Movie Review Thread

[naut]

I was thinking of watching Pineapple Express, any good?

[Martok]

I was thinking of watching Pineapple Express, any good?

I'm curious about this one myself. Looked like it could be good.

[Decker]

I was thinking of watching Pineapple Express, any good?

I haven't seen it myself, but from what I've heard is that it's quite funny and doesn't stop the laughter till it's about over...

[Banquo's Ghost]

I suspect any reputation I have here is about to disappear like mist in the sun, but I really, really liked Mamma Mia.

Everyone in the cast and the audience was just having so much fun! It was a delight and happy and uplifting. It is also a movie that one can see with one's wife/girlfriend and get oodles of brownie points - whilst secretly enjoying oneself immensely.

Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan were hilarious and the end titles just wonderfully kitsch.

But then I enjoyed Moulin Rouge too.

*adopts deep gruff voice*

Anyway, how 'bout dem Steelers?

[TWFanatic]

Just saw Tropic Thunder. I had mixed feelings about it--parts of it were hilarious and other parts were just plain stupid. I'm not exactly a fan of Stiller's peculiar brand of comedy though so perhaps I'm not appreciating it fully. 3 out of 5.

[Fragony]

But then I enjoyed Moulin Rouge too.

Oh don't be such an alpha male, Moulin Rouge is simply fantastic, the Roxanne adaptation is one of my favorite scenes ever.

[Martok]

But then I enjoyed Moulin Rouge too.

As did I, although I suspect I may be the only heterosexual male in the Western hemisphere who will admit to it. (In fact, I even own the DVD, believe it or not.)

I am a bit of a Baz Luhrmann fan, though, which may have something to do with it -- something about his directing & writing style just appeals to me. I very much enjoyed his adaptation of Romeo & Juliet as well, and am curious to see how his new movie Australia turns out (especially since I'm also a fan of Jackman & Kidman).

[Fragony]

As did I, although I suspect I may be the only heterosexual male in the Western hemisphere who will admit to it. (In fact, I even own the DVD, believe it or not.)

ahum!

This, http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=pHO5KWIMZUo is brilliant

edit: oh and I saw Grave of the Fireflies yesterday. What a movie. I adore the japanese 'cartoons'. Still images with living movement, tranquility and dazzle. Since I happen to be so very in touch with my feminine side because someone just had to mention Moulin Rouge I am not too shy to say that this movie was deeply moving.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Pineapple Express was quite good in my opinion, but probably best to see it with a friend.

By the way, any of our European members see that movie I spoke about in the previous page "One Day in Europe"? Thoughts? Comments?

[Puzz3D]

A series of films I watched recently in one day, and they not only turned out to all be very good but the sequence I chose to view them was also very effective.

The Lookout (2007) is a crime drama/thriller about a young man who is suffering from a mental disability, and who a shady character exploits in the perpetration of a crime.

Brick (2005) is a modern day, film noir, crime drama/mystery of considerable complexity something like a Cohen Brothers film. A high school student tries to help his former girlfriend who has apparently fallen in with some bad people. The dialog is very "hip", and subtitles are available on the DVD if you can't keep up with it.

Land of Plenty (2004) is a dramatic masterpiece from director Wim Wenders about truth and the human spirit in post 9/11 America. It was particularly effective to watch this film after watching two crime films. I couldn't watch another film immediately after seeing this, but eventually I watched the following film which gave me much needed emotional relief.

Dot The I (2003) is a romantic drama/comedy with several unexpected ironic twists with the final one particularly humorous.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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I share your appreciation for Land of Plenty. Will check the crime ones too. I'm not in the correct mood for romanticism or comedy though.
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[Fragony]

Winter again huh

Anyways Wanted, awesome. Awesome visuals, story is just awesone enough, and Angelina Jolie.

[Puzz3D]

I saw Wanted back in July, and posted my review then. Here it is:

Wanted (2008) is an action picture starring James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie. The action is very over the top matrix style with quite a few bullet time sequences, and extremely frenetic jump cutting during the actions scenes to the point where you can't follow the action in some places. The action scenes are full of impossibilities, but that is apparently due to it being a film adaptation of a graphic novel where impossible things happen. In retrospect, apparently the action is supposed to be taken as humorous, but the actors play their parts dead seriously. Since the screenplay was mediocre, I didn't really like this film very much, although, I wanted to like it. The convoluted plot has a terrible flaw in it as well if you think about it. To top things off, Angelina Jolie did not look very good in her closeups. She looks underweight, and it makes her face seem older than she is. This film is based on a graphic novel with which I'm unfamiliar, and that may be why I couldn't get on track with this film. My friend was confused as well, but he did say it seemed as thought it was supposed to be humorous.

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I share your appreciation for Land of Plenty. Will check the crime ones too. I'm not in the correct mood for romanticism or comedy though.
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The comedy in Dot The I is dark irony not what is typical of a romantic comedy film. The specter of violence hangs very heavily over this film, so it does fit in that sense with the other films I watched that day. Think double double cross.

