Movie Review Thread

[Navaros]

I saw Underworld 2 recently.

It was mediocre. I wouldn't go so far as to say it sucked though.

They spent way too little time fighting Lycans. Supposedly the movie is based on Vampire vs. Lycans wars, yet for 95% of the movie there are no Lycans in it. If I'm remembering correctly they only have Lycans at the very start and very end of the movie. Major disappointment there. And the silly end of some of the characters was even more disappointing.

At the start of the movie it was set in medieval times. That was the best scene in the whole movie. They should have left the whole movie in that time instead of fast forwarding to the much more boring and Lycan-free future.

I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[econ21]

I saw Boyz In the Hood again last night and it was just as compelling as when I saw it way back when it first came out. It's not flawless - it's sentimental, unsubtle, with dodgy Black Consciousness type rhetoric. But it hits home emotionally with the force of a two-handed hammer.

I don't think I've seen a violent death better represented - the horror, the screaming of love ones, the mess, the waste, the guilt. If that is not how violent death is, it is how it should be - something monstrous and unconscionable.

Laurence Fishburne is great as the role model dad ("Who diss?"), but the emotional heart of the film for me is the doomed character played by IceCube (or is it IceT? I forget). Something about his character just appeals to me as rather noble. As a young fat kid trying to fight the much older bullies. Later, standing arms stretched out like Jesus inviting a would-be driveby killing. He never seems nasty or thuggish, and is often understanding and responsible in his own rough way. When his grief-stricken mother screams blame at him - unjustly - for his brother's death, it is far, far more moving than the equivalent scenes between Faramir and Denethor in ROTK. So he is damned by his own mother and goes out to avenge his brother, quietly understanding the consequences for him and why his friend who is escaping the ghetto should not join him on this path to hell. He may be part of the problem, but to me, he's also part lovable kid and part tragic hero.

5 stars out of 5 from me.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Home Alone:

I watched this movie on TBS (again) last night and I have to say it's very good. It's a classic movie, and I really liked some of the stunts that killed pulled!

[SwordsMaster]

Did anyone see Domino? What did you think?