Movie Review Thread

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Originally Posted by Decker

Star Trek- I found the movie to be quite enjoyable, tho the time travel thing is getting old imho. I think I've seen something like 2-3 Star Trek movies (I really don't know how many involved some time- travel business) that dealt with time travel. It gets kinda old. I will say the action was nice as always, but I could see they watched BSG with the no sound in space bits. I also found it a bit cliched with the bad guy out for vengeance against the Federation what-not. Initially I enjoyed the heck outta the movie, but now thinking about it... I'm prolly gonna give it a 6/7 outta 10

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As a die hard Trekkie with 30+ years of all the Star Trek series under my belt*, I thought the movie was good fun. Nice directing, nice music, fun. It had a few very odd (and cliched) moments that were out of keeping with the original series, and yes, the guy playing Kirk could have been better, but it was still... fun.

What I didn't like were the Romulans who just looked like bikers.

*Nerd bragging rights. I've seen the TV episodes thousands of times and the movies at least 50.

Star Trek... meh. Any halfway-decent director would take to the major Space (Trek/Wars/every single other over-serious one) series like Dr. Frankenstein to a pile of corpses. In fact, the only good movie I've ever seen in that vein was "The 5th Element", precisely because it didn't take itself so seriously.

Angels & Demons: 10/10
Best comedy I've seen in a long time:laugh4:

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Originally Posted by woad&fangs

Angels & Demons: 10/10
Best comedy I've seen in a long time:laugh4:

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Lol, my brother said it was one of the worst movies he's ever seen.

Don't Mess With the Zohan: 7/10

Supremely silly movie.

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Originally Posted by Psychonaut

Lol, my brother said it was one of the worst movies he's ever seen.

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Luckily it crossed the line from bad to comically bad and then proceeded straight on to hilariously bad.:laugh4:

Anyway, who else is looking forward to "Public Enemies"? The preview for it looked really good. As a cool side note, some of the scenes were filmed just outside my town :2thumbsup:

Eagle Eye-
it was ok. interesting plot, but the execution of it could have been better.
7/10

Drag Me to Hell

Mediocre horror film, relies too much on tricks to try to shock the watcher. Funny in places, so I don't really regret seeing it, but not worth going to a theater.

:egypt:

Hot Rod-
the best part was of the asian guy throwing papers at people and doing that funny dance.
6/10

Elegy (2008) is a drama starring Ben Kinsley and Penélope Cruz about a relationship between a much older man and a young woman. I usually don't like this theme in a movie, but this one was very well done with excellent acting.

I've Loved You So Long (2008) is a drama about two sisters one of whom (Kristin Scott Thomas) has just been released from serving a 15 year prison sentence. Again, very good acting in an emotionally moving drama. It's in French, but there is an English language track as well.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) is a comedy, written and directed by Woody Allan in his typically neurotic style, about two indecisive girlfriends who decide to spend the summer in Barcelona. It's quite funny, and the acting is good. I'm always impressed how good Scarlett Johansson is in this type of role. It's well suited for her. Penélope Cruz won best supporting actress Oscar for her performance.

Burn After Reading (2008) is a very funny dark comedy by the Cohen Brothers. I don't think they've ever made a bad movie.

A Double Life (1947) is an excellent melodrama on the theme of jealousy. Ronald Coleman, who won the best actor Oscar that year for his outstanding performance, plays an actor who stars in a stage production of Othello, but who has jealousy issues in his real life as well. Another Oscar went to Miklós Rózsa for the music.

Watched Black Book yesterday. Was a pretty good film, the lead actress was a most toothsome piece of filly, but crikey, the ending was entirely overdone and far-fetched.

Run Fatboy Run- Enjoyed the movie a lot. Simon Pegg is fun to watch...
8/10

Angels and Demons 7/10
Reasonable adaption of a superb book, much better than the Da Vinci code. Plot had more pace and action, terrible casting though. :no:

Zack and Miri Make a Porno- Really funny movie imo, and Justin Long at the high school reunion was hilarious and the movie in general is... except for that pooping scene :sweatdrop:
9/10

The Shawshank Redemption-Probably my favorite movie of all time. I never tire seeing this movie.
10/10

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Originally Posted by Decker

Zack and Miri Make a Porno- Really funny movie imo, and Justin Long at the high school reunion was hilarious and the movie in general is... except for that pooping scene :sweatdrop:
9/10

