Movie Review Thread

[Banquo's Ghost]

Alice in Wonderland: Not great, but definitely good.

It's got all of Burton's usual style and visual flare (which for me is a good thing). Stunning cinematography, beautiful CGI, wonderfully wacky/hammy character portrayals -- Depp and Carter clearly had a grand old time playing the Hatter and the Red Queen, respectively -- and excellent voice acting for the animated characters (Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar and Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat were particularly delightful) all combine to provide a solid film-viewing experience.

Cons: Uneven pacing. A storyline that....well, I wouldn't say it was "weak" so much as it was poorly executed; the movie's basic premise was solid enough, but sometimes it felt like the plot didn't know where to go next. Also, Anne Hathaway's performance as the White Queen fell flat (although to be fair, I don't think she had that much to work with).



Verdict: If you generally like Tim Burton's movies, enjoy(ed) Alice in Wonderland in any of its previous incarnations, and/or desire a fun-but-not-too-deep fantasy outing, odds are very good you'll like this one. A solid 8 out of 10.

I'm afraid I must disagree. I am a great fan of Mr Burton, but this film struck me as Disneyfied rubbish of the first water.

The storyline was not simply weak, it was as if written for the console game rather than a film. No layering, no intelligent subversion of language, no paradox - just next level, please. The girl who played Alice looked completely ill and was vacuous in the extreme. One dimensional is not suffcient to describe the absence of any character depth in any character.

Johnny Depp was doing mad by numbers - a charmless reprise of his Jack Sparrow with make up by Willy Wonka. (With a brief appearance of a van Dyke-eque Braveheart accent, supremely climaxed with an actual kilt and broadsword at the "boss" level ). And whatever on earth the mindless dance of celebration was meant to do other than appeal to the "yoof" demographic, I cannot say. I trust Christopher Lee got handsomely paid for his two sentences as the Jabberwock. (Yes, Mr Disney - Jabberwock, not Jabberwock-y )

I expected the influence of Burton's Gothic imagination upon one of the great Victorian fairy tales to be immense. Sadly, the studio execs got at it - though he does, like any great director, come out with turkeys from time to time. I found it feeble and forgettable - though being the first modern 3D film I have seen, that was somewhat distracting. Even Danny Elfman came up with a score that was unworthy of a mall lift.

1/10

[Fragony]

JCVD, very clever comedy, Jean Claud van Dam is great as himself. Poor guy has bad times, all his roles go to Steven Seagal and he is fighting over the custody of his daughter. To make it worse he gets caught in a holdup and he gets all the fault. From there it's madness everybody is against him.

Did I just see a movie with Jean Claude van Dam playing a memorable character? Yep I did.

[Major Robert Dump]

JCVD, very clever comedy, Jean Claud van Dam is great as himself. Poor guy has bad times, all his roles go to Steven Seagal and he is fighting over the custody of his daughter. To make it worse he gets caught in a holdup and he gets all the fault. From there it's madness everybody is against him.

Did I just see a movie with Jean Claude van Dam playing a memorable character? Yep I did.

I beat you to it :) I saw that film a while back and recommended it because I thought it was well done and interesting, especially how the whole ordeal turns out. And the main bad guy was so damned ugly

[Centurion1]

Juli and Julia 8/10.

Yeah i know i know Centurion1 what possesed you to watch that movie. well a girl i know and her sister made me watch it when i was at their house and i just have to say it was fantastic. Meryl Streep was simply superb in it and the storyline and supporting actors were excellent. Streep was spot on for Julia Child. The best part though? seeing all that ridiculously luscious food. i love cooking.

[Kralizec]

The Big Lebowski
7.5/10
Defiance
8/10

[Hooahguy]

The Big Lebowski
7.5/10
Defiance
8/10

mind telling us why?

[Fragony]

The Big Lebowski
7.5/10

Dude.... that movie is briliant

[Scienter]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I thought this movie was brilliant! I haven't read the books. I thought Lisbeth, the main character, was very interesting and I wanted to learn more about her. It was a very twisted mystery and it kept me on the edge of my seat, even after I figured out the 'twist.' There were some very uncomfortable moments in the movie such as

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

a very graphic rape scene

, but they helped to develop the main character and her motivations for actions later in the film. I definitely recommend it! It's in Swedish with subtitles, so if you see it in the theater make sure no one with big hair sits in front of you.

Also, why does the spoiler text button have a "B" on it? There is no B in spoiler.

[Fragony]

Bader Meinhof complex, very good. Really gives a feel for the turbulent times in Western Germany. Naturally a violent movie. The director doesn't make any heroes out of them he asks no sympathy, they are idealists who do horrible things and that's that.

[Prussian to the Iron]

just saw Hot Tub Time Machine. most hilarious movie i've seen sicne the Hangover, and possibly even surpasses it. certainly rose my spirits.

[Fragony]

The Assasination of Jesse James. What the..... terrible movie. It's pointless, it wants to make a point but I am clueless what it is, all I know is that it's pretentious. Individual scenes are good and well acted, but they should have shot the editor instead.

[Beefy187]

Tekken (Iron Fist)

I do like action films and martial arts.
Tekken had a decent story line as well as decent martial arts.
But most of the characters was not developed enough.
Only one remained in my memory was Mishima sans hilarious hair style.... And the chick was pretty sexy.

