thumps Up. :2thumbsup:

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

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: )