The Shawshank Redemption-Probably my favorite movie of all time. I never tire seeing this movie.
10/10

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i agree wholeheartedly with this

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Prestige :2thumbsup:

Not a single frame of this masterpiece is idle. Asks for and captures attention and deals surprise and intrigue in return. The only drawback would be little rerun value due to plot dependence, as with similar-in-regard movies such as The Sixth Sense. Hence 9.9/10 :yes:
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Drag Me To Hell (2009) is basically an inferior remake of Curse Of The Demon/Night Of The Demon (1957) with a twist. The older film made excellent use of suspense to convey fear while the newer one, although it tries, is not up to that level, but there are a few good scares in the new one.

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The only drawback would be little rerun value due to plot dependence, as with similar-in-regard movies such as The Sixth Sense.

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There is some rerun value, if simply trying to pick out how you can tell the difference between the twins.


There Will Be Blood
When I first watched this, I didn't think too much of it; the only interesting parts were the derrick burning and the final scene (I drink your MILKSHAKE! :laugh4: ) But it kept drawing me back, I kept watching it (3 times total), and it was just good (I still don't really understand it) :yes: 8/10

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Originally Posted by Marshal Murat

There is some rerun value, if simply trying to pick out how you can tell the difference between the twins.

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A friend of mine saw it like six times and again watched it with us, so...
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Chainsaw Massacre- Next Generation(1995): 4/10. I have to say, I am frankly stunned that Matthew McCauneghy's and Renee Zelweger's careers survived this debacle.

Flight 666-
simply amazing. i only love Iron Maiden even more after this...
a must-see if you like Iron Maiden.
10/10

The Reader (2008) is a very powerful drama by director Stephen Daldry about individual and collective guilt for unredeemable actions. The film is very well done, and doesn't hold your hand explaining everything. You have to think about what you are seeing and hearing. I notice that this director did "The Hours" which was another very powerful and intelligent film that also won a best actress Oscar for Nicole Kidman. Kate Winslet is outstanding in "The Reader", and completely inhabits Hana Schmitz's character. I'm amazed at her performance, and it's extremely daring as well. David Kross is also excellent as the teenage Michael.

Revolutionary Road (2008) is a very well made melodrama with good acting and many lines of dialog that ring true to life. DiCaprio and Winslet have good chemisty together as they did in "Titanic". I felt that their characters had too much modern sensibility for people living in the 1950's. You could say the same thing about the characters they portrayed in "Titanic". It's interesting to see this juxtaposition as it's a way of evaluating past lifestyles, and I think it occurs very often in storytelling. I would say the film Far From Heaven (2002) with Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid was much more effective in recreating what it was like to live in 1950's New England.

While I was sympathetic to April wanting a more exciting and artistically enriched life. I can understand Frank wanting the safety of a secure job even though he doesn't really like the job. The film does make you think about the cost of not pursuing your dream. On the other hand, I think we all give up at least some of our dream eventually. The film L'Atalante (1934) by Jean Vigo is a highly regarded film, done in a style now called poetic realism, which deals with this same theme. The title refers to the mythical huntress, Altalanta, who will only marry a suitor who can beat her in a foot race. She is very fleet of foot, and thus is only beaten through some trickery. The problem dealt with in both films is how does the practically minded husband hold onto this dynamic female that he has captured without destroying her spirit?

Sense and Sensibility (1995) is a very well done English romance adapted from the novel by Jane Austen (1775 - 1817). Jane Austen never married which allows her to have a highly romanticized idea of marriage and love in her novels. All of her novels and this one very definitely are partly satires on the excessive sentimental style of 18th century writing. The story is very nicely conceived, but what really makes the film special is the fine acting by Emma Thompson, as the sensible sister Elinor, and a very young Kate Winslet, as the emotional sister Marianne.

Horton heard a Who. Wonderful animation-movie, all the humor and all the charm you would expect from the whacky lot at Disney.

Early reviews for Transformers are that it's crap. Anyone seen it? Although the Hangover and Up are meant to be good...

Saw Amelie yesterday. Fun movie.

Although the Hangover and Up are meant to be good...

Up is absolutely hysterical, the first 20 minutes are a bit slow, but after that its laughs pretty much all the way through... on par or maybe better than toy story and monsters inc and the like...