It didn't have my favourite character. King in it and one of my favourite died.
So Its 4/10

[Vuk]

Ip Man
Best martial arts movie ever IMHO, better even than Bruce Lee's. The acting is excellent, the story is captivating, and it is carried out superbly. The martial arts of course are the focus of the film, and they are absolutely fantastic. It is the first movie to realistically depict Wing Tsun coincidentally. It is a must see for anyone, even if you do not like martial arts.

[Snite]

I don't enjoy martial arts movies where the main character is invincible. He only got punched about 5 times the entire movie and they were all in the ending fight scene. Seriously? Seriously? He's just that good? No.

[Fragony]

Saw Star-Trek yesterday, loved it and I am not a fan of Star-Trek, saw most of the movies though. It's fun to see the characters develop in their early years.

[Secura]

The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford... it wants to make a point but I am clueless what it is

I believe the clue is in the title.

[Fragony]

How could you

[Secura]

From what I caught of the film, the point it is trying to make is that, while killing a notorious outlaw in itself would be considered a courageous act, the manner in which it was executed drew the ire of those it was intended to 'impress'. There was a bounty for James alive or dead, yet Ford didn't recieve the money after the deed was done, from what I know. He was chastised no matter where he went up until the very day he was murdered in his own bar without anyone batting an eyelid.

Just search Wikipedia for Robert Ford or Jesse James, the premise of the entire film is laid out there and I think the director/screenwriters generally did a good job of adhering to the facts.

[Fragony]

I know of the background, doesn't make the movie any less terrible. It's a disjointed collection off scenes it's utterly pointless it doesn't go anywhere. The use of music is the worst offender, you never know what the hell you are supposed to make out of it. Performances are good, can't go wrong with Brad Pitt really, he deserves a better director.

[Prussian to the Iron]

Clash of the Titans comes out tomorrow, can't wait!!!!!!!!

and yes, i did see the first one, albeit it was several years ago. maybe we'll rent it tomorrow and watch it before going to see the new one.

[Ja'chyra]

From what I caught of the film, the point it is trying to make is that, while killing a notorious outlaw in itself would be considered a courageous act, the manner in which it was executed drew the ire of those it was intended to 'impress'. There was a bounty for James alive or dead, yet Ford didn't recieve the money after the deed was done, from what I know. He was chastised no matter where he went up until the very day he was murdered in his own bar without anyone batting an eyelid.

Just search Wikipedia for Robert Ford or Jesse James, the premise of the entire film is laid out there and I think the director/screenwriters generally did a good job of adhering to the facts.

Wiki and facts don't necessarily go together

[Martok]

I saw How to Train Your Dragon today. Predictable, but it was executed well, and so was still likable. I rate it 7/10.

[Prussian to the Iron]

i think were going to see that this weekend, takin my lil sister.

[Hooahguy]

i saw sherlock holmes last night.
it was surprisingly good.
i give it an 8.5/10

[Ja'chyra]

Just been to see The Clash of the Titans and wasn't that impressed.

The story and characters don't draw you in as much as the original and the 3D isn't as good as Avatar's.

The whole film seemed to be missing something and wasn't as exciting as it could have been even the Kracken was too big for you to really grasp it's power, overall 6/10.

[Prussian to the Iron]

saw Clash of the Titans today.


it was good, though there wasn't enough action, and Andromeda and some of the other characters could have been far more developed. i personally liked the Medusa sequence of the first one better, not sure why.

the Kraken fight could have been soooooo much cooler, but just ended up being crap.

the people who made it cant grasp Greek mythology though; the prologue says that, instead of Zeus being hidden from Kronos and then returning to free his brothers and sisters, and proceeding to wage war ont he Titans, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades simply started a war, and Hades used a Kraken to kill the Titans. that bothered me throughout the whole movie. i just about walked out when they said that...


it was worth the 10 bucks though. i'd see it again with some of my friends or a girl.




going to watch History of the World, Part I this weekend, after just buying it today. loved it when I was 10, moving my grandmothers stuff into her house and watching the VHS on her video player, hopefully i'll love it more now that I can understand all the jokes!

[PanzerJaeger]

Finally got around to seeing Donnie Darko after everyone and their mother recommended it. There's so much going on, and I was left more than a little bit confused. It really makes you think, which is excellent; and I'm going to have to see it at least one more time to try and figure things out. 9.5/10.

[Fragony]

I have made peace with me being too stupid to figure it all out, great movie though. Love the music.

edit: Last House on the Left, the remake. Surprisingly good. The original is a classic with good reason, this one isn't as morally edgy (why are movies so tame nowadays? Would a raw realistic movie like Taxi-Driver still be released today?) but it's much better acted and it benefits from a larger budget. Some scenes are really hard to watch, the silly girl that got stabbed I skipped, I can't watch that. It's like the violence in 'The Zodiac' it's just too realistic for me. 5 Minutes after she was stabbed she is still squirming on the ground in agony. Harsh. Can't say I enjoyed this movie but that's what it was made for.

[Fragony]

Enduring Love, excellent psychological thriller that slowly but surely gets under your skin, must be horrible to have an obsessed stalker. Calm and intelligent with great performances 9/10

[naut]

Finally saw Burn After Reading. Yawn. It read as a Coen Brothers try to do Tarrentino, and well fail. Had its moments sure, but all-in-all, very forgettable and incoherent.