[Fragony]

All valid critisism but the action scenes are simply breathtaking, best camarawork I saw since the dazzling final of I-Robot, it twists it curls, awesome. The shootings are bit like the hollywood answer to such carefully orchestrated whatsitcalledthedancestuff you see in asian movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero. I am not really an action-movie kind of guy so it is rare that I can apreciate one.

[naut]

I suspect any reputation I have here is about to disappear like mist in the sun, but I really, really liked Mamma Mia.

Got forced into that one. Was pleasantly surprised.

I am a bit of a Baz Luhrmann fan, though, which may have something to do with it -- something about his directing & writing style just appeals to me. I very much enjoyed his adaptation of Romeo & Juliet as well, and am curious to see how his new movie Australia turns out (especially since I'm also a fan of Jackman & Kidman).

If it turns out good I'll eat my hat.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Winter again huh

Apparently winter forever. But there's always space for hope unlooked for...

The comedy in Dot The I is dark irony not what is typical of a romantic comedy film. The specter of violence hangs very heavily over this film, so it does fit in that sense with the other films I watched that day. Think double double cross.

Deal.
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[Decker]

Apaloosa- I saw Apaloosa today. It was directed by Ed Harris (had no idea till I saw the movie lol), who reminded me of Clint Eastwood's style. This was no 3:10 To Yuma which had way more action and shoot 'em up sequences than Apaloosa. Apaloosa is approximately 6 minutes short of 2 hours. This means that the story/movie is quite slow, yet the humor and sarcasm that permeate through the film, including the small sequences of action which dot the plot line move it along at a gingerly pace. Viggo Mortensen, imho, was the best actor in the film and played an excellent character, I think he was the main, and for me his best role yet. Overall, I'd prolly see this movie again as I like westerns.
8/10Coulda been better but good nonetheless.

[PanzerJaeger]

Miracle at St. Anna was quite possibly the worst war movie I have ever seen, easily beating out the epic(ally bad) Windtalkers.

Being a Spike Lee movie about the Buffalo Soldiers, I was expecting some racial commentary and hoped he would use that dynamic to build powerful characters and a more compelling story. Unfortunately the depiction was so ham-handed, and the racial under(over)tones so contrived, it really sabotaged the plot and wasted a the chance to tell an interesting story.

Ignoring the awkward social commentary, the movie could have been salvaged through a strong depiction of the war in Italy. Spielberg showed that even a fictionalized story could be transformed into a very powerful movie through good film-making and a strong dose of realism. Unfortunately, Lee obviously did not do his homework. Saving Private Ryan was extraordinary not because of the extreme violence, but because of the details that made it so realistic. Lee tried to cover for his lack of knowledge or any real research into the subject by injecting SPR-esque violence and every clichéd war movie phrase out there without any support in the plot for it. At one point, a soldier cries out "Cover Me!!" without actually doing anything that would require cover.

Other than that, the movie was simply poorly made. The plot was disjointed and direction amateurish. Is it a war movie or is it a murder mystery? Are we supposed to relate to the soldier's experience or the detectives? I doesn't matter I guess, as none of the characters were properly developed. It really reminded me a lot of Tropic Thunder, except this one wasn't meant to be a comedy.

In summary, the movie just sucked. Whether you want to look at it as a commentary on the African-American struggle, a murder-mystery, or simply a traditional war movie - none of those elements worked, and they certainly didn't mesh well all shoved into the same movie.

This is what happens when you make a movie based on a vendetta. Flags of Our Fathers didn't have enough black people in it and Clint Eastwood refused to apologize for not compromising the historical reality, so Spike Lee made a war movie with lots of black people in it. Unfortunately for the real Buffalo Soldiers, he did them a terrible disservice.

[Decker]

^^^

I had a feeling I'd see a review like this coming out about this movie lol

[Fragony]

Flags of Our Fathers didn't have enough black people in

Que? Somebody complained about that?

[Koga No Goshi]

Did anyone see the 2007 movie Sunshine?

Maybe this movie was better distributed in the UK/Europe. I have no idea. But, I had never even heard of this thing at all, until it had already been on rental store shelves for a few months. I happened to catch a review of it somewhere. And I have to concur with the review I read... while I would preface by saying that this was by no means an Academy Award movie, I tend to incline towards movies that aren't super pretentious award winner material. At any rate... this movie is by Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Trainspotting, etc.) and stars Cillian Murphy who was also the lead role in 28 Days Later. It has other recognizeable faces such as the guy from Whale Rider (don't know his name offhand), Michelle Yeow (Crouching Tiger) and Chris Evans (Fantastic Four). It is basically a "go do something dangerous in outer space to save the planet from impending natural disaster" story, but with a very dark tone and quite realistic, I thought. The style very much reminded me of 28 Days Later, in fact, sort of an apocalyptic, dark movie. What the review I originally read said was that this was probably one of the most underrated movies that sits in complete obscurity and poor marketing/distribution. I would definitely agree, again it's not a movie that is going to change the meaning of life for you, but I think considering few people even know this movie exists, it's quite good.

I would loosely categorize it as a blend of sci-fi and horror, in the same sort of fashion that Aliens was, but leaning a bit more towards the sci-fi than the horror.