The dogs are amazing...

Hangover is pretty funny as well...

Eurotrip
some parts were funny, some just dumb, but overall its a great party movie.
i was surprised when the girls in my grade told me they liked it, even though breasts were shown throught the movie. i tihnk we had the unrated version.
8.5/10

Mission Impossible 1
a let down. sure, pretty cool stuff, but i expected more action, less talking.
7.5/10

Mission Impossible 2
better than MI1. more action, better plot line, more action, pretty hot chick, great chase scene.
9/10

Terminator Salvation
Not as good as Terminator 2 and a tad predictable at several moments, but stil a good action movie.
7/10

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Originally Posted by Psychonaut

Early reviews for Transformers are that it's crap. Anyone seen it? Although the Hangover and Up are meant to be good...

Saw Amelie yesterday. Fun movie.

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The hangover was great, and transformers is the best movie of the year so far. I pretty much ignore all movie reviewers--a completely pointless profession in my opinion. If you go by the preview, the previous movies in the series, the actors and the director you'll have an accurate idea of how good the movie is 9 times out of 10. Once in a while you get fooled by a good preview. I'd rather watch a bad movie than miss a good one though...and film critics are mostly retarded. :whip:

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Originally Posted by Sasaki Kojiro

The hangover was great, and transformers is the best movie of the year so far. I pretty much ignore all movie reviewers--a completely pointless profession in my opinion. If you go by the preview, the previous movies in the series, the actors and the director you'll have an accurate idea of how good the movie is 9 times out of 10. Once in a while you get fooled by a good preview. I'd rather watch a bad movie than miss a good one though...and film critics are mostly retarded. :whip:

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Well said, also I'm hearing that there my be racial undertones, wth is that about?

The Proposition- A good solid "western" from Australia. I enjoy this movie everytime I watch it.
9/10

Year One- I personally find Jack Black to be a very funny guy and this movie had it's far share of funny moments tho I expected it to be a little longer.
7-8/10

3:10 to Yuma- Christian Bale and Russel Crowe were a lot of fun to watch in this western. Good action and decent story help along what is basically a shoot 'em up type of western.
8/10

American Psycho- Another favorite of mine.
9/10

Heaven and Earth- A somewhat enjoyable Japanese movie that I believe takes place sometime before Samurai Seven.
7/10

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Originally Posted by Sasaki Kojiro

The hangover was great, and transformers is the best movie of the year so far. I pretty much ignore all movie reviewers--a completely pointless profession in my opinion. If you go by the preview, the previous movies in the series, the actors and the director you'll have an accurate idea of how good the movie is 9 times out of 10. Once in a while you get fooled by a good preview. I'd rather watch a bad movie than miss a good one though...and film critics are mostly retarded. :whip:

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Transformers 2 - my thoughts on the film. (I haven't spoken about any of the parts of the film, however if you don't want to be offput by my comments, please do not read what I have to say in the spoiler tag)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I so badly wanted to believe that Transformers 2 was going the be the best movie ever, as I think I am possibly the biggest Transformers nut in my hometown -look at my lastname for lords sake! I went and watched it today and I am bitterly disappointed in the film. The lack of character building (including these two twin "Country Hick" Autobots that are just plainly annoying after a little while), no depth in the story and overall a crap ending (They should of done the whole "Empire Strikes Back" thing where the bad guys are winning at the end of the film - that would have made such a better build-up to the third film IMO). In fact I will go as far to say they probably could have made this whole story line of this film into two movies and the saga would have been completed nicely - but no, instead they do the whole Spiderman - Superhero type movie where they "unzip" where they left off at the last film and then "zip" the whole story back up at the ending. The third - if there is one - will just be more of the same, except there will probably be 200 transformers shown, all with no background, no given clues of how they came to be.

If you based the movie on its visual effects I think it would then deserve a 12 out of 10, the effects are just breathtakingly awsome, you will never, ever see any better fight scenes than what is shown in this film, but then in comes the storyline. A true fan will know what I mean about that. I so badly want to talk about the storyline but I'll leave that till later when more people have watched it.

My score on the movie, 4.5 out of 10 - A bit harsh, but it could have been so much more. Michael Bay definately could have done a lot more with this series, but he didn't care, he wanted the cash.

Any one agree / disagree?