[Fragony]

Great movie, bit like Event Horizon minus everything that sucks.

[PanzerJaeger]

Que? Somebody complained about that?

Yep, Lee demonstrated the lack of historical knowledge I discussed in the review.

At the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, director Spike Lee, who is making Miracle at St. Anna, about an all-black U.S. division fighting in Italy during World War II, criticized director Clint Eastwood for not depicting black Marines in Flags of Our Fathers. Citing historical accuracy, Eastwood responded that his film was specifically about the soldiers who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima, pointing out that while black soldiers did fight at Iwo Jima, the U.S. military was segregated during WWII, and none of the men who raised the flag were black. Eastwood angrily said that Lee should "shut his face". Lee responded that Eastwood was acting like an "angry old man", and argued that despite making two Iwo Jima films back to back, Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers, "there was not one black soldier in both of those films".[5][6][7] In fact, black Marines are seen in scenes during which the mission is outlined, as well as during the initial landings, when a wounded black Marine is carried away. During the end credits, historical photographs taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima show black Marines. Although black Marines fought in the battle, they were restricted to auxiliary roles such as ammunition supply, and were not involved in the battle's major assaults, but took part in defensive actions.[8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_Our_Fathers_(film)

[Fragony]

This has to be the most rediculous example of political correctness I ever heard. If you make an historical movie make it historical. More and more I am starting to realise how sane a country the Netherlands really is but that belongs in the backroom I guess. Flags of our fathers is an incredible movie by the way, so is Letters from Iwo Jima, maybe the latter is even better.

[Puzz3D]

Did anyone see the 2007 movie Sunshine?

Yes I saw in the theater in July 2007. The equating of the Sun in a religious sense with God as the source of life is interesting. Here is the review I posted at that time:

Sunshine (2007), just released, is a philosophical sci-fi movie by director Danny Boyle which I found to be visually impressive. The movie incorporates a number of ethical paradoxes into the story. The visuals are worth seeing on the big screen, and the character development is just enough to give the story some emotional impact by the end, although, the ending was rather disorientating. The science doesn't stand up to scrutiny, but it's a pretty interesting premise just the same. The films 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Dark Star (1974) and Conquest of Space (1955) are all referenced, and it has a hybrid plot similar to Alien and Event Horizon. So, if spurious science or non-sci-fi elements are not to your liking you might want to skip this one.

Flags of Our Fathers didn't have enough black people in it and Clint Eastwood refused to apologize for not compromising the historical reality,...

I took my mother, who was 16 when the USA entered WWII, to see Flags of Our Fathers. After the movie, she said the film depicted the people on the home front better than any another film she has seen. In general, she doesn't like watching war films from that time because it brings back sad memories, and was only willing to go because Clint Eastwood did the film. She met him when he used her house in his film Mystic River.

I had already decided to skip Miracle at St. Anna, and you review reinforces my decision.

[Ronin]

Saw Burn after Reading this weekend,.....a very funny farse there are some great moments.....

[Ramses II CP]

Burn After Reading cracked me up a number of times ('You think that's a Schwinn?!'); I was especially fond of the CIA director played by the guy from Oz. There are at least four distinct brands of humor running through the movie and the storylines serve primarily as an opportunity for them to each get the chance to play with each other in multiple combinations.

Oh, and I've really, deeply got a thing for smart, mean red-heads, so the lead chick was right up my alley. The wife ribbed me about it for days afterward.

I couldn't get into Sunshine, but I have very high expectations for Sci Fi on film (Don't ask me why) and it met none of them.

St. Anna is a political movie rather than a war movie. Makes me ill just to think about it, and if you somehow managed to miss his ever present interviews it is my sad duty to inform you that Spike Lee whined incessantly about how difficult it was for him to get funding for this movie, implying that it was because he didn't make superhero movies, sequels, and because he was black. Duh, perhaps it's because you don't make money you moron.

Sorry chaps, Moulin Rouge is spectacle laden tripe. Showgirls for the showtunes crowd. They shot some good dance sequences and then drug it all down with whining and crying and staid old rehashes of love story #11; i.e. hooker with a heart of gold meets eternally unrequited starving artist. The only things seperating this movie from Coyote Ugly are the costumes.

[Koga No Goshi]

This has to be the most rediculous example of political correctness I ever heard. If you make an historical movie make it historical. More and more I am starting to realise how sane a country the Netherlands really is but that belongs in the backroom I guess. Flags of our fathers is an incredible movie by the way, so is Letters from Iwo Jima, maybe the latter is even better.

I'm kind of a stickler for historical accuracy. I don't want to see aboriginal Australians running around in the English crusader army in a movie set in the 1200's. But, I wanted to point out in fairness, that I want consistency about it. I hate when in the reverse situation, people point out that, for instance, most cowboys were hispanic or black or even Native American, people shout you down that you're being anal and "it's just entertainment, look for historical accuracy in a history book." I want to put those people on a pike sometimes.

[Fragony]

If they deny that they don't know much about their history

edit, missed the point

[naut]

Saw Death at a Funeral very funny.